THE DOUBLE HELIX by James D. Watson

Narrated by Grover Gardner and Roger Clark

Refreshingly Candid Recollection of the Men in the White Lab Coats

An insider’s look into the cloistered realm of peer reviewed scientific establishment from one of the icons of the 20^th century. Every schoolboy knows of Watson and Crick; what I didn’t know is that there was a scientist out there willing to expose his shortcomings in the very field for which his prestige is derived. Watson reveals his weakness in organic chemistry, X-ray crystallography, and an inability to think is three dimensions, all disciplines critical to the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule, the discovery for which he is most famous. Watson is also not shy of depicting his fellows in all their personality quirks and professional blind spots, and, to be fair, even their times of intuitive brilliance. This account should completely dispel the idea that scientists are infallible.

Roger Clark narrates his own Afterward with a rich deep sonorous voice.

Grover Gardner delivers his usual perfect diction and impassive monotone delivery. If you love him this will be fantastic for you. He, for me, is always an obstacle to be overcome. I find that hearing his nasally voice in my head for several hours causes my soft palate to elevate as I subconsciously attempt to sub-vocalize his high-pitch intonations along with his voice in my ear. To be fair, he is always easy to understand and reads with great pacing. The problem is that Mr. Gardner never becomes “the voice in my head” that some listeners find so desirable.  I prefer a more dramatic performance. Many fiction narrators are prized for their dramatic talent. Some may say that drama may be good for fiction but not for non-fiction. I disagree, seeking over-the-top performances in all my audiobooks. A recent non-fiction example comes to mind: Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue by John McWhirter. 

OUR MAGNIFICIENT BASTARD TONGUE by John McWhorter

Narrated by John McWhorter

Liking This Book I Am Presently Doing

This is a delightful foray into linguistics that made the subject interesting even for a non-linguist like me. This made me consider things I was completely aware of. Knowing that languages construct sentences differently is not news; but knowing precisely what those difference are is revelatory. McWhorter attempts to trace many of the linguistic discrepancies between languages by examining the clues left behind. These clues are found in several places. Predictably, one source of evidence for tracing language usage is the written word, or as it is called in the field, “scripture.” Another is the spoken languages of various people groups whose word usage and grammatical sentence structure can be contrasted and compared to the record of historical migrations and conquests. Any military conquest in the ancient world apparently left behind not only a a trail of blood but also a trail of linguistic mingling that can be traced.. One unexpected source of information is that linguists try to reconstruct various “proto” languages from circumstantial evidence alone. Many dead languages have no written record, no scripture, but can be reconstructed, partially at least, by examining the cultures they were able to influence. I learned a lot from this book. It is an enjoyable introduction to the history of the English language.

His relaxed understanding of the manner in which grammar morphs over time gives me license to write in a style that seems right to me. Rules are made to be broken.

John McWhorter reads his own book. Surprisingly, he is able add inflection to his voice that makes the text seem to be coming out of his memory rather than from the page. His delivery is very enjoyable and often graduates from the merely precise and understandable to the engaging and even entertaining.  

THE FALL AND RISE OF CHINA lectures by Richard Baum

The Sleeping Giant Awakes and it is Restless

Professor Richard Baum delivers a series of 48 lectures on China. He captures the decline of the former dynasties and the rise of the social communist revolution. I suspect that his personal politics lean toward the left in American style politics. Although in these lectures you will learn that the terms “left” and “right,” in political terms, are very dependant on the context in which they are used. In a China where the entire political spectrum is socialist, the conservative right is hard-line communist: exactly the reverse of the American system. At first I found Professor Baum to be sympathetic to everything Chinese, but later realized that this is just because of this style of delivery. He is a self-styled Sinologist, a professional China Watcher. As a Political Scientist he is enthusiastic for everything that happens in China, both good and bad. To him it is a fascinating academic study of China as a phenomenon. Don’t let his perceived enthusiasm in the early lectures concerning the rise of communism lead you to believe that he is siding with Chairman Mao. Later he will be equally enthusiastic recounting Mao’s shortcomings. After listening to Professor Baum lecture on the subject of China for over 24 hours, I now consider his approach to be professionally unbiased in a Political Science framework.

This regional history recounts the fall of the old empire, the revolutionary rise of communism, the fall of communism, and the rise of the socialist market economy that has made China the world power it is today. The recent history China is in no way a simple study; it is less a bungee-cord fall and rise than it is the repeated dips and loops of a roller-coaster.

Against unsustainable economic growth, necessitated by appeasement of the masses now made aware of the potentials of freedom brought on by the infusion of Western technologies and ideas, China may well implode as it tries to gain world dominance by abusing the human rights of its people. As Professor Baum concludes his lessons, it is clear that China is still in a state of flux, barely juggling precarious economic stability, tense foreign policy, and the increasing unrest of its people. Ironically, the very thing that makes China a world economic player threatens to undermine the totalitarian power and influence the Chinese Communist Party has over its subjects. 

If you want more: try another lecture series: Peter Navarro in THE COMING CHINA WARS. Navarro goes into the serious implosion problems China faces based on the economies of scale.

Lecture Titles

1. The Splendor That Was China 600 to 1700
2. Malthus and Manchu Hubris 1730 to 1800
3. Barbarians at the Gate 1800 to  1860
4. Rural Misery and Rebellion 1840 to 1860
5. The Self-Strengthening Movement 1860 to 1890
6. Hundred Days of Reform and the Boxer Uprising
7. The End of Empire 1900 to 1911
8. The Failed Republic 1912 to 1919
9. The Birth of Chinese Communism 1917 to 1925
10. Jung, Mao and Civil War 1926 to 1934
11. The Republican Experiment 1927 to 1937
12. Resist Japan 1937 to 1945
13. Jung’s Last Stand 1945 to 1949
14. The Chinese People Have Stood Up
15. Korea, Taiwan and the Cold War 1950 to 1954
16. Socialist Transformation 1953 to 1957
17. Cracks in the Monolith 1957 to 1958
18. The Great Leap Forward 1958 to 1960
19. Demise of the Great Leap Forward 1959 to 1962
20. Never Forget Class Struggle 1962 to 1965
21. Long Live Chairman Mao 1964 to 1965
22. Mao’s Last Revolution Begins 1965 to 1966
23. The Children’s Crusade 1966 to 1967
24. The storm Subsides 1968 to 1969
25. The Sino-Soviet War of Words 1964 to 1969
26. Nixon, Kissinger and China 1969 to 1972
27. Mao’s Deterioration and Death 1971 to 1976
28. The Legacy of Mao Tse-tung, an Appraisal
29. The Post-Mao Interregnum 1976 to 1977
30. Hua Guofeng and the Four Modernizations
31. Deng Takes Command 1978 to 1979
32. The Historic Third Plenum 1978
33. The Normalization of US-China Relations
34. Deng Consolidates His Power 1979 to 1980
35. Socialist Democracy and the Rule of Law
36. Burying Mao 1981 to 1983
37. To Get Rich is Glorious 1982 to 1986
38. The Fault-Lines of Reform 1984 to 1987
39. The Road to Tiananmen 1987 to 1989
40. The Empire Strikes Back 1989
41. After the Deluge 1989 to 1992
42. The Roaring 90s 1992 to 1999
43. The Rise of Chinese Nationalism 1993 to 2001
44. China’s Lost Territories: Taiwan, Hong-Kong
45. China in the New Millennium 2000 to 2008
46. China’s Information Revolution
47. One World, One Dream. The 2008 Olympics
48. China’s Rise. The Sleeping Giant Stirs