Category Archives: Book Review

Mi Novela Sobre el Sahara

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

Una vez, hace casi 10 años viví en Mali. Un pueblo desértico, pobre pero con una tradición antiguísima de un Islam Sufi, una riqueza casi sin fin, y una tradición intelectual y académica sin precedentes en África. Éste es una novela sobre eso, sobre un niño Tuareg que busca entender … Continue reading →

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The Lost History of Christianity – A Review

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

There once was an ancient Christian Church in the East, which was destroyed by the advance of Islam. That is basically the story line of this book. And it’s not wrong, Islam is an expeditionary religion, like Christianity, and it’s … Continue reading →

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“The Crossing Place” – A Book Review

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

There’s a principle in chemistry called “Isotopic Abundance” which is basically the relative proportions of a stable isotope in each element. These isotopes come from the ground, the land, the water and even the air in a particular location and … Continue reading →

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Now Available My Armenia Novel in Paperback ($8.95) and #Kindle – (I’d Buy the Paperback)

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

My Armenia novel, “An Excess of Nationalism”, is now available in paperback and kindle. Paperback is best value ($8.95), I personally would never buy a kindle and can’t read kindle books. I need to feel the paper, smell the pages, … Continue reading →

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I Wrote My Armenia Novel!!!

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

A while ago I published a post in which I said “I Should Be Writing My Armenia Book”. I’m happy to report, now, I FINISHED IT!!!! I published first as a hardcover, in color, because I left some surprises inside … Continue reading →

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“Return of the Native” by Thomas Hardy

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

A whole lifetime can be lived on the heath. That’s what the old Victorian masters taught us. From the barrow mound to the river and back again, the entire gamut of the human experience. Birth, love, jealousy and rage. At … Continue reading →

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Christmas Holiday – By Maugham

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

Just like there are places that we stumble upon and are struck by the sudden reality that we have found a home for our hearts, and it is elsewhere, so to times. Some people pine for the old American West, … Continue reading →

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Review of “The Biggest Ideas in the Universe”

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

I have been struggling, as a ‘layperson’ for a while now trying to wrap my head around how the universe functions. And, beyond that, if there is some great master design that we just can’t see or if we are … Continue reading →

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Aleksandr Pushkin

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

I have a little porcelain statue of Pushkin I bought at an antique shop in Yerevan, featuring a young curly-headed Aleksandr with a plume pen writing upon a round table. It is from the Soviet period, made in the Lemonosov … Continue reading →

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Kaplan on Order

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Joel D. Hirst

Continuing on, adding some thoughts here about “The Tragic Mind” by Robert D. Kaplan, the issue of order continues to weigh on me. When I was a fellow at the George W. Bush Institute, and before, I was part of … Continue reading →

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