false 9 71 71 true 5629766 read 0 true 1613913 currently-reading 0 true 1613912 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78729363 to: The Making of the President 1968 (Hardcover) by Theodore H. White
More research on the book I'm writing. I wasnt prepared for how much I liked this book. It points to how much journalism has declined in a generation. This book was written in the six months or so right after the election so even though it contains biases and predictions that are amusing to a reader forty years later the sense of being right there at the time overcomes all of its drawbacks. If you're interested in this time in our history this interesting, well-written, non polluted by what happened later book is well worth your time. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78728427 to: Darkness at Noon (Mass Market Paperback) by Arthur Koestler
I hadnt read or thought about this book in years but I was doing some research on interrogations and it popped up in my mind. This book never got the eclat that 1984 got and has faded away as the Cold War has faded from memory into the depths of history but it is a deep and pentrating look at how our sins come back to haunt us. How the betrayals that we commit in the name of expediency set us up to be betrayed in turn. It is a seething attack on organized utopianism and the brutality and inflexibility of the Party. Koestler keeps it generic enough so that it can be any Party. The main character Rubishov collapses inside himself because he sees the justice of the fate he so easily meted out to others being inflicted on him. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78727896 to: Post Office (Paperback) by Charles Bukowski
I love this book! I was a parent volunteer on one of my kid's school field trip to the main post office in our area and asked one of the people we met if they'd ever read it. He laughed, "Hell yes! Everybody here loves that book!" was the reply. What better review can there be? Bukowski has the ability to put you in a situation and make it totally believable. Its like somebody who just finished his shift is sitting across the table freestyle rapping about it. If you ever wonder why people in postal uniforms go completely nuts and bring their M-16 to work, read this book. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13931071 to: The Art of Love (Modern Library Classics) by Publius Ovidius Naso
The first book of this trilogy of books tells the story of Ovid's love for Corrina, the aristocratic wife of another man. He woos her by promising, through his poetry, to make her immortal and the toast of Rome. She gives in and Ovid keeps his side of the bargain, publishing poems praising her beauty and womanliness. This, of course, brings Corrina to the attention of every stud in Rome and Ovid spends a lot of time watching helplessly as she gives herself to other men. Ovid is such a beautiful writer, his descriptions conjure an alien world.
The second book is a pick-up guide for aristocrats. Ovid is the Henry Miller of ancient Rome. The third book is how to fall out of love.
I read this book every so often just for the lyric beauty of the language.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66992377 to: The Journal of Dora Damage: A Novel (Hardcover) by Belinda Starling
This was a nice fun read. The book tells the story of a woman in Victorian England who replaces her husband in his bindery when he becomes crippled with arthritis and the family is faced with ruin. The characters are all really engaging and draw you into the story. This is a rich, emotional book that asks a lot of questions about oppression and oppressors. I thought the ending was a bit vague and confusing but it didnt matter, this book was just flat-out fun to read. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58575186 to: Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary (Hardcover) by Gao Wenqian
This is a very interesting fragment of history. A researcher in the Chicom central archives, with full access to many top secret documents has written a book about the second most famous Chicom revolutionary. The complex character that emerges evokes the same ambivalent feelings as other not-completely evil men who served evil masters. Through the whole book the evil nature of Mao Tsedong shines through. Zhou helped to save many people from destruction in the Cultural revolution and tried to preserve as much of China's economy as he could from the insanity of the radicals but he did it by engaging in a kind of mandarin servility to a man he could see was sacrificing millions of lives and the happiness of an entire nation to his personal whims and jealousies. In the end Mao murdered Zhou by not allowing his cancer to be treated because he was worried that if Zhou out lived him he would reverse the Cultural Revolution. This book is a well-written narrative and a good read for anyone interested in China. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56740651 to: Dreaming the Serpent Spear: Boudica 4 (Paperback) by Manda Scott
I love historical novels about this period. I started read this quadrilogy a few years ago but stopped because the last two books hadn't been released yet. A few weeks ago I got the last two and read the set all the way through. Scott is a very good writer and the subject is interesting but her more modern agenda tends to weigh down the narrative. More time than is wise is given to the interaction between these barbarian savages and the ancestors and ghosts of the dead who seem to plague their every waking moment. The Romans are obviously a metaphor for the Globalist West while the groovy bi-sexual savants of the Britons are like some highly-evolved commune of thoughtful aesthetics, in touch with the spirits and at one with nature. The Brits are running rings around the befuddled Romans through four books but suddenly lose the last big battle. Once I overcame my reservations, however this was an enjoyable read. The characters are complex and interesting and yes, the Romans were a bunch of thieving pigs who destroyed native cultures and enslaved tens of thousands in the name of empire. The ending is a downer but had to track the historical facts. Worth a read. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56740669 to: Dreaming the Bull (Mass Market Paperback) by Manda Scott
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56740630 to: Dreaming the Hound (Boudica Book 3) by Manda Scott
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56740609 to: Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle (Kindle Edition) by Manda Scott
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