Nonfiction reading for September 2009

I'm still in the middle of The Jesuit and the Skull . It's really interesting .

I got a good start on The Myth of Evil last night. There may be no such thing as evil, and Nietzsche may not be the last word in the matter.

Robert

I picked up The 10,000 Year Explosion about two months ago, and I still haven't read it yet. I may tackle that in a week or two, once I finish the fiction book (and the sequel) that I'm currently reading..

Finished Attila the Hun and started reading Bad Science... very eye-opening so far

Finished Bad Science, read a fiction (The Book Thief) and am now reading The Lost City of Z.

I'm nearly finished Foreign Correspondence by Geraldine Brooks and am enjoying it. Her description of middle-class life in Australia in the 1960s reminds me of Jill Ker Conway's books and make me so happy that I was born a couple of decades after her (and across the ditch - not that there was that much difference ).

Am eyeing The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins - I bought it for my husband yesterday but it might be one of those book presents that isn't just a present...

Oooh cmt, I know about those kind of presents... The Lost City of Z (amongst others) was the same for me... Here honey, a present, now let me read ;)

#7 yes exactly... I think he knew too!

Lots to get done this month. Let's see:

1. Lost City of Z
2. Emperors of Chocolate
3. Far Appalachia
4. Awol on the Appalachian Trail
5. Wired for War

We'll see how much actually gets done!

After a non-fiction drought of several months I am reading Lost on Planet China by J.Maarten Troost. It is a funny book about someone who had no clue about China meandering around.

The Lost City of Z is on my book club's agenda -- I'd be interested in what those of you reading it think.

I'm reading a book about Canada's Aboriginal policies: Finding Dahshaa: Self-Government, Social Suffering, and Aboriginal Policy in Canada by Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox.

LynnB, I loved The Lost City of Z, it was a combinations of a lot of things: a biography of Percy Fawcett, a background of exploration at the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th century, history of Amazonian exploration, information about the natives, and interweaved is the author's own experience of 'finding' Fawcett and Z. I found it a fast but fascinating read, and I highly recommend it!

I liked The Lost City of Z as well. As a follow-on, I've been recommending The River of Doubt, the story of Teddy Roosevelt's exploration of a river in the Amazonian basin at about the same time.

Eleanor Clift's Two Weeks of Life: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Politics.

The last two weeks of her husband's hospice care in 2005 coincided with the last two weeks of Terry Schiavo's life. I've been curious about the book, not sure I really wanted to read it. But it's an engrossing account, better for being a few years removed from the events.

I've been reading with a focus on history of the ordinary man. Last week I finished Only Yesterday which was excellent. I'm now reading Sex and the Eighteenth Century Man (which touchstones won't find). It's rather thick and repetitious but somewhat interesting underneath it all.

I'm currently reading McCarthy's Bar . Its very funny !

Long Walk to Freedom - really really interesting and well written!
Founding Fish - shad fishing in Massachusetts
1968: the year that rocked the world - another sweeping book by kurlansky

... and A Heartbreaking work of staggering genius... if one can believe any of it...

I finished Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost. I enjoyed it. It was both interesting and funny.

I'm half way through The Looniness of the Long Distance Runner which is ringing a lot of bells with me although I'm a half-marathoner rather than a marathoner.

And 2 librarians into Librarians of Congress 1802-1974 which is a nice book I picked up in Hay-on-Wye - where else would you find that!!

I saw a book review in the Chicago Tribune this morning. It was called The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade For America by Douglas Brinkley. It examines his immense passion for animals and the outdoors. Sounds like another winner!

msf, you made my day - that looks *fantastic*. That is immediately going on my TBB list

Taking a break from Hero with a thousand faces to read Make No Law about a 1961 supreme court first amendment case. A very readable, interesting book.

I’m reading Baghdad Without a Map and other misadventures by Tony Horwitz who happens to be Geraldine Brooks ‘ s husband.(Foreign Correspondence; People of Book;Nine Parts of Desire ect. He wrote the book in 1991 and tell about his experiences in that area like a traveller, in a witty and ironic way; but why he was over there? Here his own words: Some men follow their dreams, some their instinct, some the beat of a private drummer. I had a habit of following my wife

I am reading Candyfreak by Steve Almond . Its about the modern history of candy companies .

#23 grelobe, that looks great - I've just finished Foreign Correspondence and enjoyed it.

#9 Flyover, Far Appalachia looks interesting. I took a canvas canoe with other folks down a small portion of the New River in North Carolina in the early 70's. The river there is a lazy meandering thing that flowed through these empty fields & forests- as opposed to the class IV rapids in West Virginia so I hear. I hope it is still like that!

