Grand unified books thread

[The Brain]

Finished Gamla Stockholm (Old Stockholm), by Claes Lundin and August Strindberg (yes the Strindberg). It's a social history of the Stockholm that people in the early 1880s considered "old". Going back to medieval times in principle, but most of the stuff is about the 17th to early 19th centuries. I love these kinds of books, and since it's so old you double your pleasure since it often compares stuff to its own time. It's very entertaining and well written. AFAIK not available in translation.

[The Brain]

Tsushima, by Kowner. Part of the Great Battles series by Oxford University Press. A nice short introduction to the battle, with half the book covering its effects, especially medium and long term.

[Savonarola]

I've been reading "Quantum Enigma" by Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner; which provides a high level, but hard science explanation of quantum theory (something I wish I had when studying modern physics.)  Inevitably they discuss Schrödinger's cat (and the standard response to the thought experiment.)  My favorite part of the chapter is a quote from Stephen Hawking:

"When I hear about Schrödinger's cat I reach for my gun."

(It's even better if you imagine it in the Hawking voice.)

[Jacob]

I've been reading "Quantum Enigma" by Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner; which provides a high level, but hard science explanation of quantum theory (something I wish I had when studying modern physics.)  Inevitably they discuss Schrödinger's cat (and the standard response to the thought experiment.)  My favorite part of the chapter is a quote from Stephen Hawking:

"When I hear about Schrödinger's cat I reach for my gun."

(It's even better if you imagine it in the Hawking voice.)

What is it that the pop interpretation and commentary gets so wrong?

[grumbler]

I've been reading "Quantum Enigma" by Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner; which provides a high level, but hard science explanation of quantum theory (something I wish I had when studying modern physics.)  Inevitably they discuss Schrödinger's cat (and the standard response to the thought experiment.)  My favorite part of the chapter is a quote from Stephen Hawking:

"When I hear about Schrödinger's cat I reach for my gun."

(It's even better if you imagine it in the Hawking voice.)

What is it that the pop interpretation and commentary gets so wrong?

The Schrodinger's cat thought experiment was designed to do exactly the opposite of what most lay explanations describe. Schrodinger was pointing out that the cat was, indeed, dead (or alive) and an external observer just didn't discover which until the chamber was opened.  The prevailing theory of quantum mechanics, on the other hand, held that the emission of the particle whose emission was going to cause the cat's death was itself not resolved until observed, so until observed the cat was both dead and alive at the same time.

There's lots of un to be had with the idea, though.  Is the cat an observer, able to collapse the quantum superposition without knowing it?  What if the chamber is opened with no one looking, and the opening is filmed, with scientists only later viewing the film.  Is the film an observer?  Does the quantum superposition end when the film is made, or when it is viewed?  Etc.

[Jacob]

Thanks

[frunk]

What is it that the pop interpretation and commentary gets so wrong?

The Schrodinger's cat thought experiment was designed to do exactly the opposite of what most lay explanations describe. Schrodinger was pointing out that the cat was, indeed, dead (or alive) and an external observer just didn't discover which until the chamber was opened.  The prevailing theory of quantum mechanics, on the other hand, held that the emission of the particle whose emission was going to cause the cat's death was itself not resolved until observed, so until observed the cat was both dead and alive at the same time.

There's lots of un to be had with the idea, though.  Is the cat an observer, able to collapse the quantum superposition without knowing it?  What if the chamber is opened with no one looking, and the opening is filmed, with scientists only later viewing the film.  Is the film an observer?  Does the quantum superposition end when the film is made, or when it is viewed?  Etc.

Schrodinger was arguing against the Copenhagen Interpretation of QM by trying to create a ridiculous scenario.  Unfortunately for Schrodinger the Copenhagen Interpretation remains consistent with all known experiments and so still hasn't been refuted, and in fact creating the proper superposition for extremely small objects analogous to the thought experiment has been achieved. 

The problem for a lot of pop commentary is assuming that Schrodinger's Cat was describing or depended on a literal situation, not really getting the consequences of what it means when there is a quantum superposition, and misunderstanding the parts of the thought experiment that are still interesting in physics. 

Oh, and if you want a pop commentary that is a nice intro to QM check out this video:

and the heavier math companion video here:

[Sheilbh]

I know I'm very late to it but just finished Empire of Pain.

One of the best non-fiction books I've read in ages - really very good. Weirdly the early stuff about the rise of the first generation of Sacklers was even more compelling than the Oxycontin era.

[The Brain]

Everyday Life in Victorian London, by Amy. A fairly short and simple introduction to the Victorian metropolis. It's fine for what it is, but it doesn't really penetrate the subject matter. It was an impulse buy, I assume there are many high-quality books on London but I didn't try to seek out the best.

