Ryan Cooper

I just want to leave a brief note about a book series I just finished, Charlie Stross's "Laundry Files." As per my usual habit of late, I listened to them rather than reading. Good stuff ! They're nerd thrillers with a Lovecraftian horror gloss, very funny, very entertaining, well-performed, and passably written. It was interesting, actually, to see how Stross's writing improved over the series; the first one was towards the beginning of his career while the latest was only released last year. (Though there were still a few too many "The penny drops" for my taste.) It's a four-book series, so far—there's a kind of looming doom thing going over the later books that hasn't come close to happening by the end of the fourth book, The Apocalypse Codex . Word is that he's planning on a 9-book series with the Big Event (called Case Nightmare Green in the books) towards the late middle. Anyway, nothing much to say about these in particula...

This was a couple weeks ago, so much that I'm already almost through my next audiobook (Anthony Beevor's Second World War ), but I do want to note that Middlemarch  was a doozy. So, so good. I'm certain that I can't have had any thoughts that haven't been already been had better and sharper, so I won't bother with more than a few disconnected points. 1) As I just said, it was stupendously good. The only thing I can think to compare it to is War and Peace . Slightly less epic scale, but balanced by more penetrating psychological insight, more fully realized characters, better plotting, and less goofy historical theorizing. This is a work of extreme skill and brilliance. 2) That said, there were slightly too many coincidences driving the plot for my taste. The very last one, where one character walks in on two others having a conversation and comes away with what seemed like an unjustified idea of what was happening, grated quite a bit. (I suspect this is just...

A mass unemployment crisis stretching across most of the developed world, reaching Great Depression levels of misery in Greece and Spain, would likely be thought strange by an economist visitor from 2004. After all, all the top central bankers of the world were back then attending self-congratulatory conferences about the “Great Moderation,” dedicated to explaining how they had this economy stuff licked. And while that is easy to mock in hindsight, it wasn’t an insane belief! After all, after the Great Depression economists developed a widely-accepted theoretical framework for depressions; everyone from Milton Friedman to Paul Krugman agreed that while they might have many disagreements on things like taxation or trade policy, depressions at least were a solved problem. For especially in modern service-based economies, money goes in circles: my spending is your income, and vice versa. To drastically oversimplify, if we think of a depression as a situation where people develop a self...

This is going to sound strange, but I've been reading some damned fine Harry Potter fan fiction recently. It's a work in progress called Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality . I picked it up on the recommendation of the recently-deceased hacker genius Aaron Swartz, who had this to say : This is a book whose title still makes me laugh and yet it may just turn out to be one of the greatest books ever written. The writing is shockingly good, the plotting is some of the best in all of literature, and the stories are simply pure genius. I fear this book may never get the accolades it deserves, because it’s too hard to look past the silly name and publishing model, but I hope you, dear reader, are wiser than that! A must-read. As it says at the beginning, you really need to give it a couple chapters to get started before passing judgment — the first bunch are quite silly and it doesn’t seem worth sticking with until you’ve gotten past them. It's really funny and reall...

I missed the original Half-Life when it came out way back in 1998, but I did play through it some years later. Black Mesa is a total conversion of Half-Life 2 back into the original—basically a remake of the original Half-Life with updated graphics and art. It's good. Very well done. It's loyal to the original material, though not afraid to streamline here and there. The Source engine is now, what, eight years old? but it still looks amazingly good. I remember the original game dragged a bit in the middle, with so many endless tunnels and catwalks, and this one feels like it plays a bit more smoothly. The custom soundtrack is a bit loud sometimes, but sounds very professional and mostly appropriate. There is a small disappointment in that the final level is not available yet, but they say it's coming soon. Overall, it's extremely impressive. Most interestingly, this is a totally volunteer production that is available for free (see above link), so long as you have...

[ For a primer, check out Kevin Drum's critique  here and Mooney's response here . ] This is the latest from Chris Mooney, the man that brought us the book The Republican War on Science , which was quite good. This time he's trying to figure out why not just science denial but straight-up reality denial (e.g., birtherism) has taken such a firm hold on the right. I don't think this one is quite as good as TRWOS , but it's an admirable effort. The plain fact is that denialism is not just common on the right but mandatory . Look at what happened to Jon Huntsman. Mitt Romney has given in to it on climate. These are facts that cry out for an explanation, and Mooney offers a pretty convincing one on the merits. The argument is all heavily hedged, which is entirely appropriate given the infant state of the field, but basically it says that because conservatives are more closed, fixed, and certain in their views, they are more prone to the universal human traits of...

I read this one on the advice of Tyler Cowen, and quite liked it. As Cowen says , it's an excellent introduction to New Zealand history, and worth reading for that alone. Kiwi history is actually really interesting, and the parallels were quite surprising at times. Here are the main things that jumped out at me: 1) Ideas matter. The way in which colonists of each country treated their native populations is instructive. In America, the Indians were treated with unconscionable viciousness and cruelty, up to and including genocide. In New Zealand, while relations between colonists and the Maori were strained, and at times deeply unfair and bloody, they were far, far more decent than here. Fischer explains this, convincingly, as the progress of Enlightenment ideals. New Zealand was founded about 200 years after America, and it made a huge difference. 2) The book could have used some more quantitative economic explanation. The US has a much higher GDP per capita, but also vastly...

