A Good Read?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

The Rape of Nanking - Iris Chang

I think this is a must-read for Chinese people, but also, an important read for history buffs and people who would like to read tragic, but important facts of World War II.

A warning though, I was referred to this book by a friend who couldn't stomache to read any more after getting about half-way because she started to develop a prejudice towards Japanese people in general.

I've been approached twice already (I've only had the book for a week) by strangers who have read the book with comments on how "hard" the book is to read, but how glad they were they read it.

It talks about the "forgotten holocaust of World War II" where in the span of 6 weeks, the Japanese military killed over 300,000 Chinese citizens and soldiers in the old capital of Nanking. To put this into perspective, the estimated death toll of the two atomic blasts combined was 210,000. France and Great Britain combined for an estimated 169,000 civilian deaths for the entire war. The Japanese exterminated 300,000 in 6 weeks by methods unimaginable by many as confessed by Nagatomi Hakudo, a Japanese veteran of the invasion... "Few know that soldiers impaled babies on bayonets and tossed them still alive into pots of boiling water... They gang-raped women from the ages of twelve to eighty and then killed them when they could no longer satisfy sexual requirements. I beheaded people, starved them to death, burned them, and buried them alive, over two hundred in all. It is terrible that I could turn into an animal and do these things. There are really no words to explain what I was doing. I was truly a devil."

It's important in my opinion because it's an event in history that not many people are aware of. An excerpt from the book:

"In contrast to Germany, where it is illegal for teachers to delete the Holocaust from their history curricula, the Japanese have for decades systematically purged references to the Nanking massacre from their textbooks..."

"... And it is not just the fact that while Germans have made repeated apologies to their Holocaust victims, the Japanese have enshrined their war criminals in Tokyo -- an act that one American wartime victim of the Japanese has labeled politically equivalent to "erecting a cathedral for Hitler in the middle of Berlin." "

This definitely isn't a book for everyone, but from what I can gather, there are quite a few people here who are extremely knowledgable in history and would likely be interested in reading such a book.

That book is horrific. But incredible.

[FireEgo]

Originally Posted by Kryzsky

Awesome freaking book, have read it 3 times.

If you like that, and want a little more in-depth, but still an easy ready I recomend GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL by Jared Diamond - It won the Pulitzer

it attempts to explain why Eurasian civilization, as a whole, has survived and conquered others, while refuting the belief that Eurasian hegemony is due to any form of Eurasian intellectual or moral superiority. Diamond argues that the gaps in power and technology between human societies do not reflect cultural or racial differences, but rather originate in environmental differences powerfully amplified by various positive feedback loops. He also, most explicitly in the epilogue, argues that societies with food surpluses and high-to-moderate degrees of interaction with outsiders are more likely to encourage great people to realize their full potential and to adopt new inventions.

I am reading another of Diamonds books now - Collapse - which is not as good - but just as thought provoking...

[shoestring]

An Alternative View of Change by A Burke.

Over the years I have lent out and then repurchased several books;
Fear and Loathing by Hunter S. Thompson. x 15
The Zen and Art of motorcycle maintence x 10
by Robert M Pirsig.
1984, Farenheit 451,Brave New World, etc.,...
And Sheakespeare and Grisham.

Maybe nobody likes what I read! Cool .Just READ !

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

If you like non-fiction, I'm reading a book by Laura Penny - "Your Call Is Important to Us: The Truth About Bullsh*t."

With great insight, she carves up just about every institution especially advertisers and the media. Before I read the book, I thought my BS deflecters were pretty effective. Now I can't believe the stuff that gets by me sometimes.

[Red Mile Style]

I read No Logo by Naomi Klein (Canadian) for a non-fiction english class in university and it changed my life.

Shake Hands With the Devil by Romeo Dallaire (also Canadian). He was a Canadian in charge of the UN mission to Rwanda during the genocide of the early 1990's. If you've seen Hotel Rwanda, this is much more in depth and details the politics involved. This is NOT a feel good book, in fact you will feel like cutting your wrists after reading it. CAUTION: May cause nausea.

America: The Book by Jon Stewart. This is a hillarious, easy read that is damn near impossible to put down.

Anything by Noam Chomsky - he is my favourite author, and by far the most notable intellectual of our time. He's particularily interesting because he is an orthodox Jew that criticizes Israel/U.S. policies. His books are not easy reads, at all. He is a linguistics instructor at MIT, so reading one sentence in his book is like reading a paragraph in a normal book.

[SpecialK12]

The Time Traveller's Wife (by Audrey Niffenegger) - I had it bought for me as a gift but it was a really interesting (crazy) book.

Most by Douglas Coupland (just finished Girlfriend in a coma..crazy).

Love in the Present Tense (by Catherine Ryan, same person who wrote Pay It Forward)- originally thought it was going to be more of a "chic book".. not at all, really enjoyable read for everyone

The Horn of a Lamb (by Robert Sedlack) - I highly recommend this, especially for hockey fans. It's one of both mine and my husband's favourite books. Also African Safari papers by Robert Sedlack - a little more disturbing than the first but a really good read. If anyone checks these out I'd love to know what you think.

I just started reading "Lost Girls and Love Hotels", a relatively new release and so far it seems like it's going to be really good.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by kermitology

When I was in Ireland I picked up a book called White Teeth by Zadie Smith that was really well done. Apparently it's everywhere in the UK right now (came out in 2000 though).

