Just Curious

[heliochrome85]

Since for the most part, i have found this forum to be populated by fine ladies and gentlemen of open minds and great intellect, i wonder what is on your "political" bookshelves at home?

Just a few on my shelf, and yes, i have a political shelf:Plan of Attack -Bob WoodwardShadow - Bob WoodwardChain of Command - Seymour HershFailed States - Noam ChomskyThe Complete War Memoirs of Charles De GaulleMy Life - Bill ClintonThe Audacity of Hope - Barack ObamaA Time of Our Choosing - Tom PurdumThe Paradox of American Democracy - John JudisJarhead - Anthony SwoffordAgainst all Enemies - Richard ClarkePeace, War, and Politics - Jack AndersonSowing the Wind - John KeyThe Assasins Gate - George PackerThe Looming Tower:Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 - Lawrence WrightImperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone - Rajiv ChandrasekaranParis 1919: Six Months that changed the world - Margaret MacMillanNixon and Mao - Margaret MacMillan

Also, do you have any suggestions?For me, i suggest EVERYONE in this forum read The Looming Tower.http://www.amazon.com/Looming-..._oe_h

[Cold_Zero]

I dont have political books in my library. I guess the only one I have is Coulter's "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)." I am not sure if Plato's Republic or Orwell's Animal Farm or 1984 count as political books, but that is as close as I get.I have a lot of Classics, Religious, Military and Historical books in my library.

[heliochrome85]

oh coulter... giving the right a black eye, since, well, forever. i loath her with the heat of 1000 suns. i saw her speak at IU two years ago. what a contemptable person. What are some of those books on your shelf? Im a big fan of Mil His.

[Marenta]

The only political books I have are the Book of 5 Rings and The Art of War (translated and rewritten in just about every single way, I think I have 15 copies apiece) and just about every single book on tank warfare in WWII.

[rn79870]

My library is strongly influenced by the Vietnam conflict. I was young and impressionable during the event. I remember the '68 DNC in Chicago and the problems it reflected. I remember seeing the tragedy at Kent State on the news. I remember a guy who had a 8 1/2 x 11 sign in his window with just a number on it. 23,506, then 31,355, etc. That was a running count on US casualties on Southeast Asia.

I have 4 1/2 shelves on a 36" wide bookcase filled with books on Vietnam, from historical texts, to rare speeches from 1965 on the topic to soldier on the ground exposes of life in Vietnam. I've spend hundreds and hundreds of hours seeking answers to the why and why not of that war.

I see far too many similarities between Vietnam and Iraq. All the signs were there, as were the red flags. Our government missed most of them.

Bud, I think I recommended "The Long Gray Line" to you previously. I think you'd really enjoy this. It's a good "God Duty Country" read.http://www.amazon.com/gp/reade...-link

Also, "The Tunnels of Cu Chi" briefly covers the "Why" as far as how the US duped itself into failing to win that war. That "Why" is spot on in my view.http://www.amazon.com/Tunnels-...r=1-1

Read Stanly Karnow's "Vietnam, A History" if you want the full answer. http://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-...r=1-1

Also, a good read for understanding Vietnam and the lesson the French could have taught us see "A street without Joy"http://www.amazon.com/Street-W...r=1-2

By the way, we didn't lose in Vietnam, we never gave the military the opportunity to win.

[AZhitman]

I'm currently reading Bob's recommendation, "The Secret War in Vietnam".

[skylndrftr]

withotu having it in front of me...

Failed state (rather enjoyed)One of the coulter books (not sure which...got as a gag gift)Bush on the couch (HIGHLY SUGGESTED)1984Brave new worldAnimal FarmMein Kampf...useless tripe but worth reading from a historical perspective IMOJarhead (yeah required reading in a class...wasn't so impressed)Bunch of issues of The NationThe Constitution of 1787: A Commentary (really interesting book abotu the intent of the founding fathers and the concept of legislative supremacy.

I also have a pocket copy of the constitution and declaration of independence but right now thats helping balance the bookcase....I have a pocket version of the Declaration

[heliochrome85]

read the looming tower. trust me, you will be chilled to the bone.

[AZhitman]

read the looming tower. trust me, you will be chilled to the bone.

Argh...

*clicks over to Amazon to order yet another used book on a NICO member advice*

Bastards!

[heliochrome85]

haha. seriously. ive read it twice. it was the highest rated book in its genre for the last few years. its so important, the FBI asked the writer to give them a briefing about alqaeda and iraq. NO. JOKE.

here is an excerpt from the NYT review of the book...

