ahduval Posted February 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... The last book, that in fact I am still reading, is Out of the Fames by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone. I first got interested in the authors from their previous books about their own experiences becoming book collectors. (which I also highly recommend). This book was the only one by the authors that I could find at my local bookstore. It is the tale of Michael Servetus and his interactions with 16th century Europe. Personally, I wish that this book was available when I took the History of the Reformation in College. It would have made the subject material considerably less dry than the seemingly endless leaders and their dogmas that we covered. Michael Servetus was literally a genius. However one of the first books he wrote/published was a book that repudiated the Trinity and his relations with both the Catholic Church and the more conservative side of the Reformation goes downhill. Servetus life ends being burned to a stake for heresy, with his book lashed to him. All his books were supposedly destroyed. This eminently readable book gives a glimpse of many of the major players in Europe, the political, religious, and philosophical, and while brief gives enough details to immerse one into the time period. After Servetus dies the book covers the emergence of three of his books and the people who pursued them, some successfully, and others not as much. Quotes that I had to share (not directly related to the main story, I would rather people read that for themselves): About the Borgias, Max Beerbohm observed "No Roman ever was able to say, 'I dined last night with the Borgias.'"(34) About the 30 Year Wars: "In the Netherlands they had eaten rats and leather to survive; in Germany they ate each other" . . . "there were 21 million people living in Germany in 1618, at the start of the war; by 1648, the war's end, only 13 million were left."(214) About a printer who made a limited print run of Servetus' work (who in fact probably was selling them as genuine): "Murr may have been a great scholar, but he obviously underestimated the difficulty of translating book knowledge into practical applications, and it cost him dearly. In 1811, at age seventy-eight, after reading a medical manual, he inexpertly attempted to use a catheter on himself and died in both extreme pain and acute embarrassment."(275) This book is highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightray Posted May 30, 2005 Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 Currahee! A Screaming Eagle At Normandy by Donald Burgett. (good first-hand account of the airborne drop through D-Day) I finally got the last of Burgett's books (had to Amazon 'em after Borders failed me): The Road to Arnhem Seven Roads To Hell Beyond the Rhine And got to finish the last one while Tom Brokaw's "Return to Normandy" was on Discovery, followed by a rather tepid Battle of the Bulge show (and yet, nothing on History). Fan-tastic books, really. His description of the concentration camp they liberated at Landsberg was particularly powerful. I really recommend these to anyone interested in WWII. And, today, it seems particularly appropriate to mention them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuraiko Posted May 30, 2005 Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Hmmm. Non fiction. This is a wide variety... THE DIARY OF JACK THE RIPPER THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND GETTING PUBLISHED CHOCOLATE AND CHILI PEPPER LOVE WICCAN WARRIOR EXHIBITIONISM FOR THE SHY FULL CONTACT MAGICK HOW TO DRAW MANGA: COUPLES Michelle aka Samuraiko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSgeekHero Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... The Golden Ratio. It's all about phi' date=' the most important irrational number. A great deal of time and effort is spent debunking: a) various ancient societies' understanding and/or application of the golden ratio; the alleged aesthetic perfection of the golden ratio; c) various artists' applications of the golden ratio within their works; c) etc., etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The math is fascinating. The explanations of the natural occurences of [i']phi[/i] are mind boggling. The proofs are accessible to someone who understands and enjoys mathematics but not calculus (me). I would heartily recommend it to anyone who is not afraid of a little algebra, a little history, a little philosophy, and a little critical thinking. It does get a little long winded, especially for such a short book, and has made it's way into my car, where I read it while I wait for whatever I might be waiting for. Fascinating. I think I may get that and a couple of others on the subject. Others just finished: Knock 'em Dead -- Martin Yate designing with web standards -- Jeffrey Zeldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Last one I read was Berlin the Downfall by Anthony Beevor. It shows how the Russians marched on Berlin and deceived the Allies as to their real intentions. Real good and recommended to the War historians amongst us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... The Code Book by Simon Singh. A high-level history of cryptography and cryptanalysis. Very good for wrapping your mind around the level of secret writing that existed in historical times. It opens with how the manipulation of the clandestine correspondence between Mary Queen of Scots and her sympatheizers led to her execution. The book inspired me to take as a character subplot the ability to decode the campaign equivalent of Louis XIV's Great Cypher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterBaldy Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... YOU'RE OUT AND YOU'RE UGLY TOO! Confessions Of An Umpire With Attitude - by Durwood Merrill with Jim Dent About the book at Amazon.com Awesome book for anyone who wants to understand the motivations behind a MLB Umpire. Also... SAM WALTON Made In America (My Story) - by Sam Walton with John Huey About the book at Amazon.com An interesting book about the founder of WAL*MART Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... One I should have added was 1421 The Year China Discovered the World. Ever wonder who drew those maps of the World that the Portuges and the Spanish used to get to America and round the Cape of Good Hope ? The Chinese. Interesting book which relys on a build up of evidence from across the globe to support the argument. Very interesting. So why are the Chinese explorers not venerated and the Europeans are ? Because they never published or spread the word after they returned and in the 17th Century one of the mandarins destroyed many of the records relating to the voyages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightray Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Just finished Biggest Brother, the biography of Maj. Richard Winters, who commanded Easy Company of Band of Brothers fame (on which I'm somewhat fixated, it seems). It's a good companion book to Ambrose's Band of Brothers, covering some of the details that were left out of that book, and explaining Winters' thinking a bit more. It's well-written, and includes a brief appendix with quotes from Winters on leadership, and a short glossary (for those of us who didn't know the difference between an S2 and S4). I'd recommend both this and Webster's book for those who'd want to read more about Easy Co. