What are you reading now?

[Shane]

Plum Island by nelson Demille.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

I just finished readin The Assassins' Gate, which was absolutely phenomenal (it really carved its own niche admist the deluge of books on the Iraq war). I'm currently reading Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest, and the parallels to modern American government are astounding. I'm only ~100 pages in, but I can already tell that this one is going to keep me up past midnight.

 

[abomb]

I'm still in the queue for this at the phoenix library. You and ddogg are clogging up the queue, hurry up return it!

I got the copy from Donald, so I'm not the problem.

 

[Pariah]

Well, you're not THAT problem...

 

[Heucrazy]

Rose Madder by Stephen King.


Good book and I'm liking it so far.

 

[D-Dogg]

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic

It had taken me awhile to listen to this one...but man it is really great stuff. Watching John Adams on HBO got me picking this up again. Not the same things, but the same timeframe. Slavery, Jefferson's paranoia about the Federalists, the Indian Policy with Washington and Knox, this book has it all.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. This subtle, brilliant examination of the period between the War of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase puts Pulitzer-winner Ellis (Founding Brothers) among the finest of America's narrative historians. Six stories, each centering on a significant creative achievement or failure, combine to portray often flawed men and their efforts to lay the republic's foundation. Set against the extraordinary establishment of the most liberal nation-state in the history of Western Civilization... in the most extensive and richly endowed plot of ground on the planet are the terrible costs of victory, including the perpetuation of slavery and the cruel oppression of Native Americans. Ellis blames the founders' failures on their decision to opt for an evolutionary revolution, not a risky severance with tradition (as would happen, murderously, in France, which necessitated compromises, like retaining slavery). Despite the injustices and brutalities that resulted, Ellis argues, this deferral strategy was a profound insight rooted in a realistic appraisal of how enduring social change best happens. Ellis's lucid, illuminating and ironic prose will make this a holiday season hit. (Nov. 5)

I really can't say enough about this book...it's great.

 

[thirty-two]

Finished up Jane Austen's Persuasion and am now onto Sense and Sensibility. I'm trying to read more, and I figure I should start with my favorite author. I am looking to read other books, not just "the classics."


edited to add: Also reading Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace.

 

[dodie53]

warcraft:
war of the ancients (3) - the sundering

 

[dodie53]

is the lord of the rings novels long?

 

[Heucrazy]

is the lord of the rings novels long?

Not really. You'll enjoy them.

 

[Heucrazy]

"The Elven Exiles" Trilogy. I'm continuing getting my "geek" on by reading my second Dragonlance trilogy over the last two months.

I haven't read dragonlance in years and I must say I forgot just how enjoyable and great reads they are.

 

[dodie53]

Not really. You'll enjoy them.

ok thanks

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Memorial Day by Vince Flynn.

 

[Shane]

Memorial Day by Vince Flynn.

GREAT FREAKING BOOK!

 

[AZZenny]

Brotherhood of Warriors by Aaron Cohen.
I'm finished now, and it was a real page-turner. GREAT read. Thought I'd read a chapter or two a night before bed and instead I've sat up reading till 2 AM.

Now operating a high-profile security service and counterterrorism training center in California, Cohen was a rich Beverly Hills brat who was sent to a Canadian military school to get him out of his parent's hair. He developed a passion for the Israeli military ideal and at 18 went off to Israel to join the commandos.

Of course, it's not quite that easy! He describes the incredibly grueling selection and training process he went through -- he survived and passed phase one, only to then be told that since he wasn't native-born, he couldn't join the real elite commando forces anyhow. He could, however, join the unique 'pure CT' force that infiltrates Arab communities to identify and track down terror leaders, and after a year of even more extreme, harsh training, he did direct-action and undercover CT work, before returning to the US.

It's very well-written, an exciting, intense story of a young man's coming of age, and his learning how to be a warrior, not a normal man. He talks about the rationale and effects of terrorism and the nature and costs of effective CT actions from a hands-on, often gruesomely graphic, non-theoretical perspective. He also frankly talks about the permanent changes in men's character, both good and bad, that this really brutal type of warrior training and work accomplishes, and how the reputation of the Israeli Spec Ops warrior may be deserved, but the myth of the Israeli military in general is only that -- mythology, rapidly disappearing in an increasingly Americanized and socially divided Israeli society.

If you have any interest in the military, in counterterrorism, or in a really fascinating and honest autobiography, I think you'll really enjoy this. It has best-seller and 'oughta be a movie' written all over it.

