What is everyone reading?

[copticorthodoxboy]

Just finished Michael Scheuer's "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror"

Currently reading Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of Five Rings" and Hannah Pakula's "The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the Birth of Modern China"

 

[LenInSebastopol]

Just finished Michael Scheuer's "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror"

Currently reading Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of Five Rings" and Hannah Pakula's "The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the Birth of Modern China"

So do you recommend or find any truthiness in Scheuer's Imperial Hubris....or not much or ???
As it is about 8 years old, did the author correctly assess the situation as it stands today?
I'm lazy and wondering if it is worth the time, as I understand it is kind of a tough read.

 

[vamrat]

Finished Storm of Steel last night.  It ends with him being awarded the Blue Max...a rather abrupt ending.  The book is very internal, focusing in vivid detail his experiences (as might be expected from a book made from diary entries).  His writing style is enthralling. 

I will probably finish Children of the Mind next, the last book in the Ender series.  It was good when I started, but Storm of Steel came in, I read the first page to get a feel for it and was hooked so Ender had to go on hold for a while!

I am thinking about ordering The Decline of the West by Spengler next.  The ideas sound interesting, but this is going to be a heavy book...it actually comes in two parts.  I read that it is best to read it in German, but I am not that adept with that language and he is supposed to be pretty complex even for native speakers, so just going to stick with English.

 

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

My good friend's recently published memoir:

"The World's Largest Man"
http://www.amazon.com/The-Worlds-Largest-Man-Memoir/dp/0062351494

Here's a great passage that I just read today:

In my daily life, it appeared that black people and white people got along fine. At school, we ate at the same tables, refreshed ourselves at the same fountains, relieved our bladders in the same troughs, where we enjoyed a special brotherhood experienced only by those whose jets of urine had comingled. We knew instinctively that all of us were alike on the inside, that the only true test of a man's character was the muscular strength of his urethra.

Then I learned what people outside our state thought of us.

"They're making a movie about Mississippi!" somebody would say.

And the movie stars would visit and they'd eat and it'd be great fun until the movie came out and we saw that they believed things about us that couldn't be true, like how all of us talked like Foghorn Leghorn and the state lacked even a single building with effective air conditioning. We'd watch "NBC Nightly News" and get very excited when we heard Tom Brokaw say something about us. Sometimes it'd be a story about how poor we all were, or how dumb we all were, but it usually had something to do with how racist we all were. The message was clear: If anyone was ruining anything, it was the white people.


Selam

 

[copticorthodoxboy]

Just finished Michael Scheuer's "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror"

Currently reading Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of Five Rings" and Hannah Pakula's "The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the Birth of Modern China"

So do you recommend or find any truthiness in Scheuer's Imperial Hubris....or not much or ???
As it is about 8 years old, did the author correctly assess the situation as it stands today?
I'm lazy and wondering if it is worth the time, as I understand it is kind of a tough read.

I'd say I agree with a lot of what Mr. Scheuer has to say (not only from this book but also interviews he's given) with regards to the U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and our relationship with Israel. 
He certainly doesn't demonize Osama bin Laden in the book, if that is what you mean by "tough read."  I found the book relatively easy to follow, and he repeats many of his points again and again throughout the book.  The book is a bit dated (over a decade old), but he correctly predicted a long and winless war against Islamic extremist and unless there was a change in our rules of engagement (militarily speaking) there would be no victory.
I'd like to hear his opinion's regarding bin Laden's death as well as the rise of ISIS in the Middle East. 

 

[LenInSebastopol]

Yeah, the image and perception is stronger than the facts and the truth, Gebre.
:'(

 

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

Yeah, the image and perception is stronger than the facts and the truth, Gebre.
:'(

It's really a wonderful book, full of humor and poignancy. I'm really happy for my friend's literary success.


Selam

 

[biro]

"Detective Inspector Huss," Helene Tursten

 

[Alxandra]

St Maximus Confessor Selected Writings

 

[Mor Ephrem]

My Elder Joseph the Hesychast, by Elder Ephraim. 

 

[Alxandra]

My Elder Joseph the Hesychast, by Elder Ephraim.

I love that book. I wish I could read Elder Ephraim's description of his life on the Holy Mountain with Elder Joseph forever, so peaceful

 

[Asteriktos]

John Behr, Becoming Human: Meditations on Christian Anthropology in Word and Image

St Maximus Confessor Selected Writings

As seen on page 101, in the month of May, in the year 2015, this thread peaked. Let us all give thanks.

