Al’s – DaneCobain.com

Stephen Hawking – Black Holes and Baby Universes | Review

Author: Stephen Hawking

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 176

Rating: 8/10

Stephen Hawking – Black Holes and Baby Universes

This book is a pretty quick read that touches on some deep subjects – from the way that the universe works to Hawking’s own struggle with ALS, what we have here is a selection of essays and lecture transcriptions from throughout Hawking’s lengthy career.

The interesting thing here is the breadth of subjects that Hawking manages to take a look at – even when a piece has a specific theme, he often finds ways to crowbar in other subjects, but the crucial thing here is that they’re not at the expense of the actual essays. When Hawking brings in his personal life, or when he seems to be going off on a tangent, he’s actually finding a way to make it easier for readers to relate to the deep science that he actually wants to tackle.

I’ve read a few Hawking books; this one is by far the easiest one to start with.

Stephen Hawking

Click here to buy Black Holes and Baby Universes.

Hunter S. Thompson – The Rum Diary | Review

Title: The Rum Diary

Author: Hunter S. Thompson

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 214

Rating: 8/10

Hunter S. Thompson – The Rum Diary

The Rum Diary tells the heartwarming and tragic tale of the adventures of journalist Paul Kemp in Puerto Rico, where he works at the Daily News by day and drinks rum at Al’s by night. Of course, there’s a woman involved, and the novel is also home to its fair share of institutionalised corruption – a very Thompson topic.

The author is better known as the writer of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and while his style is similar here in some ways, it’s also a little different – little touches, and the idiosyncrasies of some of the characters, make this a much more traditional novel, even though it’s still far from it.

It’s a strong recommendation from me, particularly if you’ve already read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and if you’re a fan of Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway and other writers of that era – Thompson’s style here reminds me a little of that, and it’s interesting to note that even though he sounds wiser here, it was written before Fear and Loathing, although it wasn’t actually released until 1998. I like a book with a story behind it, and you should too.