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  • Any recommendations for a bio of Joshua Chamberlain? I've been fascinated by the guy, a college prof with essentially no military background whose incredibly brave defense at Little Round Top very likely saved the Union Army at Gettysburg and, arguably, the Union, and then went on to oversee the most gracious acceptance of the surrender at Appomattox. We're going to be spending the last week of the month in Maine and I intend to visit the nearby Museum regarding his life, and I want to study up. I'm thinking of reading In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War but would welcome any alternate suggestions, esp. from those who read a lot of military history (we have several here).

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    • Ok, this is a fun read:



      The Theranos saga is crazy, and this book is a really well done telling of it; it's by the same guy who originally broke the story at the WSJ.

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      • Thanks I’ll definitely read that — I’ve been fascinated by the Theranos stuff.

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        • Originally posted by PaloAltoCougar View Post
          Any recommendations for a bio of Joshua Chamberlain? I've been fascinated by the guy, a college prof with essentially no military background whose incredibly brave defense at Little Round Top very likely saved the Union Army at Gettysburg and, arguably, the Union, and then went on to oversee the most gracious acceptance of the surrender at Appomattox. We're going to be spending the last week of the month in Maine and I intend to visit the nearby Museum regarding his life, and I want to study up. I'm thinking of reading In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War but would welcome any alternate suggestions, esp. from those who read a lot of military history (we have several here).
          I haven't read any, but if you can read 19th Century prose, at this moment his autobiography is free with Kindle unlimited

          https://www.amazon.com/Autobiograhy-...ua+chamberlain

          My brother has read it and liked it.

          I'm currently reading Simon Sebag Montefiore's look at Stalin Stalin: The Court of the Red Czar

          It's been a fascinating look at one of real monsters of the 20th Century. A couple of take aways - the children who grew up in the Kremlin, here all of Stalin's inner circle lived, looked a him as a kindly uncle, spoiling them rotten with sweets, a funny story etc. His was intimately involved with the "Terror" of late '30s - personally approving death lists. As the terror got going, various provinces or states where given quotas on how many to kill - names not included, just numbers.

          I was surprised at just how many of the inner circle had attended seminary with the thought of becoming priests or at a minimum came from vary religious backgrounds

          The suicide of his second wife hit him hard. What the nature of the their relationship at that time and whether or not he drove her to it, is according to Montefiore is open to debate.
          Last edited by happyone; 06-06-2018, 04:16 PM.

          I may be small, but I'm slow.

          A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

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          • Originally posted by pelagius View Post
            Ok, this is a fun read:



            The Theranos saga is crazy, and this book is a really well done telling of it; it's by the same guy who originally broke the story at the WSJ.
            Was just wondering what my next book will be... now that I just finished Titan: John D. Rockefeller. Titan is a Chernow book and I was looking for a fun read... the first half where he builds Standard Oil was good, but the second half bogged down with lots of minutia on the Trust Busting litigation.

            When poet puts pen to paper imagination breathes life, finding hearth and home.
            -Mid Summer's Night Dream

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            • Finished Bad Blood two days ago, and today there is breaking news on the Theranos "case."

              https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-fil...ani-1529096005
              Last edited by clackamascoug; 06-15-2018, 07:43 PM.

              When poet puts pen to paper imagination breathes life, finding hearth and home.
              -Mid Summer's Night Dream

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              • Reading another Virgil Flowers novel: Shock Wave.

                Man, I love Virgil so much. He has become my favorite crime novel character/protagonist. I wish they'd do a Virgil Flowers series on Amazon (not Netflix, they have too many shows and wouldn't give it the attention it needs).
                Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

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                • Originally posted by falafel View Post
                  Reading another Virgil Flowers novel: Shock Wave.
                  I tried looking up Virgil Flowers. Took a few tries, but John Sanford is the author. I'm sure it says that somewhere a few pages back.

                  I didn't get very far with the "Prey" series by John Sandford, but I'll give the Virgil Flowers series a try.
                  Last edited by Scott R Nelson; 06-18-2018, 02:30 PM.

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                  • Originally posted by Scott R Nelson View Post
                    I tried looking up Virgil Flowers. Took a few tries, but John Sanford is the author. I'm sure it says that somewhere a few pages back.

