Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East
by Clyde Prestowitz
Fascinating! Scary!
Depending on time of day, either some Regency novel or "Spanish for Gringos".
Right now, I'm listening to Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
I'm reading "Not a Good Day to Die," all about Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan.
My apologies to the Weekly Digest folks for the off-schedule ping, and to all for the off-list nature of this topic, but I'm guessing there are number of avid readers, and figured it would be nice to hear from you, since you hear from me nearly every day. :')
I'm reading a couple of books right now. The one that is farthest along is Eberhard Zannger's "The Future of the Past", but I've lost track of the book itself. Has to be around here somewhere, or lost in the car.
The Virtue of Selfishness!
I am switching off between The Cambridge History of Ancient China and Dean Koonz' "Shadow Fires". I just finished "Mao : The Unknown Story" by Jung Chang, Jon Halliday, I would recomend it to any with an interest in modern China.
"The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership" by a group of archaeologists (Richard Coe, Linda Schele, et al) is an ongoing study project. It always delights with its amazing photographs of Olmec art and essays that help put it all into context. Finally I'm studying several texts on new research regarding ideal diamond cuts by the Gemological Institute of America and the American Gem Society. The search for the "best" cut seems unending but I find the optical challenges very interesting. Dull, huh?
1776
Compartmentalized by theme, I am reading:
Faith:
The Bible, English Standard Version: God. Haven't read the entire Bible since the first Gulf War. I am taking my family through it over the next year. We do the Law on Sunday, The Gospels on Monday, The Epistles on Tuesday, Wisdom Books on Wednesday..... 3-4 chapters a night
The Institutes of The Christian Religion: John Calvin. Not in an organized manner, just picking it up, opening it, and reading a few random pages a day.
Leisure
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference: Malcolm Gladwell. An interesting little book. Not sure how much I agree with, but still a good read.
Italy 2006: by Rick Steves. Planning for a trip late next month and Steves is my favorite travel writer. A bit geeky, a bit sarcastic, a lot of fun.
Professional
Armies of Pestilence; The Impact Of Disease On History: R.S. Bray. A high-spirited romp through cholera, typhus, the plague.....
Preparedness & Community Response to Pandemics: School of Public Health, The University of Albany. Some light reading on Bird Flu. Need to read such things to keep my license current.
Waiting in the wings:
Foundations of the Christian Faith: James Montgomery Boice
The Origin of Paul's Religion: J. Gresham Machen
I'm currently reading "The Conquest of Morocco" by Douglas Porch after finishing "The Conquest of the Sahara" by the same author. They're really wonderful books; well written with a compelling style that really draws you into the history. They're probably the best "popular history" books I've read in a very long time. Next up is Douglas Porch's history of the French Foreign Legion and I'll finish the classic "Beau Geste" by P.C. Wren very soon. (Can you see a theme to all this?)
After these, I have a non-fiction book about the Rifle units in Wellington's army that looks pretty good (a Christmas gift from a friend.) Eventually, I'd like to get back to finishing the Aubrey/Maturin series by O'Brian. (So many books, so little time!)
Regards,
Patrick
"Pacific War Diary" (1942-1945 The secret diary of an American Sailor), James J. Fahey, Zebra Books 1963.
The Pacific War from the view point of an enlisted sailor aboard the USS Montpelier, a light cruiser, who fought in the Solomons, the Marianas, Leyte Gulf, Mindoro, Palawn, Borneo, and who was there for the final acts at Okinawa, and Japan.
Stand GQ at a .50 cal mount on the f'ocsle in the shadow of turret #1.
Tell me again how sailors had it "easy".
A very RARE view point.
A History of Christianity in Asia- Samuel Moffett.
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins.
An excellent book!
Sun Dancing by Geoffrey Moorhouse:
The monks of Skellig Michael on the coast of medieval Ireland.
Academic Equitation by General DeCarpentry:
Who knew there was such a thing, eh?
Definitely a Pilgrim's Progress.
Free Republic
Everything I need to know.
For fun - "With Friends Like These..." by Foster. "Why Johnny Can't Speed" is the best one so far.