Books Read 2019

[Jaymann]

Just finished Tiamat's Wrath, the eighth and final(?) installment in the Expanse series. It was a satisfying conclusion, and it will be interesting to see if the TV series gets this far. They left the door open for more, but the main characters are getting a little long in the tooth. My only regret was

Spoiler:

No Miller

[disarm]

Just finished Tiamat's Wrath, the eighth and final(?) installment in the Expanse series. It was a satisfying conclusion, and it will be interesting to see if the TV series gets this far. They left the door open for more, but the main characters are getting a little long in the tooth. My only regret was

Spoiler:

No Miller

Tiamat's Wrath isn't the end...still one book left that's due out next year.

[Jaymann]

That's great news!

[ImLawBoy]

Finished Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. I've actually had this book in progress for almost a year now. It's in a really strange format that has kept me from finishing it sooner, though. Instead of being on my phone, this book is actually printed on paper and bound together between heavy cardboard like flaps. It makes it inconvenient for reading on trains, but works well for when I'll be somewhere for long stretches and don't want to use my phone battery. i started it when my son was in the hospital for pneumonia last year, and finished it this week when I had some plane time going back and forth to Dallas. I don't know if this technology will catch on, but it's an enjoyable way to read a book.

Anyway, the book itself is a sequel to The Shining (book version, not movie version - we're not dealing with Michael Chrichton here). Danny Torrance is all grown up, and he's spent most of his life running from his demons, usually with the help of the bottle. He's trying to stay sober this time and is working as an orderly at a hospice. He comes to learn there is a young girl nearby whose shining makes Danny's look like a flickering candle. There's also a group of nasty folks roaming the country, and they want to do serious harm to this girl.

Considering that The Shining didn't really need a sequel, Doctor Sleep was pretty darn good. It's continuing with King's late career renaissance, and he even manages to find a way to end the book without all sorts of weirdness that frustrates the reader.

Now on to finishing Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, where I'm on the home stretch. I'm reading this one in 20 minute intervals of staring at my phone on the train, as God intended.

[Isgrimnur]

Finished Doctor Sleep by Stephen King.

And you're less than a month away from the film release!

[ImLawBoy]

Not that I'll actually see the movie any time soon, but maybe when it's available on the small screen some time.

[hitbyambulance]

currently reading _Something Wicked This Way Comes_ and it hit me how much Bradbury was an influence on both Stephen King _and_ Neil Gaiman

[Kasey Chang]

Finished Quackery: A brief history of the worst ways to cure everything

Almost encyclopedic quack cures, from depths of history to patent medicine to rise of FDA, this has everything except modern quackery. Mercury and morphine used to be prescribed for babies. Strychnine was once used as a performance-enhancing drug for athletes. Pelvic massages used to be prescribed for women to cure their "hysteria", and enema was performed in the French court... Author used pretty dry wit, even though it was kinda morbid at times. 7/8 tentacles.

[ImLawBoy]

Finished Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It's an alternate history set in England starting around 1800. In this world magic is real, but it has been dormant in England for centuries. The current day magicians are all "theoretical magician", not "practical magicians", and they mostly study old books of magic and obsess over those books. Enter Mr. Norrell, who is a curmudgeonly gentleman with a vast magic library and who amazes the world by actually practicing magic. He's content being the lone practitioner of magic, but when the talented Johnathan Strange shows up to be his apprentice, Mr. Norrell agrees to take him on. They're very dissimilar, but they both love magic and bond over it. Their differences, though, eventually lead to conflict . . . .

The book is quite lengthy and not a fast read. There's a lot of world building and character development. It took a long time to get through, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Some of the lengthy footnotes describing briefly mentioned historical events reminded me a bit of David Foster Wallace. I think some people are a bit turned off by the length and pace, but if you're a patient reader you'll get a great story in an interesting alternate world.

Up next is Imaginary Friend, a new book from Stephen Chbosky. If that name is familiar, it's because he wrote The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is his first book since that one, which came out in 1999. This book isn't a coming of age story, though - it's a horror novel. I read a good review in the Chicago Tribune, so I'm checking it out.

