I'm reading
Part of the Pattern by Edna Healey - she is Denis' wife and so this will give some background to the history and political biography by politicians that I've been reading recently. Good stuff so far. I read way more non-fic than fic last month, probably cos I'm onto my stuff I bought on my last trip to Hay on Wye!
I'm still reading
Under the Iron Heel by Lars Moën. Moën, an American chemist and former journalist was working in Belgium when the Nazi's invaded at the start of WWII. He stayed in Antwerp for six months before finally getting out and heading home. By 1941, he had published this book, an account of his experiences and the experiences of people he interviewed during his time in occupied Belgium. It's important to note that the book was published before the U.S. was in the war.
Moen's low-key yet fascinating accounts of his experiences as the German invasion rolled through Antwerp, his picture of life in the relatively early years of the occupation, including the beginnings of the RAF bombings of the city, and his observations on the mind-set and quality of the many German soldiers he met (he spoke fluent French, Flemish and German, which helps) are intriguing, and made moreso by his matter-of-fact writing style.
I don't remember where I found this book. It's been on my history shelf for a while. I probably came across it at a flea market or estate sale. Only three LTers, I believe, have this book listed. If you're interested in WWII history, Under the Iron Heel is well worth seeking out.
> 3 thats a great review rocketjk, thanks for the heads up!
#4> Thanks! As I noted, I'm not finished yet, still about 80 pages to go (of 350). I just finished the long and captivating chapter entitled "What a German Soldier Thinks About." Moen was living in a small hotel that almost constantly had German soldiers billetted there on a rotation basis. As I mentioned, his German was fluent, so he was able to converse with a wide cross section of German soldiers. He notes that especially at the very beginning of the occupation, the soldiers' belief of German propaganda was almost absolute. They genuinely believed that they had attacked Belgium because the Belgian army had attacked them first. They also still believed (it was only Summer 1940 when Moens was there) that the invasion of England was imminent and that the war would be over quickly. But Moens reported that their homesickness was acute, and believed that their fighting spirit would ebb if the war began to brag. The book is full of that sort of observation.
Of interest (at least to me) is that while wasting time on Google regarding a different subject, I came upon a 1943 Life magazine article by Ernie Pyle, wherein he speaks of the problems caused initially by the fervent homesickness of the American GIs during the African campaign.
Haven't decided yet . Might go with something about the history of Halloween .
I just finished
Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution, which I really, really enjoyed. I was attending a scientific conference while I read the book, and it was extremely amusing to see the same interplay between scientists recapitulated over 300 years. It was also entertaining to get a little closer to the scientific personalities that discovered so much during that era.
Due to another LTer's recommendation, I picked up
Mothers of Invention and am finding it very interesting. It reinforces my theory that human nature doesn't change.
I'm mostly done reading
The Elegant Universe. No idea what's next, but after string theory it's going to be something easy. ;)
I finished
The Survivor by
John F. Harris. This is an excellent bio on Clinton's presidency. Well-balanced and impeccably researched.
This thread is bad for my book health. I've just added lots of books to my library wishlist.
I'm still going on
Greatest Show on Earth - despite its wonderfulness for an evolutionary newbie, I can't read science alone. I got sidetracked onto fiction, and now I've started
Gellhorn: A Twentieth Century Life by Caroline Moorhead - a biography of Martha Gellhorn. I'm up to the 1930s and it's very interesting (though still mostly based in the US - the travel is yet to come).
Message edited by its author, Oct 12, 2009, 3:27pm.
I just started reading
My Lobotomy by Howard Dully. In this memoir, Dully searches for answers to the questions he has been asking since his stepmother arranged for him to be given a lobotomy at the age of twelve. I'm only in the second chapter and, though I find the subject matter rather fascinating, I feel that Dully's writing style is rather grating. This is the first memoir I've read, so I'm hoping that it picks up soon.
I've been spending more time than I expected to on
The House of Rothschild. In America this is a two volume work, and I'm nearing the end of the first volume. I will be tempted to move on right into the second volume, but I think I will try to take a break so as to diversify a little. There are novels waiting.
