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rtpoe

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #600 on: October 16, 2018, 09:42:10 PM »
How To Invent Everything by Ryan "Dinosaur Comics" North

Billed as a guide to kickstart a technological civilization when you're stuck in the past, it's actually a rather fun look at technology. North points out some of the stupid things mankind took its sweet old time developing. When you've got fire and fabric with a tight enough weave (which we had in the Neolithic Era), what's stopping you from making a hot air balloon?

Key things you'll need to know how to do are make soap (Sanitation, people! Kill germs! (by the way, Germ Theory is another significant tech advantage)), charcoal, and a kiln. The latter two let you create fires hot enough to smelt metal.

I think he spends a bit more time than necessary on Music; I'd have included a bit on Algebra instead. "Numbers that Don't Suck" are one of his key inventions, but I think you'll also need a simple set of mathematical symbols (+, -, =, x, etc.) so you can write actual equations and not have to do everything as a word problem. Try it - take something as basic as the Pythagorean Theorem (which you will now name after yourself) and use it in calculations where you have to write out "The value of the length of the hypotenuse, when multiplied by itself, equals the sum of the values of the lengths of the other two sides, when those two values have been multiplied by themselves."

It's a fun book, and even if time travel isn't invented, it should still be useful when civilization collapses.
rtpoe

The last fling of winter is over ...  The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it.  It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.
-  Donald Culross Peattie

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TheZookie007

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #601 on: November 09, 2018, 03:08:30 AM »
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, by Chris Voss

You think your job is tough? Compared to the author of this book, your job is probably a cakewalk. For almost a decade, he was an international hostage negotiator for the FBI, dealing with life and death decisions made in a split second. After he left public service, he started a consulting firm and wrote this book.

The book is centered around what Mr. Voss calls The Five Big Ideas:

  • Negotiation begins with listening, making it about the other people, validating their emotions, and creating enough trust and safety for a real conversation to begin.

  • Use mirrors to encourage the other side to empathize and bond with you, keep people talking, buy your side time to regroup, and encourage your counterparts to reveal their strategy.

  • Tactical empathy brings our attention to both the emotional obstacles and the potential pathways to getting an agreement done.

  • Giving someone’s emotion a name, otherwise known as labeling, gets you close to someone without asking about external factors you know nothing about.

  • “No” provides a great opportunity for you and the other party to clarify what you really want by eliminating what you don’t want.


Whether you're trying to get a real estate deal done, or you're trying to make sure that your cousin comes back in one piece from a hijack attempt, this book has some fantastic strategies and skills to learn. Highly recommended.
ACB, BK, CT, NG, SA: FU. FUATH. 100x.

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rtpoe

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #602 on: February 25, 2019, 07:36:42 PM »
The Labyrinth Index - Charles Stross

This is probably going to be the last novel in his "Laundry Files" series - because after this, how do you raise the 'threat level' any higher?

A being that allows itself to be referred to as Nyarlathotep has become PM of Great Britain, and is behaving like you'd expect an intelligent Elder God would who believes that the continued existence of humanity is key to its own survival.

The US counterpart to The Laundry, the "Deeper State", for lack of a better term, is in league with / in thrall to a being who accepts the name 'Cthulhu'. They have cast some sort of invocation that has caused virtually all Americans to have forgotten that there is such a thing as a President. The President is being hustled around from secret location to safe house by the handful of Secret Service agents who were awake and on duty when that spell was cast.

Mhari, an actual vampire who needs to drink blood to satisfy the parasites that would otherwise eat her brain, has been given a mission by the PM, which she has no choice but to accept. Take a team of assorted other Laundry agents (including an autistic elven sorceress and policeman who has, thanks to the magic that's been unleashed by CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN, become a superhero), infiltrate the US, rescue the President, and break the Deeper State's hold over the country. And, if it's not too much trouble, stop them from trying to wake Cthulhu....

It's a bit tough to keep track of what's going on; the IMF team (no, Stross doesn't call them that, but it does seem a lot like a Mission: Impossible assignment) is broken up into groups for tactical reasons, so the POV jumps around quite a bit. And for followers of the series, there are old characters to remember as well as new ones to get to know. Not much of the humor that characterized the earlier stories, either. But given what's at stake here, I suppose there's not much room for levity.

