Post: #551

Finished "Metamorphosis" by Laird Barron.

It's a collection of horror-short-stories.
I really enjoyed it. It was easy to read and sent multiple shivers down my back.

Post: #552

Stephen King - Gunslinger

First novel of the King's magnum opus "The Dark Tower" series. A tale of weird world and one knight, Roland Deschain and his search for the Dark Tower, a central hub of all universes.
Weird style, confusing storytelling, but very interesting. For some reasons, not gonna finish the series.

G.R.R. Martin - Tales of Dunk and Egg

Adventures of the knight Dunk and his squire Egg in Westeros, 90 years before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones TV show) series.
Funny, brutal and easy to read. Liked it. Can't wait for another planned 8 sequels.

Post: #553

Art of the Deal. Already been recommended by the forum, so I'll leave it at that.

Post: #554

Dreamland by Sam Quinones

Excellent book on the Heroin epidemic sweeping across America. This book is what good journalism is supposed to be -- asking "why" something is happening, then getting to the bottom of it. He touches on the pharma industry, the heartbreak in these Rust Belt Small Towns as all these unemployed or bored kids fall victim to addiction, the cops who track down the dealers, and the incredible ways the Mexicans from Xalisco (not too far from Puerto Vallarta) grow poppies in the mountains, mule it over the border, and set their sights on towns where crime is low in order to avoid typical gang land violence with competing factions.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22529381-dreamland

Post: #555

"The Viking World" by James Graham-Campbell.

Bought it on impulse in a museum shop. Pretty good overview and context on Viking history and culture, more breadth than depth but even so contained a ton of stuff I never knew about. Recommended as a general primer.

https://www.amazon.com/Viking-World-Jame...71123468X/

Post: #556

Just finished The Quiet American by Graham Greene. My uncle, who led dogs through the jungle in Vietnam, rec'd me the book. He never talks about the war but he often talks about this book.

The setting is 1952, several years before full-scale US intervention. The narration trails Fowler, whose a mid-age British reporter on the ground in Saigon. Fowler is a witty, sardonic man that often broods on the unavoidable realities of war. He has a young attractive Vietnamese mistress, Phuong, that stabilizes him amongst the chaos. They live a rather vanilla life until a young well-intentioned American arrives on scene.

Greene does a fantastic job describing cultural/social observations and I often found myself underlining random sentences simply due to how well he turned a phrase. The majority of the themes: oriental love, neutrality, innocence, and retribution are complex and don't reach a black or white conclusion. The motif of danger surrounding innocence was striking. Highly recommend checking this book out. It's a quick read at ~180 pages.

"'Go in and find a table. I had better look after Pyle.' That was my first instinct - to protect him. It never occurred to me that there was greater need to protect myself. Innocence always calls mutely for protection when we would be so much wiser to guard ourselves against it: innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm."

Post: #557

Aristotle's Rhetoric, it's good, but I think that seeing the best examples of rhetoric is more useful.

Post: #558

I just finished startship troopers by Heinlein. Not the greatest book but it was an easy read over my weekend trip. There are some great ideas about manhood, citizenship, and who gets to have a say in society, as well as some interesting theories as to how and why our society is decaying. Those parts could be pared down to about 20 pages though

Post: #559

Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger. Alpharius recommended it to me a while ago in another thread and I finally finished it.

I was looking to learn more about the Cold War but learned so much more about the build up to World War I and how European diplomacy was built over the centuries.

Post: #560

Curse of the High IQ by Aaron Clarey (aka Captain Capitolism).

If you've always found school easy and average people infuriatingly incomprehensible, it's a worthy read. Few solutions are offered, but it's cathartic to see that others share your burden.

Post: #561

Hillbilly Elegy

J. D. Vance

Vance is a 30-something graduate of Yale Law School, by unlikely way of: Kentucky Mountain family, Hillbilly Ohio transplant, United States Marine Corps, and Ohio State University.

Vance describes his chaotic youth and dysfunctional family with great humor, love, and candor. Raised by an addict mother and the saving grace of his also troubled hillbilly grandparents, Vance still had the pride of poor Mountain people (Grandma, why does everyone stop and get out when the funeral drives by? Because, Honey, we are Mountain people, and we respect our dead) and love of America (Goddamit, JD, don't be like those fucking losers who think the deck is always stacked against them).

After stumbling through school, Vance earned the title Marine. After combat tour and responsibility above pay grade, he discharged honorably and went to college at OSU (graduating in less than 3 years) and eventually to Yale Law school.

The book is a fast read. Many Red Pill truths dropped along the way. I wonder how I would have performed under the disaster of this man's youth.

After reading Vance's book, there is little surprise why this part of the country flipped parties and voted Trump. Indeed, Vance's folk (often old Blue Dog Democrats) are Hillary's Deplorables. And they feel it. May Trump do them right.

I suspect this book is a prelude to a political career.

Highly recommend.

Post: #562

Ann Coulter's In Trump We Trust, and Ann Coulter's Adios, America.

The first one was a decent enough read but short, and it read like an impulse money grab. The second one is stunningly well researched.

I appreciate how Coulter triggers SJWs and cuckservatives, but I didn't start taking her seriously until I read Mugged a couple of years ago. She's proto-alt-right, almost...

Post: #563

Just finished Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf. I'm usually wary of female authors in historical nonfiction but Wulf rises to the occasion. Highly recommended.

The book is a biography of sorts on Alexander von Humboldt. The German polymath was a visionary to the core and lived an eccentric life. He synthesized scientific observation with imagination, a perspective that is largely lost today. He was worshipped amongst his contemporaries, some of which you may recognize (Goethe, Jefferson, Bolivar, Darwin, Thoreau, Haeckel etc.). Darwin, in particular, had read and re-read Humboldt's complete volumes and cited that as both his inspiration and guiding light for Origin of Species.