The history of the Rothschilds is fascinating. I'm reading it as a narrative and not mastering all the detail, of which there is plenty. If my kids gather around my feet and ask me to tell them the story, I won't be able to do it, but if conversation turns to them I will recognize what went on.
Robert
Message edited by its author, Oct 12, 2009, 5:08pm.
After having read
What is the What, I'd be delighted to try another book by
Dave Eggers. Happily, though,
Zeitoun is already on my wish list. :)
There already were two books by Jon Krakauer that both my husband and I read and loved. They Were
Into Thin Air and
Into the Wild. (I just noticed both books started with the word "into". Weird!) I'll keep an eye on the one you just mentioned and will eagerly await your thoughts about it.
Message edited by its author, Oct 18, 2009, 8:16am.
Not sure what NF I will read this month. I am on my last RL book group book and will then be free to read a 'me' book.
>msf, if you've got
What is the What, I'd move that in front of
Heartbreaking Work - both are good, but What is better. I think I reviewed both of them when I read them, if you care for my full thoughts. I've got
Zeitoun on my wishlist as well.
Agreed, that
Under the banner of heaven was excellent - a very well told frightening story.
I'm reading another memoir:
Corked by
Kathryn Borel. I've come to love memoirs by the less-than-famous.
> bfertig- Thanks for the suggestion on
What is the What. I will add it to my bulging wishlist!
#24, me too! I've just finished two great memoirs.
A Diary without Dates, by Enid Bagnold, was her diary of her life as a VAD (volunteer nurse aide) in a hospital for British soldiers in WW1.
The second was Suad Amiry's
Sharon and my Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries . This was very disturbing but bitingly funny at the same time!
(Edited to add that the touchstone for this book isn't going, and goes to a spam address, but the direct link above should work...)
Message edited by its author, Oct 18, 2009, 9:45pm.
I'm finding that
Gems in Myth, Legend and Lore is a fascinating book. There's the history of the gem in question, the lore behind it and the uses it was supposed to be good for, along with the crystal structure, hardness and other "modern" information. It's a pity this is a library book as I may have to break down and buy a copy for myself.
19 - I just finished
Zeitoun as well and can add another entusiastic recommendations. I haven't reviewed it yet (I want to think it over a bit more), but it was very good.
I'm working my way through
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson. I read his excellent biography of Benjamin Franklin a while back. Einstein is readable, but I'm bogging down on some of the physics. Not easy reading in bed.
I finished
The Elegant Universe last Friday, but with hauling my sorry ass out of bed at 5AM for a bus upstate and then coming home with my first spinning wheel, I didn't start a new book till Monday. Perhaps under the circumstances that new book should have been
The Age of Homespun, but I read it over the summer. So I started reading
American Lion. Pretty good so far.
jennieg, while I was reading
Einstein, I bought
Einstein for Dummies and was very impressed. It was the first "...for Dummies" book I'd ever read and it really helped explain the science. It even inspired me to read
Relativity: the Special and General Theory by Einstein himself. Although, I must admit that the subtitle -- A simple explanation that anyone can understand -- didn't hold true for me!
Just finishing
That's another story by Julie Walters. Very good autobiography, sad, hillarious and not the usual showbiz biog.
I finished
Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer. This is another tough riveting story, by one of my favorite non-fiction authors. Highly recommended!
I'm reading
The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell, which I think is technically non-fiction, although maybe not the most truthful and unbiased biography.
I'm reading a biography of Sergio Vieira de Mello called Chasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World by
Samantha PowerThe Sleeping Buddha: The Story Of Afghanistan Through The Eyes Of One Family - Hamida Ghafour
The author's parents fled Kabul with the then very young author and her brother after the Russians invaded in 1981. After several years as refugees in India, they made their way to Canada. It is there where, as a young adult, she honed her skills as a journalist with The Globe & Mail and The Toronto Star newspapers.
Hamida returned to Afghanistan in 2003 as an accomplished reporter for the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph and has made subsequent visits. Her book is highly recommended for its insights into that troubled country's history.
Message edited by its author, Oct 31, 2009, 11:16am.
I just finished an audio version of
Babylon by Bus and also finished
The Great Influenza.
Both the snarky travelogue and the dense history of early 20th century physician investigators, were excellent.
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