Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
Very good if you enjoy this kind of thing. What separates this from other history of campaign/battle type books is the detail the author goes into regarding the geography, terrain and sheer difficulty the French faced fighting in the jungles and valleys of Indochina. And how easy it was for their opponents. Fascinating. Doesn't explain why the Viet Minh took heads though.
havoc said:
Currently half-way through this. Nicely written and with some very level-headed insight into the major (and some lesser) players on the world stage, why they behave the way they do, and the history behind it.
Read the first review on Amazon after seeing your post, does seem to be the kind of book I would like. Not too heavy but informative enough to make you think 'oh yeah, course it is' about various interesting enough almost trivia style (if not trivial) factoids. Am I anywhere near the mark or is it much more sophisticated than that?
Currently enjoying 'Four Sisters' by Helen Rappaport, a great analysis of the the four executed Romanov daughters of the last Tsar of Russia; it's about my thirtieth book on Russian History from the mid Victorian to mid 20th Century period.
Has anyone got any recommendations to break into Chinese History from the similar period; i.e. the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Warlord Period, the Chiang administration and the rise of Mao-ism.
Has anyone got any recommendations to break into Chinese History from the similar period; i.e. the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Warlord Period, the Chiang administration and the rise of Mao-ism.
I actually thought it sounded promising. Tony Angelino said:
havoc said:
Currently half-way through this. Nicely written and with some very level-headed insight into the major (and some lesser) players on the world stage, why they behave the way they do, and the history behind it.
Read the first review on Amazon after seeing your post, does seem to be the kind of book I would like. Not too heavy but informative enough to make you think 'oh yeah, course it is' about various interesting enough almost trivia style (if not trivial) factoids. Am I anywhere near the mark or is it much more sophisticated than that?Recurring themes (given the title) are access to resources/raw materials, and vulnerability to invasion.
It's definitely worth a read if you follow geopolitics and don't really understand the media portrayal of some events.
joshcowin said:
Coming to the end of this, very different from what I usually read, found it interesting and certainly opened my eyes to certain things!
A touch too much bumming for my normal tastes but an extraordinary, moving, sentimental book that is unlike anything I have read and characters that you know like no others by the end of the book.
The odd thing is, trying to persuade someone else to wade their way through 800 pages of it and trying to explain what it is 'about'. Impossible!
blindswelledrat said:
One of the best books I have read in years.
A touch too much bumming for my normal tastes but an extraordinary, moving, sentimental book that is unlike anything I have read and characters that you know like no others by the end of the book.
The odd thing is, trying to persuade someone else to wade their way through 800 pages of it and trying to explain what it is 'about'. Impossible!
So, er, what IS it about???? Not bumming, surely?A touch too much bumming for my normal tastes but an extraordinary, moving, sentimental book that is unlike anything I have read and characters that you know like no others by the end of the book.
The odd thing is, trying to persuade someone else to wade their way through 800 pages of it and trying to explain what it is 'about'. Impossible!
King Herald said:
So, er, what IS it about???? Not bumming, surely?
Four friends over several decades, basically. Try the reviews:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Life-Hanya-Yanagih...
They put me off; I doubt I'll bother.
grumbledoak said:
King Herald said:
So, er, what IS it about???? Not bumming, surely?
Four friends over several decades, basically. Try the reviews:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Life-Hanya-Yanagih...
They put me off; I doubt I'll bother.
Its very good, yes lots of homo stuff (well some of the men in it are homosexuals so its no surprise),but its worth getting through, you get emotionally involved with Jude, not finished yet but should do this weekend!
I usually read Cornwell, Iggulden, this has kept me reading after the first 200pages it really gets going.
grumbledoak said:
King Herald said:
So, er, what IS it about???? Not bumming, surely?
Four friends over several decades, basically. Try the reviews:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Life-Hanya-Yanagih...
They put me off; I doubt I'll bother.
I could take any 'good' book and write a valid 1 star or 5 star review about it, depending on how you take it.
If you look at the 5 star reviews it sounds like a brilliant book and if you look at the one star reviews it sounds awful.
However the good ones outweigh the bad ones, it was shortlisted for the booker prize and the press reviews were pretty much universally excellent which lends it far more credence than what a bloke on the amazon site thinks.
Edited by blindswelledrat on Friday 4th November 09:34
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