(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best historical biographies

>What's the difference (if any) between a comic book and a graphic novel?

Comic Book: A "book" that tells a story in comic form. Now the book part varies and can mean a number of things.

It could refer to:

Single Issue: A comic story that is smaller than a graphic novel. Typically ~32 to 48 pages. These are also called floppies and are those books that you see in a Comic Book Store.

Graphic Novel: Usually, refers to a story told in comic form which is contained in a single book. For example, Watchmen or Maus are graphic novels.

Trade Paperbacks: Also called trades are books that have collected several single issues into 1 book. For example, New52 Batman Vol 1: The Court of Owls contains Issues #1 to #7 of New52 Batman.

Trades are different from Graphic Novels in that they don't have the complete story in them. Going back to the Batman example it's only "Volume 1" of 10 Volumes.

Note The words trade and graphic novel are usually interchangeable and people aren't gonna rage at you for using one or the other but the biggest difference is if it's a self contained story in a single book then it's a graphic novel.


>What's an omnibus?

An Omnibus is a larger collection of Single Issues into a single book.

Usually a Trade collects 6 or 7 Issues of a comicbook while an Omnibus would collect ~25 to 30 Issues of a comicbook.

>In DC, what are New 52 and Rebirth (without spoiling anything plot related if that's possible)?

New 52: Was a complete reboot of the DC Universe in an attempt to attract newer readers. It was met with mostly mixed results as it made things simpler for newer readers but in some cases drastically changed elements of certain characters that people liked.

Rebirth: Directly follows the New52 era. It was a, pretty successful, attempt by DC to rectify the mistakes of the New52 and bring back elements that long time readers had missed from their favorite characters. It was basically merging the elements of the pre-New52 and New52 universe. Leaving what works and changing what didn't.

>How do New 52 and Rebirth compare? I believe New 52 is older, but is it still relatively easy to get your hands on? Is there anything even worth going for, or should I just check out Rebirth stuff?

For the most part Rebirth was more well liked by fans than New52 overall. However there are certain New52 story arcs and series that people really enjoyed as well.

For New52 I recommend the following:
Aquaman Vol 1 to Vol 6 + Vol 8 (Skip 7)
Green Arrow Vol. 4 to Vol. 6
Batman and Robin Vol. 1 to Vol. 7
The Flash Vol. 1 to Vol. 4
Batman Vol. 1 to Vol. 10
Batwoman Vol. 1 to Vol. 4
Animal Man Vol. 1 to Vol. 5
Gotham Academy Vol. 1 to Vol. 2

>Who are a few of your favorite modern writers? I see Geoff Johns name coming up on a lot of stuff, is he actually good or just popular?

Geoff Johns is liked and popular. But his claim to fame wasn't writing a groundbreaking and award winning new series. It came from being consistently good over years and years of writing comics. He's reliable and knows what the majority of readers want.

For other writers I'd say that /u/holymoloid provided a really good list.

>My favorite characters are Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern. If you could only have one book or arc for each, what would you get?

Over at /r/DCcomics they have a wiki with a bunch of helpful suggestions I'd reccomend reading that.

But for a quick summary:

Green Lantern: Geoff Johns is the main guy to go to for Green Lantern. He worked on the book for ~9 years and built the foundation for the modern mythos.

The Flash: Mark Waid's run is considered the best read that first. Geoff Johns' run is considered the 2nd best, it follows Waid's run.

Batman: Start with Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's run from the New52. It's in the suggestion list I gave you above. (Vol 1 to Vol 10 of the New52)

Note: I am not an engineer, but I do have some suggestions of things you may like.

Books:

• Failure Is Not An Option by Gene Krantz: Great book about the beginnings of the NASA program, Gemini, Mercury, Apollo, and later. Gene Krantz was a flight director and worked as a test pilot for a long time, and his stories are gripping. Beyond engineering and space, it's a pretty insightful book on leadership in high-stress team situations.
  
  
• Kelly: More Than My Share by Clarence "Kelly" Johnson: This is on my shelf but I haven't read it yet. Kelly Johnson was a pioneer in the world of flight, leading the design and construction of some of the most advanced planes ever built, like the U2 and the SR-71. Kelly's impact on the business of aerospace and project management is immense, definitely a good guy to learn about. Plus he designed the P38 Lightning, without a doubt the most beautiful plane ever built ;)
  
  
• Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of my Years at Lockheed by Ben Rich: A fantastic look at the inside of Lockheed Martin's advanced projects division, the Skunk Works. Ben Rich succeeded Kelly Johnson at Lockheed, so this one is going to overlap with the book above quite a bit. I loved the pace of this one, and it covered a lot more than just the F-117, as the cover would suggest - cool info on the SR-71, U2, F104, the D21 supersonic drone, and stealth technology in general. Beyond that, it provides an inside look at the intricacies of DoD contract negotiation, security/clearance issues, and advanced projects. Awesome book, highly recommend.
  
  
• Elon Musk's Bio by Ashley Vance: A detailed history of all things Musk, I recommend it for the details about SpaceX and the goal to make humans a multi-planetary species. Musk and his (now massive) team are doing it: thinking big, getting their hands dirty, and building/launching/occasionally blowing up cool stuff.
  
  Videos/Games/Blogs/Podcasts:
  
  
• Selenian Boondocks: general space blog, lots of robotics and some space policy
  
  
• Gravity Loss: another space blog, lots about future launch systems
  
  
• The Age of Aerospace: Boeing made a cool series of videos last year for their 100th birthday. Great look at the history of an aerospace mainstay, though it seems a bit self-aggrandizing at times.
  
  
• If you want to kill a ton of time on the computer while mastering the basics of orbital mechanics by launching small green men into space, Kerbal Space Program is for you. Check out /r/kerbalspaceprogram if your interested.
  
  
• Subreddits like /r/spacex, /r/blueorigin, and /r/ula are worth following for space news.
  

I just finished http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Nikola-Biography-Genius-Citadel/dp/0806519606

This is not a great biography. But the subject is so fascinating that it largely covers the significant flaws.

First the flaws:

The author is an unabashed fan of Tesla and clearly has an agenda to make sure that the reader recognizes Tesla above Edison and Marconi and the other giants of the age. For instance, he denigrates Edison as using the brute force of a massive volume of experiments to come to what works while Tesla would think it through and do the math and find what would work and then test it to confirm. The author celebrates Tesla as superior to Edison because of this difference--Edison is the plodding, dirty, workbench-chained technician--Tesla is the brilliant scientist with pencil and paper and thoughts soaring above. There might be some truth to this contrast, but it is made in an extreme sense and seems unnecessarily judgmental towards Edison. And so forth throughout the book.

A second flaw is that the author is so insistent in trying to prove Tesla's scientific priority over those that follows that he spends hundreds of pages going through technical aspects of patent applications and the inner-working of the various devices. This might be interesting to an electrical engineer, but to the lay reader it is tedious. I just about laid the book down once or twice. But there were enough brilliant insights to keep going.

A few interesting anecdotes:

Once Tesla nearly destroyed his lab building on Houston St. in NYC with one of his oscillators. Shortly afterwards he clamped one to a skyscraper under construction and nearly caused it to collapse, turning it off and slipping it into his pocket and slipping away in the confusion of men thinking an earthquake had struck. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla's_... (the book does not calim the oscillator cause an earthquake, but that the effect of the oscillator connected to a building's support structure was like an earthquake an could tumble a buildng within minutes. Amazing if true (and it sounds true to this non-scientiest--resonence of marching on bridges and all that).

Tesla was backed at different times by both John Jacob Astor (the richest man in the world) and JP Morgan (the most powerful financier in the world). He failed to deliver both times, taking the money which was earmarked for one purpose and diverting it to another purpose. When he ran out of money to complete the non-disclosed purpose and came back begging for more money, he was rebuffed. If he had done what he told the two men he was going to do with the money (in both cases creating a product that could be taken to market) instead of burning through it on scientific research without an end, he would have been a very very wealthy man and who knows what he could have accomplished. As it was, he never was able to raise money after betraying JPMorgan and was unable to do much significant work after that time.

Tesla was constantly a deadbeat borrower, evicted from many hotels for unpaid bills, and constantly begging others for funding during the last half of his life. It is sad to read, really.

Tesla was a lifelong celibate, almost certainly homosexual, but never practicing. A man of amazing self-discipline and focus.

His consuming dream was to provide free electric powerful to the world. It is unlikely that there is merit to this scheme or it would have been implemented somewhere at some time (same with his death ray concept which he claimed to have build a prototype).

It seems the longer he lived, the crazier he became. For instance, he was fanatically committed to pigeons--paying people to feed them when he didn't have enough money to pay his rent. He loved pigeons more than anything for his last few decades. One favorite visited him, he claimed, and communicated to him it was dying and Tesla saw light shooting out of its eyes, telling Tesla that his work was also done. Very odd. He also had to circle the block of his hotel six times before he would enter each night. He wouldn't shake hands due to germs. Typical obsessive-compulsive behavior stuff. Sad.

Bottom line on the man: Tesla was brilliant and we owe him much for our modern world is built on his inventions--everything that runs on electricity is a grandchild of Tesla. Tesla invented: AC current, florescent light, X-Ray machines, radio broadcast (the US Supreme Court ruled in 1943 that Tesla's patents were violated by Marconi), remote control of boats/airplanes/etc, the electric motor, robotics (and the entire concept of a robot), the laser, wireless communication. That is quite a list. His name deserves to be immortal.

Bottom line on the book: Tesla is still awaiting the biography he deserves. But this one is worth picking up while we wait.

Congrats on getting hired!!! I'd recommend a mix of PD/teaching books and content. When you get bored of one switch to the other. Both are equally important (unless you feel stronger in one area than the other).

For PD, I'd recommend: Teach Like a Pirate, Blended, The Wild Card, and the classic Essential 55. Another one on grading is Fair Isn't Always Equal - this one really changed how I thought about grading in my classes.