The Samurai Castle Master: Warlord Todo Takatora, by Glenn. Fanboi biography of the 6'3" samurai who rose from semi-obscurity in service to several different lords to finally a position of great trust with Ieyasu himself. There is very little analysis, but since detailed books on the Sengoku period are still rare in English I think it's worth it for someone interested in the era.

The Samurai and the Cross: The Jesuit Enterprise in Early Modern Japan, by Ucerler. The title is misleading, but that's one of the few negatives of this book. The book doesn't really describe any general history of the Jesuits in Japan (there's almost no information on "hands-on" matters like numbers, locations, or similar), rather it describes some specific questions that the Jesuits in Japan encountered, how these issues were discussed, and finally the reasons the Tokugawa eventually eradicated* Christianity in Japan. Issues include how the Jesuits viewed the Japanese, how Jesuits and Japanese Christians should act in the face of a highly civilized and fairly hostile country like Japan, and if a hypothetical invasion of Japan or China was just or not (or feasible or not). Through contemporary letters and tracts the debate can be followed, a debate that involved individuals in Japan, Macao, the Philippines, New Spain, Goa, Madrid, and Rome. There are many interesting things here, for instance the very positive view of Chinese and Japanese society that some leading Jesuits had, and the way they consciously modelled themselves on the early Christians who operated in a highly civilized and literate and pagan society (Ancient Rome). The instructions in a question-answer format to help Japanese Christians determine when it was OK to obey orders related to pagan rituals etc, and when it was not OK, is fascinating. The subject matter might be considered somewhat obscure, but it never gets boring since the book is very well written. Recommended.

*Not quite eradicated. The story of the hidden Christians in Japan is fascinating, but not really the subject of this book.

[Savonarola]

A previously unpublished novel by Gabriel García Márquez will be published in August of next year:
 En agosto nos vemos (See you in August.)

It sounds a little like "Love of the Last Tycoon" (by F. Scott Fitzgerald) in that it wasn't quite finished. 

[Savonarola]

BBC Releases a list of the top 100 Children's books of all time.

1          Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak, 1963)
2          Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
3          Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren, 1945)
4          The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943)
5          The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien, 1937)
6          Northern Lights (Philip Pullman, 1995)
7          The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (CS Lewis, 1950)
8          Winnie-the-Pooh (AA Milne and EH Shepard, 1926)
9          Charlotte's Web (EB White and Garth Williams, 1952)
10        Matilda (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1988)
11        Anne of Green Gables (LM Montgomery, 1908)
12        Fairy Tales (Hans Christian Andersen, 1827)
13        Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (JK Rowling, 1997)
14        The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle, 1969)
15        The Dark is Rising (Susan Cooper, 1973)
16        The Arrival (Shaun Tan, 2006)
17        Little Women (Louisa May Alcott, 1868)
18        Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl, 1964)
19        Heidi (Johanna Spyri, 1880)
20        Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd, 1947)
21        The Adventures of Pinocchio (Carlo Collodi, 1883)
22        A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula K Le Guin, 1968)
23        Moominland Midwinter (Tove Jansson, 1957)
24        I Want My Hat Back (Jon Klassen, 2011)
25        The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911)
26        Duck, Death and the Tulip (Wolf Erlbruch, 2007)
27        The Brothers Lionheart (Astrid Lindgren, 1973)
28        Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (JK Rowling, 1999)
29        Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson, 2014)
30        The Three Robbers (Tomi Ungerer, 1961)
31        The Snowy Day (Ezra Jack Keats, 1962)
32        The Tiger Who Came to Tea (Judith Kerr, 1968)
33        Howl's Moving Castle (Diana Wynne Jones, 1986)
34        A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle, 1962)
35        Watership Down (Richard Adams, 1972)
36        Tom's Midnight Garden (Philippa Pearce, 1958)
37        Grimm's Fairy Tales (Brothers Grimm, 1812)
38        The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter, 1902)
39        The Railway Children (Edith Nesbit, 1906)
40        Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman, 2001)
41        The BFG (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1982)
42        Rules of Summer (Shaun Tan, 2013)
43        Momo (Michael Ende, 1973)
44        The Story of Ferdinand (Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson, 1936)
45        The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien, 1954)
46        The Owl Service (Alan Garner, 1967)
47        Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (Astrid Lindgren, 1981)
48        The Neverending Story (Michael Ende, 1979)
49        The Panchatantra (Anonymous / folk, -200)
50        Treasure Island :(Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
51        Mary Poppins (PL Travers, 1934)
52        Ballet Shoes (Noel Streafield, 1936)
53        So Much! (Trish Cooke and Helen Oxenbury, 1994)
54        We're Going on a Bear Hunt (Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, 1989)
55        The Adventures of Cipollino (Gianni Rodari, 1951)
56        The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein, 1964)
57        The Gruffalo (Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, 1999)
58        Julián Is a Mermaid (Jessica Love, 2018)
59        Comet in Moominland (Tove Jansson, 1946)
60        Finn Family Moomintroll (Tove Jansson, 1948)
61        The Witches (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1983)
62        A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond, 1958)
63        The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame, 1908)
64        Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred D Taylor, 1977)
65        Karlsson-on-the-Roof (Astrid Lindgren, 1955)
66        The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer, 1961)
67        The Cat in the Hat (Dr Seuss, 1957)
68        The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Kate DiCamillo and Bagram Ibatoulline, 2006)
69        Peter and Wendy (JM Barrie, 1911)
70        One Thousand and One Nights (Anonymous / folk)
71        From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler (EL Konigsburg, 1967)
72        When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Judith Kerr, 1971)
73        Shum bola (G'afur G'ulоm, 1936)
73        Ernest and Celestine (Gabrielle Vincent, 1981)
75        A Kind of Spark (Elle McNicoll, 2020)
76        Little Nicholas (René Goscinny and Jean-Jacques Sempé, 1959)
77        Black Beauty (Anna Sewell, 1877)
78        Daddy-Long-Legs (Jean Webster, 1912)
79        No Kiss for Mother (Tomi Ungerer, 1973)
80        My Family and Other Animals (Gerald Durrell, 1956)
81        Jacob Have I Loved (Katherine Paterson, 1980)
81        The Lorax (Dr Seuss, 1971)
83        Fairy Tales / The Tales of Mother Goose (Charles Perrault, 1697)
84        The Moomins and the Great Flood (Tove Jansson, 1945)
85        The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L Frank Baum, 1900)
86        Just William (Richmal Crompton, 1922)
87        The Twits (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1980)
87        The Mouse and His Child (Russell Hoban, 1967)
87        Out of My Mind (Sharon M Draper, 2010)
87        Moominvalley in November (Tove Jansson, 1970)
87        Little House in the Big Woods (Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1932)
92        Danny the Champion of the World (Roald Dahl, 1975)
93        The Snowman (Raymond Briggs, 1978)
94        Wave (Suzy Lee, 2008)
95        The Black Brothers (Lisa Tetzner, 1940)
96        The Velveteen Rabbit (Margery Williams, 1921)
97        The Bad Beginning (Lemony Snicket, 1999)
98        The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman, 2008)
99        American Born Chinese (Gene Luen Yang and Lark Pien, 2006)
100       Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Salman Rushdie, 1990)

