Collapses

Last night I finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. I heard about this book from several friends who highly recommended it. The praise was so high that I actually purchased the hardcover at Costco. The writing IS beautiful. Don't let the phrase "Hamlet with dogs" put you off - the story is engaging, even if you figure out the ending ahead of time.

I finished this book while sitting at Harvey Mudd last night waiting to hear Jared Diamond speak. Hal knew that it would be an overflowing room, so we went a half hour early with our books.

Hal has read several of Diamond's books - Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, so he made sure we got to this talk. Diamond spoke about various socities that have collapsed and the five reasons they do, including enemies, climate changes, but most importantly, the mismanagement of natural resources.