What Are You Currently Reading?

[Th3 Maelstr0m]

Just finished "The Social Conquest of Earth" by Edward O. Wilson. It was a great read, looking at evolutionary origins and development of social behavior and morality. Favorite quote from the book:

We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. We thrash about. We are terribly confused by the mere fact of our existence, and a danger to ourselves and to the rest of life.”

I'm going to take the next day or two to finish up a light fantasy read called Mistborn, then I'll be jumping into Peter Mansfield's "A History of the Middle East."

 

[CQB]

I've just finished "In The Shadow of The Sword" by Tom Holland. It's an historical look at the rise of Islam & Arabs as a power from the earliest points of reference. For a bit of scene setting here's a podcast.

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/c/2/6/c26...15317049&hwt=3c26d66520447280c066c7f54f51adb5

 

[Th3 Maelstr0m]

I've just finished "In The Shadow of The Sword" by Tom Holland. It's an historical look at the rise of Islam & Arabs as a power from the earliest points of reference. For a bit of scene setting here's a podcast.

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/c/2/6/c26...15317049&hwt=3c26d66520447280c066c7f54f51adb5

How'd you like it? I've heard mix reactions. I ordered it awhile ago, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

 

[CQB]

It's pretty good, I was vaguely aware of the soup of religiosity in the region but didn't have an understanding of how it occurred, mainly as it wasn't on my radar. It's a good look at the rise of Islam in the area & the effect that had as it challenged Christianity which was established by the Emperor Constantine. Holland is quite the entertaining writer with a bit of British wit thrown in. 4.5 stars.

 

[AWP]

Pathfinder by David Blakeley. He was the 2IC for the UK's Pathfinder Platoon during the invasion of Iraq. Good read so far.

 

[Th3 Maelstr0m]

It's pretty good, I was vaguely aware of the soup of religiosity in the region but didn't have an understanding of how it occurred, mainly as it wasn't on my radar. It's a good look at the rise of Islam in the area & the effect that had as it challenged Christianity which was established by the Emperor Constantine. Holland is quite the entertaining writer with a bit of British wit thrown in. 4.5 stars.

Thanks for the review. I might just pull it off the shelf and give it a go!

 

[Gunz]

If I were a millionaire, I send a copy of this to anybody who's stuck in a potentially tragic locale.

http://www.amazon.com/Let-Me-Off-To...1&keywords=ron+burgundy+let+me+off+at+the+top

 

[AWP]

I just finished Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations by Peter Evans. A pretty good book about a very interesting woman.

I'm currently on Hell's Battlefield: The Australians in New Guinea in World War II by Philip Bradley. I blame @pardus and his thread on Kokoda for this purchase. Lark Force is still fleeing into the jungle and I've determined that LtCol Scanlon is a steaming hunk of excrement. I'm only a chapter or two into the book, but a good read so far.

 

[Gunz]

I blame @pardus and his thread on Kokoda for this purchase...

@pardus is equally to blame for my purchase of The Bush War in Rhodesia, by Dennis Croukamp...one I'd missed on that conflict. And Croukamp comes off as a bit of a shitbird, at least in the early going, until one remembers to put the Rhodesian forces and the conflict itself in context. The Rhodesian Army was on a shoestring budget, you could count their number of helos on 2 or 3 hands...and many of the contacts were very small unit running gunfights.

As Croukamp's experience grows and he rises through enlisted ranks in the RLI, I like him better. I can identify with anybody who'd rather be humping the hills with a rifle in their hand than doing junk-on-the-bunk and parade ground drill in garrison...and he's most definately not a garrison guy.

I'm looking forward to his account of his time with the Selous Scouts.

 

[pardus]

@pardus is equally to blame for my purchase of The Bush War in Rhodesia, by Dennis Croukamp...one I'd missed on that conflict. And Croukamp comes off as a bit of a shitbird, at least in the early going, until one remembers to put the Rhodesian forces and the conflict itself in context. The Rhodesian Army was on a shoestring budget, you could count their number of helos on 2 or 3 hands...and many of the contacts were very small unit running gunfights.

As Croukamp's experience grows and he rises through enlisted ranks in the RLI, I like him better. I can identify with anybody who'd rather be humping the hills with a rifle in their hand than doing junk-on-the-bunk and parade ground drill in garrison...and he's most definately not a garrison guy.

I'm looking forward to his account of his time with the Selous Scouts.

I'll be interested in your take once you have finished. I'll give you the name of another book that is a companion to this one when you're done.

 

[Gunz]

Thanks Pardus, sounds great.

 

[AMRUSMCR]

David Eddings' Belgariad, on book 5 right now... last one... it's been 15 years since I read this series, interesting how it falls in tune with the current global political situations...

I enjoyed his non-fantasy book, The Losers (a fictional social commentary on the welfare system). I will have to check out his fantasy series.

 

[Raptor]

Finished Get It On by Keni Thomas a few days ago and just started A Table In the Presence by Carey H. Cash. I'm not very far in, but I'm liking it so far.

 

[digrar]

Just finished Kinglake-350, by Adrian Hyland. It's an account of the bushfires that killed 170 people just to the North of Melbourne in 2009.
Horrendous, multiple accounts of families with terrified young kids enacting their fire plans, finding themselves way out of their depth when the fire turned out much bigger than anyone ever planned for. Multiple accounts of local coppers sifting through the debris to find the buried remains of families that didn't make it. Entire towns burned to the ground, the toll on the communities after the fact, vast increases in mental health issues, domestic violence, PTSD. A very emotional read.

 

[A2-9]

Just finished Storm on the Horizon: Khafji. David Morris's take on modern armoured warfare and close air support is engaging.

 

[AWP]

I "acquired" a copy of Mark Owen's new book, one he actually cleared through the DoD. Interesting, still kind of FOS, but interesting. He tries to write it in a lessons learned/ motivational format and to that end I guess he's successful. I wouldn't pay full price for the book, or you could "acquire" a copy on your own.

 

[policemedic]

I "acquired" a copy of Mark Owen's new book, one he actually cleared through the DoD.

How quaint. People still do that? :-"

 

[Gunz]

He tries to write it in a lessons learned/ motivational format ...

Great. Maybe he can join O'Neill on the corporate lecture circuit.

 

[LogDog0402]

Finally finished "A Universe from Nothing" and it was very good and well written. I'm into chapter 3 of "The God Delusion" while also reading the Feynman lectures on Physics.

 

[Gunz]

I'll be interested in your take once you have finished. I'll give you the name of another book that is a companion to this one when you're done.

By now I'm guessing it's Reid-Daly's Pamwe Chete. I'm well into the rift between Croukamp and Reid-Daly over Croukamp's decisions on a botched 3-man recce/RR sabotage op in Mozambique. When I read the part where Croukamp tells his guys to drink all their water quickly to lighten their load, I'm thinking, how did this guy get to be a special operations NCO? So of course they all start to dehydrate and then he jeopardizes the mission by running off--all alone--on a 30 km round trip to find water??? And he doesn't take a radio. :wall: Wow. The fact that they landed 30 kms away from their intended DZ is, IMO, an acknowledged occupational hazard for nocturnal combat jumps in those days. That was surmountable. But the water fiasco was nuts.

I'm enjoying the book, however. There is much of interest here.