"Wright takes the title of his book from the fourth sura of the Koran, which bin Laden repeated three times in a speech videotaped just as the hijackers were preparing to fly. The video was found later, on a computer in Hamburg.

“Wherever you are, death will find you, Even in the looming tower.”"

and the review itself...http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08....html

[AZhitman]

When all the hubbub over "The Satanic Verses" was happening, I tried to read it... what a bunch of jibberish. I'm a smart cat, but damn - it's no wonder they wanted to execute him, that book sucked.

Same thing with "Dianetics" - My "looneybird" detector went off on page 2 or 3...

[heliochrome85]

i read it too, it sucked. while i dont necessarily have a problem with that sort of stuff, it was almost like someone squeezed out a crap novel, targeted it to islam in order to drum up interest, then reaped the cash.

[AZhitman]

and the review itself...http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08....html

Wow.

I'm in.

This looks like one of those reads that you need a week to emotionally recover from.

[heliochrome85]

yeah it took me a while. it was one of those books where you just sit and think for a while after finishing cause it was that intriguing. im tempted to reread it now. damn you.

[smockers83]

Containment, Rebuilding a Strategy Against Global Terror - Ian Shapiro (I highly recommend this book for those interested in today's foreign policy on terror)

Thirteen Days, A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis - Robert Kennedy

The Censored War, American Visual Experience During World War Two - George Roeder, Jr.

Born on the Fourth of July - Ron Kovic (Vietnam memoir)

And then I have a 475 page book of different readings about politics during the 20th century dealing with American wars. If anyone knows their colleges, its a U. of Michigan book with Ohio State University printed on it, I'll sell it for big bucks.

I also have Culture Warrior by Bill O'Reily that someone gave to me, but I have yet to read it over 1.5 years. Some day. And a bunch of other war books that aren't necessarily politics.

[Cold_Zero]

oh coulter... giving the right a black eye, since, well, forever. i loath her with the heat of 1000 suns. i saw her speak at IU two years ago. what a contemptable person. What are some of those books on your shelf? Im a big fan of Mil His.

The Coulter book was a gift.

Here is the part of my bookshelf that is not packed away in boxes. My wife has a nasty habit of getting me to box stuff up so that they can be accidentally lost in the shuffle

MilitaryThe Paratroopers of the French Foreign Legions, From Vietnam to Bosnia- Howard SimpsonThe Rise And Fall of the Third Reich- William ShirerBlack Hawk Down- Mark BowdenEnemy At The Gates, The Battle for Stalingrad- William CraigThe Killer Angels- Michael ShaaraHitler's Cross- Erwin LutzerThe Reader's Companion to Military History-Robert Cowley and Geoffrey ParkerRogue Warrior- Richard Marcinko (signed copy by a great guy)The Commandos, The Inside Story of America's Secret Soldiers- Douglas WallerOne Shot- One Kill- Charles Sasser and Craig RobertsSpecial Forces- David MillerShadow Warriors- Tom ClancySpecial Forces, A Guided Tour of US Army Special Forces Tom ClancyArmored Cav, A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment Tom ClancyGideon's Spies-Gordon ThomasEspionage, The Greatest Spy Operations of the 20th Century Enrest VolkmanThe Puzzle Palace, Inside The NSA, America's Most Secret Intelligence Organization- James BamfordThe Code Book, The Science of Secrecy From Ancient Egypt to Quantum Crypto- Simon Singh

History:Not Out of Africa- Mary LefkowitzThe Reformation, A History- Diarmaid MacCullochA Short History of Byzantium- John Julius NorwichThe History of the Church Bishop EusebiusThe Apostolic Fathers I- LoebsThe Apostolic Fathers II- LoebsA History of the Vikings- Gwyn JonesThe Early History of Rome- LivyThe History- HerodotusThe Reformation- Patrick CollinsonA History of the Popes- Charles CoulombeΙΟΥΔΑΙΚΗΣ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΦΙΑΣ- JosephusThe Roman Way- Edith HamiltonThe Romans- R.H. BorrowCity of God- Saint AugustineConfessions- Saint Augustine

PhilosophyThe Republic- PlatoApology- PlatoCrito- PlatoPhaedo- PlatoIon- PlatoMeno- PlatoSymposium- PlatoΕΥΘΥΦΡΩΝ- PlatoΑΠΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΣΩΚΡΑΤΟΥΣ- PlatoΚΡΙΤΩΝ- PlatoΦΑΙΔΩΝ- PlatoΦΑΙΔΡΟΣ- PlatoΟn Man In the Universe- AristotleMeditations- Marcus AureliusDiscourses- EpictetusSun and Steel- Yukio MishimaThe Book of Five Rings- Miyamoto Musashi

