PF Cultured Book Club Thread

[OlongJohnson]

Though parts of it are clearly embellished, the general theme and ideas are quite important for almost any young person who could go to war. It's also an insightful look at Islamic culture and warrior culture that fell on deaf ears back in the UK when it came to policy in that region. Over a hundred years later, aspects of it are still extremely relevant to understanding the modern distribution of Islam-dominated countries in the Middle East and how the culture works from an interior political perspective. Plus it's fun as hell to read.

Rob beat me to it. But the fact that he's on board with this makes him a little less annoying. J/K

Seriously, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom is an amazing book. There are two critical chapters. One discusses the three dominant levantine religious traditions, and the processes that unite their origins. The other takes the whole east coast of the Mediterranean from the southern border of Turkey to the Sinai, and breaks it down into who lived there, their ethnic roots, what they believed, who they got along with, who they fought/killed on sight, and the ongoing economic processes that affected them all. Just these are worth the read.

The movie is a fantastic piece of cinematography. It steamrolled the Oscars in its year, for good reason. But it is not an accurate portrayal of the book. The transformation of Arab characters into jingoistic caricatures treads up against the line of being offensive.

Other books I highly recommend:

How we got to be this way:
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America


Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism

And a revisiting of the theme, fifty years down the road:
The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam

[RevolverRob]

Rob beat me to it. But the fact that he's on board with this makes him a little less annoying. J/K

Can't tell if J/K is about finding me a little less annoying or if J/K is over me being annoying at all...

But this man is correct. When I first read Seven Pillars, I really didn't expect much. I thought it would be anachronistic in our modern times, I was wrong. The language the Lawrence wrote in is anachronistic, but the depth and insight that he provides is almost shockingly relevant. When you couple it with even the broadest understanding of the (failures) of British Imperialism it puts the ensuing political chaos of the collapsing British Empire into great perspective.

Seriously, I can't fathom how the British managed to blunder their way from one political quagmire to another and yet today, in 2017, they somehow avoid being excoriated for their mistakes. By contrast, failures of American foreign policy, on the scale of British failures are few, and yet all are so carefully dissected to shovel blame as to become a trope. It boggles my mind...

India-Pakistan? Britain's Fault.
Palestine-Israel? Britain's Fault.
South African apartheid and subsequent destabilization of a number of southern and middle African countries? Britain's Fault.
Burma/Myanmar civil war that has lasted 50+ years? Britain's Fault.
America? Britain's Fault.
Canada? Definitely Britain's Fault.

[Cheap Shot]

Reread 7 pillars it is!

Thank you

[blues]

As long as we're talkin' pillars...this one was a pillar of my formative years:

The Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau

[pangloss]

In this vein, the Chicago Guide to Communicating Science - https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Guide...cating+Science Is really good.

I recently picked up two other books on writing/communicating science as a "narrative" -

Olson's book - https://www.amazon.com/Houston-We-Ha...RF8P5HE420PG40

And John McPhee's Draft No. 4 - https://www.amazon.com/Draft-No-4-Wr...ds=John+McPhee

McPhee is one of my favorite pop-sci writers and because I deal a lot with geology he is pretty relevant to me as a writer.

Back to the general discussion if folks here have not read Annals of the Former World (the compendium of McPhee's work on geology in North America) - it is an AMAZINGLY good read and very readable for the non-technical audience, but filled with great information for those who like technical aspects of geology as well. It's so good I use select chapters of it, when I teach Historical Geology to geology majors. - https://www.amazon.com/Annals-Former...sap_bc?ie=UTF8

All of these look like very good books. The other day I was actually thinking that I needed to read a book on geology just to broaden my general education. Not sure when I'll get to it though. I think next year is going to be my "year of unfinished books." I recently realized that I have books that I've been intending to finish for over half my life, so I really need to go ahead and do it. I'm a dreadfully slow reader.

[blues]

Finished "Killers of the Flower Moon" a couple days back. A very interesting and compelling read.

I'm now in the midst of the @JodyH recommendation, "Empire of the Summer Moon".

I was familiar with a lot of info in the book from other source material but it's a fascinating read and rendering thus far.

[Cheap Shot]

Discipline equals Freedom by Jocko Willink

Partial amazon description: "Many books offer advice on how to overcome obstacles and reach your goals―but that advice often misses the most critical ingredient: discipline. Without discipline, there will be no real progress. Discipline Equals Freedom covers it all, including strategies and tactics for conquering weakness, procrastination, and fear, and specific physical training presented in workouts for beginner, intermediate, and advanced athletes, and even the best sleep habits and food intake recommended to optimize performance.

Within these pages discover the keys to becoming stronger, smarter, faster, and healthier. There is only one way to achieve true freedom: The Way of Discipline. Read this book and find The Way."

Must read, highly recommend

[Jaywalker]

They're in the public domain, so download free books at: https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Read some of the great books I always avoided: Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) "Life on the Mississippi," and "Roughing It." Richard Henry Dana Jr. and his "Two Years Before the Mast." Fantastic books - interesting and readable.

[Arbninftry]

Once an Eagle is an excellent book, if you like a book on leadership, World War I and II history. Great read. There is a kindle version.

https://www.amazon.com/Once-Eagle-An...by+anton+myrer

[blues]

Based upon recommendations I read hereabouts, I've just begun the "Flashman" series by George MacDonald Fraser.

I think I'm going to enjoy reading the adventures of this rogue, who appears to be a bad actor after my own heart. Just the thing.