Good Books
Cylinders, you should check out "The House on Garibaldi Street", the story of Mossads tracking and kidnap of Eichmann in Argentina prior to the trial, if that subject is of interest to you. A good read.
Currently making my way through Team of Rivals - The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. At 750 pages it’s not light reading but a fascinating analysis of the 16th President. Lincoln’s management of his cabinet, primarily made up of those he defeated for the nomination and the conduct of the Civil War is so interesting.
Salutations to BB in his absence.
Good thread.
Here's a youtube audio version of the greatest book i ever read for my own personal growth. 'As a Man Thinketh', written by philosopher James Allen, who has a whole heap of stuff in his free library online. Written around about the 1900's. Came across it about 10 years ago in an oppy in Byron.
And fwiw, i'm way off it's teachings at the moment, but am gonna give it another crack soon.
This book changed my life so hopefully for at least one person, it has the same effect.
If you want to read the Grandfather of black humour, one of the major influences of the Beat writers, and someone who Bukowski called the greatest writer of the last 2000 years do yrself a favour and dive into Journey to the End of the Night by L-F Celine.
Let me know what u think.
harrycoopr wrote:If you want to read the Grandfather of black humour, one of the major influences of the Beat writers, and someone who Bukowski called the greatest writer of the last 2000 years do yrself a favour and dive into Journey to the End of the Night by L-F Celine.
Let me know what u think.
Second this recommendation. Read it in my early 20s when I was devouring anything 'beat' related and found it to be a true work of art. Hell of a writer.
Edit: For more dark humour try Burroughs Dark Night Trilogy, 'The Place Of Dead Roads' being my pick of the 3.
And on the topic of Burroughs (with Capote mentioned up thread), an interesting read on a 'curse'...
https://realitystudio.org/biography/in-cold-blood-william-burroughs-curs...
Thanks WScream, I ordered and am reading Dawn of Everything, Graeber/Wengrow, really liking it!
Sits nicely in the canon started by Jared Diamond, through to Harari's Sapiens, etc. of brave books that pull together anthropological archeology via recent social sciences research to present a more nuanced history of us. Brave, because there will always be errors and limitations in these books (a specialist in a particular field will always say 'there's and error on pg 76') but awesome to have these mudmaps, especially if they are a combo of impeccable research and casual irreverence like this one.
Dawn of Everything's premise: are we good animals now turned bad through civilisation (Rousseau) or bad made good through governance (Hobbes) ? Neither obviously, and they are concepts we have invented, so by definition we are central to our own construct. But neither were we hunter-gatherers turned farmers.. we are so much more complex, sometimes annually alternating between seasonal autonomous farming collectives/autocratic hunter gang, and creating many, many other interesting social systems.
This book attempts to pull together our latest understandings of our creative and fluid journey to here and now. (The authors hate the word 'inequality' because it has created a malaise where we are stuck in a system that won't change, as we see inequality as the eternal enemy, and no longer see the system itself as potentially flawed... cool idea).
It seems to be doing for governance what Guns Germs and Steel did for dominance. Debunking, questioning and expanding our story.
"a spectacular, ground-breaking retelling of human history, blazing with iconoclastic rebuttals to conventional wisdom" BBC History Book of the Year
basesix wrote:Thanks WScream, I ordered and am reading Dawn of Everything, Graeber/Wengrow, really liking it!
Sits nicely in the canon started by Jared Diamond, through to Harari's Sapiens, etc. of brave books that pull together anthropological archeology via recent social sciences research to present a more nuanced history of us. Brave, because there will always be errors and limitations in these books (a specialist in a particular field will always say 'there's and error on pg 76') but awesome to have these mudmaps, especially if they are a combo of impeccable research and casual irreverence like this one.
Dawn of Everything's premise: are we good animals now turned bad through civilisation (Rousseau) or bad made good through governance (Hobbes) ? Neither obviously, and they are concepts we have invented, so by definition we are central to our own construct. But neither were we hunter-gatherers turned farmers.. we are so much more complex, sometimes annually alternating between seasonal autonomous farming collectives/autocratic hunter gang, and creating many, many other interesting social systems.
This book attempts to pull together our latest understandings of our creative and fluid journey to here and now. (The authors hate the word 'inequality' because it has created a malaise where we are stuck in a system that won't change, as we see inequality as the eternal enemy, and no longer see the system itself as potentially flawed... cool idea).
