Reading List and recommendations

[|Montana Bengal|]

Just curious what others are reading and would recommend.

 

I picked up The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn Cook.  She has done extensive interviews with families that have 'lost' family members to the QAnon and those kind of beliefs. Interesting how seemingly normal folks have been pulled in and convinced of some terrible shit.  I'm about 1/2 way through and it is probably worth a read if the topic seems interesting to you.  Very sad at times and many of you have probably see similar things happen to some friends / family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jamie_B]

@Homer_Rice recommended Team of Rivals years ago, it's well worth the read.

[Homer_Rice]

This is a good idea. I've got somewhere in the range of 700-800 books on American history/economics, probably more. Be happy to list some of them with mini-reviews/comments. Give me suggestions regarding subjects/topics.

 

I do know that I have some "doubles" which I'd be happy to send out to folks. Right off the top of my head, I have 2 copies of:

 

--Ron Chernow's The House of Morgan.

--Michael Hudson's Temples of Enterprise: Creating Economic Order in the Bronze Age Near East

 

[Jamie_B]

Going through my Audible account there are a couple that I remember sticking out 

 

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World

Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy

 

The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism

 

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

 

Those last two are worth reading together to get a sense of just how evil Ralph Reed is. 

How Propaganda Works

 

How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them

 

The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy (this one was interesting for she is one of Bernie's economic advisors, but I couldn't shake the idea that deficits dont matter so I'm not sure I agreed with her.)

 

Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons from a Misunderstood Founder

 

 

[Homer_Rice]

On 7/30/2024 at 10:17 PM, Montana Bengal said:

Just curious what others are reading and would recommend.

 

I picked up The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn Cook.  She has done extensive interviews with families that have 'lost' family members to the QAnon and those kind of beliefs. Interesting how seemingly normal folks have been pulled in and convinced of some terrible shit.  I'm about 1/2 way through and it is probably worth a read if the topic seems interesting to you.  Very sad at times and many of you have probably see similar things happen to some friends / family.

An interesting thesis. This is a common argument when describing cult-like behavior. Plenty of families have been busted up over a divergence in beliefs and that is always very sad. I think that especially in hard times people spend more time seeking meaning in the world. And that's good. What is not-so-good is that most people are not equipped to do the hard work of deep diving for truth. So they settle for plausible sounding beliefs. A belief doesn't have to meet a set of stringent tests such as those required by scientific  behavior. This phenomenon is not surprising to discover in QAnon families, just as it drives wedges in other insular groupings like Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, etc... The apostates vs. the true believers always leaves a lot of carnage.

[Homer_Rice]

I'm currently working a project which began with the Monroe Doctrine so I'm reading a shitload of related stuff: a half dozen biographies of John Quincy Adams and other personalities of the period. Two books that may be of interest to people are these:

 

Howe's What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815 - 1848. This is, in my opinion, one of the best general histories written about this counry, right up there with McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Read these two books, back to back, and you'll learn a lot about early 19th century American history.

 

While I'm thinking of it, with regards to foreign policy, Angelo Codevilla--who was a bullethead--wrote an interesting book: America's Rise and Fall among Nations: Lessons in Statecraft from John Quincy Adams. If you want a serious treatment of modern "America First" thinking, then this is pretty good. I personally think that the book is decent with respect to the history, but that it draws some simplistic solutions when it comes the modern period. Still a good read in general.

 

Edit to add: For fun, I'm currently reading Jorma Kaukonen's autobiography, Been So Long: My Life and Music.

[Homer_Rice]

On 7/31/2024 at 3:50 PM, Jamie_B said:

Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons from a Misunderstood Founder

After taking a look at the TOC, I'm going to add this to my already 3-4 linear feet of Hamilton books. Thanks for the head's up.

 

Not books, but here is a recommendation for what I think is one of the best documentaries ever. I watch it every couple of years and just finished another watch the other day. It's Marcel Ophuls' "The Sorrow and the Pity" from 1969 and it is about the Nazi takeover of France and the rise of the Resistance around Clermont-Ferrand. It's a two parter and you'll want to grab the .srt subtitle files, too.

 

It a provocative, thinker's documentary with interviews of a lot of participants from all sides. If you already have some knowledge of the period, then you'll like it. If you are not too familiar with WWII Vichy France, then be patient.

 

Le chagrin et la pitié (The Sorrow and the Pity)

[Jamie_B]

2 minutes ago, Homer_Rice said:

After taking a look at the TOC, I'm going to add this to my already 3-4 linear feet of Hamilton books. Thanks for the head's up.

