Page 8 of 9

Re: Book recommendations and reviews

PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:23 pm
by Lost Boy
Kurt wrote:
Lost Boy wrote:Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger.


That is one thing I realize I know nothing about other than it happened.

Unlike others in Quarantine I have found reading books to be just as easy or easier than before.

Right now I am reading The Secret World: A History of Intelligence by Christopher Andrew. It's big and since it references other points in history without going into great detail about them (like The Frond before the reign of Louis XIV ) It takes a while.

What I thought was the most interesting part of it (so far) was that in the mid 1600's the Mughals, Chinese, Ottomans, and Persians were all much more powerful than any country in Europe. They had more intelligence on us than we had on them, in fact some of "us" where still thinking that we could find a shortcut to "them". When the superpowers of that time discovered that the west was settling a "New Land" they thought we were idiots. They could take land that was ancient, cultivated and had a history of producing wealth and being able to muster armies. They let "us" have a few trading outposts here and there like the Mughals allowed the Portuguese to use Goa, but really there attitude was "they are stupid, smelly and the more they focus on the New World and fighting one another for it and their weird sectarian wars then they will eventually need the Ottoman's to restore peace"

The Mughals never would have guessed that within 100 years the Brits, who they had hardly been aware of, would be in control of their old puppets, or that the Qing Dynasty would be carved apart in 200 years, partially by the New Land that they mocked, and eventually the political system that lasted started in 200 BCE would be destroyed.

That also made me realize I have not read any History or literature from Persia, especially ancient Persia. Just what the Greeks wrote about. If anyone has any advice where I should start on this I would appreciate it.


After reading Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates, I recommend reading The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun, by Matthew Bracken.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:20 pm
by el3so
Rood Rubber by Vangroenweghe, second hand picked up anos ago, about the Congo Free State under Leopold II, got a lot of sh!t when it was published in the 1980s.

Splurged on McCay's little Nemo because I like looking at the pictures.

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:54 pm
by el3so
Arctic wrote: "The Crusades through Arab Eyes" by Amin Maalouf. Excellent read.
Agreed, quite a page-turner.
AztecDave wrote: TR Fehrenbach's "This Kind of War," the best book written about the Korean War.
Very good read as well.
Re-reading Jeeves&Wooster, local fiction, re-activated my amazon account. Predict I am going to splurge on comic books soon, supporting local stores, will have to get more bookshelves. Whole house is an above ground man-cave as is, it might class up the place a bit.

Re: Book recommendations and reviews

PostPosted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 3:38 am
by Lost Boy
Just finished "The Walking Drum" by Louis L'amour. Excellent read. Technically a fictitious novel in an historical setting, which takes place throughout Europe and the Middle East during the 12th century. Very well researched, epic, and highly entertaining.

PostPosted: Fri Jun 04, 2021 1:58 am
by el3so
Savage war of peace by A Horne, first time toe dipping into the Algeria pool. The politics and civil disturbance parts are the most interesting, kinda light on the military matters. Good read.

Re: Book recommendations and reviews

PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2021 7:52 pm
by snaark
Some recent holiday reads:

Dispatches by Michael Herr
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque
This Time is Different by that Harvard guy and that world bank lady

On Audible I've been listening to:

The Future of Capitalism by Paul Collier
Escape from Rome by Walter Scheidel
The Narrow Corridor by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
and a lot of John le Carre books (because sometimes I need something a bit lighter)

PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 3:39 pm
by el3so
Martin Windrow's the last valley. Only 150 pages in, very promising read on Dien Bien Phu.

Re:

PostPosted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 7:35 pm
by Kurt
el3so wrote:Martin Windrow's the last valley. Only 150 pages in, very promising read on Dien Bien Phu.


I am on a Dune kick now. When i was 12 I promised my best friend I would read it. The 40 years later I did during lockdown and I am still going through each 600 to 800 page book.

But I got The Anglo-Saxons by Marc Morris waiting for me when this kick is over. I should learn more about South East Asian too. For some reason I stopped after reading Bertil Lintners books on Burma.

Re: Book recommendations and reviews

PostPosted: Sat Nov 27, 2021 4:21 pm
by el3so
Kurt wrote: I am on a Dune kick now. (...) The 40 years later I did during lockdown and I am still going through each 600 to 800 page book.
I should get back into sci-fi.

If anything, covid lockdowns are forcing me to have a number of long, hard looks at the ole homestead (j/k I live in a cul-de-sac). Contemplated getting a fireplace and an old-fashioned leather couch but us being not-strangers, I'll admit I really enjoy reading in bed.

Re: Book recommendations and reviews

PostPosted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 2:23 am
by Kurt
el3so wrote:I'll admit I really enjoy reading in bed.


I have a cheapo Wing Chair in my bedroom. If I read in bed I will either never read or I will never sleep.

PostPosted: Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:37 pm
by el3so
AC Doyle's complete Sherlock Holmes, classic.

Re:

PostPosted: Tue Dec 07, 2021 7:00 pm
by Kurt
el3so wrote:AC Doyle's complete Sherlock Holmes, classic.


I got that on my Kindle for about $1

Each and every book.

Re: Re:

PostPosted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 3:32 pm
by el3so
Kurt wrote: I got that on my Kindle for about $1

Each and every book.
Gotta fill out those shelves. And what good is money but for spending?

Re:

PostPosted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 9:23 pm
by el3so
el3so wrote:Martin Windrow's the last valley. Only 150 pages in, very promising read on Dien Bien Phu.
't Was indeed a good read, bit of the usual Brit bluster.

Followed it up with shadow of the valley by Boylan and Olivier, they use Viet sources. Quite a few myths dispelled and unsurprisingly some of the French sources are shown to be, at best, not impartial, quite reminiscent of the fairy tales told by German generals about the Eastern front.

Re-read Caputo's a rumor of war, guess that is the book Herr wished he could have written. Less snappy (probably made up) dialogue, harsher truths, far better insights.

Re: Book recommendations and reviews

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2022 8:53 pm
by snaark
I'm reading the Flashman papers. Ok I'm listening to them on audible. Dunno how I got this far in life without them.