Humboldt's influence cannot be understated, even the Prince of Thailand had his portrait in his royal palace. Humboldt was the first environmentalist. He linked monoculture (cash crops) and deforestation to desert formation. He was fiercely anti-slavery and influenced the Prussian King to pass anti-slavery legislation. His knowledge of Latin America convinced Jefferson to pursue westward expansion. The list goes on. Even though Humboldt has more geography/ecology (mountains, currents, species) named after him than any other human ever, he is still relatively unknown in the West due to Anti-German propaganda & book burnings surrounding both world wars. If you're interested in great frontier-breaking exploration with a dash of polymath, I'd still recommend Burton first but Humboldt comes in a close second.

Post: #564

(12-24-2016 12:35 PM)MajorStyles Wrote:  I just finished Will Durant's The Lessons of History. It may have been recommended here on the forum - not sure.

Either way, an excellent read. Clear, direct with lots of examples from history. Durant criticizes the concept of equality, stating that there is no direct correlation in the natural world. So it's clear to see why his work is not more lauded; it is running counter to the current narrative of equalism.

I highly recommend it.

Durant (and his wife) wrote an 11-volume historical set, The Story of Civilization. You can get a used set for $75-$150 depending on condition.

Post: #565

Finished "The Last Witchking" and "A Magic Broken" by Vox Day. great stuff.

Post: #566

Combating Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan.

Post: #567

(01-13-2017 05:01 PM)Hypno Wrote:  

(12-24-2016 12:35 PM)MajorStyles Wrote:  I just finished Will Durant's The Lessons of History. It may have been recommended here on the forum - not sure.

Either way, an excellent read. Clear, direct with lots of examples from history. Durant criticizes the concept of equality, stating that there is no direct correlation in the natural world. So it's clear to see why his work is not more lauded; it is running counter to the current narrative of equalism.

I highly recommend it.

Durant (and his wife) wrote an 11-volume historical set, The Story of Civilization. You can get a used set for $75-$150 depending on condition.

Thanks for the info; I will have to look into that. I'm planning to build a cool library (with bookshelves and all) and that would be a sweet addition.

Post: #568

The Circumnavigators: A History, by Derek Wilson.

As you would expect, this is a history of those who sailed around the globe. Wilson is a historian who does the research and then tells you the story. If you are interested in sailing, I think you'll enjoy the history. The book includes stories as recent as 1969 for the first solo circumnavigation or some other record.

Eye opening about the deprivations they endured and the varied and amazing reactions of various locals. For example, the Tahitians rowed out in canoes to greet them offering their women, while other groups rode out with spears.

the book is also a collection of mostly red-pill, real me. some are knaves, some are fools, but all are self reliant and determined.

Post: #569

(01-15-2017 08:02 AM)MajorStyles Wrote:  

(12-24-2016 12:35 PM)MajorStyles Wrote:  

I'm planning to build a cool library (with bookshelves and all) and that would be a sweet addition.

Lots of public libraries and other groups have book sales. Hardcovers go for $1-$2 usually. what these groups do is solicit unused books from their patrons and then hold a massive sale. Its a great place to build a library or stumble upon interesting books. What I have found is that most peoples' taste is trash, and if you are interested in anything intelligent you can pick it up quite cheaply.

This link has listing for most of the sales in the U.S.

sorry, not able to help on your carpentry.

http://booksalefinder.com/

Post: #570

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli.

Post: #571

Descartes Error by Antonio Damasio

Post: #572

"King, Warrior, Magician, Lover" - very interesting book on masculinity, would recommend to anyone. It shows the archetypes of man, and the pitfalls that each archetype can descend into.

For those who have read it, do you have any recommendations on what to follow up with?

Post: #573

Haven't read it yet, but I know there is following books - The King Within, The Warrior Within, The Magician Within, and The Lover Within to discuss each of the mature archetypes in detail along with their bipolar shadows.

Post: #574

A few to post here;

The regiment: 15 years in the sas by rusty firmin - interesting book about life in the sas. The selection seems tough for sure but the book just seems to be mostly about him going on training courses with the marquee part about how he was on the inside at the Iranian embassy raid.

Friday night lights by hg bissinger. - amazing book. Couldn't put it down. I still don't really understand your obsession with college sports my American friends but I didn't even realise that high school sports could even be a thing. Crazy. The book is really well written, best thing I've read for years.

Repulse - Europe at war 2062... By Chris James. Never read a future fiction quite like this before, strange book, maybe prophetic. If so, a horrible vision of the future.

Pregnancy for men - mark woods - a father to be guide. Well written, humorous and gives you just the right amount of info you need to know.


SP

Post: #575

I've just finished the Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn.

This may be the most harrowing thing I've ever read. It is an extraordinary chronicle of the most monstrous, unfathomable evil. It is notable that despite being a 'literary investigation', it is free from all the exaggerations of a real literary text. The abuses described are all the more shocking for how simply they get done, how free from the fantastical they all are. There is no supplied emotion there to help the reader feel outrage. There are so many things about this book that I shall never forget, from the simplicity of the torture in the punishment cells in the Church of the Beheading on Sekirnaya Hill, to the many minute acts of defiance that must have taken extraordinary courage under those circumstances, and the tremendous humanity of so many of those enslaved under the communist regime.

What's interesting is that I know the descendants of some of those named in the book - from both sides of the tsarist/communist divide, and to a man (and one girl) they are almost entirely ignorant of their history, both personally and as a people. They fled to England, at one point or another, and within a few generations all memory of the roles played by their forebears in one of the great acts of human history have been expunged.