Mega Thread The book thread.

[Wallaby]

Endnotes are the worst. Footnotes all the way.

Well, the problem is, the endnotes are quite detailed, and sometimes a page or more long in themselves. They provide the actual historical setting for whichever battle Flashman is engaged in (Charge of the Light Brigade, Indian Mutiny etc). Sometimes Flashman refers to a particular event or scandal that everyone who lived through that time would and should know about. The thing is, the books are presented as his secret diary.

There are usually 2 or 3 quite long appendices giving an actual history lesson about the major incident and/or key historical characters referenced. The numbered notes refer to remarks made by Flashman about some historical trivia or moment of the time.

It does take some getting used to. You do wind up reading the books with another bookmark in the endnotes so you can flick back and forth easily. If you haven't read them, at least give the books a go - if you like historical novels with a lot of humour, they are great. And you wind up with a terrific history lesson, as well.

 

[sydney eagle]

Reading "Flashman" can lead to buying other books on the things he gets involved in as well. I bought "Crimson Snow" by Jules Stewart when I saw it in the shop because I remembered the description of the retreat from Kabul in "Flashman".

 

[iluvparis]

Picked up a second hand copy of this historical fiction at the market on the weekend - not bad so far (100 pages in or so):

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/409419.The_Brothers_of_Gwynedd

 

[medusala]

reading Tom Bower blook on Blair - the tragedy of power.

Outstanding, best political book i have read (1/3 of the way through).

Have read a few of his other bios as well (Ecclestone and Branson). Both excellent too.

Reading "Flashman" can lead to buying other books on the things he gets involved in as well.

I read this after one Flashman book. Very interesting. Really enjoyed it.

Amazon product ASIN 0719564476

 

[iluvparis]

Reading The Man Who Knew - Greenspan biography by Seb Mallaby who wrote one of my all time fave books 'More Money Than God'.

Only about 20% in so far but bloke comes across as an A-grade campaigner.

 

[Brunswick Trap King]

Reading The Man Who Knew - Greenspan biography by Seb Mallaby who wrote one of my all time fave books 'More Money Than God'.

Only about 20% in so far but bloke comes across as an A-grade campaigner.

Basically sums up what I know of him.

 

[Snake_Baker]

The Diet Myth by Professor Tim Spector is the best book I have read on nutrition.

All science, no hype.

 

[Brunswick Trap King]

Started reading Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb yesterday. I'm about halfway through and it's one of those rare books that changes how you see an entire discipline.

medusala Total Power have either of you two read it?

 

[medusala]

Started reading Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb yesterday. I'm about halfway through and it's one of those rare books that changes how you see an entire discipline.

medusala Total Power have either of you two read it?

Yes, i have. Quite a while ago. Good from memory. If you like that sort of thing, I remember the below being very good too.

Amazon product ASIN 0471295639

And from a non technical aspect, ex England cricketer wrote on luck, quite enjoyed that too

Amazon product ASIN 1408830604

 

[Brunswick Trap King]

Yes, i have. Quite a while ago. Good from memory. If you like that sort of thing, I remember the below being very good too.

Amazon product ASIN 0471295639

And from a non technical aspect, ex England cricketer wrote on luck, quite enjoyed that too

Amazon product ASIN 1408830604

I'll read them both when i finish exams in a few weeks!

 

[medusala]

I'll read them both when i finish exams in a few weeks!

Good luck, I hope they go well.

 

[sydney eagle]

U don't know whether you would call it "history", "conspiracy" or just plain weirdness but I have just started reading "Pirates & The Lost Templar Fleet" by David Hatcher Childress..

 

[sydney eagle]

Ah I think i'll go with the "Just plain weirdness" on that book by Childress.

 

[cartwright]

Just starting "Defying Hitler"

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65458.Defying_Hitler

 

[DivideandMultiply]

I read a lot and tend to buy bulk books during sales then swap between them (and not finish). Not a best of, but on my list of recent purchases to read are:

Red Rosa - Kate Evans
"Rosa tells the life story of philosopher, economist, publisher, writer, organizer, political leader and martyr Rosa Luxemburg in full-color, graphic form...
...This beautifully drawn graphic life gives “Red Rosa” her due as an iconic radical, but also portrays a fascinating woman with a rich love life, struggles with physical disability and an abiding love of literature and theater."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25387808-red-rosa

October - China Mieville
"In February 1917, in the midst of bloody war, Russia was still an autocratic monarchy: nine months later, it became the first socialist state in world history. How did this unimaginable transformation take place? How was a ravaged and backward country, swept up in a desperately unpopular war, rocked by not one but two revolutions?...
...This is the story of the extraordinary months between those upheavals, in February and October, of the forces and individuals who made 1917 so epochal a year, of their intrigues, negotiations, conflicts and catastrophes..."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31578250-october

