simonator's reviews
159 reviews

Great overview with a powerful "J'accuse" towards the US and Israel but also a sobre critique of the deficient Palestinian leadership. Shaped by the author's status and position within the international diplomatic elite, which sometimes spends too much time on the role of individuals. While not oblivious to structural and sociological factors, this is in large parts a history of diplomacy and high-level geopolitics, where class and imperial structure sometimes are treated as more of an addendum. Nonetheless, the author's immediate participation and contact to the decisive events of the timeline of the occupation provides for illustrative and engaging reading. 

Exzellente Aufsätze von Mattick und Mandel. Tynjanow nur für interessierte. Rabehl ein komischer, damals schon verschrobener Schwurbeler. 

Extremely evocative painting of life and reality on Mars; one would almost believe the author has been there himself. Extremely atmospheric descriptions of great machinery, large rock formations and vivid landscapes. 

However, a significant chunk of suspense is taken out by the first chapter spoiling a protagonist's later death, only to spend significant time in building that character's place in the story and then the hole that's left is not really made palable. Generally, the most interesting characters are not awarded enough pages.

In general, there are some unfortunate racist and exist undertones to the descriptions of some groups and characters, that shone through the author's attempt to "realistically" depict the conflicts of today being carried over to the future. But the lines between the characters' prejudice and the author's are blurry. 

Hilariously, there are copious amounts of descriptions reserved to geological rock formations and barely any that would help paint the humans more individually - but maybe, that actually adds too a theme.

The author's marxist-esque conception of history and politics and economics is omnipresent and quite nuanced in the broad strokes he's painting martian colonisation in. He shares some prejudices with early soviet sci-fi authors like Bogdanov (who is credited in the name of one protagonist) in that he overestimates the role of technocratic engineers and underestimates the position of workers and labour struggle. Nonetheless, his is a refreshing improvement from mainstream sci-fi imagined histories.

Big recommendation for an overview over Minsky's ideal and a well structured build up to an analysis of the 2008 Financial Crisis. 
At times, the tone is very fanboyish of Minsky and essentially no critical review of his work is included. 
The text is somehow both very advanced and presupposes a lot of jargon knowledge by the reader - but then at times, it really takes on by the hand and puts some things very simplistically. Not entirely coherent.

As with all real history books, it gets a little tedious to keep track of all the royals and movements of real people. However, the author managed to keep the tone engaging and subtly humorous without compromising on academic rigour. This is almost the perfect blend between taking the interested reader seriously by discussing sources and reflecting on what can or cannot be known, while not devolving into the hyper sterile language of a scientific journal article. 

Takes Muntzer for what he was : a religious revolutionary with a great social concern, with no illusions to any quasi-Leninistt spirit but also not dismissing his proto-democratic-radicalism. 

Advisable reading to summarize some of the elemental Marx

Ein gutes Beispiel wie man aus einer simplen Fabel, in der auf einer oberflächlichen Ebene nicht viel geschieht, eine Menge an Bedeutung herausgearbeiten kann. Das Buch stellt viele Beziehungen dar; Mensch zu Tier und Natur, Frau und Mann, Gedanken- und Außenwelt, Stadt und Land, Zivilisation und Naturursprünglichkeit. Spannend dabei ist, das immer ein Teil des Gegensatzpaares nur als Leerstelle, als Spiegelbild behandelt wird - versteht man beim Lesen. 
Kunstvoll auch, wie in der Berichtsform des Buches, einige traurige Plotelemente (wobei man kaum von Plot sprechen kann) im Voraus leise angedeutet werden, um eine gewisse Spannung zu waren, und gleichzeitig eine schwermütige Grundstimmung zu fördern. Es ist bemerkenswert, wie die Autorin überhaupt so einen einsaugenden Text über letztlich nur Gedanken und Ackerbau geschrieben hat. Trotzdem war es letzten Ende doch etwas zu lang. 

Sweet and authentically steeped in Chilean history. Sappy to the point of corniness at times, but with hints of magical realism vibes here and there. The narrative lense flits from character to character to give miniature windows into life under the dictatorship, which is interesting and touching, as the main and rich secondary cast is painted vividly and effectively, even though construed to give the broadest most insight into the different sociological milieus. 
Overall, not the most sophisticated novel, but touching nonetheless.