smellincoffee Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, Mark Thompson Concerning the 1915-1919 struggle between Italy and Austria. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megidolaon Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 I recently finished Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy, followed by his Confederation handbook. And now I am about to finish A Second Chance at Eden, various short stories from 2070-2589 set in the same universe (actually a handfull cameos as well). After that I guess it's Leviathan Wakes. I guess I will read Hamilton's Great North Road but probably not for some time, I got too much other stuff for now. And one of these days I need to soem more Michio Kaku stuff, so far I onyl read Physics of the Impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I finished Deborah Blum's The Poisoner's Handbook. Very well written. A story of the rise of forensic pathology in NYC in the context of poisoning deaths, largely during the prohibition era. Then I read Angel Killer (same author) which is about tracking down a mass murderer/cannibal. After i read some comments on The Poisoner's Handbook, i decided not to buy this book. (see comments from Valentin Rodionov) .............. Most, if not all of the chemistry (and physics) in this book is entirely disconnected from the reality of science. Blum's treatment of poisons, analytical procedures and basic science ranges from simple misstatements, inaccuracies and misunderstandings to statements that are outright wrong. Some of these are listed below: * The action of mustard chemical warfare agents has nothing to do with "becoming a ferocious form of sulfuric acid". Mustards act through alkylative damage of DNA (and other biomolecules). * Sodium carbonate is not an acidic chemical. * HCN is not a "potent acid". * No additional source of hydrogen is needed to perform a Marsh test for arsenic. * It is not likely that arsenic compounds will crystallize in the tissues of a poisoning victim. * The Reinsch test is not a simple color test, as is implied by Blum's description. This is according to Gettler himself: [...] * Electrical current is not measured in volts. * Blum's description of radioactive decay, to borrow a phrase from Wolfgang Pauli, "is not even wrong". This list is by no means comprehensive - these are just some of the many cringe-inducing parts in the book. .......... http://www.amazon.com/The-Poisoners-Handbook-Forensic-Medicine/product-reviews/014311882X/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt_sr_1?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Angel Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 A good book to read this Memorial Day weekend is Armageddon, The Battle for Germany 1944-1945 by Max Hastings It presents a totally unromanticized depiction of combat, plus a good analysis of the stengths and weaknesses of the opposing armies and generals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acme Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish: A Hilarious Catalogue of Organized and Individual Stupidity by Bertrand Russell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Recently finished The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde. Currently the last book in the Thursday Next series. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imatfaal Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Recently finished The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde. Currently the last book in the Thursday Next series. Ooh - didn't know there was a new one. Time to take my Amazon account for some exercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acme Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 In Praise of Idleness By Bertrand Russell [1932] ...In the West, we have various ways of dealing with this problem. We have no attempt at economic justice, so that a large proportion of the total produce goes to a small minority of the population, many of whom do no work at all. Owing to the absence of any central control over production, we produce hosts of things that are not wanted. We keep a large percentage of the working population idle, because we can dispense with their labor by making the others overwork. When all these methods prove inadequate, we have a war: we cause a number of people to manufacture high explosives, and a number of others to explode them, as if we were children who had just discovered fireworks. By a combination of all these devices we manage, though with difficulty, to keep alive the notion that a great deal of severe manual work must be the lot of the average man. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Ooh - didn't know there was a new one. Time to take my Amazon account for some exercise. There's one in the works but no release date yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acme Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 ERASMUS's Praise of FOLLY An oration, of feigned matter, spoken by Folly in her own person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Kang Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Michio Kaku`s The Future of The Mind A good book relating consciousness and the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I've just ended Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightout Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Fritjof Capra, Pier Luigi Luisi - The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. (2014) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendrick Laursen Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 "Night without End" Alistair MacLean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiveworlds Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Robert Jordon, Brandon Sanderson The wheel of time book 14. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 I've just ended Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects Doctor, are you Dr. House ? ;-p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiveworlds Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Doctor, are you Dr. House ? ;-p You mean Hugh Laurie? the actor that plays Dr House. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresh Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 You mean Hugh Laurie? the actor that plays Dr House. yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adriana Reis Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Finishing Preacher and started Ten Grand. AMazing comics I recommend Batman Hush and The pride of Baghdad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapatos Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 "The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal" David McCullough An excellent telling of what was behind the effort to build the canal, and an interesting view of how science slowly began to accept that malaria and Yellow Fever did not come from swamp fumes and low moral standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arc Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 "The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal" David McCullough An excellent telling of what was behind the effort to build the canal, and an interesting view of how science slowly began to accept that malaria and Yellow Fever did not come from swamp fumes and low moral standards. David McCullough is a national treasure, I would gladly admit the sound of his voice is now indelibly imprinted within me. Do you ever read his works with this somewhat subconscious narrative effect coming into play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapatos Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 David McCullough is a national treasure, I would gladly admit the sound of his voice is now indelibly imprinted within me. Do you ever read his works with this somewhat subconscious narrative effect coming into play? That is funny you say that. On occassion some phrase or sentence in the book reminds me of something I've heard him say before and it is like I hear that small part being narrated by him. His books are such a pleasant, comfortable read, just like his narrations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arc Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 That is funny you say that. On occassion some phrase or sentence in the book reminds me of something I've heard him say before and it is like I hear that small part being narrated by him. His books are such a pleasant, comfortable read, just like his narrations. I'm so glad to hear you say that. I think his work is some of the best examples of a historical narrative, he really is as descriptive as a good fiction writer. Smooth is a word I would use to describe his style . And it is undoubtedly the quality of his narrative style that triggers those impromptu narrations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acme Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 I just took the loan of The Archimedes Codex: How A Medieval Prayer Book Is Revealing The True Genius Of Antiquity's Greatest Scientist by Reviel Netz & William Noel. Looking forward to a good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I just finished "Devil in the Grove" by Gilbert King, and won the 2013 Pulitzer for nonfiction. It's about racism and justice (or lack thereof) in the south, just after WWII, and recounts the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund's involvement, with a large dose of Thurgood Marshall's career up through that point, as well. Excellent book — a very compelling read. (Gilbert King was a high school classmate of mine, and if you told me someone from our class would eventually win a Pulitzer he wouldn't have been particularly high on the list of my guesses. A good example of people hitting their stride later on in life, and how high school is not necessarily a good predictor of one's future) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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