It Mark Twain's autobiography any good?
I'm assuming someone here would have read volume I by now.
I'm assuming someone here would have read volume I by now.
It's about 2000 pages long...AussieReaper wrote:
It Mark Twain's autobiography any good?
I'm assuming someone here would have read volume I by now.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
imagine how i feelJohnG@lt wrote:
It's about 2000 pages long...AussieReaper wrote:
It Mark Twain's autobiography any good?
I'm assuming someone here would have read volume I by now.
i'm doing my finalist's dissertation on marcel proust's 'a la recherche du temps perdu'
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
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I'm finally getting around to reading Fahrenheit 451. Can't believe I never have.
Also got Brave New World, What Every Body Is Saying (based of a recommendation in this thread), Michael Crichton's last book Pirate Latitutdes and The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis, author of The Blind Side.
Also got Brave New World, What Every Body Is Saying (based of a recommendation in this thread), Michael Crichton's last book Pirate Latitutdes and The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis, author of The Blind Side.
F451 was an ok book IMO. it really just didn't appeal to me.
done.Kmar wrote:
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libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
Fiasco - The American Military Adventure In Iraq. Thomas E Ricks
If there is anyone who still believes:
The US govt had any evidence Iraq had WMDs
The US govt had any evidence Iraq had any connection with AQ
The Iraqi insurgency was unexpected
They should read this book.
It follows the actions of the US govt in planning the Iraq invasion from 9/11 along two tracks, the military preparations and advice to the govt, the strategy the executive formulated.
Its incredible the US govt ignored the available advice and put in place no plan for the immediate post-invasion period or the inevitable civil unrest which followed.
Its remarkable also the US military apparently forgot and had to relearn all the lessons learned from Vietnam and other counter-insurgencies.
Due to the above a violent and protracted insurgency was an absolute given.
The book draws from contemporaneous records and interviews with most of the main people involved.
I still don't know if it was the US intention to create a quagmire, Bremer's actions are so bizarre thats the only conclusion I can reach.
Otherwise Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bremer and some of the US commanders must be the most inept political and military leaders the world has seen.
(The Marines came out of it quite well)
If there is anyone who still believes:
The US govt had any evidence Iraq had WMDs
The US govt had any evidence Iraq had any connection with AQ
The Iraqi insurgency was unexpected
They should read this book.
It follows the actions of the US govt in planning the Iraq invasion from 9/11 along two tracks, the military preparations and advice to the govt, the strategy the executive formulated.
Its incredible the US govt ignored the available advice and put in place no plan for the immediate post-invasion period or the inevitable civil unrest which followed.
Its remarkable also the US military apparently forgot and had to relearn all the lessons learned from Vietnam and other counter-insurgencies.
Due to the above a violent and protracted insurgency was an absolute given.
The book draws from contemporaneous records and interviews with most of the main people involved.
I still don't know if it was the US intention to create a quagmire, Bremer's actions are so bizarre thats the only conclusion I can reach.
Otherwise Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bremer and some of the US commanders must be the most inept political and military leaders the world has seen.
(The Marines came out of it quite well)
Fuck Israel
On the other hand Dilbert right now I'm reading Lone Survivor and being only 40 pages in it's one hell of a well-written eyewitness account to what took place in Iraq/Afghanistan. I would definitely recommend it to you as opposed to the views of a journalist who has never even been anywhere near a terrorist (definitely not in the same way as people who are sent to do their duties over there... imo their opinions aren't heard or asked for enough, at all).
Arrived in the mail today and although it has an extremely nationalistic opening (I dont mind tbh) I had a pretty hard time putting down the book to do something else. One page in and I was hooked.
Arrived in the mail today and although it has an extremely nationalistic opening (I dont mind tbh) I had a pretty hard time putting down the book to do something else. One page in and I was hooked.
Last edited by dayarath (2011-01-07 14:29:34)
inane little opines
It's a great book, so is generation killdayarath wrote:
On the other hand Dilbert right now I'm reading Lone Survivor and being only 40 pages in it's one hell of a well-written eyewitness account to what took place in Iraq/Afghanistan. I would definitely recommend it to you as opposed to the views of a journalist who has never even been anywhere near a terrorist (definitely not in the same way as people who are sent to do their duties over there... imo their opinions aren't heard or asked for enough, at all).
Arrived in the mail today and although it has an extremely nationalistic opening (I dont mind tbh) I had a pretty hard time putting down the book to do something else. One page in and I was hooked.
Last edited by JohnG@lt (2011-01-07 15:04:56)
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
noJohnG@lt wrote:
generation kill
Did you read the book? It's fantastic.11 Bravo wrote:
noJohnG@lt wrote:
generation kill
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
I still need to read Lone Survivor. Michael Murphy is my good friend's cousin.
Poseidon wrote:
I still need to read Lone Survivor. Michael Murphy is was my good friend's cousin.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
Dick.
I know. I felt bad doing that.Poseidon wrote:
Dick.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
yet ya did it anywayJohnG@lt wrote:
I know. I felt bad doing that.Poseidon wrote:
Dick.
I recommend anything by Ralph Peters to Dil.. that is if he is like me and enjoys reading opposing views.
btw, don't hesitate to invite other friends to join the group http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/41950.Bf2S
btw, don't hesitate to invite other friends to join the group http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/41950.Bf2S
Xbone Stormsurgezz
Accounts of individual battles are not so interesting as the overall strategy - we're still in Afghanistan 10 years on and getting nowhere - cool firefights don't necessarily help.dayarath wrote:
On the other hand Dilbert right now I'm reading Lone Survivor and being only 40 pages in it's one hell of a well-written eyewitness account to what took place in Iraq/Afghanistan. I would definitely recommend it to you as opposed to the views of a journalist who has never even been anywhere near a terrorist (definitely not in the same way as people who are sent to do their duties over there... imo their opinions aren't heard or asked for enough, at all).
I'll have a look at it, from the review it looks like he's asking the same questions, we'll see if he gets the same answers.Kmar wrote:
I recommend anything by Ralph Peters to Dil.. that is if he is like me and enjoys reading opposing views.
The book I mentioned didn't say tackling terrorism or extremism is wrong - just that the way the US is going about it is totally counter-productive. We're closer to AQ getting hold of Pakistan's nukes than ever for example, and by getting distracted by Iraq are now facing a nuclear Iran.
The Iraq insurgency could have been entirely avoided, the US seems to have set out to make it as bad as possible.
And so on.
Last edited by Dilbert_X (2011-01-07 23:09:49)
Fuck Israel
I can't disagree with that.Dilbert_X wrote:
the US seems to have set out to make it as bad as possible.
And so on.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
The book doesn't simply focus on the individual account of what took place. Wasn't a 'cool firefight' either.Dilbert_X wrote:
Accounts of individual battles are not so interesting as the overall strategy - we're still in Afghanistan 10 years on and getting nowhere - cool firefights don't necessarily help.
inane little opines
Communist Manifesto eh?
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
What gave it away http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4728394?page=1JohnG@lt wrote:
Communist Manifesto eh?
Yes, if you haven't noticed I've dived into political theology lately. I'm actually listening to it on audiobook.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
It's a short book. Shouldn't take you more than a few hours honestly.Kmar wrote:
What gave it away http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4728394?page=1JohnG@lt wrote:
Communist Manifesto eh?
Yes, if you haven't noticed I've dived into political theology lately. I'm actually listening to it on audiobook.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat
-Frederick Bastiat
Right, I think it was only about a 50mb download. That was including the pdf version.
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