I'm currently reading The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria. I am not very far into it, but I can already tell that it is going to be a great read. He is a humorous writer and is informative without boring me to tears.

>24 AquariusNat: (aka Aquarius) Let me know what you think of it, I ended up a little disappointed in it, but man.... I can't get enough of Valo-Milk or Pearson's Nut Rolls...

#24 - I am reading Candyfreak by Steve Almond . Its about the modern history of candy companies.

That just went on my wish list! Looks like something I would want to read.

#16> I loved McCarthy's Bar. My wife just read it and she loved it, too. Very funny stuff, and I learned some things as well.

I just finished A Moveable Feast by Hemingway. I intended to read a novel, but couldn't find anything to suit my mood, so I'm moving on to Ardent Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.

A Moveable Feast is on my TBR pile ! What did you think of it ?

Just received Death, Mourning, and Burial and am looking forward to it.

#11 - LynneB - I Loved The Lost City of Z - it is a really fantastic and gripping adventure
#5 - divinenanny -Bad Science - I read that earlier this year and I will never look at health and medicine reporting in the same way again

#33, Lisa, I know! I knew it was usually pretty fishy when some statements were published, but that it was this bad, I had no idea!

Could anyone help me with names of books written by British officers during the Raj period of India?? Am interested to read their memoirs or description of East India of any period between 18th to early 20th century......Any other books related to the same subjects could be helpful as well.....

#35 - I can't help you with your first request, but as for general books related to the Raj period, I can recommend one from my own library.

Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India by Lawrence James

# 35, John Masters was a British Officer serving in India. Don't know if the time period is right. He wrote 3 non-fiction books about it, and a fiction series about a British family, The Savages, who served in India.

I just started Then Belichick Said to Brady by Jim Donaldson. Stories about the history of the New England Patriots (NFL -Football).

Just started A pattern in the carpet by Drabble even though I've not read her novels. It's going to be a slow, delightful read.

#33: oohh, I think I would like Death, Mourning, and Burial

I'm plowing through Hiding in the Spotlight by Greg Dawson. It's fascinating! A Ukranian Jew who changes her identity and becomes a performing pianist for Nazi social events. Very well written with touches of humor blended with unfathomable descriptions of the horrors of the war.

The Gulf Stream: Tiny Plankton, Giant Bluefin, And The Amazing Story Of The Powerful River In The Atlantic - Stan Ulanski

This really IS an amazing story.

#36: Thanks for that book's name. got to know a lot about the Raj and James. Interesting reviews actually.

#37: FicusFan am hunting for that book by Masters...You think would be available on Project Gutenburg?

#42 namitapanda: There are actually 3, so I am not sure which one you are looking for:

Bugles and a Tiger, The Road Past Mandalay and Pilgrim Son

I don't know about Project Gutenburg. You can give it a try. He died in 1983, so I don't know if he or his estate would still have copyright ?

I see there are some copies of the first 2 available on-line at Amazon.com and Amazon.uk, but they are pretty expensive. Don't know if there are cheaper used copies on-line elsewhere or not.

Good luck.

Next book;

The Strange Case of Hellish Nell. The Story of Helen Duncan and The Witch Trial of World War II, by Nina Shandler

In 1944 Hellen Duncan and her four co-defendants listened to the court clerk read the following charges;

(from the back cover)
"...You four conspired together, and with persons unknow, to pretend to exercise some kind of conjuration, though the agency of the said Hellen Duncan, spirts of deceased persons should appear, and were cummunicating with living persons contrary to the Witchcraft Act of 1735"

A witch trail in 1944! That's enough to catch my attention for a read.

You've made it sound interesting enough for me to put it in a link; the touchstone didn't work:

The Strange Case of Hellish Nell by Nina Shandler.

It is available only in hardcover from Barny Noble, so it may be awhile before I try to get it.

Thanks for mentioning it.

Robert

Thanks for getting the toughstone to work. I tried about nine times and gave up. I guess Hellen put a curse on it. :o)

45: Mr.Durick

I got my copy from The Book warehouse for $4.00 in reading, Pa.

There is a trade paperback version of the book about Hellish Nell available according to Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Case-Hellish-Nell-Duncan/dp/0306815753/ref=ed_oe_p

I am now reading Geisha by Liza Dalby. She is an American and an anthropologist. The book is about her study of the Geisha in Japan. She actually went through the training and became a Geisha, and that is also part of the book.

I finally finished The Great Arab Conquests. I find the few times in history when certain civilizations explode in size to be really fascinating, so it was interesting for that reason. It was a touch dry, I think because there were no central figures on which to hang the story (unlike Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, for example). There were some great asides, such as the story of the "sorceress" Kahina and her leadership of the Berber resistance.

