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The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin by Vladimir Voinovich

The True Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by John Seelye

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett

China; an interpretive history, from the beginnings to the fall of Han by Joseph R. Levenson

Daily life in China, on the eve of the Mongol invasion, 1250-1276 by Jacques Gernet

Two Kinds of Time, Life in Provincial China during the crucial years 1940 - 1941 by Graham Peck

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

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Member: pechmerle

CollectionsYour library (47), Wishlist (1), All collections (48)

Reviews10 reviews

TagsFiction - humor (2), Fiction - Jewish Short Stories (1), Sicily - Italy - Crime and Corruption (1), China - Cultural Revolution - Eyewitness Accounts; China - Red Guards (1), Mark Twain studies (1), Italy - Political History (1), Short Stories - French (1), Wine - history (1), literary history (1), Sicily - Culture (1) — see all tags

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Recommendations3 recommendations

About my libraryI'm far too disorganized to do a real catalog. Also, I've read far more books from libraries, and ones I've read and sold, than ones I've held on to. Here I'm just listing a few favorites, and less usual items, that I have, slowly now and then. Love reading, libraries, and book stores. LT is going to be [has become] a great source of new things to read.

GroupsAncient China, BritWit, Humor, Mark Twain, Opera, or Nobody Knows the Traubel I've Seen, Wine

Favorite authorsEric Ambler, Joseph Conrad, George Eliot, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Evelyn Waugh, P. G. Wodehouse (Shared favorites)

Membership LibraryThing Early Reviewers/Member Giveaway

LocationSan Francisco, California

Emailpechmerlecomcast.net

Account typepublic, free

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

Member sinceJun 27, 2006

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Duplicate

posted by BarkingMatt at 6:44 pm (EST) on Jun 21, 2012

Sure. And we are not talking about a book about someone like you who has far reaching knowledge of China. The best, little book I've read is "China: It's History and Culture" by W. Scott Morton and Charleton M. Lewis, published by McGraw Hill. These authors access the deeper artistic and spiritual levels--far more than required of a skinny introductory book. They were especially good on the period after Three Kingdoms when the Horse people came in waves, bringing with them Buddhism. As far as I'm concerned, 360 to the 580 AD is the most exciting and fertile. What's bothers me is that I cannot find more books on China by these two authors.

And you are missing out mightily in not reading "The Decline and Fall." There are some howlingly good passages about men and war, which seem like obvious truths after Gibbon states his points, but I would not have THUNK them on my own. I read at night, but have a hard time getting to sleep. Maybe because the decline seem especially pertinent to our current situation. We need real uprising with pitchforks, not more blogs. Amen.

posted by belleyang at 5:41 pm (EST) on Mar 29, 2009

Thank you. Glad I asked the question, and thank you for the suggestions. I am several chapters into the abridged Gibbons and find it enthralling. Yes, I am keeping in mind what you said about accuracy.

I know exactly what I'd recommend if someone asked me what he or she should read on Imperial China ;)

Gibbon gets his info from Tacitus, which was largely focused on the decline, lauding the Caledonians for their fighting prowess,courage (what Romans now lacked). Want to know if America is in decline, now that Barbarians like me have settled on the California shore.

posted by belleyang at 4:47 am (EST) on Mar 28, 2009

Thanks. I got the abridged. Any suggestion on Roman history apart from Gibbon?

posted by belleyang at 9:40 pm (EST) on Mar 27, 2009

Thanks, Peche Merle--

I think the battle tactics will be enjoyable to the extent that I've been absorbed in The Art of Warfare and The Three Kingdoms. I want to know how they managed to wind their way to India with 80,000 fighters and 30,000 camp followers. And how did Alexander manage to give clear orders when so many in the ranks were Persians. Translation in the midst of battle sounds like a game of telephone.

Another question: I am gearing myself to read "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Complete, not abridged. Do you know which edition will be best for maps and things. There is an antiquarian edition pubbed by Heritage Press, but I think they have beautiful pictures over maps.

Thanks, any suggestion would be helpful.

posted by belleyang at 11:07 pm (EST) on Mar 24, 2009

Just ordered the Green book on Alexander of Macedon. Can't get enough. B

posted by belleyang at 12:54 am (EST) on Mar 24, 2009

Pechie--Does the book you recommend have a lot of material on logistics and how later historians learned about certain battle not in the official history by Arrian (sp)--his expedition record keeper? Alexander is fascinating.

posted by belleyang at 5:26 pm (EST) on Mar 19, 2009

My mom saved all of the crazy names for me. My brother's name is Joshua. I always joke that I will name my children Feburary, March April..., but truth is I'll probably give them normal names.
Thanks for posting a note!

posted by januaryw at 3:16 am (EST) on Nov 7, 2008