As far as content, you have a couple ways to go - review an overview of history like Lies My Teacher Told Me, the classic People's History, or Teaching What Really Happened, or you can go with a really good book on a specific event or time period to make that unit really pop in the classroom. The Ron Chernow books on Hamilton, Washington, or Grant would be great (but long). I loved Undaunted Courage about Lewis & Clark and turned that into a really great lesson.

Have a great summer and best of luck next year!!

Not defending vandalism, but to be fair, Lincoln was a tyrant who caused the needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

>Most Americans consider Abraham Lincoln to be the greatest president in history. His legend as the Great Emancipator has grown to mythic proportions as hundreds of books, a national holiday, and a monument in Washington, D.C., extol his heroism and martyrdom. But what if most everything you knew about Lincoln were false? What if, instead of an American hero who sought to free the slaves, Lincoln were in fact a calculating politician who waged the bloodiest war in american history in order to build an empire that rivaled Great Britain's? In The Real Lincoln, author Thomas J. DiLorenzo uncovers a side of Lincoln not told in many history books and overshadowed by the immense Lincoln legend.

I know you Americans love your mythical heroes, so let the downvotes commence...

Anything by Alan Moore. Promethea is a personal fave, but might not be the best place to start. Top Ten is also very good if cop drama overlaid with some super-hero stuff sounds appealing. Watchman is a cornerstone of the form, but you will definitely appreciate it more if/when you have a fair bit of 'capes & tights' superhero work under your belt.

Blankets is just stunning. I've bought it 3 times already and have the new hardcover edition on perorder.

Stardust is another great one by Neil Gaiman. It's also unique in that if you enjoy the story you can experience it in 3 different, but all very good, forms. The original comic, the prose novel, and the film all work quite well and give a nice window into what bits a pieces work better in each form.

Of course no comic list is complete without Maus and Understanding Comics.

My list would have to include

The Ball is Round this is an amazing history of the sport. It is a very big book but very good.

The Numbers Game This has been one of my favorite soccer reads and I am surprised at how little people talk about it.

This love is not for cowards Truly an amazing story.

Amung the Thugs a fun and alarming tale of holgainism. Something I am very glad has not developed around the sport in the USA.

also if your not already receiving them you should subscribe to
Howler Magazine and
Eight by Eight


I hope this list gets you started. I have more on my list but have not got around to them.

I think the first point to consider is that The Orphan Master's Son should be read as a domestic drama, more along the lines of Nothing to Envy than any of the foreign-policy focused news and zomg-weird-pop-performance-footage that dominates this subreddit and /r/northkoreanews.

In that light, the Orphan Master's Son is a lovely, well-told story, and it was well-researched, but it's still clearly a second-hand impression of the country. It doesn't add to the outside world's stock of DPRK information; it just retells the tragedies already told by Shin Dong-hyuk and Kenji Fujimoto in a literary style.

Then too, there are places where the needs of the story subsume the reality on the ground. For example, the book entertains the notion that the state would promote just individual one actress its paragon of female virtue and one individual soldier as the paragon of male virtue. This is important to author's point about public and private identity and whether love also needs truth, but it's wholly out of step with the Kim regime's way of doing business. Kim Il Sung is the one god in North Korea, and the only permissible icons are his successors, and to a lesser extent, senior party politicians. Pop figures are disposable.

But The Orphan Master's Son is a good read. It would go high on my list of recommendations for someone who wants a starting point on the country but is scared of footnotes and foreign names. But if your DPRK obsession hinges more on predicting the fate of the Kaesong Industrial Zone, it won't give you much.

Is anyone else super excited for Hillary's book!??!?!?!

https://www.amazon.com/Untitled-Memoir-Hillary-Rodham-Clinton/dp/1501175564/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501181422&sr=1-1&keywords=hillary+clinton+what+happened

This thing is already #1 best seller on Amazon, I was laughing. I literally saw the tweet like two seconds after it was posted, pressed the Amazon link, and it was already #1 best seller in civics. Now it's just #1 best seller period. Hooray!

Beethoven : The Man Revealed by Suchet is a great character study of a man who gave everything to music.

I think our modern sense of “greatness” is pretty shallow to be honest.

I’m currently reading Bonhoeffer right now, and so far I’m very intrigued. If you’re interested in what kind of greatness inside a man could lead him to leave the safety of America and travel back to Nazi Germany to undermine Hitler, check it out.

(Not to say that sports, or athletic excellence shouldn’t be celebrated or read about, and if you enjoy it, great. But when i hear “greatness” i think of other things.)

Undaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
by Stephen Ambrose

I read this in 10th grade, and several times since. It reads like a novel, but is still makes use first source materials (such as their journals) extensively. He also does an excellent job of showing you the political climate of Thomas Jefferson and early America that lead up the the expedition.

Their were some allegations of plagiarism and not correctly citing sources, but I still highly recommend.

The first review at Amazon sums it up well:

>The extensive use of the actual diaries of the expedition members lends a vibrance to the descriptions of the various tribes of Indians, wildlife, and natural obstacles encountered. The diaries also offer a glimpse into the personalities of these famous figures and their crew. The holes left by the diaries and other historical documents are deftly filled in by Ambrose. He further colors the characters, settings, and situations with well grounded inference.

>Additionally, the author's detailed treatment of the political situation in the United States at the time places this journey in great historic and political perspective.

Short answer: no.

Slightly longer answer: The radicalization of Islam in the Middle East ties into the division of the region by the western powers after WWI, and further during the Cold War, when the U.S. (not only, but in particular) supported the rise to power of radical religious figures in opposition to communist/leftist parties & figures who might be sympathetic to the Soviet Union, and therefore potentially threaten U.S./U.K. access to oil in the region. This included aiding in the over-throwing of democratically elected governments in favor of autocratic but U.S./U.K.-favored leaders - most notably the U.S.-led 1953 coup d'etat in Iran, when Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown. The 1978 Iranian Revolution began as a popular uprising against the Shah who replaced him.

For more extensive reading on the subject:

Inventing Iraq by Toby Dodge (I have some major issues with Dodge's conclusions post 9/11, but the historical analysis that makes up the majority of the book is solid)

Spies in Arabia by Priya Satia, and Lawrence in Arabia are good histories of imperial ambition during the WWI period and its after-effects

Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan for the political maneuvering of the Western powers

A Peace to End All Peace by David Fromkin

I also recommend Edward Said, if you're looking for cultural analysis as well as history

This is my favorite:

https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Brothers-Revolutionary-Joseph-Ellis/dp/0375705244

Another, very predictable one!

https://www.amazon.com/1776-David-McCullough/dp/0743226712/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Z1QBK7D5EDQXNGWDEABX

This one was surprisingly good, but I read it a long time ago:

https://www.amazon.com/Redcoats-Rebels-American-Revolution-Through/dp/0393322939/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524103441&sr=1-1&keywords=redcoats+%26+rebels+the+american+revolution+through+british+eyes

Basically a kids book but I LOVED it!

https://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Courage-Revolutionary-Adventures-Joseph/dp/1444351354/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524103555&sr=1-3&keywords=plumb+martin

This too! (Actually embarrassing, but again, a GREAT read! Probably totally supports your point as this list grows!)

https://www.amazon.com/Yankee-Doodle-Boy-Adventures-Revolution/dp/082341180X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524103555&sr=1-4&keywords=plumb+martin

https://www.amazon.com/Liberty-Revolutionary-Began-Landmark-Books/dp/0375822003/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524103676&sr=1-3&keywords=liberty%21

Here's one I started and never finished but was looking very interesting:

https://www.amazon.com/Radicalism-American-Revolution-Gordon-Wood/dp/0679736883/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524103778&sr=1-17&keywords=history+of+the+american+revolution

Depends on what you're asking about specifically.

The comic book series? Movie?

• Before Watchmen: A lot of people shit on it just because it's not the original 12-issue series. I see a lot of complaining to the extent that it's just 'not as good' but no solid reasoning as to why. I have every issue. I haven't read any of them yet (except about 4-5 pages of the first Moloch, and I liked it). I should get to them at some point so I can offer a solid opinion on them, but as of right now I'd say 'well, it's more of those characters doing things before the events outlined in the main series.'
  
  
• V For Vendetta: Another Alan Moore project, so the writing is similar/familiar. Also became a film, as you may know.
  
  
• From Hell: Another Alan Moore project. Featuring an investigator hunting down Jack The Ripper. Was also a decent film.
  
  
• Sleeper: It's a grown-up approach to superheroes, much like Watchmen.
  
  
• The Dark Knight Returns: Agreed to be a lot like Watchmen in a lot of respects.
  
  Most of this is also included in this article on io9.
  
  Looking at the comments, someone suggests Maus, and, really, that's not a good suggestion in relation to Watchmen. I'd highly recommend reading Maus but not because it has anything to do with Watchmen. It's an illustrated retelling of Art Spiegelman's father's memories of surviving the Holocaust, peppered with Art's problems in dealing with his father. It's a very good series. I even recommended it to my mother. She loved it. You can get both volumes in one book.
  
  EDIT: Here's another article suggesting similar comics.

Barbara Tuchman was brilliant writer of history.

Albert Camus was a brilliant absurdist philosopher and novelist.

Jared Diamond has written some brilliant books at the intersection of anthropology and ecology. Another good book in this genre is Clive Ponting's A New Green History of the World.

Gwynne Dyer is an acclaimed military historian turned journalist on international affairs who has written a number of very engaging books on warfare and politics. His most recent book Climate Wars is the ONE book I would recommend to someone, if so limited, on the subject as it embodies both a wonderful synopsis of the science juxtaposed against the harsh realpolitiks and potential fates of humankind that may unfold unless we can manage to tackle the matter seriously, soon. Another great book on climate change is Bill McKibben's Deep Economy.

