That one's pretty cool. I used to quote a bit of that in academic papers.
Just finished The Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather
What Book Are You Reading? Volume 9
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That one's pretty cool. I used to quote a bit of that in academic papers.
Just finished The Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather
Quackers
The Frog
I've just read the back of my cereal box. Does that count as a book?
Koch's The Year of Living Dangerously was historically accurate without being a drag to read. It wasn't brilliant or even inspired writing, more workmanlike than that and with some rather annoying gimmicks. (I didn't like the constant references to 'the files' which didn't really add all that much to the novel and I believe could have been expressed better in other ways -- namely, conversation).
The characterization was solid but I never really got into the mind of the characters and was left grabbing at straws more often than to understand the particular motivations or actions of the characters. There also seemed to be a number of undeveloped plot threads, which seemed to be hinted at and then were never followed up, unfortunately. Also, Sukarno was beautifully crafted in the limited space he was given, you get a fairly reasonable impression of the man insofar as Bung Karno was a man.
That said, I liked the ability of the author to shape the characters around the events of Indonesian in 1965. The use of the wayang puppets was also rather effective at showing the subtle interplay between the different political factions without having to retreat into (what I imagine would have been) boring explanations which would have stopped or at least stilted the narrative flow.
That, and a few other things showed that the author had a deft understanding of the underlying subject material. It's a shame that the author didn't take the time to craft the wayang and other culturally appropriate elements more fully into the plot -- they could have easily been a plot within a plot themselves.
Whatever the case, it was a solid read and I quite enjoyed it. I don't think I would recommend it to just anybody. I believe that a grounding the subject material would make it significantly more desirable to read and an active interest in the period and the subject matter would make it indispensable to the reader. Otherwise, if you can borrow it from the library, perhaps consider it.
Could also be read concurrently with A Shadow Falls in the Heart of Java by Beatty which deals with similar issues in an accessible style (although it must be noted that it is a library borrow and not a purchase!).
The characterization was solid but I never really got into the mind of the characters and was left grabbing at straws more often than to understand the particular motivations or actions of the characters. There also seemed to be a number of undeveloped plot threads, which seemed to be hinted at and then were never followed up, unfortunately. Also, Sukarno was beautifully crafted in the limited space he was given, you get a fairly reasonable impression of the man insofar as Bung Karno was a man.
That said, I liked the ability of the author to shape the characters around the events of Indonesian in 1965. The use of the wayang puppets was also rather effective at showing the subtle interplay between the different political factions without having to retreat into (what I imagine would have been) boring explanations which would have stopped or at least stilted the narrative flow.
That, and a few other things showed that the author had a deft understanding of the underlying subject material. It's a shame that the author didn't take the time to craft the wayang and other culturally appropriate elements more fully into the plot -- they could have easily been a plot within a plot themselves.
Whatever the case, it was a solid read and I quite enjoyed it. I don't think I would recommend it to just anybody. I believe that a grounding the subject material would make it significantly more desirable to read and an active interest in the period and the subject matter would make it indispensable to the reader. Otherwise, if you can borrow it from the library, perhaps consider it.
Could also be read concurrently with A Shadow Falls in the Heart of Java by Beatty which deals with similar issues in an accessible style (although it must be noted that it is a library borrow and not a purchase!).
Godwynn
March to the Sea
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No, because it is a cereal box. If you had said I've just read my book. Does that count as a book? Then it would be a book.
Fifty
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How to Cope with No Longer Being Admired by Various
Quackers
The Frog
Woa-woa-woa man slow down. Say it again in plain english.
Godwynn
March to the Sea
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I try, but I doubt you English could understand.
Zack
99% hot gas
You can't read?
klazlo
Avatarless Sociologist
Outliers is quite good, just finished a few weeks ago.
Now I'm reading Ismail Kadare's Castle. It's about a castle siege by the Turks in medieval Albania (he is Albanian). Fantastic book (read it a few times already).
Integral
Can't you hear it?
Working on:
The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 by Chris Wickham
Monetary Policy, Inflation and the Business Cycle: An Introduction to the New Keynesian Framework by Jordi Gali
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson
Also flipped through Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen.
The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 by Chris Wickham
Monetary Policy, Inflation and the Business Cycle: An Introduction to the New Keynesian Framework by Jordi Gali
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson
Also flipped through Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen.
ParkCungHee
Deity
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- Aug 13, 2006
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- 12,921
King, Kaiser, Tsar.
It's quite good, if weighed down by annecdotes at times.
It's quite good, if weighed down by annecdotes at times.
Worth reading just for her attitude to life, I think.
I'm working through Herbert Ashbury's Gangs of New York.
Gilder
Deity
I finished reading Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick earlier tonight. I think I might move on to some Pratchett next.
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
Since almost my whole Christmas haul was books, I'll just post them here.
David Glantz - Colossus Reborn
David Glantz - When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler
Robert K. Massie - Nicholas and Alexandra
Robert K. Massie - Peter the Great
Robert Service - A History of Modern Russia from Nicholas II to Vladmir Putin
Donald J. Raleigh - Russia's Sputnik Generation: Soviet Baby Boomers Talk About their Lives
Norman Davies - Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw
Mark R. Levin - Liberty and Tyranny, a Conservative Manifesto (
)
The Autobiography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
John K. Galbraith - The New Industrial State
Adam Smith - The Wealth of Nations
John Maynard Keynes - The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
Upton Sinclair - Oil!
Michael Parenti - Democracy for the Few
Boris Pasternak - Dr. Zhivago
Thomas Pakenham - The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent, 1876-1914
David Glantz - Colossus Reborn
David Glantz - When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler
Robert K. Massie - Nicholas and Alexandra
Robert K. Massie - Peter the Great
Robert Service - A History of Modern Russia from Nicholas II to Vladmir Putin
Donald J. Raleigh - Russia's Sputnik Generation: Soviet Baby Boomers Talk About their Lives
Norman Davies - Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw
Mark R. Levin - Liberty and Tyranny, a Conservative Manifesto (
)The Autobiography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
John K. Galbraith - The New Industrial State
Adam Smith - The Wealth of Nations
John Maynard Keynes - The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
Upton Sinclair - Oil!
Michael Parenti - Democracy for the Few
Boris Pasternak - Dr. Zhivago
Thomas Pakenham - The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent, 1876-1914
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