What book(s) are you reading right now?

Page 55 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Thump553

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
12,821
2,607
136
Just finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Actually quite an enjoyable read when you can go at your own pace versus having to do a book report on it tomorrow morning. Dickens was really a master at fleshing out believable characters, keeping the plot moving along (of course far slower than modern attention spans demand) and the occasional intellectual mini-essay. It's easy to see why he was such an enormously popular writer in his day. Political correctness has changed a bit though-one of his villains is almost always referred as The Jew.
 
May 11, 2008
20,648
1,172
126
I am still reading the book "blitzed" from Norman Ohler as well.

It is amazing and disgusting at the same time, to read that the Germans where able to attack that fast because of the pervitin pills(methamphetamine) : The battle of Dunkirk.
The German troops were constantly awake by constantly taking pervitin(methamphetamine) pills multiple pills every day.
Which allowed them to be awake for seventeen days in a row. :oops:

Of course the effect is making the soldiers and these troops fully dependent on the drug. Withdrawal symptoms walhalla at the time under the nazi troops.
But Ranke did not care...
A lot of German soldiers returned from thee warfield with these weird diseases that their bodies no longer functioned well. Like for example, constant being exhausted or very high blood pressure, constantly.

It is weird to read that Hitler was a meth addict, Göring was an opium addict. Almost all people high in the hierarchy were addicted to some sort of drug.
And pervitin was just seen as a normal thing at the time in Nazi germany because people close to the leadership constantly promoted the use.

At the time Germany was like most countries in the western world, a lawles free market without protections in place for the citizens, no specifications, no laws at the time.
The images and text below are not part of the book, but it explains how life on this world was at the time.


But other countries where no different :
Think for example about selling radium pills used as suppository for women, around the same around the 1900s until after WW2.

radium suppositories.jpgradior_big.jpgradium suppositories.pngN800050-Advertisement_for_a_radium-based_facial_cream-SPL.jpg




https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/when-beauty-products-were-radioactive/index.html
Small excerpt from text :
"
A miracle cream was launched in Paris in 1933. Billed as a “scientific beauty product,” it promised to improve circulation, firm muscle tissue, reduce fat and smooth wrinkles. It was part of a line of cosmetics called Tho-Radia – after thorium and radium, the radioactive elements it contained.
Today, no one would intentionally smear radioactive materials on their face, but in 1933, the dangers of radioactivity were not yet fully understood. This mysterious new form of energy, discovered by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, had become imbued with mythical powers.
"
and
"
But other kinds of products meant to be ingested proved lethal. A popular one was Radithor, an “energy drink” consisting of distilled water with tiny amounts of radium dissolved into it. Boldly advertised as “A Cure for the Living Dead,” it promised to tackle various ailments from diabetes to sexual decline.
Far from being a panacea, it killed its most famous advocate, American socialite and athlete Eben Byers, who became notorious for drinking up to three bottles of Radithor every day for years. He died from it in 1932, and the Wall Street Journal ran the headline: “The radium water worked fine until his jaw came off.”
"
and
"
Wearing the watches didn’t carry much risk, but the factory workers who made them glow suffered terrible health effects.
Applying radioactive paint to the watch dials was a delicate but painstaking task that was considered women’s work. These “radium girls,” as the workers came to be known, were instructed to keep the brushes pointed using their lips. Over time, they started to suffer from a condition called “radium jaw,” as repeatedly ingesting small amounts of radium caused necrosis of their bones.
"
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Muse

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,980
9,027
136
Just finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Actually quite an enjoyable read when you can go at your own pace versus having to do a book report on it tomorrow morning. Dickens was really a master at fleshing out believable characters, keeping the plot moving along (of course far slower than modern attention spans demand) and the occasional intellectual mini-essay. It's easy to see why he was such an enormously popular writer in his day. Political correctness has changed a bit though-one of his villains is almost always referred as The Jew.
We read A Tale of Two Cities in high school. Long time ago for me, but I recall I enjoyed it considerably although I wasn't inclined to read novels. It is a far far better thing I do...
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,980
9,027
136
I am still reading the book "blitzed" from Norman Ohler as well.

