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It is that time again! What books are you reading?

R

RichardE

Banned
Currently reading The audacity of Hope which is amazing. Thinking of reading "The God Delusion" but not sure I want to go through that sort of self discovery at the moment heh. what is everyone else reading?
 
Not really....the last few time I did this topic I posted it here for the purpose of political books. There is a reason I posted it in P&N.
 
Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45 by Max Hastings. I'm only about a third of the way through it, but so far it is a very eye-opening and scholary review of the final days of the war against Japan (the same author also did a similar book about the end of the war against Germany). Its not so much as which ship was where in the Battle of Midway type of book, but rather why we attacked where we did, the strengths and weaknesses of all parties, the Brits attempt to hang onto or recover their empire (ie, hang onto India, recover Burma), US plans to invade Formosa and take the ground war to China before invading Japan, etc.

Highly reccommended if you have any interest in WWII. Odds are great you'll walk away with a different understanding than you had before.
 
Well that's the second Retribution recommendation I've heard, guess it's on the list.


I'm currently giving The Utility of Force: The Art of War in The Modern World by General Rupert Smith another reading. The book is too saturated with nifty details for a single pass. 😉
While I was familiar with Sun Tzu, I had only a cursory familiarity with Clausewitz and found Rupert's take on these master tacticians really interesting in relation to his experiences in recent foreign campaigns.



 
"The Forgotten Man" is pretty good. I suggest reading it if you want a different perspective on the great depression than what is taught in public school.
 
Book 2 of Coldfire Trilogy. Not bad, not great. Examines the politics of living in a fictional world though. I don't tend to read books by politicians, I get enough bs from them already.
 
Originally posted by: RichardE
Currently reading The audacity of Hope which is amazing. Thinking of reading "The God Delusion" but not sure I want to go through that sort of self discovery at the moment heh. what is everyone else reading?
Click to expand...

A book by a politician is good? I am surprised. I stumbled across Al Gore's last book and though it would have been better had he compressed it to a 30 page pamphlet.

 
A few weeks back I tried reading "The Culture of Fear: Why Americans are Afraid of the Wrong Things". I found myself agreeing with the basic premises of the author, but his methods were atrocious. Too much of the: "X newspaper printed Y, which is clearly wrong because of facts I learned from newspaper Z" without providing clear evidence of why Z newspaper was more factual than X, besides the fact that Z newspaper was printing views in support of his own. Yikes. I've since moved onto fiction: The Plague by Albert Camus.
 
For thought:
Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq by Michael Scheuer -- His first two books were good reads, but this one, his most recent, really hits hard as Scheuer doesnt hold anything back. He essentially rips into every administration and policy since 1970.

For fun:
Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn -- Mitch Rapp is a modern-day Jack Ryan... nice easy and exciting reading!

For work:
Conquering Deception by Jef Nance -- YABOK, or Yet Another Book on Kinesics.

And my periodical of choice during this week's trips to the bathroom is the latest print issue of Home Theater Magazine... 🙂

I read alot... so there ya go.
 
On again, off again , on all these books...I pick up and put things down alot.
Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet
Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye
Rousseau's Dog: Two Great Thinkers at War in the Age of Enlightenment.


Probably will be something different next week


 
Warped Passages by Lisa Randall (book about extra dimensions in spacetime and the search for a deeper understanding of physics) and Brave New World by Huxley, a book which needs no introduction.
 
This is not politics or news. Maybe if you had specified political books, otherwise this discussion belongs in off topic.
 
Originally posted by: M0RPH
This is not politics or news. Maybe if you had specified political books, otherwise this discussion belongs in off topic.
Click to expand...

I did specify, in the third post. If that was too far for you to read I can put it in the op if you want. 🙂
 
I started Nixon's memoirs last week... it's good so far, though daunting. I just got past his VP reelection (and I am looking forward to reading Eisenhower's memoirs to get a contrast between his own recollections and Nixon's recollections of him) but I might need to take a fiction break soon. not sure I'll be able to read all thousand-some pages continuously.
 
I just read the Great Derangement by Matt Taibi, A time to Fight by Jim Webb, and i'm listening to Scott Mclellan on audio book. I am reading a book on the Indo Europeans in my spare time as well as a book on reverent moon 🙂 NOw that's a nutty preacher for you.
 
I've just read, not too long ago, the two fairtax books, From Hope to Higher Ground, working on The Reagan Diaries and Alan Greenspan's latest book. I also just ordered 3 autographed copies of Mike Huckabee latest book due October.

I think I'm at the same spot as the last thread on current books.
 
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