What nonfiction book are you currently reading?
- Thread starter arnisador
- Start date
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
I'm always reading at least seven books at any one time. Two I'll note here:
"Rats: Observations on the history and habitat of the city's most unwanted inhabitants" by Robert Sullivan. Its a fascinating book about...rats. He takes some interesting digressions that explore the history of New York, the extermination industry, the history of rats and disease...a really fun, fun book.
The other...
"Legends, Lies and Cherished Mythis of American History," by Richard Shenkman. This book was published in the mid-eighties, but still has much going for it. It debunks much of what we think of "the good old days," and shows that life wasn't always as virtuous in days of yore. I bought it yesterday evening, and finished it this morning.
Regards,
Steve
"Rats: Observations on the history and habitat of the city's most unwanted inhabitants" by Robert Sullivan. Its a fascinating book about...rats. He takes some interesting digressions that explore the history of New York, the extermination industry, the history of rats and disease...a really fun, fun book.
The other...
"Legends, Lies and Cherished Mythis of American History," by Richard Shenkman. This book was published in the mid-eighties, but still has much going for it. It debunks much of what we think of "the good old days," and shows that life wasn't always as virtuous in days of yore. I bought it yesterday evening, and finished it this morning.
Regards,
Steve
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
"Why I am not a Christian," by Bertrand Russell. I've been working on this one for awhile, and am in the appendix.
"The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager," by Thomas Hine.
"Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man: The white male body and the challenge of modernity in America," by John F. Kasson. Odd title, yet a really interesting book. If you ignore the social theory Kasson puts into the book you still get a fascinating biography of Eugene Sandow, Harry Houdini, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. The social theory is interesting, though.
We have here in Indiana a place called "Half Priced Books." I get a bunch of these books at reeeeally great prices. They're good books, too. I bought "Not In Front of the Children: Indecency, Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth" by Marjorie Heins for just under three bucks...HARDBOUND. A great deal.
That was a good book, too.
Regards,
Steve
"The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager," by Thomas Hine.
"Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man: The white male body and the challenge of modernity in America," by John F. Kasson. Odd title, yet a really interesting book. If you ignore the social theory Kasson puts into the book you still get a fascinating biography of Eugene Sandow, Harry Houdini, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. The social theory is interesting, though.
We have here in Indiana a place called "Half Priced Books." I get a bunch of these books at reeeeally great prices. They're good books, too. I bought "Not In Front of the Children: Indecency, Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth" by Marjorie Heins for just under three bucks...HARDBOUND. A great deal.
That was a good book, too.
Regards,
Steve
FearlessFreep
Senior Master
Adventures in Missing the Point
How the Culture Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...pd_sxp_f/102-4946253-7979342?v=glance&s=books
How the Culture Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...pd_sxp_f/102-4946253-7979342?v=glance&s=books
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
"Women Without Superstition: 'No Gods, No Masters.'" edited by Annie Laurie Gaylor.
This is a collection of brief biographies of--and works by--women freethinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Women like Francine Wright, Lucretial Mott, Ernestine Rose and others not only helped drive the abolitionist and women's rights movement...they also were a major force in American secularism.
I'm really enjoying it. These women are very bright, and very good speakers and writers. Francine Wright is one of my new heroes.
Loki, you're probably right.
Regards,
Steve
This is a collection of brief biographies of--and works by--women freethinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Women like Francine Wright, Lucretial Mott, Ernestine Rose and others not only helped drive the abolitionist and women's rights movement...they also were a major force in American secularism.
I'm really enjoying it. These women are very bright, and very good speakers and writers. Francine Wright is one of my new heroes.
Loki, you're probably right.
Regards,
Steve
michaeledward
Grandmaster
I am reading the 2nd Edition - Revised, of the International Best-Seller (Over 1 Million copies in print)
How to **** in the Woods - An environmentally sound approach to a lost art.
Kathleen Meyer.