For social activists interested in ending world hunger and abject poverty, I can recommend: Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom; Nobel Prize winning micro-financier Muhammad Yunus' Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism; UN MDG famed economist Jeffrey Sach's End Of Poverty; and Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea

For anyone of Scottish heritage, I heartily recommend Arthur Hermann's How The Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It

For naval history buffs: Robert K. Massie's Dreadnought.

Last, but not least: Robert Pirsig's classic Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Enjoy!

The easiest way to get Christianity is to read the Bible. But to supplement that, I would encourage you to read books by these two German authors: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Jurgen Moltmann

Bonhoeffer was a prominent leader of the confessing church (the church that resisted Hitler) and was a prominent member of the German resistance and a part of the Valkyrie plot. If you want to know more about him and his life, Eric Metaxas wrote an excellent Biography about him. Bonhoeffer's most famous works are "Life Together" about living a life in Christian community, and "The Cost of Discipleship" which is about Grace and how we must not live in a place of cheap Grace. Bonhoeffer was executed a t Flossenburg concentration camp a few months before VE day, and there are some nice memorials to him there (about 1.5 hours east of Nurnberg).

Jurgen Moltmann was drafted into Hitler's army in like 1944 and was taken prisoner. He found God in a Scottish POW camp. Moltmann writes a lot about Hope and spends a lot of time exploring what Christ's sacrifices mean to believers. Some of his most famous works are "The Crucified God", "Theology of Hope", "Trinity and the Kingdom" and "The Way of Jesus Christ." Moltmann also comments on more social issues which arose in the post-war era and has a more social theology, which adds a unique depth to his writing.

I'm glad you got a chance to read those. Really interesting material. I discovered it after the whole series had ended and I guess it had a similar effect on me because I finished of it in one sitting because it was so compelling. It's also an account (or series of accounts) that I recommend to people when they have read all the more popular kwan-li-so and kya-hwa-so stories like The Aquariums of Pyongyang, Eyes of the Tailless Animals, Long Road Home, and a book I used to put on that list Escape from Camp 14. I think everyone knows why I have a hard time recommending it.

For anyone looking for even more information about the camps, a hugely valuable resource would be The Hidden Gulag: The Lives and Voices of "Those Who are Sent to the Mountains" (heads up: this is a PDF link) which was researched and written by David Hawk who is a former Executive Director
of Amnesty International USA, and a former United Nations human rights official. He has worked on documenting the Khmer Rouge atrocities, the genocidal massacres in Rwanda, and now most recently the topic of North Korea. He is a man I have actively tried to get in touch with to request an AMA for our subscribers to no avail, but I would have been surprised if he actually had time for it. We mods are also actively trying to locate Lee Jun Ha to come on for an AMA. Actually we have been quite busy behind the scenes for the last few weeks trying to bring the subscribers quite a few AMAs, some return guests and some new. So we are hoping to have a busy sub for the rest of the year and top it all off with another LiNK fundraiser. So stay tuned.

Look, I totally believe that "people are people" and for the most part the regular folks living under any society are going to be good people. (Possible exception for places like North Korean gulags where they're not treated like humans and so don't grow up understanding basic principles like kindness and compassion - they can't really be faulted for that, though.) I believe that there are people trying to do their best and corrupt individuals in ALL types of gov'ts (some being more ripe for fraud and deception than others).

So when this conversation of "this clean up could only happen in the Soviet Union" began I was like "pssht! there are people everywhere who would sacrifice themselves for the good of their neighbors and the rest of the world." But as the sheer volume of people involved in this clean up effort is revealed - over 600,000 liquidators and over 3,000 on the Маша rooftop alone...I start to question if that could have happened in a Westernized country. I think there's too much "individuality" in America, too much focus on "my rights" for people to blindly follow instructions like this. And they certainly wouldn't have done so without absolute guarantees of wages and future medical care.

And I don't know which one is "right" or "better."

I'm not huge on nonfiction, but I loved Lawrence in Arabia.
Reading about influential people/events is really fun and feels more productive than reading fantasy (but man, do I love fantasy).

Dune by Frank Herbert.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. You have probably read it, but if you haven't, it's superbly funny sci-fi comedy.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. A book that I re-read once every few years, and every time I find something new in it.

Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon. A gripping, heartbreaking non-fiction book about police detectives. It inspired the acclaimed TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street." Simon would go on to create "The Wire."

The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy. Noir-ish procedural crime fiction. If you enjoy "Homicide," you may well like this.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, "a philosophical novel about two men, two women, a dog and their lives in the Prague Spring of the Czechoslovak Communist period in 1968," according to Wikipedia. One of my favorite books.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. Detective novel meets sci-fi in one mind-bending existential work. If you watch "Fringe," well, this book is Fringe-y... and more.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. Time travel. Victorian England. A tea cozy mystery of sorts.

Graphic novels! Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman. Love And Rockets by The Hernandez brothers. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki. Elektra: Assassin by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz. And of course, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. To discover yet more great comic books, check out the Comics College series.

I don't read a lot of action-y graphic novels, so I can't really help you with finding more stuff like Watchmen, Wanted, etc. (However, you have to promise me you'll read Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.)

But I can recommend more laid-back graphic novels if you're ever in the mood for something different! Give American Born Chinese, Anya's Ghost, or Daytripper a shot sometime.

Persepolis and Maus are also graphic novel must reads, no matter what genre you usually favor. And Scott Pilgrim was super popular recently, with great cause.

And, if you're willing to settle down for a long haul and read your comics backwards, I really can't recommend Fullmetal Alchemist enough. 27 volumes, but it's the best action series I've ever read and one of my all-time favorites of any sort of media. Check out a stack of it from the library and you'll fly right through it. That's what I did one afternoon, and my time has never been better spent.

Edit: More suggestions, typos.

> Russia won the Space Race.

Won the first round, until the mid-60s. Then Korolev died, Khrushchev was ousted, and their space program lost all its initial tremendous energy.

Meanwhile JFK was delivering the "by the end of this decade" speech, the American giant was waking from its slumber and starting to flex its muscles. And then Armstrong set foot on the Moon, and America won round 2.

I speak as a former Eastern Bloc kid.

> Change my mind

Eh, you're not entirely wrong, and not entirely right either. The whole affair is pretty complex. They definitely won the first 10 years.

I recommend these books:

https://www.amazon.com/Korolev-Masterminded-Soviet-Drive-America/dp/0471327212/

https://www.amazon.com/Von-Braun-Dreamer-Space-Engineer/dp/0307389375/

I can't really speak from my own experience, but from military buddies I have it seems like whatever good we're doing may be undermined whenever a drone goes and offs a handful of kids.

If our foreign policy was just carried out with daggers, I think we'd be in a pretty good place overall... but it's not, and so the innocent people who die might be outweighing the good that's done in terms of infrastructure and everything else.

What's depicted in Three Cups of Tea certainly makes a huge difference, but from what I can tell our military and governmental actions along those lines are outweighed by the accidental innocent deaths.

And the shit like the trophy killings that just broke this week.

Most of my knowledge regarding the matter is European, so I'm going to give a list of my favorites regarding the European / African front.

To get the German perspective of the war, I'd recommend:

• Panzer Commander - Hans von Luck - One of my favorites
  
  
• Panzer Leader - Heinz Guderian - He developed Blitzkrieg tactics
  
  
• The Rommel Papers - Erwin Rommel - Written by my favorite German Field Marshal up until his forced suicide by Hitler. Good read of the Western and African theaters of war. Also a good book to read if you're interested in what German command was doing on the lead up to D-Day.
  
  I have a few battle-specific books I enjoy too:
  
  
• Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege 1942-1943 - You really don't know the brutality of Stalingrad till you've read this book. You'll see it in a whole new light I think.
  
  
• Berlin: Downfall 1945 - Battle of Berlin at the end of the war, another good book.
  
  Now if you want to play games, Hearts of Iron series is great (someone recommended the Darkest Hour release of the game. Allows you to play historical missions based on historical troop layouts, or play the entire war as a nation. Historical events are incorporated into the game. While you'll rarely get a 100% accurate game as it is abstracted, it is an excellent way to see what challenges faced the nations of the time. You could play as Russia from 1936 and prepare yourself for the eventual German invasion. Or maybe you decide to play as Germany, and not invade Russia. But will Russia invade you when they are stronger? Will warn you: It does not have a learning curve. As with almost all Paradox Interactive games, it is a learning cliff.

For American History I recommend The Oxford History of The United States, which includes Middlekauff's The Glorious Cause, Wood's Empire of Liberty and about ten others. I would also recommend select biographies of the founding fathers:

• The First American by H.W. Brands
  
• Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Fawn M. Brodie
  
• John Adams by David McCullough
  
• 1776 by David McCullough
  
• His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis
  
• American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis
  
• Lafayette by Harlow G. Unger
  
• Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation by Harlow G. Unger
  
• Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
  
  For Science History refer to my WIP History of Science Reading List

You think that you've just made a super intelligent point because you've pointed out the obvious fact that the US has issues with human rights and with over-criminalization. It isn't an intelligent point because you don't know jack shit about North Korea. You don't know dick about how people live there, and I know that because if you did, you would pull your head out of your ass and realize that the issues that the United States has are not even in the same order of magnitude as the issues that North Korea has.

I recommend that you read the following books to give you a better sense of life in North Korea, so that in the future you can be more educated on the subject:

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West

The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag

I don't remember the page, but Robert Massie talks about it in his biography of Peter the Great. Apparently he started bear hunting with a pike and sword, but decided that it wasn't fair to hunt with steel, so he switched to a wooden pitchfork like implement. Fantastic book actually, a must read if you have any interest in Russia or the late 18th century.

http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Great-Robert-K-Massie/dp/0345298063

Below are the novice books I usually recommend to people. Personally I haven't read through Rothbard's MES yet. I had wanted to read Mises Human Action first. The book is brilliant but too wordy. I downloaded all the audio files at mises.org so I just listen to the audiobook when I road trip long distances now. MES is also available for audiobook for free at mises.org so if it helps listen to the chapters as you're reading it.

