What Book Are You Reading? Volume 9
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Gilder
Deity
I finished Dirk Gentley. Not what I was expecting, but it was still pretty good. The ending was a bit confusing, and while well-written with some great funny bits, it seemed a bit slow-paced, mostly because the explanation for anything only happens in the last fifty or so pages.
Now I'm reading Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy.
Now I'm reading Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy.
I'm reading a collection of sermons by Martin Luther King Jr, and 1491, which focuses the Americas prior to their colonization by Europe.
This book? Why would you waste your time?
Ansar
Détente avec l'été
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
A. J. P. Taylor - The Struggle for Mastery in Europe
Even if the analysis is mostly garbage and the discussions of the July Crisis and the Crimean War buildup are pretty outdated, it's highly useful mostly because it talks about frickin everything.
Even if the analysis is mostly garbage and the discussions of the July Crisis and the Crimean War buildup are pretty outdated, it's highly useful mostly because it talks about frickin everything.
Thorvald of Lym
A Little Sketchy
Finally coming around to First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde. It's already off to a good start.
A Modern History of Southeast Asia: Decolonization, Nationalism and Separatism -Clive J. Christie: Probably the most authoritative and readable general introduction to the peculiarities of separatist movements in Southeast Asia. The chapter on Aceh and how its fits in the tangle that was, and still is, the broader Darul Islam movement of the post-Revolutionary period in Indonesia is particularly relevant today considering the absolutely ******** propensity of people to lump together all Islamic movements into an an encompassing -- and utterly fictional -- movement. This also applies to the Rohinaga and Patani sections of the book, which are also pretty darn good. Highly recommended.
Sukarno - JD. Legge: I'm not sure what to make of this quite yet, I still prefer C.L.M Penders (The Life & Times of Sukarno which has something of a problem with bias, which might be informed by Mister Penders being Dutch nevertheless its still a valuable biographical work) but Legge (also Dutch) is far more comprehensive in sitting Sukarno in his context, even if he doesn't seem to examine Sukarno's character all that much. Neither work is up to the high standard of R.E Elson's Suharto: A Political Biography or Gus Dur: the authorized biography of Abdurrahman Wahid by Burton which is unfortunate considering how important Sukarno was, and is, to Indonesia. Recommended since it seems to be available, unlike the older Penders and represents more recent scholarship even if it doesn't seem to have moved all that far. Which may be a hint for me... I dunno?
Economics of Southeast Asia - S.R. Vemuri: Is up next which I'm looking forward to, since it mirrors some of my own research albeit with a slightly different focus -- the Southeast Asia economic system in theory vs. my somewhat more focused Classical Southeast Asian economic system in theory and practice.
Sukarno - JD. Legge: I'm not sure what to make of this quite yet, I still prefer C.L.M Penders (The Life & Times of Sukarno which has something of a problem with bias, which might be informed by Mister Penders being Dutch nevertheless its still a valuable biographical work) but Legge (also Dutch) is far more comprehensive in sitting Sukarno in his context, even if he doesn't seem to examine Sukarno's character all that much. Neither work is up to the high standard of R.E Elson's Suharto: A Political Biography or Gus Dur: the authorized biography of Abdurrahman Wahid by Burton which is unfortunate considering how important Sukarno was, and is, to Indonesia. Recommended since it seems to be available, unlike the older Penders and represents more recent scholarship even if it doesn't seem to have moved all that far. Which may be a hint for me... I dunno?
Economics of Southeast Asia - S.R. Vemuri: Is up next which I'm looking forward to, since it mirrors some of my own research albeit with a slightly different focus -- the Southeast Asia economic system in theory vs. my somewhat more focused Classical Southeast Asian economic system in theory and practice.
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
Cthulu must be warping space-time again.
JEELEN said:
Our army has always had two policies. First, we must be ruthless to our enemies; we must overpower and annihilate them. Second, we must be kind to our own, to the people, to our comrades and to our superiors and subordinates, and unite with them.
I'm going to read "Dreiser's Russian Diary" edited by Thomas Riggio.
