What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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"Metal Lead Guitar Vol. 1" by Troy Stetina
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by heartwood »

heartwood wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 3:45 pm
MP173 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 4:43 pm Heartwood:

John Verdon's Dave Gurney series is excellent. "Think of a Number" was very good...I have read 3 now and am pacing them. Could bing read them.

Here is a similar author - Brian Thiem has 3 books out - Matt Sinclair series. Thiem is a retired Oakland, Ca policeman. Sinclair is a brilliant detective, but with "issues". Similar to Bosch series of Michael Connelly.

Yet another good series is Steve Hamilton's Alex McKnight. McKnight is a former Detroit cop on disability living in the U.P. of Michigan. His books are set in winter, not only does McKnight face human issues, but also the elements.

I am also reading Paul Doiron's (Dorian's) series - Mike Bowditch is a Game Warden in Maine...again, lots of nature's elements. Game Wardens (at least in the series) carry added responsibilities as law enforcement officers due to the vast land/minimal law enforcement in Northern Maine. His first book is "The Poacher's Son.".

I agree about Michael Lewis...800 page book on the history of staplers would be on my list. Cannot wait to read his latest.

Meanwhile recently:
Steve Hamilton's - "The Hunting Wind"...Alex McKnight series.
Brian Thiem - "Shallow Grave"
John Sandford - "Ocean Prey"- Davenport and Virgil Flowers investigate the killing of Coast Guard personnel in a drug deal. Sandford's best in quite some time (IMHO).
Sal DiStefano - "The Resistance Training Revolution" - an intro book to weight training - body weight, resistance bands, dumbbells, and barbells plus nutrition. Not a deep or heavy look at the science of resistance training, but helpful. I have been mixing resistance with cardio for 9 months with excellent results. Author takes a stance against mixing the two...it has worked for me.
Jonathan Kellerman - "Serpentine" Yet another excellent in his long running Milo and Alex series....about 100 pages in.

Ed
MP173, I was going to joke, "what else you got", but I've followed up on several of your recommends that I hadn't read/heard of and have lots to turn to. Thanks for the new-for-me authors.

I finally read Brian Thiem's Red Line a week ago after your March recommendation and then went straight to the 2nd, Thrill Kill. Finished that and will today start the 3rd, Shallow Grave. I hope he's got another coming. He's a good writer and story teller.

Again based on your recommend I've read a couple of the John Verdon's Dave Gurney series. Very good.

I like the others you note, esp Sandford and Connelly. But the surprise for me, after your recommend, are the Paul Doiron's (Dorian's) series - Mike Bowditch is a Game Warden in Maine. My first reaction was, game warden novels? Then I checked amazon reviews and saw that he's got 18 novels since 2010 and all were highly rated. I read the 1st, The Poacher's Son, and then read the 2nd and the 3rd. I'm set for awhile.

I see Connelly has a new Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch coming out in November.
I'm continuing to read my way through Paul Doiron's Mike Bowditch series, currently on the 9th novel (there are a couple of short stories) Stay Hidden (2018). This one's set on a remote Maine island. A famous visiting writer was fatally shot while hanging out her laundry. Is it murder? Is it a hunting accident?

A Maine Game Warden is more than the name first implied to me. He a law enforcement officer with broad purview beyond game.

Doiron's a decent writer and tells a good story. I like that he keeps pumping them out. He published the 12th novel this year (plus a short story) and has the 13th promised for 2022. Note I had the name spelled wrong before.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by hudson »

sandburg wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:11 pm I read volumes 1 and 2 earlier this year. They're excellent too. Rick Atkinson's "The Liberation Trilogy" is also excellent. Mr. Atkinson's books are about the war in North Africa, Italy, and Western Europe.
Volume 1 done: I agree with excellent.
I liked the personal information about Yamamoto, Nagumo, Roosevelt, Churchill, Halsey, Spruance, Fletcher, King, and Nimitz.
Rochefort enabled the US Navy to put 4 carriers on the bottom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Rochefort

Long ago, along the same line, I read at least Volume 7 of Samuel E Morison's History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. My Dad had the book as he served in the Aleutians.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_o ... rld_War_II
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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Deceived - Randy Wayne White.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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“Zucked”, Roger McNamee
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by quantAndHold »

nisiprius wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:26 pm Just finished Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather, and found it surprisingly engaging and readable. We read My Ántonia in high school so, like things that are required reading in high school, I didn't care much for it and didn't remember much of it.

