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Stewart
Trad climber
Courtenay, B.C.
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Aug 21, 2014 - 09:28pm PT
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Warsaw 1944 by Alexandra Richie: An account of the total destruction of this beautiful city and the murder and/or rape of most of its (until then) surviving inhabitants by the Nazis. Stalin's deliberate refusal to assist these heroic citizens in their time of need is also examined.
The shameful indifference of the Western Allies (especially FDR) to this systematic massacre of a proud people is also a part of this grim narrative.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Aug 21, 2014 - 11:23pm PT
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The Amateurs: The Story of Four Young Men and Their Quest for an Olympic Gold Medal. Also by Halberstam.
Quite remarkable look at elite athletes, who at the very peak of their skills and performance, have nothing material to gain.
Athletics as we rarely see it today.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Aug 21, 2014 - 11:57pm PT
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Salty! In the nautical sense.SC Seagoat, you may have this when we get to Facelift, if you've not read it yet...I'll try to remember to bring it along.
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Tobia
Social climber
Denial
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 22, 2014 - 04:13am PT
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I look forward to reading Halberstam's The Amateurs at some point.
I've just been given a biography a friend is writing to read and tinker with. I hope I can help, that is to say have the skills to have some positive input.
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nopantsben
climber
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Aug 22, 2014 - 04:33am PT
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this is a cool thread. one of the few here...
I finished Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon and Infinite Jest and Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace in the last two weeks. Infinite Jest took some time but also sort of towers above the others there... Maybe the most interesting book (to me) that I have read.
I am now reading Underworld by Don DeLillo. Only a couple pages in, but really fun, and comparatively mellow reading for an ESL like me..
Parallel to Underworld I am reading the German book Der Turm by Uwe Tellkamp. I haven't made up my mind yet on whether or not I want to continue. German literature after 1950 can't even be compared to American literature of that period, is my opinion.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Aug 22, 2014 - 10:15am PT
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I've always had a hard time getting around to reading Pynchon, although I feel my reading of 20th Century American novel is lacking until I do. When I do though, Crying seems to be a much better warm up than diving into Gravity's Rainbow. Even some of my lit professors commented that it was a handful.
I find DeLillo terrific. Enjoyed White Noise and Libra quite a bit, and need to get around to reading Underworld, maybe when I finish my current read. To me, though there are a lot of interesting American novelists right now, the only ones I find who border on great are DeLillo and Roth.
Heaney's Beowulf was terrific. Tolkien apparently wrote a translation as well that was found not long ago. That would be interesting to compare.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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Aug 22, 2014 - 04:58pm PT
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Franzen is not quite there yet.
Wolfe is certainly up there, particularly with the earlier work. Haven't been as impressed post-Bonfire.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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No sh!t. And it's very well-written for a thriller. It reminds me of Graham Greene quite a lot.
But no photos of one-armed levers in a pretzel position, sorry.
Back cover reads (in glorious Blurbish prose):
The Last Heroes is the story of a crime so ingenious, planned by a criminal so calculating that only extraordinary men could bring it off....
is sophisticated suspense--'Makes James Bond look like an innocent....'
is electrifying adventure--'An extravagant entertainment ahead of the genre....'
is a novel of intrigue and infamy--'Clever and plausible...highly successful, a neat blend of sex and incipient violence.'
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen
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Delhi Dog
climber
Good Question...
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^^ A fascinating read.
Just finishing this up.
Amazing historical narrative of the "opening up" of Kentucky and the Ohio territories.
A story within a story it has all the main personalities of the times;
Simon Kenton, Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark, Arthur St. CLair, Anthony Wayne, Simon Girty, Tecumseh, Blue Jacket...the list goes on.
Amazing piece of history.
Allan Eckert did his research and has produced some really amazing and accessible work.
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John Duffield
Mountain climber
New York
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I've been reading an enormous tome, on the History of the Ottoman Empire, "OSMANS DREAM".
It is the Caliphate ISIS refers to and the historical context places the ISIS phenomenon in another light.
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Tobia
Social climber
Denial
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 13, 2014 - 05:31am PT
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Delhi Dog, I was looking for something to read and I think you led me to it,
thanks.
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Delhi Dog
climber
Good Question...
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Sep 13, 2014 - 06:49am PT
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You'll dig it.
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David Knopp
Trad climber
CA
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Sep 13, 2014 - 10:22pm PT
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"Fourth of July Creek", perfect for all you westerners.
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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Sep 14, 2014 - 01:05am PT
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Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
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WanderlustMD
Trad climber
New England
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Sep 14, 2014 - 05:42pm PT
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A Pale Blue Dot. Quite interesting!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Sep 14, 2014 - 07:04pm PT
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The Achemy of Action by our man Doug Robinson!
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