 

[Mor Ephrem]

My Elder Joseph the Hesychast, by Elder Ephraim.

I love that book. I wish I could read Elder Ephraim's description of his life on the Holy Mountain with Elder Joseph forever, so peaceful

I'm definitely enjoying parts of this book. 

 

[Iconodule]

Looking for Alaska by John Green
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Alexiad by Anna Comnene

 

[Indocern]

Spiritual directions for repentance and confession by Sliven's Metropolitan Ioanikii.

 

[Echa]

The Holy Bible — st. Luke

 

[biro]

"Believing the Lie," Elizabeth George

 

[kelly]

I finished Kh. Frederica's latest book, "Welcome to the Orthodox Church" last night.

Stuck on a midnight shift tonight and I've started "I am Hutterite" by Mary-Ann Kirby. Yay for having a job where I can be on my laptop, read, or knit.

 

[Asteriktos]

Asking for It, by Lilah Pace

Hopefully the word that characterizes it for me after I've finished will be 'thoughtful' rather than 'horrifying.'

 

[Asteriktos]

A Letter Showing why our English Bibles differ so much from the Septuagint, by Thomas Brett

1743, representin'

 

[IreneOlinyk]

Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms

This book by a British diplomat is a tour of the critically endangered eeligion's of the Middle East.  The Mamdaeams of Iraq, the Yazidis, the Copts, the Samaritans, and the Zoroastrians.  The Assyrian Christians are covered in a chapter on Detroit amusingly.

I started with the chapter on the Copts and found it thrilling.  I learned several things of use.

The author posited that the cenobitic monastery resembles the old pagan Egyptian temples in being a community of pious men supported by farming, maintaining a temple and visited by pilgrims.  I wonder how true this is.  There was much else of interest.  And now I know the proper name for Coptic beans.  The other chapters look promising.

When finished I might post a review.

Is this a recent publication about the contemporary Middle East or a historical time period?

Very recent.  It was published last fall by a retired British diplomat.  It discusses the Mandaeans, Yazidis, Druze, Zoroastrians, Samaritans, Copts, a mountain religion in Pakistan, and a variety of displaced persons practicing their faith in Detroit.  It discusses the current plight faced by all of these religions.

Thank you for replying.  I will check  if my local library has it yet.

 

[copticorthodoxboy]

Some of the books I'll be reading over the next few weeks. Looking to start investing some of my money (outside of my Roth IRA and a collection of bullion gold and silver coins) so I'm taking some advice from the one of the world's richest...

"Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World's Greatest Investor" by Janet Lowe

"Buttettology: the Previously Unexplained Techniques That Have Made Warren Buffett the World's Most Famous Investor" by Mary Buffett and David Clark

"The Warren Buffett Way: Investment Strategies of the World's Greatest Investor" by Robert G Hagstrom Jr.

"Wu: The Chinese Empress Who Schemed, Seduced and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God" by Jonathan Clements

And slowly making my way through the first "Game of Thrones" book

 

[scamandrius]

Right now:

The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius.
A Dialogue of Cumfort [sic] against Tribulation by Sir Thomas More.
I, Claudius by Sir Robert Graves.

For the near future:

Aeneid by Vergil.
Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (just to see what all the craze is about)

 

[Asteriktos]

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (just to see what all the craze is about)

I love the show, but disliked the book (I only tried the first). Hope you have better 'luck' (or whatever term fits)...

 

[biro]

"Little Girl Lost," Brian McGilloway

 

[Cyrillic]

Thomas Mann - Der Tod in Venedig

The writing style is a bit dense and the sentences are too long. Not my cup of tea, but I'll read on.

 

[Asteriktos]

The new Goodwill store again had some interesting books, including...

- Readings in Sacramental Theology, edited by C. Stephen Sullivan. Catholic essays on the sacraments and related topics (grace, faith, etc.), published at the time of--and in response to--Vatican 2.

- Agape: An Ethical Analysis, by Gene Outka. Semi-academic examination of what role love plays in the ethical thought of various (generally more recent) Catholic and Protestant theologians, such as Kierkegaard, R. Niebuhr, Barth, Tillich, etc.

- The Sacraments of Life and Worship, by Fr. John P. Schanz. Another book on the sacraments from during the time Vatican 2 was going on.

- The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. Boom.

- Byzantium, by Philip Sherrard (part of the 'Great Ages of Man' series of books). Looks very nice in a picture-heavy, popular-level way.