_____

Please read these books in this order, each are available for free in pdf or eBook, just right click and save:

• Frederic Bastiat’s The Law
  
• Henry Hazlitt’s Economics In One Lesson
  
• Frederic Bastiat’s That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen
  
• Bob Murphy’s Lessons for the Young Economist
  
• Murray Rothbard’s For a New Liberty
  
• Murray Rothbard’s What Has Government Done to Our Money?
  
• Murray Rothabrd’s Economic Depressions: Their Cause and Cure
  
• Thomas DiLorenzo’s The Truth About Robber Barons- article
  
• Walter Block’s Defending The Undefendable
  
  Once you’re done with those, I’d suggest purchasing the following books:
  
  
• Tom Wood’s Meltdown
  
• Burt Folsom Jr.’s New Deal or Raw Deal
  
• Thomas DiLorenzo’s The Real Lincoln
  
  Afterwards, if you have any questions about monopolies, consider the resources in this thread. Enjoy! If you need further reading suggestions let me know.
  

Didn't make it to the 3rd sentence, eh? On this snapshot literally every unverified 5-star review was deleted

I'll even link them for you:

• An excellent, honest account of the 2016 election with thoughtful ...
  
  
• A must read, no matter your politics.
  
  
• I applaud her for letting future female candidates know how tough it is for a strong intelligent woman to make it in a VERY male dominated ...
  
  
• Narrative by HRC
  
  
• Thank you, Secretary Hillary Clinton!

Lone Survivor - by Marcus Luttrell


One of the best action non-fiction stories I have ever read. Considering where our troops are around Afghanistan I found this book to be amazing with its detail, the courage of these men, and the ultimate battle each faces within himself. Truly an inspiring account of events we tend to not usually have privy to within our government.


Another favorite of mine that I recently finished was Among the Thugs by Bill Bufford - it's about soccer hooliganism in Europe during the 1970s and 80s. I am a big soccer fan so I absolutely loved it, but I think it would be a good, entertaining read for anyone that likes first person accounts where the author puts you in the mix of the craziness and you can picture yourself going through the story.

I can work on the + if allowable.

If books are a good idea than I would recommend something by G.K. Chesterton or C.S. Lewis.

Or this: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy My aunt bought it for me but I haven't read it yet. I here it's good. He was a Lutheran pastor in Germany during Hitler.

Or a nice crucifix (if he's high church) or a cross (if he's low church).

Finally, maybe a Bach CD. Bach was Lutheran. St. Matthew's Passion would be good.

Anyone going to buy Hillary's explanation for the 2016 campaign 'What Happened'?

Looks like it'll be really great to read, I'm sure it'll be completely honest and not at all a blame fest.

Better is Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign.

Actually discusses some of the hubris and poor strategy employed during the campaign. Would recommend reading, even if you're pro-Trump (which I think a good portion of this subreddit is, or at least conservative-leaning) it's a good look at what actually happened.

It does, and its called More Than My Share Of It All. Its interesting, but i found Ben Rich to be a much better writer. Kellys book is not as interesting (at least to me) but nevertheless a good read.

hmmmm... well, not much that Ive read fall under that price range. Do you like in the USA, can you use Amazon?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786884517/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1495585796&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=pirate+biography&dpPl=1&dpID=51-foWCviEL&ref=plSrch

That one is 9-10 dollars, the story of Captain Kidd. If you dont mind used editions some of the stuff by Robert K Massie is under 5 dollars for print.

Dreadnought is about Britain and Germany gearing up do WW1

Peter the Great was one of the most famous Tsars of Russia

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/0345298063/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Ghenghis Khan and The Making of The Modern world was fascinating

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/0609809644/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

The republic of Pirates was pretty interesting too

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/015603462X/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all

i linked to used books, so be aware of that - i buy almost all of my books used in "good" or "great" condition and have no complaints so far.

Ron Chernow wrote a really in depth one a few years ago. It's not as dry as his Alexander Hamilton biography (I don't know how anyone could make that man's life and accomplishments seem boring), but it's still a pretty daunting read.

If you're really dead set on reading about ONLY Washington, that's one of the best, most comprehensive biographies I've seen, though to be honest, it's the only one I've actually completed since whatever outdated and bland biographies on Washington I had to consult in high school for papers.

If, however, you're interested in other figures contemporary to Washington, and arguably as important (if not more so) in the formative years of the US, check out Founding Brothers. It's a relatively quick read, and offers just enough information and analysis of a cast of characters to remain more solidly biographical than merely a hodgepodge of anecdotes.

OR. If neither of those appeals, Bentley Little wrote a short story called "The Washingtonians" in a short story collection that appears to be currently out of print. In it, he explores the "secret" life of George Washington, the "real" reason he wore false teeth, and exposes a secret society of followers in the present day.

I recommend anyone interested more about Carlos Hathcock read:

Marine Sniper

Silent Warrior

Marine Sniper is probably one of the greatest accounts of the Vietnam war. Carlos Hathcock is a sniper and long range shooting legend. He is pretty much responsible concepts like the M107 SASR, Hathcock bolted a fixed 8x optic to a M2 and set the record for the longest confirmed kill at something like 2500 yards.

I can't think of any figure who influenced my decision to enlist more than Hathcock, not to be a scout/sniper or anything, but just his examples of selflessness and courage. I read Marine Sniper when I was pretty young, and I swear every year in school when they made us do a book report I would just re-examine it and write something a bit different about it.

As for "embellishment", that is 100% unfounded. The man never bragged about anything in his life.

Very interesting original report of a POW interrogation that details the weeks after the Normandy invasion for a SS PzG division from the perspective of one of the division staff officers. Summary in the article and the entire actual report is provided as well.

EDIT: This intel report covers a similar time frame, location, and scope as one of the memoirs I have, Panzer Commander from Hanz Von Luck. It's a good read if you haven't gone through it, and want to get into additional first hand experience at a similar level on the same battlefield.

I also think there's some kind of bond that the First Families share, despite political differences. They go through an experience that almost no one can possibly relate to, other than other First Families.

One of the more fascinating books I've read was called the President's Club and it's how past Presidents kind of serve as someone a current President can bounce ideas off of, even when they're the different party. This didn't always exist, I think around the Eisenhower/Truman era is when it started, but it was a really interesting read.

It makes sense how Bill Clinton and HW Bush have worked together so much on things like aid relief.

His aim was to unite all the tribes under the blue sky in honor of the sky spirit he worshipped.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0609610627

Check it out if you're interested. Good read.

Escape from Camp 14

If anyone is interested, I highly recommend reading the book "Escape from Camp 14"

It's an easy and highly intriguing book and gives an unfathomable account of life in the camps and shows how mentally warped the people of the country are.

The guy is in the U.S. now and discusses how before coming here he didn't even truly understand the emotional connection of family or loyalty to them as much as he did fear and loyalty to the country.

Edit: Autocorrect

eh. I actually was just reading this section in Lawrence in Arabia last night. Yes, US oil had something to do with Saudi Arabia's success but the creation of the country, the blind eye to Wahabbism, the promotion of their leadership above other concerns falls pretty squarely on Britain. Which, in a round about way, is also on France since they insisted on making such a complete clusterfuck of the Middle East during WW1 that Britain had few other options but to make that sort of deal.

SoCo and the US government's involvement wasn't particularly important until later. I mean, the region was oil rich, it was going to be powerful one way or another, but handing it to extremists (or rather a family backed by extremists) was a mistake very much on the European allies.

This isn't my specialty, but I have come across it a few times in other reading.

The 22nd Amendment was first proposed in 1947, by a Republican-majority Congress (both House and Senate). The Republican's were able to sway anti-New Deal Dixiecrats (Southern Democrats) to their side and got the proposed amendment through the House with less than 2 hours of debate. Interestingly, one of the few Northern Democrats to vote with the majority was John F. Kennedy, who was in his first term as a representative and whose father had fallen out with FDR. The Senate debated the amendment for 5 days, but ultimately passed it.

According to historian David Kyvig, 18 state legislatures rushed to ratify the amendment, with virtually no public participation in the debate.^1

By 1951, the required three-fourths of the state legislatures had ratified it.

According to historian James MacGregor Burns (who admittedly is known for being a little left leaning):
> At the time, an amendment limiting presidents to two terms in office seemed an effective way to invalidate Roosevelt's legacy, to discredit this most progressive of presidents.

Thinking more on this, I'm not exactly sure I agree with Burns. I think the inspiration for Congress to initiate the amendment could have come from an attempt to discredit FDR, but Congress does not pass amendments by themselves, they require a super-majority of states to ratify them. Considering that Truman (who was the Democratic incumbent and had been FDR's VP during his 4th term) had just been reelected, it seems unlikely that 3/4 of the states would vote to snub FDR.

Instead, it probably had more to do with converting an unwritten rule into a written one.

The rule started with George Washington, who could have been King of America, but chose instead to follow the example of Cincinnatus and serve for only as long as he felt his country needed him (which ended up being 2 terms).^2

The only person who had tried to defy that tradition and seek a third term prior to FDR was Ulysses S. Grant; however, he was denied his party's nomination.^3 Teddy Roosevelt also technically sought a third term, but he only ran for office twice, since his first term came after McKinley was assassinated.

Even FDR hesitated (or at least tried to make it seem like he did) before running for a third term, sending a letter to the 1940 Democratic convention, that he would only run if he were drafted, and encouraging the delegates to vote for whomever they pleased. James Burns argues that this was just a tactic FDR used, as at the convention as immediately following the announcement of FDR's message, the loudspeaker screamed "We want Roosevelt... The world wants Roosevelt!"^4

The Republicans campaigned against a 3rd and 4th term in 1940 and 1944, respectively; however, FDR was too much of a political juggernaut to be stopped in the elections. Ultimately he was only deposed (like a king) by his own death.

