Posted on 11/08/2004 7:13:24 PM PST by armed_and_ready
Ok, so I know we're all still celebrating (and praying - go US troops), but I wanted to start a thread here...
What are you reading? What's your leisure reading after this great election?
I'm re-reading one of my favorite books, "In the Gravest Extreme" by Massad Ayoob.
Not sure what I'll read next. Any suggestions?
Tell me what you're reading, fellow freepers.
Will you loan me that book when you're done? I'm reading The Gospels in Brief by Tolstoy. It's Tolstoy's skinnied down versoion of the gospels. Just what Jesus said or was attributed to him, no extra stuff from side players.
I bought it and my wife read it first. I just started it today and I'm only a few pages into it. I'll let you know how it is when I'm further along.
I suggest "The Titan" to my fellow capitalism nuts out there. It's a John D. Rockefeller biography. It's been out for a while, and it's been some time since I've read it, but I found it intensely interesting.
I'm reading Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler. Terrorists, nuclear bombs, diabolical schemes to cause mayhem, basically everything you want in an adventure novel.
MGY
Cool!
I actually really like mystery/adventure books. Being female (well, armed and female ;-) ) I love Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta mysteries. Dr. Scarpetta is one badass gun totin' very smart female character. And I think Ms. Cornwell is Republican... I'm almost positive she is.
Patricia is one of my favorites also, and she is a friend to Laura Bush yes. Just finished her new book, have you read it yet?
Started THREE ROADS TO QUANTUM GRAVITY by Lee Smolin.
I'm reading "The Black Book of Communism" to remind myself why we need to keep liberals/socialists out of power. I don't want to get complacent.
Actually, I haven't read "Trace" yet. I didn't really get into "Blowfly", but "Trace" does sound better.
I'm not surprised she's a friend of Laura Bush. Mrs. Bush is a classy lady, and so is Patricia Cornwell. I can imagine they get along quite well.
Three Roads to the Alamo by Walter C. Davis. I highly recommend it (to any Texas history nut, that is --or I suppose, if you are interested in American history 1825-1840 or so).
I draw a lot of parallels between the formation and development of political parties during that time as compared to the present. I believe the Whigs were the forerunners to the Republican Party, and if you think things are bitter today--well the Democrats under Andrew Jackson and the Whigs under Henry Clay were just as bitter and then some.
Three Roads is not really about that (it is 3 combined biographies of Crockett, Bowie and Travis) but politics are discussed--especially when it comes to Crockett, who was sort of a John McCain or a Zell Miller of his day-- one who bucked his party's leaders.
It's an alternate history novel that takes place during the Civil War. The twist is this: in our history, there was something called the Trent Affair. A Union ship stopped British ship at sea and removed two Confederate emassaries looking to get aid from the UK and France. All of Britain was outraged by this and a strongly worded ultimatum was written to be dispatched to the US.
Here's the rub: in our history, Prince Albert rewrote the dispatch removing the harsher language and giving Lincoln an "out" as it were to save face. Less than two weeks late, Albert was dead. Had his illness taken him sooner, the UK would have been on the road to war with the Union. There's another incident that happens afterward that gets used as an excuse and the Brits are after us.
Without giving too much away, let me sum it up this way. If the Union had been embattled on two fronts, it surely would have fallen and it would've been a very short book. So here's the rub. The British plan a sneak attack and it *almost* works. But they SCREW IT UP. BIG TIME!!
What happens next, I won't spoil for you, but it's a damn fine read, especially if you're a Civil War (War Between the States) buff.
TS
Slouching Towards Gomorrah, Robert Bork. A good read so far, very informative with new ideas to aid me in my understanding of why our society could fall into a spiral. Defining deviancy down, credited to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, which is the (pop) cultural assault on our sensibilites that many of us grow numb. The deterioration of our society becomes 'normal,' therefore we become accustomed to adapting to what otherwise would be considered unacceptable. There is a limit to the amount of deviant behavior any communty can afford to recognize. As the behavior worsens, the community adjusts its standards so that conduct once thought reprehensible is no longer deemed so. I previously worked in Detroit Public Schools and I watched this every day. I'm still trying to get over it!
I'm about halfway through All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren.
Rereading "Rise & Fall of the Third Reich", just finished "Bat 21". What can I say, I'm a history geek!
RETREAT HELL, By W.E.B. Griffin
I'm reading American Soldier by General Tommy Franks. I just finished A Matter of Character, Inside the White House of George W. Bush. A fantastic read! I would recommend it to everyone. What a great man our President is!
LOL! Wiseass ;-)
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