Just Read a Great Book.

[Loquacious P. Glib]

The Terror, by Dan Simmons. Fictional account of the doomed Franklin Expedition, that was caught in the ice looking for the NorthWest passage. One of the ships was HMS Terror. Simmons also did the Hyperion series, which was very good, for any of you sci-fi fans.

[Guest]

“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe. Great book.

[Imperious Leader]

M36 i didnt know you can post in this forum. So i guess its just PD ban then.

anyway best book:

Thus Spoke Zarathustra- life changing

Also Von Manstein “lost victories”

[Guest]

I post this one every time great books come up…

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

[Loquacious P. Glib]

I’ve always been wary of Ayn Rand since a philo prof. in a class I took at a JC really ripped into her. That was many years ago.

Isn’t Rand a bit like Nietchze?

For anyone interested in Vietnam: 365 days, Argument without end, and A time of War

[Guest]

Rather than take someone else’s word for it, why not read it for yourself.

[Imperious Leader]

They are both in the same moniker as existentialists of sorts but neither of them would probably accept such labels Rand is a little more like Sarte than Nietzsche and her philosophy was called– Objectivism. Nietzsches ideas became the backdrop for modern nihilistic existentialism.

[Jermofoot]

@Loquacious:

I’ve always been wary of Ayn Rand since a philo prof. in a class I took at a JC really ripped into her. That was many years ago.

Isn’t Rand a bit like Nietchze?

For anyone interested in Vietnam: 365 days, Argument without end, and A time of War

My whole impression of her has been: conceited arse who was angry that she was somewhat intelligent and most people weren’t.  But I haven’t read any of her stuff - novels, anyway.

[Guest]

Give Atlas Shrugged a shot.  Worth the time investment (and I do not say that about any book lightly, especially 1000+ page novels)

[Baghdaddy]

I recommend Atlas Shrugged also.

If you find a 1000+ page novel to be too much for your time schedule,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged

provides a decent over-view of the book.

It is worth noting that the book is written during a time period when socialism and communism were viewed by many as the path forward for humanity.  As such it tends to highlight the problems that they bring to society.

[rjclayton]

Shogun.  Read it last fall but, whatever, it was still good!

[Loquacious P. Glib]

Just found out Peterson, who wrote A Time of War, was convicted of murdering his wife in 2003. Too bad, he was a fairly good writer, but I guess he can write from jail.

[Guest]

Axtually, it is pretty likely that he killed TWO wives, but he was aquitted for the first one.  At least based on the news reports of the trial (it was local news for us here)

[Weekend Gamer]

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.  The atmosphere of the book is SOOO early 1960s, but it is truly one of the best novels I have ever read, period.  And what’s more – nowhere near 1,000 pages!  :-)