Grand unified books thread

[Syt]

Nicholas Binge - Ascension

When a mountain mysteriously appears in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a group of scientists are sent to investigate – and discover what is at the summit.

Eminent scientist, explorer and chronic loner Harry Tunmore is among those asked to join the secret mission – and he has his own reasons for joining the team beyond scientific curiosity...

Very Lovecraftian in form - a man discovers his brother who had disappeared nearly 30 years ago in an asylum. The brother is incoherent and proceeds to off himself ... but he left behind a collection of unsent letters that tell the tale of what happened on that mysterious mountain back in the ancient past of ... 1991. (I feel old.)

It's a bit of At the Mountains of Madness, The Thing (scientists in a hostile cold climate), and X-Files.

It's a pretty quick read with enough crumbs along the way to get an idea what's happening before the main character does. Maybe a bit too cliché at times including some very stock characters. And the ending was a bit of a letdown for me, in the sense of, "Really? That's it?" I felt almost comedic.

7/10.

[mongers]

I intend to read more books this year than last, which was a shocking performance on my part. 

[Sheilbh]

Got slightly side-tracked for reasons but down to the last three Booker long list and last year's list was very, very good. Most of the way through Kiran Desai's The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny and it's fantastic. I've never read Kiran Desai before but will definitely be picking up The Inheritance of Loss some time this year.

She didn't win this time but think she's possibly one of the doors opened for me from this year's list, a bit like last year's list sent me working my way through Tan Twan Eng's catalogue.

On the non-fiction front, I'm about halfway through Sudhir Hazareesingh's Black Spartacus and it's a revelation. I've already stacked up How the French Think to pick up again later this year. Black Spartacus is a new lif of Toussaint Louverture. It is fantastic.

I think CLR James' The Black Jacobins is possibly the greatest history book I've ever read so I possibly had quite a high bar to clear for someone writing about the Haitian revolution, but it's an extraordinary re-telling (I understand there's been a lot of new research and discoveries on Louverture) on the fashioning of a new, not just derivative republicanism. (Though I still perhaps sympathise more with James' take emphasising the masses )

I'll also pick up Hazareesingh's Daring To Be Free which I think came out last year which sounds very interesting - and I recently read Marcus Rediker's The Slave Ship so possiby a complement to that.

[Norgy]

Jeff Sharlet, "The Undertow". Beautiful, frightening and exceedingly well written. A series of essays covering the division of the United States. Sharlet met quite a few characters, following the trail of Ashli Babbit's deification after Jan 6th 2021.

For me, it was an enlightening read, and one that further convinces me that the term conservative is meaningless with the regards to politics anymore. It is either code for reactionary or wildly radical religious, racist zealotry. There is no reform to conserve. Just visions of an imagined happy past. 

Currently reading "Unholy" by Sarah Posner about the "unlikely", yet very likely coalition of the Evangelicals and the "Alt-Right" prior to 2016.

I think I need something brighter and more hopeful soon, as this subject matter is dragging me down into a mental abyss of hopelessness. Maybe I'll just read "The Remains Of The Day" again and go and lie down in the woods.

[Sheilbh]

Love The Remains of the Day.

Also off the top of my head not sure I can think of a better/higher quality book and movie combo. Both fantastic.

[Jacob]

Just ordered this book:

This book argues that tribal Scandinavia was set on the route to kingship by the arrival in the AD 180s–90s of warrior groups that were dismissed from the Roman army after defeating the Marcomanni by the Danube.

Using a range of evidence, this book details how well-equipped and battle-seasoned warriors, familiar with Roman institutions and practices, seized land and established lordly centres. It shows how these new lords acquired wealth by stimulating the production of commodities for trade with peers and Continental associates, Romans included, to reward retainers and bestow on partners. In these transcultural circumstances, lords and their retainers nurtured artisanal production of exquisite quality and developed a heroic ethos and refined hall etiquette. The topic of warfare, created by the volatile politics of lordly cooperation and competition, is also explored. Venturing substantially beyond the usual scope of syntheses of this period, this book looks at how the break-up of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of 'Great tribes' such as the Franks and Goths influenced lords and tribal leaders across Scandinavia to form kingdoms, emulating what they for centuries had considered the superior polity, the Roman Empire.

This book's fresh take on disputed research topics will inspire scholars, students, and interested readers to delve further into this pivotal period of European history.

https://www.routledge.com/The-Northern-Routes-to-Kingship-A-History-of-Scandinavia-AD-180-550/Skre/p/book/9781138831384

[The Brain]

nurtured artisanal production

Hipster origin story.

[Norgy]

Just ordered this book:

Skre is a well-regarded archaeologist in Norway, leading the excavations at Harald Fairhair's supposed seat at Karmøy, Avaldsnes.

I think it will be a good read.

[Oexmelin]

I think CLR James' The Black Jacobins is possibly the greatest history book I've ever read so I possibly had quite a high bar to clear for someone writing about the Haitian revolution, but it's an extraordinary re-telling (I understand there's been a lot of new research and discoveries on Louverture) on the fashioning of a new, not just derivative republicanism. (Though I still perhaps sympathise more with James' take emphasising the masses )

Yes. A lot has been done on the Haitian Revolution in the last few years - and a lot has been made to make it accessible in English. Quite a bit isn't as great a read as The Black Jacobin, but maybe you'd like Ada Ferrer's Freedom's Mirror, which is about the Revolution's impact on Cuba.

[Sheilbh]

Yes. A lot has been done on the Haitian Revolution in the last few years - and a lot has been made to make it accessible in English. Quite a bit isn't as great a read as The Black Jacobin, but maybe you'd like Ada Ferrer's Freedom's Mirror, which is about the Revolution's impact on Cuba.

Thanks! I'll certainly take a look.

And I should say I'm not expecting James to be definitive - my personal experience of it as such a great book is more about style.

Finished both books and they ended strongly, in Black Spartacus I particularly enjoyed the last chapter on his receptions and versions of Louverture - so definitely be of interest to see the book about impact in Cuba.

Just ordered this book:

Looks very interesting.