A strangely uplifting story of a man who knowingly gave his life in the service of his country. He knew that to fight the banal kleptocratic thug PutiA strangely uplifting story of a man who knowingly gave his life in the service of his country. He knew that to fight the banal kleptocratic thug Putin he would have to put aside any fear and fight for what was right. In an increasingly surreal dystopian Kafkaesque Russia Navalny refused to be cowed, frightened or bribed away. The petty, almost comic, punishments that the corrupt and violent Russian government thought up became more and more harsh, which served only to show how much they feared this man. Almost in a Zen trance Navalny survived the harsh prison existence making a fool of the very man who drained Russia of its wealth and dignity. Ultimately, Putin made doubly sure that this time he killed his tormentor, making the mistake all tin pot tyrants make. You can kill the man, but not the thirst for justice that made him who he was. Navalny will live on in history next to the likes of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Ghandi who all ultimately changed the world for the better, as he will....more
The story was nuanced and based on excellent research. The character development was lush and the writing was inspired, at times poetic. I enjoyed thiThe story was nuanced and based on excellent research. The character development was lush and the writing was inspired, at times poetic. I enjoyed this very much and was educated about a time and place I knew little about. This story, based on true events, touched on so much of the American experience; racism, coming of age, native American heritage, water rights, the damage done to young men by combat and rapacious Capitalism....more
The author, an historian, looks at the arc of humanity through the lens of information. As technology advanced large disruptions would occur in the waThe author, an historian, looks at the arc of humanity through the lens of information. As technology advanced large disruptions would occur in the way humans lived. We must be cautious that things we look upon as beneficial, such as the invention of the printing press, were not necessarily a good thing when the initial disruption appeared. In the case of the printing press, the first best seller was a book that convinced people to hunt down and kill witches in an appalling world-wide bloody purge.
This book is really about the latest disruptive information technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI). We are cautioned that the disruption caused by AI is unlike any before it because of AI's special characteristics, such as the ability to convince people to behave a certain way. In order to prevent a potential handover of information management and bureaucracy to "alien" intelligence i.e. AI we need "self correcting" mechanisms in AI lest we wake up one day and find that humans have naively handed control to hyper efficient super smart AI's that are cooperating for their own ineffable goals....more