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AUTUMN OF THE PATRIARCH by GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

Writing Treatments That Sell: How to Create and Market Your Story Ideas to the Motion Picture and TV Industry, Second Ed by Kenneth Atchity

The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Authori by National Commission on Terrorist Attacks

The Federalist Papers (Penguin Classics) by Alexander Hamilton

Yalta: The Price of Peace by S. M. Plokhy

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Member: fredbacon

CollectionsYour library (1,632), Currently reading (5), 2013 Reading List (13), 2012 Reading List (56), 2011 Reading List (43), 2010 Reading List (60), Russian History (190), Russian Front (101), Kindle (21), Audio Books (4), Read but unowned (1), All collections (1,638)

Reviews32 reviews

Tagsnonfiction (1,032), fiction (596), 20th century (511), novel (469), history (417), literature (233), science (233), textbook (232), european history (199), reference (182) — see all tags

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Recommendations2 recommendations

About meI'm a physicist/programmer working for a small research and development company in Massachusetts. I was born and grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. A dog lover and book lover, I can often be found walking my dog around Willard's Woods in Lexington while reading a book.

Oh, and that dog up there in the corner. That's Enkidu, friend and companion to Gilgamesh.

About my libraryMy library has been growing for years and reflects my constantly shifting tastes and interests.

Books are judged on a relative scale according to their ambitions. A cheap pulp novel may score higher than a classic simply because it set its sights so low. If I don't judge books this way, every thing would be one or two stars. Three stars basically means that the book was an enjoyable way to spend some time, but offered nothing of any value.

Some books may lack a rating because I read them so long ago that I don't feel that I can adequately judge them without a second read. There are a lot of old science fiction books in my library that I read as a teenager...Arthur C. Clarke comes to mind. These books may be rated despite their age because my memories of them are so strong. However, bear in mind that they are the ratings of a teenage mind at best. If I reread them today, they would probably score very differently. I prefer to keep my less cynical childhood memories of these books.

I've been working on a list of texts for those interested in learning about the Russian Front during World War II.

http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/User:Fredbacon

GroupsHistory Fans, Military History, Science Fiction Fans, Science!, What Are You Reading Now?

Favorite authorsAlbert Camus, Joseph Conrad, William Faulkner, Tess Gerritsen, Günter Grass, Samuel Pepys, Richard Powers, Rex Stout (Shared favorites)

VenuesFavorites

Favorite bookstoresBarnes & Noble Booksellers - Burlington, Used Book Superstore

Homepagehttp://sketchesamongtheruins.blogspot.com/

Also onBlogger, Facebook, LinkedIn

Membership LibraryThing Early Reviewers/Member Giveaway

Real nameFred W. Bacon

LocationWoburn, MA

EmailFred.W.Bacongmail.com

Account typepublic, lifetime

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/fredbacon (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/fredbacon (library)

Member sinceJan 26, 2008

Currently readingDeblurring Images: Matrices, Spectra, and Filtering (Fundamentals of Algorithms 3) by Per Christian Hansen
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
Molecular Spectra and Molecular Structure: Spectra of Diatomic Molecules by Gerhard Herzberg
Macroeconomics by N. Gregory Mankiw
The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code by Margalit Fox

Most recent activity

fredbacon rated:
The Dragon's War: Allied Operations and the Fate of China, 1937-1947 by Maochun Yu

fredbacon added:
The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code by Margalit Fox

fredbacon rated, added:
Russka : the novel of Russia by Edward Rutherfurd

fredbacon added:
Commissar: The life and death of Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria by Tadeusz Wittlin

fredbacon added:
The Red Army: The Red Army - 1918 to 1945, The Soviet Army - 1946 to the Present by B.H. Liddell Hart

fredbacon added:
Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army by Meirion Harries

Just had to comment - your Enkidu is a real stunner!

posted by Booksloth at 11:02 am (EST) on Feb 3, 2013

You're quite welcome, Fred. I look forward to reading the book as soon as the local library gets it in.

Many thanks for the hurricane recovery wishes. It proceeds apace, and is a great deal less challenging for us than for so many others who have lost homes and cars.

Cheers
RMD

posted by richardderus at 5:50 pm (EST) on Nov 5, 2012

Hi Fred,

I notice you have a copy of The New Penguin Russian Course by Nicholas J Brown, which I also have and learned from.

Are you still studying Russian? If so, you might find Practical Russian Reader helpful. It is a new book of Russian short stories with helpful exercises.

