patlo's Reviews (1.32k)

A very interesting look at one, British man’s successful theft of an entire industry: tea plants from China, seen as one of the great industrial espionage acts in history. The author writes about the impacts of colonialism, the fueling of the British empire from its trafficking of tea, sugar, and opium; Advancements in shipbuilding and weapon, and many other tales.

Although I consume this book via audiobook, I think it would work out better in print. I enjoyed the audio version of the story well enough though.

A surprisingly good take on creativity and songwriting for everyone. Easily applies to poetry and writing too.

Fun, supportive, engaging, practical , quirky - very Tweedy.

 or the epilogue are all you need to read, and in between use big grains of salt (e.g. cave dwellers were relaxed most of the time; modern humans work most of the time and are alert to any kinds of threats). Maybe not quite. However, good ideas about flow,  ritual, movement, mindfulness meditaton.

Powerful story, amazing writing, incredibly difficult to read due to the dark reality of slavery and its trauma.

This is a book that needs separate ratings for “how good it is” (easy 5*) vs “how did I enjoy my time in the book (2*?)”

First time through in print, second time through an audiobook. I really enjoy this story. It’s definitely a slower start and not as engaged with the group dynamics as I was with the expanse series, but the creativity and story telling here are matured and engaging. Super looking forward to the next book of this series whenever it happens.