Epinions Recent Reviews for darylcarpenter

Yet Another Oral History of the Titanic Disaster

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:03:08 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - The sinking of the Titanic is one of those events that's been so heavily covered in literature, that I've become weary of the endless rehashed accounts and repetitive oral histories that have been served up to the public in the decade since "the...

The Children's Crusade

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:56:46 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Books that were later adapted into movies are a sub-genre (bad pun already!) all their own. Especially interesting are books that were so eclipsed by the popularity of the film version, that almost no one today knows they even existed. Take for example...

On The Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer - Again

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 23:28:52 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction J. Robert Oppenheimer, best known as the scientific director of the Manhattan Project and the "father of the atomic bomb," is one of the most complex, enigmatic, brilliant, and controversial figures of the 20th Century...

The Funniest Movie Of 2007!

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 17:18:58 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - For more than two years, Peter Hyams's A Sound Of Thunder has diligently served as my definition of a "hilariously bad bad movie," a low-point on the cinematic bell curve that could never possibly go lower. But there's...

Insert Team America Song Reference Here

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:50:21 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy. On that day, the Japanese suddenly, and without provocation, launched a devastating surprise attack on a love triangle consisting of a nurse terrified of blood, an illiterate fighter jock, and...

One Giant Leap For Good Space Documentaries

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:12:35 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Space documentaries are usually few and far between. As a semi-hardened space buff, I'm liable to yell obscenities at the screen every time the narrator makes an easily-corrected flub, or if the wrong piece of footage is attributed to a certain event...

A Woman Needs A Man Like A Fish Needs A Bicycle

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:02:00 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Like a clanking, grinding industrial nightmare, fueled by the burning embers of The Joshua Tree, Zoo Station, the lead track from U2's massive 1991 album Achtung Baby, pours forth like a twisted electronica-laced Welcome To The...

Hollywood Jumps The Bus

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:34:03 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Ever watch a movie and think to yourself "there's no way that could happen in real life!" Gunshot victims being tossed through the air, gasoline ignited by cigarettes, humans being shrunk and expanded without any ill effect, machine guns that...

Sir Arthur C. Clarke - 1917-2008 - RIP

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:29:35 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - I returned home this afternoon only to learn, much to my shock, that Sir Arthur C Clarke had died earlier today at the age of 90. Now that the two main geniuses behind 2001: A Space Odyssey have both passed away, I can no longer put off writing...

You Will Believe A Jeep Can Float

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:02:11 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - During the Second World War, Willys/Ford produced more than 600,000 of the famous Jeep utility vehicle for the Army. What's not quite as well known is that Ford also produced 12,778 of a amphibious version of their Jeep, the GPA, sometimes...

"You can't fight in here! This is a WAR ROOM!"

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:39:10 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Roger Donaldson's Thirteen Days is, by Hollywood standard's, an extraordinary ambitious film, but one that unfortunately failed to live up to my expectations. It's not very often you see a movie try to tackle a fairly recent event and still...

Sink The Bismarck? It'd Help If We Found It First!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:47:25 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - "German or British, these men were doing the same sort of thing, wearing the same kind of uniforms, using the same kind of instruments, giving the same commands, differing only in the causes they were fighting for, the countries where they came from,...

Don Lynch and Ken Marschall - Ghosts of the Abyss: A Journey Into the Heart of the Titanic: A Titanic Actually Worth Going Back To!

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:06:14 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - I've never quite been able to come to terms with the massive success that James Cameron's Titanic had when it came out in 1997. Sure, it introduced millions of people to the Titanic story, but at what cost? Almost overnight, the deaths of...

Steven J. Dick and United States - America in Space: NASA's First Fifty Years: Space Is BIG!

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 18:34:15 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction Space books are cool. Photography books are cool. Oversized photography books are even cooler. So, one would assume that an oversized manned spaceflight photography book would be the best thing since Tang. And with the 50th...

Smithsonian Institution - Earth: The New Whole Earth Catalog

Mon, 3 Mar 2008 22:54:48 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction By this point, I'm sure some people on this site must assume I'm really kind of shill for Dorling Kindersley. Actually, I'm not - it's just so hard for me to write negative reviews of their books when they're so good! This UK-based...

Another Fascinating But Frustrating Space Advocacy Book

Mon, 3 Mar 2008 17:13:45 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - There are many people who say we ought to stop spending money on manned spaceflight, and use that money to "solve the problems here on Earth" first. Over the past 15 years, a slew of "space advocacy" books have cropped up with a simple message: We can...

You Are Who You Eat

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 19:34:43 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction Richard Rhodes is one of those rare non-fiction authors I love to read even when his books end up being mediocre or worse. His "nuclear trilogy" started off with a bang with the magnificent T
he
Making...

Klaang The Klingon Is Koming To Kick Your K-A'ss!

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 13:47:06 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Ah, the Klingons. For the past 40 years we've come to love and hate these vile, despicable, honorable, smooth-headed, cranially-ridged, terrifying, amusing, bitter enemies/best friends forever of the Federation. Okay, so Star Trek has always had a...

Average Movie - Amazing Soundtrack!

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:01:52 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction Some movies are known simply for having great musical scores, or having musical scores that were so good they saved the movie itself from being a total flop. I'll go on record by saying that Star Trek: The Motion Picture isn't...

Half-Hearted "Update" Of A Cold War Classic

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:57:15 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction In the early 80s, Salamander Books published a series of 10 oversized hardcover books, each focusing on a prominent NATO military aircraft of the period, and one on Soviet MiG fighters. Consolidated in 1986 into the massive The...

Reams Of Fascinating Material Wrapped In A Sloppy Bargain Bin Production

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:05:15 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction As many of you know, I've always been a sucker for good cutaway artwork, whether it be of ships, aircraft, buildings, or mundane everyday things. I was first introduced to the concept in 1993 by Stephen Biesty's Incredible...

More Rama Than Drama, But Still Great Sci-Fi

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:12:14 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction There was a time when Arthur C. Clarke was the most influential science fiction writer on the planet. Here was a man with Big Ideas about how the universe worked, and wasn't afraid to wrap those Big Ideas in a compelling hard Sci-Fi...

A Beautiful Photographic Chronicle Of A "Typical" Space Shuttle Flight

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:38:33 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - I imagine all but the most hardcore spaceflight enthusiasts ignore the largest parts of a typical Space Shuttle mission. Sure, the launch and landing might be the "interesting" parts, and watching astronauts perform tasks in space might be entertaining...

A Science Fiction Master Delivers A Load Of Fanwank

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:24:15 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Introduction Sometimes, people just can't leave things well enough alone. Take for example, Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey series. Even if it was just a novelization of a rough draft screenplay he'd written with Stanley Kubrick, 2001:...

Paul Eden and Soph Moeng - Anatomia De Aviones De Ia II Guerra Mundia / Aircraft Anatomy of World War II: Fascinating Stuff For The World War II Aviation Buff

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:50:01 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author darylcarpenter - Who says you can't come across a real gem on the bargain racks from time to time? As most military aviation enthusiasts know, specialty books are extremely expensive, a result of the relatively low demand and the high expectations of the reader. But...