Author Archives: Booker
The Power of Habit Review: Great Stories, Shakier Science
Duhigg's habit-loop bestseller is gripping and genuinely useful, but its tidy stories outrun the evidence, [...]
Gödel, Escher, Bach Review: A Brilliant, Sprawling Puzzle About Minds
Hofstadter's playful masterpiece on self-reference and consciousness is unlike any other book, but its sheer [...]
1984 Review: Orwell’s Blueprint for Total Control Still Holds
Orwell's grim novel about a state that controls truth itself is still the sharpest dystopia [...]
The Silence of the Lambs Review: Clarice, Lecter and the Clock
A tense, intelligent serial-killer thriller built on the duel between Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter; [...]
The 4-Hour Workweek Review: Bold Questions, Dated Tactics
A provocative, influential case for designing your life around time and freedom, weighed down by [...]
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat Review: Wonder, With Caveats
Sacks's case histories of strange brain disorders remain beautifully written and humane, but his own [...]
The Interpretation of Dreams Review: Brilliant, Influential, Unproven
Freud's dream book is a founding text of modern thought and a daring piece of [...]
The Pragmatic Programmer Review: Timeless Habits, Uneven Depth
The best single book on the habits of a professional developer, broad and memorable, though [...]
Die with Zero Review: Spend Your Money While It Still Matters
A provocative, useful counterweight to over-saving that urges readers to spend on experiences while they [...]
James Review: Everett Gives Jim the Voice Twain Didn’t
Percival Everett retells Huckleberry Finn from Jim's side, and the result is funny, brutal and [...]
The Housemaid Review: Trashy, Twisty and Hard to Put Down
A pulpy, compulsively readable domestic thriller. The prose is flat and the logic thin, but [...]
Emotional Intelligence Review: A Big Idea, Oversold
Goleman's bestseller made emotional skills a mainstream topic and still offers useful insight, but its [...]