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July 17
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Jen
took the never-ending book quiz.
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July 16
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Jen
gave
 
to:
Monarchy: England and Her Rulers from the Tudors to the Windsors (Paperback)
by David Starkey
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Jen said:
"First off, this was an audio book, which precludes my usual rant about sources and the importance of citations.
That said.
CITE CITE CITE
Dr. Galgano would be proud.
Back to the book. When I realized it was read by the author, I did worr...more
First off, this was an audio book, which precludes my usual rant about sources and the importance of citations.
That said.
CITE CITE CITE
Dr. Galgano would be proud.
Back to the book. When I realized it was read by the author, I did worry a bit. David Starkey comes across vocally as a pompous asshat. Now, admittedly that might be because he's british...but...he does come off rather snottily though at times. So when I heard his voice come through my lime green headphones...I shook a bit (I love elipses...don't you). But it wasn't bad. David is a bit melodramatic for my taste (it's like he can here the BBC background music playing impressively behind him). But he also knows his stuff. If I knew as much as he did, I would prolly be (more of) a pompous asshat too.
And also, how much more do I need to know about the british monarchy...not to be blunt, but I know a good bit. So I wondered if this would just be a rehash of everything I know already. (OMIGOSH, Henry married SIX wives--I had no idea.) Instead this was a really interesting and informative dissection of how the monarchy evolved. How the powers grew and then were scaled back. I learned a lot. Rather than the focus being on the personal lives of the monarch, the whole story was the monarchal power and the persons who wielded it. Many histories tend to be narrowly focused on one time period, whereas this one really explored and explained the role of monarchy over a long stretch of time.
Highly recommend.
Oh, and I'm sure David has citations for everything....less
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May 19
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Jen
gave
to:
A Brief History of Medicine: From Hippocrates' Four Humours to Crick and Watson's Double Helix (Paperback)
by Paul Strathern
bookshelves:
medical-history
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Jen said:
"I really enjoy medical history. So much of it is a miracle wrapped around some luck with a spice of absolute genius...oh and a lot of dead things (sometimes people, but lots of rats and monkeys too).
Things I really liked about this book, it was a...more
I really enjoy medical history. So much of it is a miracle wrapped around some luck with a spice of absolute genius...oh and a lot of dead things (sometimes people, but lots of rats and monkeys too).
Things I really liked about this book, it was a fun quick read. It was engaging and I enjoyed reading it. I learned a lot about how humours were thought of and how it affected our speech. How they used to think the heart was the center of the body and thought and soul...and that go us with the whole heart as the center of something thingy.
So I learned a lot.
But it all could be made up. I'm sorry, but without proper citation, it could all be some guy on a crack pipe throwing paint on the wall and writing the words the paint splattered into his eyes. Sure at the end he gives sources for each chapter.
EACH FREAKIN' CHAPTER.
And there was only 2 or 3 books PER CHAPTER. How the heck did he do that...I had more sources on my junior thesis paper "The Liberal Press and their views on neutrality: 1938-1941" That's not a book...that's a summary. And that's fine...summarize...but now I have to go through all those books and read those. Because otherwise, I'm just cheating...I'm reading the equivalent of historical cliff notes. Only without the copyright laws and the taint of plagiarism (it's not just words you plagiarize, it's ideas!)
Citations...people. They ain't just for fun. Or icing on this non-fiction historically accurate book. Citations are what differentiates "hey look I made this all up while I was smoking crack and throwing paint on the wall" and "hey, I worked and researched and dug out the truth, and i can tell you where i got each bit..."
So more later, it appears I have a lot of books to read....less
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May 18
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Jen
installed the Goodreads Facebook Application 
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Jen
is currently reading:
The Habsburgs (Paperback)
by Andrew Wheatcroft
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Jen
marked as to-read:
Making Medicines: A Brief History Of Pharmacy And Pharmaceuticals (Hardcover)
by Stuart Anderson
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Jen
marked as to-read:
A Brief History of Disease, Science and Medicine (Hardcover)
by Michael Kennedy
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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May 09
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Jen
gave
to:
Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (Hardcover)
by Theo Aronson
bookshelves:
french-history
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in May, 2008
Jen said:
"I'm 99% sure this is the book I've read. I find Napoleon and Josephine (both together and apart) fascinating. Their relationship is so symbiotic, it's strange in how well it worked (until of course he divorced her so that he could have a child).
...more
I'm 99% sure this is the book I've read. I find Napoleon and Josephine (both together and apart) fascinating. Their relationship is so symbiotic, it's strange in how well it worked (until of course he divorced her so that he could have a child).
You know those couples that seem to have nothing in common, and yet...they oddly make sense. That's how I see Napoleon and Josephine. He was this wild energetic genius, and she was bland and kind and serene.
It's also interesting how she supported him (unwillingly at times) on his climb to the throne. That she, with her easy charm and grace, smoothed the feathers he would invariably ruffle.
If you're looking for a study of Napoleon's rise...this is not it. If you're looking for enjoyable insight into this famous relationship, this is a good place to start....less
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April 28
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Jen
gave
to:
The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History (Hardcover)
by Molly Caldwell Crosby
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in April, 2008
Jen said:
"So when you're home feeling like poo with a really cruddy sore throat, what could be better to read than a book about Yellow Fever?
This book is kinda boring when it's going through the whole "Memphis dying" thing. But it picks up when i...more
So when you're home feeling like poo with a really cruddy sore throat, what could be better to read than a book about Yellow Fever?
This book is kinda boring when it's going through the whole "Memphis dying" thing. But it picks up when it talks about how they went about figuring out how it was transmitted. The biggest flaw in this book was the author's love of what I call the "dum dum de DUMMMMM."
Example: "Dr. Blah believed he was immune to yellow fever. He was to proven wrong." DUM DUM DE DUMMMMMMM
This is midly interesting when used once in a blue moon. Used every chapter, it get down right annoying...I started saying "dum dum de dum" aloud...it made me laugh.
Also another annoyance, she didn't use end notes or citations of any kind...so sometimes I just had to wonder "is she making this up?" I like notes. Dr. Butt (yes that was his name) my English history professor, would be proud. In her defense...she had this (long) notes essay at the end...which I read.
If you really like yellow fever, and who doesn't? Sure, read it. I haven't found much better (haven't really looked really). However, if you really like medical stories of discovery, and want to know more about how the body works...go for The Great Influenza or about conquering a disease Splendid Solution
...less
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April 21
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Jen
gave
to:
The Dante Club: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
by Matthew Pearl
bookshelves:
fiction
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in April, 2008
Jen said:
"I admit I'm not a huge fan of using historical figures in fiction books. I'm reminded of the quote "you can't libel the dead." So it's trading on their fame. In this case, Longfellow, Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes (Sr. & Jr.), and a few...more
I admit I'm not a huge fan of using historical figures in fiction books. I'm reminded of the quote "you can't libel the dead." So it's trading on their fame. In this case, Longfellow, Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes (Sr. & Jr.), and a few others.
So these guys are translated Dante's Inferno (well really Longfellow is), but he has the help of his friends. Now this is historical fact. However, the group going off to find the person killing people ala Dante is not an historical fact.
I admit, not my fav book. I skimmed a lot. But the idea is really cool, and it did make me want to know who was doing it. So it's escapist...but don't expect a life changing book. And it did make want to read Dante's Inferno.
...less
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British History
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— last activity 11 hours, 53 min ago
