Appearance
The African Queen
I find it impossible to discuss this book without referring to the 1951 movie. The first 80 percent of the movie and the book are mostly similar. The endings are quite different. I slightly prefer the movie's improbable ending, although the endings of both have serious flaws.Reading the first 80 percent of the book is a joy after having seen the movie. If you are like me, you will see and hear the movie in your mind as you read the book.In the first 80 percent of the book, you will find more in the book than in the movie. C.S. Forester is able to tackle interesting themes in the book that were too delicate for Hollywood. Also, he employs an amazing mastery of the technical details in describing the African Queen's voyage down the Ulanga and Bora rivers into Lake Victoria. You will almost feel like you are reading science fiction from the time of H.G. Wells, as Allnut and Rose keep making something out of nothing.To me, the best part of the book is that the contrasts between the "civilized" conventions and the "natural" instincts are drawn in extreme and fine detail. It will make you re-examine how you think about what is the right thing to do in your own life, which is what good literature should do.To me, the weakness of the book is that the attitudes that The African Queen challenges are very far removed from our experience today. What was very scathing then now seems quaint. Somehow, the outrage behind the story is diffused into a dreamy period piece. Are there many women now of 33 who are so completely dominated by their brothers that they do not lead their own lives? Would many people today be inflamed by love of country to want to strike a personally fatal blow against the oppressor against all odds? Does the arrogance of colonialism seem believable, or just a silly notion to caricature?Ultimately, Rose's instant rise from docile creature to Wonder Woman does seem to strain credibility. It's inspiring fun, though, like any book about brave heroines who are undaunted by the odds and convention.After you read this book, think about where your assumptions about what you should be doing have not been re-examined by you in a while. What are you doing because someone else tells you it is a good idea? What should you be doing because you think it is a good idea?Take the initiative to do the right thing with full speed ahead!
The African Queen
"The African Queen" is a very decent classic which I enjoyed very much. Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnut are very developed, hilarious characters who give you an understanding of classes, religion, technology and love. The boat-handling information is very thorough. This classic is for almost any reader; I was very satasfied.
The African Queen
I stumbled into "African Queen" from "Shantaram", the self indulgent mess of a book that purports to be an adventure based on the real life exploits of its author. I felt like Charlie and Rose, having escaped the lilies or the mangroves... Here is an author who knows when description is called for and when action must take the lead; when relationships must be built, and when the setting needs a nod. And Forrester does it so well. What a delight."The African Queen" is a road trip, where a cockney steam engineer and a British missionary's sister take a boat down a fictitious river, over countless literary waterfalls and onto a make believe lake with a gunboat that never existed; along the way, necessity insists that they discover themselves, and each other, and, being that it was written in 1935, there's not a lot of hullabaloo about it, they just look up, rather Monty Python-like and go "Oh, okay" and get on with it. And there you are, reading it all, and lapping it up. Unlike the movie, there is nudity, and sex. Unlike "Shantaram" both are very nearly erotic. Although I couldn't get Bogart and Hepburn out of my mind so I was somewhat impaired...Sadly, by the last two chapters, the author has developed cold feet. It seems he feels wicked for leading us on this ridiculous tale and he attempts to make up for it by creating new characters and events that will make everything right, at least very realistic, albeit off the mark of the original plot. Forrester is so convinced that his story won't hold up, he wrote a new forward to the 1940 edition (which I read) saying how the editors removed the last two chapters, for the first printing, and celebrating how he put them back.Forrester was SO wrong.Fortunately, there is the movie. Where Forrester got cold feet, John Huston knew a story when he heard one, and the movie fixes the ending, although the book's version is still very nice."African Queen" is a very good story, very well written. For an English author of the period, it's also very concise and efficient, yet still melodic in its use of the English language. I enjoyed reading the book as the written word as much as I enjoyed the story.
The African Queen
Being a fan of Forester I thought I had read the African Queen a long time ago, turns out I had not. I did see the movie a couple of times so I could compare the book and film. Unlike many of todays movies it followed the book very closely until you get to the end. I like Forestor's version much better than the movie. I really enjoyed the book as I have everything else I have read of Forester.
Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation
If I could give this book six stars I would. It's simply one of the best statistics books I've ever read.This book is very well-written by one of the experts in the field. It covers logit models and the various generalizations (GEV, mixed logit, probit, etc.) in detail, along with a thorough discussion of modern estimation of these models. What I find most useful about it is that the words-to-equations density is highly favorable. The equations you need are there, but the words you need are there too, making sure you understand the model assumptions inside and out. Each equation is explained thoroughly and the surrounding discussion probes the model to bring the reader to a critical understanding of what exactly is implied by the model. Too often complex statistical models are treated in a "black box" fashion. The dirty little secret is that it's easier for the author to do this. Train doesn't take the easy way out. The fact that his web site has truly excellent support--including a large number of webinars in addition to the more usual papers, software, etc.--makes this book a doubly valuable item. See http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~train/distant.html for even more.
Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation
-Enjoyable read-Does not assume PhD level of econometrics-Explanations are clear and conciseActually, an advanced undergrad may find this book usefull as well.Is this the best discrete choice methods book ever published?Let y = 1 or 0 where 1 = yes, this is the best and 0 = No, the book is not the best. Also let P = Prob (y=1). My results show P = 0.98 (see forthcoming Econometrica article).While finishing a Master's Thesis in applied econ which focuses on a multinomial logit model, I have sought good info on this topic. Not having gone through the rigors of a PhD program, I have gone through many of the important books and articles which address discrete choice modeling methods some of which address a post-doc audience only. Dr. Train's is by far the best I have encountered. His explanations are concise yet not too dense (see Amemiya). I first encountered many of the concepts in other publications but did understand them until reading Train's book. In my opinion Train has that rare quality of being, not only an exceptional economist, but quite enjoyable to read.