Customer Comments

itpdx has commented on (35) products.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

itpdx, January 1, 2013

Wow! The story of an amazing and resilient man. And so well told! Hillenbrand brings us into the stadium of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the interior of a B-24 bomber limping back to base, a raft drifting across the Pacific, Japanese POW camps and the mental struggles of recovery.

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Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins (Macsci) by Ian Tattersall

itpdx, July 25, 2012

This "progress report" on what we now know about the origins of homo sapiens is something that I have been thirsting for. As Tattersall says what we knew in paleoanthropology when I was in college looks "engagingly quaint today". From deep core ice sampling to DNA testing of ancient bones to functional MRI's of the brain, as well as finding new archeological sites, we have learned a lot. I have read about various finds and testing but have not been able to put it all together. This book does.

Tattersall demonstrates why he is a curator at the American Museum of Natural History. He explains clearly what we know for the non-scientist without talking down to us (or at least to me). I truly appreciate the way that he organized the book--going from the oldest hominids to the earliest humans--not by the order that we have found traces of them; and that he used a consistent method of dating (in this case how many years ago) throughout the book.

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Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Large Print) by Laura Hillenbrand

itpdx, July 25, 2012

Wow! The story of an amazing and resilient man. And so well told! Hillenbrand brings us into the stadium of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the interior of a B-24 bomber limping back to base, a raft drifting across the Pacific, Japanese POW camps and the mental struggles of recovery.

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The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain by Fernette F Eide

itpdx, July 5, 2012

This book explains a lot! I am amazed at how much we have learned about the human brain from functional MRI. Scientists have found structures of dyslexics' brains that group at one end of the normal bell shape curve. This difference in structure explains a lot of dyslexics challenges and strengths.
The authors do a very good job of describing the difficulties that my dyslexic daughter faced in school and many of the things that helped us. The chapters on careers are helpful because that is her current stage in life.
The book hits the right note for parents and teachers and dyslexics themselves who are in need of encouragement.

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Gelato Sisterhood on the Amalfi Shore by Chantal Kelly

itpdx, March 14, 2012

The challenge is to read this book and NOT be planning your trip to the Amalfi Coast (or your return if you have been so lucky to have visited before). This is armchair traveling at its best. The reader joins Chantal as she guides a group of American women on a week trip to the Amalfi Coast.
When does the next flight leave?
I really appreciated the bibliography, filmography and glossary of Italian terms. But I would have liked an index also as I wanted to go back and re-read a number of items and link some of the history and it was not always easy to remember where certain things were mentioned.

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