Re-posting from Goodreads - First Reads

This is my first review on Goodreads. I was very lucky to win a copy of “iWoz” as part of the First Reads giveaways. I may not have read this otherwise, but I really enjoyed it and am glad I won! Perhaps my biggest impression, what I remember most, is that I learned a lot about electrical engineering and how computers are put together and function. Wozniak presents a very logical layout of the development of electronics, and how he met technological needs – often in an overnight marathon (though after writing out or printing on paper beforehand, until it was all memorized). He had the vision to anticipate what people would want to use in the future. His sense of humor is always present, though some of his pranks did not seem to be such good ideas. The dial-a-joke and other phone-related hacks were amusing, though these are probably not going to be around much longer. He is an example of what one might do when they have more money than they know what to do with, like creating a music festival from scratch, but also giving to other philanthropic causes.
The Apple I and especially the Apple II computers seemed to be his biggest accomplishment, and he explains why these were a success, while other products (like the Apple III) were not. He also tells what it was like to work for different companies (such as HP), and to start one (for making a universal remote control). His experience with anterograde amnesia was interesting, as a biological rather than technological problem. I thought he made it clear that he is very honest, yet still with human flaws, like not being able to keep a marriage together. He seems like a very good person in any case, and has used his knowledge and production for good. Now, too, the record may be set straight on a few legends surrounding Apple and the Home Brew Computer Group. This was an easy-to-follow book (at one point the reader is reminded this is a “family” book), and it is well-paced, probably thanks in large part to Gina Smith. It is always interesting to hear people tell their stories, and this gives a solid background on the foundations of much of the technology we use today.

Latin for Bird Lovers

Now that I want to learn all of my local birds not only by their common names but also their Genus species, I have been a little frustrated that the bird books and field guides from my youth don’t match up - and I'm not that old! Thus I have to turn to up-to-date sources, this being one.

The Death and Life of Monterey Bay

This is an excellent book, a remarkable story about a remarkable place. The Monterey Bay, before the Europeans moved in, was incredibly rich in natural resources. One by one these were exploited, but through innovative and dedicated citizens, it has made an exemplary turnaround.

Thinking like a Mountain

This is my first review here, let’s see how I do! Now that I am reviewing, I wonder how many other people are writing the same (or similar) things as I am. Before starting this brief text, one probably wonders: what does a mountain think like? This could be an example of why books have subtitles; this one’s is “an ecological perspective on earth” as you can read in the picture I copied above. The idea is that mountains are around much longer than humans (on an individual basis), and thus witness environmental change on a far greater scale. It’s up to humans to appreciate this, and conservation biology is one way of addressing related issues.