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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Dec 28, 2018 - 08:50am PT
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^^^^ At least one only has to bear one day of Ivan’s life.
Gunkie, let us know when you get through ALL of the Gulag. It gets rather repetitive.
But then that rather fits the theme.
Still trying to absorb Benoit Mandelbrot in manageable chunks. My progress is fractal.
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john hansen
climber
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Dec 28, 2018 - 09:33am PT
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Once in a high school English class we were playing Charades,,
The Gulag Archipelago is a real tough one.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Dec 28, 2018 - 09:39am PT
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I just finished "The River of Doubt."
It's about Teddy Roosevelt's epic exploration of an uncharted river deep in the Amazon river basin.
it's a good story and major epic for the "Colonel" and his party!
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Dec 28, 2018 - 10:05am PT
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35% of the book was references.
A guy's gotta build a convincing argument. I wasn't there. And first off, I've gotta convince myself that I know what I'm talking about.
Besides, I love endnotes.
I hate it when I'm reading NF and I think, "how'n the hell does (s)he know that?" and the endnotes offer no clue. Too many (most) modern NF books only source direct quotes. VERY easy for a writer to slip in some argument-buttressing-but-not-quite-truth-telling under those circumstances. Or some fiction.
No way anybody ever pages through all the sources in a bibliography to reconstruct the author's rationale. Nor should they have to.
My editor gave me the option of trimming those endnotes down to direct quotes only or of publishing them whole on my website. For better or worse, I chose the latter option. eBooks don't have size considerations, so not a problem. The damn thing's enough of a doorstop already.
(Glad you enjoyed it—and thanks for taking the time to read it.)
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Dec 28, 2018 - 10:15am PT
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I've just finished reading an advance copy of The Edge of Anarchy by Jack Kelly, a book about the 1894 Pullman/American Railroad Union strike set to publish next month. Most of us never give an iota of thought to how lucky we are—or how easy we have it.
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Nibs
Trad climber
Humboldt, CA
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Dec 28, 2018 - 11:17am PT
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Reading Jack London's The Road. Short stories about tramping in 1894. Recommend the 1970 Peregrine edition for the introduction.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Dec 28, 2018 - 11:42am PT
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The Edge of Anarchy by Jack Kelly
Just pre-ordered a copy; to be delivered JAN 8. Looking forward to it. Thanks for the tip!
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Dec 28, 2018 - 12:06pm PT
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^^^ You'll enjoy it. Bitter end of the Gilded Age.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Dec 28, 2018 - 12:24pm PT
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Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. An enjoyable read and going quickly, which is nice given that it's 600+ pages and I'm not the fastest reader. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry is waiting in the wings and whose reputation suggests it will be slower going. I've aspired to be more selfish in 2019, which includes getting outside more and spending more time with anold love--reading.
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Ward Trotter
Trad climber
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Dec 28, 2018 - 02:18pm PT
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Well-written account of the events leading up to and finally the destruction of the Vemork heavy water production plant in Norway during the Nazi occupation of that country. This plant was the only one of its kind in Europe and was crucial to Hitler's plan for a nuclear bomb.
Incredible bravery and perseverance by the Norwegian team supported by the British.
Reads like a top-notch action drama.
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DanaB
climber
CO
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Dec 28, 2018 - 03:39pm PT
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Currently reading Anti-Intellectualism in American Life by Hofstadter. Really good.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Dec 28, 2018 - 06:51pm PT
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Ward, didn't the Norwegian fellow who led that raid die pretty recently?
Those were astonishingly brave men.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Dec 29, 2018 - 05:54pm PT
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"Barons of the Sea"- Steven Ujifusa Fantastic history on the origin of the American clipper ships, the families that financed them, built them and the trade circuit during this short but intense period. China, Opium and the Brits makes for some exciting reading.
"A Man and His Ship"- Steven Ujifusa America's greatest naval architect and his quest to build the S.S. United States. Excellent!
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Dec 29, 2018 - 05:59pm PT
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I've just finished reading an advance copy of The Edge of Anarchy by Jack Kelly, a book about the 1894 Pullman/American Railroad Union strike set to publish next month. Most of us never give an iota of thought to how lucky we are—or how easy we have it.
For the rest of his life Eugene Debs refused to ride in a Pullman car.
Got a copy of The Battle of Arnhem out of the library. Montgomery was a real dick.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Dec 29, 2018 - 06:51pm PT
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Eugene Debs refused to ride in a Pullman car.
Debs: "I shall go into history right."
Do try to keep up. 😉
I'll try. ;-)
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Dec 30, 2018 - 02:47pm PT
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Treated myself to some space opera. Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey.
Fun. If I wasn't so damn busy, I'd probably summon the bile to read the rest of the series.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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Dec 30, 2018 - 03:43pm PT
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Treated myself to some space opera. Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey.
Fun. If I wasn't so damn busy, I'd probably summon the bile to read the rest of the series.
It's good, and continues to be good at least through the 3rd book(as far as I've gotten).
The TV series is well-done too. Some of the better scifi ever done for TV.
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