Undirected Reading

I received an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is an interesting book of German pop history in English translation, looking at a fairly brief revolutionary interlude in Munich's history in 1918/1919. It's easy to forget, especially from an American perspective, how many changes in power and short-lived revolutions occurred in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, and this one is perhaps especially eclipsed by subsequent history. The book provides an easy-to-read account, and in addition to discussing the roles of the writers and other intellectuals who were directly involved, touches on the responses of various prominent figures of the German literary world. The book's very conversational style makes it a rather quick read, though the blending of past and present tense makes for a somewhat odd reading experience (in my opinion, anyway). I don't know whether this is the result of the translation, th...

  I received a digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a really nice translation of an important book, and one that makes Radishchev accessible and even enjoyable to an English-speaking audience. While I'm able to read in Russian, Radishchev is not an author I feel very confident tackling in the original--and this translation worked really well for me. I enjoyed it and found myself digitally highlighting passages in nearly every chapter--it's not exactly light reading, but certainly worthwhile for those with an interest in Russian intellectual and political history. Many of Radishchev's observations and ideas are striking and relevant even today, even beyond their true significance to Russian history and literature. This is a book that is meant to make the reader think, and it does. The introduction to this translation is interesting and informative, and provides a good amount of historical context on Radishchev and his work. It...

  I received a free digital copy of this book via NetGalley for an honest review. 99% Invisible is consistently one of my favorite podcasts. Even when episodes are focused on topics that I know something about, I always learn something new--and more frequently, the episodes highlight things I've never considered in any depth or even never noticed at all. The 99% Invisible City is partially a book version of the podcast--that is not to say that the book can be read in lieu of listening to the podcast, because it's far more an accompaniment than a replacement. It's a collection of short histories and stories about various aspects of the built environment (and more), and it's a lot of fun. It lacks something of the charm of the podcast, I think partly because the brevity of the histories (no more than a page or two for most) don't seem to have the depth of the stories usually covered on the podcast. But it's still very enjoyable, and it's a great f...