It is amazing and disgusting at the same time, to read that the Germans where able to attack that fast because of the pervitin pills(methamphetamine) : The battle of Dunkirk.
The German troops were constantly awake by constantly taking pervitin(methamphetamine) pills multiple pills every day.
Which allowed them to be awake for seventeen days in a row. :oops:

Of course the effect is making the soldiers and these troops fully dependent on the drug. Withdrawal symptoms walhalla at the time under the nazi troops.
But Ranke did not care...
A lot of German soldiers returned from thee warfield with these weird diseases that their bodies no longer functioned well. Like for example, constant being exhausted or very high blood pressure, constantly.

It is weird to read that Hitler was a meth addict, Göring was an opium addict. Almost all people high in the hierarchy were addicted to some sort of drug.
And pervitin was just seen as a normal thing at the time in Nazi germany because people close to the leadership constantly promoted the use.

At the time Germany was like most countries in the western world, a lawles free market without protections in place for the citizens, no specifications, no laws at the time.
The images and text below are not part of the book, but it explains how life on this world was at the time.


But other countries where no different :
Think for example about selling radium pills used as suppository for women, around the same around the 1900s until after WW2.

View attachment 112039View attachment 112040View attachment 112041View attachment 112042




https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/when-beauty-products-were-radioactive/index.html
Small excerpt from text :
"
A miracle cream was launched in Paris in 1933. Billed as a “scientific beauty product,” it promised to improve circulation, firm muscle tissue, reduce fat and smooth wrinkles. It was part of a line of cosmetics called Tho-Radia – after thorium and radium, the radioactive elements it contained.
Today, no one would intentionally smear radioactive materials on their face, but in 1933, the dangers of radioactivity were not yet fully understood. This mysterious new form of energy, discovered by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, had become imbued with mythical powers.
"
and
"
But other kinds of products meant to be ingested proved lethal. A popular one was Radithor, an “energy drink” consisting of distilled water with tiny amounts of radium dissolved into it. Boldly advertised as “A Cure for the Living Dead,” it promised to tackle various ailments from diabetes to sexual decline.
Far from being a panacea, it killed its most famous advocate, American socialite and athlete Eben Byers, who became notorious for drinking up to three bottles of Radithor every day for years. He died from it in 1932, and the Wall Street Journal ran the headline: “The radium water worked fine until his jaw came off.”
"
and
"
Wearing the watches didn’t carry much risk, but the factory workers who made them glow suffered terrible health effects.
Applying radioactive paint to the watch dials was a delicate but painstaking task that was considered women’s work. These “radium girls,” as the workers came to be known, were instructed to keep the brushes pointed using their lips. Over time, they started to suffer from a condition called “radium jaw,” as repeatedly ingesting small amounts of radium caused necrosis of their bones.
"
I had radium dial watches as a kid. I don't know if they were bad for me. You don't see them now.

The Nazi use of Methamphetamine was ultimately destructive for them. It likely contributed greatly to Hitler's personal demise.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: igor_kavinski

Stiff Clamp

Senior member
Feb 3, 2021
885
334
106
myths of the rhine 1875.png

Myths of the Rhine - by X.B. Saintine, in 1857 . . . . . . well-written discussion of the various myths, gods, beliefs, folklore and customs of those along the Rhine; French author pokes fun at the subject here and there, and has an imaginative way of painting the picture. Original edition was illustrated by Gustave Dore.

A N D

The Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee: Up to the First Settlements Therein by the White People, in the Year 1768, - by John Haywood, in 1823
Compares Cherokee and Choctaw traditions to those of Peruvians, Hindus, Mexicans, and Egyptians. Lots of detail on Indian lifestyle. At one point pursues a long discussion of dowsing, as well as a long detailed description of an earthquake.

 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
70,796
29,995
136
I had set the book aside and finally got around to finishing it. It covers the post-war period but really focuses on Gorbachev and the Reykjavík summit. Unlike previous books by Rhodes, there is much less time spent on the physics and industrial aspects of the war machine and more on the behind the scenes politics and maneuvering of the key players. Richard Rhodes is generally neutral concerning the figures he writes about but it is clear that he found Richard Perle to be a raging asshole even before the Iraq War.
 
May 11, 2008
20,648
1,172
126
I had radium dial watches as a kid. I don't know if they were bad for me. You don't see them now.