Let me know what you think of it?

TT

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Russian-Reader-Vol-1-Intermediate/dp/1470139790

posted by TheTortoise at 7:12 am (EST) on Jul 2, 2012

Hi Fred, Thanks for stopping by my thread and asking me about the Russian literature program at the BEA. I do indeed live in NYC, but I'm afraid I'm so busy with work this week I'm not going to be able to go to any of the events. Rebecca

posted by rebeccanyc at 10:54 am (EST) on Jun 5, 2012

I wanted to let you know that I finished reading Cafe on the Nile yesterday and thought of you and the WWII books. this one is a novel set in Ethiopia when the Italians attack in 1935. So much history about that nasty war all wrapped up in a great adventure novel. It is more novel than history, but still lots of info about weapons (particularly Italian airplanes) and what Italy thought it was doing in Ethiopia. This book is the second in a trilogy set in East Africa, but I don't think you would have to read the first one to like this one. I still have the third one to read (Devil's Oasis) set in the WWII in Africa but don't know much about it yet. These might not be your cup of tea but you could try them out and see.

posted by benitastrnad at 10:29 pm (EST) on Jun 19, 2011

I just read your review of Devotion of Suspect X and it made me laugh. Thanks for telling the story in your review. I hope you have finished reading by now. I am liking this book, even though it does have some problems - the characters are a little flat at times, but the plot line is great.

I would also like to recommend White Rhino Hotel to you. There is some about WWI in East Africa in the book and that should appeal to your more historical non-fiction side, while having rousing adventure and nasty characters should appeal to your more literary side.

posted by benitastrnad at 1:48 pm (EST) on Apr 15, 2011

Forgot to tell you that Enkidu looks like an interesting companion. Of course he was in the book as well!

posted by benitastrnad at 11:41 am (EST) on Nov 23, 2010

I wondered when I would see you back on the "what are you reading the week of ..." group. I always enjoy seeing what you are reading about regarding the Eastern Front. I looked for your review of this book and didn't find one, but you rated it fairly high. Might be that when I decide to go wading through the blood and guts of the Big One again this might be the book to pick up.

posted by benitastrnad at 11:38 am (EST) on Nov 23, 2010

Fred,
I ended up going through the Amazon feedback and received a refund within 6 hours. THEN the seller wrote to me to apologize for the mix up. So back to Amazon to get the book I wanted in the first place .. but NOT from the same seller, that's for sure.

Oh well, considering the number of books that I've bought online, I can't be too upset because this is the first time I've received a used book with a different book under the jacket.

caroline

posted by cameling at 4:20 pm (EST) on Oct 13, 2009

Look at that. On the first page I find a book that I have but haven't read yet. The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on… I have a feeling I would find a book on your list that wasn't on mine yet.

posted by callmejacx at 11:36 pm (EST) on Jun 1, 2009

I saw your posting in the gatering place. We share 19 books which isn't too too bad. I am going to peak at the rest of your library. I might find some in there that I have forgotten about.

posted by callmejacx at 11:33 pm (EST) on Jun 1, 2009

Thank you for your note and wise counsel. I don't typically back away from a fight, but as these things go, it's not a particularly interesting one. The argument (such as it is) that this person is making seems to be taken whole cloth from the crackpot theories of "writer, scholar, and Pythagorean" John Anthony West. There is just no point arguing with a true believer: they cannot see the limitations of their enthusiasms, but they will also try their damndest to pick you apart with mischaracterization and obfuscation. The hell with that. If I want to hear pseudointelligent ramblings, I will take the crosstown bus. At least then I'll end up somewhere.

posted by Makifat at 12:22 am (EST) on May 21, 2009

I see that you too have just added Third World War. What did you think of it

posted by carterchristian1 at 10:56 pm (EST) on May 16, 2009

No, I haven't read any other than the two. I get off on reading tangents and someday hope to get back to the mates of Nightmare Years (it is no. 2 in a series of 3). I will keep your suggestion in mind, sounds interesting.

posted by gordon361 at 2:10 pm (EST) on May 4, 2009

Fred, I hope you make it through The Rise and Fall... it's a strong lesson on how to treat the vanquished. If you enjoy Shirer I would strongly suggest "The Nightmare Years" it's him as a journalist in Germany during Hitlers rise, very good.

posted by gordon361 at 5:42 pm (EST) on Apr 29, 2009