The Strength Training Anatomy Workout II Book Review

by Frederic Delavier and Michael Gundill
352 pages; $24.95

I received this book for free as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

The Strength Training Anatomy Workout II is a gorgeously illustrated volume. Each of the many workouts is shown with the affected muscles highlighted, and often important variations in the position, posture, and anatomy are diagrammed as well. This book is a sequel, and as such does not contain basic workout information that is found in the first volume.

With the basics out of the way, let's talk about my impression of the book's recommendations. I think overall this book is pretty good, and the anatomy and exercises should be of interest to many strength trainers. However, I did notice some areas where opinions may differ. This book focuses first on building muscle mass, then strength. Training for hypertrophy has become a cultural default in strength training, but it is not the only option. In the discussion of free weights versus machines, some space is given to anatomical variations and how they effect form with free weights, but very little space is given to the influence of flexibility and technique in proper form. For example, in the section on squats, the ratio of torso to femur length and its influence on squat form is discussed, but it was apparent to me from the illustration that increased hip and hamstring flexibility would fix the problem.

As a CrossFitter, I am bound to have some disagreements with the methodology in this book, but overall I think it is good for what it is trying to do.

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The Magic Goes Away

by Larry Niven
$2.25; 218 pages

A With Both Hands mini-review

This is the first book I have ever read solely authored by Larry Niven. I'm a big fan of his collaborations with Jerry Pournelle. They have a great partnership. So I decided to try Niven at full strength to see whether I would enjoy the rest of his work. I'm reasonably pleased. This book provides the setting Niven and Pournelle would later use in Burning City and Burning Tower. A prehistoric world powered by magic, magic that is running dangerously low.

A council of wizards embarks on a last hopeless quest to save the magic. They seek to resurrect the last god, hidden away in the frozen wastes of the North. Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for.

I liked the book. Niven has a fun style, summed up in the surprise afterword by Sandra Miesel as logical fantasy. The afterword was truly a shock; I didn't expect any such thing in this massively illustrated paperback. It was a bit wordy, but there was some fun stuff in there. This was a good introduction to Niven. I'll probably pick up some more of his work soon.

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Burning City and Burning Tower Book Review

By Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

I avoided these particular books for quite some time due to their unusual premise: Los Angeles in an age of magic. I shouldn't have waited; these books are everything I like about Niven and Pournelle, a big cast of characters in a believable world, and something interesting to think about.

14,000 years ago, the world was magical. However, magic is a finite and dwindling resource. Atlantis has recently sunk, victim of an acute mana shortage. The Burning City experiences periodic conflagrations when the magic that keeps fire from burning inside buildings lapses.

While the Burning City does share a geographical location and some characteristics with the Los Angeles that will follow it 14,000 years later, it also has some unusual differences. It is ruled by Lords of a legal bent who employ highly trained hoplites as an army. The Lords are assisted by their allies the Lordkin, wild and unruly barbarians who support themselves by a random and personal form of taxation known as gathering. Anything a Lordkin can take from the conquered Kinless they can keep. The only thing that keeps the Lordkin in check is their propensity to kill each other.

We learn about the Burning City through the life of Whandall, a Lordkin boy of unusual curiousity and drive. His voyage of discovery is ours as well. This gives Burning City an impressive scope, nearly half a lifetime. We get to share everything in Whandall's life, and see a strange new [old?] world through his eyes.

Burning Tower is a very different book. Despite being a sequel and sharing a number of characters, this book is less about exploring an unusual political arrangement and more about an adventure and a coming of age story. It is extended in space rather than time, moving all the way to Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. This book shares the conceit of Burning City, giving us the backstory behind the legends.  It also shares a love of place, in this case my place, so I have a fondness for these books simply for that. 

I enjoyed each book in its own way, even though Niven and Pournelle did grind an axe or two. Who knew that Atlantis' doom was excessive taxation?

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Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith Book Review

By Fr. Robert Barron
$27.99; 291 pages

I received this book for free as part of the Early Reviewers book program at LibraryThing.com.

I haven't seen the documentary that this book is intended to be a complement to. [and prepostitions aren't what you end sentences with] Thus I may be missing some of the intent by reviewing the book simply as a book, rather than as a multimedia package. That being said, there are some beautiful pictures in this book, showcasing the treasures of the Church. This is really part of the purpose, since it has been argued that the works of art Christianity inspires are among its greatest evangelists.

This book is intended to be a brief, but complete summary of the Catholic faith. Barron accomplishes this. 

