Book Review (for recreational reading)

[Astronuc]

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Politically Incorrect Guides) by Anthony Esolen. Interesting book I just started reading. The author describes some natural law or absolute moral authority, but so far has defined it.

So far it seems a bit of rant.

The Politically Incorrect Guide(TM) to Western Civilization takes on the prevailing liberal assumptions that make Western civilization the universal whipping boy for today's global problems, and introduces you to the significant events, individuals, nations, ideas, and artistic achievements that make Western civilization the greatest the world has ever known.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1596980591/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

"...the greatest the world has ever known."?
Wow... that looks scary Astro.

 

[Astronuc]

"...the greatest the world has ever known."?
Wow... that looks scary Astro.

Well - it's only someone's opinion.

I highly recommend "Three Cups of Tea"!

Listen to this about the program to build schools in northern areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan - http://clipcast.wpr.org:8080/ramgen/wpr/hoe/hoe060318k.rm (requires Real Player).

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I almost forgot...

I finished reading Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy (which begins with The Golden Compass).
The second book "The Subtle Knife" is a bit slow, like a bridge between the first and second books, and loses a lot of the fantastic atmosphere of the first book. The third, "The Amber Spyglass", gets back closer to the original book and wraps up the strory rather well. I'd rather not describe them in detail to avoid ruining the series for anyone who has not read it.
Pullman maintains his anti-religious establishment view point through out the series both in obvious and subtle ways. One of his primary themes appears to be the notion that trust and ethical action need not be born of "faith" or fear of God but can come merely from a sense of what is "right".
All in all, for a children's (or young adult's) series, it contains fairly mature intellectual and philisophical material and I think that most adult fans of fantasy would enjoy it.


Since I finished that series I have read Gregory Maguire's "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister".
I almost forgot how much I enjoy his prose. Maguire writes the realistic story that could have sparked a Cinderella legend. Focusing on the complicated struggles of real people and how they may appear to outsiders he weaves the story of an amazingly beautiful but bizzarely eccentric "Cinderella" and the intelligent but haunted Iris, her "Ugly Stepsister", who attempts to understand a world where appearances mean everything.
Now that I am done with my cheesy go at a NY Times commentary, I have to say that it is a very good read. Maguire replaces the fantastic in the story with psychology and does a great job of it.



Oh and I watched the movie made of "The Golden Compass" and suggest that no one who has seen the movie bases their opinion of the book upon it. The story in the movie is a chopped and mixed around version of the original because they seem to have not been able to contain as rich and complex a story in such a short period of time.

 

[Astronuc]

I've been reading "Dreams from my Father" by Barack Obama. I've had many similar observations about the world. He is very thoughtful, insightful and introspective, and I think those qualities could make him a great president. I really hope that he becomes a great president, and that he does lead the nation in a more positive direction that enables greater prosperity and security for all, not only in the US but in all other nations too.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I've been reading "Dreams from my Father" by Barack Obama. I've had many similar observations about the world. He is very thoughtful, insightful and introspective, and I think those qualities could make him a great president. I really hope that he becomes a great president, and that he does lead the nation in a more positive direction that enables greater prosperity and security for all, not only in the US but in all other nations too.

I've been thinking of looking for his biography. Maybe I can find it at a used book store for not too much. I have to imagine that the market has been flooded with copies as of late.

 

[chaoseverlasting]

What about 'A Wrinkle In Time'? I read the series ages ago and was absolutely in love with it.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Series? There's more?
I read A Wrinkle In Time years ago myself. I never knew there were more than just the one. Time to go looking for them I guess. I think I heard they intend to make a movie, jumping on the childrens book movie bandwagon I guess.

Ah..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wrinkle_in_Time_(film )
Disney made a television movie of it. Hmmmm..

 

[Astronuc]

I enjoyed this book, which is the story and tangled lives of Ernest Lawrence, Robert Oppenheimer and Edward Teller.

Amazon.com Review
. . . . is a serious look at invention, rivalry, and betrayal. One of the central episodes involves Oppenheimer's too-cozy relationship with radical-left politics--he carelessly associated with Communists, even though he occupied one of the most sensitive jobs in the U.S. government during the cold war--and Teller's momentous decision to testify against him. This event is one of the most controversial in the annals of American science, and Herken tells it straight, with barely a word of editorial comment. Fans of Richard Rhodes will enjoy this triple biography, as will anybody with an interest in science, politics, and top-secret security clearances. --John J. Miller


