MobileRead March 2009 book nominations

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Marian0121

I have heard good things about The Dark Side by Jane Mayer. It has been on my to read list.

Marian

I've started reading The Dark Side and I'm finding it to be very scary. It's scary because it's true. It makes me want to see George W. Bush and Dick Chaney on trial as war criminals for what they did to this country.

[Dr. Drib]

Ann Rule

summaries/abtracts added. See post #30.



Don


Non-Fiction == That which is TRUE.

Non == Not

[Ea]

I nominate "The origin of species" by Darwin.

I read a good review of it in the paper two days ago, which stressed its good language and general accessibility, so I thought it could be interesting to read.
It's also a book that has made a great impact, and knowing what it is about first hand, can only be a good thing. Finally, it's Darwin's 200 years birthday anniversary this year, so I thought it could be extra fitting to read it.

[Richard Herley]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I'd like to nominate Apsley Cherry-Garrard's "The Worst Journey in the World"

"As Apsley Cherry-Garrard states in his introduction to the harrowing story of the Scott expedition to the South Pole, "Polar Exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time which has been devised." Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World is a gripping account of an expedition gone disastrously wrong. The youngest member of Scott's team, the author was later part of the rescue party that eventually found the frozen bodies of Scott and three men who had accompanied Scott on the final push to the Pole. These deaths would haunt Cherry-Garrard for the rest of his life as he questioned the decisions he had made and the actions he had taken in the days leading up to the Polar Party's demise."

Madam Broshkina for providing the book.

I'd like to second that.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

OK, trying to make some nominations that fit in the eBooks and eBook readers... Here are two:

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
The premise of this facile piece of pop sociology has built-in appeal: little changes can have big effects; when small numbers of people start behaving differently, that behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or "tipping point" is reached, changing the world. Gladwell's thesis that ideas, products, messages and behaviors "spread just like viruses do" remains a metaphor as he follows the growth of "word-of-mouth epidemics" triggered with the help of three pivotal types.

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
In The Long Tail, Chris Anderson offers a visionary look at the future of business and common culture. The long-tail phenomenon, he argues, will "re-shape our understanding of what people actually want to watch" (or read, etc.). While Anderson presents a fascinating idea backed by thoughtful (if repetitive) analysis, many critics questioned just how greatly the niche market will rework our common popular culture.

How To Really Stink At Gold by Jeff Foxworthy
As a longtime golfer, Jeff Foxworthy has learned something important about the grand auld game: It’s not who has the highest score, it’s who has the least fun playing it. And now, in his hilarious primer How to Really Stink at Golf, Foxworthy shares his invaluable tips for a lifetime of horrible drives and putts.

(On Intelligence and The Cukko's Egg I wanted to add, but neither was an ebook, at least not in the Kindle store.)

There's tons of good stuff... Like The World is Flat, Outliers, When Your Engulfed in Flames too. But the above three are my official noms.

BOb

I've read Tipping Point, but I'll second it because it's awesome.

I haven't read When You Are Engulfed in Flames, but I've read all of his other stuff.

[5stack]

May I suggest "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell ?

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by 5stack

May I suggest "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell ?

You may - what's it about?

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

How To Really Stink At Gold by Jeff Foxworthy

Gold ?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

Gold ?

Opps.. fixed typo. Should be golf... as you can tell from the description.

BOb

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

You may - what's it about?

http://www.wikisummaries.org/Blink:_...thout_Thinking

"With the publication of several best-selling books, reporter Malcolm Gladwell has emerged in the 2000s as one of the most influential figures in American letters. Extending the trademark style that he developed in 2000’s The Tipping Point, Gladwell’s research in 2005’s Blink spans many different disciplines and areas of study in a dazzlingly comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms and processes that underlie our ability to make decisions rapidly."

[Nickfdr]

Originally Posted by _Ea_

I nominate "The origin of species" by Darwin.

I read a good review of it in the paper two days ago, which stressed its good language and general accessibility, so I thought it could be interesting to read.
It's also a book that has made a great impact, and knowing what it is about first hand, can only be a good thing. Finally, it's Darwin's 200 years birthday anniversary this year, so I thought it could be extra fitting to read it.

I second this!

[Nickfdr]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I would like to nominate "The Complete Works of Plato", from our own MR Library. Plato asked "the questions" that philosophers are still trying to answer 2,500 years later and, moreover, many of his "Dialogs" are extremely witty and fun to read. The introductory essay by Benjamin Jowett that each dialog has only adds to the interest and enjoyment of them.

I would second this if I never already seconded Darwins Origin of Species very similar to my United States Constitution , Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche and Hume, David: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Nickfdr

I would second this if I never already seconded Darwins Origin of Species very similar to my United States Constitution , Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche and Hume, David: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

You can second more than one book. I don't think we have limited it... sort of unspoken rule that you can nominate 3. But, we have never really enforced anything. We certainly don't want one person seconding everything.

BOb

[Nickfdr]

Oh ok, well then I second Darwin's Origin of Species and The Complete Works of Plato and I nominate (you can't second what you nominate right) United States Constitution , Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche and Hume, David: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

[Kokomo Lee]

I would like to nominate A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird. Available at MobileRead, Manybooks.net, and other fine eBook establishments near you .

To quote our own BenG (who describes the book much better than I can):
"A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains is a rare, gem of a book which contains letters written to her sister during her six-month journey through the Colorado Rockies in 1873. Traveling alone, usually on horseback, often with no clear idea of where she will spend the night in what is mostly uninhabited wilderness, she covers over a thousand miles, most of it during the winter months.

A well-educated woman who had known a comfortable life, she thinks nothing of herding cattle at a hard gallop, falling through ice, getting lost in snowstorms, and living in a cabin where the temperatures are well below zero and her ink freezes even as she writes. She befriends desperados and climbs 14,000 foot mountains, ready for any adventure that allows her to see the unparalleled beauty of nature. Her rare complaints have more to do with having to ride side-saddle while in town than with the conditions she faces. An awe-inspiring woman, she is also a talented writer who brings to life Colorado of more than one hundred years ago, when today's big cities were only a small collection of frame houses, and beautiful areas were still largely untouched".

This is an amazing book. I was expecting a travelogue, and discovered an adventurous gem!

Sherri