What Are You Reading Now?

[dabrockster]

after you finish into thin air (krakauer at his best), there are a couple of documentaries you need to check out about the events. i can't remember the names now, but i'll look.

Thanks. I am already hooked and only on page 15...

[happyone]

I finished Pacific Warriors. Good overview of Marine operations during WW II, I think DevilDog would like it It covers all 12 major amphibious assults, 1 regiment or larger, made by the Marines during the war. It includes the invasions that really don't get much attention from the casual reader - the northern Solomons, Marshall Islands, Tinian and Guam. Some really good pictures and some are quite grusome. There is one of the Japanese dead after one of their assults on the Marine lines on Guadalcanal. The frame is literally filled with bodies.

I also finished a biography of the English Knight William Marshall, William Marshal : the flower of chivalry by Georges Dupay. Marshall shows up a supporting character in the newest Robin Hood movie. Quite short, 150 pages and a good overview of his life. It was translated for French and sometimes the prose doesn't flow well.

I have started the book OxCoug mentioned about Shakespeare, "Shakespeare" by another name : the life of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the man who was Shakespeare by Mark Anderson

[UteStar]

If you haven't read it, check out 'The Professor and the Madman.' It is about the creation of the Oxford Dictionary. It focuses on the person in charge of putting the dictionary together...as well as a person who wrote more entries than any other person. This person was also crazy and a murderer. It is a fascinating read into how the dictionary was created and how some brilliant people are truly messed up.

[dabrockster]

So I am reading "Into Thin Air" and we are at the part where they are at the Icefalls.. I decided I would see if there were any video's of this area to help me understand what it is like and I came across this..

All I can say is WOW!!!!

[YOUTUBE]moBJMGNSql4&feature=player_embedded#![/YOUTUBE]

[happyone]

I finished Shakespeare" by another name . It is a good, fascinating read. The author makes a good circumstancial case for De Vere being Shakes-speare. It is really a biography of De Vere and Anderson makes the connections between his life and the various plays. One small stylistic quibble I had was that Anderson presents the thesis that De Vere was Shakespeare as settled fact in parts of the book and as speculation in other sections. To me that was a little jarring. If you accept Anderson POV, Shakespears plays are very, very autobiographical. The plays comment on his first marriage to William Cecil’s daughter, Anne, his doubts on the paternity of his first daughter, his relationship with Cecil, his youthful follies and spendthrift habits, and the problems that they caused later in his life. They are also highly political. Anderson has documented his research well. There are as many pages of notes in this book as written prose as well as 4 appendices.

I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in Shakespeare or just English history.

Currently reading Conn Igguldon's 4th book in his Genghis Khan series Khan : empire of Silver

[dabrockster]

Finished "Into This Air" and have now started reading "Son of Hamas"... Just finished the first chapter called "Captured"... Reading his experience being captured is enlightening.. Do I condone Israel actions??? Nope, but I can see how both parties hold this very aggressive nature towards each other.. Interesting to see it form his perspective...

[fusnik]

Finished "Into This Air" and have now started reading "Son of Hamas"... Just finished the first chapter called "Captured"... Reading his experience being captured is enlightening.. Do I condone Israel actions??? Nope, but I can see how both parties hold this very aggressive nature towards each other.. Interesting to see it form his perspective...

If you are interested in further reading on the subject you should read, The Climb, by Anatoli Boukreev.

It gives a different perspective of the events and paints JK in a different light.

[Art Vandelay]

If you are interested in further reading on the subject you should read, The Climb, by Anatoli Boukreev.

It gives a different perspective of the events and paints JK in a different light.

Agreed, read both books. Then read a few of the letters that went back and forth between Krakauer and Boukreev. Interesting.

My favorite book in that same genre is, Ed Viestur's, "No Shortcuts to the Top".

[SeattleUte]

David Mitchell. Especially you postmodernists here need to read Cloud Atlas. It's a pretty amazing piece of work.