From Publishers Weekly
The personalities of the scientists who made the nuclear bomb are the focus of this detailed, engrossing history of one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century. Relying on author interviews and primary and secondary sources, Herken (The Winning Weapons) explains the backgrounds of the three physicists who were essential to the creation of the atomic bombs dropped over Japan during WWII. But even though the author focuses on Oppenheimer, Lawrence and Teller offering both brief bios of each and depicting the sometimes-tempestuous relationships among them it's the former who garners the lion's share of his attention. "Oppie," as he was known, has long been a controversial figure for his later opposition to weapons programs and his alleged Communist links (he was stripped of his U.S. government security clearance during the McCarthy years). As Herken notes, the trial might have had a backlash, turning many scientists against U.S. defense projects for years to come. But there's no smoking gun here: Herken argues that it is unlikely that Oppenheimer, despite his strong leftist sympathies, was ever a member of the Communist Party, let alone a spy. But he nicely details the intersection between the scientific and leftist communities (particularly during the 1920s and 1930s) and the government's attempt to infiltrate these communities after the war. The book is unlikely to end the debate over Oppenheimer's past or change any minds about the balances between security needs and civil liberties but if there was ever a question that politics plays a part in science, this book washes away any doubts.

Brighter than a Thousand Suns: A Personal History of the Atomic Scientists (Paperback)
by Robert Jungk (1970)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156141507/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I'm reading the Poetic Edda and I highly recommend it. Norse (vikings!) mythology and poetry is awesome; it's very imaginative and beautifully written.
I'm glad I read the Prose Edda first though, because it introduces the gods and myths without which I'd be kind of lost.

If you're a fan of Lord Of The Rings (which I can't say I am, but I might give it another chance some day) you'll probably enjoy it, as many of the ideas are inspired by these myths and stories.

I checked out a library copy of 'The Elder Edda' by Taylor and Auden today and started reading. This volume has excerpts from various poems along with an introduction, glossary and notes. Without them, I would be as lost as you would have been without your preparation. I thought The Hobbit was OK, but I gave up on LOTR after about a third of the way into the first volume. I guess Tolkien's Middle Earth refers to the Midgard of the Edda.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I decided to read up a bit on Tolkien and funny that I found this in the wiki article after reading the last two posts...

"He was horrified by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, referring to the Bomb's creators as 'these lunatic physicists' and 'Babel-builders'"

 

[chaoseverlasting]

Series? There's more?
I read A Wrinkle In Time years ago myself. I never knew there were more than just the one. Time to go looking for them I guess. I think I heard they intend to make a movie, jumping on the childrens book movie bandwagon I guess.

Ah..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wrinkle_in_Time_(film )
Disney made a television movie of it. Hmmmm..

Yeah. There are four books I think. I am reading 'A House for Mr. Biswas' by VS Naipaul right now, and its a good book. The jokes are, well, unique. I don't know whether to cry or to laugh, but its definitely worth a read.

 

[Astronuc]

I've been reading The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power by David Sanger, the NY Times correspondent.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307407926/?tag=pfamazon01-20

It's a compelling book, especially the last couple of chapter regarding China, and especially in the light of the current global financial crisis.

Sanger appears occasionally on Charlie Rose - http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/11
e.g. http://www.charlierose.com/view/clip/9971

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I've been reading The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power by David Sanger, the NY Times correspondent.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307407926/?tag=pfamazon01-20

It's a compelling book, especially the last couple of chapter regarding China, and especially in the light of the current global financial crisis.

Sanger appears occasionally on Charlie Rose - http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/11
e.g. http://www.charlierose.com/view/clip/9971

I think I've seen that in the store and was thinking of picking it up. I've been more interested in reading Obama's own writing though. I'll have to take a second look.



I've not had the money to get to a proper book store lately so I have just been reading what ever seems decent enough off the newstand. I've read a few Koontz novels which weren't terribly good, but I'll refrain from bad mouthing him since he's been friends with some of my favourite authors.
I found a copy of 'The Bankcroft Strategy' by Ludlum at my work and it was absolutely horrible. I'm wondering if the Bourne series is better but I'm a bit too daunted to try reading them.
I've tend to enjoy lawyer dramas on TV and my local grocery store has a large selection of Grisham novels at the moment so I have been reading him most recently.
His first novel 'A Time to Kill' is pretty good, especially for a first novel, and slightly reminicent of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. The book is about a lawyer defending a black man in Mississippi who murders the two white men who raped, tortured, and nearly killed his ten year old daughter and their attempt to get him a fair trial. The author generally supports the defendant's actions but still leaves you tryng to figure out whether you should really be all that sympathetic. The main character (the lawyer) is quite real and believable in my opinion. Grisham holds back and only ramps up the drama to a fever pitch towards the end of the novel as opposed to escalating chapter by chapter until it is absolutely absurd which seems common among bad writers. The prose are rather simple and unadorned. He doesn't attempt to wax poetic or try too hard to be clever, nor does he fall into cliche too much. The dialog is quite real and his words are just his medium for conveying the story. All in all a decent book if you like lawyer dramas.
I've also read Grishams 'The King of Torts' which I didn't like as much, a fairly formulaic rags-to-riches-to-rags story but interesting in its own way, and I'm currently reading 'The Broker' which seems interesting so far.

