Saturday, October 24, 2009

C2 Coffee Bar Book Thread: What are you reading?


It's a sleepy Saturday, so let's talk books. What's on your nightstand right now?

Posted by Corre∫pondence Committee at 3:00 PM
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42 comments:

  1. I just finished B. Cornwell's "Agincourt" and am still in middle of "Rubicon" by Tom Holland.

    Going to read more of Cornwell's novels thanks to tips form Spenser here at C2.

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  2. Hey, Centaur! Thanks for kicking this off. It's so quiet in here today, but maybe we can generate a little discussion.

    I'll be right back. I've got to look at the name of the last book I downloaded to my Kindle - I bought it before we started designing and now I can't even remember the title! (Pathetic!) It's about Bataan, though. (I love WWII history.)

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  3. Tears in Darkness! I can't wait to have a little bit of my life back so I can start reading it.

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  5. I just started 'Roots of Radicalism: Jews, Christians, and the New Left' by Stanley Rothman.

    There was a discussion here about it a couple of weeks ago, interesting enough that it got me to dig it up on half.com. Found it for 1.99 in hardcover. Very interesting so far, although I am still in chapter one (youthful fervor, civil rights movement, academia, SNCC, Berkeley, bohemianism, bourgeoisie, 'welfare-state capitalism', anti-war radicalism, etc.). The next chapter is 'Probing the Radical Psyche' ...right down my alley. :-)

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  6. Hey CC -- I haven't much WW II stuff. I tend to like the ancient to medieval best, as you can see form the titles above, though as I mentioned a few days ago Tuchman's "Guns of August" (WW I) is a great read.

    I've been really into historical fiction though lately.

    Before that I had a good stretch of reading anything Zombie related. Ah ... the beauty of a library card.

    I cannot stick around now though ...be back later.

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  7. Howdy. Been shootin'. It was a good day for it here (rainy, windy).

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  8. See you soon, Centaur!

    Pinkie, that sounds like a very interesting book. Have you ever read Radical Son, by David Horowitz? I've read it two or three times...fascinating look at that movement.

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  9. Oh, and I'm re-reading "As I Lay Dying".

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  10. "The Guns of August"? Sounds to me like a buyers' guide.

    /

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  12. CC, did someone fart or something? Where'd everyone go?

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  13. By the way, I went to Amazon to grab the name of the book that's warming up in my bullpen, did a search for "Bataan", and it asked me if I meant "Batman". Heh.

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  14. . Have you ever read Radical Son, by David Horowitz?

    Not yet, CC, but it's on my list.

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  15. I read Horowitz's Unholy Alliance, but not Radical Son.

    Right now, I'm almost done with The Elegant Universe, by Brian Greene, and, on my Blackberry (mobipocket reader), but only maybe 1/4 of the way through, The Northworld Trilogy by David Drake.

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  16. Just finished Kati Marton's Enemies of the People My Family's Journey to America

    Some of you may remember her as a correspondant for ABC news. She was married to Peter Jennings and is now married to Richard Holbrooke.

    Her parents Endre (Andrew) and Ilona were quite the heroes. This is Hungary in the throes of the Nazi and then the Russian Occupation - and how her family made it to America.

    This is a love letter to the parents she never really knew because they tried so hard to protect their children - and how she finally, after their passing, found what really happened to them and how loved she really was.

    She was given access to the AVO files (Hungarian secret police) from which much of this book is written.

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  17. Any gun nuts in da house?

    Here's the question: I'm thinking of replacing the forend on my Mossberg 590 with an integrated forend/tactical light from Surefire:

    http://www.surefire.com/Mossberg590500

    They're a little pricey, but I've got the dough, it's not an issue.

    I currently have more or less this setup on my 590 to provide illumination of any and all goblins:

    http://www.tacstar.com/weapons-light-system.php

    It's better than nothing, but I'm increasingly desirous of stepping to the Surefire product. The Tacstar light tends to work its way back when the shotgun is fired; the illumination is so-so; and I find the positioning of the pressure switch, plus keeping the curly-cord out of the way, awkward.

    The only thing that gives me pause; to install the Surefire light, I'd have to Dremel off the bayonet lug on the 590. Is it worth it? And do I need to go to a gunsmith to do that?