Therefore, the Congress, which has historically always been weary of the president, acted to ensure that nobody else would get the chance to serve more than two terms. This would also help explain why some Democrats voted for the amendment, seeing as the shoe could just have easily been on the other foot with a Republican president.

1. David Kyvig, Explicit and Authentic Acts: Amending the U.S. Constitution, 1776-1995
   
   
2. Ron Chernow, [Washington, A Life] (http://www.amazon.com/Washington-A-Life-Ron-Chernow/dp/0143119966)
   
   
3. H.W. Brands, [The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Who-Saved-Union/dp/0307475158)
   
   
4. James MacGregor Burns, [Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox] (http://www.amazon.com/Roosevelt-1882-1940-James-MacGregor-Burns-ebook/dp/B007GSU1BM)
   
   edit: added more details and sources

Someone posted a comment on the yahoo page that was a good main reason why this is an issue, at least in my opinion. Basically, troll reviews have been around forever, and a lot of times people want these reviews to be removed. Why do they only step in and take down the ones for Hillary? Why isn't this a site-wide policy of just immediately deleting negative reviews from people that haven't received the authorized purchaser logo or whatever? Yeah there's other places to bash her, but it's funny they just decide to enforce this for her.

For example, here is a link to Donald Trump's book, looking at 1-star reviews with verified purchaser only option turned off. Hmm, I could scroll through 40 pages of people that give it 1-star and haven't purchased the book. Then here's Clinton's book with the same search parameters. At the time I'm looking at it, there's literally 3 1-star reviews from people that don't have the verified purchase indicator. So 40 pages of 1-star reviews from non-buyers, versus 3 reviews. I'm not pro-Trump in the slightest, I just picked that as an example because it's very easy to bash him. Seems to me they're blatantly playing favorites...

For those interested in keeping tabs:

Trump

Clinton

As of this writing Clinton is #1 in books, and Trump is #84.

All things considered, having Trump's book crack the Top 100 all from a relatively minor concentrated effort from The_Donald and /pol/ is quite impressive. They are competing in theory with a sizable national population.

The Art of the Deal (which I remember some memes said people should buy instead) is #362 as of this writing

Spez: Great Again is #16 (15:44 EDT)

I am being 100% sincere and as non-insulting as I can when I say this - do yourself a favor, and check out some books about the history of the Middle East, because you have some wild misconceptions.

Lawrence in Arabia is a really good one to get started -

https://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Arabia-Deceit-Imperial-Making/dp/0307476413/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469724389&sr=1-1&keywords=lawrence+in+arabia

And I also enjoyed The Great War for Civilisation, though it's a bit dense -

https://www.amazon.com/Great-War-Civilisation-Conquest-Middle/dp/1400075173/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469724425&sr=1-1&keywords=the+great+war+for+civilization

>So what do you know of the "contents"?

Certain media organizations often get political books early. They will often cherry pick out excerpts from the book that'll bring attention to it. This is advantageous to the author and publisher of the book.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/05/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-what-happened/index.html

So here's one way how I know some of the contents of the book.

Here's another

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/books/hillary-clinton-memoir-what-happened.html

Then there's the Amazon description as well

https://www.amazon.com/What-Happened-Hillary-Rodham-Clinton/dp/1501175564

So yeah, the thesis and main topic of the book is public knowledge and has been for a couple of months now.

>you are an expert on what it contains?

Quote where I said I'm an expert on what the book contains. I don't know what kind of education you received or if you have had any at all based on the quality of the comments you've sent me, but where I went to school being able to describe the thesis of a book doesn't at all imply that you are an expert on the book's contents.

>You know it's "thesis".

Yes I do, I just linked two sources above that talk about the thesis. One of which dates all the way back to July.

>Love that bern out logic.

Yes the "bern out logic" of being able to read.

Apology accepted and upvoted. I hope you can read the constitution next time and understand the compromises on which it was based and the legacy of compromises it spawned.

I recommend checking out Founding Brothers to learn more about our constitution: http://www.amazon.com/Founding-Brothers-Revolutionary-Joseph-Ellis/dp/0375705244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311971544&sr=8-1 There's even a chapter about The Great Compromise!

Kelly, More than My Share of It All by Kelly Johnson (http://www.amazon.com/Kelly-More-Than-Share-All/dp/0874744911) is excellent as well. He's the one who started Skunk Works and was Ben Rich's predecessor and mentor. It's interesting to see the two viewpoints as well on the projects that overlap.

If anyone is interested I've read two books by Charles Henderson about Carlos Hathcock. They were both great reads and I would recommend them to anyone who's interested in his story.

http://www.amazon.com/Marine-Sniper-93-Confirmed-Kills/dp/0425181650/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Warrior-Snipers-Vietnam-Continues/dp/0425188647/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

I see your 100% factual comment is being down-voted by those fans of von Braun, who don't really know much about him.

​

For those who are at least somewhat interested in what really happened, I recommend the most detailed biography of von Braun, written by the professional historian and one time chairmen of the Space History Division at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Dr. Michael J. Neufeld:

[link] von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War

​

It is written with the help from von Braun family and German archives. There is no question that von Braun was complicit in war crimes, and that this part of his biography was intentionally white-washed later by the US military, to make him more palatable for the american public as a prominent figure in the US space program.

There is also an excellent Deutsche Welle documentary: "Wernher von Braun – Rocket Man for War and Peace"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqmlDqiHYWU

​

von Braun has achieved much as a brilliant manager of German and then US space programs. But in the process he unscrupulously used Nazis and then Americans as vehicles for furthering his personal interests.

​

V-2 has only become possible, because von Braun personally lobbied Hitler to give the program the highest military priority. In America, von Braun equally eagerly presented to the military brass plans to create massive orbital stations armed with nuclear weapons, in the hope that he will be put in charge of another massive project. Killing a lot of people was never a problem for von Braun.

The character Tom Berringer played in Sniper was inspired by Hathcock. As was the depiction of the down the scope shot in that same movie. But yeah, a real movie based on his life would be awesome. In the meantime, there's always the book

Or you could understand the deeper context. But yea, Vietnam was a stellar moment in hour history and we handled it perfectly.

Read a book called "The Presidents Club" it is only about interpersonal relationships between current and or former presidents, and it is an amazing book.

But in that book, you basically read in LBJ and HK words that this deal was proposed by LBJ in the summer and fall prior to the election and Nixon basically worked with Kissinger to "get a better deal', which never really materialized, even after LBII.

TL:DR
This deal was on the table prior to LBII. But you are right, America was 'awesome' in Vietnam.

I won't pretend to support the actions of axis soldiers, just the same as I wouldn't support the actions of soldiers in muddled conflicts like we have going on today, however I respect the courage and stalwart determination of soldiers no matter which country they fight for, or for what political/religious ideology they fight for.


It's with that sense of respect in mind, that I find bringing stories to light, from both sides of any conflict, is beneficial, and why I detest people who dismiss those stories and soldiers because "they were our enemy and they did horrible things".
War is horrible by definition, horrible things are bound to happen, and even worse things are bound to happen when religion is thrown in, as shown with Japan's involvement in WWII, but that doesn't make the stories or the soldiers any less impressive, or detract from the insane amount of courage it would have taken for ANY soldier to fight on those fronts, in those conditions, and with those tools.


In the same way I can absolutely respect and be amazed by the courage shown by the soldiers during the raid of St. Nazaire, I can also be equally amazed and impressed by the courage and fighting spirit (and oftentimes surprising humility) of the German soldiers during their conflicts, such as some of the stories of Hanz Von Luck (very interesting book, I suggest finding a copy), it's for those reasons that I think you should reconsider dismissing an entire army of its right to have its stories told simply because you don't like the thought of them having killed allies in past conflicts.

The difficulty of discussing Christianity and the Holocaust, directly, is that relatively few people, even within Germany, were truly aware of the extent of the Holocaust until near the end of the war. As a result, you will find it a little more difficult to find information directly related to that topic. Christianity's relationship to Naziism, on the other hand, does have some more readily available information.

While a good portion of Germany's Christian population either supported, or at least failed to oppose, Naziism, that is not universally the case. You might be interested in a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and theologian who strongly opposed Hitler and Naziism, and was eventually executed by them. He was moderately known at the time, but became extremely influential in the past few decades or so.

While it's an extremely large volume, and not directly related, you might find some useful information in "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". It's very comprehensive, and does talk a bit about the Christian Democrat party's opposition to Nazism early on, only to eventually fail to mount any meaningful opposition as Hitler began rising to power.

Finally, while I don't know of any specific books on the topic, you probably will want to look into the influence of Martin Luther (specifically his antisemitism) on Germany, Naziism, and Hitler. This is topic that has been widely written about, to my knowledge, so there should be an abundance of information out there on it.

I recommend you read Camp 14 (https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Camp-14-Remarkable-Odyssey/dp/0143122916) if you haven't already. You will realize how little you actually saw, compared to harsh realities many people face.

Do you have a picture of the slaves? I'd like to see that..sounds fascinating.

Also, in South Korea, there is nothing stopping anyone from visiting the some of the poor rural areas, some of which can be viewed from public trains. I got drunk one night in Seoul and wandered into some pretty nasty areas north of the river...that was pretty eye-opening.
That is a major difference between a free country and a fascist (or whatever word you want to use) one.

Just sayin'...anyways I'm glad you got a lot out of your trip and appreciate you sharing with the reddit community.

Phillip P Pan's Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China

A very interesting book that helps to contextualise a lot of what is going on in China, all made accessible by Pan's excellent writing style.

Henry Kissinger's Diplomacy

A fascinating book, not just because it is written by someone as outspoken and controversial as Kissinger. The book is an eye-opening exploration into international relations processes and also shines a new light on many of the diplomatic issues that linger today.