 

Not books, but here is a recommendation for what I think is one of the best documentaries ever. I watch it every couple of years and just finished another watch the other day. It's Marcel Ophuls' "The Sorrow and the Pity" from 1969 and it is about the Nazi takeover of France and the rise of the Resistance around Clermont-Ferrand. It's a two parter and you'll want to grab the .srt subtitle files, too.

 

It a provocative, thinker's documentary with interviews of a lot of participants from all sides. If you already have some knowledge of the period, then you'll like it. If you are not too familiar with WWII Vichy France, then be patient.

 

Le chagrin et la pitié (The Sorrow and the Pity)

 

You'll have to let me know what you think it's been a little while since I listened to it on Audible

[Homer_Rice]

On 8/4/2024 at 3:00 PM, Jamie_B said:

 

You'll have to let me know what you think it's been a little while since I listened to it on Audible

I will, but it'll probably be a while. I have two other unread Hamilton books so maybe I'll do a little Hamilton post when I get there.

[Jamie_B]

Just now, Homer_Rice said:

I will, but it'll probably be a while. I have two other unread Hamilton books so maybe I'll do a little Hamilton post when I get there.

 

Sounds good

[T-Dub]

Oral History of the Yavapai not as well known as some of the other tribes but have multiple small reservations.  Pretty rough at times so I'm kinda like, digesting in chunks.

 

The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944  Didn't know much about the Italian campaign aside from anecdotal stuff, Monte Cassino etc.. I'll probably read his North Africa one too when I'm done, this one's solid so far.  Almost to the Anzio landing which is roughly halfway..

 

Infinite Jest the David Foster Wallace bestseller, supposed to be a Very Big Deal, literary masterpiece etc etc.  So far it's about some dude that plays tennis and drier than a popcorn fart but a pretty easy read, I'll stick with it when I need a break.

 

 

 

 

[Homer_Rice]

13 hours ago, T-Dub said:

The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944  Didn't know much about the Italian campaign aside from anecdotal stuff, Monte Cassino etc.. I'll probably read his North Africa one too when I'm done, this one's solid so far.  Almost to the Anzio landing which is roughly halfway..

It has been at least ten years, but I remember "The War North of Rome: June 1944 - May 1945" being a good read. And speaking of anecdotes, I spent 4 semesters on the High Middle Ages and the Renaissance under the tutelege of Herb Oerter. Very interesting guy and his interest in Italy came from his WWII experiences there. Officer in Darby's Rangers, he told a few sanitized stories about Cisterna and Monte Cassino. Bonus, because Olympics: He was the uncle of Al Oerter the famous Discus thrower.

[T-Dub]

3 hours ago, Homer_Rice said:

It has been at least ten years, but I remember "The War North of Rome: June 1944 - May 1945" being a good read. And speaking of anecdotes, I spent 4 semesters on the High Middle Ages and the Renaissance under the tutelege of Herb Oerter. Very interesting guy and his interest in Italy came from his WWII experiences there. Officer in Darby's Rangers, he told a few sanitized stories about Cisterna and Monte Cassino. Bonus, because Olympics: He was the uncle of Al Oerter the famous Discus thrower.

 

Thanks & what an interesting post-war life for one of the original US Army Rangers. "Ain't Gonna Study War No More" is relatable & I've mostly only read about them myself.

 

Last thing I read on Medieval Europe was A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century,  I might have to pull that one back out, there were some things I wanted to follow up on at some point, like the Ransom of John II.  I got the impression he was having a fine time of playing hostage.

 

 

 

 

This would be a good time to read Bible & Sword as well.  I like her style, she had a knack for drilling down on the interesting or complex things without losing the broader narrative. Mirror was messy & more alive than I'd expected, she also was clear about what was speculation and from where it was derived.  I was struck by how isolated people were, one town effectively quarantined & decimated by the plague while a few miles away they're practically baking cakes in Camelot by comparison.

[T-Dub]

On 8/9/2024 at 10:42 AM, Homer_Rice said:

It has been at least ten years, but I remember "The War North of Rome: June 1944 - May 1945" being a good read. And speaking of anecdotes, I spent 4 semesters on the High Middle Ages and the Renaissance under the tutelege of Herb Oerter. Very interesting guy and his interest in Italy came from his WWII experiences there. Officer in Darby's Rangers, he told a few sanitized stories about Cisterna and Monte Cassino. Bonus, because Olympics: He was the uncle of Al Oerter the famous Discus thrower.

