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Biography of mathematician John Horton Conway in three parts. Enough math and geometry to get the gist of his insights - definitely not overwhelming to the number phobic. Overseen by the subject, who is quoted liberally throughout, this is an interesting read.

Conway was very active in number and knot theory, groups and combinatorial games, but the first line of most biographical entries is the Game of Life. That work (and related exchanges with Martin Gardner) make up the middle part of the book; the other two are essentially before and after Life. An epilogue and appendices delve a little deeper into the math; a bibliography gives some direction for more. This is first and foremost a book about the mathematician, not the math.

Roberts first met Conway at Mathcamp while researching her book on Donald Coxeter, one of his mentors. The quirky lifestyle of Conway has led to many anecdotes, and resulted in a solid year of editing this biography. In the end, she has captured the eccentric genius in a very readable format. I look forward to reading her book on Coxeter, [b:King of Infinite Space: Donald Coxeter, the Man Who Saved Geometry|207949|King of Infinite Space Donald Coxeter, the Man Who Saved Geometry|Siobhan Roberts|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1317793269s/207949.jpg|1744459].

Part story of cool tech (satellite phones), part business story (project kickoff to bankruptcy and beyond) and part biography of Dan Colussy. The David and Goliath aspect of the third part is what the author is most excited to tell, the first part is what I most wanted to read.

The cool tech is very cool, and describes the Iridium solution in detail while delivering plenty of comparisons to competing solutions. Many investors were in it primarily for that aspect, and I am glad that it is a major part of the story. The business story goes into a LOT of detail, and is at times numbing. I was grateful for the detailed history of Motorola, though the author really paints them as the bad guy here.

The biography and description of Colussy's struggle also spared no details, and aspects of Dan gathering millions to avoid the latest deorbit deadline were not as interesting to me as to the author. In the end, a solid book, if a little long. 3½ stars.

Some good information in this short read, but much history is glossed over to focus on the current president instead, leaning at times into hysteria. I greatly appreciated the examples of Russian disinformation tactics used on the Ukraine. Tyranny should be stopped, but this isn't a complete recipe for that.

Especially useful lessons (chapters) include - remember professional ethics, make eye contact and small talk, learn from peers in other countries, listen for dangerous words, and be kind to our language. I agree with his thoughts on patriotism, but think he could have done a much better job in distinguishing it from nationalism.

The lessons in this book were a from a list originally introduced in the author's facebook post, just days after the November 2016 election. While the book form may be more accessible, a reworking (editing) of this list may have been a better approach. I'll close with one lesson, my favorite:

"Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books."

The characters and setting (the Middle East) allow Wilson to explore elitism, sexism, class, race and politics. Programming methodologies and metaphors mix, leading to the unseen world of the Djinn and a race for freedom. This is a very good novel.

Alif is a grey-hat computer hacker, selling protection to whoever will pay, with State security not far away. A book delivered from a former girlfriend opens his eyes and changes his life, and a program that he wrote may just change the world.

Both Dina and The Convert are strong female Muslim characters, and each has a different viewpoint. The plot of this saga doesn't always seem to have direction, and some of that wandering happens around the introduction of The Convert - largely an avatar of the author. The main character can be frustratingly dense at times, but that is also an aspect of the plot.

I enjoyed this novel, and expect I will think about aspects of it for quite a while. It has more than a few similarities to one of my favorite novels, [b:Snow Crash|40651883|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1530057753s/40651883.jpg|493634].

This not-quite-coffee table book has a completely honest subtitle. It is a love-letter to the sports writers of the time - Grantland Rice, Ring Lardner, Damon Runyan, and others. Unfortunately errors and a poor index bring my rating down quite a ways. Thoroughly forgettable.

There were aspects I did enjoy, certainly. The descriptive language of the writers puts today's output (on paper or web site) to shame. As research material, it is interesting to compare and contrast 1903 with 1918 or 1919. For instance, gambling is talked about freely each year - and the early years pointed out where players among the bettors. A very interesting contrast with the 1919 Black Sox, and even Pete Rose of more recent years.

Each section (a day's worth of reports) is introduced by a few italicized sentences saying what happened in the game being reported on. Imagine my surprise to see the 1903 World Series won on October 13th by the Pittsburg Pirates, five games to three --- when the Boston Red Sox had been leading four games to three previously (it was a best-of-nine series). Little errors like that were found in more than a few places, leading me to question some of the photo captions as well. For the stats geek, a single page with the box scores for each series would also be welcome. Fortunately, they are available online.

Still, as a love letter to the writers, there are some great examples in this book. One example, from 1910:

"The Cubs are drifting, wavering, wobbling, and apparently lost in the fog of defeat, torn, punctured, and bedraggled by the tornado of the Athletics' base hits and the sea wall of the Quakers' defense that was a solid and impenetrable as adamant."

Or from 1911:

"Until the seventh inning, when the Giants first attained speaking acquaintance with home plate, Coombs was invincible. Eight men, including the most consistent swatters of the National Leaguers, had bitten on his famous drop, and but four hits had been made off his delivery. And so accurate was the flinging of the sterling right-hander that no free transportation, either by wildness or a batter's anatomy being nicked by the spheroid, was distributed."

They just don't write 'em like that any more.

Good technical information - probably more than has been released anywhere - if a little dry. Quite a few direct quotes from people who were there during the war, which sets the scene but also muddles the story. The majority of the book is early war; the last few years of the war go by in a rush.

Events in this book don't follow a linear timeline either. Sometimes that is okay - focusing on one technical achievement and results - but often it is just confusing. The book does have more about double agents and misinformation campaigns than I have seen elsewhere. The idea of tracking misinformation back through layers of Hitler's encoding (and thus revealing keys) is pure genius.

Perhaps the biggest evidence of mediocrity is the over three weeks it took me to read this book. Interesting note - station X is not for "x the unknown", but for the roman numeral X. It was the 10th station for either the British Foreign Office or Special Operations Executive (opinions vary).

Fast read family drama / mystery with extra romantic entanglements. The math, and the idea of the equation, are a pretty cool MacGuffin. Can be a little slow through part one, leaving parts two and three hard to put down! An excellent first effort from Nova Jacobs.

The subtitle is "A Novel in Clues" and they are woven amongst the family. Each chapter is from a different characters point of view, and over the course of the novel, much about the family is revealed to both the characters and the reader. The main protagonist is a bookstore owner in Seattle, but that is merely background - she spends the majority of the novel in LA.

As a mystery, I was able to deduce a few things, but not all the ramifications. Other things eluded me, giving quite a surprise in the last few chapters. So much of the plot interlocks that it might be interesting to reread this in the future. A solid 4 stars, and will keep an eye on this author for her next work.

A layered mystery with strong female characters (well, nearly all the characters are women). The intense history and emotions can stick with you when not reading - and this book demands reading. Won a Nebula and Lambda award, and is a sci-fi Masterwork. Recommended.

Layers seem to be as much structure as theme, and keep recurring in various forms. The story is told from three perspectives, different times within one woman's life. Each is also a coming-of-age story. Relationships (created, broken, reformed) are also a strong aspect of the plot, though I certainly wouldn't tag it as romance. All the characters are well written, with their own motivations and strength.

The SF aspect is the near future setting, with some bioengineered bugs and small advances in tech - "slates" as personal computers and chips replacing wallets and cash. Forward thinking but not unreasonable when written before 1995. This was Griffith's second novel, and the first I have read from her - though I've looked at Hild more than once. I have challenged myself to read more female authors this year, and will definitely seek more from this author in days to come.