[hitbyambulance]

doesn't really qualify as a book, but i read it in book form -

The Mueller Report: Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election by Robert S. Mueller III (Special Counsel, United States department of Justice)

wherein we learn through intercepts, records, testimony and other acquired evidence:

• interesting details on the internet hacking and psi-ops social media campaigns (tho these sections were the most heavily redacted of all, unfortunately)

• how sad and pathetic the Russian lobbying attempts actually were

• a good idea of how sad and pathetic the Trump campaign wannabes actually were

• inside info on how some of these 'processes' get done (thanks to captured email and phone call logs) - it really is like working for a low-level criminal enterprise. incompetent, half-assed and toadying all around

most of the narratives in Vol I were fascinating. best part of Vol II was Michael Cohen's section, where he spills the beans on what really went on with Trump Tower Moscow. at the very least, read the executive summaries for each volume.

[Jaddison]

The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior

By the guy who shot bin Laden.

Interesting history and description of his time in BUD/S. The most surprising thing to me was the intense jealousy internally there was toward the sniper who had the Captain Phillips kills and to him after OBL raid. He describes how people actively started trashing him and claiming he was only out for himself and self promoting....same thing with sniper, they complained the guy took his shots before letting the others shot even though the plan was that when any of them had clear shots they should take them.

Good listen though it comes through clearly that they had absolutely no regrets about killing though they did go out of their way to not hurt children....including escorting a little girl in the OBL house out of a room and into another room even as they advanced to the top floor.

[Jaymann]

Finished A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie, it did not disappoint. Set two or three decades after the Bloody Nine, when an industrial revolution is taking place, it is pretty much a new cast of characters. But it is all there - battles, swordplay, sex, violence and court intrigue. Great start to the new series.

[Scuzz]

Heavens Reach by David Brin

This is part three of the second Uplift Trilogy. Unlike the first trilogy these books follow the same story and characters and work towards resolving things that started off with book 1 of the original trilogy. I an mixed on it. Brin is very good with characters, and you enjoy discovering how their roles play out, but as for the plot I was kinda meh. Brin goes pretty hardcore space/science sci-fi and I found myself not carrying or trying to follow what he was telling me. Also I can't say the ending is particularly satisfying plot wise. Something simpler would have worked just as well.

So of the 6 books this was my least favorite. The end of a long story can be difficult and for me anyway the end just didn't quite payoff.

[freelunch]

2019 Reading Goal Crushed

I follow the reading threads here but seldom post because I don't like reviewing what I've read (though I do love a good list).

Last year I finished 111 books, up from 36 in 2017 and 15 in 2016 (and not long before that my yearly total sank as low as 5).