My single favorite part of the book is Barron's treatment of the Sermon on the Mount. Barron summarizes the Beatitudes as the more we draw on the divine life, the more we receive in return. Each of the positive attributes in the first four Beatitudes is something we need to be happy, and they are best possessed by giving them away.  Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. [Matthew 6:33] The negative Beatitudes are interpreted in a light of detachment. Blessed are those who love God enough that they do not need the ordinary comforts of life.

My least favorite part of the book was the section on four recent saints, Katherine Drexel, Thérèse of Lisieux, Edith Stein, and Mother Theresa. None of their lives speak to me. This is pretty normal, it is why there are thousands of saints, there is one that everyone will find interesting in the way they refract the infinite goodness of God. I found these four saints, or least Barron's presentation of them, pretty similar. This is mostly a matter of taste. Others may absolutely this this part.

Overall the book is pretty good. Anyone who wants an intro to Catholicism will find it here.

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Forsake the Sky Book Review

by Tim Powers
$3.50; 217 pages 

Forsake the Sky is an updated version of The Skies Discrowned, Tim Powers first book. I am a big fan of Power's early work. I enjoy Forsake the Sky and Dinner at Deviant's Palace more than Earthquake Weather. The earlier books are short and tight, albeit sometimes less polished.

Forsake the Sky is set in a futuristic end-of-empire setting. I've long been interested in cyclical theories of history, and doubly so in fiction, because the rise and fall of empires makes for a cracking good yarn. This is more of an adventure story than one of Power's typical secret histories. And what an adventure it is! Francisco de Goya Rovzar finds himself unjustly imprisoned and sentenced to hard labor in the uranium mines before the first chapter is over. Rovzar escapes, finds refuge in the criminal underworld, and works his way to the top. Classic stuff here, the hero's journey, with Power's characteristic themes of providence and the true price of adventure.

This is a great book.

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King, Warrior, Magician, Lover Book Review

by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette
$9.95; 160 pages

Based on a recommendation from the Art of Manliness, I bought King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine from Bookmans. I couldn't find it at my local new bookstores, but you can find it online new or used. Since I bought it used, it took me forever to find the tiny "Men's issues" section. It was only one shelf in a rather large bookstore, but I finally found it tucked underneath the sexual self-help books. It was worth the effort.

The four archetypes show their power from the first. These are not alien ideas forced onto us. Rather, they are us, in a more pure form. The archetypes help us to see what is best in ourselves, as men. The King is the source of order, he is wise and just. The Warrior has boundless energy. He is devoted to a cause greater than himself, and fiercely loyal. The Magician is powerful and crafty, and he has the ability to detach himself from events and see more clearly. The Lover seeks beauty in all its forms, and delights in it. He can break down barriers and empathize with everyone.

This book is valuable for anyone who wants to know what it is to be a man. It is also valuable if you are interested in understanding depictions of masculinity, both positive and negative. I can easily think of people I know, or situations I have found myself in, and immediately see the application of these archetypes of masculinity.

Moore and Gillette are definitely children of their age: the Age of Aquarius. With that in mind, I found the chapter on the Lover the most unbalanced. This is the chapter that is the least burdened with scholarship or historical accuracy. It is also the least aware of the negative side of the archetype. The chapter on the King went into great depth on the bipolar shadow Kings, the Tyrant, and the Weakling. The chapter on the Lover talked about the Addicted Lover and the Impotent Lover, but many of the examples used for the Lover per se were really just as bad as the shadow forms. Given that the Lover is the spirit of the age, it is probably hard to attain critical distance.

I see an interesting parallel between Moore and Gilette's four archetypes and the DiSC model created by William Marston. Each one of the four archetypes has a strong relationship to one of Marston's four mental energies. The King is similar to the Steadfast/Submissive energy. This would have been hard to see, except that the woman who taught me about DiSC mentioned that many Fortune 500 companies have CEOs with S personalities. Under the DiSC system, the Dominant type seems like the natural leader. Driven to succeed, quick to think, quick to work, charismatic. Yet, the D energy can be very harsh and unyielding. This is because it is really like the Warrior.

I think the confusion arises from the name. When we in the Anglosphere think of a King, we think especially of the English kings, men like Richard the Lionhearted or Henry VIII, who had big ideas and big appetites, bundles of energy that got whatever they wanted. However, what we are really talking about here is no mere king, but the Emperor. The Emperor is the still center, the source of order who quells rebellion by the rumor of his imperturbability. Except in the direst of emergencies, the Emperor does not take the field of battle himself.

