waggy
No Lifer
- Dec 14, 2000
- 68,143
- 10
- 81
i have been reading lucifers hammer.
i just baught de vinci code and good omens through Amazon so i will start those soon (havent got davinci code yet hopefully get it next week)
I read the first 3 books of the gunslinger. there were pretty great. I should get them to re-read them since its been a few years.
i just baught de vinci code and good omens through Amazon so i will start those soon (havent got davinci code yet hopefully get it next week)
I read the first 3 books of the gunslinger. there were pretty great. I should get them to re-read them since its been a few years.
I just read Heinlen's Starship Troopers, it was fascinating. Interesting commentary on government, citizenship, and the military. Not like the movie at all.
GTaudiophile
Lifer
- Oct 24, 2000
- 29,767
- 33
- 81
Two I have to chime in on:
1. Snow Crash (already mentioned by two others on this thread).
2. 100 Years of Solitude (Was I the only one who cringed when Oprah made this her new obsession?)
Some more suggestions if you have time :
Pedro Paramo
Ficciones (By Bourges)
Ubik
0roo0roo
No Lifer
- Sep 21, 2002
- 64,795
- 84
- 91
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471264822/qid=1085943382/sr=8-2/
America Declares Independence
by Alan Dershowitz (Author)
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
These are dire times for the Declaration of Independence, Dershowitz believes. The religious right has hijacked the document for its own wily purposes, holding that phrases such as "Nature's God," "Creator" and "Divine Providence" are proof that the Founding Fathers intended America to be an explicitly Christian nation. Not so, cries the noted Harvard Law School professor and prolific author (Supreme Injustice, etc.). To prove his case, Dershowitz focuses mainly on Thomas Jefferson, showing that the Declaration's principal author thought most of the Bible was superstitious drivel: he did not believe in miracles, the devil or anything in the Gospels except that certain words were spoken by Jesus. Rather, Jefferson believed in a deistic God, who set the world in motion and then went on vacation. Jefferson didn't think religion should have anything to do with politics. Thus, Dershowitz says, when Jefferson used the phrases "Nature's God" and "Divine Providence," his contemporaries-most of whom were also deists -understood and approved of his intent. This argument is fine (if familiar) up to a point. But then Dershowitz proves himself nearly as guilty as his foes of "hijacking" the Declaration for his own political goals, attacking enemies like Pat Robertson, Alan Keyes and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Dershowitz also toys with some impossibly speculative ideas, such as that Jefferson would have believed in evolution. There have been many fine books written about Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence; readers can find some of them listed in the endnotes to this threadbare addition to Wiley's Turning Points series. Still, the author being a ubiquitous media presence, the book will garner attention and sales.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Inside Flap
It is the most revolutionary political statement in American history. The Declaration of Independence was more than an announcement that thirteen colonies intended to "dissolve the political bands" that bound them to their former rulers; it proclaimed a new and inspiring vision of the principles and purposes of government. But is the Declaration a "bridge between the Bible and the Constitution," as some claim? Do human beings actually have "unalienable rights"? ... read more
Book Description
The Declaration of Independence as you?ve never seen it before
Some of us cherish it with near-scriptural reverence. Others simply take it for granted. In this contentious new look at the Declaration of Independence, however, celebrated attorney Alan Dershowitz takes "America?s birth certificate" and its principal author, Thomas Jefferson, to task.
Dershowitz searches for the sources, history, and underlying reasoning that produced the Declaration and its particular language, from its reference to the "Laws of Nature and Nature?s God" through the long list of complaints against the abuses of King George III. He points out contradictions within the document, notes how the meanings of Jefferson?s words have changed over the centuries, and asks many disturbing questions, including:
* Where do rights come from?
* Do we have "unalienable rights"?
* Do rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" have any meaning?
* How could slaveowners claim to believe that "all men are created equal"?
* Is the God of the Declaration the God of the Bible?
* Does the Declaration establish a Christian State?
* Are there "Laws of Nature and of Nature?s God"?
Challenging, upsetting, and controversial, this brilliant polemic may anger you, delight you, or force you to reexamine your opinions. One thing?s for sure: after reading America Declares Independence, you?ll never take the Declaration of Independence for granted again.