Books Finished in 2019
01. A Silent Voice, Volume 5 by Yoshitoki Oima
02. The Education of Caroline by Jane Harvey-Berrick
03. P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever by Raj Haldar
04. When We Were Crowned by Auryn Hadley
05. Book Love by Debbie Tung
06. Cards of Love: The Moon by Sierra Simone
07. Whispers and the Roars by K. Webster
08. Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
09. The Castle of Earth and Embers by Steffanie Holmes
10. Love in the Time of Dinosaurs by Kirsten Alene
11. The Castle of Fire and Fable by Steffanie Holmes
12. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
13. ABCDC - A Rock & Roll Inspired Alphabet Book by Lola Willow
14. The Castle of Water and Woe by Steffanie Holmes
15. Fuck Valentine's Day by C.M. Stunich
16. The Castle of Wind and Whispers by Steffanie Holmes
17. Die, My Love by Zoe Blake, Addison Cain, Stevie J. Cole, Ashleigh Giannoccaro, Jane Henry, Julia Sykes & Celia Aaron
18. Submissive's Guide To BDSM Vol. 1 by Matthew Larocco
19. The Castle of Spirit and Sorrow by Steffanie Holmes
20. Surviving Amber Springs by Siobhan Davis
21. Cirque: Act 1 by Ashleigh Giannoccaro
22. A Pinch of Sass by Chloe Gunter & Jarica James
23. Cirque: Act 2 by Ashleigh Giannoccaro
24. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
25. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
26. Saphyre by Scarlett Snow & Loxley Savage
27. When the Dark Wins by Jennifer Bene, Addison Cain, Cari Silverwood, Zoe Blake, Yolanda Olson, Dani René, Eris Adderly & Michelle Brown
28. Her Royal Harem by N.J. Adel
29. Fantasy Swap Online by Alyson Belle
30. Gun Shy by Lili St. Germain
31. At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen
32. The Raw Touch by Serena Akeroyd
33. Verity by Colleen Hoover
34. Bass-Ackwards: A Wrong-Way Romance by Eris Adderly
35. Wicked Ways by Cari Silverwood
36. Wicked Weapon by Cari Silverwood
37. Wicked Hunt by Cari Silverwood
38. Laci on Top by Donna Jay
39. Judah's Wife: A Novel of the Maccabees by Angela Hunt
40. Motivational Quotes to Help You Be More Positive by Chris (Simpsons Artist)
41. Cole Underneath by Donna Jay
42. The Boys by Lily Harlem
43. Three Little Mistakes by Nikki Sloane
44. Captured by Ella Goode
45. Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
46. Mating My Mob by Amanda Cashure
47. Mistaken Identity by Donna Jay
48. My Midas Touch by B.J. Hardy
49. H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
50. Ein by Sorcha Black
51. Yes, Roya by C. Spike Trotman
52. Just Jayne by Ripley Proserpina
53. Just for Show by Jae
54. We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
55. Filthy Vows by Alessandra Torre
56. The Wild by K. Webster
57. Fragments by Ian Banks-Jones
58. By the Book by Scarlett Parrish
59. Haunted Redemption by Rebecca Royce
60. God Creates a Snake by Charles Peterson
61. The Unrequited by Saffron A. Kent
62. The Machinery of Desire by Cari Silverwood
63. Until I Break by Michelle Leighton
64. Hometown by Luke Walker
65. Squirm: Virgin Captive of the Billionaire Biker Tentacle Monster by Cari Silverwood
66. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
67. Like Jazz by Heather Blackmore
68. Forever Theirs by Serena Akeroyd
69. Royal Guard Of Draga by Emma Dean
70. Temporary Position by Scarlett Parrish
71. Until Forever by Luisa Cloutier
72. Coyote Ate the Stars by E.A. Van Stralen
73. BloodLust by Auryn Hadley
74. Pining & Loving by Emma Sterner-Radley
75. Instinctual by Auryn Hadley

[Scuzz]

You don't have to review them, but of that list what 5 would you recommend? Which were your favorites?

[freelunch]

I've reviewed them all* (on LibraryThing, Goodreads and Amazon.com.au) but I don't post reviews here because what I write is nowhere near as in-depth as other reviews here.

I worked out my Top Ten for the year recently (listed by order read, not preference):

Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Gun Shy by Lili St. Germain
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Bass-Ackwards: A Wrong-Way Romance by Eris Adderly
Ein by Sorcha Black
The Wild by K. Webster
Coyote Ate the Stars by E.A. Van Stralen
BloodLust by Auryn Hadley
Pining & Loving by Emma Sterner-Radley

Mostly romance, much of it "dark romance" because that's what I do now.

Pick of the bunch is BloodLust by Auryn Hadley, the first book in her eleven volume Rise of the Iliri series. I've only read the first two books so I probably shouldn't say they're the greatest thing ever, but they are. (I have read some of her other work, I've been waiting for this series to finish so I could start it).

Quoting a random Amazon review of the second Rise of the Iliri book (because the blurbs are kind of lame): "The author has done themselves a terrible disservice allowing the blurb to represent her books. This is a fully realised fantasy world with an awesome non-human predator female lead, awesome supporting characters and in depth military strategy. Just read it."

*My reviewing is a new thing, started when I began interacting more with indie authors and realised how much they appreciate it.

[hitbyambulance]

05. Book Love by Debbie Tung

having also read this, you really must read _The I Wonder Bookstore_ by Shinsuke Yoshitake

[freelunch]

Noted. Thanks.

