Grand unified books thread

[crazy canuck]

I finished reading Jeff Abbott's "Trust Me"; it's yet another thriller where a normal person gets drawn into a world of terror, deceit and ass-kicking.  The problem with this one is that the protagonist is just a graduate student.  It's not even remotely credible that he can take on a terrorist organization by himself. 

Exactly. Everyone knows only tenured faculty can do that. 

Beat me to it.

[Sheilbh]

So the China kick continues.

So far I've read a general history which was inevitably pretty brisk and Jonathan Fenby's Penguin history of Modern China (I've got his biography of Chiang Kai-Shek to go) and I'm about two-thirds through the Romance of the Three Kingdoms which I absolutely love.

Also taking a brief detour into Chinese philosophy/religion. I still understand not a single thing about Taoism but the reading on Confucianism and Buddhism has been more enlightening

Recently read the first Falco novel too. I'm frankly scandalised no-one here had told me about this

Currently also reading Hawksmoore by Peter Ackroyd which, like his history of London, I'm probably going to buy in bulk and force on several unwilling, uninterested friends

[Malthus]

So the China kick continues.

So far I've read a general history which was inevitably pretty brisk and Jonathan Fenby's Penguin history of Modern China (I've got his biography of Chiang Kai-Shek to go) and I'm about two-thirds through the Romance of the Three Kingdoms which I absolutely love.

Also taking a brief detour into Chinese philosophy/religion. I still understand not a single thing about Taoism but the reading on Confucianism and Buddhism has been more enlightening

Recently read the first Falco novel too. I'm frankly scandalised no-one here had told me about this

Currently also reading Hawksmoore by Peter Ackroyd which, like his history of London, I'm probably going to buy in bulk and force on several unwilling, uninterested friends

To understand about Taoism without being truly hopelessly confused, you have to understand that the term is used to cover some completely different notions.

To gove an example, "Taoism" can be used to desribe a sub-type of traditional Chinese religion - complete with temples, gods, and a full set of theology.

OTOH, there is philosophical Taoism - which is a species of mysticism (an intuitive-based philosophy) claiming to provide insight into the nature or perception and man's place within the natural world (as well as a basically libertarian social philosophy), but which is completely non-religious.

Many educated Chinese officials in past centures where "Taoist" in the sense of adopting Taoist philosophy as a way of understanding the universe, were "Confucian" at the office, and adopted "Buddhist" or "Taoist" religious rites - and saw no contradiction.

[The Minsky Moment]

I finished reading Jeff Abbott's "Trust Me"; it's yet another thriller where a normal person gets drawn into a world of terror, deceit and ass-kicking.  The problem with this one is that the protagonist is just a graduate student.  It's not even remotely credible that he can take on a terrorist organization by himself. 

Exactly. Everyone knows only tenured faculty can do that. 

It works for Dan Brown, apparently, despite his protagonist's total lack of STEM qualifications.
But I prefer Grisham, where no evil plot is safe in the face of a spunky junior associate.

[Agelastus]

Recently read the first Falco novel too. I'm frankly scandalised no-one here had told me about this

Good grief, you're right.

No one in this thread has recommended the "Falco" books by Lindsey Davis.

OK, consider the recommendation made. An excellent series of Roman whodunnits with a large and evolving cast, excellent research and the odd gripping storyline. Even the worst of them (and there is a couple of relative duds) is a decent light read.

Has recently jumped ahead a decade or so in the timeline and started a "next generation" series focused around Falco's adopted daughter...which I suspect may be the author's way of getting to something she foreshadowed in the first novel before she dies of old age.

[Eddie Teach]

Also taking a brief detour into Chinese philosophy/religion. I still understand not a single thing about Taoism but the reading on Confucianism and Buddhism has been more enlightening

All you really need to know is that the Tao is not the Tao. 

[Gups]

Currently also reading Hawksmoore by Peter Ackroyd which, like his history of London, I'm probably going to buy in bulk and force on several unwilling, uninterested friends

I didn't like the Ackroyd history of London that much. I find his prose style too ornate for a history.

Just finishing up Rober Harris's "An officer and a spy", a novelisation of the Dreyfus affair. A detective/spy novel really. Well written and forensically interesting but you feel it could be a bit broader in setting the affair in the context of French society.

[jimmy olsen]

Went a little nuts when I saw these prices and bought all four of these. They were super cheap for Oxford Histories. I've only read The Battle Cry of Freedom, a renowned work that I'm sure many people here have read as well. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989. What Hath God Wrought did the same in 2009 and both The Glorious Cause and Empire of Liberty were finalists for the award in 1983 and 2010 respectively so I'm in for a treat. Spent about $30 for all four on Kindle.

The Glorious Cause:  The American Revolution, 1763–1789 by Robert Middlekauff
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 by Gordon S. Wood
What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 by Daniel Walker Howe
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James McPherson

[Savonarola]

I finished "Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's Favorite Poems" as chosen by Caroline Kennedy

Rather than a collection of Jackie-Os favorite poems, this is a collection of poems that had significance for the Kennedy family, and and especially for Caroline.  (If you ever have the choice; pick a beloved martyr as one parent, and one beloved fashion-plate as the other.)  There's a lot of Robert Frost, some Shakespeare, a few passages from the Bible, and just enough Langston Hughes to assuage white guilt.  There's even a suitable warning before the section of romantic poem about the changing role of women.  It's an inoffensive collection of verse collected by a woman determined to cash in on her parents legacy. 

[CountDeMoney]

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 by Gordon S. Wood

I love Wood's stuff;  his The Radicalism of the American Revolution is a much better place to start.

[The Minsky Moment]

Went a little nuts when I saw these prices and bought all four of these. They were super cheap for Oxford Histories.

It's a good series.  The Howe book is probably the best, fascinating period.  Middlekauf is very solid.  The Wood book is CDM says is a bit disappointing given the author's reputation and prior works but still worth reading for a good overview of the period. 

[CountDeMoney]

The Wood book is CDM says is a bit disappointing given the author's reputation and prior works but still worth reading for a good overview of the period.

It's a good appetizer, particularly as an introduction to the pre-revolutionary period.

[CountDeMoney]

Speaking of the AWI, does anybody read Charles Beard anymore?  Or is he still out of fashion?

[Gups]

Been vaguely looking for a decent overview of early American history. Have downloaded the Wood book. Thanks for the tip off Tim.

[The Brain]

Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey. I love Richard Ayoade, and there were many LOL moments.