I've just finished The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman.

I started The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House by John F. Harris. I've been neglecting my presidential bios, so hope this gets me kick-started. It seems to be very well written and unbiased so far.

After almost a month of reading just fiction, now I am reading two non-fiction books at the same time: Joanna Denny's Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen and Åsne Seierstad's A Hundred and One Days: A Baghdad Journal

Denny's account of Anne Boleyn is interesting so far even if it is biased to some extent (although if she cuts down the repetitions, it will be much more readable) and Seierstad's account of Iraq around the war is kinda strange so far (just a few pages in and the story just does not flow as well as it could have).

I'm reading View from the foothills by Chris Mullin which is his political diaries 1999-2005 - very entertaining and interesting so far. I am lucky to work in a University Library that buys books like this.

Finished reading Causing a Scene which is some behind the scenes descriptions of some of the Improv everywhere pranks. I was mildly dubious in that I don't like pranks that upset people. The vast majority, however, were just spectacular fun, many or most of which can be observed on YouTube. Reading the book adds a dimension to the looniness.

Last night I began Under the Iron Heel by Lars Moën. Moën, an American self-described ex-journalist was in Belgium when the Nazi's invaded at the start of WWII. He stayed in Antwerp for a year and a half 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.

The first chapter is about daily life under the occupation, and begins with a description of the rationing system and the ever growing concern with hunger, even in the early goings. Moën says this is because within the first 48 hours of German presence, they had back trucks up to every warehouse they could find, food storage and otherwise, and shipped everything they could get their hands on off to Germany.

My copy of the book, a 1941 first edition, is missing its dust jacket, so my information about Moen was limited. I did some fishing around online and found a contemporary mention of the book in the St. Petersburg Times that refers to Moen as "a distinguished American chemist." Time Magazine's review says Moen was in Belgium "doing color-film research." Another site gives his birth/death years as 1901-1951.

At any rate, all accounts of the book say it gives a detailed view of the morale and condition of the German soldiers, the attitudes of the Belgian civilians to both the Germans and the English, and everyone's ideas about what was transpiring and expectations about what was about to transpire.

I love to read books about well-known historical events that are written contemporarily with those events. I'm expecting this to be a fascinating book.

Last night I began Under the Iron Heel by Lars Moën. Moën, an American self-described ex-journalist was in Belgium when the Nazi's invaded at the start of WWII. He stayed in Antwerp for a year and a half 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.

The first chapter is about daily life under the occupation, and begins with a description of the rationing system and the ever growing concern with hunger, even in the early goings. Moën says this is because within the first 48 hours of German presence, they had back trucks up to every warehouse they could find, food storage and otherwise, and shipped everything they could get their hands on off to Germany.

My copy of the book, a 1941 first edition, is missing its dust jacket, so my information about Moen was limited. I did some fishing around online and found a contemporary mention of the book in the St. Petersburg Times that refers to Moen as "a distinguished American chemist." Time Magazine's review says Moen was in Belgium "doing color-film research." Another site gives his birth/death years as 1901-1951.

At any rate, all accounts of the book say it gives a detailed view of the morale and condition of the German soldiers, the attitudes of the Belgian civilians to both the Germans and the English, and everyone's ideas about what was transpiring and expectations about what was about to transpire.

I love to read books about well-known historical events that are written contemporarily with those events. I'm expecting this to be a fascinating book.

Finished Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man. It had some interesting tidbits but was way too repetitious. It gave an account of what a quote would illustrate, then the quote, and then a recount of what it said. Then every few quotes there'd be a summary paragraph of the point. I may be thick-headed but it was too much.

I'm on to A Philosophical Baby and Shimmering Images.

Sorry about two missing Touchstones.

I just finished Stiff: The Curious Lives Of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach.

Interesting insights contained therein re medical and forensic science uses of human cadavers, uses which have evolved over time from callous disregard to today's more civilized standards, when universities such as UCSF actually hold memorial services for the willed bodies.

Deeply troubling to me are descriptions of the cruel exploitation of animals demonstrated by, (as just one example), Doctor Robert White, neurosurgeon, who has performed head transplants on living dogs and monkeys.

The cover of the book features an excerpt from an Entertainment Weekly review:

"One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year.......Gross, educational, and UNEXPECTEDLY SIDESPLITTING."

Sidesplitting? I don't think so.

well, maybe side-splitting in a more literal sense?

Just finished up with Ghosts of Ottawa. It doesn't seem to touchstone, and I had to add it manually for my collection, but it's a great book. Designed to go with the Haunted Walk tour of the city, it adds detail and gives stories from some of their other walks as well. I highly recommend it.

