Dave Nelson Posts

I bought this book on Audible.

This is the story of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the murderous Dr. Henry H. Holmes.

From the publisher’s summary:
“The White City (as it became known) was a magical creation constructed upon Chicago’s swampy Jackson Park by Daniel H. Burnham, the famed architect who coordinated the talents of Frederick Olmsted, Louis Sullivan, and others to build it. Dr. Henry H. Holmes combined the fair’s appeal with his own fatal charms to lure scores of women to their deaths. Whereas the fair marked the birth of a new epoch in American history, Holmes marked the emergence of a new American archetype, the serial killer, who thrived on the very forces then transforming the country.”

This story grabbed me and would not let me go. I took a lot of walks and sat in the car in the driveway a lot so that I could listen to it. Learning about the work that went into creating the White City, the personalities involved, and the problems that they faced along with the horrible crimes of a 19th century serial killer held my attention to the very end.

I rate this book a 9 out of 10 and a great non-fiction read.

I bought this book from Audible, it is narrated by the Author.

It turns out that there are differences between men and women, who knew. After listening this book the differences are much clearer and now I have some ideas how those differences can be approached in a positive way. I expect what I have learned to make a real difference in my relationships with both men and women.

My wife has told me that she read this book years ago, and now that I have also read it I really appreciate the things my wife does for me that may have been learned from the book. Her understanding that I need to spend time alone in my man cave to recharge has really made our relationship strong. Now I need to giver her more time to talk and express herself without being interrupted or given “solutions.”

I rate this book a 9 out of 10 and a must read.

Harold Davis’ new book on taking digital color photos and transforming them into creative black and white pictures is an inspiring read with a lot of examples and many ways to achieve your vision.

A focus of the book is to help you learn how to pre-visualize what the world of color that surrounds us in blank & white. To se the contrasts of light and shadow that are left when the color is removed from an image and I think the book does a good job of describing how to do that.

I really like the different ways that are covered in the book to transform your color images into blank & white, Photoshop, Lightroom, Silver Efex Pro, and Photomatix are all covered. Creating images with high-hey, low-key, split toning, HDR, hand coloring, and noise are all explored with examples and tips.

I found the HDR example especially interesting, using HDR methods to create a photo with a extraordinary range of shadows is really appealing to me and I plan on giving it a try soon.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in making amazing black & white photos.

I want to thank the author for the chance to review this book before its release.

I bought this book on Audible and it is narrated by Dick Fredricks.

I have not read a lot of self-help books, but hearing Dave Ramsey describe this book and on his recommendation I decided to give it a try. Let me tell you, it is an amazing book full of ideas.

I think the biggest thing I learned from the book is how my childhood experiences shaped the way I expect to be treated by others and how that affects my reactions and attitude. It really has given me a lot to think about and work on every day.

I look forward to litening to this book again and again. I give it a 10 out of 10 and recommend it to everyone!

I bought this book from Audible to listen to during a road trip to Florida for William and Lucky’s wedding.

I am a huge fan of Ender’s Game and all of the related books. Ender’s Shadow is probably my favorite of the books, but Ender’s Game should be read first.

This is a very special recording of the story with Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, Orson Scott Card and others. I really enjoyed the high quality of voice acting and production. The postscript by the author is fantastic and in it he expresses the opinion that this recording is the way the story should be experienced, that it is a preferable experience to reading a printed version of the book and I agree.

I rate this recording as a 9 out of 10, the only thing I could imagine being better would be hearing the book as a radio-play.

From the writer of “Bringing Down the House” comes the story of the founding of Facebook. I listened to the unabridged version of this book purchased on Audible.

Like “Bringing Down the House” this book is a very conversational accounting of historical events. I find it similar to Hunter S. Thompson’s style of gonzo journalism without the drugs or bombastic language. I like the writing style and believe it makes the story interesting and listenable.

I found it an interesting listen even though it doesn’t really contain any insights that could be used to create a successful web business, but I guess that ties into the title “The Accidental Billionaires.” I believe that Mark Zuckerberg’s personality is fundamental to the things I like most and like least about Facebook.

I now believe that Facebook’s initial success was mainly due to Mark’s ability to quickly build a web site that copied the best of what other social networking sites were already doing using a simpler interface. Other people have had similar ideas, but Mark was able to execute and get the idea into the hands of the public when others failed.

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook is a good read but I don’t consider it a business book, I’ll give it a 6 out of 10. If you haven’t read “Bringing Down the House” I highly recommend it as an 8 out of 10.