Evelyn Waugh's When the Going was Good is an interesting account of his travels in the 1930s, going to Haile Selassie's coronation among other trips.
Waugh's such a formidable writer.
Waugh's such a formidable writer.
Books Favorite non-fiction reads
- Thread starter 2cents
- Start date
Thanks for the suggestion, I’ve never read any of his stuff. Somewhat related, Ryszard Kapuscinski‘s The Emperor on Selassie’s last days is an interesting read, but probably not among my very favorites.
Cheers. I know next to zero about Selassie. The coronation has a random bunch of journos covering it, not quite sure why they're there and making any old crap up to wire back to the office.
Just finished Sapiens. Incredible book.
Totally agree.
From the second of Eric Hobsbawm’s classic trilogy of the long 19th century:
“The bourgeoisie of the third quarter of the nineteenth century was overwhelmingly ‘liberal’, not necessarily in a party sense (though as we have seen Liberal parties were prevalent), as in an ideological sense. They believed in capitalism, in competitive private enterprise, technology, science and reason. They believed in progress, in a certain amount of representative government, a certain amount of civil rights and liberties, so long as these were compatible with the rule of law and with the kind of order which kept the poor in their place. They believed in culture rather than religion, in extreme cases substituting the ritual attendance at opera, theatre or concert for that at church. They believed in the career open to enterprise and talent, and that their own lives proved its merits.”
Obviously the entire trilogy is great, but the second (The Age of Capital) is probably my favorite of them. All three suffer from Eurocentrism, but that’s about the only major flaw I can think of.
Apart from these, everything he wrote is worth reading.
“The bourgeoisie of the third quarter of the nineteenth century was overwhelmingly ‘liberal’, not necessarily in a party sense (though as we have seen Liberal parties were prevalent), as in an ideological sense. They believed in capitalism, in competitive private enterprise, technology, science and reason. They believed in progress, in a certain amount of representative government, a certain amount of civil rights and liberties, so long as these were compatible with the rule of law and with the kind of order which kept the poor in their place. They believed in culture rather than religion, in extreme cases substituting the ritual attendance at opera, theatre or concert for that at church. They believed in the career open to enterprise and talent, and that their own lives proved its merits.”
Obviously the entire trilogy is great, but the second (The Age of Capital) is probably my favorite of them. All three suffer from Eurocentrism, but that’s about the only major flaw I can think of.
Apart from these, everything he wrote is worth reading.
Say Nothing: A True Story Of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland - Patrick Radden Keefe
A book about the disappearing of Jean McConville, a mother of 10 abducted from her home in Belfast in 1972, the IRA and Troubles more generally, and investigation into who was involved. It was so good that I was disappointed when it suddenly ended despite there being 35% left in the Kindle version. I'd forgotten about the citations and notes.
A book about the disappearing of Jean McConville, a mother of 10 abducted from her home in Belfast in 1972, the IRA and Troubles more generally, and investigation into who was involved. It was so good that I was disappointed when it suddenly ended despite there being 35% left in the Kindle version. I'd forgotten about the citations and notes.
Finished that the other month, engrossing read.
I picked it up after listening to his podcast Wind of Change, which was also fascinating, about whether the CIA wrote the Scorpions' hit song "Wind of Change" during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It made me want a TV series akin to the Wire that delves into the various factions (republicans, unionists, police/military, and public caught in the crossfire). It would obviously be challenging to make.
That's actually my next read. Sounds great.
Natives by Akala is a fantastic read.
Just finished a re-read of David Simon’s Homocide. Probably the best work of true-crime journalism I’ve read, although I’m gonna do through The Corner again next to see how it compares.
Can some of you recommend any good books on medical history and the like? I'm thinking of getting my brother something like that for Christmas. I'm not talking university textbooks but medical stuff that could be interesting for anyone.
Only thing I can think of is this by an old teacher of mine, I read it years ago and can’t remember much about it but it may be of interest to your brother -https://books.google.ie/books?id=zwjGz-vMk9kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=ottoman+medicine&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=ottoman medicine&f=false
You could get him the biography or works of Ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna)? He's the pioneer of modern medicine. Had a really interesting life.
Edit: This is a good one - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Avicennas-...feb8c&pd_rd_wg=2jF4B&pd_rd_i=1594774323&psc=1
Cheers I'll have a look.
Anyone read Medical Apartheid? I just came across it.
The opening page of T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom, his famous account of the Arab Revolt of WW1:
There are passages which, it has been claimed, are more fiction than fact, but it’s such an engaging, atmospheric read that I’ve gone back to many times.
This reminds me of a great book I re-read this year.
Exterminate All The Brutes by a Swede called Sven Lundqvist. It's a great book as an overview of racism and genocide, and how we interface with it. Or don't moreseo.