Honest!
Anyone who hikes, climbs, kayaks, rafts, camps, treks, bikes, caves, fishes, should get a copy of it. You will be incredibly grossed out, but you will keep turning the pages.
Mike
How to **** in the Woods - An environmentally sound approach to a lost art.
Kathleen Meyer.
Honest!
Anyone who hikes, climbs, kayaks, rafts, camps, treks, bikes, caves, fishes, should get a copy of it. You will be incredibly grossed out, but you will keep turning the pages.
Mike
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
Nanofuture: What's next for nanotechnology, by J.Storrs Hall, PhD.
A bit technical in the first chapters. A good background in science is helpful. I'm barely getting through that portion of it. Still, Hall talks about the theoretical potential of nanotechnolgy in ways that authors K. Eric Drexler and Ed Regis (and others) couldn't do years ago when they first addressed the topic. Hall takes a hard look at some of the hurdles of the technology, and provides insights into the future of it based on recent research.
There is still a lot of almost science fiction hype in the book...which makes it fun. Hall talks about how a nano driven engine the size of person's palm could conceivably put out 100,000 horsepower. He talks about how Drexler has designed a computer smaller than a bacteria that will have run at six gigaherz. He talks about "utility fog," which can essentially form itself into just about anything...a building, a chair, a voluptuous maid that will clean your house (okay, that's MY utility fog, not his). And of course...he addresses flying cars.
Hall, like Drexler, Merkel and other nanophiles, believes strongly in the potential of the technology. Problem: As they conceive it, it doesn't exist...right now. They have yet to actually build a working assembler that will allow them to build and test the machines they've designed.
If they do, and their computer simulations prove correct, the world as we know it will drastically change. Hopefully for the better.
Other good books on the topic: Nano, by Ed Regis and The Engines of Creation, by K. Eric Drexler.
Sorry for getting carried away with the review.
Regards,
Steve
A bit technical in the first chapters. A good background in science is helpful. I'm barely getting through that portion of it. Still, Hall talks about the theoretical potential of nanotechnolgy in ways that authors K. Eric Drexler and Ed Regis (and others) couldn't do years ago when they first addressed the topic. Hall takes a hard look at some of the hurdles of the technology, and provides insights into the future of it based on recent research.
There is still a lot of almost science fiction hype in the book...which makes it fun. Hall talks about how a nano driven engine the size of person's palm could conceivably put out 100,000 horsepower. He talks about how Drexler has designed a computer smaller than a bacteria that will have run at six gigaherz. He talks about "utility fog," which can essentially form itself into just about anything...a building, a chair, a voluptuous maid that will clean your house (okay, that's MY utility fog, not his). And of course...he addresses flying cars.
Hall, like Drexler, Merkel and other nanophiles, believes strongly in the potential of the technology. Problem: As they conceive it, it doesn't exist...right now. They have yet to actually build a working assembler that will allow them to build and test the machines they've designed.
If they do, and their computer simulations prove correct, the world as we know it will drastically change. Hopefully for the better.
Other good books on the topic: Nano, by Ed Regis and The Engines of Creation, by K. Eric Drexler.
Sorry for getting carried away with the review.
Regards,
Steve
michaeledward
Grandmaster
Yeah, but do you know how to **** in the woods? ....hardheadjarhead said:
:roflmao:
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
michaeledward said:
I have been known to **** in the woods, and I have **** in the woods as well. In both instances toilet paper was involved, and in half of those instances I was alone.
Now, what verb are we using? To ****, or to ****?
I would ask which tense of the verb, but as I was tense in both instances (leading to the expression of the verb in question), I don't think it particularly valid.
In any case, please clarify whether you mean **** or ****, the latter of which required me to wipe my asterisk. Refer to Kurt Vonnegut for extra clout to that line.