 

[dodie53]

the batman murders

 

[Nasser22]

Started to read again...

"Winning With Integrity" By: sports agent Leigh Steinberg
Seems interesting so far.

 

[dodie53]

world of warcraft - cycle of hatred

 

[AZZenny]

Just midway through Seduced By Secrets by Kristie Macrakis. She's a prof of the history of science, and got into looking at the Stasi, East Germany's notorious domestic/foreign intelligence service -- famous for out KGB-ing the KGB at least domestically. Her interest is basically illegal technology transfer, aka, science and technology espionage, and turns out Stasi probably did as much or more of that than anything else.

Although she has great sources and some very relevant and interesting premises, it's just not all that well-written -- her stories fail to really illuminate the points she wants to make, and are a bit dry at times. I mean, NSA was 100% BLOWN in the 1980's by two American traitors, but unless you knew a fair amount about NSA already, not sure you'd really get how big that really is. Or maybe because I DO know some about it, it seems understated to me.

The second half of the book, which I am about to start, is about actual espionage technology that they used - Stasi tried to make James Bondian type gadgets, and had thousands of people working on spy gear. This is supposed to be where she really gets the book off the ground.


Later: But doesn't. Once again, lots of good material, just poorly presented, often belabored.

 

[Pariah]

Child 44

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If all that Tom Rob Smith had done was to re-create Stalinist Russia, with all its double-speak hypocrisy, he would have written a worthwhile novel. He did so much more than that in Child 44, a frightening, chilling, almost unbelievable horror story about the very worst that Stalin's henchmen could manage. In this worker's paradise, superior in every way to the decadent West, the citizen's needs are met: health care, food, shelter, security. All one must offer in exchange are work and loyalty to the State. Leo Demidov is a believer, a former war hero who loves his country and wants only to serve it well. He puts contradictions out of his mind and carries on. Until something happens that he cannot ignore. A serial killer of children is on the loose, and the State cannot admit it.

To admit that such a murderer is committing these crimes is itself a crime against the State. Instead of coming to terms with it, the State's official position is that it is merely coincidental that children have been found dead, perhaps from accidents near the railroad tracks, perhaps from a person deemed insane, or, worse still, homosexual. But why does each victim have his or her stomach excised, a string around the ankle, and a mouth full of dirt? Coincidence? Leo, in disgrace and exiled to a country village, doesn't think so. How can he prove it when he is being pursued like a common criminal himself? He and his wife, Raisa, set out to find the killer. The revelations that follow are jaw-dropping and the suspense doesn't let up. This is a debut novel worth reading. --Valerie Ryan

 

[CorporalCardinal]

"A General's Life" by Omar Bradley

 

[dodie53]

world of warcraft - tides of darkness

 

[D-Dogg]

I'm almost done with this. I can't recommend it enough.

It's really interesting and maddening at the same time. Some of the issues with the way we get our food seem so "no duh" that it's incredible that we haven't changed the process.

It's also frustrating that a lot of the problem with government recommendations is that they're influenced to such a large degree by different lobbying groups (for example, the US recommended daily sugar intake is 3x higher than that of the WHO. Why? Because of the sugar lobby. )

I just started this tonight, on the second disc now.

Already I understand exactly what you are saying. Holy crap, the lobbying is insane.

I like this book so far.

I'm happy that my family doesn't eat a lot of processed food in general. We are very whole foods...even to using butter instead of margarine and such.

Some of the stats from this book so far are unreal. I think I might have to give it a second listen.

 

[AZZenny]

Honor Bound, American POWs in Southeast Asia 1961-1973 by Stuart Rochester and Frederick Kiley. Superb history -- grueling and graphic, exceptionally well-detailed and documented, but really develops the story, the issues, the people, places, politics -- I read 400 pp in a sitting, which wasn't the plan, thought I'd just read a few select chapters.

 

[D-Dogg]

I just started this tonight, on the second disc now.

Already I understand exactly what you are saying. Holy crap, the lobbying is insane.

I like this book so far.

I'm happy that my family doesn't eat a lot of processed food in general. We are very whole foods...even to using butter instead of margarine and such.

Some of the stats from this book so far are unreal. I think I might have to give it a second listen.

Man, that is just one eye-opening book (In Defense of Food.)

Absolutely loved this book...will change the way I view food..and what even I thought was food (the section on bread was ..wow..)