I've just finished Why Nations Fail , and before I get into the argument, I'd like to sound a note (imagine a low D on a baritone sax) in favor of their deliciously cynical view of human leadership. It's not far from this (NSFW): Acemoglu and Robinson (A&R) would disagree that Carlin's description applies to America, but it's a remarkably apt summary of their view of failed states. (Really!) Even for successful countries, they don't credit individual morality at all , at least on the elite level. In their scheme, every leader of every country can be treated as interchangeable greedy assholes wholly concerned with their own interests. Or as Carlin might say, elites are interested in "their own power, keeping it, and expanding it wherever possible." Anyway, the book is about institutions . The book says there are basically two kinds in countries: extractive, and inclusive. Extractive ones are as you might expect, where the elite pins everyone d...

Pardon me, I'm just recovering from pounding every review  on this section of Red Letter Media, and trying to figure out just why they were so compelling. (I'd recommend watching at least the Phantom Menace  review, just to get a taste. Trust me, it's worth it.) They're the first reviews I've ever seen that are in some cases almost as long as the films themselves—but they're so enjoyable I watched the ones even for movies I hadn't even seen before. Anyway, here's my bullet-point list: 1. They're really funny. That's the most obvious good part. The timing, delivery, and visuals are really good, and show some obvious hard work. The dude's wheedling drone was also great. I'm hearing it in my head now reading other people. The joke about how Lucas changed the title of Return of the Jedi  (in the Sith  review) had me cackling hours later. (The rape jokes, on the other hand, for me went too far in places.) 2. They go through the plot with a...

Finally got around to finishing this title. It came out when I was in South Africa, and I wanted it so bad I could taste it. This is one of the rare times when the game actually lived up to that level of expectation. It's been out for awhile, and everyone has dissected it much better than I could have anyways, but I'd just like to challenge the haters  who don't believe that video games can possibly be art to give this one a shot. Just stupendously good, and not in a video-gamey way.

One of the great things about working at the  Monthly , which I assume is also true of most other such publications, is that people randomly send you free books. Here's a review of a really bad one I did just for fun. Back in May, Alyssa Rosenberg wrote : As the details of the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden [come out], it was inevitable that somebody would observe (as many people did), that the operation was going to make a really fantastic action movie. Such a movie would be really hard to get right: it could easily be a cheap action picture, when this coda to the brokenness of our last ten years deserves a profound piece of art. It was thus with some trepidation that I picked up Kill bin Laden , by John Weisman. Not knowing anything about the author, I had no idea what to expect. Would this be the profound piece of art the last miserable decade deserves? That would be an emphatic no . If, as Roger Ebert says , Nicholas Sparks writes "soft porn for teenage girl...

Tyler Cowen turned me on to this ebook by the blogger Tim Kane, called The Guarden , apparently " a bedtime story that got out of hand ."  Since it was only $3, I picked it up and blasted through it in a couple hours.  It's a gripping and surprisingly deep look at the future in a adolescent novel wrapper.  Once you get your teeth in (for me, about paragraph six), it's a fun read.  (Don't worry, it's nothing like Twilight , as proved by the fact that I got to the end.  I literally couldn't read three pages of Twilight without tasting bile . )  Check out here for a free 3-chapter sample . I'm a big fan of books like this: a definite pop feel, with a hard-charging story, some reasonable characterization, but really cool ideas lurking underneath everything.  Not so philosophical that it gets weighty or pretentious, though.  If you've got an e-reader, I recommend it highly.

Up today: Freedom , by Jonathan Franzen. Summary: this insightful and well-constructed work ultimately did not live up to the hype. Freedom is the story of one family, the Berglands, a typical four-member unit, and their musician friend.  Their lives are drawn in exquisite detail; the richness that Franzen manages to create (reflecting what must have been a massive amount of work) is the best part of the book.  I won't go into much detail about the plot.  Like a lot of modern novels, the plot is almost beside the point; backstory makes up about half the book. The defining feature of the Berglands is that they are mostly miserable failures.  The book is saturated with awkwardness, anxiety, and resentment; with competition, hatred, envy, and dishonesty; and most of all with sheer bloody-minded foolishness.  This litany of failures (which barely lets up throughout the book) are mostly of the small, pathetic variety.  Though there was some reconciliation t...

Up today: The Looming Towe r , by Lawrence Wright.  Summary: this gripping book is a look at the history and development of al-Qaeda leading up to 9/11.  Very highly recommended. The subject of this book is easy to discern, but amazingly unknown in the broader US population.  The writing is excellent, and Wright gives a deep and sympathetic account of al-Qaeda's underpinnings without losing his essentially American perspective.  Ever heard of Sayyid Qutb?  If not, read this book .  Nearly every page contained a revelation of some sort for me. Wright also goes into the infuriating story of the few intelligence officials who had some inkling of 9/11 and failed to prevent it, for mainly idiotic reasons.  I won't go into detail save that the CIA emerges as the main villain. Really, I can't recommend this book highly enough.  It should be required reading for every American.  Enough said.