I wonder if there is an edition of Death Comes for the Archbishop with big color photographs of the places and landscapes she describes?
I grew up in the western plains, so I thought My Antonia was a fascinating look at the place I was from and how it got that way.

Death Comes for the Archbishop was a better book, though. Good storytelling.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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nisiprius wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 6:14 pm
jebmke wrote: Tue Oct 12, 2021 5:02 pm Just finished “Codebreakers” by Isaacson. Now on “Thunderstruck”, by Erik Larsen.
Oh, that's the one about Marconi. Fantastic. Of all the books of his I've read, I liked it best. Of course I always want more on the engineering, science, and technology, and less on the crime.

Yeah, I always get it wrong, too: apparently his first name is Erik-with-a-K but his last name is Larson-with-an-O.
I read Codebreakers a few months ago, and just finished Thunderstruck. Thunderstruck was interesting. The two stories didn’t really have anything to do with each other, except for the chase at the end.

Since I last reported, I’ve read…

Nomadland, by Jessica Bruder. The book that the movie is made from. We RV a lot and meet these people all the time. Their big worry is that the movie is going to entice a lot of new people into this lifestyle. Personally, I found the book depressing, and don’t think they have anything to worry about.

Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe. The story of the troubles in Northern Ireland, told through the story the people involved in the disappearance of one woman in 1974.

Exhalation, by Ted Chiang. Short stories from a future where technology has reached it’s final endpoint.

Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson. I loved Gilead and Jack. I liked this one, but I think it’s the weakest of her books.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by BalancedJCB19 »

Just finished sex after 60, what turns them on.

It was very helpful.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Fallible »

Two books I‘ve recently read and recommend:

Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World’s Economy by Adam Tooze, a history professor at Columbia University. The book is a truly worldwide perspective of the pandemic mainly in 2020 (“a global crisis like no other,” he writes) and how the virus developed and spread throughout the world, and how countries differed in their responses to the human suffering and economic damage.

Mike Nichols: A Life, by Mark Harris. A nicely detailed bio, but not sure Harris got to the heart and soul of Nichols that could better explain his extraordinary talent, successes, and failures.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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Girl on a Train.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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Trillions- How A Band Of Wall Street Renegades Invented The Index Fund And Changed Life Forever - Robin Wigglesworth

From the inside jacket- The incredible true story of the motley group of nerds who sparked a revolution.

Just bought last night. Looks real interesting with all the familiar names. We’re heading out for a long weekend and plan to read on the plane.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ModifiedDuration »

Artful Dodger wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 7:54 am Trillions- How A Band Of Wall Street Renegades Invented The Index Fund And Changed Life Forever - Robin Wigglesworth

From the inside jacket- The incredible true story of the motley group of nerds who sparked a revolution.

Just bought last night. Looks real interesting with all the familiar names. We’re heading out for a long weekend and plan to read on the plane.
One can go to goodreads and read the lengthy “preview” of the book.

I agree - it looks real interesting (and there is a mention of Bogleheads in the preview!)
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Barkingsparrow »

Southbound - the Barefoot Sisters - Volume 1 - Susan and Lucy Letcher

I'm a big fan of thru-hiking books for trails such as the AT and the PCT. This is an account of two sisters who hiked the AT in 2000/2001, going from Maine to Georgia, mostly barefoot while the weather was warm enough. They were clearly inexperienced, and made a lot of mistakes in terms of preparation for the hike. Given the book is 500 pages in length, I'm skeptical of the level of detail in terms of recalling all these conversations, or the meals they had, and so forth; unless one of them had eidetic memory. That said, I enjoyed the narrative and think it fairly accurately depicts life on the AT, the emotional and physical rigors, the trail angels, and the various weird characters and their trail names. I plan to pick up the second volume, which is account of them hiking back north from Georgia, AKA as a "Yo-Yo", almost immediately after completing the southbound hike.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Zeno »

Becker, E. "The Denial of Death"
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by roamingzebra »

"The Judge's List" by John Grisham. -- good entertainment.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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President George W. Bush “Decision Points”. Enjoying it.

I typically enjoy any books on the Presidents.