[Isgrimnur]

I don't post reviews here because what I write is nowhere near as in-depth as other reviews here.

Everyone has their niche. Additional content is (almost) always welcome. Please don't feel intimidated by the reviews written by people who used to be professional writers and reviewers.

[Jeff V]

I don't post reviews here because what I write is nowhere near as in-depth as other reviews here.

Everyone has their niche. Additional content is (almost) always welcome. Please don't feel intimidated by the reviews written by people who used to be professional writers and reviewers.

It might be noted that some of us here may of co-authored professional reviews with a certain "freelunch."

Every year I vow to keep up with reviews and make maybe a month before it gets too burdensome. There are one or two books per month I am obliged to review from Librarything; it's about all I can manage and even those i sometimes fail to repost here.

[Scuzz]

I don't post reviews here because what I write is nowhere near as in-depth as other reviews here.

Everyone has their niche. Additional content is (almost) always welcome. Please don't feel intimidated by the reviews written by people who used to be professional writers and reviewers.

Or by those of us who have trouble putting two sentences together.

[hitbyambulance]

Noted. Thanks.

also on a very different note, Haruki Murakami's _The Strange Library_. it's really just an old short story of his with new illustrations, but it's worth seeing.

[Jeff V]

Ten Innings at Wrigley by Kevin Cook (A)

Subtitled "The wildest baseball game ever" it's a game from ancient times (pre-steroid era) that I recall vividly -- because I watched it not once, but twice. This game was so entertaining that WGN aired a rebroadcast in the dead of winter....except it changed the ending, inserting an Ernie Banks homerun for a Cubs win instead of the loss this game turned out to be, with the Phillies winning 23-22 in 10 innings.

This was a time when players were more characters performing entertainment than a collection of statistics. The author does a fine job recounting the histories of both ball clubs and the players who had key roles in this game. While there's a batter-by-batter account of the entire game, aftermath - and what become of the notable players was interesting as, for the most part, I lost track to what became of the players after they left town. I did know that Donnie Moore killed himself in an attempted murder/suicide; but I did not know the history of wife abuse and how his teammates sometimes looked the other way. I knew Dave Kingman did not achieve HoF status and figured it was his high strike out numbers that could not overcome his HR totals but I didn't realize that he was blacklisted after winning a free agent court battle and was at the top of his game when his services were simply no longer employed. From the Phillies team, I remember the likes of Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Pete Rose, Bob Boone and Steve Carlton -- I did not know how low regarded manager Danny Ozark was, however. Most of the Cubs history lesson was familiar, the Phillies not.

If you remember these days, and in particular this game give this book a read. It reminds me of a time when baseball was pretty much all that mattered to me during the summer months and something I pined for during every off-season.

[freelunch]

It might be noted that some of us here may of co-authored professional reviews with a certain "freelunch."

Though even then I never enjoyed the process. Quoting other reviewers was always more my forté.

Everyone has their niche. Additional content is (almost) always welcome. Please don't feel intimidated by the reviews written by people who used to be professional writers and reviewers.

Maybe next year...

[LawBeefaroni]

The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger.

Inexplicably by one Robert Iger, instead of Bob as I've always heard him called, this is supposedly one of those Leadership Books. I hate Leadership Books. I loved this book. Easy, quick read with a surprising amount of detail about the Cap City and Disney buyouts of ABC and the ABC/Disney transition.

As someone navigating being on the receiving end of a buyout I've found it very enlightening and kind of helps me get up to face the daily challenges.

[Jeff V]

I hate Leadership Books.

I've read a few good ones over the years; generally it's more because of the glimpse inside of a fascinating business than anything practical you can start implementing at the job tomorrow. One such book was by the president of Pixar, another by the CHRO of Google.

Every year we have to select a personal goal to achieve before the next annual review, every year I make it "read 2 leadership books." This year the two was Multipliers by Liz Wiseman (formerly of Oracle, decent anecdotes but main message was overly repetitive) and The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - two former Navy Seals who did an absolutely outstanding job relating battlefield preparations to every day business challenges - highly recommended.

