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What book are you reading right now?
- Thread starter Wordman
- Start date
Bibi. The autobiography of Bibi Netanyahu. Seems appropriate given the times we are in. This guy is Badass.
While doing the van trip we started listening to American Prometheus. Libby phone app free from the library. It's a tome, 26 hours? we're nearly done, getting in a few hours now and then. Over the top in detail of Oppenheimer's life
Several distinct parts, the "end" where Washington grinds him up and spits him out, is instructive of American politics.
Figure we'll watch the movie this winter. Always fun to see what the film makers include, leave out, alter.
Several distinct parts, the "end" where Washington grinds him up and spits him out, is instructive of American politics.
Figure we'll watch the movie this winter. Always fun to see what the film makers include, leave out, alter.
Lincoln Unmasked by Thomas DiLorenzo.
Paleomechanic
XS650 Addict
Well, happy Christmas everyone!
I get books and socks , both of which I’m thankful for.
I’ve already tucked into two of them
1) German siege guns of WW1 ( some of the mobile ones on wheels had barrels weighing upwards of 16 tons and could range out to 20km …the fixed ones , much further it seems ) interesting read of how technology was changing
2) on the subject of tech…Blood in the Machine” by Brian Merchant”. History of the Luddite movement against industrialization and the origins of the rebellion against big tech as we know it today.
The second one is a fantastic blend of world history, social upheaval, and independence movements at the critical pivot between the 18th and 19th centuries.
I get books and socks , both of which I’m thankful for.
I’ve already tucked into two of them
1) German siege guns of WW1 ( some of the mobile ones on wheels had barrels weighing upwards of 16 tons and could range out to 20km …the fixed ones , much further it seems ) interesting read of how technology was changing
2) on the subject of tech…Blood in the Machine” by Brian Merchant”. History of the Luddite movement against industrialization and the origins of the rebellion against big tech as we know it today.
The second one is a fantastic blend of world history, social upheaval, and independence movements at the critical pivot between the 18th and 19th centuries.
Two heavies, and a bio of Uncle Albert (Einstein)
Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War, Glantz.... It seems that the nazi armies were poorly led, and the degenerate commies' deciding advantage was their superior mastery of deception...the armies were approximately matched so far as numbers, but the commies had better stuff and simply outfought the nazis, which armies were not "German" but actually European... Interestingly, sonar21 (he's an intelguy) opines and others as well, that today the Great Armies of Democracy study the methods of the WW2 losers... If so, that 'splains a lot.
Losing Military Superiority, Martyanov (cat taught at West Point, and went to Soviet Military Colleges, etc.)
Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War, Glantz.... It seems that the nazi armies were poorly led, and the degenerate commies' deciding advantage was their superior mastery of deception...the armies were approximately matched so far as numbers, but the commies had better stuff and simply outfought the nazis, which armies were not "German" but actually European... Interestingly, sonar21 (he's an intelguy) opines and others as well, that today the Great Armies of Democracy study the methods of the WW2 losers... If so, that 'splains a lot.
Losing Military Superiority, Martyanov (cat taught at West Point, and went to Soviet Military Colleges, etc.)
Carniespeak...there was a form of jazzed up carnie piglatin when I was a young feller...I don't remember anything but a few base words...Donnacker is the crapper..as in if a rube askes for the boss or anybody you send him to see "Mister Donnacker, just ask around, he was just here..." Slough, meaning to take the show down and load it aboard trucks... Dukeit, conceal what's in your hand, especially money. Roughie, he services the jointies...stolen credit cards, whatever they need. (Ours was on the lamb from the joint) Good times...camels were 25 cents, gaso 21 cents. Learned how to bribe inspectors! I was an electrician, but did every job, learned more than I did at college!
Paleomechanic
XS650 Addict
Well! That’s one I have to add to my read list !
Yes, despite the much vaunted “blitzkrieg”, reported by the allies, Germany was not prepared for war at all.
My grandfather ( Hauptmann., wheremacht forward observation officer, long range and siege guns) started the war with horses, and finished the same way
A veteran of all the winters in Russia, his combat logs are a litany of poor high command decisions…one of the worst was hitlers “ fortified city” concepts in the east..
That guaranteed encirclement by the Russians
He was for example, one of only 55 survivors at the fortified city of Ternopol (il) in Ukraine. As a FOO, he could maneuver with his FOO sections …everyone else , 6000 men. Perished or worse, was taken captive.
As hard is it is to fathom, the “Ostkrieg” was total, so total that we forget that 85 % of the German war machine was in Russian on our D Day…
His logs are very telling of the collapse at the end. Prussian by birth and a graduate of the military college system in the republic, he had been in commissioned and service 5 years before the national socialists came came to power . Always truthful in his character, one of his last entries records an intense and short close range duel between his FOO sections Stug 3 crew and , an SS blocking section preventing their withdrawal. The SS men did not survive the engagement with their fellow countrymen….
