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Free Republic Book Club, 2/24/05
Tanniker Smith

Posted on 02/24/2005 6:11:45 PM PST by Tanniker Smith

Welcome to the Free Republic Book Club.

It was suggested a couple of days ago, in the FReeper's Book Rockets Up Amazon After Ingraham Show! thread (somewhere toward the end) that it would be great if there FR Book Club. Somehow, I think I got nominated to start one. I don't really know how to do that other than just to go ahead and do it. So I am -- please, feel free to point out mistakes, or point out how to make a "ping" list for folks that want to be a part of this.

Anyway, if there are no complaints, I think it would be better to have a Book Club rather than a Conservative Book Club (or a Republican Book Club or a Libertarian Book Club, etc). Yes, let's focus on the bounty of conservative books that we didn't have even a dozen years ago, but if anyone wants to occasionally talk about a mystery or SF book, it won't be off topic (unless The Powers That Be decide that it is, at least at FR). I don't know about anyone else, but the majority of my reading is composed of other stuff, as can be seen on this thread: Books Read in 2004 (Read Any Good Books Lately?)

Other than that, I have only one ground rule: judge (or slam) the books themselves, not the authors. The latter is way too easy, and beside the point. Likewise, I know the opinions folks have of Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly, but please separate the books from the people, particularly if you haven't read them.

So what should we discuss first?


TOPICS: Free Republic
KEYWORDS: book; bookclub; bookreview; books; club; conservative; fr
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To: Burn24
Understand that Blood Meridian is based on historical events.
101 posted on 02/25/2005 8:41:09 PM PST by Physicist
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To: Tanniker Smith; Galactic Overlord-In-Chief; Brasil; k2blader; Alberta's Child; LittleSpotBlog; ...
History-

LINCOLN'S WAR:

The Untold Story of America's Greatest President as Commander in Chief

-by Geoffrey Perret

NAPOLEON:

A Political Life

-by Steven Englund

SIR WALTER RALEIGH

-Raleigh Trevelyan

102 posted on 02/26/2005 9:24:46 AM PST by Do not dub me shapka broham
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To: Tanniker Smith

I don't read "conservative" literature - seems kind of self-limiting. I read to understand.

so...

To understand Islam:
the Koran - Mohammed
Understanding the Hadith (the sacred traditions of Islam) - Ram Swarup
The Sword of the Prophet - Sergei Trifkovic

To understand modern (and upcoming) warfare and international conflicts:
Carnage and Culture - Victor Davis Hanson
The Art of War - Sun Tsu
The Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi
(yes, I tend to believe we shall be at war, in one form or another, with China in the next few decades... and that we already ARE to some extent)

To understand America:
The US Constitution
The Federalist Papers


103 posted on 02/26/2005 9:54:11 AM PST by King Prout (Remember John Adam!)
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To: AQGeiger

Hoffer's "The True Believer" should be required reading.


104 posted on 02/26/2005 9:55:42 AM PST by King Prout (Remember John Adam!)
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To: Burn24

how does it compare with his "Blood Meridian"?


105 posted on 02/26/2005 9:57:01 AM PST by King Prout (Remember John Adam!)
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To: Do not dub me shapka broham

SIR WALTER RALEIGH
-Raleigh Trevelyan


I've seen that in the library. Did you like it? I have Raleigh Trevelyan's family memoir, "The Golden Oriole."


106 posted on 02/26/2005 12:28:27 PM PST by Tax-chick (Donate to FRIENDS OF SCOUTING and ruin a liberal's day!)
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To: King Prout

Well, The Border Triology are tales of damnation and redemption, freedom, individualism, and love. Blood Meridien I guess is the same but the author actually puts in a devil figure and the brutality is more shocking - apparently the book is based on historical events, too. But I've never read anything like this guy McCarthy, for beauty of language and for moral power. Better than the ancient Greeks.

JMHO.


107 posted on 02/26/2005 12:36:42 PM PST by Burn24
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To: Burn24

The Judge is one of the most awfully and horribly compelling characters I have ever encountered in liturature.


108 posted on 02/26/2005 2:16:37 PM PST by King Prout (Remember John Adam!)
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To: King Prout

"litUrature"???

need... more... beer


109 posted on 02/26/2005 2:19:04 PM PST by King Prout (Remember John Adam!)
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To: Do not dub me shapka broham; blam; FairOpinion; Ernest_at_the_Beach; ValerieUSA
Ping!

