Review of Instaread Summary of "Disrupted My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble" by Dan Lyons

Review of

Instaread Summary of Disrupted My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons 

Five out of five stars

 Before I write my evaluation, I need to mention that I worked for a start-up company for approximately four years, experiencing the hype, dreams and harsh realities of trying to make a product from scratch that will make a great deal of money. My official title was “Research Scientist” and most of what I did was massage and mine data. My departure was a mutual decision after I openly questioned whether the company could survive. It did, but only by completely changing the product and being purchased.

 Lyons is an older worker that joined the start-up Hubspot as a writer. He had problems with the management and other co-workers and spends some time discussing his desire for a full-time job with benefits in order to support his family. When reading this summary, I had a difficult time generating any sympathy for what I viewed at times as his whining. The start-up environment is fierce, nothing I read about his experiences were all that out of the ordinary in the start-up culture. If you want a secure job with benefits, a start-up is not the environment you should be in

 Lyons also complains about being stuck in the growing gig economy, where vast numbers of people work on a contract basis in order to complete a specific task before moving on. This is an economic megatrend and complaining about it is a waste of energy. I have no desire to read a book by somebody complaining about this.

 The best description of Lyons work is encapsulated in this quote from the summary “Most of his narrative is cynical and personal, and is related in a casual style. The language used throughout the book can be crude, involving insult humor, curse words, and jokes about sex and bodily functions.” It is made clear that the dysfunction between Lyons and his co-workers is mutual. Lawyers were involved in the writing of the book, a demonstration of the acrimony.

 I enjoyed this summary very much, it convinced me that I have no interest in reading the book. 

This book was made available for free for review purposes. 

https://www.amazon.com/Summary-Disrupted-Dan-Lyons-Analysis-ebook/dp/B01GGNI768 

Review of Instaread Summary of "Lilac Girls A Novel" by Martha Hall Kelly

Review of

Instaread Summary of Lilac Girls A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly 

Five out of five stars

 Reading this summary convinced me that this is a great book, although the author of the summary goes a bit too far in making comparisons between what happened in Nazi-controlled Europe and recent history. Like all the best stories of historical fiction, nearly all of what appears in this book could have happened and some of the events actually did.

 The timeframe is the prelude to the outbreak of the Second World War and what the Germans and their local auxiliaries did to resistors and “racially inferiors” during the war. Nearly all of the main characters are female, from both sides of the Atlantic as well as both sides of the conflict.

 This is an important part of the story, for there were many Germans that were not ardent Nazis and did engage in acts of opposition, small and large. Many of the characters are based on actual people and what they did during the war. Millions of people went through the concentration and death camps, so the number of stories of what they experienced is enormous.

 Then as now, females were fifty percent of the population during the Second World War and despite not being in combat, their lives were directly and indirectly altered by the events. While knowledge of the events of the war will aid the reader in understanding the book, this summary contains enough information so that even those that are clueless about the Second World War will understand what many women went through. Although it is a novel, it would take very little to convert it into a work of history. 

This book was made available for free for review purposes. 

https://www.amazon.com/Summary-Lilac-Girls-Martha-Analysis-ebook/dp/B01G7Y1IQC 

Review of Instaread Summary of "Glory Over Everything: Beyond the Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom

Review of

Instaread Summary of Glory Over Everything: Beyond the Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Four out of five stars

 When it still existed before the American Civil War, southerners referred to slavery as “our peculiar institution.” This phrase had several meanings, but whatever was meant, it was an understatement. Being black was clear in most instances, but there were many instances of black female slaves being impregnated by their masters, either by coercion or straight rape. This led to many people of mixed race, with a complete spectrum of skin pigmentations and fractional black components. For these people, their racial classification was uncertain, but subject to a negative interpretation at any time.

 The main character is James Burton, a mixed-race man that is one-quarter black, but light enough to pass as white. He was raised as white by his adoptive parents and the story involves his interactions with his world as he tries to avoid being classified as black and sold into slavery. Considered a white child for so long, James was sheltered and largely chose to ignore the plight of black people. When he learns that he can be considered one, his environment is dramatically altered.

 This summary moves quickly in the explanation of the plot, but while the author does a good job in explaining the main themes of the book, the subject matter is far too complex to be developed in a short piece. Slavery in the United States was a very complex practice, even though it was based on a very simple social distinction, one race could be considered property. When the fundamental plot device is based on the people of mixed race, of which there were many, it rapidly gets horribly complicated.

 The inability of the nation to resolve the issue of slavery led to an internal war where hundreds of thousands were killed and large areas of the land devastated. Much of that inability was due to the complexity of how slavery was practiced. The book is important in that it demonstrates to modern readers how racial classification is inexact, leading to ambiguity and danger to people that could fall on either side of the racial divide. This summary is dense and moves so fast that it is confusing, yet the main ideas are clear.

This book was made available for free for review purposes. 

https://www.amazon.com/Summary-Glory-Over-Everything-Kathleen-ebook/dp/B01G9FO83O