I spent the weekend with quite an interesting group of people this weekend. Dr. Riggio was one of the accomplished people I met and we really hit it off.
He feels Dreiser is one of the most under appreciated American authors. It turns out Dreiser's writings were often censored because of what was unacceptable during his time, sexual promiscuity as well as his socialist leanings. Dr. Riggio said that his most famous book "An American Tragedy" is actually 50 chapters longer but was edited down because of some of the content. He is now reconstructing many of his works since apparently Dreiser never threw anything away.
The diary is about Theodore Dreiser's invitation in 1927 from the Soviet Union to visit the country for 2 months on the 10 year anniversary of the revolution. The diary is part Dreiser and part Ruth Kennell who was his secretary and companion on the trip. Should be an interesting read.
I spent the weekend with quite an interesting group of people this weekend. Dr. Riggio was one of the accomplished people I met and we really hit it off.
He feels Dreiser is one of the most under appreciated American authors. It turns out Dreiser's writings were often censored because of what was unacceptable during his time, sexual promiscuity as well as his socialist leanings. Dr. Riggio said that his most famous book "An American Tragedy" is actually 50 chapters longer but was edited down because of some of the content. He is now reconstructing many of his works since apparently Dreiser never threw anything away.
The diary is about Theodore Dreiser's invitation in 1927 from the Soviet Union to visit the country for 2 months on the 10 year anniversary of the revolution. The diary is part Dreiser and part Ruth Kennell who was his secretary and companion on the trip. Should be an interesting read.
I just finished "I'm dying up here", which is a history of the LA Standup comedy scene in the 1970s, and the ill fated Comedians Union/strike of The Comedy Store.
Next, I'll tackle The Confederacy of Dunces.
And the Chicago Classifieds
Next, I'll tackle The Confederacy of Dunces.
And the Chicago Classifieds
The Illustrated History of Canada.
ed. Craig Brown, 2002, 621 pages.
Ramsey Cook (York), Peter Waite (Dalhousie), Desmond Morton (McGill), et.al.
An interesting read for an American such as myself. Our media often uses Canada as a foil to criticise and contrast our institutions and controversies, like the health care debate. This book, while pointing out Canada's obvious strengths, also fairly explores its shortcomings. Canada interred its Japanese citizens in WW II just as we did. They marginalized their native peoples too. Canada, at times, severely restricted immigration based on race, just as we did.
"Native people were hived off on reservations; blacks, with the exception of small communities in Nova Scotia, Montreal and southern Ontario, were excluded, while entry of Chinese, Japanese, and even fellow members of the British Empire who came from India was severly restricted (pg 393)."
Refreshing to know that we're not the only slobs on this continent.
ed. Craig Brown, 2002, 621 pages.
Ramsey Cook (York), Peter Waite (Dalhousie), Desmond Morton (McGill), et.al.
An interesting read for an American such as myself. Our media often uses Canada as a foil to criticise and contrast our institutions and controversies, like the health care debate. This book, while pointing out Canada's obvious strengths, also fairly explores its shortcomings. Canada interred its Japanese citizens in WW II just as we did. They marginalized their native peoples too. Canada, at times, severely restricted immigration based on race, just as we did.
"Native people were hived off on reservations; blacks, with the exception of small communities in Nova Scotia, Montreal and southern Ontario, were excluded, while entry of Chinese, Japanese, and even fellow members of the British Empire who came from India was severly restricted (pg 393)."
Refreshing to know that we're not the only slobs on this continent.
sophie
Break My Heart
I'm reading The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. It's a very interesting read. I just made it through the first two chapters.
The first one describes the political scene of Europe just prior to the war laced neatly into a description of the funeral of King Edward VII.
The second chapter describes German military thinking just prior to the war, and goes into a detailed description of the Schlieffen Plan, and how it came about.
The first one describes the political scene of Europe just prior to the war laced neatly into a description of the funeral of King Edward VII.
The second chapter describes German military thinking just prior to the war, and goes into a detailed description of the Schlieffen Plan, and how it came about.
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