I've read 27 of these (Where the Wild Things Are, Matilda, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Little Women, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Goodnight Moon, The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Secret Garden, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Little Prince, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit , Treasure Island : , Mary Poppins , The Giving Tree , A Bear Called Paddington , The Wind in the Willows , The Cat in the Hat , The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , One Thousand and One Nights , Little Nicholas, Winnie-the-Pooh (in the original Latin, no less ), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , Little House in the Big Woods, and Charlotte's Web); but who is Languish's champion of Children's lit?

(I'd question how much "Children's Literature" 1001 Nights is; that can get racy (as well as violent and scatological, but children are usually okay with that.))

[Sheilbh]

BBC Releases a list of the top 100 Children's books of all time.

4          The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943)
5          The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien, 1937)
6          Northern Lights (Philip Pullman, 1995)
7          The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (CS Lewis, 1950)
8          Winnie-the-Pooh (AA Milne and EH Shepard, 1926)
9          Charlotte's Web (EB White and Garth Williams, 1952)
10        Matilda (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1988)
13        Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (JK Rowling, 1997)
14        The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle, 1969)
18        Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl, 1964)
20        Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd, 1947)
22        A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula K Le Guin, 1968)
28        Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (JK Rowling, 1999)
32        The Tiger Who Came to Tea (Judith Kerr, 1968)
35        Watership Down (Richard Adams, 1972)
39        The Railway Children (Edith Nesbit, 1906)
40        Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman, 2001)
41        The BFG (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1982)
46        The Owl Service (Alan Garner, 1967)
54        We're Going on a Bear Hunt (Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, 1989)
61        The Witches (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1983)
62        A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond, 1958)
63        The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame, 1908)
64        Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred D Taylor, 1977)
72        When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Judith Kerr, 1971)
87        The Twits (Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, 1980)
92        Danny the Champion of the World (Roald Dahl, 1975)
93        The Snowman (Raymond Briggs, 1978)

Ones that I remember reading as a kid.

I have no memory of any of the story, but just remember being really upset/sad at Charlotte's Web.

[mongers]

'The Anglo-Saxons' by Marc Morris, really should have been subtitled a political-dynastic history, as it has far to little to say about the economic and social developments during the period. So great if you want to read about the late Anglo-Saxon penchant for poisoning rival. 

[The Brain]

I count 9 Swedish-language children's books on the top 100. Not bad.

[Gups]

I'd question any list which has both Lord of the Rings and A Very Hungry Caterpillar on it.

I was a voracious reader as a child but probably read only a quarter of these. Wasted too much time on Enid Blyton.