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White bicycles: making music in the 1960s - joe boyd
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So Russell...what do you love about music? To begin with, everything. -
finshed "Shiloh 1862" not a bad overall look at the early part of the Civil War in the west up Apr 1862. In fact Groom doesn't start writing about the Battle of Shiloh until more than 1/3 of the way into the book. Groom doesn't advance any new theories or make any new deductions, but he is a good entertaining writer. This book is definately geared for the general/casual interest audience.
Some interesting factoids
Henry Stanley of Stanley and Livingstone fame fought at Shiloh with the Confederate Army
Lew Wallace who wrote Ben Hur was one of Grant's Division Commanders and was camped about 7 miles from the battlefield and got lost when told to get there ASAP - he didn't show up until late on the first day.
Albert Sidney Johnston and the people around him didn't realize how severly he'd been wounded when he had his personal doctor attend to Union wounded.
Currently reading
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Republic-Madness-Medicine-President/dp/0385526261/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337810960&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (9780385526265): Candice Millard: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jDMZ4f0tL.@@AMEPARAM@@51jDMZ4f0tL[/ame]
about the assignation of Pres James Garfield
the author also wrote River of Darkness that was discussed earlied in this thread somewhere (I'm too lazy to go find it)
Edit
Here's Wuap's thoughts on River of Darkness http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showpo...&postcount=590
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."Comment
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Just finished The Shadow Patrol
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Patrol-John-Wells-Novel/dp/0399158294"]The Shadow Patrol (A John Wells Novel): Alex Berenson: 9780399158292: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51pGzZzcvaL.@@AMEPARAM@@51pGzZzcvaL[/ame]
#6 in a series featuring character John Wells - a Muslim convert and former CIA officer who struggles to balance his religion with his national allegiance (USA). This was one of the better of the series set mostly in Afghanistan and a tightly focused plot.Comment
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Just started listening to
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Black-Banners-Against-al-Qaeda/dp/0393079422"]Amazon.com: The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda (9780393079425): Ali H. Soufan, Daniel Freedman: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/418PXu00dFL.@@AMEPARAM@@418PXu00dFL[/ame]
Very interesting retelling of events and evidences of terror threats prior to 9/11.
18 hours of audioComment
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Beloved - Toni Morrison"I don't know the origin of said bitch booming."-Art Vandelay
"Hot Lunch posted awhile back on this. He knows more than anyone except for maybe BO."-Seattle UteComment
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This book is great. I think CUF is full of introverts -- people who enjoy expressing themselves in writing.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352145"]Amazon.com: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (0030788707778): Susan Cain: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410799S1oSL.@@AMEPARAM@@410799S1oSL[/ame]Comment
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Just finished
Lots of material ordered redacted by the CIA. The author certainly holds a grudge against CIA policy and Enhanced Interrogation Techniques. Former US ambassador to Yemen, Barbara Bodine, and GITMO and Abu Ghraib detention boss, General Miller, sound like first class PITA. Certainly more interested in appearances than getting intelligence. If all is true, they have blood on their hands.Originally posted by eldiente View PostComment
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Just started listening to The Great Bridge
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Bridge-Building-Brooklyn/dp/B0083EFQ86/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1338414330&sr=8-1-spell"]Amazon.com: The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge (Audible Audio Edition): David McCullough, Nelson Runger: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51F2CSrpveL.@@AMEPARAM@@51F2CSrpveL[/ame]
The paperback edition has been on my shelf for several years, but the newly released audio version finally gave me reason to get started.
I had forgotten how great an author David McCullough is and how magical a well-told story can be, even if it concerns historical events of 150+ years ago.Comment
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finished Destiny of the Republic - excellent read. I like Millard's writing style.
Also you get from the book that she really likes Garfield and she thinks he would have been a great president had he lived
Some factoids I took from the book
We think politics today is bad - It was pretty nasty back then
Garfield didn't want to be president - he supported John Sherman. When his name first appeared in nomination, he attempted to have it withdrawn.
He didn't like his vice president - nominated as bone to the other faction of the Republican party (Conkling/Grant supporters)
Alexander Graham Bell was working an instrument that could have located the bullet, the induction balance, but he was limited by the Doctors on where he could look.