110 posted on 02/26/2005 2:45:24 PM PST by SunkenCiv (last updated my FreeRepublic profile on Sunday, February 20, 2005.)
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To: King Prout

Did you also take him as a representation of Satan, of evil in the world? Just feeling my way here - I'm no expert,but that's how it seemed. And the Kid - his life and experiences are so awful, but he just survives, doesn't seem to learn anything or change - was that meant to be redemptive power? Or is our McCarthy getting a little old and twisted?


111 posted on 02/26/2005 3:33:59 PM PST by Burn24
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To: Tanniker Smith

Please add me to the "ping list".
And my book, Germs of War, to the list to be read (more in my profile)
Thanks


112 posted on 02/26/2005 3:50:59 PM PST by razoroccam (Then in the name of Allah, they will let loose the Germs of War (http://www.booksurge.com))
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To: Tanniker Smith
I recently read Let Freedom Ring, but I wasn't really impressed with it. The opinions in the book are generally right. I just don't find them all that moving. Sean Hannity brings up many outrageous situations that made me mad, but he really didn't do that good a job of presenting a path forward. I wouldn't recommend this book although I wouldn't necessarily recommend against it.

Previously, I had read Ann Coulter's How to talk to a Liberal and found it entertaining. I love Ann's thoughts on things. The book is mostly a collection of her columns, but they are great columns. This book isn't one of those foundational books that all conservatives should read in order to understand the movement. However, it's a fun read.

I have also read Michelle Malkin's Invasion within the past year. I think she makes a few mistakes, but I agree that the immigration situation must be addressed. I think she does a good job of presenting her case without just listing outrages and trying to provoke an emotional response.

J.C. Watts' What Color is a Conservative was a pretty good book as well. It's mostly biography, and he's had an interesting life. Again, it's not one of those foundational books for the conservative movement. It's also not obviously a campaign biography designed to build support for some future run for office.

Others getting an honorable mention for the past roughly year have been Founding Brothers which received a bit of press when it came out and Lee, a one-volume condensation of Douglass Southall Freeman's four-volume biography of Robert E. Lee.

I'm currently reading Benjamin Franklin's autobiography as well as reading some modern mystery stuff for fun sometimes.

Bill

113 posted on 02/26/2005 4:48:13 PM PST by WFTR (Liberty isn't for cowards)
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To: Tanniker Smith

Great idea. Give yourself an attaboy.

" please, feel free to point out mistakes,"

First off that shirt just doesn't go with those pants. :-)

"point out how to make a "ping" list for folks that want to be a part of this."

I had a campaign finance reform ping list, what I did is send myself an E-mail with the screen names on it. and saved it in a seperate folder. Whenever I had a new name I'd copy and paste the updated list in a new E-mail.


114 posted on 02/26/2005 5:09:54 PM PST by Valin (DARE to be average!)
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To: Valin
Here is this week's thread.

TS

115 posted on 02/26/2005 5:17:46 PM PST by Tanniker Smith (I didn't know she was a liberal when I married her.)
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To: Do not dub me shapka broham

At the risk of repeating titles others have said

(non-Fiction)
"The Case For Democracy"
Natan Sharansky
"The Universal Hunger For Liberty"
Michael Novak
"Occidentalism"
The West in the eyes of it's enemies
Ian Burma & Avishai (note this is a very small densely packed book)
"In The Red Zone"
Steven Vincent

(History...etc)
"Gorgon"
paleontology, obsession, and the greatest catastrophe in the history of the world
Peter D Ward
"The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians
J.B. Bury
"Barbarians and Romans"
Justine D R Pehrson.

(Fiction)
"The Fabulous Small Jews"
Joseph Epstein
ANYTHING by Tim Powers, or S M Stirling





116 posted on 02/26/2005 5:31:02 PM PST by Valin (DARE to be average!)
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To: WFTR

The problem with books like, Let Freedom Ring, How to talk to a Liberal...etc is they are preaching to the choir. Not that there's anything really wrong with that but so often they end up being a litany of what's wrong, why are we in this handbasket and where are we going kind of thing, but short on what to do about it.


117 posted on 02/26/2005 5:38:04 PM PST by Valin (DARE to be average!)
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To: Tanniker Smith

Thanks.


118 posted on 02/26/2005 5:40:03 PM PST by Valin (DARE to be average!)
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To: Valin

I agree.


119 posted on 02/26/2005 5:42:19 PM PST by ncpatriot
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To: Tanniker Smith

Sign me up too, please! I think it would be great to have freepers offering brief reviews or points of discussion from recently read works, which could be freeflowing or organized. I don't know how much organization freepers would stand for though!


120 posted on 02/26/2005 5:45:43 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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