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November 22, 2008
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A-ron
is currently reading:
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Paperback)
by Haruki Murakami
bookshelves:
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fiction
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A-ron
gave
to:
The Knowledge Web: From Electronic Agents to Stonehenge and Back -- And Other Journeys Through Knowledge (Hardcover)
by James Burke
bookshelves:
history,
nonfiction
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read in November, 2008
A-ron said:
"Basically a string of barely related events so tenuous in parts as to trivialize his point about "connections" between ideas. But nevertheless the way snippets of text reference each other throughout the book works well, and it is fun to ju...more
Basically a string of barely related events so tenuous in parts as to trivialize his point about "connections" between ideas. But nevertheless the way snippets of text reference each other throughout the book works well, and it is fun to jump around between bits of historical trivia. His concise descriptions of each of the events also make for good reading.
All in all however I prefer more depth than this book can offer....less
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October 15, 2008
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A-ron
gave
to:
God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 (Hardcover)
by David Levering Lewis
bookshelves:
history,
nonfiction
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read in October, 2008
A-ron said:
"One of the few books recently that I didn't find lying on the street. This one is a Sandy Public Library find.
I like this history. The author engaged me throughout with a narrative that unfolded like a well paced story while maintaining a constan...more
One of the few books recently that I didn't find lying on the street. This one is a Sandy Public Library find.
I like this history. The author engaged me throughout with a narrative that unfolded like a well paced story while maintaining a constant flow of relevant and significant information. I've read a handful of histories recently that were not particularly well organized or engaging, and this one clearly stands out from them. Here however is where I admit to being unqualified to truly rate this book as a History. Despite spending most of the past year reading history - I have not read enough to assess what in this book is a departure from past history nor what is generally well accepted.
However I am not a complete rube.
Contrary to popular sentiment about this book, the author is not twisting the truth to show Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) as an enlightened place in which the quality of life and thought was far superior to the countries North of it. The marked superiority of al-Andalus is referenced frequently in many other histories. Its a generally well accepted fact. There are other, finer points that the author makes however about the cultural significance of the Song of Roland and the perception that European Civilization was saved at Poitiers. While these may be important to his thesis, I did not see them as particularly important to my digestion of the history. His "liberal agenda" is hardly distracting.
I suppose this exposes my real purpose for reading this book. I merely wanted to get at the history because prior to the past few years I have been largely ignorant of the sweep of history. I don't care about the particular frame the author is presenting - about the establishment of European/Western Identity within the context of struggle with an Arab Civilization. You'd need a larger book to do that argument justice as the cultural history revolving about this issue extends to the present. And the present situation in the Middle East has much more to do with the recent carving up of the Ottoman Empire than the Song of Roland.
Anyhow, this history was extremely well written, informative, and engaging. I recommend it to any that wish to learn more about the history in Western Europe revolving about Islamic Spain and Charlemagne's Franks circa 800 ad....less
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September 07, 2008
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A-ron
gave
to:
A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood (Hardcover)
by Raymond P. Scheindlin
bookshelves:
history,
nonfiction
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read in August, 2008
A-ron said:
"Not especially well written or organized, but full of the information I was looking for so it did the job. Nothing more to say on it.