As you do, I too have many dead family members, relations, who were Germans in the War My case> wealthy, a big family of industrialists...they all perished and their villa in Frankfurt as well as their real estate and wealth were blasted to bits... I retain the key to the family walled garden...that's it. In '62 I saw it, a vacant lot. Made inquiries... O Ya, Er ist tote... I have read letters in gothic cursive German that expressed opinions "highly congruent with nazi propaganda" from long dead aunts to their long dead sisters. Actually there are no words for the horrors of war. Evidently it's repeating, in rhyme...a terrible pity. Best! 40N
Just finished The Wright Brothers A Biography by Fred G Kelly. Of course, we can assume everybody already knows that the Wright Brothers made the first successful flights on a heavier-than-air machine on 17th December1903 near Kitty Hawk in N Carolina but I would recommend this as a good read.
Kelly has a good, unfussy way of presenting the facts. Plus, he knew Orville Wright, who read and approved the manuscript so we can be sure of the biographical accuracy. Technical detail of the Wright's aeroplane is kept at a minimum, making this an easy read for the lay person, but with enough to satisfy those interested in aircraft and flight.
I learned a lot about Wilbur and Orville and got to know them better as people. Also, their efforts to secure the interest of the American government - they received no encouragement at all from that source for several years - and the Brothers' travels in Europe to demonstrate their planes and secure interest of the authorities in France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain.
And I learned a lot about the controversy which arose between the Bothers and the Smithsonian Institute, which had been guilty of denying or at least seriously undermining the Wright's proper place in aviation history.
Kelly has a good, unfussy way of presenting the facts. Plus, he knew Orville Wright, who read and approved the manuscript so we can be sure of the biographical accuracy. Technical detail of the Wright's aeroplane is kept at a minimum, making this an easy read for the lay person, but with enough to satisfy those interested in aircraft and flight.
I learned a lot about Wilbur and Orville and got to know them better as people. Also, their efforts to secure the interest of the American government - they received no encouragement at all from that source for several years - and the Brothers' travels in Europe to demonstrate their planes and secure interest of the authorities in France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain.
And I learned a lot about the controversy which arose between the Bothers and the Smithsonian Institute, which had been guilty of denying or at least seriously undermining the Wright's proper place in aviation history.
The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky
I read it in college when I was studying Russian History (mid 80's). My son challenged me to read it again since it's his favorite novel and he wrote several papers on it in college. I'm sure there will be a quiz on it later.
I read it in college when I was studying Russian History (mid 80's). My son challenged me to read it again since it's his favorite novel and he wrote several papers on it in college. I'm sure there will be a quiz on it later.
'Back to Nature: How to love life - and save it' by Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin.
Chris Packham's name might not mean much to N Americans? But in Britain he is a well-known face on countryside and conservation programs on that telly. Well known and controversial.
Packham definitely has a bee in his bonnet about the destruction we are doing to the environment and natural diversity. He seems to state his views with less & less regard for who he offends - his calculus seems to be that if being polemical attracts attention . . . then be polemical.
Megan McCubbin is Packham's step daughter, herself a naturalist and co-presenter on some nature and environment programs.
The book takes head-on the subject of what we need to do, to limit, prevent and begin to repair the damage humans have inflicted since the industrial revolution. And continue to inflict on an ever increasing scale, even though we are collectively very well aware of at least some of the effects. Governments, big corporations, infrastructure projects all come into the cross hairs.
So although the book is about bees and butterflies, hawks and eagles, toads and insects, it is not a cuddly 'nature book.' The authors discuss re-wilding projects and the reintroduction of lost species. But they also take on subjects like the broken promises of governments in Britain and around the world on environmental issues. They point to opportunities to do things a lot better, and give examples of where that has been done. They also point to the urgent need to do all these things. Now!
Essentially it's a call to arms. Wake up and smell the planet burning?
Chris Packham's name might not mean much to N Americans? But in Britain he is a well-known face on countryside and conservation programs on that telly. Well known and controversial.
Packham definitely has a bee in his bonnet about the destruction we are doing to the environment and natural diversity. He seems to state his views with less & less regard for who he offends - his calculus seems to be that if being polemical attracts attention . . . then be polemical.
Megan McCubbin is Packham's step daughter, herself a naturalist and co-presenter on some nature and environment programs.
The book takes head-on the subject of what we need to do, to limit, prevent and begin to repair the damage humans have inflicted since the industrial revolution. And continue to inflict on an ever increasing scale, even though we are collectively very well aware of at least some of the effects. Governments, big corporations, infrastructure projects all come into the cross hairs.
So although the book is about bees and butterflies, hawks and eagles, toads and insects, it is not a cuddly 'nature book.' The authors discuss re-wilding projects and the reintroduction of lost species. But they also take on subjects like the broken promises of governments in Britain and around the world on environmental issues. They point to opportunities to do things a lot better, and give examples of where that has been done. They also point to the urgent need to do all these things. Now!