[ERCougar]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Scorecasting-Hidden-Influences-Behind-ebook/dp/B004C43GC4"]Amazon.com: Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won eBook: L. Jon Wertheim, Tobias Moskowitz: Kindle Store@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511VbWcCSgL.@@AMEPARAM@@511VbWcCSgL[/ame]

Like freakonomics, applied to sports. I'm only a couple of chapters into it, but so far, some really great stuff. Tells about a high school football coach in Arkansas who has won several state championships with a pretty limited athletic pool (small private academic school), because he never punts, taking to the extreme the notion that football coaches at all levels don't go for it on fourth down nearly enough, due to loss aversion. Talks about why refs swallow their whistles at the end of games. Why coaches shouldn't pull players who are a foul away from fouling out. How the strike zone changes depending on the count, and how being a star player affects that change. Thats just from the first few chapters.

Really fun read.

[dabrockster]

If you are interested in further reading on the subject you should read, The Climb, by Anatoli Boukreev.

It gives a different perspective of the events and paints JK in a different light.

Thanks. I would like to get a different perspective on it and now just JK's.. I get the feeling there are missing things in there...

[dabrockster]

Agreed, read both books. Then read a few of the letters that went back and forth between Krakauer and Boukreev. Interesting.

My favorite book in that same genre is, Ed Viestur's, "No Shortcuts to the Top".

Where can I find these letters?? Are they in Boukreev's book??

[PaloAltoCougar]

I’m finishing up [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Future-Presidents-Richard-Muller/dp/142662459X"]Amazon.com: Physics for Future Presidents (9781426624599): Richard Muller: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kFXoaH%2BtL.@@AMEPARAM@@51kFXoaH%2BtL[/ame] by Richard Muller, a professor at Cal and Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Lab. The book is a condensed (and more readable) version of Physics and Technology for Future Presidents, which serves as the textbook for a course of the same name that Dr. Muller teaches. The course has been voted the Best Class at Berkeley two years running.

The book covers such topics as 9-11 and the physics of the WTC collapse, nuclear threats, energy shortages and possible solutions, global warming, and other issues of the day, providing a great intro to each subject that covers both the myths and the lesser known facts surrounding each. The author is, as one would expect, very scientific in his approach, and doesn’t take sides; his goal is simply to inform, leaving it to the reader to make policy decisions. I noticed that Glenn Beck was effusive in his praise of Dr. Muller’s discussion of the Iranian and North Korean nuclear threats, but disagreed with Muller’s view of global warming (Muller concludes there’s a roughly 90% chance that mankind is contributing significantly to global warming, while illustrating how wrong Al Gore was in An Inconvenient Truth).

Although most readers are effusive in their praise of the book, I always enjoy reading the “one star” critics on Amazon. In this case, there are a couple of good criticisms, but most reveal their own biases, and serve to confirm Muller’s evenhanded and enlightening approach.

True science types may not find the book all that enlightening, but for those who never moved past the 100 and 200 series of college science courses, the book is very informative and, in my case, changes one’s thinking on a number of issues.

[woot]

I’m finishing up Amazon.com: Physics for Future Presidents (9781426624599): Richard Muller: Books by Richard Muller, a professor at Cal and Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Lab. The book is a condensed (and more readable) version of Physics and Technology for Future Presidents, which serves as the textbook for a course of the same name that Dr. Muller teaches. The course has been voted the Best Class at Berkeley two years running.

The book covers such topics as 9-11 and the physics of the WTC collapse, nuclear threats, energy shortages and possible solutions, global warming, and other issues of the day, providing a great intro to each subject that covers both the myths and the lesser known facts surrounding each. The author is, as one would expect, very scientific in his approach, and doesn’t take sides; his goal is simply to inform, leaving it to the reader to make policy decisions. I noticed that Glenn Beck was effusive in his praise of Dr. Muller’s discussion of the Iranian and North Korean nuclear threats, but disagreed with Muller’s view of global warming (Muller concludes there’s a roughly 90% chance that mankind is contributing significantly to global warming, while illustrating how wrong Al Gore was in An Inconvenient Truth).

Although most readers are effusive in their praise of the book, I always enjoy reading the “one star” critics on Amazon. In this case, there are a couple of good criticisms, but most reveal their own biases, and serve to confirm Muller’s evenhanded and enlightening approach.

True science types may not find the book all that enlightening, but for those who never moved past the 100 and 200 series of college science courses, the book is very informative and, in my case, changes one’s thinking on a number of issues.

This sounds awesome. I look forward to reading it.

[LA Ute]

I finally finished "By the Hand of Mormon" this morning. Highly recommended. I learned a lot. (I am now reading the notes one by one. That's how interesting the book is to me.)