Best.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by abuss368 »

Tyrobi wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:46 pm "Metal Lead Guitar Vol. 1" by Troy Stetina
Tyrobi! You are back on the forum!! You were gone for a while.

Hope you are well and prospering!

Best.
Tony
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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Just starting The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. He's the author of Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow, two books I enjoyed. Set (so far) in early 1950s America.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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heartwood wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 8:17 am Just starting The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. He's the author of Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow, two books I enjoyed. Set (so far) in early 1950s America.
I'm about 3/4 of the way through it. (My first by Towles.)

The writing is very good. The story moves along a bit slowly, imho, so that I am not engaged enough to want to sit and read more than a chapter at a time. The characters are interesting but not particularly engaging.

Still, I am interested in seeing where it goes, (no pun intended), and to see whether I am right about the symbolism and parallels which I am attributing to the author as I make my way through the book.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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The Chancellor, by Kati Marton
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by mancich »

I just started on "Lincoln" by David Herbert Donald. I love presidential biographies and this one seems very good so far.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Elsebet »

About 25 pages into "The Nightengale" by Kristin Hannah. Decent so far.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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This topic currently has over 5000 entries. I would like to discuss breaking it into several sub topics to make it easier to use. For example:

What fiction book are you currently reading?
What history book are you currently reading?
What science book are you currently reading?

and so on.

What do you think about this?
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Mr. Rumples »

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Normally, I turn away from books like this...a fascinating read. I wish I had read it back when I was working.

Also, rereading President without a Party: The Life of John Tyler by Christopher J. Leahy since I am going to take some folks to his home, Sherwood Forest Plantation, this weekend. Tyler defined the role of the Vice-President upon the death of the President and we still use the model. Often overlooked, when he died, he was serving as a Confederate Congressman. He is buried in Richmond, since his home was occupied by the Union. (Sherwood Forest Plantation is haunted by the Gray Lady who can still be heard rocking in a chair; Harrison Ruffin Tyler born in 1928 is his one living grandson.)
Last edited by Mr. Rumples on Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:44 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by jebmke »

tc101 wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:25 am This topic currently has over 5000 entries. I would like to discuss breaking it into several sub topics to make it easier to use. For example:

What fiction book are you currently reading?
What history book are you currently reading?
What science book are you currently reading?

and so on.

What do you think about this?
I have been reading a number of books on the history of science (different specialties) -- where would those go?
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by nisiprius »

Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Thornton Wilder, "The Skin of Our Teeth" (a play). I can't praise this too highly. It is stunning how relevant it is to today's concerns--even if "everything is different" (the existential climate threat in the play is an ice age).

Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I loved it, but it is very difficult to talk about without spoilers, and the spoilers would really spoil things. Do not read the last sentence of the book until you get there.

Robert Goddard, The Fine Art of Invisible Detection, awful awful stinker bad terrible. Just skillfully-enough written to keep me reading. I couldn't care about any of the characters in it, I couldn't suspend disbelief, and it has a "James Bond Will Be Back" ending in which the protagonist just begins to get caught up in what will be her next adventure. I mean, most mysteries and thrillers are at least entertaining as travelogues, and I find Iceland intriguing, but the parts of this book set in Iceland are boring boring boring. For comparison, one of the Matt Helm books is set in Iceland and the local color is great.

Stephen King, The Outsider (finished)(good)
Stephen King, Mile 81 (short; finished)(OK)
Stephen King, Mr. Mercedes (finished)(meh except for the development of the character Holly Gibney)
Stephen King, Billy Summers (started)(because the next Holly Gibney book, Finders Keepers, is on hold at the library but isn't in yet)

Thornton Wilder, The Ides of March, read 1/4th of it but might not finish

Arika Okrent, Highly Irregular: Why "Tough," "Through," and "Dough" Don't Rhyme
Last edited by nisiprius on Thu Nov 04, 2021 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ruralavalon »

tc101 wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:25 am This topic currently has over 5000 entries. I would like to discuss breaking it into several sub topics to make it easier to use. For example:

What fiction book are you currently reading?
What history book are you currently reading?
What science book are you currently reading?

and so on.

What do you think about this?
When looking for work of fiction, like a mystery, I often come a upon a good book idea on some more serious subject.

