<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: wonderful books
Review: i don't own this boxed set, but i have read each of the books in it and they are very good. if you haven't read them yet, don't hesitate
Rating: 
Summary: So What's *IN* it???
Review: I was a bit miffed that Amazon does not bother to indicate *which* books of the Ender's series are included in this set. So I looked up the ISBN. This collection is also known as "Ender's Saga" and contains the novels "Ender's Game," "Ender's Shadow," and "Shadow of the Hegemon." If you do not already have these titles, this is a great way to get into a fabulous science fiction series for any age. However, if you have already read "Ender's Game" (the first of the series) there are other set available to round out your collection. Also not that this box set plus the "Beyond Ender's Game" set will give you 6 of the 7 novels with no duplicates (all except "Shadow Puppets", the latest one).
Rating:
Summary: So What's *IN* it???
Review: I was a bit miffed that Amazon does not bother to indicate *which* books of the Ender's series are included in this set. So I looked up the ISBN. This collection is also known as "Ender's Saga" and contains the novels "Ender's Game," "Ender's Shadow," and "Shadow of the Hegemon." If you do not already have these titles, this is a great way to get into a fabulous science fiction series for any age. However, if you have already read "Ender's Game" (the first of the series) there are other set available to round out your collection. Also not that this box set plus the "Beyond Ender's Game" set will give you 6 of the 7 novels with no duplicates (all except "Shadow Puppets", the latest one).
Rating:
Summary: What's in it
Review: If you wanted to know what was in this collection, all you had to do was click on the cover image and read it. If you wanted to be really helpful, you could have submitted a title correction with the missing information.I've done so, and now the collection's title tells you what it contains. Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: What's in it
Review: If you wanted to know what was in this collection, all you had to do was click on the cover image and read it. If you wanted to be _really_ helpful, you could have submitted a title correction with the missing information. I've done so, and now the collection's title tells you what it contains. Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Provocative in a Mechanical Way
Review: This book is hyped in U.S. Army training circles as well as within certain staff elements of the U.S. Special Operations Command, so I finally picked it up.
Bottom line: it glorifies training, the role of the commander, and the ability to think in multiple dimensions. It does not, however, communicate any substance except that (and this is huge) at the very end of the book, after "our" civilization has destroyed all but one egg from the "enemy" civilization, the author makes it clear that the war was all a misunderstanding--that the "buggers" did not hate us nor mean us harm, we just got into an endless cycle of violence.
Personally I find the focus on commanders somewhat offensive and self-serving--this is a criticism of the Army and those who love this book, not the book itself. While it is true that two different commanders can achieve completely different outcomes with the same force of disparate individuals, it is also true that superb forces can make up for mediocre commanders, of whom we have way too many.
I also found it interesting to learn in passing that this book was inspired by the Asimov Foundation series, and that Asimov in turn was inspired by the actual history of the Roman Empire. What's the point: it might be better, as we face the current 100-year six-front war between Islam and the United States of America, if we focused on the reality of history instead of science fiction. More specifically, before any U.S. commander wastes their time with this book, I recommend they read instead the other three books I am reviewing today: Imperial Hubris by Anonymous; Good Muslim Bad Muslim by Mahmood Mandana, and Osama's Revenge by Paul Williams, the latter charting what is known about Bin Laden's possession of suitcase nuclear bombs, at least two of which are already believed to be in the U.S.
This is a fine airplane book, but I surely hope that neither the U.S. Army nor the U.S. Special Operations Command is going to stay at this low level of intellectual endeavor.
<< 1 >>
| 