The Lover is like the Influencer. Always talking, focused on relationships, a great love of life, unconcerned about details.  The Magician is the Conscientious type. Hardworking, knowledgable, focused on facts and results, quiet and reserved.

One needn't look too far to find things that don't match either. The DiSC model attributes empathy especially to the S, while KWML attributes this to the Lover. Nonetheless, the convergence is striking. I am always interested when two separate lines of thought arrive at the same result. I look forward to reading what Brett on the Art of Manliness posts about this book in the future. This is a topic worth revisiting.

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Home Fires Book Review

by Gene Wolfe
Tor Books 2011
$24.99; 304 pages

One word to sum up this book: disappointing. Perhaps I came it with my expectations raised too high. I had heard of Gene Wolfe from a number of sources, First Things ran an article on him, and a sci fi blog I used to read was named after one of Gene's ideas. When I saw this book on the newish rack at Bookmans, I grabbed it quickly. Here at last was my opportunity to experience an author who has been desciribed as "too difficult, and too religious".

The book hooked me immediately. No ambling prologue introducing the characters and the setting, we are just dumped into the action, in media res. Everything moves quickly, I wanted to keep turning the pages because I knew a new twist was coming soon. And there were many, many twists. It was difficult to keep track of everything that happened, I felt much like Skip must have, bewildered but fascinated. The setting is dystopian, but you can imagine getting there from here without too much trouble. I liked the lawyerly perspective; some of my best friends are lawyers.

Yet, for all that, I got to the end and I didn't like it. Maybe it is because Skip and Chelle are such horrible people. Really everyone is in this grayest of dystopias. Skip strikes me as the best of a bad lot, and that isn't saying much. If I wanted to read about this kind of thing, I could just turn to the news. I suppose my tastes in fiction are thoroughly bourgeois. I really do want evil to be vanquished and love to win out in the end.

I like my scifi hard, and moderately didactic. If, like Wolfe, the author is known to be thoughtfully religious, I like to see how that plays out in the way the story is written. Those things are not present here. I feel that Wolfe wrote the kind of book that critics like, and readers hate. This book is full of artful ambiguity and clever literary devices that will delight bitter and penurious English majors. As a writer, Wolfe is probably better than Pournelle or Powers, in the technical ways such things are understood. But this book failed its primary purpose: to entertain. The story is depressing, and not all that fun to read. The book was challenging in a good way, and thought provoking, but I doubt that I will ever read it again.

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NPR Running a poll on the top Sci Fi books

NPR wants to know its listeners' favorite scifi books, so there is a poll on their website created from listener nominations. Lots of good books are on the list. You could just take the list and work your way through it if you needed something to read.

All my favorites are on there. Last Call, The Anubis Gates, Conan the Barbarian, The Mote in God's Eye, Watership Down, and World War Z. I wouldn't call all of the books on the list sci fi, or even fantasy, but I suppose you have to categorize things somehow.

1632, by Eric Flint
1984, by George Orwell
2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne

The Acts Of Caine Series, by Matthew Woodring Stover
The Algebraist, by Iain M. Banks
Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers
Armor, by John Steakley

The Baroque Cycle, by Neal Stephenson
Battlefield Earth, by L. Ron Hubbard
Beggars In Spain, by Nancy Kress
The Belgariad, by David Eddings
The Black Company Series, by Glen Cook
The Black Jewels Series, by Anne Bishop
The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Bridge Of Birds, by Barry Hughart

The Callahan's Series, by Spider Robinson
A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
The Cat Who Walked Through Walls, by Robert Heinlein
Cat's Cradle , by Kurt Vonnegut
The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
The Change Series, by S.M. Stirling
Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
Children Of God, by Mary Doria Russell
The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
The City And The City, by China Mieville
City And The Stars, by Arthur C. Clarke
A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
The Coldfire Trilogy, by C.S. Friedman
The Commonwealth Saga, by Peter F. Hamilton
The Company Wars, by C.J. Cherryh
The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
Contact, by Carl Sagan
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks

The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
The Day of Triffids, by John Wyndham
Deathbird Stories, by Harlan Ellison
The Deed of Paksennarion Trilogy, by Elizabeth Moon
The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester
The Deverry Cycle, by Katharine Kerr
Dhalgren, by Samuel R. Delany
The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
The Difference Engine, by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
Don't Bite The Sun, by Tanith Lee
Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
Dreamsnake, by Vonda McIntyre
The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert

Earth, by David Brin
Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart
The Eisenhorn Omnibus, by Dan Abnett
The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
Eon, by Greg Bear
The Eyes Of The Dragon, by Stephen King
The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

The Faded Sun Trilogy, by C.J. Cherryh
Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser Series, by Fritz Leiber
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
The Female Man, by Joanna Russ
The Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy, by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
The First Law Trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie
Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
The Foreigner Series, by C.J. Cherryh
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

The Gaea Trilogy, by John Varley
The Gap Series, by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Gate To Women's Country, by Sheri S. Tepper
Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway
The Gormenghast Triology, by Mervyn Peake
Grass, by Sheri S. Tepper
Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End of The World, by Haruki Murakami
The Heechee Saga, by Frederik Pohl
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
The Hollows Series, by Kim Harrison
House Of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski
The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons

I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson
The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
The Incarnations Of Immortality Series, by Piers Anthony
The Inheritance Trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne

Kindred, by Octavia Butler
The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
Kraken, by China Mieville
The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey

Last Call, by Tim Powers
The Last Coin, by James P. Blaylock
The Last Herald Mage Trilogy, by Mercedes Lackey
The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
The Lathe Of Heaven, by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
The Lensman Series, by E.E. Smith
The Liaden Universe Series, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
The Lies Of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
Lilith's Brood, by Octavia Butler
Little, Big, by John Crowley
The Liveship Traders Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
Lord Of Light, by Roger Zelazny
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Lord Valentine's Castle, by Robert Silverberg
Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees

The Magicians, by Lev Grossman
The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
The Man In The High Castle, by Philip K. Dick
The Manifold Trilogy, by Stephen Baxter
The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
Memory And Dream, by Charles de Lint
Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn Trilogy, by Tad Williams
Mindkiller, by Spider Robinson
The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
Mordant's Need, by Stephen Donaldson
More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon
The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

The Naked Sun, by Isaac Asimov
The Neanderthal Parallax Trilogy, by Robert J. Sawyer
Neuromancer, by William Gibson
Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
The Newsflesh Triology, by Mira Grant
The Night's Dawn Trilogy, by Peter F. Hamilton
Norstrilia, by Cordwainer Smith
Novels Of The Company, by Kage Baker
The Number Of The Beast, by Robert Heinlein

Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
On Basilisk Station, by David Weber
The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
Oryx And Crake, by Margaret Atwood
The Otherland Tetralogy, by Tad Williams
The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan

Parable Of The Sower, by Octavia Butler
The Passage, by Justin Cronin
Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
The Prestige, by Christopher Priest
The Pride Of Chanur, by C.J. Cherryh
The Prince Of Nothing Trilogy, by R. Scott Bakker
The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge
Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
Replay, by Ken Grimwood
Revelation Space, by Alistair Reynolds
Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban
The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
Ringworld, by Larry Niven
The Riverworld Series, by Philip Jose Farmer
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

The Saga Of Pliocene Exile, by Julian May
The Saga Of Recluce, by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
The Sarantine Mosaic Series, by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K. Dick
The Scar, by China Mieville
The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
The Shattered Chain Trilogy, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Sirens Of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
The Snow Queen, by Joan D. Vinge
Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
Song for the Basilisk, by Patricia McKillip
A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
The Stainless Steel Rat Books, by Harry Harrison
Stand On Zanzibar, by John Brunner
The Stand, by Stephen King
Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester
Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
Stations Of The Tide, by Michael Swanwick
Steel Beach, by John Varley
Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
The Swordspoint Trilogy, by Ellen Kushner

The Tales of Alvin Maker, by Orson Scott Card
The Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik
The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
Tigana , by Guy Gavriel Kay
Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein
The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
To Say Nothing Of The Dog, by Connie Willis
The Troy Trilogy, by David Gemmell

Ubik, by Philip K. Dick
The Uplift Saga, by David Brin

The Valdemar Series, by Mercedes Lackey
VALIS, by Philip K. Dick
Venus On The Half-Shell, by Kilgore Trout/Philip Jose Farmer
The Vlad Taltos Series, by Steven Brust
The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Vurt Trilogy, by Jeff Noon

The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
The Watchmen, by Alan Moore
Watership Down, by Richard Adams
The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin
The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
When Gravity Fails, by George Alec Effinger
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
Wild Seed, by Octavia Butler
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
World War Z, by Max Brooks
The Worm Ouroboros, by E.R. Edison

The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony

The Yiddish Policeman's Union, by Michael Chabon

Portlandia: Feminist Bookstore

There used to be a bookstore like this in Flagstaff.