The Nazi use of Methamphetamine was ultimately destructive for them. It likely contributed greatly to Hitler's personal demise.
The demise of the country at that time i would say.
Germany like most countries made incredible advances at the time when it comes to technology and the sciences in every way before the war and the vilification of the Jewish people.
But everything was used to create war apparatus.
And i am not even talking about the horrible experiments done on humans in those camps. Also on handicapped people that were not Jewish.
I vagely remember something about a special street adres in Germany during the nazi time. If people were send there, it was over for them, Jewish or not.
The chronic use of Methamphetamine, opium and cocaine made the nazis insane.

  • But then again, i can name a few examples of experiments done on humans in prison in other "civilized" countries like for example the USA, but with the difference that this was a handful of people in the medical sciences, and not a whole country.
  • And i vagely remember something about what is called : "gulag" in countries or empires like the USSR.
  • The child soldiers, drugged and then forced to do horrible things to other humans, in some countries where people where at war in Africa. Just to make those child soldiers "Tough" and "Hardened".

I am sure if i dig into the past i can find many horrible experiments done on people all over the world.

An intelligent man once said something similar like this : "Civilization of a human is a very thin skin covering a savage".
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: igor_kavinski

KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
30,362
46,091
136
1732920879677.jpeg

just started this yesterday, oddly enough i see that Genocide Joe's reading it as well....

 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
7,237
7,775
136
View attachment 112355

just started this yesterday, oddly enough i see that Genocide Joe's reading it as well....


-Bruh nothing ever happens on accident, MF ain't ever going to read that book. It's just virtue signaling garbage.
 

Stiff Clamp

Senior member
Feb 3, 2021
885
334
106
Annals of Witchcraft in New England . . . and Elsewhere in the United States, by Samuel Gardner Drake
Seems to be written in 1869. Just documents a lot of cases that made it to courts. Author thinks charges were foolish . . . i.e. doesn't believe in witchcraft.

Book includes this fun poem . . . written by a Quaker waxing sentimental over the loss of witches:

"How has New England's Romance fled,
Even as a Vision of the Morning!​
Its Rites foregone - its guardians dead -
Its Altar-fires extinguished -
Its Priestesses, bereft of Dread,
Waking the veriest Urchins scorning!​

No more along the shadowy Glen,
Glide the dim Ghosts of murdered Men, -
No more the Unquiet Churchyard Dead,
Glimpse upward from their turfy Bed,
Startling the Traveler, late and lone;​
As, on some night of cloudy Weather,
They commune silently together,
Each sitting on his own Headstone!​

The roofless House, decayed, deserted,
Its living Tenants all departed,
No longer rings with Midnight Revel,
Of Witch, or Ghost, or Goblin evil;
No hellish Flame sends out its Flashes
Through creviced Roof and shattered Sashes!

The Witch-grass round the Hazel spring,
May sharply to the night Air sing,
But there no more shall withered Hags
Refresh at Ease their Broomstick Nags;
Or taste those hazel-shadowed Waters
As Beverage meet for Satan's Daughters;

No more their mimick Tones be heard -
The Mew of Cat - the Chirp of Bird,
Shrill blending with the hoarser Laughter;
Of the fell Demon following after."
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,980
9,027
136
View attachment 112355

just started this yesterday, oddly enough i see that Genocide Joe's reading it as well....
Did you hear what Trump said today? He threatened annihilation if the hostages aren't released before his inauguration. Trump will not be out-genocided by Joe.


“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: igor_kavinski

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,980
9,027
136
yes, but Genocide Joe is the president now and has fully supported this genocide since day 1.
yes, the orange monkey will likely be worse , they are both pieces of shit in my eyes
Have you had your eyes examined recently? :rolleyes:
 

KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
30,362
46,091
136
Have you had your eyes examined recently? :rolleyes:
Yes , a month ago, they are perfect, thank you
It wasn't a genocide on day 1.
Started before 1948 and has only continued


have a read, it's very good

Here's another eye opener


Or this one

 
Last edited:

nOOky

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2004
3,093
2,106
136
I'm reading book 3 in the Exoskelton series, and also trying to read the Silo books again after I listened to them as audiobooks. I'm also listening to book 2 of the Delphi trilogy even though they seem rather juvenile and not for old folks like me.

The first Exoskelton book was somewhat of a shocker, I actually felt sorry for the character as described some of the actions were fairly horrific in the book.