"The Strange Case of Hellish Nell. The Story of Helen Duncan and The Witch Trial of World War II" , by Nina Shandler

This book might be a good read for those looking for something to read for Halloween. (even if it's history)
Helen Duncan was a median and Spiritualist born in 1898. Who at a young age could see sprits, and see the future events.

What makes this book good is that the author does a good job of going back and forth though Helen's life, to keep your interest up. It seems that she had the "Gift" as they call it to deliver messages for the beyond.
She got it right on many occasions. Example;

1. She predicted in early 1940 that Germany would not invade England. (this was just after Dunkirk)
2. That England and Russia would be allies (after Germany and Russia signed the non-aggression treaty)
3. That the United States would enter the war (we were officially neutral at that time)
4. that the War would last 6 years and involve the world from the U.S. to Japan (this is before Pearl Harbor)
5 And would end with two large bangs (atomic bombs?)

But this is not what got her into trouble!.
She told of the loss of the HMS Hood on May 24, 1941, and the sinking of the HMS Barham this is when the war department was keeping these reports secret. They went to the extreme of sending fake holiday greeting to the families of the diseased Seamen from these ships so the general public would not know.

Then the plans for D-Day start and Helen's problems begin to grow. till in n 1944 Helen Duncan and her four co-defendants listened to the court clerk read the following charges;

(from the back cover)
"...You four conspired together, and with persons unknown, to pretend to exercise some kind of conjuration, though the agency of the said Helen Duncan, spirits of deceased persons should appear, and were communicating with living persons contrary to the Witchcraft Act of 1735"

There is a lot more to the story. I don't want to ruin it for any who wish to read it. I give it about 2 1/2 to 3 out of 5 stars.

I finished Geisha by Liza Dalby. It was an interesting look at Geishas in the 1970s. She is an anthropologist with a history of living in Japan. She went and interviewed, lived, and even worked with the Geisha in Kyoto, Tokyo, and a mineral springs resort. She talks about her experiences, the history, culture and tradition of the Japanese and Geisha. Very interesting, smoothly written, if a bit scattered.

I am now reading The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog by Nancy Ellis-Bell.

I'm reading Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir for a book club.

Reading Wondrous Times on the Frontier by Dee Brown It really shows the frontier was a hotpotch of cultures and influences.

bertyboy, The frontier book was put on my wish list. I'm always looking for books about everyday life in the past particularly if it's a time and place that my ancestors were. Since my father's family arrived in America in 1700 and were in Oregon by about 1850, the book fits my criteria. Thanks

Lynn, that looked interesting - I think its on my wishlist as well.

I am about 80 pages into we wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families which is, as you can imagine, horrifying.

it can be rambling at times though - trying to tell everything all at once - a personal story, historical background, cultural/societal details, author's impressions/thoughts etc.

it is very hard to read only a few pages at a time - both because the content is gripping and because of the writing.

Bfertig: I read Lt.-General Romeo Dallaire's profoundly disheartening Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure Of Humanity In Rwanda. As you no doubt know, he was the Canadian commander of the ill-fated U.N. peacekeeping force in that country and was inexcusably ignored by the powers-that-be as he called for appropriate international intervention, which never arrived.

Tomorrow I am starting The Library at Night, essays about the concept of the library...

I've also read Shake Hands with the Devil and have listened to Romeo Dallaire speak. Really horrific situation and he has shown great courage in speaking about both the mission and the impact it had on his mental health.

I'm only about 1/4 into Tears of the Desert, and Halima Bashir has just left her village to attend school. Her early life was mostly happy and she was surrounded by a loving extended family. The story of her circumcision, though, was chlling.

Added to my Find/TBR list:
"Aaron Copeland: Life of an Uncommon Man"
by Howard Pollack. Highly recommended by the instructor of a recently completed series of lectures on the Music of Aaron Copeland.

I just finished The Philosophical Baby. I found this an extremely interesting and enlightening book. Theories of development, neuroscience, genetics, psychology, evolution, ethics, and philosophy were all there. The book presented, in understandable terms, the latest studies on how the minds of children 6 and younger work. Those observations are then used to draw conclusions in the various realms listed above. Although some of those theories were presented more emphatically than seems appropriate and I may not agree with every conclusion, the journey and the thought the book provoked were fascinating.

Finished the Library at Night which I loved. All these insightful thoughts and quotable sentences about the concept of books and libraries throughout history. I highly recommend it.

Now I am moving onto 13 things that don't make sense. I hope I'll like it, not all reviews were good...

ohh its good, i read it already