I've also read a few Crichton novels.
'Prey' is focused on nanotech. A scaled down and thriller-ized version of Greg Bear's "Grey Goo" scenario from his novel 'Blood Music'. Not very good.
'Timeline' is an entertaining time travel story that attempts to shuck the myths of the medieval period. Unfortunately his psuedo-scientific description of time travel is down right cheesy.
'Airframe' I found interesting. Crichton explores the process of investigating airliner crashes and the associated industry politics. The amount of high drama and conspiracy that comes out of his thriller-ization left me feeling the story itself was rather unrealistic though. Not terrible in my opinion but engineers may find it pretty cheesy.

I'll let you all know when I get my hands on some really good books. Hopefully that will be soon. I've been thinking about reading some Palahniuk.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I'm reading 'Far from the Madding Crowd', by Thomas Hardy. The style of writing is delightful and the story is light and engaging.

 

[Astronuc]

I've read two of three of Obama's books. I still have to get the third one.

Sanger's book is quite interesting. He is very critical of the Bush administration with respect to Iraq and several failed opportunities. But the really important part is the look forward, and what, besides the US and global financial crisis, the US has to deal with competition from China, which is moving toward technological and political parity with the US, and the international scene, including international terrorism and security.


I also plan to find - The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World (Hardcover) by Eric Weiner
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0446580260/?tag=pfamazon01-20

I heard an interview with the author yesterday. He mentioned that from his experience, the level of happiness of an individual is correlated with the quantity and quality of relationships, particularly friendships. This has been mentioned by others. In addition, happiness is more related to experience than wealth.

 

[physics girl phd]

I'm reading 'Far from the Madding Crowd', by Thomas Hardy. The style of writing is delightful and the story is light and engaging.

Both my brother and I like Hardy a lot (we probably read all his main works). We both REALLY like 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' best, though 'Jude the Obscure' is up there too.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

We both REALLY like 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' best.

I read that last year. I like 'Far' far better. It's more humorous, where 'Mayor' is darker. There's a fair amount of math and science in it too. 'Too many twins by half' caught my ear.

 

[The Bob]

I'll just list some books as history seems to be prevailing:
> 'Animal Farm' - George Orwell
> 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' - George Orwell
> 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' Trilogy - Douglas Adams
> 'To Kill a Mockingbird' - Harper Lee
> 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell' - William Blake
> Roald Dahl - Might be for children doesn't seem to really ages
> Anything by Jeffery Deavers (especially 'The Vanished Man')

The Bob

 

[Astronuc]

I just picked up Jay Winik's "The Great Upheaval", which is about the US, France and Russia during the period 1788-1800.

NYTimes Review - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/books/15gord.html

The late 17th and especially the 18th century are remembered as the Age of Enlightenment, when an extraordinary burst of intellectual activity transformed Western civilization through advances in science and philosophy. In politics men like Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau thought deeply and wrote extensively about how people should be governed and who should do the governing.

But until the late 18th century, their work had been almost entirely theoretical, for ancient monarchies ruled, and constitutions were unwritten. Except in Britain, where the aristocracy ran Parliament, power almost always flowed from the top down.

That began to change in 1789, as men on both sides of the Atlantic tried to turn intellectual theory into political reality. In that year the United States Constitution went into effect with the inauguration of George Washington, and the French Revolution began with the fall of the Bastille.

The two events were intimately interconnected. French help had been crucial to victory in the American Revolution, but it bankrupted the French government, and the ensuing fiscal crisis led directly to the collapse of the ancien régime. Lafayette, presented with the keys to the Bastille, sent one to George Washington. With the help of Thomas Jefferson, then minister to France, Lafayette would write a draft of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Tom Paine, whose “Common Sense” was a major spark to the American Revolution, came within inches of losing his head to the guillotine in the French one.

. . . .

Author's homepage - http://www.jaywinik.com/index.php/books/the_great_upheaval/

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I read that (The Mayor of Casterbridge) last year. I like 'Far' (Far From the Madding Crowd) far better. It's more humorous, where 'Mayor' is darker.