[Kasey Chang]

Some leadership books are worthwhile... but a lot of so-called leadership books are basically "business porn"... Looks good, but useless in practice because it ain't the real thing.

[Jeff V]

Some leadership books are worthwhile... but a lot of so-called leadership books are basically "business porn"... Looks good, but useless in practice because it ain't the real thing.

The thing is, they aren't necessarily implantable into an established culture. Often times, what works for a company can be traced back to the ideals of the business founders. Stories such as 150 year old companies (like the one I work for) being revitalized by a visionary's overhaul are a far rarer thing and something I never seem to read about. Just as rare are leadership books aimed at middle-management drones that contain something usable that is within the bounds of limitations of the position (ie, doesn't require a C-level champion to implement).

[Kasey Chang]

Add in survivorship bias (they "succeeded", so they think whatever they did caused the success, because they are telling their own tale), and the idea that serious business owners need to write a book as self-promotion, and you pretty much have a lot of self-fluffing biz porn on the shelves.

It's rare to find people who can be seriously introspective and retrospective and see their own faults.

In a way, I find the military world more critical of itself, and military leaders more retrospective, in a certain sense. The military, most of the time, is a meritocracy, and the rules it operates under is stricter and more defined

[Kasey Chang]

Finished "Every Tool a Hammer" by Adam Savage. Never knew Jamie was his boss before Mythbusters. And the book is partly memoir, partly observations about DIYer and life, and a lot about maker organization tips. I mean, who runs around with a modified doctor's bag as a toolbag, with a scissor lift at the bottom so he doesn't have to kneel or bend to get his tools? 7/8 tentacles.

[hitbyambulance]

The U.S. Constitution and Related Documents

The Articles of Association, Thomas Paine's _Common Sense_, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and all the amendments. i found Patrick Henry's speech arguing against the ratification of the US Constitution (in the appendix) very thought-provoking, in light of recent events... (can read it here: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/lib ... ention-va/ )

[ImLawBoy]

Finished Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky. As I mentioned in my last posting, Chbosky is probably best know for writing The Perks of Being a Wallflower in 1999, which he later turned into a screenplay and the directed the movie of the same name. This is his first book since then, and although I never read Perks, I'm guessing it's safe to say that this book is nothing like that one.

Seven year old Christopher and his mother move to small town in Pennsylvania. Christopher's father committed suicide (Christopher found the body), and his mother was shacking up with Jerry, a drunken abuser. She fled under cover of Jerry's passing out in hopes of safely hiding somewhere he can't find them. Mom hasn't always made the best choices, but she's a protective and devoted mother who will do anything for Christopher, who also has dyslexia. The town they moved to had a sordid past - 50 years ago a boy Christopher's age went missing in the local woods and was never found again. This time Christopher goes missing - but he comes out 6 days later with no memory of what happened other than being helped by "the nice man". Things start going well for the small family after that, including Christopher's dyslexia disappearing and a nice lottery win. Things start turning dark, however. Christopher stays in touch with the nice man (although no one else believes he actually exists), and becomes convinced that he's involved in an epic war between good and evil . . . .

It's a very imaginative and fun story, and I don't want to spoil much beyond that if anyone is reading. It's got a great plot twist in there (I won't say I saw it coming, although it was one of the potential options running through my mind), and the scope really ramps up throughout the book. One of the problems, though, is that there's too much ramping up. At over 700 pages, this really could have been shortened. Chbosky thanks Stephen King in the beginning, and it's apparent he agrees with King's philosophy regarding leaving no thoughts unwritten. Despite the length, many of the characters were very two-dimensional. The bully might as well have been named "7 year old Billy Zabka". I also felt that the kids were not written well as seven year olds. It would have felt more genuine if they were in the 10-12 year old range.

Ultimately I give this a guarded recommendation. If you're a horror fan it's worth going through. If that's not generally your thing, I would probably avoid this - I think it would test your patience.

Up next is End of Watch, the final book in Stephen King's Bill Hodges trilogy. I'm enjoying King's late career renaissance, so I'm hoping this will keep things going nicely.

