Clearly presented argument and central thesis. Quite a bit of redundancy. Good amount of historical background that was quite informative. Author took a clear position and was not always willing to delve into nuances, for better or worse. While argument seemed completely solid, more discussing more moments of nuance would have lengthened the book without as much redundancy and allowed for an even more critical, well-rounded analysis.

Cold War Illinois by Christopher Sturdevant

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informative slow-paced

1.0

I'm not an expert in this topic but have an above average awareness of several elements within this book - each of those elements in this book had moments of inaccuracy so I do not trust the veracity of this work in the slightest - especially given the author has a fairly clear slant/does not do historical nuance very well, if at all. The book is less about Cold War era Illinois and more an eclectic rambling of Cold War vignettes that largely featured people who were born in Illinois doing things elsewhere or people doing things elsewhere before moving to Illinois. Very little comparatively by way of Cold War happenings in Illinois. Quite the hodge podge of stories, poor transitions and lack of overall cohesion/narrative flow and editing (both content and grammar), led to multiple points of no context provided to what was happening or conversely redundant information because of how scattered the text was. It was more like a mishmash of poorly cited, often anecdotal Wikipedia articles than a history book tbh.

Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No

3.75

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eengland's reviews 200 reviews

eengland's reviews
200 reviews