- Vaccination and Immunisation: Dangers, Delusions and Alternatives (What Every Parent Should Know), by Leon Chaitow. About how 'dangerous' vaccines are, how great homeopathy is, blah blah blah. I bought it just so that I could cut it into 2047 pieces with scissors, douse it in gasoline, set it on fire, throw an m80 on it, then hit it with a sledge hammer at the precise moment it explodes. Or I might just throw it in the garbage. Either way, it will do the world a lot more good in the landfill than it would being read by someone.

 

[Sam G]

The Conferences - St. John Cassian

How Dante Can Save Your Life - Rod Dreher

Asking the Fathers - Aelred Squire

 

[Arachne]

 

[biro]

Robin Hobb, "Dragon Keeper"

 

[sakura95]

Freedom Regained: The possibility of Free Will

Author: Julian Baggini

I just picked up the book but from the looks of it, Baggini is trying to put forward a version of Free Will against the growing thought of neuroscientists and those like Harris and Dawkins that there isn't any Free Will. There is a nice criticism of Western Christianity within the first 40 pages of the book. If he had known about Eastern Orthodoxy and the theology of Palamas, his reaction might be different instead of presenting Christians as having a sort of dualistic worldview between God and Creation.

The sort of Free Will Baggini seems to be advancing is Compatabilistic. Not one which I would agree with personally but to be fair to Baggini here, he does raise some key issues.

Personally, I take William James "Two Stage model" which is Libertarian in nature and leaves room for some form of synergy between the conscious and unconscious mind, the latter generating possible options unconsciously and the conscious deliberating between them or rejecting them all together.

 

[kelly]

Just finished "Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary" by Traudl Junge, edited by Melissa Mueller. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in history.

 

[Sam G]

Just finished "Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary" by Traudl Junge, edited by Melissa Mueller. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in history.

You ever see Downfall?

 

[Opus118]

Freedom Regained: The possibility of Free Will

Author: Julian Baggini

I just picked up the book but from the looks of it, Baggini is trying to put forward a version of Free Will against the growing thought of neuroscientists and those like Harris and Dawkins that there isn't any Free Will. There is a nice criticism of Western Christianity within the first 40 pages of the book. If he had known about Eastern Orthodoxy and the theology of Palamas, his reaction might be different instead of presenting Christians as having a sort of dualistic worldview between God and Creation.

The sort of Free Will Baggini seems to be advancing is Compatabilistic. Not one which I would agree with personally but to be fair to Baggini here, he does raise some key issues.

Personally, I take William James "Two Stage model" which is Libertarian in nature and leaves room for some form of synergy between the conscious and unconscious mind, the latter generating possible options unconsciously and the conscious deliberating between them or rejecting them all together.

H and D are irrelevant. Who are the prestigious neuroscientists that are driving this?

 

[kelly]

Just finished "Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary" by Traudl Junge, edited by Melissa Mueller. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in history.

You ever see Downfall?

Yes! That's what made me want to read it.

 

[rakovsky]

I just read the last two chapters of Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ.

He lays out a lot of the kinds of arguments I have heard before, although it's a very good book by a former atheist. One of his key arguments is that the apostles faced persecution for their believes, which proves their sincerity. A problem with this argument is that those who knowingly invented claims in other religions like J.Smith have faced persecution too - in Smith's case being killed.

 

[Volnutt]

Is it worth reading beyond the temptation to leave it on the bus and let people get nightmares from the cover?

 

[Volnutt]

I just read the last two chapters of Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ.

He lays out a lot of the kinds of arguments I have heard before, although it's a very good book by a former atheist. One of his key arguments is that the apostles faced persecution for their believes, which proves their sincerity. A problem with this argument is that those who knowingly invented claims in other religions like J.Smith have faced persecution too - in Smith's case being killed.

Smith's claims could only be refuted by philologists or archaeologists. If the Apostles were lying then anybody could overturn their claims by locating Christ's body.

 

[Asteriktos]

Oh, right, locating a (possibly hidden) body using ancient technology in a place the size of New Jersey would be a piece of cake. 

Also, someone calling "the case for Christ" a very good book is making me seriously reconsider my participation on this forum  8)

 

[Arachne]

Is it worth reading beyond the temptation to leave it on the bus and let people get nightmares from the cover?

Letting go of it would net me a library fine. Not cool. Plus, it's too much fun - although it requires some interest in both neuroscience and psychosociology.