[Scuzz]

Total Control by David Baldacci

Not a great book. The plot itself is okay but the characters reactions to it are kinda insane. But if you like non-stop action with good guys and bad guys then you might enjoy this.

[Jaymann]

Up next is End of Watch, the final book in Stephen King's Bill Hodges trilogy. I'm enjoying King's late career renaissance, so I'm hoping this will keep things going nicely.

Is that the same as the Jake Giggenhall movie?

[ImLawBoy]

I don't think so. There's an Audience TV series (under the name of the first book, Mr. Mercedes), but I think that movie is unrelated.

[El Guapo]

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Penguin Classics), by Hannah Arendt

This was a book written by a reporter covering the Eichmann trial after he was kidnapped by Israel from Argentina. It's centered around the trial, but most of the book is basically spent telling Eichmann's story and what he did in various parts of Europe in connection with the Final Solution, with the trial itself as a bit of a backdrop (basically tell what happened, then add some parts about how the prosecution characterized it, how the defense did, and how the judges approached it). The book is tremendous. A little stream-of-consciousness-y at times, but tells a pretty strong story overall, and I learned a lot of interesting things from it.

A couple things stood out to me in particular that I didn't really appreciate before reading this. First is that the characterization of Eichmann as the "architect of the Final Solution" isn't really accurate - he had a very important role (in charge organizing transportation of Jews to the camps), but he was more of a VP / upper middle management overall. The second is I didn't fully appreciate how important the various Jewish Councils (the Judenrats) organized by the Nazis were in carrying out the Final Solution. Without their work in a lot of cities compiling lists of Jews and getting Jews to show up to be deported, it would have been much more difficult to kill as many people as the Nazis did - e.g., if the Jewish populations mostly scattered and they had to send more troops out to get people things wouldn't have run nearly as smoothly and significantly fewer people would have died. Pretty incredible. Also interesting to read how the Nazis basically bureaucratized mass murder, which is also where the 'banality' of evil came in - Eichmann doesn't come across as some primeval monster so much as an amoral bureaucrat doing a job (knowing full well what it meant) in order to follow orders and advance his career.

Would definitely recommend.

[ImLawBoy]

And now for something completely different, I just finished Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki with art by Steve Pugh. This is a YA graphic novel telling Harley Quinn's origin story in a high school setting. While she's wildly impulsive and unpredictable, she's definitely not a villain in this book. She's going to a new high school in Gotham where she befriends social activist Ivy. The two of them feud with John Kane, the wealthy son of the Kanes, who are trying to buy up and gentrify their neighborhood. This means that Harleen will lose her home (she currently lives above a drag show bar with the proprietor who has taken her in) and Ivy's community garden. Causing random destruction is a masked teen going by the name of the Joker, if you can believe that. A young Bruce Wayne even makes a brief appearance.

It's been a while since I read a graphic novel, but they gave these out at AT&T's legal conference in October as part of helping us legal dopes understand the newer, bigger AT&T world, which now includes DC. One of the strategies DC uses is having content for all ages and stages, and while I don't think many of the lawyers in attendance were teenagers, we're still cheap bastards who love a freebie. I did enjoy the alternate (to me, anyway) telling of Harley's origin, and I think this would be a nice choice for any comic interested teens for the holidays (particularly girls - it's a very empowering, feminist tale). One thing that made me chuckle was that this book, which is being published by one of the largest companies in the world, also takes an anti-corporate, socially conscious stand.

And now back to finishing up End of Watch.

[Holman]

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Penguin Classics), by Hannah Arendt

This was a book written by a reporter covering the Eichmann trial after he was kidnapped by Israel from Argentina. It's centered around the trial, but most of the book is basically spent telling Eichmann's story and what he did in various parts of Europe in connection with the Final Solution, with the trial itself as a bit of a backdrop (basically tell what happened, then add some parts about how the prosecution characterized it, how the defense did, and how the judges approached it). The book is tremendous. A little stream-of-consciousness-y at times, but tells a pretty strong story overall, and I learned a lot of interesting things from it.

