What Non-Fiction R U Reading for FEBRUARY '08

I'm just about to start Fletcher Pratt's "A Short History of the Civil War: Ordeal by Fire"

Also starting on two French books: "French Demystified" and "Beginning French for the Utterly Confused". I don't want to speak French, but I sure would like to be able to read some source works in that language.

February already? Geesh.

I'm working on the papers in the anthology Philosophy & Democracy, edited by Thomas Christiano. I'm hoping to finish today, although that becomes less and less likely the more times I refresh the dag-nabbed talk page on LT. *sigh*

Also... still have Herodotus, Godel, Escher, Bach, and The Examined Life going on in the background. Made pretty decent progress in the Nozick over the past few days.

Nonfiction-wise, I am currently reading Uncle Tungsten: memories of a chemical boyhood by Oliver Sacks and Reality and Rationality by the late great philosopher Wesley Salmon. Both are excellent so far, in their own distinct ways.

#1 ThePam: I'm also reading about that with The English Civil War: A People's History by Diane Purkiss. (Touchstones comes up with a slightly different title but I think it's the same book). It's a very difficult period to get to grips with but not long ago read Christopher Isherwood's The World Turned Upside Down which had a lot on the religious and social upheaval and decided to come back for more.

Just finished The Nine: inside the secret world of the Supreme Court. It was decent enough, but not great. My biggest complaint was that the analysis seemed shallow. The stories about the personal side of the justices were pretty good, though.

I made headway in A Secular Age last night and didn't feel I was depriving myself of something else. I am nevertheless, at just over a hundred pages into it, not ready to recommend it. I will certainly read at least a little more of it.

I also started, awhile back, Skepticism: an Anthology, a sourcebook on Western skepticism to go along with Doubt: a history that I have read for a church book group discussion in April. I will turn to it from time to time for short pieces; I have plenty of time to get through it.

Robert

#1: I'm red-faced! About my post #4. Having looked up the book you mentioned I realise I forgot there was another Civil War.

#7> PossMan

No problem :o)

I do the same thing when focussed on a topic... I tend to hear and see it everywhere.

Finished Eat, Pray, Love so started Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama. Also, still reading A Pound of Paper.

Without a Map by Meridith Hall...very touching memoir of a young woman's struggle after giving birth and giving her son away as a teenager.

Just started The Caliph's House a Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah. I am looking forward to this book as I have travelled to Morocco

#11 torontoc: I have not read that particular book by Tahir Shah, but have read a couple of his others. I find his writing style very easy to read and really enjoy it. Please let me know how you like this one.

I'm reading The New City: How the Crisis in Canada' Urban Centres is Reshaping the Nation by John Lorinc.

>11 torontoc: & 12 I heard a radio interview with Tahir Shah and was so intrigued I went out and bought the book though I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. He was quite entertaining. Money pit stories always intrigue me. The whole thing went so wrong he was afraid his wife was going to leave him over it. Problems with contractors are universal and the difference in building techniques was fascinating, wait until you get to the sheep's blood in the plaster.

#14> Varielle... Good Morning!

Can you tell me (or anyone) what the purpose of the blood in the plaster is?

Not too long ago I read a paper by Bourke (3rd Cavalry Lt) about the habits of settlers in the American Southwest circa 1870s, and he mentioned using cow blood when making bricks. You won't believe it, but I haven't been able to track down what the purpose is for that particular ingredient. Coloring? Material stability?

I await edification :

I finished the articles in Thomas Christiano's Philosophy and Democracy anthology yesterday. I think the article I enjoyed the most was the contribution from Michael Walzer, whose piece was about the tension between political philosophy and democracy, and the corresponding tension between judicial review and democracy. While the latter is a common topic of philosophy, the analogy to the former was new to me, and I found it pretty insightful.

Today I'm starting F.A. Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty. Hayek is one of my favorites, but it's been a while since I've read anything of his. Quite aside from the philosophical value of his works, I'd forgotten how enjoyable he is to read. :D

It apparently gave it a pleasing shade of pink/adobe color. I don't know if it imparts any other qualities.

