Joshua Frank

A very poorly written book about a very interesting topic. The author gives virtually no background about the topic. I kept waiting for an introductory chapter that would explain information like: exactly what is buried at Hanford? What was the history of the plant (more than one or two sentences long)? What are the specifics of the remediation efforts going on right now? What exactly is the structure of the DOE and contractors / subcontractors that work there, and what is the history of that?

I got halfway through the book before I realized that there was never going to be an introduction.

This giving no introduction repeats on a smaller level as well. For example: in one chapter, the author starts talking about pulse jet mixers, and literally gives no information about them. What are they? What problem do they solve? Why are they going to be problematic? Nothing, just a long argument about how horrible they'll be.

I'm not sure if the author is just SO familiar with the topics in this book that he assumes the reader has no need for any introduction, or if he just doesn't really know how to write a book.

Really, this book reads like getting into an elevator to hear two people arguing about something. They're very passionate in their back-and-forth, but you missed all of the lead up. You can't help but be interested and on their side, but you really have no details about the situation. This book is a missed opportunity.… (altro)

A book of collected papers about the Obama presidency. This book details the many ways in which he has been a center-right to right president, with policies that mirror those of his predecessors, and in some cases, take Bush's policies to a new high (or is that a new low?). These papers begin during the campaign, which could serve as a good corrective for those who believe that the problems with the Obama presidency began after his inaguration. There have been issues that some have seen since early on, and they are laid out here in brutal black and white. One of the contributors put it well when he indicated that the main difference between Bush and Obama is that Bush was more straightforward about what he was going to do. The idea of many supporters that Obama simply couldn't have been expected to accomplish that much in so short a time is put to the test here, and found wanting, with all the things he did manage to do (most of them not good). The weaknesses of the book are mostly in what isn't covered: there is very little about the environment, which is a shame, because that is one of the places where he has done considerable damage; other than a chapter on how disappointing he's been on climate change, there is very little. And there are a few things that might have been able to be improved by the eagle-eye of a good editor, such as the comment by one contributor that, if it weren't for the howls that would rise from the religious right, the free marketeers would have privatized churches. This should elicit a great big "huh?" Churches are already privatized. In the United States, churches are not consitutionally allowed to be anything else, and since the founding of the country, there has never been a state church (even if it feels like it at times with all the praying and other silliness that goes on in public meetings). In addition, it's difficult for me to buy the premise that attacks on evolution and attempts to bring religion into public life have been reduced in Obama's administration; perhaps there is just less coverage, but in fact, these things appear to be in a frenzy of activity these days. Also some places where statistics are misused or misunderstood. Overall, a decent look at the first Obama administration.… (altro)