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Thread: Book Recommendations

  1. #1841
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    Nov 2012
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    Erie County, NY
    The Good Hand by Michael Smith - an Easterner goes to work in the North Dakota oil fields as he is at odds with himself. Interesting portrait of the work and the folks who work there. Not that much interested in his personal journal but the descriptions are a good read.

    Flight or Fright - Stephen King. Got it as audio book for driving. Scary stories about airplanes. Some are scary. Even driving around in bright sun light with the EDC, I got chills from a couple of them. Being the cargo master in a transport full of kids' bodies from the Jim Jones massacre - I'll pass on that one.

  2. #1842
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    E. Wash.
    I just finished 2034 by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis.

    It's a quick, compelling read about an out-of-control conflict between China and the U.S. that ends, well, not well.

    Cyberattacks, internet hacks, lack of communications security, Russian and Iranian opportunism are all pretty predictable.

    Good read, and sobering.

    https://www.amazon.com/2034-Novel-Ne...1216272&sr=8-1

  3. #1843
    Site Supporter NEPAKevin's Avatar
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    Feb 2011
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    Poconos, PA
    Free with Audible, Sun Tzu's Art of War read by Aidan Gillen aka Littlefinger from Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders' Aberama Gold and Mayor Carcetti on the Wire.
    "You can't win a war with choirboys. " Mad Mike Hoare

  4. #1844
    Site Supporter 0ddl0t's Avatar
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    Feb 2019
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    Jefferson
    The Premonition: A Pandemic Story
    By Michael Lewis



    https://www.amazon.com/Premonition-P...dp/0393881555/

    Far from his best book, but still worth a read.

    The Premonition is a look back at what led up to the initial response to the Covid19 pandemic. As expected from the increasingly Berkeley-ized Michael Lewis, it has ample criticism of President Trump (to the point many here would view it as Trump Derangement Syndrome). Unlike most of Lewis' books, The Premonition seems a bit disjointed and does not feel like it comes to a satisfactory conclusion. But Lewis' colorful characters/storytelling and warranted criticism of prominent liberals like President Obama (who dismantled many of Bush II's pandemic preparedness plans) & California Governor Gavin Newsom (who passed over the most qualified candidate for being "too blonde" to hire an incompetent Latina to lead California's department of public health) makes this worth the read for even the most partisan Republican.

    Spoiler (highlight to read):

    Most of Lewis' popular books (Moneyball, The Blindside, The Big Short) follow a similar theme: rational, intelligent outsiders & outcasts valiantly battle (and profit from) the political/irrational system that ignores them. The Premonition seems like it is following the same pattern except in this story the scrappy outsiders ultimately don't prevail.

    My biggest gripe is that Lewis is enamored with the idea of government stepping in to regulate and solve these problems, yet his books constantly point out the ways government structures/bureaucracies/politics fail. Likewise he often makes private businesses out as the villain yet many of the heroes come from the private sector.

    He only briefly touches on what I feel should be the biggest lesson from the pandemic response: how citizens will respond to future public health directives if, in the face of incomplete information, public health officers are to always error on the side of caution and make these big, disruptive calls. And yet he squarely blames the downfall of the CDC on making such a call with the 1976 swine flu vaccine.

    Still, the characters and their stories are entertaining and informative enough to warrant a read or listen.

  5. #1845
    Site Supporter 0ddl0t's Avatar
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    Jefferson
    Quote Originally Posted by 0ddl0t View Post
    The Premonition: A Pandemic Story

    April 2020 Military.com article mentioning one of the subjects of the book:
    Dr. Carter Mecher, the VA's senior adviser to the Office of Public Health, warned as early as Jan. 28 that the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "were behind the curve," in responding to the novel coronavirus and swift action was needed to stop it

    ...

    "You guys made fun of me, screaming to close the schools. Now I'm screaming, close the colleges and universities," wrote Mecher to the group, nicknamed "Red Dawn" for the 1984 movie that pitted actors Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen against a foreign enemy invasion.
    https://www.military.com/daily-news/...9-warning.html

  6. #1846
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    Aug 2012
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    Reno, NV
    The Social Contract (1970) by Robert Ardrey.

  7. #1847
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    Mar 2015
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    Midwest
    Quote Originally Posted by Stephanie B View Post

    "Former lover shows up and chivvies the hero into leaving his family and life behind and going off with her on a new adventure."

    Right, and when he steps back into that world, he gets hit with divorce papers, charging him with abandonment? Because that's how it seems to work IRL.
    I don't think Sally is a former lover. Just a former acquaintance from previous missions, but definitely one who shows up just to get him involved in trouble. The book did a reasonable job with the dynamic between Helen and Sally, I thought.
    Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.

  8. #1848
    Gucci gear, Walmart skill Darth_Uno's Avatar
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    Aug 2017
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    STL
    Just finished the eARC of Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter Bloodlines.

    He’s pretty much sticking with what works, so if you like all the other MHI books you’ll like this one too.

  9. #1849
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    May 2012
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    Texarkana, Texas
    I'm presently finishing up Michelle Malkan's book "Culture of Corruption" (2009) about the Obama administration. I didn't think my eyes could be opened up any more about how corrupt the Clinton and Obama administrations were. I was wrong. And incase anybody claims she's talking out of her rear, the last 79 pages of this 376 page book are notes and index. She backs up everything she claims. I've just started following her on Facebook. When I clicked the link on her FB page to go to her website, I got a notice that the Face-place couldn't send me to that site because it violates their "community standards." Sickening. I was able to copy and paste the URL. Think I'm going to be a real fan.

  10. #1850
    Beirut Rules: The Murder of a CIA Station Chief and Hezbollah's War Against America is well worth your time if you enjoy this type of book.

    It was recommended in author Jack Carr's monthly reading list which I subscribe to via email. Even if Carr's books aren't your thing, his reading list is quite good.

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