What Are You Reading

[JennyLou]

We Band of Angels. This book is about US army nurses who were on Bataan during WWII.

 

[Paisley]

Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts

This is a collection of 16 philosophical essays using Harry Potter stories as examples. Subjects include the nature of evil, friendship, appearance vs. reality, ambition and others. It's written not in scholarly gobbledygook (for lack of a better term) but plain English.

 

[LordBest]

Re-reading the Iliad, Fagles translation, which I had recommended by one of my university professors.
The moment that is finished, I will be starting on Very Good, Jeeves and Thank You, Jeeves, which just arrived in the post.

 

[ladybrettashley]

The Zimmermann Telegram (1958) by Barbara Tuchman. As one can expect from Ms. Tuchman, a well researched and documented history. In this case, on the events surrounding the interception, decoding and strategic release of the Zimmermann Telegram by the British cryptographers during WWI (1917). The Zimmerman Telegram announced a potential alliance of Mexico with Germany should the then neutral USA enter WWI. The strategic release of the telegram by the British created a public outcry in the USA and contributed greatly to its ultimate involvement in WWI, perhaps, surpassing in importance the bombing of Lusitania.

John

Excellent book; brilliant author. Have you read The Guns of August? It's been a while, but when i was studying WWI more, that was the best of everything i read.

 

[Wally_Hood]

About twenty pages into The Poisonwood Bible. Will reserve judgement until the book is finished, but amazing writing.

 

[John Boyer]

Excellent book; brilliant author. Have you read The Guns of August? It's been a while, but when i was studying WWI more, that was the best of everything i read.

Dear Lady Brettashley,

Oddly enough, being a Tuchman fan, I have not read her Pulitzer Prize Winner, The Guns of August. I have, however, read Ms. Tuchman's The Proud Tower, A Distant Mirror and The March to Folly; From Troy to Vietnam, as well as the Zimmermann Telegram mentioned above. They are all well reasearched and well written; she is, indeed, a brilliant author. As a general rule, I search out first edition printings of Ms. Tuchman's works. I suspect I had some difficulty locating The Guns of August, at the right price. I must give it another search. Thank you.

John

 

[Harp]

Dear Lady Brettashley,

...and The March to Folly; From Troy to Vietnam..
As a general rule, I search out first edition printings of Ms. Tuchman's works.

John

John,
...have wanted to read this for the longest time.

Still with Miracles, and Simone this summer.

 

[Widebrim]

War Progress and the End of History (1899) by Vladimir Solovyov. In this prophetic work, written in dialogue form, at the end of the tumultuous 19th Century, the author addresses the great task facing humanity: the question of evil. As one works through the philosophical discourse outlined in “three conversations” and a concluding Mythos, one cannot help but see parallels to the 21st Century and conclude, as Czeslaw Milosz did, “We read Solovyov’s testament today as a message to us, one still of actuality…”

John

Sounds fascinating. Is it difficult to obtain (the book, that is)?

 

[Widebrim]

Philip Marlowe introduced

The Big Sleep, by Chandler. Since I just finished Farewell, My Lovely, this is a shoe-in (although I should have read the former first:eusa_doh. It moves at a brisk pace, and is (obviously) more graphic than the 1946 film; Chandler makes it very clear what Carmen was doing in Geiger's pad when she got photographed (as well as to what kind of business Geiger really had). Interesting glimpse into the "smut" industry of late-depression Los Angeles, and how it forms part of the narrative.

 

[St.Ignatz]

The "Odyssey of Homer". Sorry but I don't know his last name. Mandelbaum translation. Every time I re read it it's like I'm reading the tale for the first time. Being a dog person, the description of Argos in Book XVII turns me to pudding and no conversation can take place for a good 15 minutes after the read. We all know the tale but the anticipation of coming events still is unsurpassed. That and "Deer Hunting with Jesus".

 

[FinalVestige79]

Unit Reading List..

My Unit has a mandatory reading list for those that want to be or are in armored crews...so right now I'm reading Death Traps by Belton Y. Cooper, the story is entirely enthralling...and its almost sickening and demoralizing what these men went through. I mean...I knew this before..but not from the ways of a tank recovery / ordnance crew. It talks about how cleaning out brains in the turret...and very graphic stuff. Sending the new yardbirds out on point to get hit...then the tank after that would kill the kraut tank that KO'd the point tank..and that tank would take point and so on...its a really clear understanding of being in a tank..living in a tank..and the mortality of being a tanker.

 

[TheLimey]

This weekend I went ahead and started two books.
The Great Gatsby and The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt.

Haven't got far on either yet...

 

[Shangas]

With the possibility of Swine Flu turning the infected into the living dead, I have, as a precaution, purchased and am now reading...

The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Ian Fleming's - "Thrilling Cities"

 

[djhatman]

God's Gift to Women by Eric Ludy. A book about how being true men we are a true gift to women. Not just some who is look to take care of them self but live to honor women.

 

[irb]

I'm trying to work my way through Gödel, Escher, Bach but, being something of an aficionado of the German Existentialists I'm having some trouble buying it. I'm not enough in yet to tell for sure though.

 

[Harp]

I'm trying to work my way through Gödel, Escher, Bach but, being something of an aficionado of the German Existentialists I'm having some trouble buying it. I'm not enough in yet to tell for sure though.

viel gluck mit dis, mein Herr.

 

[RC]

"Mexican Interlude" by Joseph Henry Jackson, pub. 1937. No vacation is possible this year, sadly, but vintage armchair travel does in a pinch.

 

[vonwotan]

I am reading The Company by Robert Littell.

 

[maggiethespy]

Sex with the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics by Eleanor Herman