Josu
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What about Jules Verne?
Which book are you reading now? Volume XIV
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What about Jules Verne?
Which reminds me, in typical style I will mention Lucian of Samosata and the war between the empire of the Sun and the Moon
hobbsyoyo
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I started The Collapsing Empire which I believe is first in a trilogy. It is soooo much less dense than the other books I've been reading and it makes for a nice change of pace. I'm already a third through it and I haven't been reading that long either.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
A Concise History of Bolivia by Herbert Klein is a well-written introduction to the titular country's from prehistoric times to 2010 with good analyses focused on politics. Several unique factors that have shaped Bolivia's path can be identified. The first is its rich mineral resources, from silver to tin, that have provided revenue that once funded the costs of Spanish empire but are now declining. Despite this bounty, low levels of development have been a constant factor and are demonstrated in low educational attainment, high levels of poverty, and inadequate sector investment. One possible explanation for this is Bolivia's weakness compared to its neighbors, who have extracted territory (in wars) and revenue (for trade routes) starting from the time independence from Spain was attained. Last but most certainly not least is the quantitative importance of indigenous peoples like the Aymara who have constituted basically half of the inhabitants. Though their experience with poverty is worse than that of the mestizos, their prominence in language (though Spanish is gaining ground) and politics (especially in recent times) cannot be ignored. My only issue with the book is that chapters could use some subheadings instead of just being one chunk of text.
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What's it about?
Ajidica
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The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson by Joseph Califano
An account of LBJ's years as president written by one of his top aides, it is a fascinating read. I swear that LBJ was more devious than Nixon, but at least he used that deviousness to pass Great Society legislation.
An account of LBJ's years as president written by one of his top aides, it is a fascinating read. I swear that LBJ was more devious than Nixon, but at least he used that deviousness to pass Great Society legislation.
hobbsyoyo
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There is a galaxy-spanning empire that relies on special slipstreams to move spaceships around. The slipstreams begin to collapse and that throws the future of the empire in peril.
About scifi writers, my current list (for the seminar) is:
-H.G. Wells
-P.K. Dick
-Harlan Ellison (just for the one story, IHNMAIMS)
-Arthur Clarke (mostly will refer to Childhood's End, cause I don't like him anyway)
-Lucian of Samosata
-(maybe) some reference to Poe and Verne as a Poe fanboi
-(slightly) Cyperpunk punk-writers, maybe some reference to the Neuromancer
There is also Lovecraft, as a hybrid of Horror/Sci fi in some stories.
I haven't actually read Dune, so I cannot really write about that.
-H.G. Wells
-P.K. Dick
-Harlan Ellison (just for the one story, IHNMAIMS)
-Arthur Clarke (mostly will refer to Childhood's End, cause I don't like him anyway)
-Lucian of Samosata
-(maybe) some reference to Poe and Verne as a Poe fanboi
-(slightly) Cyperpunk punk-writers, maybe some reference to the Neuromancer
There is also Lovecraft, as a hybrid of Horror/Sci fi in some stories.
I haven't actually read Dune, so I cannot really write about that.
Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
"Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All is the story of the cultural collision between Westerners and the Maoris of New Zealand, told partly as a history of the complex and bloody period of contact between Europeans and the Maoris in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and partly as the story of Christina Thompson's marriage to a Maori man. As an American graduate student studying literature in Australia, Thompson traveled on vacation to New Zealand, where she met a Maori known as "Seven." Their relationship was one of opposites: he was a tradesman, she an intellectual; he came from a background of rural poverty, she from one of middle-class privilege; he was a "native," she descended directly from "colonizers." Nevertheless, they shared a similar sense of adventure and a willingness to depart from the customs of their families and forge a life together on their own."
It is less navel-gazy than it sounds.
Also, on the Expanse bandwagon, I've just got my hands on the paperback of Timat's Wrath, so we'll see how that goes.
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yung.carl.jung
Hey Bird! I'm Morose & Lugubrious
did it mention his bathroom habits, or his penis braggadocio? I'm really curious if the rumors are true..
also, there is a brilliant short story (kinda fictional) on LBJ by David Foster-Wallace.
Ajidica
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It mentioned that LBJ had the manners one would expect from a guy born and raised in rural Texas. LBJ would call people on the phone while he was going to the bathroom, and on one occasion while at LBJ's ranch, he pulled down his pants and asked the author if the author thought LBJ had a horsefly bite on his bottom.
Just finished Villa and Zapata: A Biography of the Mexican Revolution by Frank Mclynn. As usual when I lend a book to a friend they promptly lose it so this is my 2nd copy of it.
Zapata stands out as the only major player in the revolution with much integrity.
Zapata stands out as the only major player in the revolution with much integrity.
Paul in Saudi
Emperor
So far this year:
The Infernal Library (Kalder) Uneven but thought-provoking look at the books published by various dictators.
An Impeccable Spy (Matthews) About the Sorge spy ring. The best book on the subject I have seen.
The Infernal Library (Kalder) Uneven but thought-provoking look at the books published by various dictators.
An Impeccable Spy (Matthews) About the Sorge spy ring. The best book on the subject I have seen.
Says an aspiring author.
If being an author is of importance in this question, why are you even writing about it?
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