Millard's basic thesis is that the Guiteau didn't kill Garfield - His doctors did. If they had just stopped the bleeding he probably would have healed just fine. Their probing of his wound the dirty hands and instruments probably caused the infection that killed him
currently reading
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Retreat-Patrick-Rambaud/dp/0802142656/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338417271&sr=1-7"]Amazon.com: The Retreat (9780802142658): Patrick Rambaud, Will Hobson: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SH40Z8T9L.@@AMEPARAM@@51SH40Z8T9L[/ame]
a novel of Napoleons invasion of RussiaLast edited by happyone; 05-30-2012, 07:23 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."Comment
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A Storm of SwordsAs I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression
--Kendrick LamarComment
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[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Creature-Jekyll-Island-Federal/dp/091298645X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1338468579&sr=8-2"]Amazon.com: The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve (9780912986456): G. Edward Griffin: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mCfqXHQuL.@@AMEPARAM@@51mCfqXHQuL[/ame]
From the Ron Paul recommended reading list. Very interesting, reads more like a novel than a text book.Comment
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[ame="http://www.amazon.com/American-Sniper-Autobiography-Military-History/dp/0062082353"]Amazon.com: American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History (9780062082350): Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IiP7QgakL.@@AMEPARAM@@51IiP7QgakL[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Survivor-Eyewitness-Account-Operation/dp/0316067598"]Amazon.com: Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 (9780316067591): Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511JmwEaJJL.@@AMEPARAM@@511JmwEaJJL[/ame]
Good books."We should remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school."
-Thucydides
"Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men."-Miyamoto Musashi
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Comment
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finished The Retreat - average - there is a good book in that story(yeah I know - War and Peace), but I don't think this was it, maybe it was the translation, it just didn't grow on me. The book opens with the French occupation of Moscow and it ends with the surviors of the "Le Grande Armie" (my appologies to all French speakers out there) getting out of Russia. It is told from the view point of a capt. of Dragoons in the Imperial Guard and a high level clerk in one the of ministries that accompanied Napoleon.
Currently reading
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Crucible-War-Sea-1941-1942/dp/0393068137/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339626661&sr=1-1&keywords=Ian+Toll"]Amazon.com: Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (9780393068139): Ian W. Toll: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TMrn1DmaL.@@AMEPARAM@@51TMrn1DmaL[/ame]
I liked the previous book I read of his, so I have high hopesLast edited by happyone; 06-13-2012, 04:18 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."Comment
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Finished Pacific Crucible - excellent read. Nice balance of detail and story. I think it mainly for a general audience, but there is enough there for the WW II buf. Mainly told from the American point of view, it covers the time from Pearl Harbor through Midway. He includes accouts of the ABDA fiasco (Java Sea), the carrier raids on the Marshalls and Gilberts in February of '42, the Dolittle Raid, the Battle of Coral Sea and ends with the Battle of Midway.
Toll gives good biographical sketches of the main players, Yamamoto, King, Nimitz as well as the man in charge of the Hawaii Decrypt people Cmdr Rocheford. One thing I liked was his preface that show how Japan slipped into the clutches of the Militarist in the late 20's and 30's and the rivalary between the Japanese Army and Navy. It made our Interservice Rivalaries look like summer picnics!
If you are interested in WW II I would highly recommend this one.
I also finished Jeff Shaara's new book on the Battle of Shiloh
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Blaze-Glory-Novel-Battle-Shiloh/dp/0345527356/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340753114&sr=1-1&keywords=Blaze+of+Glory"]Amazon.com: A Blaze of Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Shiloh (9780345527356): Jeff Shaara: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51w8fp-75yL.@@AMEPARAM@@51w8fp-75yL[/ame]
Also a good read. Shaara follows his tried and true template. In this book he uses the Confederate Gen's Johnston, Beauregard and Bragg and the Union Gen's Sherman and Prentiss and well as a Union private to tell the story.
He opens the book with the Confederate abandonment of Nashville ( told threw the eyes of one of NB Forrest's lts) and ends basically on the night of the sixth with Sherman's and Grants mgt under the oak tree at Pittsburg Landing (the fight on the seventh seems almost tacked on). His discriptions of the reasons for the Sherman's surprise on the morning of the sixth and the results of that surprise as well as the fight at the Hornet's Nest and the Peach Orchard are very well done.
I would also highly recommend this one
I must be on a Civil War novel kick, because the next one is Ralph Peter's new novel on Gettysburg
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Cain-at-Gettysburg-Ralph-Peters/dp/0765330474/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340753476&sr=1-1&keywords=cain+at+gettysburg"]Amazon.com: Cain at Gettysburg (9780765330475): Ralph Peters: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51i1hwiv4QL.@@AMEPARAM@@51i1hwiv4QL[/ame]
I saw Peters on Book TV Memorial Day weekend and he gave a pretty good defense of Meade's Generalship and well as explaining some of the reasons he chose the characters and units to write about.Last edited by happyone; 06-26-2012, 05:03 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."Comment
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Just finished
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/An-American-Spy-Olen-Steinhauer/dp/0312622899/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341255968&sr=8-1&keywords=an+american+spy"]Amazon.com: An American Spy (9780312622893): Olen Steinhauer: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BgoUKmsuL.@@AMEPARAM@@51%2BgoUKmsuL[/ame]
Third in a series with an interesting premise about a secret department within the CIA that uses "tourists" to take independent action across the globe.
This wasn't as good as the first two, but holds promise setting up for future stories.Comment
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