Two solid metal albums have recently captured my ear better than any for a long time.  (They're both pretty heavy, so now's your chance to tune out if you don't like angry vocals.)  The first, by Underoath, is called Disambiguation .  They're allegedly a Christian band, but not obnoxiously so (as opposed to POD, for example).  The lyrics are mostly pretty standard angsty metal fare, and easy to tune out in any case.  Here's "Catch Myself Catching Myself:" The second (and better one) is Option Paralysis , by Dillinger Escape Plan.  A bit more melodic than their previous efforts, and a lot better lyrics than Disambiguation .  Here's "Gold Teeth on a Bum:" Good stuff. Perfect for when you get sick of acoustic indie rock. (You know I love you, The National , I just need to rock out sometimes.)

Summary: this trilogy, consisting of Quicksilver , The Confusion , and The System of the World , clocking in at nearly 3000 pages, is a great and entertaining look at the the birth of science and capitalism.  Highly recommended. Stephenson combines what must have been enough meticulous research for several history PhD theses with a mischievous disregard for perfect accuracy.  Stephenson has an eye for interesting historical anecdotes (like the origin of the word "realize"), and though that can be a bit distracting at times, it's never boring.  Real historical figures are press-ganged (to use a favorite phrase in the series) into service as characters of all sorts.  Leibniz, Newton, Peter the Great, Louis XIV, William of Orange, Hooke, Huygens, John Wilkins, Ben Franklin, and John Locke are just a sample.  Leibniz and Newton in particular play major roles and have close relationships with the fictional characters (which are ancestors of characters in Cryptonom...

Trying to use up my over-large data bundle for the month I've acquired a few albums that looked promising off Metacritic's best of 2010 list .  Here they are, in no particular order: 1) Swim , by Caribou.  Decent blend of indie electronic with some club flavor.  Recommended. 2) Tron Legacy Soundtrack , by Daft Punk.  If you liked the Inception soundtrack, you'll like this one.  Recommended. 3) Cosmogramma , by Flying Lotus.  Meh. 4) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , by Kanye West.  Sort of a weird one, almost avant-garde.  Recommended. 5) Spiral Shadow , by Kylesa.  The best of the bunch for my money.  Highly recommended if you like hard rock or metal. 6) High Violet , by The National.  Good for indie rock.  Mostly avoids the dullness and dragging that turns me off the genre.  Recommended.

I've been plowing through books on my kindle and on paper, so the backlog of ones I wanted to mention is getting insurmountable.  Here's some short takes on them anyway. 1) Mother Tongue , by Bill Bryson.  An amusing and surprising pop history of the world's most important language.  Highly recommended. 2) Losing Mum and Pup , by Christopher Buckley.  Poignant and surprisingly hilarious.  I miss WFB, the old scoundrel.  Highly recommended. 3) Blackwater , by Jeremy Scahill.  The subject is important and the research exhaustive, but the preening moralizing is irritating.  Mildly recommended. 4) The Years of Rice and Salt , by Kim Stanley Robinson.  Insanely ambitious yet rather whimsical, for Robinson anyway.  Fun for nerds.  Recommended. 5) Mother Night , by Kurt Vonnegut.  One of the last Vonneguts I hadn't read, and among his best.  Highly recommended. 6) Free Culture , by Lawrence Lessig.  If you think ...

This review will be short and sweet.  I like practically everything about this device.  It's light, it's fairly tough, it's intuitive, the battery lasts forever, it holds thousands of books, and most importantly it's very easy to read.  I've read three books on it so far and it's pretty much identical to paper.  I find computer screens a bit taxing after a couple hours, but the e-ink technology makes for excellent contrast and the lack of backlighting is very easy on the eyes.  The pdf support is a trifle rickety, but especially as you can switch the layout from portrait to landscape it's possible to get reasonable font size even on small scanned pdfs. Basically my only complaint—like most devices these days—is the annoying DRM gateways that they put up to try and lock you into the Amazon service.  It doesn't support EPUB, for example.  It's not that much of hassle even for the marginally computer literate like myself to convert your books to the p...

Summary: this work is by far the best thing I have read on the financial crisis.  Highly recommended. Up today: The Big Short , by Michael Lewis.  He takes a situation caused mainly by obscure and complex financial derivatives and makes it not just intelligible but fascinating .  He follows around most of the people that saw the crisis in the financial sector coming (as opposed to the housing bubble, which a somewhat larger number grasped but was more obvious).  His style is appropriate, down-to-earth and often sarcastic and cutting: "The Big Wall Street firms, seemingly so shrewd and self-interested, had somehow become the dumb money.  The people who ran them did not understand their own business, and their regulators obviously knew even less."  His subjects have similarly jaded outlooks.  One of them, a man named Steve Eisman: The second company for which Eisman was given sole responsibility was called Lomas Financial Corp. Lomas had just emerge...