 

Cisterna was a god damn debacle.  Interesting how much the whole "race to Rome" bullshit from Clark must have solidified the chain of command & unified effort of OVERLORD.  Hard to imagine being in that situation with those stakes & knowing your life is at the mercy of someone seeking personal glory.

 

And in the small world department, I've seen Professor Oerter's grave.  I used to live about 2 blocks from that cemetery and walked through it as a shortcut pretty often. That Peffer/Silvoor Park area is nice, as is the Miami campus & that part of Butler County in general.  Great fishing 😁

 

I see he taught at Miami but still wondering how a guy born in Maine that passed in Austin came to be buried in Oxford?

[Homer_Rice]

Dr. Oerter was a very interesting person. I felt privileged that he shared some stuff with me and a few other veterans there at Miami. He was a little wary of us, being Vietnam and (V-era) types. I think the ethic was different in his mind between the two wars, but still he opened up a little. As for being buried in Oxford, I suspect that it is simply a matter of where he felt most comfortable in his professional (and personal?) life. I know that other history professors looked up to him a great deal.

 

I've only been back to Miami twice since I left in the early 80s. It is a pretty place. I used to spend a fair amount of time over at Heuston Woods, sometimes camping, sometimes getting wasted and pretending we were there for camping!

[T-Dub]

On 9/1/2024 at 3:54 PM, Homer_Rice said:

Dr. Oerter was a very interesting person. I felt privileged that he shared some stuff with me and a few other veterans there at Miami. He was a little wary of us, being Vietnam and (V-era) types. I think the ethic was different in his mind between the two wars, but still he opened up a little. As for being buried in Oxford, I suspect that it is simply a matter of where he felt most comfortable in his professional (and personal?) life. I know that other history professors looked up to him a great deal.

 

I've only been back to Miami twice since I left in the early 80s. It is a pretty place. I used to spend a fair amount of time over at Heuston Woods, sometimes camping, sometimes getting wasted and pretending we were there for camping!

 

 

Hueston Woods SP is a gem, spent a lot of time there myself between fishing, camping, hiking, some fossil hunting, foraging a bit & also getting.. not really "wasted" but near enough.  Excellent disc golf course too - they finally finished the overgrown back 9 recently, expanding it to 27 holes.

 

Like most natural areas I've been to if you're willing to walk for 20 minutes you can find a peaceful spot to yourself even on the busiest of holiday weekends.

[Shebengal]

2 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

 

Hueston Woods SP is a gem, spent a lot of time there myself between fishing, camping, hiking, some fossil hunting, foraging a bit & also getting.. not really "wasted" but near enough.  Excellent disc golf course too - they finally finished the overgrown back 9 recently, expanding it to 27 holes.

 

Like most natural areas I've been to if you're willing to walk for 20 minutes you can find a peaceful spot to yourself even on the busiest of holiday weekends.

My friends and I spent a week at Hueston Woods after we graduated from HS. Did some hiking and swimming and hung out in Oxford, and did some drinking. 🍻
 

When we were touring colleges with my son, we took him to Miami on a non-football Saturday. He absolutely hated it, and it was the only college he toured that he emphatically said, “I’m not going here.” My niece (whose dad covered Miami sports for the Enquirer for many years), had the same reaction.

[T-Dub]

1 hour ago, Shebengal said:

My friends and I spent a week at Hueston Woods after we graduated from HS. Did some hiking and swimming and hung out in Oxford, and did some drinking. 🍻
 

When we were touring colleges with my son, we took him to Miami on a non-football Saturday. He absolutely hated it, and it was the only college he toured that he emphatically said, “I’m not going here.” My niece (whose dad covered Miami sports for the Enquirer for many years), had the same reaction.

 

Understandable.  It's very insular and there's not a whole lot available for students off-campus socially beyond religious/civic orgs that look good on a resume or binge drinking with the frats.  Culturally it's a public school with Ivy League pretensions which may not be entirely undeserved but it's pretty uptight & definitely status-conscious.  At one time a student friend claimed there were more girls named Ashley enrolled that year than minority students.

 

 

[CincyInDC]

I was a grad student at Miami in the Botany Department in the late 90's and I liked it there a lot. The grad students in the biological sciences were a good, tight group, which went a long way to that enjoyment.

 

The undergrads I taught were definitely a mixed bag, lol.