Grand unified books thread

[Syt]

Pciked up yesterday: "The book without name" by Anonymous.

1/3 through the book and enjoying it a fair bit. Decidedly pulp, set in fictional "Santa Mondega" which is kinda the Mos Eisley of the U.S. (You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.). A mysterious magic blue stone is chased by assassins, monks, a government agent specialized in the supernatural, a bar owner, bounty hunters and the local crime lord. Over the top gruesome murders ensue. Funny, fast paced, and full of your Tarantino/Rodriguez movie clichés.

Decidedly NOT high literature.

[jimmy olsen]

Wait.

The guy sets up his own little princely state in the Caucasus based upon the descendants of the Varangians where he fucks a harem of young women/girls every night, and you compare him to CDM?!

I am insulted.

I said it was like something they'd write.

[Berkut]

I just finished up Shattered Sword.

It jumped to the top of my list of military history. Outstanding.

[Admiral Yi]

Just picked up two books. To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World, by Arthur Herman (author of How the Scots Invented the Modern World--dont' know if that's a recommendation or not).  And From Babel to Dragoman, by Bernard Lewis.  A collection of essays/lectures on the Middle East.

[Malthus]

Hey Sty, what did you think of Europe's Tragedy?

[Admiral Yi]

Some interesting nuggets already from the first.

The Spanish called John Hawkins Juan Aquines.  When Juan's fleet descended on San Juan de Ulloa the Spanish garrison yelled "the Lutherans are here" and ran away.

[Ed Anger]

Just picked up two books. To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World, by Arthur Herman (author of How the Scots Invented the Modern World--dont' know if that's a recommendation or not).  And From Babel to Dragoman, by Bernard Lewis.  A collection of essays/lectures on the Middle East.

To Rule the waves is pretty good.

[Syt]

Hey Sty, what did you think of Europe's Tragedy?

Am I Sty? And do you mean the book about the Thirty Years War?

If yes, then I must say I liked it. It is very detailed, starting by explaining the organisational structure of the HRE, the religious compromise of Augsburg from 16th century and how the conflict smouldered on from there. One of his main points is that while religion played a major part in the TYW, most of the time it was used as a means to further dynastic agendas (e.g. the Bavarian elector being keen on acquiring the Palatinate, France and the Scandies meddling to become power players in HRE politics etc.).

The book also covers to some depth the adjacent conflicts - Swedes in the Baltics, Transylvanian insurgents, the fight for the Spanish Road through Switzerland, and of course the Dutch struggle against the Habsburgs; plus the economic/financial intricacies of all the bargains.

A whole chapter is devoted to the development of military technology and doctrine during the era (close to the start, so it's not covered much later during the conflict itself). The military campaigns are recorded in sometimes tiresome and confusing detail, and who marches with how many troops for where to where. A detailed map is found at the front and back ends of the hardcover book, though (even if for some weird reason the Danish founded town of Glückstadt is presented on the North Sea coast instead of on the lower Elbe river).

I got the book for under 19 GBP in a promotion from Amazon.co.uk and consider it one of my best book buys this year or last.

[Alatriste]

I'm intrigued, Syt. Does the book cover the dynastic game everyone played with bishoprics in the HRE?

[Syt]

I'm intrigued, Syt. Does the book cover the dynastic game everyone played with bishoprics in the HRE?

If you mean the ecclesiastic vs. secular heritages and bids for owner-/rulership then yes, it finds mention. As does the "brothers' dispute" in the house of Habsburg for succeding the throne.

[Admiral Yi]

I thought this was fun.

The European words for orange come from the Persian narang.  But Arabs and Iranians call the orange the portugal.  That's because the narang is bitter, and the sweet orange was first brought to the Middle East from China by the Portuguese.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

started Zizek's "Violence" the other day. interesting stuff, though I have yet to figure out if he ever comes to any conclusions,though..... more metaphors, similes than a Tom Robbins book.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Reading Spy Wars, about Nosenko's "defection", written by his handler and taking advantage of the opened Soviet archives in the 1990s. It's a good book, especially for its coverage and insight into the operational approaches of the KGB, and the tales of various other spies and agents during the early Cold War, all tied into the Nosenko case.

[Habbaku]

Currently finishing up Craig L. Symond's biography of Joe Johnston.  It's proving incredibly enlightening in both good and bad ways.  Specifically, it shows just how a talented general's pride and refusal to buckle from personal scruples can do untold harm when dealing with a man who, like Jefferson Davis, prefers to have nothing but sycophantic yes-men around in favor of those who are openly critical.

That and Hood's a giant dick.

[Syt]

I'm delighted to find out there's a sequel to "The Book With No Name".

The first part is a pulp story about a town of crime, full of bounty hunters, crime lords and vampires, struggling to secure an ancient artifact in time for the solar eclipse. Caught in between are two martial arts monks, an assassin Elvis impersonator, a government detective for the supernatural, a young couple stealing stuff they shouldn't, a sleazy barkeeper named Sanchez and a woman without memory.

Faced paced, action filled with epic gun fights and fistycuffs, not very deep, this is a bit like a mix of From Dusk Till Dawn, True Romance, X-Files and Bruce Lee. It wouldn't work as a movie, I guess, but a comic in the veins of Preacher would be perfect.