It seems to be doing for governance what Guns Germs and Steel did for dominance. Debunking, questioning and expanding our story.
"a spectacular, ground-breaking retelling of human history, blazing with iconoclastic rebuttals to conventional wisdom" BBC History Book of the Year
Basesix. I’ve determined you and i are pretty much full on into books. How can people have a life devoid of books and reading ?
I’ve always got a few on the go, never fiction, always non-fiction.
Just finished ‘The Annotated Malay Archipelago’, a revised and corrected version of the original and seminal work, Malay Archipelago by Sir Alfred Russel Wallace of which i read 30 years ago.
This new version and its corrections makes it even better than the former book, which at the time was and still is the best book I’ve ever read.
Just started a new book, ‘The Treeline’ - The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth by Ben Rawlence.
Essentially about the rapid retreat towards the Arctic Circle of arboreal forests. (Human induced obviously in our couldn’t give a fuck phase of human existence)
Another book ive got on the go is Birds of the Mesozoic ( the age of the dinosaurs) by Juan Benito and Roc Olive’, very interesting reading.
I recently purchased a book just completed by 90 year old Leon Costermans & Fons Vandenberg that took 17 years to research and write is ‘Stories beneath our feet’- Exploring the Geology and Landscapes of Victoria and surrounds’ .
A must purchase for anyone wanting to know a shitload about that part of Australia.
I really hope we can continue this book review/recommendation dialogue ongoing . AW.
Wilhelm Scream wrote:#Required Reading
https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/dreamers-and-schemers
Wilhelm Scream. Hi mate, my apologies I should’ve included you in the book nerds group also.
Just had a look at your recommendation, looks and sounds like a good read.
Thanks for that. AW
Sounds great to me AW, I appreciate and am interested in all 4 of your recommendations!
(and cheers again WS, dreams and screams ordered ; )
Another book that i think is outstanding and has a lot of merit with us surfers is and I’ve mentioned it previously in other topic areas
‘Waves and Beaches’- The Powerful Dynamics of Sea and Coast (3rd Ed)
William Bascom/Kim McCoy First published in 1963, 1979, 2020.
Buy on line or from Patagonia Shops or look in an Opp Shop in your coastal town. AW.
@Alfred Wallace , if you haven’t already read this book I’m sure you will enjoy it . Some chapters are a bit slow but it’s worth a read . https://www.amazon.com/Ring-Fire-Indonesia-Lawrence-Blair/dp/981426010X#...
Supafreak wrote:@Alfred Wallace , if you haven’t already read this book I’m sure you will enjoy it . Some chapters are a bit slow but it’s worth a read . https://www.amazon.com/Ring-Fire-Indonesia-Lawrence-Blair/dp/981426010X#...
Supafreak. Hi mate. How’s things amidst your surfing/family holiday ?
Thank you, I’ve just checked it out, definitely getting onto that tomorrow.
Your recommendation is very similar to a book i read some years ago of a similar theme.
‘The Spice Islands Voyage’ : In Search of Wallace by Tim Severin
I don’t know about you but I like to know as much as possible about plants, birds, geology and all things biological when I go to areas to surf in the Greater & Lesser Sundas and Wallacea. Life long interest in evolutionary biology has spurned those loves. Keep well and enjoy whatever you are doing.AW
indo-dreaming wrote:
Indo. Good Books ? AW.
This is a great read for Bali lovers...
Friend if Walter Spies, 20's Ubud Bali. Musically based but don't need music knowledge of love to enjoy, but very interesting. I cannot play the recorder.
Thanks AndyMac. AW.
^ totally agree, though their themes are broad (we have travelled an extraordinary, non-linear pathway to here), their research is incredibly specific.. about various tribes' practices etc. Indicative of two obsessive mates writing an ambitious work they cared very much about : )
AW! parcel received : )
Went to my local town, picked it up, and started reading it at a cafe looking over a blue, windless harbour. I have had the winter dreeks the past couple of weeks, and for an hour or so I felt chipper as a sandgirl. Thank you. Love the style, such a human rendering of the people behind the love of a hard-core fish!
A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth, highly recommended (well.. seconded..)
Bump