The Authority of Publius by Albert Furtwangler
...and, of course, the awesomely awesome FR Book Club threads... ;-)
I’m working on two:
“Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism” by Joshua Muravchik
“North and South” by Elizabeth Gaskell
This series is the story of the US Marines from roughly 1939 to 1952 and details the daring do of Ken "killer " McCoy, Pick Pickering, his father Malcom Pickering, their ladies and an array of sidekicks and villains.
The characters are intimately involved with several major events in the Pacific and Washington and everywhere in between. It is a terrific tale filled with details of historical insight into all levels of military life during WW II and Korea.
I have just finished the fictional prophesy series by Joel Rosenberg.
The Last Jihad
The Last Days
The Ezekiel Option
The Copper Scroll
Dead Heat
Incredible series based on Ezekiel ch 38-39 and Rosenberg’s world-wide contact base and experience in world politics.
Also read companion book ‘Epicenter’ which is background and updates to the series.
I have never ready a novel twice in the same year before. Until I read this apocalyptic thriller.
ONE SECOND AFTER
http://www.onesecondafter.com/
a high-altitude nuclear bomb of uncertain origin explodes, unleashing a deadly electromagnetic pulse that instantly disables almost every electrical device in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. Airplanes, most cars, cellphones, refrigerators—all are fried as the country plunges into literal and metaphoric darkness. History professor John Matherson, who lives with his two daughters in a small North Carolina town, soon figures out what has happened. Aided by local officials, Matherson begins to deal with such long-term effects of the disaster as starvation, disease and roving gangs of barbarians.
Jaynes posits that, in prehistory, human beings were basically unconscious as we define consciousness today and in the place of consciousness was an almost uninterrupted monologue received from gods and/or God.
One side of the cerebral hemisphere (the dominant side) was devoted to action and the opposing side was devoted to hearing such voices (such as--or similar to--that as experienced by schizophrenics today). This book also provides a great deal of information on brain structure and operation as backstory to the bicameral premise.
As a quick aside, though this book is academic/scientific in its approach and in no way theological, Jaynes parallels the loss of the bicameral voices and the birth of consciousness with the Bible's fall of man upon eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
As evidence for his conclusions, Jaynes dissects and carefully parses manuscripts of early man (primarily The Iliad,The Odyssey, the Bible/Old Testament, and The Epic of Gilgamesh) to demonstrated both the lack of and the later emergence of a sense of self.
Let me point out that this is a book not so much to be accepted as true or false or agreed/disagreed with as it is simply an opportunity to enjoy the research and ideas presented by the author on the history of man. It raises so many issues and does so with such care and intelligence that it is a fascinating read (more like a graduate course than a book).
One last point.
This book, like no other save perhaps the Bible, provides a unique perspective of the vast history of mankind. And it shows modern man as quite different from his ancestors and delineates the precise nature of--and provides compelling evidence for--such differences .
As I said, agree with it or disagree...you will still find this book fascinating and truly one of a kind!
Just finished reading “Fevre Dream,” the latest book from Doug Preston & Lincoln Child in the Agent Pendergast series. I’m now reading the third book in a Templar trilogy by Robyn Young, titled “The Fall of the Templars.”
Plus assorted SciFiction by RAH, David Weber, John Ringo, Stephen Stirling and Eric Flint and others.
Just finsihed flawless about the antwerp diamond robbery, aside from that my favorites robert parker, vince flynn, brad thor, michael crighton, robert crais and stuart woods
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman.
This statement in the epilogue rang my bell:
“Mental standstill or stagnation—the maintenance intact by rulers and policy-makers of the ideas the started with is fertile ground for Folly.
In it’s first stage, mental standstill fixes the principles and boundaries governing a political problem.
In the Second Stage, when dissonances and failing function begin to appear, the initial principles rigidify. This is the period when, if wisdom were operative, re-examination and re-thinking and a change of course are possible, but they are as rare as rubies in a backyard. Rigidifying leads to increase of investment and the need to protect egos; policy founded upon error multiplies, never retreats. The greater the investment and more involved in it the sponsor’s ego, the more unacceptable is disengagement.
In the third stage, pursuit of failure enlarges the damages until it causes the fall of Troy, the defection from the Papacy, the loss of a trans-Atlantic empire and the classic humiliation of Vietnam.”
The historic references are from the book’s chapters of events where a government’s(Troy, Britain, Vatican and America) self-interest blinded itself to pursue policies that were contrary to their best interests.
The current Administration and its handlers are heading down similar paths.
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot. It’s part biography and part science. Very interesting.
And for pure summer fluff, guilty pleasure reading, “Definitely Dead” by Charlaine Harris.
Patriot’s History of the United States.
Up to page 350. Just finished the Civil War now into Reconstruction. 600 pages to go.
I manage to read about 5 pages a night in bed.
My wife thinks I’m carzy.
I am rereading all my SF periodicals : I have 95% of all the issues of F &SF published from January 1980 on, about 75% of IASFM published from January 1980 to somewhere in 2002, and the complete run of Realms of Fantasy (plus a few years’ worth of Analog and Amazing/Fantastic). Some good reading, some classic works, some unintentional humor (eg , when Isaac Asimov proclaimed from on high that there would never be a cable station devoted to science fiction because there weren’t enough sci fi fans in the entire USA), some irritating opinions (Ted White’s public, multi paragraph temper tantrum in print when a reader begged him to-once in a great while-include a “hopeful” SF story among the one dystopia after another) lots of pretty forgettable works, interesting book and movie reviews worth considering re:Netflix and Amazon used books, etc. A little trip to Nostalgiaville
"The Classical World" by Robin Fox.
The lost City of ‘Z’ by Grann. A fascinating book about Percy Fawcett in the Amazon
The Magician’s Death by P.C. Doherty. A Murder Mystery set during the Reign of Edward I of England
The Arctic Grail by Berton. The hunt for the North West Passage and the North Pole. Odd that during the time period of this book, the Arctic opened up several times so that sailing ships could sail almost all the way through the passage. Much more clear of ice than today.
Sky and Telescope when I can. Against the Odds magazine when I can.
Just finshed:
The Poison King by Mayer about Mithradates VI of Pontus.
The Lacquer Screen by Robert Van Gulik a Judge Dee Novel.
Exodue.
Not the novel.
Think I'm going to start And The Rain Came Down, by S.A. Bailey next.
We owe these men a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. It is also amazing that any of them made it out alive.
I just re-read Pompeii, a novel by Robert Harris.
The hero is an aquaduct engineer and the novel gives a lot of terrific info on the design, building and maintenance of Roman aquaducts and their importance to their civilization.
Lots of good historical info on Pliny the Elder and his libarary (which has been recently discovered and new technology is enabling translation of some of the charred pages.) and living habits and customs.