andyhavens

Another great one from Chabon. Not quite as rich and chunky as "Cavalier and Clay," for which he won the Pulitzer... but truly great. Chabon is an author you have to read slowly, as his prose is dense with wonderful description, idiom and thoughtful insights. Like C&C, though, I did feel that the ending was a bit... short. It just kinda stops. Yeah, I know... that happens a lot in crime thrillers, and "literary" works. But I was still hoping for at least a teaspoonful of denouement. Still... a fantastic read. A must for any alternative history fan.

Neal Stephenson's best, so far, in my opinion. While "Snow Crash" is undeniably important from a "let's talk about the metaverse and cyberstuff" perspective, I believe "Cryptonomicon" is simply a better novel. The parallels between WWII cryptography and the disguising of data related to war efforts and modern (ie, late 20th century) cryptography are fascinating. And the personal, family history elements are woven in with smooth ease. This is a great tale, told very well, and with a good chunk o' learning thrown in. Read this.

I've been using this text to teach a course on the history of advertising for five semesters now, and come away with something new each time.The book covers advertising concepts and campaigns, beginning with ads that lured colinists to America in the first place. It goes over the technology used to produce ads during many eras; the sociology and psychology behind wide historical advetising trends and specific campaigns; the men and women who influenced the industry both creatively anda as businesspeople; the affects of ads on our culture, and of our culture on the advertising medium.It's a whole lot of ground to cover. It's a long book, and Sivulka moves very quickly. The book, though, never "feels" long (at least to me... don't ask my students, though). There are many timelines, illustrations of ads and photos, both of concepts and people. She also provides lots of neat "sidebar" lists (my favorite being the list of ads that did not translate well into other languages/cultures; i.e., the Chevy Nova, which in Spanish means "Doesn't Go."), and brief descriptions of what was happening culturally and historically during the time periods covered. This is not a general history book -- you won't learn about WWII, other than about some of the US Governments ads for the NRA and war bonds -- but she does give some good context for what was going on in the industry.Sivulka's basic work is really quite good, but is at its best nearer the beginning of the book. Like most history books, the closer one gets to the present, the more the text takes on a flavor of commentary as opposed to historical reflection, and "Soap..." is no exception. Up until the 1970's, this isn't really a problem, and her review of the great campaigns, moments, advertisers, ad men and women in the history of the industry is great. Around the time of the "Creative Revolution," though, things get a bit... soft. It is difficult, of course, to put events in perspective when there hasn't been as much time to reflect on them, and this is really my only criticism on this otherwise excellent work. If you are looking for a text book on the history of advertising, I highly recommend it. If you are in the advertising or marketing biz and are looking for a good, entertaining read that will catch you up on many of the great figures and facts in our industry, I'd also suggest you check "Soap..." out.