Grand unified books thread

[Scipio]

Francis Fukuyama's Origins of Political Order

How did you like it?

I think it is well pitched to this audience (languish) -- it covers a very broad sweep of history across time (prehistory to the French Revolution) and space (europe, china, ottomans, etc) and dabbles in evolutionary theory, anthropology, economics.  There is not a lot of modesty here.  He is trying to build a grand unified theory of political development starting with basic structural roots, ultimately biological.  That aspect of it is a bit eyebrow raising, and the early part of the book which deals with prehistory gave the impression of someone making broad generalization in an area where they are out of their depth.  But the book gets some tranction in the comparative history/politics sections which is the meat of it.

Fukuyama's intention is to write a broad theory of political-historical development in the vein of the 19th century classics like Weber, Marx or Macaulay and openly claims that to be so.  But the approach reminded me of an even older tradition - the sociologically-based historical analyses of the pre-modern era, like ibn Khaldun (cited multiple times), Machiavelli or Jean Bodin.  The result is a little jarring in the present age but also refreshing.  As is often the case with FF, how well the argument holds up is almost secondary because it is hard not to admire the ambition and sheer intellectual chutzpah of the effort.  Also as is often the case with FF, while the basic argument can be stated easily and crudely, there is a lot of nuance to it.  For that reason, I would ignore some of the more critical reviews from the press which tend to strawman the argument a bit.

He's a poor man's Jose Ortega Y Gasset.

[Ed Anger]

Reading Stephen King's On Writing.

Good stuff.

[Habbaku]

Just ordered

The First Crusade, The Call From the East http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674059948/ref=kinw_rke_tl_1

and

Simulating War : Studying Conflict through Simulation Games  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1441185585/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=flaofste-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1441185585

No idea when I'll get around to reading them, though.  Still have N. A. M. Rodger's two volumes on British naval history (Safeguard of the Sea and The Command of the Ocean) to blitz through first.

[mongers]

Maybe of interest to some, Richard Overy's 'The Third Reich: A Chronicle' is available on kindle for $2.71 :
http://www.amazon.com/The-Third-Reich-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B005H3LKSG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

In the UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Third-Reich-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B005H3LKSG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

[ulmont]

Maybe of interest to some, Richard Overy's 'The Third Reich: A Chronicle' is available on kindle for $2.71 :
http://www.amazon.com/The-Third-Reich-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B005H3LKSG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

In the UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Third-Reich-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B005H3LKSG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Showing $10.61 in the US right now.

[Habbaku]

Overy's one of my favorites, but I can afford to wait.  I have too much crap to read as it is.

[mongers]

Maybe of interest to some, Richard Overy's 'The Third Reich: A Chronicle' is available on kindle for $2.71 :
http://www.amazon.com/The-Third-Reich-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B005H3LKSG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

In the UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Third-Reich-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B005H3LKSG/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Showing $10.61 in the US right now.

Really, probably the result of amazon's weird 'we change the prices, whilst you went to make a cup of coffee' pricing strategy.

Prompted by you, I just quickly bought it andit was at the low price, oddly when I then look for it on amazon.com it's still showing the low USD price. 

[Habbaku]

The Amazon.co.uk store has it for the lower price.  The Amazon.com has it much higher.

[jimmy olsen]

Hmm...sounds interesting.

http://www.amazon.com/Captain-James-Curse-Peter-ebook/dp/B008D8M7PC/ref=sr_1_18?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1347344341&sr=1-18&keywords=peter+pan

Captain James Hook and the Curse of Peter Pan

review

This book was deeply enjoyable and once I started it I couldn't put it down. What I found most unique about this book, and most satisfying, is the manner in which it ties the well known story of Peter Pan into other similar stories and historic events as well as returning to some of the oldest mythology concerning the nature of human interaction with non-human faery-like creatures.

There is, if viewed honestly, something more than a little disturbing about Peter Pan. The desire to remain a child forever, though tempting, can't be separated from an unethical lack of responsibility. The oldest stories about faery creatures and the humans who interact with them tend to always convey the same message. Faery's may not be evil, they are generally playful and well-intentioned, but their utter disconnection from the concerns and standards of the human world along with their non-human power make them exceptionally dangerous in a unique way. Theirs is the danger of consequences unintended because of an utter lack of reflection which fits perfectly the danger of a powerful entity joined to a complete incapacity for reflection and responsibility. We see clearly in this story the way in which any entity with the power of Peter Pan would either be or become a terrifyingly non-human creature. Particularly fascinating is the way in which the book points this out through the limitations of Peter Pan's memory. Memory is a form of responsibility-taking, and a life of perpetual irresponsible play would be a life devoid of a past. Despite this, however, the character of Peter Pan remains enchanting, charming and seductive. In their revisiting of the character of Peter Pan the authors set themselves no small challenge and they met the challenge with resounding success. In this it even resembles, at points, Susanna Clarke's "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell". Bringing these reflections on Peter Pan into play with the character of Captain Hook gives rise to the rich irony of the story. The ethical lack on the part of Peter Pan helps lead to a reversed ethical failure on the part of the conscientiously responsible James Hook, a fact which provokes some troubling questions about the nature of moral responsibility and ethical dilemmas in human life.

Classic stories like those of Peter Pan tend to exist in their own world entirely insulated from other literary references or historical context in the same way Peter Pan is insulated from any worldly connections. To tell the story from the perspective of Hook, however, is to reconnect it to the human world with its historical and literary references. This the authors have done in a deeply satisfying and fulfilling way. We get to meet other historical pirates while also being treated in subtle non-artificial ways to reflections on the origin and nature of the Peter Pan figure (for example through references to Puck from Shakespeare). If you have ever wondered how Captain Hook's personality would stand out next to those of Blackbeard or Long John Silver this book will be a treat.

As a reader I tend to most enjoy these subtle historical and literary elements, but one need not be such a reader to deeply enjoy this book. Setting aside the aspects I think make this honestly a deep book in a unique manner, it is also an entertaining and enthralling adventure story with characters you care about and a pleasantly complex plot that nicely comes together by the end. The book manages to achieve all this while successfully expanding the original Peter Pan story and filling gaps the original story left undiscussed.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Sounds like a pretentious jackoff.

[CountDeMoney]

Reading Stephen King's On Writing.

Good stuff.

Oh yeah, that book totally salvaged my entire opinion of him as a writer.

I love the part about the writer's bloc he had for over a year about The Stand, and how he decided what to do about it.

[Syt]

Currently re-reading "Paradise Lost" (Penguin's annotated edition). I think I may want to play Solium Infernum multiplayer again.

[garbon]

If you have ever wondered how Captain Hook's personality would stand out next to those of Blackbeard or Long John Silver this book will be a treat.

[Sheilbh]

Finished Phineas Redux, the best of the Palliser novels so far in my opinion. I'm a few chapters into the next or the series, The Prime Minister. It starts very well.

Still with Carlyle on the side.

[Malthus]

Finished Phineas Redux, the best of the Palliser novels so far in my opinion. I'm a few chapters into the next or the series, The Prime Minister. It starts very well.

Still with Carlyle on the side.

Ah yes, as Flashman once remarked, there is nothing like curling up at night with a good trollop(e).