Currently reading My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas. Very good reading thus far.

Just finished The Caliph's House a year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah. Really enjoyed it -the author's adventures in renovating his villa and the characters that he met made this book very interesting-as well the information on traditional Moroccan tile work. I am now going to start Heat by Bill Buford.

Just finished The Tipping Point. It's billed as a business book, but it's fascinating for anyone into sociology, group psychology, whatever. It's also very readable.
I'm now in the beginning of Craze: Gin and Bebauchery in the Age of Reason.

I'm almost to the point where I can back out of Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair without feeling especially guilty about it, but I may do that anyway, since I got another book going and then got an Early Reviewers book.

The book I got going is Saxons, Vikings, and Celts, which is moving along at a pretty good clip. And that Early Review book is The Translator.

#17>

Thank you Varielle! One of history's mysteries resolved.

For an easy non-fiction read and supporting my new interest as a recreational apocalytician, I cracked open (to the tune of 120 pages) Apocalypse 2012 last night. It turns out to be sufficiently addled that it isn't properly non-fiction. I will probably finish reading it anyway.

Robert

Reading The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir. I am not enjoying it. I'm not going to start a rant here, but she's too opinionated to be a historian, imho.

#24: A bit since I read Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor on Queen Jane and found it very readable.

#15: My parents once told me that the houses around where they grew up were painted with blood to water-proof them. Maybe it's something similar?

Hi Tronella!

That's very interesting. I only wish I knew enough to guess what properties the protein in the blood might contribute to a mixture.

Hmm, if you don't mind me asking... where area did your parents grow up in. Maybe if I knew that it would make my 'googling' more successful.

#25 It was an easy read, PossMan, which is the only reason I was able to force myself to finish it. She was so obviously biased against Richard III that even when she had evidence that seemed legitimate (which wasn't that often), I was resistant to it.

I also seem to recall that the blood may make it somewhat shiny.

Blood making things shiny ... I love these non-fiction threads. :)

Have just started reading Mirage : Napoleon's scientists and the unveiling of Egypt by Nina Burleigh. Excellent reading thus far, very interesting indeed, although the touchstone doesn't seem to work for some reason.

{I also seem to recall that the blood may make it somewhat shiny.}

That would make sense, Varielle. That it would make a surface shiny... sort of like egg white does to a pie crust.

ps-- if I were a real scientist or historian, I'd make some bricks and experiment to see what changes are created.

#27: My parents are both from Suffolk, in England. Hope that helps :)

*sigh*

My search on blood and various household uses (bricks, waterproofing) goes on but without favorable results.

Unless you count the fact that one guy claims that Coke can get blood stains off asphalt roads.

Thanks for the help though :}

I finished The Constitution of Liberty yesterday, and also read Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous over the last couple of days because it had been a while and I'm lecturing on it this week.

Today I'm starting on my last book that I have to read for my comps (yippee!!). It's the anthology Left-Libertarianism and Its Critics, edited by Peter Vallentyne and Hillel Steiner

Just finished a book from the library endangered species by Stephen M. Younger. Dr. Younger is one of the scientists who developed the atomic bomb & other nuclear weapons. His theory is that in order to escape extinction, mankind needs to understand human nature & develop systems of governments that can co-operate with each other. All violence, even small, personal acts should be eliminated, children should be taught this from an early age. He does not believe that there is a "violent" gene. An interesting theory, maybe a bit optomistic.
I am now reading Born on a blue day a study of autism written by an autistic person.

I'm three chapters short of finishing Saxons, Vikings, and Celts. Unless I catch the flu or something in that snow we've gotten since lunchtime (and are still getting) I should be done with it before the week is out. Then it's onto Daoud Hari's The Translator.

AnnaClaire> I hope you will post a review of Saxons, Vikings, and Celts. I have read another book on the human DNA of the British Isles which claims some interesting but credible differences from conventional wisdom. I'd like to pursue the subject a little bit; that is, I can't read every book on the subject but won't ignore them all either.

