Books!

[Carth]

Read a good book recently? Read a good book ever? Want to recommend or review a book you read? Like reading books? Don't like reading books? Discuss it here!

 

[Carth]

I recently read the first Emperor book - The Gates of Rome, by Conn Iggulden.

Instead of describing it to you, I'll post the blurb:

From the spectacle of gladitorial combat to the intrigue of the Senate, from the foreign wars that created an empire to the betrayals that almost tore it apart, the Emperor novels tell the remarkable story of the man who would become the greatest Roman of them all: Julius Caesar.

Brilliantly interweaving history and adventure, The Gates of Rome introduces an ambitious young man facing his first great test. In the city of Rome, a titanic power struggle is about to shake the Republic to its core. Citizen will fight citizen in a bloody conflict - and Julius Caesar will be in the thick of the action.

It was well written, and had a bit of everything, and hard to put down. It even made me reinstall Rome: Total War. To quote the LA Times (because I'm lazy ):

'Stunning. The Gates of Rome begins with hints of mystery and continues as a galvanzing historical thriller. Words like "brilliant", "sumptuous" and "enchanting" jostle to be used but scarcely convey the way Iggulden brings the tale to life, or the compelling depictions of battle, treachery and everyday detail in a precarious world vividly re-created ... exhilarating'.

Nice description of it. It wasn't completely historically accurate, it was changed in favour of making a good story, but you might still learn something. I could have guessed who Marcus would turn into on the last pages... but I won't say.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

I myself have been waltzing my way through several of Patrick Robinson's terrorism/espionage novels. Ive finished two of them (Seawolf and Nimitz Class) and Im on my third, and biggest (Scimitar SL-2) and Im pleased to say they are rivettingly nut wrenchingly good. Thye mostly deal with anti submarine warfare with a lot of right-wing political outrage in between.
The thing I really love about these books is that they are so relevant today. They deal with issues that have, almost, actually happened. For eg., Scimitar SLl-2 deals with the uprising of HAMAS, and a plot to destroy the east coast of the USA with a volcano. Okay, the volcano part is a bit out of sorts, but HAMAS have just gained power in Palestine... interesting.

Anyway, I just have to say Id highly recommend these and leave it at that, cos Im getting dodgy stares from my work manager :/

 

[DeZmond]

I've been working my way through the John Grisham novels - they are some set of masterpieces! In fact, I'm becoming really depressed because there are only 2 or so that I haven't read... I just finished 'The Broker' yesterday .

 

[DocBot]

If I have to recommend one book it'd have to be The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker. Read it.

edit:

So this book takes the concept of the "blank slate" and the "ghost in the machine", along with "the noble savage" and a few others, and tears them to pieces. There persists a denial of the human nature in many fields of debate today, most prominently feminism and child-rearing (crap grammar, I know).

This book tries to correct that and align the debate along a course that might actually lead somewhere, due to being based on scientific fact, not theological/ethical assumptions. It is the single most interesting book I've ever read, even though I might not agree with _everything_ written in it.


Some of the subjects brought up are delicate (i.e. the evolution of rape...) but Pinker manages quite well, I think.

Be advised though, it's not "easy reading". Took me something like 2 months to finish (the first time I read it).

 

[Carth]

Can't you give a better reason than just "read it"?

 

[DocBot]

oh alright. see edited post.

 

[Carth]

oh alright. see edited post.

It's exactly the same lol. Or haven't you edited it yet?

Edit: never mind, I was too impatient

 

[Fuzzy Bunny]

Good Omens and The Wish List.

They're both quite funny.

 

[ol1v3r]

Im still reading 'The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy' .. After that im moving onto '1984' =]

 

[DeZmond]

I assume you're reading the trilogy? (yes, all 5 books ) Check out The Salmon of Doubt, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The Long dark tea-time of the soul and Animal Farm while you're at it.

 

[DocBot]

Animal Farm? George Orwell?

 

[Fi$hy]

I'm reading "The Growth of The American Republic - Vol I " By Morrison Commager and Leuchtenburg

Not for leisure though

God though, that book is massive, it's larger than the Bible

 

[DocBot]

God though, that book is massive, it's larger than the Bible

http://games.thehavennet.org.uk/showthread.php?t=222 :/

 

[DeZmond]

Yes, indeed. You can't merely read 1984, you need to read Animal Farm as well, otherwise you miss out big time. So much so, in fact, that an old English teacher I had once forgot which book we were talking about, so as he was trying to ask me questions about 1984 he began to talk about Animal Farm! Ah, t'was funny, especially when he realised that he'd just wasted 25 minutes of our time...

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Animal Farm har har. My dad tells me he did that at school and he branded it 'total utter horseshite' in front of us at the dinner table. So is Shakespeare, absolute rubbish. I remember some cheeky bugger wrote 'Macbeth is gutwrenching bullshit', or something to that effect, on the back page of my book; Id agree with him.
Apparently you need to be an intellectual to understand those books, I disagree. Im an intellectual, just a different kind of intellectual. A non-masochistic intellectual

 

[Phryxus]

I have to agree with anyone wanting to read 1984, I read it a few days ago and it's ace! Other than that, I can recommend all of the Sherlock Holmes stories - including the novels and all the serialised shorter pieces, unless you have a burning desire to learn about post-Tiananmen China...

EDIT: As an extra, anyone interested in 1984 will enjoy the 'doublethink' in these little gems from the renowned Mr. W Bush

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table."

"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe -- I believe what I believe is right."

Also, if you remember the "He who controls the present, controls the past" reference, you'll love this one:

"I think we agree, the past is over."