I spoke too soon. 'Far' starts out light, but darkens considerably and is in fact darker than 'Mayor'. There is a recurring sentence pattern that I thought was intersting at first, but was repeated too many times: A was too small to be B, and yet not large enough to be C. Depending on A, B, and C, these can be amusing, but he overdid it.

 

[Astronuc]

I heard an interview with Martin Fletcher this morning. He's written about his 30-year experience as a war correspondent. It's a rather intense story.

Breaking News: A Stunning and Memorable Account of Reporting from Some of the Most Dangerous Places in the World
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001O9CHJ8/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Currently NBC news bureau chief in Tel Aviv, Fletcher offers a vivid account of his 30-year career as a war correspondent in the hot spots of the globe. At age 25, Fletcher grew bored with his BBC desk job and grabbed a position as a cameraman with a video news agency. Five days after he arrived in Israel for his second assignment, Egypt and Syria invaded. With no experience under fire, Fletcher found himself dodging bullets on the front lines—and loved it. Over the following decades, wherever there was a conflict—Rhodesia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Kosovo, South Africa, the killing fields of Rwanda, the first and second intifadas—Fletcher covered the scene. While documenting his adventures, Fletcher also gives a riveting portrayal of the suffering around him and of the macho adrenaline junkies who make up his profession. Fletcher has a clear understanding of the ambiguities of his position as a purveyor of misery and death—for one story, he finds a Somali refugee near death and films her until she stops breathing. . . .

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

so many good books out there to read!
do you know if those books come in paperback astro? I should look it up. if not I may be able to find a good price on one in the B&N bargain section.
there's also a nice looking little used book store down the street from me I have yet to visit. maybe I can find Hardy there. jimmy/physics girl, do you think his books might be hard to find used?

 

[Astronuc]

so many good books out there to read!
do you know if those books come in paperback astro? I should look it up. if not I may be able to find a good price on one in the B&N bargain section.
there's also a nice looking little used book store down the street from me I have yet to visit. maybe I can find Hardy there. jimmy/physics girl, do you think his books might be hard to find used?

I found Winik's history book at B&N for $7, and it looks like Fletcher's book is discounted at Amazon, and it may be at B&N for similarly low price.

Hardy is classic literature, and B&N probably has a few of his books. Just call them, or drop in and browse.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

so many good books out there to read!
do you know if those books come in paperback astro? I should look it up. if not I may be able to find a good price on one in the B&N bargain section.
there's also a nice looking little used book store down the street from me I have yet to visit. maybe I can find Hardy there. jimmy/physics girl, do you think his books might be hard to find used?

I get them from the library. I just finished 'Far From the Madding Crowd' and have started on 'Jude the Obscure'.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I've read a lot of good manuals lately. Does that count? I keep wanting to get back to reading for enjoyment, but I have to read so much for my job that the desire goes away.

I noticed recently that the second Twilight Zone series did show based on one of my favorite short stories - Tom Godwin's "Cold Equations".

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I've read a lot of good manuals lately. Does that count? I keep wanting to get back to reading for enjoyment, but I have to read so much for my job that the desire goes away.

lol that's why I specified recreational reading. so many book threads on pf wind up discussing textbooks and the like.
ofcourse if you happen to have read a really great manual you're more than welcome to talk about it. ;-)

I'm fortunate I guess that my job offers lots of reading time. one of the reasons I've never really gotten around to my writing is that I always wind up reading instead. I'm also afraid that the books I'm reading at the time are going to influence my writing. I suppose I should start doing reading for research.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

lol that's why I specified recreational reading. so many book threads on pf wind up discussing textbooks and the like.
ofcourse if you happen to have read a really great manual you're more than welcome to talk about it. ;-)

I'm fortunate I guess that my job offers lots of reading time. one of the reasons I've never really gotten around to my writing is that I always wind up reading instead. I'm also afraid that the books I'm reading at the time are going to influence my writing. I suppose I should start doing reading for research.

With the diversity of technology out there and the rate of change, as a systems integrator I spend a good bit of my life reading technical manuals. It goes with the territory.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Recent reads:
Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare. Classic.

The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton. I like the story, but the writing doesn't move me. Lily Bart has a glib answer for every question and never tells us what is really on her mind. In my opinion, this is just poor writing. After I read it, I started with "The Age of Innocence" by the same author. The writing is considerably better, but couldn't finish it. Both books give an insight into the world of the idle rich, written by one of their own.

Candide, by Voltaire. A satirical look at various philosphies by a noted philosopher.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I just finished reading The Bourne Identity. I found it difficult to suspend belief, but stuck with it. I started on The Bourne Supremacy, but could not sustain the suspension and so suspended reading. Now I am reading Tristram Shandy. If you haven't read it, then stop what you are doing right now and get a copy. This is a delightful book.