It would be a lot of work for the moderators to divide the thread into segments.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Fallible »

ruralavalon wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 1:55 pm
tc101 wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:25 am This topic currently has over 5000 entries. I would like to discuss breaking it into several sub topics to make it easier to use. For example:

What fiction book are you currently reading?
What history book are you currently reading?
What science book are you currently reading?

and so on.

What do you think about this?
When looking for work of fiction, like a mystery, I often come a upon a good book idea on some more serious subject.

It would be a lot of work for the moderators to divide the thread into segments.
Agree about more work for moderators. And for me, it wouldn't make a difference since I enjoy reading about all the books and reviews posted here.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by LadyGeek »

Thanks for keeping our workload down. Also consider that readers may not agree on the category. Additionally, a book can span several categories.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Opinika »

Just read Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus by Samuel Eliot Morison. Detailed account of Columbus' four voyages to the New World. Runs over 600 pages, but I found it a compelling and fast read.

Morison and his Harvard buddies retraced Columbus' voyages using similarly sized modern sailing ships between 1938-40 just before war broke out.

Looking forward to reading Morison's John Paul Jones: A Sailor's Biography next. I think watching Russell Crowe's Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World got me going on this sailing thing. Never been a sailor.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by nisiprius »

I have no idea how accurate it was, I read it simply for pleasure, but about a year ago I read C. S. Forester's The Earthly Paradise, an historical novel based on the third voyage of Columbus. I enjoyed it and found the depiction of Columbus as being both a brilliant navigator and totally nuts to be haunting.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ruralavalon »

Opinika wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 4:22 pm Just read Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus by Samuel Eliot Morison. Detailed account of Columbus' four voyages to the New World. Runs over 600 pages, but I found it a compelling and fast read.

Morison and his Harvard buddies retraced Columbus' voyages using similarly sized modern sailing ships between 1938-40 just before war broke out.

. . . . .
Admiral of the Ocean Sea is an outstanding one volume biography of Columbus. The best there is in my opinion.

You might also like Samuel Eliot Morison's 3 volume The European Discovery of America.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by silverlitegs »

roamingzebra wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 9:07 pm "The Judge's List" by John Grisham. -- good entertainment.
Just finished this one.

I’m looking for another book now.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Opinika »

ruralavalon wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 6:06 pm You might also like Samuel Eliot Morison's 3 volume The European Discovery of America.
[ quote fixed by admin LadyGeek]

Thanks for that.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Bungo »

Recently started Rick Atkinson's The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, the first in a planned Revolution Trilogy.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by quantAndHold »

On Animals, by Susan Orlean.

Chatty, Susan Orlean style essays on the relationship between humans and some of the more unusual animal species. Another lovely, interesting book that Charlie Kaufman will never be able to figure out how to adapt into a movie script.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by LukeOfTheDraw »

Just finished:

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
Memory Thief by Lauren Aguirre

Currently reading
Dirty Work by Eyal Press
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Mr. Rumples »

The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III by Andrew Roberts

I've been waiting for this book and was at the bookstore when the doors opened; released yesterday, its fascinating. This biography paints him as being far removed from being a stupid and ignorant tyrant; he reformed the monarchy and recognized his role, never vetoing an act of Parliament and as early as 1750 voiced his personal opposition to slavery - signing the act to abolish it in Britain in 1807. For those interested in this period, this book fleshes out and gives substance to names and figures we are familiar with only in passing. Also of note is a point by point response from the British point of view of the reasons for the Revolution as outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Who knows, perhaps I will fly more often at my home Queen Anne's Flag (the Colonial Red Ensign) at my home.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ruralavalon »

Song of the Lion, by Anne Hillerman.

A car bomb at a high school basketball game, and a mediation over a controversial resort to be developed in the Grand Canyon, are linked in this mystery solved with another murder prevented by Navajo tribal police.

Recommended.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by wellington6 »

ModifiedDuration wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:23 am
Artful Dodger wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 7:54 am Trillions- How A Band Of Wall Street Renegades Invented The Index Fund And Changed Life Forever - Robin Wigglesworth

From the inside jacket- The incredible true story of the motley group of nerds who sparked a revolution.

Just bought last night. Looks real interesting with all the familiar names. We’re heading out for a long weekend and plan to read on the plane.
One can go to goodreads and read the lengthy “preview” of the book.