Essentially it's a call to arms. Wake up and smell the planet burning?
'Thinking in Systems - a primer' by Donella H Meadows. Highly recommended.
Came across this book by chance, as happens if one frequents bookshops. Meadows worked at MIT and Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. The book summarises a lot of work done by Meadows and many others at those institutions, applying systems analysis thinking not just to business computing systems but to, well, just about everything. The book and the systems approach introduced within is regarded by many as essential reading for all who want to be mangers in any organisation. For the general reader it offers a new perspective on all sorts of things.
And it really is mind changing. I'm a little more than half-way through the book and I find that every time I listen to the news, the systems thinking she outlines really has the strongest relevance. Provides tools for thinking about complex systems. In all areas from man-made 'natural' disasters, to social movements, economics, policies being touted by politicians, games & sports, animal behaviour & learning, to . . . well, I haven't finished the book yet. You listen to a politician telling us why we need a new regulation to sort out some problem and you're already clearly seeing why that just won't work.
Meadows claims that systems thinking gives us a simple and intuitive way to look at activities or problems or economics, strip away the surface complexity and see the underlying rules that apply to systems in general.
Very direct and easy to read, lots of simple diagrams, no complicated maths. I won't try to give examples or explain what systems thinking means - instead I'll simply encourage anybody who wants to improve his or her insight to all sorts of things to just grab a copy and have a read.
Came across this book by chance, as happens if one frequents bookshops. Meadows worked at MIT and Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. The book summarises a lot of work done by Meadows and many others at those institutions, applying systems analysis thinking not just to business computing systems but to, well, just about everything. The book and the systems approach introduced within is regarded by many as essential reading for all who want to be mangers in any organisation. For the general reader it offers a new perspective on all sorts of things.
And it really is mind changing. I'm a little more than half-way through the book and I find that every time I listen to the news, the systems thinking she outlines really has the strongest relevance. Provides tools for thinking about complex systems. In all areas from man-made 'natural' disasters, to social movements, economics, policies being touted by politicians, games & sports, animal behaviour & learning, to . . . well, I haven't finished the book yet. You listen to a politician telling us why we need a new regulation to sort out some problem and you're already clearly seeing why that just won't work.
Meadows claims that systems thinking gives us a simple and intuitive way to look at activities or problems or economics, strip away the surface complexity and see the underlying rules that apply to systems in general.
Very direct and easy to read, lots of simple diagrams, no complicated maths. I won't try to give examples or explain what systems thinking means - instead I'll simply encourage anybody who wants to improve his or her insight to all sorts of things to just grab a copy and have a read.
I got half way through this but became bored with the constant Drugs, Shagging , Drugs, booze, drugs, shagging............
Did I mention Drugs and shagging?
There may be a revelation later but I couldn't give a poop!
AUTOMAN
XS650 Addict
Hobo in Japan-Patik 1945
'Humankind - a hopeful history' by Rutger Bregman. Bregman takes on a small subject, namely the history of humanity and human nature over our entire evolutionary history, and takes the position that almost everything we are taught about human nature in just plain wrong. And dangerous. He contrasts two heavyweight philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Hobbes gave us the view that in their basic nature, people are selfish and violent, and consequently we need to submit to some well-disposed dictator if we are to lead happy, safe lives. On the other hand, Rousseau proposed that by nature people are co-operative and will seek to work together for mutual benefit - it is the rise of civilisation, organised labour, money and laws that have made us greedy and selfish.
I'm more than halfway through the book. Which I really wanted to like. Easy to read, good style and starts off well with examples that show how people in very stressful circumstances will go out of their way to help complete strangers - for example, Londoners during the Blitz in WW2.
But. Well, it's a very heartwarming read but fails to be convincing. He debunks the infamous Stanford Prison experiment - but that's been debunked before. His examples start to seem a bit cherry-picked. He makes huge generalisations from scant evidence. It's a nice thought that people are basically good, but he needs to do a lot more to prove that view.
I have enjoyed the book so far, but I don't know if I'll bother to read on and finish it.
I'm more than halfway through the book. Which I really wanted to like. Easy to read, good style and starts off well with examples that show how people in very stressful circumstances will go out of their way to help complete strangers - for example, Londoners during the Blitz in WW2.
But. Well, it's a very heartwarming read but fails to be convincing. He debunks the infamous Stanford Prison experiment - but that's been debunked before. His examples start to seem a bit cherry-picked. He makes huge generalisations from scant evidence. It's a nice thought that people are basically good, but he needs to do a lot more to prove that view.
I have enjoyed the book so far, but I don't know if I'll bother to read on and finish it.
DennisV
XS650 New Member
Jesse Kelly, The Anticommunist Manifesto. Illuminating and terrifying perspective on how we got where we are, and where it's really heading.
