Grand unified books thread

[Savonarola]

The Most Powerful Idea in the World Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention by William Rosen

This is a history of engineering from antiquity until the creation of the engine Rocket in 1820.  The book is akin to the James Burke series "Connections;" where the development of various inventions are focused on.  The underlying thesis is that patents, as they were awarded in England, led to industrialization; which is why the Industrial Revolution happened in the United Kingdom rather than elsewhere.   

The reading is a little light, and skims over some ideas; but it's an enjoyable book. 

[The Brain]

Is it correct?

[Malthus]

The Most Powerful Idea in the World Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention by William Rosen

This is a history of engineering from antiquity until the creation of the engine Rocket in 1820.  The book is akin to the James Burke series "Connections;" where the development of various inventions are focused on.  The underlying thesis is that patents, as they were awarded in England, led to industrialization; which is why the Industrial Revolution happened in the United Kingdom rather than elsewhere.   

The reading is a little light, and skims over some ideas; but it's an enjoyable book.

You might enjoy this one:

http://www.amazon.ca/Ancient-Inventions-Peter-James/dp/0345401026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-1&keywords=ancient+inventions

A really light read, but fun as hell.

The first coin-operated vending machine - was in Hellenistic Alexandria? Dispensing holy water?! 

[Malthus]

I'm currently re-reading Van Gulik's Judge Dee mysteries, starting with the Chinese Gold Murders.

They are awesome - how could one not love a Confucian magestrate who solves crimes, and hardly ever just tortures a confession out of someone? 

[The Brain]

Hardly ever?

[Malthus]

Hardly ever?

Hey, it's fiction.

[Savonarola]

I've been reading The Epic of Latin America by John Crow.  The author goes into details about the universities in the colonial period.  At the end of studies the successful candidate for a degree was expected to throw a lavish party.  In Lima, at the University of San Marco, the graduate was expected to host a bullfight (¡Olé!).  Say what you like about the out of control costs of American universities, at least we haven't reached that level.

I finally finished this.  The author's central idea is that the individual Latin American nations all have a unique history and culture; but they all share a common "Catholic" origin.  For this reason they're antagonistic towards one another and incomprehensible to the "Protestant" United States (who in turn is incomprehensible to the Latin American republics.)

It struck me that his thesis explains English Canada and Quebec as well.

[garbon]

I don't know if worth it or not, but Prit Buttar's recent WW1 book (Collisions of Empires: The War on the Eastern Front in 1914) is on sale on amazon for 1.99 for kindle edition.

No, I don't know who Prit Butler is.

[Habbaku]

[Dreadnought]

What book(s) should I be reading if I want to learn about the Great War in the naval sphere of things?  I don't want something that only talks about Jutland.

[Jacob]

I'm currently re-reading Van Gulik's Judge Dee mysteries, starting with the Chinese Gold Murders.

They are awesome - how could one not love a Confucian magestrate who solves crimes, and hardly ever just tortures a confession out of someone? 

I've greatly enjoyed those books too. I like how he throws in a bit titillating naked dancing girls or concubines every so often. Curiously, they're often the focus of the few illustrations.

[Malthus]

I'm currently re-reading Van Gulik's Judge Dee mysteries, starting with the Chinese Gold Murders.

They are awesome - how could one not love a Confucian magestrate who solves crimes, and hardly ever just tortures a confession out of someone? 

I've greatly enjoyed those books too. I like how he throws in a bit titillating naked dancing girls or concubines every so often. Curiously, they're often the focus of the few illustrations.

Heh, I was just remarking to my wife as I went through his series - "I wonder if there is any of his books that do not feature one of his illustrations of a bare-boobed woman in a fetishistic pose"

And sure enough ... not a single book lacked one! I checked. 

It was no surprise at all to learn that, among other things, the author was an expert on ancient Chinese porn.

Sadly, aside from one 70s era made-for-TV movie, his stuff has never been filmed (though there are plenty of Chinese movies based on "Judge Dee", they are not based on these stories).

Edit: how the author managed to get away with his illustrations in the 1950s when these books were first published, I have no idea.

[Jacob]

Heh, I was just remarking to my wife as I went through his series - "I wonder if there is any of his books that do not feature one of his illustrations of a bare-boobed woman in a fetishistic pose"

And sure enough ... not a single book lacked one! I checked. 

It was no surprise at all to learn that, among other things, the author was an expert on ancient Chinese porn.

Yeah

If you have a formula that works, and one that you enjoy yourself as well, why change it

Sadly, aside from one 70s era made-for-TV movie, his stuff has never been filmed (though there are plenty of Chinese movies based on "Judge Dee", they are not based on these stories).

I think I saw the 70s TV movie back in the day. As I understand it, the Chinese movies draw from the same source material as van Gulik does, rather than on his stories, which makes sense.

Edit: how the author managed to get away with his illustrations in the 1950s when these books were first published, I have no idea.

I think a fair bit of erotic stuff got hidden under the "history" and "classical studies" kind of thing. I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons antiquity kept being so interesting to so many people throughout the years is that you could look at images of attractive naked people and discuss erotic things in the name of "a good education" without being labelled a perv or deviant.

Also, I recently heard the argument that the smut publishing industry used to make much more money than "good fiction" (similar to how California porn apparently used to make more money than Hollywood). It's not surprising that pulpy stuff - and that's where I'd put van Gulik - put in some prurient elements.

[mongers]

The Most Powerful Idea in the World Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention by William Rosen

This is a history of engineering from antiquity until the creation of the engine Rocket in 1820.  The book is akin to the James Burke series "Connections;" where the development of various inventions are focused on.  The underlying thesis is that patents, as they were awarded in England, led to industrialization; which is why the Industrial Revolution happened in the United Kingdom rather than elsewhere.   

The reading is a little light, and skims over some ideas; but it's an enjoyable book.

You might enjoy this one:

http://www.amazon.ca/Ancient-Inventions-Peter-James/dp/0345401026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-1&keywords=ancient+inventions

A really light read, but fun as hell.

The first coin-operated vending machine - was in Hellenistic Alexandria? Dispensing holy water?! 

L. Sprague de Camp wrote a similar book, which I had as a child.

[Malthus]

I think I saw the 70s TV movie back in the day. As I understand it, the Chinese movies draw from the same source material as van Gulik does, rather than on his stories, which makes sense.

Yup - Van Gulik never made any secret of the fact he was drawing on an existing stream of Chinese popular fiction - in fact, he made a virtue out of it.

Here's a modern Chinese "Judge Dee" movie made last year - big budget, really a fantasy and martial-arts extravaganza rather than a mystery.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2992146/?ref_=tt

I would love to see a modern take on the mystery type plots from Van Gulik's stories. The occasional naked courtesan would be okay. 

[Jacob]

I've found the Ava Lee series by Ian Hamilton to scratch a bit of the same itch - mysteries, somewhat orientalist, somewhat voyeuristic subtext (or text), but pretty damn entertaining. They're modern day stories, but still. The fifth one in the series was a bit of a let down, but I'm still checking out number six if/when it comes out.