I agree - it looks real interesting (and there is a mention of Bogleheads in the preview!)
Have you read this yet? I've been eyeing it but haven't picked it up yet, and I'm curious how it is.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by sandburg »

Bungo wrote: Thu Nov 04, 2021 9:19 pm Recently started Rick Atkinson's The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, the first in a planned Revolution Trilogy.
Me too. I really enjoyed his "Liberation Trilogy".
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by FreeAtLast »

"Robert E. Lee: A Life", by Allen Guelzo (Alfred A. Knopf 2021)

It has been hard to get a handle on just what Robert E. Lee was "all about". The "Lost Cause" proponents of the South deified him for decades and this effort was exemplified by such writers as Douglas Southall Freeman and Clifford Dowdey. Then Thomas Connelly came along with a corrective attempt in 1977 with his book "The Marble Man" that engaged in some unprofessional psychiatric analysis of Lee and an ice-cold portrayal of him that was as unrealistic as those of the previous hagiographies.

I have been waiting for a biography that revealed Lee as an actual human being, something on the order of James Robertson's tome on the life of Thomas J. Jackson. Guelzo has done it. The best part of the book is the description of Lee's formative years before the Civil War begins (we already have heard ad infinitum all the stories about Lee during the War). We can thank the Gods of History that Lee was a prolific writer of letters and much about his personality and beliefs is revealed therein. We are fortunate that we have lots of information about the life of Lee's father, the heroic, impulsive, and erratic ne'er-do-well Light Horse Harry Lee, who left young Robert both bereft of paternal guidance and ashamed of his heritage. Lee was weighted with severe familial responsibilities from early on, first caring for his abandoned mother and then for his chronically ill wife. Essentially, Lee was forced to be an adult manager from six years old and it should be no surprise for him to be confidently giving orders to thousands of soldiers from 1862 - 1865.

Lee felt that slavery was morally wrong and should eventually be abolished. However, Lee was also a slave owner who actually ordered that some of his "property" be whipped after they had run away and were re-captured. I am as nauseated by writing that last sentence as you are by reading it. By the proprieties of some of today's commentators, the life of Robert E. Lee should be completely wiped from our national memory. Well, that accomplishment would leave a mighty big hole in American history, a hole about the size of the original Crater at the Petersburg battlefield. How then would we explain the almost three year prolongation of the Civil War under Lee's military leadership starting from the end of the Battle of Seven Pines all the way to Appomattox Court House? Even more important, we should consider that under that same leadership, the Rebel soldiers who had become absolutely devoted to Lee almost broke through the Union lines at four places during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. If Lee's army had destroyed the Army of the Potomac on that July 2nd in 1863, we would all now be living in some fascinating but probably unpalatable alternate history. We need to understand what Lee was "all about" and Guelzo has furthered that aim expertly.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by dodecahedron »

Mr. Rumples wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 5:42 am The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III by Andrew Roberts

I've been waiting for this book and was at the bookstore when the doors opened; released yesterday, its fascinating. This biography paints him as being far removed from being a stupid and ignorant tyrant; he reformed the monarchy and recognized his role, never vetoing an act of Parliament and as early as 1750 voiced his personal opposition to slavery - signing the act to abolish it in Britain in 1807. For those interested in this period, this book fleshes out and gives substance to names and figures we are familiar with only in passing. Also of note is a point by point response from the British point of view of the reasons for the Revolution as outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Who knows, perhaps I will fly more often at my home Queen Anne's Flag (the Colonial Red Ensign) at my home.
I am intrigued by this. I recently finished Travels with George, which retraces George Washington's epic travels through all 13 states in the early years of his presidency as he sought to figure out how to unite and govern the country. The author often noted the pains that George Washington took to *not* appear unduly royal or pretentious. (His carriage was very modest, he stayed in very humble lodgings, he dressed very simply, he tried to connect directly with folks of all classes, ages, and stations of life.) The author notes the stark contrast to King George's lavish style of travel lifestyle and dress.

So the book recommended above about King George III could be a good companion to that one to read. I just now requested it from the library. (The catalog shows the system has several copies currently in "processing" but nobody has apparently requested any of them yet.)

I am currently reading (and fascinated by) David Michaelis' new biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. I am currently up to early 1920 and already amazed at all she has lived through and experienced in her first four decades of life.