Regards,
Steve
Andrew Evans
Purple Belt
Freakonomics. Check out http://www.freakonomics.com
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
Andrew Evans said:
I assume you liked it? I thought it was pretty interesting. Highly controversial stuff.
I wrote the authors and complimented them...they were kind enough to write back. Apparently another book is in the works.
Regards,
Steve
Andrew Evans
Purple Belt
Steve,
I agree that Freakonomics was controversial. Both conservatives and liberals alike would be bothered by many of its conclusions. To answer your question, yes I liked it. Anything to expand one's mind and learn new ideas is always a good thing. My bachelor's degree was in business administration and I must say that these guys make an otherwise boring subject very interesting. Their perspectives were very intellectually refreshing.
By the way, I saw them interviewed on the Charlie Rose show last night and the economist was not as nerdy as one would expect. He seemed like a fairly hip guy.
Take care,
Andrew
I agree that Freakonomics was controversial. Both conservatives and liberals alike would be bothered by many of its conclusions. To answer your question, yes I liked it. Anything to expand one's mind and learn new ideas is always a good thing. My bachelor's degree was in business administration and I must say that these guys make an otherwise boring subject very interesting. Their perspectives were very intellectually refreshing.
By the way, I saw them interviewed on the Charlie Rose show last night and the economist was not as nerdy as one would expect. He seemed like a fairly hip guy.
Take care,
Andrew
I went to Barnes & Noble today and ... I'll tell ya, I'm the biggest sucker for their bargain shelves they ever saw coming. They see me walking in from the parking lot and start jumping up and down with glee.
Today I (finally) bought 'The Art of War' - the only one I could find, but I don't think it's the one I was looking for ... it's translated by Yuan Shibing and is small (I figured I could read it while waiting for others or in the john or something until I get my hands on the bigger one). Hey, it was only $5.
But the one I've already begun reading is 'The Most Evil Women in History' by Shelley Klein. She essays on Lizzie Borden, Audrey Hilley, Valeria Messalina, Agrippina the Younger, Tz'u-Hsi, Catherine the Great, Queen Ranavalona, Elena Ceausescu, Mary Ann Cotton, Marie Noe, Rose West, Grace Marks, Aileen Wuornos, Myra Hindley and Karla Homolka. $7.
I noticed Martha Stewart and Nancy Reagan aren't on the list ...
Today I (finally) bought 'The Art of War' - the only one I could find, but I don't think it's the one I was looking for ... it's translated by Yuan Shibing and is small (I figured I could read it while waiting for others or in the john or something until I get my hands on the bigger one). Hey, it was only $5.
But the one I've already begun reading is 'The Most Evil Women in History' by Shelley Klein. She essays on Lizzie Borden, Audrey Hilley, Valeria Messalina, Agrippina the Younger, Tz'u-Hsi, Catherine the Great, Queen Ranavalona, Elena Ceausescu, Mary Ann Cotton, Marie Noe, Rose West, Grace Marks, Aileen Wuornos, Myra Hindley and Karla Homolka. $7.
I noticed Martha Stewart and Nancy Reagan aren't on the list ...
hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
Andrew Evans said:
A number of Economists are getting into inter-disciplinary studies, looking at social theories and issues and analyzing the economic factors that impact them. They've come up with some interesting stuff.
You're right...he's not at all nerdy...well, maybe a little. At times on "The Daily Show" John Stewart would crack wise and Leavitt acted as if he didn't get it, or didn't think it funny. Or something.
'The Most Evil Women in History' sounds like a good book, Shesulsa. I'll check it out. Years ago I had the most incredible ability in finding those women. Then I'd date them.
The sex was always great, but the psychological torture...eh, not so much.
New book on the horizon for me...Generation Kill, by Evan Wright. Its about a company of Marines during the Iraq invasion. Somebody left it at the school...no one has claimed it so far. Finders keepers, after thirty days or so.
Regards,
Steve
J
jkdhit
Guest
i'm reading a book on shinkage swordsmanship
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