Kevin W

• Rated 3 stars

“An interesting read, although I disagreed pretty strongly with the author's conclusions on animal rights philosophy and promotion of nonindustrial animal agriculture as a substitute for factory farming.”

Kevin W wrote this review Tuesday, April 9, 2013. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“My wife and I have been working our way through Rutherford's book ever since we stumbled on The Rebels of Ireland in a used bookstore, and I think this is my favorite so far (with London being a close second).”

Kevin W wrote this review Tuesday, April 9, 2013. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“An interesting look at the revolutionary implications of piracy in the "Golden Age" (1716-26). More than simple robbers, the author describes how piracy exploded in this era in large part due to the rise of capitalism and the depredations of economic and political elites. The pirates constructed an alternate, more equitable social order for themselves; this threat of a good example motivated governments to exterminate them every bit as much as their crimes against property.”

Kevin W wrote this review Wednesday, February 15, 2012. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“I found this a little hard to follow in places because of the large number of people involved, but otherwise it was a great, informative read. I liked that the author told the story from both Christian and Muslim perspectives, and didn't romanticize it.”

Kevin W wrote this review Wednesday, February 15, 2012. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“An excellent, important, and timely book about how our education system is in the process of being taken over and dismantled by corporatist "reformers" (i.e. former DC school chancellor Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, Education Secretary Arne Duncan). The most depressing part of the story is that this is a totally bipartisan phenomenon, with ideas that originated on the far right now embraced as orthodoxy by the Democratic Party (especially within the Obama administration) and many establishment liberals. If supporters of public education want to turn back the "reformist" tide, it's going to mean war with both the Democrats and the Republicans.”

Kevin W wrote this review Wednesday, July 6, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 2 stars

“I didn't agree with this book at all, but I still thought it was valuable reading. This was written as a defense of globalization and "free" trade, and I found myself in the odd position of being better able to explain my opposition to both after reading it, so it didn't really have the intended effect on me. It helped me understand the value and assumptions of the other side.”

Kevin W wrote this review Sunday, September 13, 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Great book, simultaneously uplifting and depressing. After reading this, I can't help but think that we really suck as a species; it's amazing how badly we've fucked up the planet. But it helps knowing that life will continue - in some form or another - after we're gone, and that there are still things we can do to (slightly) mitigate the damage.”

Kevin W wrote this review Sunday, September 13, 2009. ( reply | permalink )