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A-ron
gave
to:
The Vikings: Rise and Fall of the Norse Sea Kings (Hardcover)
by Rudolf P-Ortner
bookshelves:
history,
nonfiction
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read in August, 2008
A-ron said:
"Poorly organized, but full of information. The writing was difficult to get through here and there, and I am not fully convinced that the author was interested in demystifying much about the VIkings. Nevertheless I wanted to read Viking history and t...more
Poorly organized, but full of information. The writing was difficult to get through here and there, and I am not fully convinced that the author was interested in demystifying much about the VIkings. Nevertheless I wanted to read Viking history and this did the job....less
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A-ron
is currently reading:
From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life (Hardcover)
by Jacques Barzun
bookshelves:
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history,
nonfiction
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July 31, 2008
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A-ron
gave
to:
The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (Hinges of History, Vol. 2)
by Thomas Cahill
bookshelves:
history,
nonfiction
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read in July, 2008
A-ron said:
"This book barely qualifies as history. It is more of a review of the Bible by way of outlining the evolution of Jewish thought. Cahill writes very well and so he kept my interest, but I have to admit that I was not convinced by his argument that West...more
This book barely qualifies as history. It is more of a review of the Bible by way of outlining the evolution of Jewish thought. Cahill writes very well and so he kept my interest, but I have to admit that I was not convinced by his argument that Western views are founded on Jewish thought. It is an extremely difficult argument to prove as one can never really know what goes on inside another's head. I also felt that this book relied much too heavily on the Bible. It just didn't sit right with me. I can buy his general ideas about the evolving concept of linear time and a sense of history as well as the concept of individuality, that this was a divergence from ancient thought, and that the Hebrews originated these concepts for themselves. That they were the only ones to have had these ideas - I don't consider likely, and don't see how this book advanced that argument at all. There just isn't enough evidence to make a strong case....less
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July 21, 2008
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A-ron
gave
to:
How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History)
by Thomas Cahill
bookshelves:
history,
nonfiction
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read in July, 2008
A-ron said:
"A fun pop-history. This writer humanizes the history with his accessible prose.
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July 12, 2008
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A-ron
gave
to:
Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization (Paperback)
by Graham Hancock
bookshelves:
nonfiction
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recommended for: No one
read in July, 2008
A-ron said:
"A serendipitous find on my local library's shelves, Underworld is filling the time while I await God's Crucible. The primary concept put forth by the author is fluffy at first glance, that Sumeria was preceded by millennia of civilization yet undisco...more
A serendipitous find on my local library's shelves, Underworld is filling the time while I await God's Crucible. The primary concept put forth by the author is fluffy at first glance, that Sumeria was preceded by millennia of civilization yet undiscovered. The author however does not overreach when proposing this hypothesis which elevates him above Atlantean cranks. He is however an enthusiast drawing together compelling evidence for an antediluviuan civilization. Unfortuantely this evidence is presented in an superficially logical sequence while the "evidence" is largely circumstantial and occasionally fabricated. This is by no means a scholarly work.
Nevertheless I was happy with this book until I realized that he WAS misrepresenting himself as an explorer of uncharted territory. He implies that he is on the cutting edge of discovery - an explorer - which is actually untrue. Furthermore he lies outright when he claims that the marine branch of archaeology has had little influence on its terrestrial cousin. The implication is that no one has studied this stuff which disregards a significant body of research in this area already. I was furious when I realized that the writer was lying to me, deliberately overlooking contrary evidence, including wide swaths of historical and archaeological evidence.
While the writing is enjoyable, and the basic idea - that perhaps ice age civilizations can be found under water - is compelling and reasonable, I hate writers who misrepresent their case to a general audience. Yes, HATE. He has done a great disservice to his readers and misinformed them. I encourage you to read the rebuttles to his claims. They are much more enlightening and could possibly lead you to a much more interesting understanding of history....less
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July 10, 2008
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A-ron
is currently reading:
The Big Four: The Story of Huntington, Stanford, Hopkins, and Crocker, and of the Building of the Central Pacific (The Railroads)
by Oscar Lewis
bookshelves:
currently-reading,
history,
nonfiction
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A-ron said:
"My grandfather gave me an old edition of this book (it lacks an ISBN) a decade before he died, but I hadn't got around to reading it until now. The writing so far is decent and clear although not brilliant. The writer however appears to have conducte...more
My grandfather gave me an old edition of this book (it lacks an ISBN) a decade before he died, but I hadn't got around to reading it until now. The writing so far is decent and clear although not brilliant. The writer however appears to have conducted some of the original research needed for the writing of this book which I think is remarkable....less
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