Robert

I doubt I'd be able to post much of a review: I'm kinda rushing it a little too much to write much of one. (Yes, two weeks is quick for me. My reading happens mostly over lunch.)

I will, however, in all likelyhood have a review of The Translator up by the end of the month. That's why I've been rushing the current book - I want to get to my Early Reviewer book, which showed up right after I started the book I have going now.

Reading "The Frontier in Pre-Columbian Illinois". I'm finding it a very informative article about Cahokia.

Currently reading Ripples of Battle by Victor Hanson, which has been excellent thus far, Coming out of the Ice by Victor Herman, The Causes of War by Geoffrey Blainey, Seeds of Treason by Ralph de Toledano and The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir.

I finished An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina yesterday and it was very good. I learned about it here on LT, so thank you to whoever recommended it (sorry, I cannot remember who it was).

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I was really impressed with An Ordinary Man recently so this book might have been my recommendation. Glad you found it to your liking. I found that book to have been truly inspiring.

If you've not seen the movie "Hotel Rwanda", I recommend that you now see it. Don Cheadle won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina in the movie. Here are the movie trailers.

I just started "Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind" by Gary Marcus but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to finish it. The first chapter was shear torture. This guy's supposed to have been mentored by Steven Pinker, but the analogies and thinking are EXTREMELY sophomoric thus far.

I'd be interested in any one else's opinion. Maybe it's just me...

Just finished Punching In by Alex Frankel and found it quite entertaining. He takes jobs at UPS, Enterprise, The Gap, Starbucks and Apple over two years and writes about it. Great insight into corporate culture from a retail perspective.

Just started A Thread Across the Ocean and Your Inner Fish. And, I finally got around to reading Persepolis. Wow.

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If you enjoyed Persepolis (which is a movie now, by the way), you'll probably also like Persepolis 2 and Embroideries by the same author, Marjane Satrapi. Should you not be able to find these books elsewhere, I have copies circulating as a BookCrossing bookrays.

Persepolis 2 bookray

Embroideries bookray

I'm still reading Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs and just read a very funny essay about Burroughs' blind date with another gay man. My husband would never read this book because it's about gay men, but I think that particular essay was hysterical. It's even funnier hearing it on audio. His humor reminds me of David Sedaris, but I think that Burroughs' humor is less offensive.

I am reading Islam by Karen Armstrong. She gives a good, brief history of the religion that many Westerners need, but I think that she goes a little overboard in justifying every bad thing Muslims have ever done in history.

--44

Thanks! - I've got Persepolis 2 in my library (I'm a school librarian) and will definitely read that next. I hadn't heard of the other one, but I think there's an additional title (maybe she has even more than that?)...

Incidentally, the 7th graders at one of the schools I work at are reading Persepolis as a class read this semester...

Now I need to find a babysitter so my husband and I can go see the Persepolis film!

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Marjane Satrapi does have two other books, one of which is a children's book. I haven't read either of those, though. For sure I'd get the adult one, Chicken with Plums, if I came across it in my searches of used bookstores. Maybe even the children's book, Monsters are Afraid of the Moon.

Not all of Satrapi's books written in French have been translated into English. Embroideries is probably not a good choice for seventh graders. You'll see why when you read it.

Here's the movie trailer for Persepolis.

Chicken with Plums is the one I was thinking of. Thanks, SqueakyChu!

The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky. After read his book Cod, I really wanted to read more of Mr. Kurlansky's books.

Finished Dreams From My Father, which is enjoyed. Starting Hiroshima Diary.

I started Cultural Amnesia last night. I don't know what's going to happen with A Secular Age.

Gave up on "Kluge" temporarily, and am now reading "Three Years Among the Comanches: The Narrative of Nelson Lee".

It's an interesting read from 1859 about Lee's experience as a Texas Ranger, but most probably all or a portion of it is 'fictional'.