Not sure what you're interested in but I read Among the Thugs by Buford in a sociology class and it's a great and interesting exploration of mob mentality/crowd psych through the lens of the life and activities of soccer/football hooligans.

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351

If you're really interested in that part of the world... you might like to spend some time reading more in depth about what life is like on the ground, there. These are two good books you might want to check out: 1 and 2

And keep following the Al-Jazeera youtube channel.

I don't think that things are as black and white as you make them out to be, BraveSirRobin.

According to Stephen E Ambrose in Undaunted Courage, the trading of metal knives and other objects were an important way for his party to ease relations with potentially hostile natives. So attributes like speechcraft and persuasion and the merchant character class common to D&D are definitely in play here.

Edit: *grammar

I think you may like this book:

.com Link

.co.uk link (where I am)

Both are prime and are well under $20, so please use the extra money to gift other peoples :)

John Green talks about the book here.

http://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Arabia-Deceit-Imperial-Making/dp/0307476413
I am about 3/4 of the way done with this book. I am loving it so far and have learned quite a bit. It is pretty easy to read.

Hmm, perhaps what is needed is a Netflix mini-series?

Seriously, it would be an awesome watch.

This guy was the original Indiana Jones before all his famous exploits during WWI. He also came up with the idea of the PT boat after the war.

I also highly recommend another excellent book, Lawrence in Arabia, an excellent companion to the Korda book and Seven Pillars of course.

I recommend this book, read it earlier this year and gives some really interesting insight into the relationships between presidents. A great read!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Exclusive-Fraternity/dp/1439127727

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143122916/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_clf7Ab99NDEFR

Also the person in the neighborhood that reports on you part I mentioned is from this book

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385523912/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_fmf7AbD5VBWRV

Read Diplomacy by Doctor Henry Kissinger.

Doctor Kissinger, born in a jewish family, former Secretary of State, Entrepreneur, Advisor to the current administration, Harvard Graduate, Nobel Peace Prize. He is a brilliant man.

He have blood on his hands. A lot of bloods. Rivers of blood. But he is one brillant mind. He explains the modern history of Diplomacy from the 17th century to the Fall of the USSR and how good diplomacy is purely based on power, it's psychopathic.

Read his book

• Everything you are told about Democracy is bullshit. The West is not in Ukraine to help the Ukrainians or in Afghanistan to fight terror.
  
  It will help you understand how the US elite thinks and how the world really works.

I love Genghis Khan, but I honestly found the film rather boring; it was very meandering and uneventful. It was a case of style over substance, and didn't touch on nearly enough of what he did and what happened to him. The ending is extremely blunt and shallow, there are a number of plot points that are unresolved, and then they just scroll a few pages of text over the screen to try to explain a few things away.

If you want to know about Genghis Khan, I recommend Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. If you want to watch a movie loosely based on Genghis Khan that focuses on war and a lackluster love story, watch Mongol.

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time

What Happened is the third best selling biography on Amazon (the audiobook is #6 and the Kindle version is #9), and the best selling political book in any category.

It's the highest selling women's biography (with the Kindle and audio versions coming in at 3 and 4). The book is all 3 of the highest selling political memoirs and also the highest selling civics book.


What Happened is also the #1 bestseller in any category.


Bernie's new book is claiming the high number of..........#714. His last book is #13,503.

It's not incredibly in-depth, but I quite enjoyed Jack Weatherford's Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Overall, an entertaining and informative read.

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143122916/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_QO3NDbYP2JSFH

This is a terrific idea. I might suggest that you sponsor schools instead of hospitals. I think the most deserving charity is Greg Mortenson's "Central Asia Institute" that constructs secular schools in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The schools provide secular educational alternatives to Saudi-funded radical madrasahs. The institute builds schools for $25,000 and the schools are constructed with free local community labor and on community donated land. The schools often focus primarily on girls educational issues.

The official CAI website

Donation Page

Greg Mortenson on Wikipedia

Central Asia Institute on Wikipedia

Book: "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson

Book: "Stones into Schools" by Greg Mortenson

Too soon, amigo. Yes, that was 80 years ago, and yes, it's still too soon to quip about that. As an aside - but related to that topic - I've been reading a fantastic biography about Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a lutheran pastor who valiantly fought the Nazis every way he could, before being executed in a concentration camp in 1945. Highly recommend.

Long overdue recognition for a true genius. If you have an interest in the man who invented the AC motor and generator, radio (you thought it was Marconi, right?), remote control and so much more, you might enjoy this - http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Nikola-Biography-Genius-Citadel/dp/0806519606

International Relations and Foreign Policy are two different things.

For a background in the former, the geopolitics Wiki is top tier (avoid the sub).

For American FP, which is the FP that matters, The Grand Chessboard provides the foundation for American Grand Strategy.

Kissinger is worth reading too, especially Diplomacy.

Other users here have mentioned Robert Kagan. I love the man, but he's more American cheerleader than FP analyst.

You want to get a copy of this:

Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller, by Burke Davis

https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Chesty-Puller-Burke-Davis/dp/0553271822/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1520350231&sr=8-2&keywords=Marine%21

And this:

Marine Sniper, the biography of Carlos Hathcock, by Charles Henderson

https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Sniper-93-Confirmed-Kills/dp/0425181650/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1520350319&sr=1-1&keywords=Marine+Sniper

ETA: I actually met Carlos Hathcock once, at a gun show in 1993. He signed my paperback copy of this book. He was a great man. Very nice, and I felt like his eyes were looking right through me.

Back then? Most of them. George Washington was the master, and John Adams tried but failed most of time and was made fun of for it by his peers.


edit: I highly recommend Washington: A Life for anyone interested in his man and those around him. Be wary, it strays into conjecture at times and I think it comes off as a little too harsh on him in some instances, but its still the best stand alone biography I've read.

There's a pretty good Batman trilogy: Haunted Knight, The Long Halloween, and Dark Victory. It has more of the Gotham crime families in two of them, which is interesting. Also, I liked Frank Miller's Batman: Year One a lot.

If you also like graphic novels that aren't really "comics", I recommend Asterios Polyp (a man examines his life and a failing relationship through architecture and design), Maus I and II (a story about a Jewish family in the holocaust depicted as mice) and Persepolis (a memoir of a woman who grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution).

And by all means, for sure, read the Sandman books.

According to several scholars, Lincoln was not the romanticized, liberty loving hero that history has tried to paint him... He sounded like trash, really.

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Lincoln-Abraham-Agenda-Unnecessary/dp/0761526463/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

I love the P-38. The engine housing just got longer and longer with the turbo superchargers, until Kelly just said "Fuck it" and made them the fuselage. And I've always loved it when the wing shape is so prominent in the shape of the aircraft.

Apparently it was designed in a matter of weeks, too, which is all kinds of awesome from a design standpoint.

Edit: People interested in it should read his autobiography, where he talks about the design of the P-38, Constellation, U-2, and SR-71. A goddam legend of aerospace design.

No problem. If you want to learn more about George Washington I highly recommend this book. http://www.amazon.com/Washington-Life-Ron-Chernow/dp/0143119966/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459134165&sr=8-1&keywords=washington
Really love this book and it goes into great detail on Washington's life without feeling boring or overbearing.

Okay, for sci-fi, you have to get The Culture series in. Put Player of Games face out.

I don't read a lot of space books, but Asteroid Hunter by Carrie Nugent is awesome. I mostly have recommendations for spaceflight and spaceflight history, and a lot of these come from listeners to my podcast, so all credit to them.

• Corona, America's first Satellite Program Amazon
  
• Digital Apollo MIT Books
  
• An Astronaut's Guide to Earth by Chris Hadfield (Amazon)
  
• Capture Dynamics and Chaotic Motions in Celestial Mechanics: With Applications to the Construction of Low Energy Transfers by Edward Belbruno (Amazon)
  
• Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration by Buzz Aldrin (Amazon)
  
• Red Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson (Part 1 on Amazon)
  
• Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War by Michael Neufeld (Amazon)
  
• Space Shuttle by Dennis R Jenkins (Amazon)
  
• The History Of Manned Space Flight by David Baker (Amazon)
  
• Saturn by Lawrie and Godwin (Amazon)
  
• Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Lovell (Amazon)
  
• Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz (Amazon)
  
• Space by James A Michener (Amazon)
  
• Encounter With Tiber by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes (Amazon)
  
• Ascent to Orbit: A Scientific Autobiography by Arthur C Clark (Amazon)
  
• Fundamentals of Astrodynamics by Bate and White (Amazon)
  
• Space Cadet by Robert Heinlein (Amazon)

"Escape From Camp 14" by Blaine Harden is a great read as well if you are interested in what goes on in these camps.

The book I have is a great story, I have yet to read about Simo's amazing accomplishments.

I'm sure you've been taught a lot about them in your education, but I very much recommend Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose to anyone interested in the whole story, including the political background of the expedition and the relationship between Jefferson and Lewis.

Sorry for a lack of learning materials, but I do have a few biographical pieces:

I liked Serenade to the Big Bird by Bert Stiles. It reads a bit like a diary, but is, in fact, a fictional (yet very real) account of Bert's time in the right seat of a B-17. He made it through his 25 missions and was reassigned to P-51s. Unfortunately, he was lost to target fixation/CFIT near the end of the war in Europe. Anyway, his book isn't a great work of literature, but it does very successfully capture the emotion of the school boys who were flying those bombers into hell.

Another, more famous bomber pilot's account of the war as seen through the Italian front, The Wild Blue follows Senator and Presidential candidate George McGovern and his B-24 crew through the war. Much better written than Serenade, but tinged with the politically correct censorship of a politicians memory. Still a wonderful read.