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Some of the good 'uns. The Pirate Hunter The true story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks Certainly changed my veiws on Cpt. William Kidd Sex and Marriage in Ancient Ireland by Patrick C. Power I reread this one quite often. Amazing how similar early Irish culture was to some current alternative lifestyles Encyclopedia of Leather and Rawhide Braiding by Bruce Grant This one was pretty much work related Wars of the Irish Kings by David Willis McCullough A great collection of primary and secondary sources, with commentary. I especially like the decsriptions of the ferocity of the camp followers and the period commentators description of the catastrophic accident that decided the Battle of Yellow Ford (hint... nevedr try and refill your horn from the power store while you're carrying an open flame) Highland Folk Ways by I. F. Grant This is all around cool. More information than you can shake a stick at. Have owned this one for a long time, busted it out again when I realized that I may be doing tech work on Brigadoon. Need to know anything about the way ythe Highland Scots lived in the 17th & 18th centuries? odds are it's in there. Rune Magic The History and Practice of Ancient Runic Traditions by Nigel Pennick Along with his Magical Alphabets, he's by far one of my favorite hiostorians who's work usually winds up in the metapsychical section. Was rereading it for his discussion of the possible historical existance of shamatic warrior brotherhoods in the Norse culture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda by Sean Naylor. An excellent account that lives up to the example set by Black Hawk Down. I personally never got a good idea of what actually happened from the media. Naylor does an excellent job of depicting what happened based on interviews with the people who were there. (To his credit he goes out of his way to point out differences in the accounts.) The buildup to the actual operation is a bit slow, but necessary; details of the planning and the overall situation are critical to understanding why things unfolded the way they did. Once the story gets rolling, though, it's riveting. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who liked Black Hawk Down or Into Thin Air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Principles and Practice of Sex Therapy by Lieblum & Rosen An extremely well written series of chapters by experts in the field, addressing major areas of treatment and concern for the practitioner. It's pretty technical stuff in many respects, with plenty of statistical analysis. One major plus is the relative transparency of the research methodologies used, since the articles cited are from the APA and AMA for the most part (the APA articles being the better ones in the main). One of my major beefs with most theory and practice texts in the field is that they are rarely concrete in their descriptors of interventions. This one is, and it's a nice change of pace. I'd recommend this to any serious practitioner who may be confronted with significant sexual dysfunction in their work, as well as to anyone planning to work specifically in this area. Oh, and this was even better than the Lieblum & Pervin version (2nd Edition) which I already had read. That was getting pretty dated after 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamamura Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Japanese Castles 1540-1640 By Stephen Turnbull Osprey Publishing Illustration and Images: 4 of 5 stars Content: 3 of 5 Stars If you are looking for a primer for Japanese Castles, then this book is great for it. But if you are looking for something more in depth, I would look elsewhere. While Mr. Turnbull does an excellent job of describing the basic set up and aspects of construction of the castle, the other sections of the book leaves much to desire. I especially found the chapter of castle life very sparse and lacking. Also he has a tendency to state interesting facts but never quite follow them up to the satisfaction of the reader. A good example of this is on page 35 when he discusses the story of a thief who ties himself to a kite to steal the gold scales of the shachi (the dolphin on top of the castle keep used to ward off misfortune) of Nagoya castle. This is further seen in the operational history section, where he seems to just ramble off facts about castles and sieges leaving the reader’s appetite stimulated but not sated. On the plus side, Peter Dennis’s illustration lends itself nicely to Turnbull’s text as do the photographs. This is a nice aid, as sometimes I found the written description hard to imagine and the pictures help gelled an image in my mind. The only complaint I have is that description of Azuchi in the book states that the topmost room was octagonal, yet in the images of it, the top room is rectangular and the second to the top is the octagonal one. Also as a gamer, I also wish there was more maps but one can’t always get everything. Please don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of good information in this book about general layout of a Japanese castle and their defenses and I will probably use it as quick reference material. This though is why I consider it a primer, it left me wanting more information and curious to see if there are better books on castles (maybe ones with maps). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Does, America: the book count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeroTina Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... The first book I rate is Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William Maples Oh dude I read that 'um last year, year before, I loved it. I kept grossing Jason out with it. I'd go ewwwww honey look (I don't know why that doens't work anymore) Can't get enough of Forensic Science now. I am reading the Body of Evidence series by Christopher Golden. I really like it. I'm on book number 8 of 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted August 4, 2005 Report Share Posted August 4, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Kennedy: An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek. Very interesting book covering his family and how he came to be President. It addresses all the negative aspects like the health problems and womanising, whilst pointing out the reason for the close result for the Presidency was probably his religon. It also looks at his record in government and asks why he is thought to be one of America's greatest Presidents. Fascinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted August 25, 2005 Report Share Posted August 25, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850, by Brian Fagan. Very interesting book; lots of stray data on how medium-duration (several years) climate shifts shaped human events. If you accept three premises: Population expands until it is limited by the production of food, and stays at that limit Substinence-level farming always operates at the "bleeding edge" of its capabilities Humans will continue to count on recurrence of the most favorable event in their experience, no matter how freakish that was Then you can imagine that shifts in weather patterns could powerfully affect history. As gamers, we perhaps over-acknowledge three of the Four Horsemen (War, Death, and Plague). But we seldom think about the other one, Famine. This book lets you see just how important that one has been. PS: If, like me, you are/were ignorant of the Irish Potato Famine, be prepared to be appalled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Having been to Ireland, the potato famine story is pretty tragic and amazing. And (another) reason for Irish animosity towards the English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Anatomy of Love by Helen Fisher. Just finished this one for the second time, loved it, bored Zornwil to near-death talking about it at GenCon. Fisher takes a look at mariage, adultery, and mating strategies from an evolutionary point of view, and supports her conclusions with well referenced hard data. If you want to know exactly how both the free-love and back-to-the-1950s crowd are wrong, this is the book for you. zornwil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Not boring at all, was actually thinking about it when I woke up today and was going to ask for the title and author, and there it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 27, 2005 Report Share Posted August 27, 2005 Re: what non-fiction books have you read? please rate it ... Not boring at all' date=' was actually thinking about it when I woke up today and was going to ask for the title and author, and there it is![/quote'] Just ordered another book by her today, thi one much heavier on the neurochemistry involved. Looks like it should be a good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 What Non-Fiction Book have you just finished? We have a book review thread that covers scifi/fantasy (all fiction, really) but I'm sure that there are other readers here who have a taste for non-fiction as well. So here's a thread dedicated to non-fiction/biography reading and reviews. Enjoy! The Film Club By David Gilmour This is one I book up from our advanced previews box. The basic premise: a father tells his son that he can drop out of high school if he agrees to watch three movies a week. That was enough to intrigue me. Lord knows I likely would have jumped at such an opportunity myself in high school. Additionally, I believe that watching movies en masse (the father makes the choices and he's a former movie critic) could be a very powerful experience. While I started reading because of the curiosity about the experiment, what kept me reading was the reality of it. The father tells a story of father-son bonding that struck a lot of very familiar chords for me. As some of you may know, I moved up to live with my father in Canada shortly after my divorce. I was suffering from extreme depression at the time, and I was unemployed (though going to school). Still, as a whole it was a great experience for me due in no small part to the time I spent getting to know my father. Our relationship expanded greatly during that time. The details are different, but the story in the book was so familiar that I could have sworn my dad was telling it. The constant second guessing, the pain of watching your son bottom out knowing that you can't do anything to help, the worry that your child has ruined his life…I felt them as a son and as a father. It was a good, powerful read. To steal from another reviewer, "A father and son watch movies together. But that's just the plot, not the point." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Re: What Non-Fiction Book have you just finished? You on a Diet - Pretty good book on fat loss. The authors (two medical doctors) have a reasonable sense of humor, and they know how to offer citations. The advice was reasonable, the food plan pretty well thought out, and the exercise plan a good place to start for someone sedentary. Add this to the Superfoods RX book and a good book or two on sports training and nutrition, and you'd have something very close to the fat loss plan I'm actually following. So, Recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Re: What Non-Fiction Book have you just finished? "I shouldn't even be doing this!" Bob Newhart. Funny funny book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted May 30, 2008 Report Share Posted May 30, 2008 Re: What Non-Fiction Book have you just finished? A Lion's Tale: Around the World In Spandex - Chris Jericho Man, this guy has jammed a lot of living into his career. This starts with him doing wrestling stuff with his best friend as a kid and ends with him doing his first appearance in the WWE on RAW. You get to see from his vantage point just how messed up most of the promotions are and why the WWE just seem like Nirvana by comparison. Some very funny incidents, a lot of self-deprication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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