I just finished it and loved it. Great fun for Christians and non Christians alike.
"The Dirty Streets of Heaven"
Which book are you reading now? Volume XI
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"The Dirty Streets of Heaven"
Yes. It charts the building of a great cathedral against the backdrop of the 12th Century Anarchy and the possible reasons thereof.
I have that book by Bill Bryson and I think it's entirely too readable. I had to ration myself to manage to get anything else done!
Finished Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard in an all-night reading session that lasted until 5 AM. 
It was written closer to a narrative-type and not a dry format, following the assassin, President Garfield, his doctors, and Alexander Graham Bell trying to invent a metal detector to find the bullet. I knew his doctors were terrible, but I didn't realize how god-awful they were until reading the last half of the book; to call them incompetent is an understatement, he was quite literally killed by the infections caused by Dr. Bliss probing his open wound for weeks on end trying to find the bullet (and causing massive additional wounds in the process).
Highly recommended, especially because Garfield gets the short shrift in modern historiography--he's lumped in with the bunch of corrupt post-war Republicans when he fairly deserves to be treated separately. Book also looks into the personality change of Vice President Arthur as the crisis develops.
Continuing the theme, I'm starting on The President and the Assassin by Scott Miller. Let's tackle McKinley's death next.
It was written closer to a narrative-type and not a dry format, following the assassin, President Garfield, his doctors, and Alexander Graham Bell trying to invent a metal detector to find the bullet. I knew his doctors were terrible, but I didn't realize how god-awful they were until reading the last half of the book; to call them incompetent is an understatement, he was quite literally killed by the infections caused by Dr. Bliss probing his open wound for weeks on end trying to find the bullet (and causing massive additional wounds in the process).
Highly recommended, especially because Garfield gets the short shrift in modern historiography--he's lumped in with the bunch of corrupt post-war Republicans when he fairly deserves to be treated separately. Book also looks into the personality change of Vice President Arthur as the crisis develops.
Continuing the theme, I'm starting on The President and the Assassin by Scott Miller. Let's tackle McKinley's death next.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
By Ervand Abrahamian? Yes, it's pretty good. I think it touches on everything you need to understand about Iran in the 20th century, except maybe some cultural aspects like the media.
Anyway, in the process of digesting Argentina: A Modern History by Jill Hedges. A few observations: the impact of European immigration and the almost nonexistent role of indigenes, Argentinian pretensions at being better than their neighbours and thinking of themselves as a regional power with influence on the international stage, and Peron. I think all those chapters with "Peron" in the title are trying to tell me something.
Anyway, in the process of digesting Argentina: A Modern History by Jill Hedges. A few observations: the impact of European immigration and the almost nonexistent role of indigenes, Argentinian pretensions at being better than their neighbours and thinking of themselves as a regional power with influence on the international stage, and Peron. I think all those chapters with "Peron" in the title are trying to tell me something.
madviking
north american scum
The Hunting Sketches
Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Turgenev
They are writing new X-Wing books? I remember back in the good ol' days when there were only 4! 4, I say!
Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
Reading the Robert E. Howard anthology Heroes in the Wind: From Kull to Conan. The prose is terribly overwrought, you really can tell that its a kid from the back-arse of Texas' idea of how mythology should sound, but it's written with such enthusiasm that you find yourself willing to go along with it anyway.
For the past year I've been reading/studying The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs. Incredible stuff. I've gotta read more of her thoughts on cities and economics.
I'm planning to start either The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer, or Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin next.
I'm planning to start either The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer, or Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin next.
Yeah, but those four were some of the weaker ones.They are writing new X-Wing books? I remember back in the good ol' days when there were only 4! 4, I say!
Without including Mercy Kill, I'd make it something vaguely like:
- Iron Fist
- Starfighters of Adumar
- Wedge's Gamble
- The Krytos Trap
- Solo Command
- Wraith Squadron
- The Bacta War
- Rogue Squadron
- Isard's Revenge
sophie
Break My Heart
I'm still working my way through Strachan's The First World War, Volume I, I'm more than halfway through!
It is an absolutely stupendous book. After that I'm going to do some reading on the signori families of the early Renaissance for a research paper. If anybody has some good recommendations for books on the de'Medici, Sforza, or d'Este families' respective rise to powers I'd be much appreciative.
Or a good book on Guido da Montefeltro. That would be useful as well.
It is an absolutely stupendous book. After that I'm going to do some reading on the signori families of the early Renaissance for a research paper. If anybody has some good recommendations for books on the de'Medici, Sforza, or d'Este families' respective rise to powers I'd be much appreciative.
Or a good book on Guido da Montefeltro. That would be useful as well.
Bowsling
Deity
Okay, I guess I feel less bad that it's taken me the better part of a year (with some extended pauses) to reach the bit about Turkey. His accounts of the war in Africa (along with everything else) are excellent. Really looking forward to the ~200 pages dedicated to financing the war.
Yeah, but those four were some of the weaker ones.
Without including Mercy Kill, I'd make it something vaguely like:
- Iron Fist
- Starfighters of Adumar
- Wedge's Gamble
- The Krytos Trap
- Solo Command
- Wraith Squadron
- The Bacta War
- Rogue Squadron
- Isard's Revenge
I remember loving the original 4 as a kid, but that's probably why they weren't all that great.
Sadly, I can't help you on that front, but I'd be quite interested in the sources you turn up.
Some books are naturally dense and it takes awhile to get through. I'm about 40% of the way through Holt's Whig Party and I've been reading since Christmas. About 10-15 pages a night!
I still really like a few of them. My favorite Stackpole book is probably still I, Jedi - Dark Tide II: Ruin comes close - but none of his Rogue Squadron books was outright bad. It's just that Allston wrote some even better ones. Starfighters of Adumar is unequivocally the funniest Star Wars book of all time. And Iron Fist was funny, wrenching, dramatic, and sad, all at the same time...plus it gave us this:I remember loving the original 4 as a kid, but that's probably why they weren't all that great.
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
Yeah, but those four were some of the weaker ones.
Without including Mercy Kill, I'd make it something vaguely like:
- Iron Fist
- Starfighters of Adumar
- Wedge's Gamble
- The Krytos Trap
- Solo Command
- Wraith Squadron
- The Bacta War
- Rogue Squadron
- Isard's Revenge
Damn, I liked The Bacta War. Good man putting Iron Fist at the top, though.
I am currently studying Plain: Essays in Making a Simple Life. Wonderful.
Just finished The Years of Rice and Salt.
I liked it, I really enjoyed the continuing overarching stories in between each of the "books", as well as the varied and different stories in each one. Although some of the books are more interesting than the others (I found the last couple excluding the very last one not nearly as interesting as the rest) but overall it was still a fun exploration of this alternate history world. I recommend it.
After hearing about it in the WH forum, I picked up God's Chinese Son from my library. I've always been interested in the Taiping Rebellion, so I'm excited to delve deeper into it, and find out what truly made it tick, and such.
I liked it, I really enjoyed the continuing overarching stories in between each of the "books", as well as the varied and different stories in each one. Although some of the books are more interesting than the others (I found the last couple excluding the very last one not nearly as interesting as the rest) but overall it was still a fun exploration of this alternate history world. I recommend it.
After hearing about it in the WH forum, I picked up God's Chinese Son from my library. I've always been interested in the Taiping Rebellion, so I'm excited to delve deeper into it, and find out what truly made it tick, and such.
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