America Declares Independence
by Alan Dershowitz (Author)
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
These are dire times for the Declaration of Independence, Dershowitz believes. The religious right has hijacked the document for its own wily purposes, holding that phrases such as "Nature's God," "Creator" and "Divine Providence" are proof that the Founding Fathers intended America to be an explicitly Christian nation. Not so, cries the noted Harvard Law School professor and prolific author (Supreme Injustice, etc.). To prove his case, Dershowitz focuses mainly on Thomas Jefferson, showing that the Declaration's principal author thought most of the Bible was superstitious drivel: he did not believe in miracles, the devil or anything in the Gospels except that certain words were spoken by Jesus. Rather, Jefferson believed in a deistic God, who set the world in motion and then went on vacation. Jefferson didn't think religion should have anything to do with politics. Thus, Dershowitz says, when Jefferson used the phrases "Nature's God" and "Divine Providence," his contemporaries-most of whom were also deists -understood and approved of his intent. This argument is fine (if familiar) up to a point. But then Dershowitz proves himself nearly as guilty as his foes of "hijacking" the Declaration for his own political goals, attacking enemies like Pat Robertson, Alan Keyes and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Dershowitz also toys with some impossibly speculative ideas, such as that Jefferson would have believed in evolution. There have been many fine books written about Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence; readers can find some of them listed in the endnotes to this threadbare addition to Wiley's Turning Points series. Still, the author being a ubiquitous media presence, the book will garner attention and sales.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Inside Flap
It is the most revolutionary political statement in American history. The Declaration of Independence was more than an announcement that thirteen colonies intended to "dissolve the political bands" that bound them to their former rulers; it proclaimed a new and inspiring vision of the principles and purposes of government. But is the Declaration a "bridge between the Bible and the Constitution," as some claim? Do human beings actually have "unalienable rights"? ... read more
Book Description
The Declaration of Independence as you?ve never seen it before
Some of us cherish it with near-scriptural reverence. Others simply take it for granted. In this contentious new look at the Declaration of Independence, however, celebrated attorney Alan Dershowitz takes "America?s birth certificate" and its principal author, Thomas Jefferson, to task.
Dershowitz searches for the sources, history, and underlying reasoning that produced the Declaration and its particular language, from its reference to the "Laws of Nature and Nature?s God" through the long list of complaints against the abuses of King George III. He points out contradictions within the document, notes how the meanings of Jefferson?s words have changed over the centuries, and asks many disturbing questions, including:
* Where do rights come from?
* Do we have "unalienable rights"?
* Do rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" have any meaning?
* How could slaveowners claim to believe that "all men are created equal"?
* Is the God of the Declaration the God of the Bible?
* Does the Declaration establish a Christian State?
* Are there "Laws of Nature and of Nature?s God"?
Challenging, upsetting, and controversial, this brilliant polemic may anger you, delight you, or force you to reexamine your opinions. One thing?s for sure: after reading America Declares Independence, you?ll never take the Declaration of Independence for granted again.
Left Behind
Got it on Friday, finished it Sunday night...was wonderful. I am quite anxious to read the next in the series of 5(?).
Got it on Friday, finished it Sunday night...was wonderful. I am quite anxious to read the next in the series of 5(?).
If you've got an interest in the stock market and its history, try "The Day The Bubble Burst" by Gordon Thomas.
If you're inerested in the Vietnam war, check out "The Cat from Hue" by Jack Laurence.
If you're inerested in the Vietnam war, check out "The Cat from Hue" by Jack Laurence.
What a bunch of Sci-Fi freaks. Oh wait I forgot where I was. Try reading something real
"Lies and the Lying Lyars That Tell Them" Al Franken
"Let Freedom Ring" Sean Hannity
"The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" Carlos Castaneda
or the rest of that series
Anything REAL
"Lies and the Lying Lyars That Tell Them" Al Franken
"Let Freedom Ring" Sean Hannity
"The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" Carlos Castaneda
or the rest of that series
Anything REAL
have I already posted in this thread?
if not, I'd recomend staying away from juvenial reads... there are plenty of good reads that are also good pieces of literature.
recomendations: Ayn Rand (any of her fiction... Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead are both intimidatingly long, but they read quickly once you get into the groove); Robert Heinlen (aka: the god of all sci fi); Frank Herbert (main Dune books only. stay away from the prequels); Thomas Wolfe (both fiction and non-fiction. it's all good... big recomendations are The Electric Kool-Aide Acid Test, Bonfire of the Vanities, A Man in Full); anything by Steinbeck.
If you're looking to discover new authors, maybe consider picking up a couple short story compilations. They're a great way to get exposure to a lot of different authors in a short period of time (and they're often grouped in genre books).
if not, I'd recomend staying away from juvenial reads... there are plenty of good reads that are also good pieces of literature.
recomendations: Ayn Rand (any of her fiction... Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead are both intimidatingly long, but they read quickly once you get into the groove); Robert Heinlen (aka: the god of all sci fi); Frank Herbert (main Dune books only. stay away from the prequels); Thomas Wolfe (both fiction and non-fiction. it's all good... big recomendations are The Electric Kool-Aide Acid Test, Bonfire of the Vanities, A Man in Full); anything by Steinbeck.
If you're looking to discover new authors, maybe consider picking up a couple short story compilations. They're a great way to get exposure to a lot of different authors in a short period of time (and they're often grouped in genre books).
Neal Stephenson = your friend.
author of Snow Crash (good, but by far not his best) and Diamond Age (akin to snow crash, less easy to read but with more interesting technology).
And Cryptonomicon (one of the best books ever)
and the Baroque cycle (2 of which are out, also some of the best books ever.)
author of Snow Crash (good, but by far not his best) and Diamond Age (akin to snow crash, less easy to read but with more interesting technology).
And Cryptonomicon (one of the best books ever)
and the Baroque cycle (2 of which are out, also some of the best books ever.)
just finished "Life of Pi" The story was pretty damn good, but the way it turned out also gives ya something to ponder on
Here's my stock answer to this question. Read my all time fave: A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving.
Anubis
No Lifer
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