It's a unique book as it accounts for the testimony of someone with insights few have due to his experience in both the CIA and NSA. Unique most of all for the courage Ed shown stepping up and telling us all how everything is far worse than we thought. Ed managed to release his memoirs as an accessible book on a very challenging subjects.
Reviews and Comments
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José Pedro Dias rated Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: 4 stars
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier
Examines the development process of such marquee video games as Uncharted 4, Halo Wars, and Destiny, describing the challenges and …
José Pedro Dias reviewed Permanent record by Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass …
Review of 'Permanent record' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
José Pedro Dias reviewed The incomplete book of running by Peter Sagal
Review of 'The incomplete book of running' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
generous take on running. filled with episodes from his life. not a self help or exercise book. very well narrated by the author (the audiobook). enjoyed it very much.
Review of "Summary of Chaos : Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom o'Neill" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
non-linear narration of a lifetime of investigations from the author
The author spent many years investigating, interviewing and trying to shed light on countless contradictions, lies and omissions on the process regarding Charles Mansons and the killings conducted by the family. The was a passionate, dangerous and frustrating work, many times obstructed by denials to obtain the information or even obstruct it. The author avoided building a linear narrative providing an alternate version of facts - that would make this a more easily digestible work but would simplify heavily on the findings, which most times were not irrefutable. He decided on presenting us with his journey. This makes it harder to grasp but allows us to learn many avenues he pursurd instead.
The historical facts and personalities involved and the account of this period of time are valuable. I wanted to learn about them and I did, even though carrying …
non-linear narration of a lifetime of investigations from the author
The author spent many years investigating, interviewing and trying to shed light on countless contradictions, lies and omissions on the process regarding Charles Mansons and the killings conducted by the family. The was a passionate, dangerous and frustrating work, many times obstructed by denials to obtain the information or even obstruct it. The author avoided building a linear narrative providing an alternate version of facts - that would make this a more easily digestible work but would simplify heavily on the findings, which most times were not irrefutable. He decided on presenting us with his journey. This makes it harder to grasp but allows us to learn many avenues he pursurd instead.
The historical facts and personalities involved and the account of this period of time are valuable. I wanted to learn about them and I did, even though carrying many of the author's doubts with me.
Review of 'A Verdade Sobre o Caso Harry Quebert' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Liked how the author made us see things through the eyes of Marcus. The story itself is very sad. A little too many twists, even if well crafted.
José Pedro Dias rated Fahrenheit 451: 5 stars
José Pedro Dias reviewed Console Wars by Blake J. Harris
From the Forward...
Nintendo was king of home videogame entertainment systems, then Sega came in …
Review of 'Console Wars' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It's very focused on Sega and Tom Kalinske I really like this era in gaming history so I didn't mind. A couple of times confusing due to non linear development. Very well narrated.
José Pedro Dias reviewed 1984 - George Orwell by George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel, often referred to as 1984, is a dystopian social science fiction …
Review of '1984 - George Orwell' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
seminal work. perturbing. resonates with today
I've been hearing about this book since forever. It's much more than a book - it's a study on mass manipulation, emotion detachment, lack of free will. A universe inside itself - the author devises the creation, build up and full replacement of the current language and visit a supposed manual of it.
As a story it runs at different paces throughout the book. Very well described, timeless and frightening in it's echoes in today's social and cultural progress.
Not giving 5 to the story as it's so intricate and moving, but also the changes of pace leaves the reader somehow ungrounded and sad. Very well put.
José Pedro Dias reviewed Der Marsianer by Andy Weir
Der Astronaut Mark Watney war auf dem besten Weg, eine lebende Legende zu werden, schließlich …
Review of 'Der Marsianer' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
liked the story. found it could me a less heavy on engineering and twists but found it cohesive still. the attitude he reveals throughout the whole thing is just incredible.
José Pedro Dias rated Jacked: 4 stars
Jacked by David Kushner
"The book explains how British prep school brothers Sam and Dan Houser took their dream of fame, fortune, and the …
José Pedro Dias rated Ender's Game Alive: 5 stars
Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American …
Review of 'Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Giving it a 5 for the experience.
At the beginning I felt dazed with the enormous amount of 80s references. Most movie, book and music references are interesting but sometimes it feels like the author is either trying too hard to please everyone or lean too much on the references themselves instead of describing things per se.
Once I got the character, where he lives and inhabits (different things) I got hooked.
I loved the RPG, VR and arcade mix. The love and friendship part worked for me too.
I can identify several parts with different vibes and rhythms. I feel like I know some of the universe, like I dreamed this before. A mix of Second Life with the Lawnmower Man, Matrix, Minority Report, Terminator 2...
José Pedro Dias rated Contact: 5 stars
Contact by Carl Sagan
In December, 1999, a multinational team journeys out to the stars, to the most awesome encounter in human history. Who …
"The computer world is like an intellectual Wild West, in which you can shoot anyone …
Review of 'Hackers & painters' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A must read for anyone in the IT business.