Grand unified books thread

[crazy canuck]

PRC,

You had me at Tom Holland.

[Malthus]

My current read is The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson. I'm enjoying it.

I read that   it's really, really good.

[mongers]

This thread reminds me, I really should make the effort to read an additional book this year. 

[Syt]

My current read is The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson. I'm enjoying it.

I read that   it's really, really good.

Yeah. I admit I didn't know very much about ancient Egyptian history, and therefore Old Egypt was for me a rather monolithic entity with a rather fixed set of religious beliefs, pyramids and the occasional battle. The constant changes in politics, culture and spirituality Wilkinson describes are a bit of an eye opener.

[Syt]

For Brain:

Bestiality: An Historical, Medical, Legal and Literary Study

[Sheilbh]

Just finished Let Our Fame Be Great.

It's by a British journalist based in Russia who travels to the North Caucasus and to the diaspora communities and tells the history of Russia's involvement in the region.  Largely it's a history of massacres and mostly forgotten genocides.  The first two parts deal with the Circassians and the Mountain Turks, the last two with Chechnya.

Not outstanding but worth reading.

[The Brain]

For Brain:

Bestiality: An Historical, Medical, Legal and Literary Study

Somewhat weird book.

[Sheilbh]

Just started Dominic Sandbrook's 'Never Had it So Good: A History of Britain from Suez to the Beatles'.  I think after this there's 'White Heat' covering the Wilson years () and a book on the early 70s so I've plenty to get through.

It's very interesting so far a lot of it covers the same ground as Peter Hennessy's books on the same era but with a slightly lighter touch.  I also think this is slightly better at conveying MacMillan's character.

So far though it's good.  Worth a read.

[Josephus]

Read a couple good things lately.
I'm surprised only one other (I think) person commented on Umberto Eco's Prague Cemetery. It was almost written for a Languish audience taking place as it does in the end of the 19th century with scenes set during Garibaldi's run to unify Italy, the Dreyfuss Affair and the writing of the Protocols of Zion. REally a well done book.

I've also just finished Wade Davis' Into The Silence, (The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest) which is somewhat self-explanatory. A very good read.

[crazy canuck]

Read a couple good things lately.
I'm surprised only one other (I think) person commented on Umberto Eco's Prague Cemetery. It was almost written for a Languish audience taking place as it does in the end of the 19th century with scenes set during Garibaldi's run to unify Italy, the Dreyfuss Affair and the writing of the Protocols of Zion. REally a well done book.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Reading the Deathstalker series. Shlocky sci fi space opera, fun read.

[Ed Anger]

Reading the Deathstalker series. Shlocky sci fi space opera, fun read.

That series gets progressively worse.

[Darth Wagtaros]

I saw on Wikipedia that the last few books are set in some weird future time, so I won't bother with those unless  I get them cheap.


I will admit I really liked the toy wars and the reformed mass murderer presiding over them in a Santa outfit.

[Ed Anger]

I think Simon Green was high when he wrote those books.

[Darth Wagtaros]

He was on something.