Thoughts on The Profession
I read an early copy of Pressfield’s new book a few weeks ago. Writing a review for a journal , so I held off on putting a review here. Had to put it in a drawer to reflect on it. That’s a good sign – it parallels a lot of my own thinking and work, needed to remove myself to get some clarity on it. Some quick thoughts follow.
It is, of course, well written, fast-paced, and Pressfield’s knowledge of the technicalities of warfare is great (and facilitated by some familiar faces). That, and the way he describes the fragmentation of warfare (and blurring with business) is pretty spot on. The book clearly communicates a deep understanding of the distribution of violence, depletion of hydrocarbons, ubiquitious advanced technology, and overall does tactically well. Sample:
Tajikistan, as we are beginning to grasp, is not really a country. It’s a criminal narco- fiefdom locked in a death struggle with an Islamo- narco- fiefdom, which will soon become, with the integration of the new “Beautiful Mountain” oil field, a criminal Islamo- petro- fiefdom.
I think it stumbles on the broader picture though.What starts out with every indication of being centered on cheap, ubiquitous violence, fluid borders, and small units, we end up with expensive, privatized, conventional conflict. Sample:
Company- and even battalion- sized formations could be put together with a six- month train- up, with their logistical tail outsourced and the employer fronting the funding in cash. But when the first legions and armatures were put together in 2021—meaning brigade- and division- sized airmobile fighting units—….
Strikes me as incoherent, but of course, your mileage will vary. There’s plenty of grand geopolitics, complete with mentions of nukes, if you’re into that kind of thing. Sample:
Iran’s aim, reports Ms. Caplan, is the establishment of a “Shiite Crescent,” which would extend from western Afghanistan across Iran and southern Iraq to the Arabian peninsula….
Anyway, regardless of which seems more likely to you, Pressfield created a world worth thinking about. Definitely worth reading.
Aside I. There’s a spattering of passages like this, that are oddly colonial, or misogynistic, and were really distracting from the flow of the book.
The Eastern mind is so tribal, so inured to systems of patronage and blood influence, that it can’t conceive that a venture of this scale could be mounted without the full knowledge and approval of the United States at the highest level.
Our two African Americans, Sgt. Pope and SSgt. Harvey, took it hard. I think they felt ashamed for their people.
Some well- meaning Westerner gave it to them, probably a woman and probably as brave as she is clueless.
It’s odd, because, generally, the protagonist comes off realistic – like a smart, quiet, professional – until he sounds like a neanderthal.
Aside II. Fun snippet:
She blogs and pens op- eds. This one, posted on zenpundit.com, goes instantly viral.
Anyway, more later.
Review: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
Listened to the audiobook of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. I feel it’s ‘science-fictioness’ is vastly overstated. It’s not really scifi. The elements which are from that domain are interesting and fun, but they are few and far between. It’s really the story of a son, an unsuccessful time travel technician, looking for his father, a brilliant, hardworking, but ultimately unsuccessful entrepreneur.
More precisely, it’s the thoughts of that son on his journey. The book navigates philosophy, a little science, and a lot of emotion, as Charles tells us his story. It’s kind of interesting, but, to use the tired onion metaphor, I couldn’t get through the outer layers. I bought in sufficiently to finish the book, (made easier by the fact someone else was reading it to me), but didn’t really care for any of the characters. (Though the parts about entrepreneurship resonated quite well.)
This is Yu’s first book though. I’ll give his future works a shot.
Review: Machine Man by Max Berry
So Max Barry had a cool idea about a man who finds the human body limiting and does something about it. First by accident, but then a grinding slicing and dicing of his body, augmenting as he goes.
Interestingly enough, he serialized the book, Machine Man, on his blog. A page at a time. This worked really well, resulting in:
- A movie directed by Darren Aronofsky. (2012) It’s filming now.
- A full-length novel (it’s different from the serial). This is what I read. It’s longer and more fleshed out. I found it an enjoyable read. Definitely has a made-to-movie quality about it, and the nemesis was forced, but overall it was a quick, fun read that brought up key issues with human augmentation.
- A community filled with “ideas, predictions, and explanations” from fans.
Cool model. Anyway, I read his completed book. From what I understand, it’s longer and more fleshed out.
Machine Man (Vintage Contemporaries Original)
Overall, I found it an enjoyable read. The plot definitely has a made-to-movie quality about it – particularly the forced nemesis – but it doesn’t get bothersome. I enjoyed the protagonist’s development:
I didn’t feel inferior so much as incompatible. Carl existed on a plane where success was measured by physical feats. He had a brain because his body needed it, rather than the opposite. I didn’t understand such people, I didn’t know what they wanted, or might do.
As well as the cybernetic technology and the philosophy around it:
Biology was not ideal. When you thought about it, biological legs couldn’t do anything except convey a small mass from A to B, so long as A and B were not particularly far apart and you were in no hurry.
My body really needed to realize that I didn’t take orders from internal organs. I was a consciousness serviced and supported b a biological host, not the other way around. These self interested lumps of meat and synapses, they had better get with the program, because if it came down to them or me, it was going to be me.
Nothing groundbreaking, but a good way to kill a few hours… or wait for the movie.
Review: Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?
Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?
Johan Harstad’s writing (translated from the Norwegian) is intimate, beautiful, almost a form of poetry, and it demands that you sit back and let it wash over you, slowly. But that will only get you so far – it is a long book. I struggled through as much as I could, but the characters and plot never arrived in a way that motivated me to plod any further.
The prose is delightfully unique and worth examining in-depth, but this is one of those books I’ll revisit when I have the extra time to give it the rigor it deserves. (Which, judging by that growing pile, may not be for another lifetime or two.)
Review: Tina Fey’s Bossypants
Listened to the audiobook. It’s written, directed, and performed by her – supposed to be much livelier than the written version. Found it to be pretty hilarious. Good listening while working out or when you’re too drained to learn anything. Actually laughed out loud a few times.