simonator's reviews
159 reviews

A masterpiece. An intelligent description of both modern capitalism and Utopist Anarchism. Fantastically smart critique of gender roles and the individual's place in society. Every once in a while, a heartfelt and gut wrenching scene hits the reader out of left field and leaves you sobbing with effortless poetry. 

Fantastic read that is both educational for one's general knowledge  and not too heavy reading. Inspires hope and opens up interesting questions. Humour and illustrative examples make for an engaging experience. Myth-busting at its finest. 

The discussions on the findings' implications on our economy and capitalism vs communism was just mildly disappointing - some sharper consequences could have been drawn. But then again, the policy implications are more deeply discussed in Bregman's other book Utopia for Realists. 

Often poignant and sharply put, Fischer argues against the inhumanity of postmodern capitalism. The pop-culture anecdotes help, but sometimes, some Oomph to the point would be nice. Sometimes, he does sound like a disgruntled boomer extrapolating a bit too much from personal experience. Overall, there are more convincing and comprehensive arguments about Capital's absorptive capacity out there. 

The impact of this book is indescribable. Mysterious in its deeper meaning and yet poignant in its critique of orientalism, patriarchy, empire and the ego, it rattles the reader to the core.

The first half of this work is of the stuff of great literature. It speaks with eerie accuracy about the inhumane modernity of 2010. While it gets a lot wrong about overpopulation and neglects the centrality of climate change (Marx is right after all), it is nonetheless remarkably prophetic for a book created in 1968. Brunner describes an atmosphere of claustrophobia and numbness with paralysing skill. However, the second half becomes incredibly tiring, the only somewhat interesting central plot is annoyingly cut up every two pages by unrelated worldbuilding incerpts (which may have been intriguing enough for the first 300 pages but become tedious and distracting quickly), and the vulgarity of the violence and the treatment of female characters becomes simply uncomfortable. A pity, because these weaknesses pollute what could have otherwise been a masterwork in the league of 1984, Brave New World or Fahrenheit.

Didn't connection to me in large parts, but she is undoubtedly great. On the matter writing, she is at her best in this. She writes chiefly about America-ness which is not ideal if you find America unimportant. 

Ein Rundumschlag, der alle progressiven Econ-Trends besucht und verständlich erklärt. Manchmal geht dabei der rote Faden verloren und häufig macht der Autor nicht klar, wann er vom tatsächlich existierenden vs dem ratsamen Kapitalismus spricht. Trotzdem inspirierend und faktisch.

Convincing,  solid historical materialist argument. Could've benefitted from a lot more data and evidence, though, however rudimentary. Anecdotes were only briefly introduced. The essays were supposed to be short of course but more proof in place of reiterating already previously articulated points was still needed.

Read like a Bond movie, with all the good and bad that comes with it. Loved how muc h space to explaining Cybersynth was awarded. Characters remained one-dimensional. Would've preferred a historical dramatised retelling of the actual history instead of the pseudo-stylised version