If you like the SR-71, the U-2, the F-104, the Constellation, the P-80, the P-38, and/or the Electra, you may be interested in Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson's autobiography, More than my Share of it All. It's short, direct, and cuts straight to the highlight reel of Kelly's life, which still makes it a substantial book. If you don't know, he was the lead engineer at Lockheed and later Skunkworks (when it became a full-time division) for most of his adult life, which means his hands were in every major Lockheed project from WWII until his retirement in the 80's. He has an interesting take on things, and can come across as a bit self-important and McCarthy-ish in his patriotism, but did lead a very interesting life.

edit: also Silent Rescue. Has few redeeming qualities unless you know the guy who wrote it. Then it becomes amazing. (Don't spend your money on this.) Just felt the need to float that title.

Yes, and "Kelly: More Than My Share of It All" by the old man himself.

I'd give my left nut just to be able to go an work back to Kelley's time/era... or at least back to an environment where MERIT actually matters more than ass-kissing (and when everything wasn't decided by "consensus" [of idiots].)

Half way through Undaunted Courage which is great so far. I actually bought it a couple months ago at the Fort Clatsop gift shop. It discusses alot of the leadup to the expedition and how it came about. The local history teachers that volunteered there as re-enactors recommended it

What world do you live in? Seriously, I would really like to know what deluded fantasy that you live in where this kind of money goes back to the people. It doesn't. You think this tourism helps people, think its help them open their eyes? Well what happens then if their eyes are somehow magically opened by the tourists who they have little to no contact with. Its not like you can walk up to someone and start talking to them, or does somehow the sight of a foreigner open their eyes to over 60 years of continuous brainwashing? But say they are somehow magically opened, what then? They are stuck in a country where their neighbors would rat them out for a hint of dissent, and they and their entire family would be shipped off to concentration camps that would make the Nazis proud.

Are you so fucking naive to believe this actually helps the citizens? Every time we try to give aid to the North, we can't even get the simplest guarantee from them that they would go to the people. They can't even finish their own infrastructures without foreign help, and even if they finish the outside they don't even bother to work on the inside. The vast majority of their spending goes to the military, we know this for a fact, that's why they invest so heavily into nuclear weapons and they actually have been able to accomplish some things (albeit poorly).

Economic liberalization would be helpful to the North for a variety of reasons but this is all tightly controlled, regulated and run by the state. This is not some private enterprise of North Koreans, they are carefully, screened, chosen and watched by a state, whose only purpose is to keep itself afloat and to keep its top people rich off the backs of its own citizens. But this tourism is stupid, especially when people come back with these misguided ideas of "Oh it doesn't look so bad". To think that this benefits anyone other than the state is a complete delusion. If you actually want to learn something about North Korea I would reccomend those books.

> We could easily solve everything with diplomacy

No, this is as far from reality as possible. Diplomacy and negotiating can only exist if there is a stick to smack some one with if they step out of line. You don't get it. It is absolutely complex, you just don't want it to be. You like your neat little narratives.

https://www.amazon.com/Diplomacy-Touchstone-Book-Henry-Kissinger/dp/0671510991

I am sure you can find a pdf of it online.

> I on't know about him but I personally can't commit to longer storylines because I think life is too short to stick with a single story for weeks or months, when you can come up with something new every other day.

I appreciate your honest comment, but I can't help but think that some - of - the - best - stories simply need a longer effort to be narrated, or you're stuck in a much more shallow world of storytelling

They totally do! It's actually very interesting. If you want to learn more read this. It's awesome.

There is absolutely no questioning Wernher von Braun's total commitment to manned space flight and the exploration of the cosmos. He was the public face of American space advocacy in the late 1950s and early 1960s (see this for example). He was absolutely instrumental in orchestrating both the Mercury-Redstone and Saturn rocket projects (Mercury was mostly a failure, leading to the infamous description of the project in Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff: "Our rockets always blow up and our boys always botch it." (source)). There is likely no Apollo program and no public enthusiasm for NASA without von Braun. Period.

Yes, von Braun's legacy is a tainted one. He almost certainly knew about what was going on in the work camps at Peenemünde and elsewhere, but he also felt powerless to stop it without compromising his own safety. Many argue that von Braun valued his rocket projects over the lives of those who helped build them and perhaps there's a small degree of truth to that. The experience, and his complicity in it, haunted von Braun for the rest of his life.

For more reading on von Braun, I'd strongly recommend Michael Neufeld's Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, which very carefully explains the Faustian bargain that von Braun had to make in order to pursue his dream of space travel.

Peter the Great was really into boats and easily offended. He was an indolent young prince not much concerned with his birthright, but as soon as his sister tried to seize power, he went from playing with boats in lakes to making Russia a first-rate power and founding the Russian navy. For more info, I recommend Robert K. Massie's Peter the Great.

I read a pretty interesting book about Lawrence called "Lawrence In Arabia" by Scott Anderson. It offers an interesting view of the man.
https://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Arabia-Deceit-Imperial-Making/dp/0307476413

Maus is probably one of the two most celebrated works in english comics

Fullmetal Alchemist is probably the most popular modern manga series

You should read The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs.

It's really an incredible book and I've learned a ton about the personalities of Presidents most don't know much about, like LBJ, Hoover, Truman, Nixon.

I know growing up all I ever knew of Nixon was "I am not a crook"...that book had tons of great insight all the way up to Obama.

A History of the American People

or if you are a dirty commie

A People's History.

Honestly they are a yin and yang that do an amazing job of giving you US history in broad strokes.

Other than those Chernow on Washington or just this.

Regarding Sino-Russian relations: they tried that, and it didn't work out. Today is no different; they are allies of convenience and nothing more. And even if they weren't, the US would certainly not be fucked.

I think the relative peace we've seen since the Cold War is almost exclusively attributable to minipolarity. Regardless of what you think of Kissinger, the argument he lays out in this boo is pretty hard to refute: more zones of power equals more conflict.

Yes, China plays an important role, but like the original prompt said: "continued US present abroad is necessary to maintain stability." I agree that China is an important conduit to nations such as North Korea (and pretty much just N. Korea...), but for whom would they be a conduit if the US packed up and left. The defining IR logic of the region is a big "influencer state" (China), surrounded be smaller powers fearful of its influence (rightly or not; this list includes S. Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Mongolia, and on and on), who then look to a bigger foreign power to counter this influence. Without this counter-balance, these many powers would inevitably wreak chaos on one another.

I read a lot of historical fiction, hope thats allowed to recommend:

The book that made the greatest impression on me with regards to the frontlines in WW2 was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forgotten_Soldier. It is a fantastic story seen by the footsoldier. I really, really, REALLY dont want to be on the receiving end of artillery fire after reading this book.

A very different book is this https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Library/dp/0440208025.

Here you experience the war from a senior officers point of view. It mostly works on a division/batallion level. Instead of describing the horrors in detail, it often just states "we took heavy losses". Still it takes you from Germany to France to Russia to Africa to France to Germany to Russia to Germany, so you get to experience the war in many different places, stages, viewpoints (attacker, defender, prisoner) and times.

Edit: If you are interested in Alexander the great and want action packed historical fiction, do this one: https://www.amazon.com/God-War-Story-Alexander-Great/dp/1409135942

I really enjoyed Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis.

It's great, and a bit depressing at the same time. I couldn't help but contrast the founding fathers with the current men and women running our country. Fun fact: they sometimes called J. Madison "The Knife" for his willingness to cut deals.

yes, i am pretty sure it was this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Camp-14-Remarkable-Odyssey/dp/0143122916

At the risk of having everyone here roll their eyes at me, Among the Thugs by Bill Buford is still one of my favorites. I know a lot of people don't really consider it a soccer book, but it was my first real exposure to the sport beyond YMCA herd soccer, so it holds a bit of a place in my heart.

Yep. Hans Von Luck talks about this idea in good detail in Panzer Commander.

Hans Von Luck wrote Panzer Commander not Panzer Leader

see here

And his wiki article

Its a great book, from someone who leaded from the ground.

He was at El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, and the Ost Front.

EDIT: He was with the 3rd panzer army during operation barbarossa and at the personal request of Rommel, with the afrika korps in North Africa.

Read THIS for a good story about someone who used that rifle to great effect.

You can do something about it by donating to charities that support girls' education in Afghanistan. Last week I gave $25 to The Asia Foundation's Afghan Girls' Education Fund. National Geographic is matching donations at this time :)

Afghanistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world and one of the largest disparities in literacy between men and women (source)

Girl's education reduces child mortality rates, increases womens' independence, increases equality, leads to increased women's rights, and increases the probability that her children are educated (Reference - PDF)

I recommend these related books:

Half the Sky

Three Cups of Tea

Stones Into Schools

Related to US History, Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose is a great read, I would highly recommend it.

i've plugged it here before but i definitely recommend bill buford's "among the thugs" if youre looking for something on the sociology and culture around football fans. it is a sensational read.

https://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351

I enjoyed Diplomacy by H Kissinger. I know, he might not be the most popular person in the world, but this book was interesting

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0609610627

Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Utterly fascinating, and reads more clearly than most history books I've encountered to date.

Escape From Camp 14

It bummed me out but it was a great read.

I read this thick ass biography on Tesla (http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Nikola-Biography-Genius-Citadel/dp/0806519606/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420393751&sr=8-2&keywords=tesla+biography), and I have to say I really don't get the Tesla worship based on what I read in there.

Biography TL;DR: Here's a dude who does some really awesome stuff. Basically develops polyphase AC because of how it can drive a motor. Very neat. Does some really cool stuff with radio, and some very cool stuff with lighting. He also has very strange relationships with people and animals, he is constantly broke, and he has some really strange views on the occult and how physical forces work. Granted, I have the benefit of standing on his shoulders and 100 years of further discovery, but Wardenclyffe was NEVER going to work. Like not even close. The central premises of how he thought he could wirelessly transfer power indicate that he didn't really understand what he was working with at all. So let's not say he was 100 years ahead of his time. He was not. He was maybe 10 years ahead of his time. He did some cool stuff, but it's not like he's some untouchable genius and Edison is an idiot.

