Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Once again hogan blew me away, June 1, 1999
As Hogan is my favorite author, it's no surprise that Rockets, Redheads and Revolution was a pure delight. Even though it makes one think long and hard about one's opinions. It opens one's eyes on a variety of subjects; the Soviet Union and the Space Race, AIDS, the ozone layer, the theory of evolution and offers some thoughtful, but delightful "stories", as well. What can we do about bad, evil people? Read and see what you think of Hogan's "solution." If you think you know all, read and think again! Is it politics, or the media, or are we just not paying attention? If you want to challenge yourself, don't miss this one. And if you like this one, don't miss Minds, Machines and Evolution, a previous work in the same vein.
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You've GOT to read this book!, May 11, 1999
By A Customer
This book will challenge your assumptions. No, change that -- It will shake your belief system to its very core. This is not a book for the faint-hearted, or the mush-headed, because this book will actually expect you to THINK.And oh, by the way, Hogan will entertain you with some delightful stories for your efforts. Some will dismiss this book because they wrongly interpret one of Hogan's essays as pro-creationism, but it isn't. It is much more radical -in the good sense of meaning "getting to the root"- because it dares to ask science to look at the evidence and come up with a better explanation than the standard evolution theory. But he is not a creationist. He understands how science is supposed to work; he does not accept the supernatural or the irrational as a means to explain how the world works. The same is true for his essays on "ozone depletion" and on AIDS. He asks questions that others have been suppressed from asking. He takes some controversial points of view -- which some people don't even realize exist. He asks us to open our eyes, and look at the facts. I wonder how many of us will have the courage to look. As Hogan draws the analogy, how many of us will be like the bishops who refused to look through Galileo's telescope, and will deny the existence of those things that don't fit with our parochial view of the universe. It's not all science and politics, though. There's plenty of humor and warmth. His story "Madame Butterfly" is a wonderful exposition of the effect of "random acts of kindness". The tales of his struggles to restore a house in Ireland are bitter-sweet, like a cool pint of Guinness. So pull up a barstool. Take a sip. It'll sharpen your wits.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and thought-provoking., April 11, 1999
I have been a big fan of James Hogan ever since I first started reading "Inherit the Stars" more than 10 years ago. The only down side of that is that when I get a collection like this, it inevitably contains some material that I have already read. "Madam Butterfly" was excellent, I would say that it was worth getting this book for that story alone, although it is also available in other anthologies. Plus, there were three other stories, "Identity Crisis," "Last Ditch," and "Zap Thy Neighbor" that were new to me and quite enjoyable. "Leapfrog" and the novella "Out of Time" I had read before, but were worth a re-read. The non-fiction articles were in two categories: amusing auto-bographical sketches, and thought-provoking and sometimes controversial science articles. If you are a Hogan fan, as I am, you should definitely read this. If you are new to his work, this book could serve as an introduction. Either way, I heartily recommend it.
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by James P. Hogan
by James P. Hogan
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by James P. Hogan
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