It's a lot of fast-paced action, and once again Stross seems to have his technical details down pat - at least as far as the needs of the story are concerned. Given how it builds on all the previous novels, you do NOT want this to be the first one of the series that you read. But if you have read them, you'll enjoy this one just as much.
rtpoe

The last fling of winter is over ...  The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it.  It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.
-  Donald Culross Peattie

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rtpoe

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #603 on: May 20, 2019, 08:02:43 PM »
After the Miracle: The Lasting Brotherhood of the '69 Mets
by Art Shamsky and Erik Sherman

Fifty years ago, the New York Mets shocked everyone by blowing past the Cubs to win the NL East, the Braves to win the NL Pennant, and the Orioles to win the World Series. Shamsky was one of those Mets, and he realized that his remaining teammates weren't getting younger. What if he got as many of his old friends together as he could, and went off to visit Tom Seaver at his California home?

Most of the book is an oral history of the Mets' 1969 season. A few of the stories will be new to most fans.

The real bittersweetness of the book is that these fine men aren't getting any younger, and this just might be their last chance to get together. Shamsky, Ron Swoboda, and Jerry Koosman are still as sharp as ever, but Seaver's Lyme Disease is affecting his memory and confining him to his home and vineyard, and Bud Harrleson is in the early stages of Alzheimers'. Following them as they use old nicknames and retell old stories is heartwarming.

This is a "Boys of Summer" for the current generation of fans.
rtpoe

The last fling of winter is over ...  The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it.  It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.
-  Donald Culross Peattie

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Zealot

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #604 on: June 02, 2019, 02:31:30 PM »
Reading "Great science Fiction By Scietists" a collection of short stories by writers who were also celebrated scientists. Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke were included.
Although the stories were all published prior to 1962(and some as early as 1927), some of them have stood the test of time in forewarning about the consequences of science run amok.

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Bramlet

  • 3991
Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #605 on: June 03, 2019, 05:31:54 PM »
Book written by Leszek Kolakowsky. Sadly only in german:

"Mini Traktate über Maxi Themen."


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rtpoe

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #606 on: June 03, 2019, 09:37:02 PM »
Wild Bill: The True Story of the American Frontier's First Gunfighter by Tom Clavin

A biography of James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, which cuts through a great deal of the legends to give a decent and vivid story.

Some fun facts: He once umpired a baseball game, was interviewed by Henry "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" Stanley, married a circus impresario, and, on some expeditions against the natives, worked with Arthur MacArthur, an Army officer whose son Douglas you might have heard of.
rtpoe

The last fling of winter is over ...  The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it.  It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.
-  Donald Culross Peattie

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solvegas

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #607 on: June 03, 2019, 09:58:23 PM »
Arthur MacArthur, father of Douglas MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War ( 1861 - 1865 ) and Douglas was awarded a Medal of Honor for the audacious escape from Corregidor island in the Philippines and nominated by President Franklyn Roosevelt in WW2 ( 1941 - 1945 when the USA was involved ). Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall did not agree BUT Roosevelt didn't care and awarded it anyways.

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TheZookie007

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #608 on: June 03, 2019, 10:17:33 PM »
I'm about to start Way of the Wolf by Jordan Belfort.


ACB, BK, CT, NG, SA: FU. FUATH. 100x.

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rtpoe

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #609 on: July 15, 2019, 07:14:50 PM »
ˇCuba Libre!: Che, Fidel, and the Improbable Revolution That Changed World History
by Tony Perrottet

Perrottet has spent years researching this, digging in archives that even the Cubans hadn't touched. So he's got all sorts of details about the rebels and the rebellion, including things like what Errol Flynn was doing there.... Yes, they did let women into the ranks, and not just to cook and do laundry. And they won over the support of the locals in the Sierra Maestra by paying cash for their supples.