A very complicated human being with a tragic childhood. Watching the unfolding of her personal development and character and beliefs through all the challenges she faces is intriguing.

During the years when the suffragists were marching in the streets demanding the right to vote, and when her beloved Uncle Teddy (with whom she was very close) was strongly in favor of women's suffrage, Eleanor herself was adamantly *against* women voting and felt that politics should be left to the men.

Eleanor's husband Franklin will be running for VP on the Democratic ticket later in 1920, the first election in which women will be able to vote nationally. Her infamously domineering mother-in-law Sarah (FDR's mother), who is extremely ambitious for her only son, is a prominent national leader of the "women against suffrage" movement.

I don't even know yet whether Sarah or Eleanor will exercise their right to vote in November 1920 even though their son and husband, respectively, will be on the ballot. So many developments to come.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Mr. Rumples »

Re: The Last King of America...George III's lavish dress and lifestyle was his public persona. It displayed the power of Britain to the world; that was in contrast to his personal lifestyle which was rather low-keyed - at least for a royal of the time. When famine stalked England at the end of the 18th century, even the queen was complaining that he had them going on a restricted diet to share his subject's misery.

The book explains why he did not have porphyria, but most likely what is diagnosed today as being bipolar. He had five major episodes, getting worse and he himself could see that he was becoming mad; a frightening thought when coupled with blindness at the end of his life.

One might wonder what new is to be known about the last king of America. Elizabeth II opened up the archives in Windsor which included over 100,000 pages of diaries, letters, notes, memorandum, even doodles related to his reign.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Zeno »

Becker, E. "The Denial of Death"
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by roamingzebra »

"The Dark Hours" by Michael Connelly -- the latest in the Renee Ballard series.

Ballard was working two interesting cases (rape and mrder). And since her methods didn't endear her to the brass, and some of her colleagues were unreliable, she enlisted the help of now-retired Harry Bosch.

Connelly does bring in some IRL events affecting police departments, which may annoy some, but I found it acceptable, though a little jarring at first.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by heartwood »

roamingzebra wrote: Mon Nov 15, 2021 2:36 am "The Dark Hours" by Michael Connelly -- the latest in the Renee Ballard series.

Ballard was working two interesting cases (rape and mrder). And since her methods didn't endear her to the brass, and some of her colleagues were unreliable, she enlisted the help of now-retired Harry Bosch.

Connelly does bring in some IRL events affecting police departments, which may annoy some, but I found it acceptable, though a little jarring at first.
I'm reading it as well. I've always enjoyed Connelly and read most of it yesterday. I get what you mean by IRl events affecting police departments, but I find it adds to the verisimilitude. He mentions them as life today without doing a deep dive into them. He also includes covid as a IRL topic. That's something other authors such as Louise Penny have chosen to bypass.

I read John Grisham's The Judge's List just before the Connelly book. It's better than most of Grisham's works in recent year's, i.e., it's a crime novel, not really a courtroom drama or a polemic on the justice system.

Interesting that both Connelly and Grisham have switched to female protagonists in recent years. Harry's still there, but Renee carries most of the story.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by jebmke »

Just finished "The Survivors" by Jane Harper and started "Alone" by Lisa Gardner as my evening "mental chewing gum" book.

Daytime read is "The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values" by Brian Christian. About a third of the way in.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by fourwheelcycle »

Battle Cry of Freedom, by James McPherson

I am reading this book for the second time. I added it to my library long ago when I became interested in US Civil War history. I picked it up recently because it is the best blended analysis of demographic, economic, political, and military factors related to the causes, course, and outcome of the US Civil War.

It is surprising to be reminded how themes of close votes in Congress due to factions within the majority and minority parties, growing income and wealth gaps between higher and lower income classes, and, of course, racial divisions and racism, were critical issues during the US Civil War period, just as they continue to be today.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by tc101 »

I'm almost finished with "Educated" by Tara Westover. So far I have
enjoyed it, but at about 75% through the book I started to doubt
that it was all true. I read some reviews on Amazon, and it seems a
lot of people have that same skepticism.

OTOH it has been recommended by Obama, Bill Gates and Ophra. It was
review favorably in the NY Times and New Yorker.

If you have read this book, what are your thoughts. Is there a lot
of fabrication in it, or is it mostly true?
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