The Pillars of Earth. An epicful of humanity, I say !
On Aug 1, 12:59 pm, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote:
> Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations," de Tocqueville's "Democracy In
> America," Hayek's "Road to Serfdom," and De Soto's "The Mystery of
> Capital."
>
> For some light fictional reading I recommend Ayn Rand's "Atlas
> Shrugged" and "The Fountianhead."
>
> Ok, so I'm kinda kidding around here. My guess is you've probably
> already read at least half of them anyway. Seriously speaking, I'd go
> retro on at least one of your choices. Pick a nice mystery. Here's a
> small taste...
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=yfJlaMBMFEMC&dq=the+maltese+falcon&p...
>
> Sam Spade rules!
>
> dj
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 5:25 PM, frantheman<[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> > I've a couple of weeks holidays coming up ta the end of August and
> > would be interested to hear some reading suggestions. But, as one
> > shouldn't take without giving, I thought I'd get the ball rolling with
> > a brief description of some of the books I've found good in the past
> > few months ;-)
>
> > Harry Thompson, This Thing of Darkness: I owe this tip to Ian - thanks
> > mate! A well researched, very well written historical novel, based
> > mainly on the voyage of the Beagle and the lives of its captain,
> > Robert FitzRoy and his most famous passenger, Charles Darwin. The
> > character of FitzRoy, an interesting historical figure in his own
> > right, is particularly well done. Sadly, there will be no more gems
> > from this author, as he died tragically young four years ago.
>
> > Tom Holland, Persian Fire: Who says ancient history is boring?
> > Holland's excellent book describing the war between east and west, a
> > war between a superpower representing then civilised values (the
> > Persian empire) against barbarian rogue states (Athens and Sparta)
> > challenging the world order reads like a thriller. His previous work,
> > Rubicon, about the fall of the Roman Republic is equally good. I'm
> > loking forward to reading his latest, Millenium, about the early
> > European Middle Ages, featuring the crusades.
>
> > Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind: This is the best fantasy book
> > I've read in a long time (and I read quite a bit of fantasy).
> > Extremely well written, it's hard to describe. As the author himself
> > says, "If I could sum it up in 50 words, I wouldn't have needed to
> > write a whole novel about it." The first of a trilogy, the second part
> > of which is due out this summer, it's simply an amazing first novel.
>
> > Daniel C. Dennett, Consciousness Explained: For anyone wanting to get
> > into contemporary philosophy, and particularly the vexed questions of
> > consciousness and epistemology, this is a very good starting point.
> > Dennett's position is unashamedly empirical (he identifies himself as
> > a Bright and is a pal of Dawkins [though a much more incisive
> > thinker]) but, more importantly, he also, unusually for a philosopher,
> > writes lucidly, entertainingly and well.
>
> > Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow/Children of God: These two have to be
> > read together. Wonderful science fiction, the hero being a Jesuit
> > scientist whose first contact with an alien civilisation brings his
> > faith into fundamental crisis. The books take a sympathetic position
> > regarding rational faith in a personal God, although the author
> > describes herself as an agnostic. Many issues discussed on Minds Eye
> > come up here, along with complex characters, a compelling story and
> > good science fiction.
>
> > So, what about you?
>
> > Francis- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
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