From the promotional copy:

But less is remembered about the amateur nature of the movement, or the lives of its players. In this wildly entertaining and meticulously researched account, Tony Perrottet unravels the human drama behind history's most improbable revolution: a scruffy handful of self-taught subversives—many of them kids just out of college, literature majors, and art students, and including a number of extraordinary women—defeated 40,000 professional soldiers. ˇCuba Libre!'s deep dive into the revolution reveals fascinating details: How did Fidel's highly organized lover Celia Sánchez whip the male guerrillas into shape? Who were the two dozen American volunteers who joined the Cuban rebels? How do you make land mines from condensed milk cans—or, for that matter, cook chorizo ŕ la guerrilla (sausage guerrilla-style)?

Here's Ed Sullivan who flew into Havana to interview Castro for his (Ed's) show in January, 1959 - when the US hadn't lost its infatuation with him:
rtpoe

The last fling of winter is over ...  The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it.  It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.
-  Donald Culross Peattie

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TheZookie007

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #610 on: October 06, 2019, 12:14:23 PM »
This book has caught my eye: Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds.

Here is the author bio.

"David Goggins is a retired Navy SEAL and is the only member of the U.S. Armed Forces to complete SEAL training (including two Hell Weeks), the U.S. Army Ranger School (where he graduated as Enlisted Honor Man) and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training.

An accomplished endurance athlete, Goggins has completed over 60 ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons, setting new course records and regularly placing in the top five. He once held the Guinness World Record for pull-ups completing 4,030 in 17 hours, and he’s a sought after public speaker.

Over the years, he’s shared his story with hundreds of thousands of students across the country, numerous professional sports teams, and the staff at Fortune 500 companies."


ACB, BK, CT, NG, SA: FU. FUATH. 100x.

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rtpoe

  • Old Fart
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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #611 on: October 07, 2019, 08:26:45 PM »
This one is next for me:
rtpoe

The last fling of winter is over ...  The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it.  It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.
-  Donald Culross Peattie

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TheZookie007

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #612 on: October 08, 2019, 12:56:09 AM »
If Hollywood ever does a movie based on this book, Tommy Lee Jones should play Andrew Johnson.
ACB, BK, CT, NG, SA: FU. FUATH. 100x.

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rtpoe

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  • 12022
Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #613 on: November 12, 2019, 09:47:21 PM »
Betrayal in Berlin by Steve Vogel

Yeah, I'd known about Operation Gold, the secret British-American tunnel under the border between West and East Berlin in order to tap into East German (and therefore Soviet) phone lines. And the massive amount of valuable intel they picked up.... And how the project was compromised even before they started digging, because the Soviets had a mole in British Intelligence.... And how they decided to leave the tunnel alone, because he was too valuable an asset....

But Vogel has fleshed all of that out - by interviewing people involved, from the daughter of the farmer whose orchard was over the tunnel, to George "Diamond" Blake himself, the Soviet agent who the KGB felt was more valuable than anything the West could get from listening in on their phone calls.

It's a great read, and the story of the tunnel is just the middle of the work. The rest is a biography of Blake, which goes a long way to explain why someone might consider Communism a viable alternative to Western Capitalism. And it covers his life after the tunnel was uncovered (in more ways than one), including his exposure, arrest, trial, imprisonment, escape, and flight to Russia....
rtpoe

The last fling of winter is over ...  The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it.  It is warm now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.
-  Donald Culross Peattie

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MaxBigfoot

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #614 on: June 05, 2020, 05:41:08 PM »
Creature Features by John Stanley.  I had bought this book back in 1981, and it's never left my bookshelf since.  I just bought the 2000 version, (the newest I could find), and it's just as good as it's predecessor.

John Stanley hosted "Creature Features" in San Francisco for 6 years, and has been writing on Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy for the San Francisco Chronicle for at least 30 years.  Creature Features is reviews of over 6000 different movies in these genres, giving ratings, synopsis', and pertinent info about each one.  What makes it better than just a great reference guide is his sense of humor in writing the synopsis', and the ones for the worst movies are the funniest.

If you'd like to check out his work, he has a site: http://stanleybooks.net/catchall.htm

MaxBigfoot


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