Surprising, thorough, and engaging. Powell does exhaustive work putting together everything about NC from dinosaurs to modern history. and his style oSurprising, thorough, and engaging. Powell does exhaustive work putting together everything about NC from dinosaurs to modern history. and his style of story telling through history makes even the most boring sounding topics like the furniture industry interesting to follow. I never thought I'd care so much about one state's history but not only did he make me care, I actively got to see meaningful strands of the nation's history resound through a largely backwoods area of the east coast....more
I heard about this book a decade ago and knew that I wanted to read it. Mostly because it was so heavily influenced by Papua New Guinea, which is wherI heard about this book a decade ago and knew that I wanted to read it. Mostly because it was so heavily influenced by Papua New Guinea, which is where I call home. But I have an acute aversion to brick-sized-books and this one is a pretty fat brick.
Still, I love history, anthropology, and learning stuff, and this book is all that.
Now, full disclosure, I am no historian, anthropologist, or scientist of any kind, so I cannot vet his facts or information. What I can say is that he did a wonderful job at explaining highly complex topics to the layperson like me. He drew me in with exciting, vexing, and brutal stories that made me feel the consequences of this historic power imbalance. His information was very well organized and his argument, well built. He illustrated his points with fascinating examples.
As heavy as this book was to read (in terms of content, but also just the size of it), I read through it easily and thoroughly enjoyed the read. It was not dry or too heavy-laden with technical terms. It was the kind of read that makes you feel like your brain just got a good meal.
Very insightful to a world I know nothing about. But also, very negatively biased. Still, I believe it has a lot of merit to it. This woman has certaiVery insightful to a world I know nothing about. But also, very negatively biased. Still, I believe it has a lot of merit to it. This woman has certainly had a lifetime of experience. ...more
Ishmael knows how to tell a piercing story. This book was incredibly painful to read, but powerful and telling. Even more, it's relevant to today's woIshmael knows how to tell a piercing story. This book was incredibly painful to read, but powerful and telling. Even more, it's relevant to today's world. Everything that this book talks about still goes on in Africa today. This book helps heighten awareness and can be a fantastic educational tool....more
Loading...