I'm in the middle of fiction right now, but when I finish the novel, I may finally finish Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty by Scott Turow. It seems silly not to finish it. I also plan to start (and hopefully finish) The Symposium by Plato.

I'm reading When You Catch an Adjective, Kill it by Ben Yagoda

By the way, in The Basque History of the World, people add blood to paint for the colour effect.

Bless you for thinking of me!

I'm quite convinced now that the blood was used specifically for the coloring effect. Though now I wonder about modern tiles.

I'm starting Rights of Man today. I'm actually pretty ashamed to admit I haven't read it before (not that anyone who hasn't read it should be ashamed, only doctoral candidates who study rights and democratic theory!)

I'm reading The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by Neil Strauss. The author says it's a true story, guess that qualifies it as a non-fiction.

I'm about to start The Voices of Morebath: Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village by Eamon Duffy. I just blasted through a pile of sf/fantasy short fiction magazines, so it'll be nice to get back to the nonfiction.

Fleela: I found Morebath a great read and wonderful insight as to how country people thought about their church in the run up to the Reformation and later. A much more positive view than we got in school all those many years ago.
(edited to correct a spelling error)

Just finished Candy Girl; being from Minneapolis, I was curious about the places she worked and also curious about her writing since she's up for an Oscar. It was a pretty entertaining read.

Also just finished Kabul Beauty School which was pretty terrific. I seem to be devouring books about Afghanistan lately, after meeting (name dropping warning) both David Relin and Greg Mortenson over the last month.

ETA: The Sewing Circles of Herat and An Unexpected Light are the newest two I've just purchased.

I haven't read nonfiction in a while but have just started A People's History of the United States. I'm reading a chapter here and there as an alternative to my normal fiction reads.

My two non-fiction reads for February were Rising Tide by John M. Barry, about the Mississippi River flood of 1927, and Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte.

Of the two, Being Digital seems more "historic"--a book on computers and the Internet from 1995 is almost archaic! But Negroponte's predictions are fascinating, even when wrong. Make that especially when wrong.

The 1927 Mississippi flood did not flood New Orleans, but Barry mentions the city's geographical vulnerability and the difficulty of evacuating 450,000 people, which seems all too current now, after Hurricane Katrina. (The population interested me; New Orleans later rose to 600,000 people but then declined to about 480,000 by 2005.)

karen5l, I thought John Barry's Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America was absolutely terrific and one of the best narrative histories I've ever read.

I agree with LouisBranning about Rising Tide. I couldn't put it down. I need to read his other book, The Great Influenza.

I'm reading The Desire of Every Living Thing which is a memoir recommended by someone on LT.

Currently reading "Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer" by Bill Gifford.

Ledyard in his time was as well known as Columbus is now. He traveled with Cook on his third voyage, and throughout Europe and Africa. Rather an amazing figure. He left very little in the way of records which is a d@mn shame.

Just starting The Children of Henry VIII.

>68 AnnaClaire:
I hope you will post up a review of that when when you're done.!

I'll try. (I meant to put up a review of Persuasion right after I read that one, too.)

> 61 If you are delving into books on Afghanistan, you may want to give Love and War in Afghanistan a try. I found it fascinating and quite moving.

I finished the wonderfully interesting Mirage : Napoleon's scientists and the unveiling of Egypt book, whose touchstone still won't work, and have begun to try tackling The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood by Rashid Khalidi.

I finished Cultural Amnesia and started The Gospel of Judas. I have a short review in me for Cultural Amnesia that I hope will get written someday soon. I was a little disappointed to find that The Gospel of Judas is a gnostic text; the place of Judas in conventional Christianity is a difficult one.

Robert

#72: I read this "Gospel of Judas" but have to say without the commentary it would be virtually incomprehensible to me. It was only the accompanying text that put into context and compared it with the synoptic gospels that allowed me to make any sense of it. That said the fact that is not part of the "canon" does not bother me. What does worry me is that some genuine scholarship and insights into non-canonical texts might be ignored because of people jumping on the bandwagon of the appeal of such ideas as "Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene". I don't think I've expressed that very well but it's just that some theories make for good fiction as in "Prince Philip killed Diana Princess of Wales". This is an area in which truth and rubbish intermingle and for those of us who are not scholars it is sometimes hard to tell which is which.

