From Publishers Weekly Freelance writer Alford here gathers a mixed bag of his humor pieces--some of them original, others reprinted from Mademoiselle , the New York Observer and other publications--in which he places himself in a variety of everyman situations. As a job applicant at Macy's or a vendor at a street fair, he reports what develops, although not every situation turns out to be funny. Some of the best include "Drive, He Said," a tale about Alford as the "VIP driver" for Governor Romer of Colorado during the 1992 Democratic National Convention in Manhattan, and "Dread and Breakfast," a diary he kept as a guest at various New York City "Bed and Breakfast" apartments. But there are also "In Search of . . . Nubbins ," a tedious tract on the creation and marketing of Nubbins, a snack of chocolate encased in French bread, and "You'll Never Groom Dogs in This Town Again!," about jobs few would think to apply for. There are 33 ponderings entitled "What If" (i.e., "What If the Pope Were a Dog") which are uniformly unfunny. Alford is a humorist with punch who would have benefited from a more careful selection of his material. Author tour. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist A renegade journalist whose "preferred mode of inquiry" is idle speculation, Alford nevertheless rouses himself to conduct "comic investigations" so that he can amass all the facts about such crucial matters as what exactly a clutter consultant can do for you; whether singles can register for gifts at department stores (after all, they like presents as much as couples); or what exactly a "nubbins" looks like. Alford will subject himself to extreme humiliation and endure any number of potentially disastrous absurdities to get his story. Other escapades include the hiring of two nude housecleaners to see if they do windows; volunteering as a driver for the 1992 Democratic National Convention in spite of never having driven in New York City traffic (he was assigned to the crusty governor of Colorado who tolerated his callowness and encouraged him to eat desserts); and going on a test-taking spree for various occupations that culminated in the spectacular failings of both human and dog-grooming exams. Amusing as these goofy inquiries are, it's Alford's dry-martini humor and unfailing wit that get you: he is simply devastatingly deadpan, tears-to-your-eyes funny. Donna Seaman See all Editorial Reviews
评分
评分
评分
评分
我必须承认,书中引用和参考的资料库是相当庞大的,这一点值得称赞。作者显然投入了大量时间去查阅了大量的官方文件、法庭判例以及经济学论文。然而,过度的依赖原始材料和过于学术化的引用方式,反而削弱了书籍的可读性。很多时候,我感觉自己不是在读一个成熟的作者的论述,而是在阅读一个大型文献综述的草稿。那些冗长的脚注和频繁的交叉引用,打断了主要的论述流,迫使读者不断地在正文和附录之间切换,极大地损害了阅读的流畅性。此外,虽然信息量很大,但很多数据点和引用的历史事件,其相关性并不十分明确,显得有些堆砌和多余。总而言之,这本书在“研究深度”上做得不错,但在“信息转化和有效传达”上,却显得力不从心,最终呈现的效果是:一个堆满砖块的工地,而不是一座精雕细琢的建筑。
评分读完这本厚厚的书稿,我最大的感受就是一种深深的“失焦”。它试图涵盖的议题实在太多了,从基础设施建设的融资困境,到不同州郡间的税收博弈,再到宏观经济波动对地方预算的影响,仿佛作者想把“市政融资”这四个字所能联想到的所有方面都塞进这本书里。结果就是,每一个议题都只是蜻蜓点水,没有一个地方能够真正深入下去,形成有说服力的论证或者提供具有操作性的见解。举个例子,关于公私合营(PPP)模式的讨论,前面铺垫了很长的历史背景和理论基础,但在关键的风险分配和合同执行的案例分析上,却草草收场,留下了太多悬而未决的问题。这本书就像一桌盛满了山珍海味的大餐,每道菜看起来都很精致,但当你真正品尝时,却发现调味严重不足,食材本身的新鲜度也参差不齐,让人食之无味,弃之可惜。这种试图“大而全”的写作手法,最终导致了内容的广而不精,深度严重不足。
评分这本书的语言风格,坦白讲,带着一种冰冷、疏离的学术腔调,让我感到非常难以亲近。通篇下来,几乎看不到任何作者个人情感的流露或者对现实世界中人们生活影响的关怀。所有的论述都仿佛是在真空环境下进行的纯粹的逻辑推演。例如,当谈到某一城市因为债券违约而不得不削减关键公共服务开支时,作者仅仅是用“财政紧缩措施的必然结果”来轻描淡写地带过,完全没有深入探讨这对底层民众生活带来的实际冲击,也没有对这种政策制定者可能存在的道德困境进行任何反思。我期待的是一种能连接理论与实践的桥梁,而不是一个只关注术语和数字的冰冷机器。这种缺乏人文关怀的写作方式,使得原本严肃的议题失去了应有的厚重感和紧迫性,让读者很难对其产生真正的共鸣或思考的动力。它更像是一份客观的记录,却失去了让读者愿意为之驻足的“灵魂”。
评分这本书,老实说,我读得一头雾水。开篇就抛出了一堆复杂的金融术语和晦涩难懂的政策分析,感觉作者是直接把一份政府报告摘要塞到了我的手里。我本来以为会看到一些关于城市发展或者地方财政的生动故事,哪怕是带着批判性的视角也好,但期望落空了。它更像是一本面向专业人士的教科书,充斥着债券收益率、市政信用评级、以及各种监管框架的冗长阐述。我努力想跟上作者的思路,试图在那些密密麻麻的图表和数据中找到一个可以抓住的线索,然而,每当我感觉自己快要理解某个概念时,作者又会跳到一个完全不相关的领域进行深入探讨,让我不得不翻回去重新阅读前几页,耗费了大量的时间和精力。这种阅读体验,与其说是享受知识的获取,不如说是在进行一场艰难的智力攀登,而且山顶上似乎并没有什么令人惊叹的风景。我甚至开始怀疑,这本书的目标读者群体究竟是谁,如果不是业内人士,普通读者恐怕只能望而却步,最终选择放弃。
评分说实话,这本书的叙事节奏简直是灾难性的。它不是在讲故事,更像是在堆砌信息块。前半部分花费了近三分之一的篇幅来追溯某个特定时期的地方政府债务演变史,虽然史料翔实,但用词极其枯燥,仿佛是为历史档案管理员准备的参考手册。等我终于熬到讨论现代金融工具的部分时,作者又突然插入了一大段关于特定州立法程序的复杂解释,这完全打断了我的阅读心流。我感觉自己像是在一个布满陷阱的迷宫里行走,每走一步,就可能因为一个不相关的技术细节而被卡住。最令人沮丧的是,作者似乎完全没有意识到这种断裂感对读者的影响。他仿佛沉浸在自己构建的专业世界里,忘记了需要引导和安抚一个初涉此领域的读者。这本书的结构感极度薄弱,缺乏一个清晰的主线将这些松散的知识点串联起来,读完之后,脑海里留下的只有一堆零散的、缺乏上下文联系的知识碎片。
评分 评分 评分 评分 评分本站所有内容均为互联网搜索引擎提供的公开搜索信息,本站不存储任何数据与内容,任何内容与数据均与本站无关,如有需要请联系相关搜索引擎包括但不限于百度,google,bing,sogou 等
© 2026 qciss.net All Rights Reserved. 小哈图书下载中心 版权所有