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  18. I read Horowitz's Unholy Alliance, but not Radical Son.

    Kosh, Pinkie: Radical Son is just amazing. It gives a lot of background about how the New Left took root in this country, about his communist parents and what they were doing underground and in the NYC school system. It's a very enlightening book.

    My favorite piece from Horowitz is at the end of the book he wrote with David Collier called Destructive Generation. It's called "Letter to a Political Friend", I think...I wish I could find it online so I could post it on C2. (And that's another great book, by the way.)

    I should see if he'd respond to a request for permission to publish part of it here. It is SO GOOD.

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  21. CC
    I should see if he'd respond to a request for permission to publish part of it here.

    Do it.

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  22. Sorry to interrupt the book thread with a gun question. But guns are kind of like books, in a way. Sort of. If you kind of... hold 'em at an angle, and squint at 'em. On a foggy night, with no moon.

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  23. Sheesh, did I scare away all the bookworms?

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  24. Sandwiches are like books, too. Discuss. : )

    (O/R, never feel guilty about bringing up guns or anything else, on any thread...with the exception of, you know. ; )

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  25. Sheesh, did I scare away all the bookworms?

    Nah, weekends are just incredibly slow around here. It used to worry me, but come Monday, the place will be jumping again.

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  26. with the exception of, you know

    You're referring of course to... The Rule in Shelley's Case?

    http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Rule+in+Shelley's+Case

    I promise this is the last time I'll mention it.

    /

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  27. There might be a LITTLE more action in the Pub tonight; I know at least a few people will be in there...Brandy, for one.

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  28. Okay, gotta get ready for a dinner party. Have a good night, C2ers.

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  29. Yes, yes, that's what I was referring to. Yeah. That was it. ; )

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  30. CC, did someone fart or something? Where'd everyone go?

    I just saw this. [Looks suspiciously at Bare.]

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  32. Occasional Reader said...
    Sheesh, did I scare away all the bookworms?

    ">Scare away away a bookworm?

    Why, no of course not.

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  33. C² I'll look for Radical Son. Sounds interesting.
    Unholy Alliance is on how the left got allied with radical Islam. That's how I found out about Horowitz.

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  34. Hi, gak! I'm good. Enjoying a short break from the usual hectic pace around here. Should be very slow in the Pub tonight, too...but starting tomorrow night, the Halloween Pub threads Pi Guy put together are going up, so that should be especially fun. I even did a new Pub graphic for it. ; )

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  35. Kosh, I have that book too...haven't read it yet, but it's been sitting on my shelf for quite some time. (One of these days!)

    Do pick up Radical Son if you have a chance. I think you would find it fascinating. His parents were communists - his entire neighborhood as a child was made up of communists, practically.

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  36. Actually I'm not reading anything - just watching a cool video: http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=16297

    And sorry y'all but this is a drive by post, gotta go eat dinner - hope y'all are doing well and that I get the chance to see you all down the road later on!

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  37. C² I'll look for it.

    And I have a jukebox selection for the Halloween pub threads.

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  38. I just picked up a few books I had wait listed for me at the library. Got "What the Dog Saw" Malcolm Gladwell, "Horse Soldiers" by Doug Stanton and last but not least..."Sense and Sensability and Sea Monsters" by Jane Austin and Ben Winters. The last book has a cover blurb that says...a new tale of romance, heartbreak and tentacled mayhem. Whoa, I love all of those things. LOL How could I resist?

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  39. Hi snowcrash!

    Gladwell is one of my favorite authors. Just love his stuff ...his dad was a mathematician, his mom was a psychologist ... I've seen him interviewed and find him to be a fascinating person.

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  40. Let's head up to the pub ... we can talk about tentacled mayhem there. LOL!

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  41. Occasional Reader,

    Have you considered a tri-rail mag tube mount? They are fairly inexpensive and they give you the option of either left, right or bottom mount. I've got them on three of our Mossbergs. Left on the 590 and below on the 500's. I've got the SpecOps adjustable stocks on all of them as well:

    SpecOps Adjustable Shotgun Stock

    The stocks made a huge difference when I was taking a tactical shotgun course.

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  42. Awesome, Kosh! I'll look forward to it!

    See you guys upstairs.

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