73> I have to agree with you about the difficulty of the text. I lack the wits to make sense of it without the conjectural interpolations and the notes.

My point was not that it is not part of the canon but that it is in a not-part that has a very different direction from received Christianity. Judas does God's will and would have been better off if he had never been born; what a conundrum! Well, the gnostics, for whom I have a lot of respect, have a view of the heavens that simplifies the apparent contradiction into a matter of ignorance and hierarchy.

Ancient folk tales have their interest so long as we remember that they are folk tales; indeed "truth and rubbish intermingle."

I am looking forward to the rest of the book.

Robert

Well I am realizing I haven't posted here all month! It's been a fairly low book count this month, considering all the time I've spent in the lab listening to books, but nontheless, here I go:

I finally finished Undaunted Courage which was alright, but the most exciting part was definitely the middle, with a good overall analysis at the end, but in general the book didn't know if it was a biography or an exploration story.

Also read and finished Under the banner of heaven which was phenomenally written, very gripping with all the trappings of good story telling -interesting subject matter (that I wasn't familiar with), murder, sex, and religion, all rolled up with excellent writing style.

Am currently reading Alexander Hamilton which is going pretty smoothly right now, but its still early on, so I'm sure I'll write more about this later.

Have also started Justinian's Flea which is interested, especially since I am realizing I know very little about the eastern Roman empire, and have to dredge up memories from AP Euro History and even freshman year history. But every now and then he throws in some interesting parallelisms to America and relatively current events, which is great.

>71 Essa: Thanks for the rec!

>63 Karen5Lund: I was just thinking about re-reading Being Digital the other day - it was one of my favourite books back in the 90s when I considered myself a Cybrarian... now I'm a mundane little librarian, writing numbers into all-too-real books... and it'd be great to see where he went right, and indeed wrong!

I'm just finishing Sanjeev Bhaskar's India which is better than the TV series, more personal and thoughtful and the photos are marvellous. And, about to start The Mitford Girls, which I handily found in a charity shop just after getting Decca for Christmas!

My memoirs book group has picked Kabul Beauty School for our next book. I am looking forward to it. Glad to hear the praise.

After trying (and failing) to finish 4 or 5 novels this month, I finally gave up on fiction for the time being and started Cicero by Anthony Everitt, which I am breezing through and very much enjoying. Love that time period (last 100 years of the Republic) ~ so many interesting people doing interesting things in the context of interesting circumstances. I'd not like to have lived then, but it sure makes for great reading!

Finished Cicero last night, which was excellent, and immediately started another non-fiction ~ Deep Ancestry by Spencer Wells, about the genographic project. Heavy-going but really interesting so far.

I just found this group and this is my first post for this group. I enjoy non-fiction reading mostly. Most of my interest reside in the areas of religion and history. The only fiction I enjoy is the classics. While allot of my library right now is dedicated to Christianity, allot of those books were purchased years ago when I was more of a religious practitioner. Today, I enjoy religion in general, and read about allot of different religious ideas. While I still lean towards Christianity as a personal faith, I am allot more liberal and progressive these day.

Anyways, as for what I am reading, yesterday, I finished The Soul's Code by James Hillman. Excellent Read!

I am currently reading The Reformation by George L Mosse. Its an older book and part of the Bershire Studies in European History. Its a small book (136 pages), so my next read will be The Spirit of Protestantism by Robert McAfee Brown. When I get done with that, I think I am going to read The unheard cry for meaning by Viktor Frankl. I've read his Man's search for meaning and really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to this one as well.

#65 RcCarol: I have not read Rising Tide, but have read John Barry's book The Great Influenza and found it very well researched and interesting. Hope you have a chance to read it.