                    I didn't get very far with the "Prey" series by John Sandford, but I'll give the Virgil Flowers series a try.
                    I really like the Prey series, but it is definitely something different than the Flowers series. A lot more graphic, sexual, violent, etc. Plus, Lucas Davenport (who is involved, but very peripherally, in the Flowers novels) is an entirely different kind of guy than Virgil. I also like that Virgil's cases are almost always in small Minnesota towns and not in the Cities like Davenport's. The series has a sort of "Justified" vibe to it, although Virgil is not like Raylan. I'm talking more about the characters and the small town feel. I'm always laughing out loud when reading these books, even though they are crime novels.
                    Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                    "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                    GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                    Comment


                    • Just finished Planted by Patrick Mason. Patrick is an LDS scholar who got his PhD at ND and is currently in one of those mormon chairs at Claremont. It is basically a book about LDS faith and testimony in the internet age. Really outstanding book. I think I highlighted half of it. Going forward, this might be my go-to book to give to friends who are struggling with faith. Highly recommended.
                      "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                      "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                      "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

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                      • Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                        Just finished Planted by Patrick Mason. Patrick is an LDS scholar who got his PhD at ND and is currently in one of those mormon chairs at Claremont. It is basically a book about LDS faith and testimony in the internet age. Really outstanding book. I think I highlighted half of it. Going forward, this might be my go-to book to give to friends who are struggling with faith. Highly recommended.
                        Didn't realize North Dakota granted PhDs in that field.
                        "I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
                        - Goatnapper'96

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                        • Originally posted by clackamascoug View Post
                          Finished Bad Blood two days ago, and today there is breaking news on the Theranos "case."

                          https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-fil...ani-1529096005
                          Yep I read it too. Really interesting stuff, a modern-day The Emporer Has No Clothes.

                          Clearly Elizabeth Holmes is a smart person but totally lacking in morality/values — it’s a cautionary tale about why ethics are important. It’s interesting to see her lying and deceit juxtaposed against the dozens of young people like Tyler Schultz who honorably voiced objections and quit rather than be part of the scam.

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                          • I'm in the middle of four books at the moment (I don't like doing more than two at a time but my ADHD is going into hyperdrive), but I want to add another. Has Tara Westover's Educated been mentioned here? A NYT bestseller, it's the autobiographical story of a young woman (early 30s now) who was raised in SE Idaho by a survivalist, fundamentalist (or simply looney) LDS dad. She doesn't even have a birth certificate, and hadn't seen the inside of a classroom until she was 17. And yet she graduated magna from BYU, went on to study at Harvard, and now has her doctorate from Cambridge. Here's the NYT review; it's definitely up next on my reading list. I suspect others have commented on it here (or at least have read it), but I couldn't find any references to it...

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                            • Originally posted by CardiacCoug View Post
                              Yep I read it too. Really interesting stuff, a modern-day The Emporer Has No Clothes.

                              Clearly Elizabeth Holmes is a smart person but totally lacking in morality/values — it’s a cautionary tale about why ethics are important. It’s interesting to see her lying and deceit juxtaposed against the dozens of young people like Tyler Schultz who honorably voiced objections and quit rather than be part of the scam.
                              I'm about halfway through it, but that Holmes fired the UU grad for looking at porn at work.

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                              • Originally posted by PaloAltoCougar View Post
                                Finished (so I guess this doesn't belong in this thread) a couple of books over the weekend. Hero of the Empire (Candice Millard) is the story of Churchill during the Second Boer War, including his imprisonment and escape, which became huge news in the UK and helped launch his political career upon his return. It was enjoyable, but I didn't like it as much as Millard's Destiny of the Republic (the all-too-brief political life of James Garfield, including his assassination and the botched treatment by physicians ignorant of things like sepsis), which was outstanding.
                                I just read the Churchill book. One of my daughters has been pestering (demanding?) me to read either one of these for a while now. I just wasn't that interested. So my expectations weren't sky high and I started it out of a sense of duty but I really liked it. Candice Millard is a very good writer, and I thought the book was genuinely insightful about Churchill while avoiding both hagiography and being overly critical.

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