And who thought Big Brother was just a simple political commentary?

 

[Missy]

hey i read i good book last year "corsets to camouflarge"!!! decribes the roles women played in ww1 and 2! rearly interesting i'd advice any chauvanistic's (if thats how you spell it) to read it as you will be shocked at the lengths women went to so they could represent their country!!

inspirational!

 

[Pestcontrol]

Chauvinistic. It's french

Sounds interesting, as occupied country (neutral in ww1) and after all the public shame for the deportation of so many jews, there aren't any such reads over here.

I really should read animal farm i guess, having enjoyed reading 1984, and even more enjoyed discussing the book with other people, you make me feel i'm missing out.

I read mostly the newspaper nowadays, not a book, but it does sharpen the mind and keep me up to date on the world.

 

[Macca]

I read Catch 22 for my personal study, And its one weird book. My essay was not bad though. I know none of you will probably read it but what the hell...

Personal Study: Catch 22

Question

An evaluation of how Joseph Heller explores the absurdity of war. Comment on Heller’s use of satire throughout Catch 22 and the key characters in the novel, explain how these help to convey the absurdity of war.

Novels on war normally suggest that war is either glorious or hellish. This is not the case with Joseph Heller’s “Catch 22”. Heller’s satirical portrayal of war in this novel is neither glorious nor hellish, instead he depicts a war where faceless bureaucracy pulls the strings but no-one understands why or what for. Catch 22 is the embodiment of the illogicality of the situation, something which you understand is absurd but which you cannot argue against or escape from. The key events and characters involved in them are essential in communicating these ideas.

Heller use of satire in chapter one is very effective in conveying the irrationality of war. Chapter one is ironic as it begins in a hospital, which we usually associate with sickness and health, whereas in this novel it is associated positively with escape and negatively with insanity. Yossarian and Dunbar describe the hospital as:

“one of the best he and Dunbar had ever enjoyed”

This emphasises the point that the hospital is a place to escape to and absurdly a place to enjoy. The satire continues throughout the first chapter in such statements as the Texan is so good-natured that “no one could stand him” and:

“Nately got off to a bad start in life by coming from a good family”.

These statements seem very bizarre but will begin to get clearer in the duration of the novel.

The protagonist of “Catch 22” is a paranoid Captain called Yossarian who constantly fears for his life. Yossarian appears initially as a simple character who just wants to survive war, however as the novel progresses we find that Yossarian is instead extremely complex, and repeatedly asks the question Why? Why can he not be grounded? Why does he have to fly more missions? Why does everybody want to kill him? At first it seems as if Yossarian cannot understand the reasons why he cannot do these things for example he cannot be grounded because:

“A concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind.”; “Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask: and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.”

This is the famous “Catch 22” which Doc Danneka explains to Yossarian. It seems that Yossarian cannot comprehend this catch but when we look further in depth at it no one can understand it, it is just another catch that has been put in place by the faceless bureaucrats to keep soldiers flying missions. The whole novel is based around this catch which in itself makes war absurd as there is no possible way to beat the Catch.
Heller uses satire throughout “Catch 22” not only to make the lives of the men comical but to communicate the theme that war is ludicrous. There are many satirical moments in “Catch 22” such as the man in the hospital covered entirely in white or Yossarian naked in a tree at Snowdens funeral. One of the most significant satirical events in “Catch 22” is Captain Black’s “Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade”. Captain Black makes every man that enters his intelligence tent, gets their pay, gets their equipment, their dinner etc. is forced to sign three or four loyalty oaths each time they do any of these things. By doing these things Captain Black thinks he can control the men, and up to a point he does. What is saterized here is the super-patriotism of those who think allegiance to one’s country can be forced and who define loyalty in terms of superficial acts. The men are forced into signing the oaths not only to get their equipment etc. but also because anyone who is loyal to their country would not protest to proving it by signing the oaths. The deeper satire here is that Captain Black is becoming one of the controlling bureaucrats which are controlling the war. The “Glorius Loyalty Oath Crusade” is effective in demonstrating the absurdity of war as the act itself is ridiculous. Making people sign the oath does not make any more loyal as they will sign it whether or not they mean it.

Another key character in portraying the absurdity of war in the novel is the entrepreneur and founder of “M&M Enterprises” Milo Minderbinder the squadrons mess officer. In chapter twenty two we are introduced – in detail – to M&M Enterprises, a business in which everyone (the syndicate) gets a share of the profit. Yossarian and Orr go to several different countries with Milo such as Malta and Oran where he buys bananas and cotton etc. Milo is given such titles as the “Mayor” and “Caliph” of these countries yet despite his great political power fails to be able to provide Yossarian and Orr with a hotel room. This itself is very strange as we would expect the mayor to be able to procure a room in his own province. Another bizarre aspect in this chapter is that Milo somehow still makes a profit even though he buys:

“his eggs in Malta for seven cents apiece and sold them… for five cents apiece”

This is peculiar as it would seem impossible to make a profit on something which you have bought for more than you have sold them for. One of the key events in portraying the absurdity of war is when Milo begins to make unscrupulous deals in which he is contracted by both the allies and enemy to fight each other, for example because Milo’s planes have “freedom of passage” he lets them “snake attack” the Germans without alerting the German antiaircraft gunners until the planes are in range. As a consequence of this Mudd is killed in the attack. Milo’s profitable agreements with both the enemy and his own squadron clearly convey the theme that war is absurd. This also links back to the war being controlled by faceless bureaucrats but no one understands why.