Books & Reading at Ed Cottrell.com

Miscellaneous

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid	Honestly, I don't remember too much about this one. I read it many, many years ago. The basic focus was the author's examination of human creativity, as exhibited by the math of Gödel, the art of Escher, and the music of Bach, and the implications thereof for the understanding of computers and artificial intelligence. It's a mathematically oriented book, but not terribly demanding; great for the thinking reader.
The Informant	The Informant is the story of the price-fixing investigation - and all of the other investigating that arose from it - at the Archer Daniels Midland Company, in Decatur, IL. ADM is a supplier of additives to food, animal feed, and more, and is one of the biggest companies you've probably never heard of. The investigation, aided by a cooperating witness, takes utterly unbelievable turns; if this hadn't really happened, it would not be believable. Kurt Eichenwald, a reporter for the New York Times, tells the story in a way that reads a lot like a John Grisham novel. All in all, a great read.
Mexifornia: A State of Becoming	In Mexifornia: A State of Becoming, Victor Davis Hanson, a classics professor at California State University at Fresno, examines and exposes what is happening in California and the entire United States, as unchecked and illegal immigration overwhelms social services and the very social fabric. Where assimilation of immigrants was once the norm, our culture now advocates identity politics above the "melting pot" of old and self-identification above such old, non-specific labels as "American." [Click to Read the Full Review]
Silent Witness: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo's Death	Mark Fuhrman, retired LAPD detective, knew something was wrong in the Terri Schiavo case. After Terri's death in 2005, Fuhrman launched a thorough investigation, not of her death, but of the events surrounding her 1990 collapse and the ensuing legal battles. Silent Witness: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo's Death is the story of his investigation. Honestly, this is a hard book to read. It is well-written, but its subject matter is depressing. Still, whatever you think of the Schiavo case, and whether or not you agree with Fuhrman's reasoning, this story needed to be told. Above all, Terri's is a story of miscarried justice, in 1990 and during the rest of her life. The questions raised by Fuhrman's investigation should motivate all of us to put politics aside and fix the societal flaws that led to Terri's death and the politicizing of what was really a human tragedy and, possibly, a criminal act.