Since you have that Stephen Ambrose book there, I must recommend Undaunted Courage. It tells the tale of the Lewis & Clark expedition mainly from Lewis's perspective. Awesome book.

Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Rein

http://www.threecupsoftea.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Cups-Tea-Mission-Promote/dp/0143038257

I received this book as a birthday gift, and haven't stopped loaning it to friends since I finished reading it myself. It's intriguing, insightful, and inspiring. The life he's lived strikes me as a non-fiction version of the classic Hero's Journey.

The best bio is supposed to be Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla. I just started reading it; it's very well written and seems to have the right kind of perspective and depth.

[The American West - Dee Brown]
(https://www.amazon.com/American-West-Dee-Brown/dp/0684804417) More so history regarding westward expansion.

[The Art of Seeing Things - Essays by John Burroughs]
(https://www.amazon.com/Art-Seeing-Things-Essays-Burroughs/dp/0815606788)

[Undaunted Courage - Stephen E. Ambrose]
(https://www.amazon.com/Undaunted-Courage-Meriwether-Jefferson-American/dp/0684826976)

[Astoria - Peter Starkk]
(https://www.amazon.com/Astoria-Jeffersons-Pacific-Ambition-Survival/dp/0062218298)

[Frozen in Time - Mitchell Zuckoff]
(https://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Time-Survival-Modern-Heroes-ebook/dp/B009NG2G54)Survival/military but I enjoyed it.

[Alone on the Ice - Daid Roberts]
(https://www.amazon.com/Alone-Ice-Greatest-Survival-Exploration-ebook/dp/B007Q6XJL8)

[Farthest North - Fridtjog Nansen]
(https://www.amazon.com/Farthest-North-Incredible-Three-Year-Exploration/dp/0375754725/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483043755&sr=1-1&keywords=farthest+north+nansen)

[Steller's Island - Dean Littlepage]
(http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/Stellers-Island-P484.aspx)

[The Arctic Year - Freuchen & Salomonsen]
(https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-year-Peter-Freuchen/dp/B0007IZCNK)

[Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing]
(https://www.amazon.com/Endurance-Shackletons-Incredible-Alfred-Lansing/dp/0465062881)

Here are a couple great Non-Arsenal specific books. All come highly recommended:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Miracle-Castel-Sangro-Passion/dp/0767905997

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Thugs-Bill-Buford/dp/0679745351/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422638459&sr=1-1&keywords=among+the+thugs&pebp=1422638445664&peasin=679745351

http://www.amazon.com/How-Soccer-Explains-World-Globalization/dp/0061978051/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422638489&sr=1-1&keywords=how+soccer+explains+the+world&pebp=1422638475663&peasin=61978051

The Mongols are incorrectly lumped in with the regular form of barbarian as you might expect of a Gaul, or Viking.

Weatherford discusses in his book on Genghis Khan that any group which was willing to surrender would be treated kindly and added to the Mongolian Empire without bloodshed. As a token of his appreciation Genghis would take a wife from that group literally making them apart of his tribe.

http://www.amazon.com/Genghis-Khan-Making-Modern-World/dp/0609610627

A little late on this one. But Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War was a solid read.

Edit: Also, if you are interested in more space race stuff, this book is one of my favorites, Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age

might not be the type of "Resistance" you are wanting to read about, but I loved this book (and i'm not even religious)

https://www.amazon.com/Bonhoeffer-Pastor-Martyr-Prophet-Spy/dp/1595552464

wiki page for the guy it's about, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

I recommend this book on Von Braun, it really is a fascinating story:
http://www.amazon.com/Von-Braun-Dreamer-Engineer-Vintage/dp/0307389375

The Law - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936594315/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1936594315

Economics in one lesson - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0517548232/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0517548232

That which is seen and is not seen - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1453857508/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1453857508

Our enemy, the state - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E28SUM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001E28SUM

How capitalism save america - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400083311/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1400083311

New Deal or Raw Deal - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416592377/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1416592377

Lessons for the Young Economist - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933550880/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1933550880

For a New Liberty - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610162641/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1610162641

What Has Government Done to Our Money? - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/146997178X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=146997178X

America's Great Depression - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/146793481X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=146793481X

Defending the Undefendable - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933550171/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1933550171

Metldown - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1596985879/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1596985879

The Real Lincoln - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761526463/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0761526463

The Road to Serfdom - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226320553/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0226320553

Capitalism and Freedom - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226264211/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0226264211

Radicals for Capitalism - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1586485725/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1586485725

Production Versus Plunder - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0979987717/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0979987717

Atlas Shrugged - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452011876/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0452011876

The Myth of the Rational Voter - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0691138737/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thmariwi-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0691138737

Foutainhead - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452273331/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0452273331&linkCode=as2&tag=thmariwi-20

Anthem - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452281253/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0452281253&linkCode=as2&tag=thmariwi-20

There are of course more books, but this should last you a few years!

I am reading this one

its pretty good so far.

Suggested reading. It provides sooooo much more info on the relationships between past and current presidents. It's a pretty interesting read.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Presidents-Club-Exclusive-Fraternity/dp/1439127727

Undaunted Courage is one of my favorites. It's about the journey of Lewis and Clarke, but it also explores Lewis' interactions with Thomas Jefferson and provides examples of how life was back in their day. There's some crazy shit that happened on that expedition that your high school history class wouldn't dare to cover.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus is another good one. It's about the New World before Europeans had touched it. It also goes into the conquest and some would say destruction of the old way of life. It's written in a novel format so it's a very easy read.

I was an english major and to be honest, Ernest Hemingway was very difficult for me to get into. The Prince is short but you need to be in the right mindset. Meditations is very useful but it can be repetitive. If I were you I would focus on books that have a sense of adventure to them, then mix philosophy into that.

Hans von Luck was Rommel's favorite junior officer. While he was no Nazi, he was from a strong Prussian military background, and he fought from the invasion of Poland through to 1945. His autobiographical book offers a somewhat rare perspective on good soldiering on the Axis side.

IMO, there are several old sets that are better than McPerson's books.

• Bruce Catton
  
• Douglas Southall Freeman
  
• Shelby Foote
  
  Also, if you're not afraid to raise the librarian's (or other schoolmarms') eyebrows, try The Real Lincoln. It's imperfect (like most books), but full of interesting, thought-provoking ideas.

He has an autobiography that talks about his intentions called "My Inventions".

But theres certainly some good biographies.

http://www.amazon.com/Tesla-Man-Time-Margaret-Cheney/dp/0743215362/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345616103&sr=1-2&keywords=tesla

http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Nikola-Biography-Genius-Citadel/dp/0806519606/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345616103&sr=1-4&keywords=tesla

I read half of Panzer Commander by Colonel Hans Van Luck.

You might like it more than I did.

https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Library/dp/0440208025

To anyone interested in the club, I highly recommend this book.

> Any good schools, manuals, insight or resources to truly know how to big-picture Army for a reforming shammer


Since you're in S3.. I've heard this is a great manual to keep at the desk.. Teaches you how to shift blame for any wrong doing/mishandling/issue S3 encounters with soldiers' paperwork

I enjoyed The American Revolution by Bruce Lancaster as well as Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis.

Yes there are numerous sources and I think you would be intrigued by just how much both of their public perceptions have changed over time. Hamilton was originally castigated, almost demonized, by many upon his death due to the harsh political lines that existed between him and his opponents (Jefferson, Burr, and really any anti-Federalist), and his extraordinary/imperfect personal life. Jefferson on the other hand was pretty ubiquitously lauded for a long time and it wasn't until historians began viewing his life later on that his legacy began to be questioned, when it has been revealed just how much Jefferson was a man of great contradiction.

Both were undoubtedly great men with perhaps even greater character flaws.

Really any book written during the Revolutionary period would expand on this in great detail, but specifically biographies of the two men or any of the Founding Fathers. You cannot research the men who typically are associated as the Founding Fathers or Framers without talking about the political discord that developed between the two sides.

Some of my favorites are below:

https://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Hamilton-Rivalry-Forged-Nation/dp/1608195430/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480308951&sr=8-1&keywords=jefferson+hamilton

https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/0143034758/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480309330&sr=8-2&keywords=jefferson+hamilton

https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Brothers-Revolutionary-Joseph-Ellis/dp/0375705244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480309352&sr=8-1&keywords=founding+brothers

But this is by no means limiting and I didn't even link any Jefferson-centric biographies.

This could be a very long list ... Will try to reign it in to some of my favourites. Most are popular enough that they won’t need explaining.

Springtime In Chernobyl

The Handmaid’s Tale: A Graphic Novel

Maus

Laika

Ichi-F: A Worker's Graphic Memoir of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant


Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation

To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel

Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Classics Graphic Novels)

The Hobbit Graphic Novel

Persepolis

The Kite Runner: A Graphic Novel

A Wrinkle In Time: A Graphic Novel

The Great Successor Kim Jong Un: a Political Cartoon, an Epic Comic of the Dark Kingdom and the Passing of Power to a Third Kim

Any of Guy Delisle’s travelogues

This book has the Washington speculation: http://www.amazon.com/Washington-A-Life-Ron-Chernow/dp/0143119966

The author asked several PD specialists to review the evidence--there was no strong agreement that it was conclusive.

> something competely irrelevant.


Ahh yes these books published by people who were alive at the time and had contact with Rommel are irrelevant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Lewin

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0949476/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rommel:_The_Desert_Fox

https://www.amazon.com/Rommel-Military-Commander-Ronald-Lewin/dp/0760708614

https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Commander-Memoirs-Colonel-Library/dp/0440208025

I would say the list is pretty well compiled right here.

Yes, thank you, I've read that. I also just read Escape from Camp 14.

http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Great-His-Life-World/dp/0345298063


The best book i have ever read.

a movie based on this would be great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0143122916?pc_redir=1406967681&robot_redir=1