Good story about the cultural problems with immigration in London. Some really good lines and the ending brought up something from the middle of the book that ended up being fantastic.

I highly recommed!

Good book, it was required reading for a course I took at U of C in 2001. She wrote it at age 23, which depresses me. I think it is kind of old news in the UK now, but there are adverts everywhere in London at the moment for her new book, On Beauty. I'm sure it is big like her others.

[Frank the Tank]

Into the Wild by John Krakauer is fantastic as well.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Coelah

Oh yeah. Great writer. Fear And Loathing has to be one of the best books, at least for me. Right up there with Kerouac's On The Road.

I read Fear and Loathing last summer and to be honest, I didn't think it was that great. I should have read it when I was 16, I probably would have enjoyed it more then. As for On The Road, that's a book I read at 16 that should probably have read now instead. There's a lot more to take out of that one.

Some interesting reads are:

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess; and
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

You'll start each book not understanding a thing and by the end you will feel as though you've learned a new language.

[prarieboy]

Two that I really like are

King Rat by James Clavel
A Farewll to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

Into the Wild by John Krakauer is fantastic as well.

I second this...

Into the Wild was a good book!

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Red Mile Style

I read No Logo by Naomi Klein (Canadian) for a non-fiction english class in university and it changed my life.

Shake Hands With the Devil by Romeo Dallaire (also Canadian). He was a Canadian in charge of the UN mission to Rwanda during the genocide of the early 1990's. If you've seen Hotel Rwanda, this is much more in depth and details the politics involved. This is NOT a feel good book, in fact you will feel like cutting your wrists after reading it. CAUTION: May cause nausea.

America: The Book by Jon Stewart. This is a hillarious, easy read that is damn near impossible to put down.

Anything by Noam Chomsky - he is my favourite author, and by far the most notable intellectual of our time. He's particularily interesting because he is an orthodox Jew that criticizes Israel/U.S. policies. His books are not easy reads, at all. He is a linguistics instructor at MIT, so reading one sentence in his book is like reading a paragraph in a normal book.

I don't know if Shake Hands With the Devil causes nausea. It's an interesting book, and fairly well written considering he's a soldier. The whole situation just makes you angry though. The whole thing could have been avoided if people listened.

But it's not a good idea to read that book after reading Gulag during the lockout winter when you're battling depression. Trust me.

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by FireEgo

If you like that, and want a little more in-depth, but still an easy ready I recomend GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL by Jared Diamond - It won the Pulitzer

They made a 3 part documentary from this book to. It was airing on the History channel. It was very, very interesting.

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by icarus

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

The sequel, Porno, is also quite good. But a word of warning, its not for the faint of heart (none of Welsh's books are, actually). Its the same crew from Trainspotting, trying to make a porno flick.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by kermitology

I don't know if Shake Hands With the Devil causes nausea. It's an interesting book, and fairly well written considering he's a soldier...

Dallaire was a senior officer, not a soldier (and now a senator). He is well-educated, so you shouldn't be surprised it is well written. If you ever get the chance to meet him you will see that he is very intelligent.

And which Gulag did you read? The newer one, or Solzhenitsyn's? If Solzhenitsyn (my favourite author), was it the abriged or multi-volume version?

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Red Mile Style

Anything by Noam Chomsky - he is my favourite author, and by far the most notable intellectual of our time. He's particularily interesting because he is an orthodox Jew that criticizes Israel/U.S. policies. His books are not easy reads, at all. He is a linguistics instructor at MIT, so reading one sentence in his book is like reading a paragraph in a normal book.

Wow, you just walked into a hornet's nest. Search back for some of the old Chomsky debates. He is hated by many here.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by icarus

And which Gulag did you read? The newer one, or Solzhenitsyn's? If Solzhenitsyn (my favourite author), was it the abriged or multi-volume version?

Not the Gulag Archipelago.. It's a book called Gulag that talks about the history, life in the camps, how you get in there...etc.. It's quite dark. I'd like to read the Gulag Archipelago though.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by kermitology

Not the Gulag Archipelago.. It's a book called Gulag that talks about the history, life in the camps, how you get in there...etc.. It's quite dark. I'd like to read the Gulag Archipelago though.

Yeah that's the newer one I was talking about. I'll have to have a look. If you read the Gulag Archipelago, just know that the recent abridged version is ****. The two chapters that deal with escape attempts are completely excised.

[North East Goon]

Thanks for all the great recommendations all. I picked up like 8 of these books at the used bookstore this weekend. I am currently reading American Rhapsody by Joe Esterhazs, it is pretty cool.

[Cowperson]

For pure pulp, space opera, science fiction fun, Kevin J. Anderson's Saga Of The Seven Suns series is very entertaining.

I don't think I've ever seen a series of books end so blatantly with enormous cliff-hangers designed to practically force you to run back to the book store to buy the next one to find out what happens.

Great summer "on the deck" reading . . . . New York Times bestsellers and well-reviewed

Hidden Empire (2002)
A Forest Of Stars (2003)
Horizon Storms (2004)
Scattered Suns (2005)
Of Fire and Night (2006)

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/...den-empire.htm

Cowperson



Cowperson