A couple things stood out to me in particular that I didn't really appreciate before reading this. First is that the characterization of Eichmann as the "architect of the Final Solution" isn't really accurate - he had a very important role (in charge organizing transportation of Jews to the camps), but he was more of a VP / upper middle management overall. The second is I didn't fully appreciate how important the various Jewish Councils (the Judenrats) organized by the Nazis were in carrying out the Final Solution. Without their work in a lot of cities compiling lists of Jews and getting Jews to show up to be deported, it would have been much more difficult to kill as many people as the Nazis did - e.g., if the Jewish populations mostly scattered and they had to send more troops out to get people things wouldn't have run nearly as smoothly and significantly fewer people would have died. Pretty incredible. Also interesting to read how the Nazis basically bureaucratized mass murder, which is also where the 'banality' of evil came in - Eichmann doesn't come across as some primeval monster so much as an amoral bureaucrat doing a job (knowing full well what it meant) in order to follow orders and advance his career.

Would definitely recommend.

Hannah Arendt is one of the era's greatest minds and writers. It's definitely possible to criticize this book here and there, but the most crucial element is that Arendt was far ahead of history in presenting the Holocaust as the crisis not only of the 20th century but of our whole civilization.

It matters that she was writing at a time when post-WW2 Westerners were more willing to ignore the Final Solution than to condemn or analyze it. In the first years after the war, no one wanted to talk about genocide at all. This book brought the term "genocide" to the world's attention.

Racist nationalism is the brutal fruit of geographical statism. Look at the news today and compare it to the 1930s, and then pick up Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism. We have a lot to learn from her.

[Jaddison]

For those who love Starship Troopers but wished it didn't have Heinleins political verbiage I give you Iron Dragoons

This is about how you train to be Armor. Good back story and pretty well written. Enough to make me pick up the next one and also look into the series written that happens before this series.

No politics -yet. But a little teeny tiny bit of mysticism.

[El Guapo]

Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Penguin Classics), by Hannah Arendt

This was a book written by a reporter covering the Eichmann trial after he was kidnapped by Israel from Argentina. It's centered around the trial, but most of the book is basically spent telling Eichmann's story and what he did in various parts of Europe in connection with the Final Solution, with the trial itself as a bit of a backdrop (basically tell what happened, then add some parts about how the prosecution characterized it, how the defense did, and how the judges approached it). The book is tremendous. A little stream-of-consciousness-y at times, but tells a pretty strong story overall, and I learned a lot of interesting things from it.

A couple things stood out to me in particular that I didn't really appreciate before reading this. First is that the characterization of Eichmann as the "architect of the Final Solution" isn't really accurate - he had a very important role (in charge organizing transportation of Jews to the camps), but he was more of a VP / upper middle management overall. The second is I didn't fully appreciate how important the various Jewish Councils (the Judenrats) organized by the Nazis were in carrying out the Final Solution. Without their work in a lot of cities compiling lists of Jews and getting Jews to show up to be deported, it would have been much more difficult to kill as many people as the Nazis did - e.g., if the Jewish populations mostly scattered and they had to send more troops out to get people things wouldn't have run nearly as smoothly and significantly fewer people would have died. Pretty incredible. Also interesting to read how the Nazis basically bureaucratized mass murder, which is also where the 'banality' of evil came in - Eichmann doesn't come across as some primeval monster so much as an amoral bureaucrat doing a job (knowing full well what it meant) in order to follow orders and advance his career.

Would definitely recommend.

Hannah Arendt is one of the era's greatest minds and writers. It's definitely possible to criticize this book here and there, but the most crucial element is that Arendt was far ahead of history in presenting the Holocaust as the crisis not only of the 20th century but of our whole civilization.

It matters that she was writing at a time when post-WW2 Westerners were more willing to ignore the Final Solution than to condemn or analyze it. In the first years after the war, no one wanted to talk about genocide at all. This book brought the term "genocide" to the world's attention.

Racist nationalism is the brutal fruit of geographical statism. Look at the news today and compare it to the 1930s, and then pick up Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism. We have a lot to learn from her.

Yeah, that stuff is what brought Arendt to my attention. Seems worth reading more of her stuff (although I have a plenty long backlog as it is).