The Prince of Evolution - Lee Alan Dugatkin
"In The Prince of Evolution, Lee Alan Dugatkin introduces the reader to Russian Prince Peter Kropotkin -- one of the world’s first international celebrities. In England Kropotkin was known as a brilliant scientist, famous for his work on animal and human cooperation, but Kropotkin’s fame in continental Europe centered more on his role as a founder of anarchism..."
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-prince-of-evolution-peter-kropotkin/

Grand Hotel Abyss - Stuart Jeffries
"Who were the Frankfurt School—Benjamin, Adorno, Marcuse, Horkheimer—and why do they matter today?...
...Grand Hotel Abyss combines biography, philosophy, and storytelling to reveal how the Frankfurt thinkers gathered in hopes of understanding the politics of culture during the rise of fascism."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28439474-grand-hotel-abyss

The Main Enemy - Milton Bearden, James Risen
"A landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the dramatic inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212459.The_Main_Enemy

In the Shadows of the American Century - Alfred W. McCoy
"In a completely original analysis, McCoy explores America’s rise as a world power, from the 1890s through the Cold War and its bid to extend its hegemony deep into the twenty-first century through a fusion of cyberwar, space warfare, trade pacts, and military alliances."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31944721-in-the-shadows-of-the-american-century

Pictures at a Revolution - Mark Harris
"Explores the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967-Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Doolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde-and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood, and America, forever."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2092154.Pictures_at_a_Revolution

God's Philosophers - James Hannam
"This is a powerful and a thrilling narrative history revealing the roots of modern science in the medieval world. The adjective 'medieval' has become a synonym for brutality and uncivilized behavior. Yet without the work of medieval scholars there could have been no Galileo, no Newton and no Scientific Revolution. In "God's Philosophers", James Hannam debunks many of the myths about the Middle Ages,..."
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/oct/15/gods-philosophers-science-book-review

 

[RupieDupie]

Yes, i have. Quite a while ago. Good from memory. If you like that sort of thing, I remember the below being very good too.

Amazon product ASIN 0471295639

And from a non technical aspect, ex England cricketer wrote on luck, quite enjoyed that too

Amazon product ASIN 1408830604

I also recommend Against the Gods

I found a Manga comic book Tokyo Ghoul Part 4, for $4.00 the other day, I haven't started to read it, but it looks good, I haven't read Parts 1-3 but hopefully I can get the gist.

 

[Joe Hawkins]

Just finished 'Lonely Boy' - autobiography of former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. Well worth a read.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

Finally started "Lenin" by Robert Service. It's been on my shelf for almost 20 years! If I enjoy it enough I'll get his biographies on Stalin and Trotsky as well.

The copy I have had a red cover which goes for $70-$90 on book depository. Anyone know why the red cover versions are so much more expensive than the following editions?

Book Depository: Free delivery worldwide on over 20 million books

Book Depository is the world's most international online bookstore offering over 20 million books with free delivery worldwide.

www.bookdepository.com

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Verdict on Erebus by Peter Mahon.

Mahon's account of the enquiry (which he headed) into the crash and death of all on board the AirNZ DC10 which slammed into the lower slopes of Mt Erebus, Ross Island, Antarctica (a sightseeing flight) killing all onboard in 28.11.1979.

A hard to get hold of and in most cases, expensive book. I found a hardback at a 2nd hand book store online in Sydney for $25.00 plus postage. I've read the forward, I'll start it tonight.

 

[medusala]

Verdict on Erebus by Peter Mahon.

I had no idea until recently what a scandal that was. By all accounts a shocking cover up by what i have been told.

Please let us know what you think of it.

 

[CD Xbow]

I've been reading 'Five years in Australia Felix', a book written in 1845 by Mr Haddon about his experiences in Victoria, well, it was still NSW then. - its digitised here at the national archives Five years' experience in Australia Felix, comprising a short account of its early settlement and its present position, with many particulars interesting to intending emigrants

'In 1840 the total value of property in Melbourne was one million, three hundred and ninety-two thousand pounds sterling; since that period it has nearly doubled'

180 years later and that's not much less than the average price of a house in Melbourne. The book is written 10 years before the colony of Victoria was formed. The gold rush started in the 1850's. I'm not sure where the Felix comes from. I have never seen the term used before.

Added - he recounts a long and difficult trip from Melbourne to Gippsland as part of a party trying to find a route for livestock. The route they took was not suitable. They ended up at a town called Victoria, somewhere near Ableton. I don't think it exists now. A Mr Walsh in the same year found a route without major river crossings - see PROV Map Warper: Viewing Map 6438 If you select the preview tab it overlays on google maps. He went from Gippland to Red Cliffs, which I think is Red Bluff at Black Rock.