I just fininished up "Wisdom of Crowds" as well. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The entirety of the First Law books are fantastic.Originally Posted by Darth_Uno
I just fininished up "Wisdom of Crowds" as well. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The entirety of the First Law books are fantastic.
CHAOS: Charles Manson, The CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties
This is a book I didn't really want to read, but my wife kept bugging me so I did.
I'm far from uninformed about the various shenanigans our government got up to during the Cold War but in general books tying those into specific events tend to be poorly done. There was a lot of institutional incompetence during that time as well, and that tends to be glossed over in eagerness and you end up with statements like the CIA is responsible for the Crack Epidemic.
If there's anything missing, well, they're just hiding it. That's their thing, after all.
This isn't that. The author is an extremely reluctant conspiracy theorist. He spent decades on this book. The case laid out is skeptical, thoroughly researched and no wild leaps of faith are required.
You feel for the author. You can feel him getting sucked in against his will. I've read other works that are the result of decades of obsession and often you can feel the mental illness come off the pages. The author did a good job of keeping himself grounded, and he resists the temptation of tying everything up neatly to justify the years.
Heartily recommend.
Shattered Seas trilogy is great as well. It's like they said, "Joe, YA books are where the money's at. You have to write one." So he made the POV characters a little bit younger, took out all the swearing, pretty much left everything else the same and said, "Here ya go."
Reread for the umpteenth time To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth.
Got the Kindle version for 8.99.
Now rereading Fireworks, also 8.99.
Cooper was an elegant and witty writer. My God if he could see the current mess.
He first called Biden "A lickspittle lapdog of the lunatic left" 3 decades ago.
“The Dope”, by Benjamin Smith, a history of the Mexican drug trade.
Reading it, I have to wonder why we just can’t admit that the various wars and campaigns against drug trafficking are like shoveling shit against the tide and that we should legalize drug use. But that’s not going to happen, too many people would be out of a job.
And somehow we haven't been able to solve the crime problem either...but the Dems are heading toward a solution. No bail, no jail. It's all good.
(And I agree that the "war" on drugs has been very bittersweet. I'll leave it at that as it deserves more than just a line for an answer. (No pun intended.)
There's nothing civil about this war.
The Ottoman Endgame: War, Revolution, and the Making of the Modern Middle East, 1908-1923
Sean McMeekin
A period of history that I didn't know much about. Of course, we are still fighting the fallout of the machinations of the Turks, Russians, British, Arabs, French, Balkans, Caucasus states, etc.
Hawkwood's Sword: https://www.amazon.com/Hawkwoods-Swo.../dp/B08QHTPR1G
$1.99 right now. I paid $11.76 for it last month, and it was worth it.
5th book of the "Chivalry" series, which several people here recommended. I've enjoyed them all, and this one was perhaps my favorite.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
There is a short story prequel.
The Dark Hours, by Michael Connelly. It's the fourth Bosch-Ballard book. Bosch is moving into the supporting character role.
Which makes sense, given that the books are contemporary and that Harry is in his early 70s.
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