Grand unified books thread

[Savonarola]

Victor Borges was brilliant.  It's hard to imagine a time or place where he would NOT catch on.  I'd never heard that he was an author, though, so will see if I can find this at the library.

Yeah, if he's anywhere near as good as a writer as he was a performer, it should be well worth seeking out.

Out of print, but available at Amazon for a reasonable price.

[11B4V]

A brief intermission before A Bright Shining Lie.

Going to knockout General Truong's The Easter offensive of 1972

[mongers]

Is Max Hasting's 'All Hell Let Loose' worth reading?

[BuddhaRhubarb]

reading 'secrets from the Diogenes club,' by kim newman. i'm a huge fan of his anno dracula series, and the diogenes series is a bit of a side quest thing, filling in on some other characters, though for me lacks some of the oomph of the vampire stuff.

[Gups]

Is Max Hasting's 'All Hell Let Loose' worth reading?

I enjoyed it. As good an overview as you could expect in a single volume. Good mix of political and military analysis alongside effects on ordinary soldiers and civilians. I've read quite a few of Hastings' books and they are always well-researched, easy to read and balanced (except the Falklands war one where he was embedded). That said, Beevor's single volume is just as good,

[Malthus]

A brief intermission before A Bright Shining Lie.

Heh, here's a coincidence - I'm reading A Bright Shining Lie right now!

It will be interesting to compare impressions. So far, I'm really enjoying it, though it takes a while to get into it.

[barkdreg]

reading 'secrets from the Diogenes club,' by kim newman. i'm a huge fan of his anno dracula series, and the diogenes series is a bit of a side quest thing, filling in on some other characters, though for me lacks some of the oomph of the vampire stuff.

I've been wanting to read this for a long time. I adored his Genevieve books, even though they are Warhammer fiction.

[mongers]

Is Max Hasting's 'All Hell Let Loose' worth reading?

I enjoyed it. As good an overview as you could expect in a single volume. Good mix of political and military analysis alongside effects on ordinary soldiers and civilians. I've read quite a few of Hastings' books and they are always well-researched, easy to read and balanced (except the Falklands war one where he was embedded). That said, Beevor's single volume is just as good,

Gups, thanks for that, I'll get started on it now.

[Razgovory]

I've been reading the Fire and Fury book about the Trump presidency.  I wouldn't normally have bought such a book, but when the President sent a cease and desist letter I decided to give it a go.  It reads like a novel, and there are often details mentioned where I ask "how would anyone know that?".  Things like what a person was thinking or private details that nobody could observe.  Still, I suspect that the character sketches and events are broadly accurate.  Mostly it's just backbiting and incompetence.  It's not a flattering portrait of Trump.  He's a stupid, cruel little boy in an old man's body.

[mongers]

I've been reading the Fire and Fury book about the Trump presidency.  I wouldn't normally have bought such a book, but when the President sent a cease and desist letter I decided to give it a go.  It reads like a novel, and there are often details mentioned where I ask "how would anyone know that?".  Things like what a person was thinking or private details that nobody could observe.  Still, I suspect that the character sketches and events are broadly accurate.  Mostly it's just backbiting and incompetence.  It's not a flattering portrait of Trump.  He's a stupid, cruel little boy in an old man's body.

Raz, that's an excellent summation. 

Careful people don't borrow it off you without proper citation. 

[Grey Fox]

Words of Radiance, the sequel to Way of Kings.

Holy crap this was great! Sanderson's best yet. He even made big progress on his two flaws, pacing and humor. Plot, world building, characters, and themes were as good as ever.

I liked Way of Kings a lot.  When I was in the book store last week they didnt have the Radiance so it will have to wait for me to get through the stack I did get.

Words is better than WoK.

Is Interlude are less boring and less about random characters. The Oververse of the Cosmere is also more apparent, which is good.

One thing I do not like about Brandon is how young he makes his characters. You are not GRR Martin, ffs.

Yep, it was a masterwork. Probably his best-written book yet, which is something given its size. The Emperor's Soul may be a contender but it's a novella.

I reread The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance and then powered through Edgedancer and Oathbringer in five days.

Wow. Edgedancer, a novella centering on Lift, went down like a fine appetizer. Lots of cool lore and some interesting plot development. Oathbringer though, that's the real deal. Every bit as good as Words of Radiance if not more. So much awesome stuff going down in this book, the culmination of Dalinar's arc was superb.

In the past years Sanderson as fixed my main complaint. His characters, in the cosmere atleast, are all getting old.

[crazy canuck]

Tom Holland's Dynasty is good squeal to Rubicon and a good read in its own right.

[11B4V]

A brief intermission before A Bright Shining Lie.

Heh, here's a coincidence - I'm reading A Bright Shining Lie right now!

It will be interesting to compare impressions. So far, I'm really enjoying it, though it takes a while to get into it.

Nice, I would like to get your take. I primed it with Street Without Joy then McMaster's book prior.

[The Brain]

Finished Fighting at Sea in the Eighteenth Century: The Art of Sailing Warfare, by Sam Willis. Pretty interesting, and short and sweet. I am not an expert on naval warfare in the age of sail, but the info on, among other things, identifying friend and foe and intent, and the various actual effects of the weather gage, seemed fresh and reasonable. I don't know if conventional history of the period is as bad as he makes it out to be, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's right.

[11B4V]

One more side track before I get back to Nam.

Give Them a Volley and Charge!: The Battle of Inkermann 1854 Kindle Edition
by Patrick Mercer (Author)

So far real good. However, you better know something of the tactical battlefield because no maps are in the book.

Other incidents occurred to unsettle the picquets. A shot was fired which caused the whole line to stand-to-arms, but it was found to be Private Simmonds of No 3 Company of the 95th who had discharged his rifle accidentally, wounding himself in the hand. As the drizzle continued fitfully and the fog began to swirl thicker and thicker, unusual noises were heard:

Fucking privates.