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Patrick Peterson

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Patrick is Currently Reading

Patrick Peterson is currently reading

AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future

by Kai-Fu Lee (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, business, enviro, fiction, havereadsome, law-legal-crime, political, psychology, read-some, sense-of-life, sociology, tech

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Patrick Peterson said: " 2026-08-26 I have read the two intros/forwards and the first couple stories and analyses.
Quite interesting. Deals with some important issues that AI is bringing up.
However the authors' statist biases are of course invisible to them, and hence to many ...more "

Aug 26, 2026 08:38AM · see review

Patrick Peterson is currently reading

Mark Twain: Complete Works

by Mark Twain

bookshelves: currently-reading, business, entrepreneurship, fiction, german, history, humor, law-legal-crime, novel, libertarian, philosophy, political, read-some, reference, sense-of-life, sociology, travel, young-adult

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Patrick Peterson said: " 2026-07-18 I bought this a while back, but did not start it till a month or so ago. This Kindle edition is super cheap ($1) and HUGE (over 7000 pages!), but the editing is pretty mediocre, at best. VERY many typos, since it was probably converted fro 2026-07-18 I bought this a while back, but did not start it till a month or so ago. This Kindle edition is super cheap ($1) and HUGE (over 7000 pages!), but the editing is pretty mediocre, at best. VERY many typos, since it was probably converted from other editions and not edited hardly at all. So, one has to really be creative and easy-going with the words on the page, and guess at what many really should be, if they don't make any sense or perhaps just don't fit well.

For this book, after going through the table of contents several times, and considering the books I had already read of Twain (Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and many short stories) I chose to first read inn thee novel, NOT the nonfiction section of the book: the "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc." which seemed like a decent regular history of the topic, to me, first and actually liked it quite a bit.

It was VERY detailed. He must have spent quite a bit of time researching and writing it. He focused on how pure Joan was and how being possessed by the spirit of her "voices" (from God) she was incredibly motivating to lead her fellow French countryMEN to throw-off the English rule of so much of the country. It is still amazing how truly heroic, inspired and smart this 16-18 year old girl was, even after 600 years of reflection and research. Her enemies, first the English, and French military who were allied/subservient to them, then the French Churchmen who were currying favor with the English, were drawn in very realistic and quite disparaging ways. The voice/narration of the story was by a supposed childhood friend of Joan's who was taught reading and writing, something Joan never learned, and followed her throughout her time portrayed. A bit unrealistic, since Twain was totally guessing at what Joan said in various settings where this narrator could not have been, but that is of little count. I have not read any other books on Joan of Arc, but I have:
- read many brief historical accounts
- been to Rouen where she was put on trial and burned at the stake
- seen the classic 1928 silent movie "The Passion of Joan of Arc"
None of which stick in my mind as contradicting anything Twain writes in this story.
If you have an interest in any of the above or:
- unique view of this period of French/English history
- leadership traits - what can really motivate/demotivate people to believe and follow you
- acts of heroism and faith
- hypocrisy and cravenness vs. honor, truth and character
Give this historical "novel" a try. Twain is a master.

The next book I started was the novel "The American Claimant" which starts of very strangely. It describes a very proud/arrogant/false "Earl" who has a son imbued with the republican ideal of equality (liberal "before the law" type primarily, not as much the destructive egalitarian/socialist aspects), who rebels against him and his "birthright." The story gets quite complicated with alternative legal claims and geographic moving's between continents and a whole set of different characters and situations. But hang in there, since some GREAT stuff happens and very realistic and relatable to today things happen and observations are made.
Sooooooo relevant to today's changed Zeitgeist and "ideals."
I am not yet finished with the book, but it is vastly easier and better to read than the beginning and I love where it seems to be going.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has read this "American Claimant" and what she/he thought. ...more "

progress:

(page 0 of 7732)
"2026-08-10 Just finished "Roughing it". Very funny. Twain is a master of telling wacky stories. Some based on real stuff, some probably totally made up. What a creative imagination. I loved so many parts of the book:
- Stagecoach/Pony Express realities: benefits & drawbacks
- 1860s journalism
- Mormon history/interactions
- Silver mining mania in NV
- SF life
- Hawaii history, volcanoes & culture
and more" — Aug 10, 2026 02:50PM

Jul 18, 2026 09:19AM · see review

Patrick Peterson is currently reading

The Dao of Capital: Austrian Investing in a Distorted World

by Mark Spitznagel

bookshelves: austrian-economics, business, economics, entrepreneurship, history, libertarian, currently-reading, financial, self-help

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Patrick Peterson said: " 2026-06-25 started listening.
The Foreword by former congressman Ron Paul is wonderful. Great beginning to the book.

2026-08-19 Many fascinating passages.
Love the parts on Eugen Boehm-Bawerk and his work on capital theory.
Henry Ford was highlighted to ...more "

progress:

(50%)
"Fascinating book, but I am of two minds:
1. I love most of the references and explanations of Austrian Economics, economists, history, etc.
2. I am not so convinced about his explanations of Dao/Taoism and the strategies and methods he thinks are really cool. Too much esoteric (VERY new to me) jargon in this section.

The descriptions of his (and others') trading in the Chicago commodity pits was pretty realistic." — Aug 13, 2026 10:53AM

Aug 26, 2026 08:42AM · see review

See all 11 books that Patrick is reading…

Patrick’s Notes & Highlights

Book cover for Lysistrata: The funniest and filthiest play in Greek Classical drama – Aristophanes revisited

Lysistrata: The funniest and filthiest play in Greek Classical drama – Aristophanes revisited by Peter McGarry

3 notes & 4 highlights

snorting fennel?

Really?

TheQueensBooksII and 2 other people liked this

27 Jan 21 · Flag

Patrick Peterson

Pretty wacky, eh????

See Patrick Peterson’s 4 books with notes and highlights…

Patrick’s Quotes

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer

tags: inspirational, talent

8199 likes

“A friend to all is a friend to none.”
― Aristotle

tags: friendship

1888 likes

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

tags: frost, glitter, gold, lost, poetry, roots, strength, strong, wander, wither

58343 likes

“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.”
― Niels Bohr

tags: science

4230 likes

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune

tags: bene-gesserit, fear, litany-against-fear, motivational, scifi

17008 likes

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