FictionThe Moon is Down- John SteinbeckChrist The Lord Out of Egypt- Anne RiceRise to Rebellion- Jeff Shaara1984- OrwellAnimal Farm- Orwell

ManualsHandbook For Volunteers of the Irish Republican ArmyThe Partisan Fighter's Manual- James C. KrohnSTP 21-1-SMCT Soldier's Manual of Common TasksSH 21-76 Ranger Handbook600-4 Soldier's Manual Army Testing (SMART)FM 7-8 Infantry Rifle Platoon and SquadTC 23-14 US Army Sniper Training ManualThe Anarchist Cookbook-William Powell

I have a ton of religious books that I will not list because it would be way too long.

[heliochrome85]

i see alot of gems there. Alot.

also, mad props for admitting to tom clancy. Man does his work get me hot and bothered. love it.

I have always been fascinated with the downfall of the Japanese empire and the Russian Empire. i have a bunch of books on those too. Plus a lot of middle east history books. reading is my weakness. its bad. like women and shopping.

[Cold_Zero]

I got hooked to Tom Clancy with Rainbow Six. Great game, good book and would make an awesome movie.

My sister in law never gave back my Peter the Great biography. But I knew going into letting her borrow it that she had a love affair with pre Soviet Russia.

A lot of my beloved text books from my Classics courses in college are MIA and I dont have the money to go back and buy them again. So I apologize if my Philosophy section looks dominated by Plato. I loved translating Heraclitus of Ephesus and need to get back into the greek.

[ishkabibble]

Read:1984Animal FarmFahrenheit 451Brave New WorldIshmaelMy IshmaelThe Story of BThe Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the DarkSome Al Franken and Michael Moore books, can't remember which. Got them at a garage sale for a quarter.

Unread:The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

I've probably got some others packed away, and some that I gave away that I can't remember right now. My place is really small, so unless I really like a book, I give it away when I'm done with it.

[heliochrome85]

rise and fall of the third reich is pretty good. you know what just came to mind...Triumph of the Will. man did that movie get to me. its scary when you find yourself to be pro nazi at any point in your life. after watching that movie, man. i was in bad shape.

[fayceoff]

Can't believe no one's said anything about "The Prince", by Nicolo Machiavelli... That one is on my special shelf next to Art of War, The Book of Five Rings, the Bible, the Koran, The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and "The Rose That Grew from Concrete" by 2Pac.
Modified by fayceoff at 10:12 AM 8/8/2008

[szh]

When all the hubbub over "The Satanic Verses" was happening, I tried to read it... what a bunch of jibberish. I'm a smart cat, but damn - it's no wonder they wanted to execute him, that book sucked.

I've never liked Salman Rushdi's books ... When I read a couple of his books, I found them tiresome and not very interesting at all.

For some reason, the British press just keep raving about him, though . I think that, in Britain, there was this assumption that someone with an Indian Subcontinent background must be a good if he writes about Pakistan or India.

His first few books did not sell well, even though he won the Booker Prize in Britain (makes me wonder about those judges!). So, he kept trying to make his books more and more "shocking" in an effort to boost sales, I think.

Well, he succeeded in a high degree of negative publicity with The Satanic Verses.

Unfortunately, what has been lost with all the hoopla, is that it is a terribly poor book! But no writer should be given an execution simply because he is a bad writer. So, I was not in favor with what happened there, of course.

Anyway, Rushdi is simply too arrogant and full of himself (I heard him on a PBS talk show once) and his works are simply too silly to matter anymore, as far as I am concerned.

Z

[szh]

You guys need to visit me sometime ... . I have on the order of 3 or 4 thousand books in my house (much to the chagrin of my wife). With the paperbacks, they are stacked two deep on each shelf in my home office. We have floor to ceiling book shelves in our family room, my home office, the upstairs landing, even the garage walls!

Most of the books are Science Fiction or Mystery. Others are on politics, history (my favorite: Civil War ... three volume series by Shelby Foote!), Adventure, textbooks (Computers, Semiconductor Physics).

With a few authors who I really like, I have all the works that they have ever written. For example, (in Science Fiction) everything by Larry Niven, Ray Bradbury, Jack Chalker, David Weber, etc., etc., etc.

In Mystery and others, for example, everything by John D. McDonald (Travis McGee series), P. D. James, Janet Evanovich, Erle Stanley Gardner (including his A.A. Fair pseudonym), Sharyn McCrumb, Tom Clancy, etc., etc., etc.

A few of my favorite books (fiction and non-fiction):

Civil War, by Shelby Foote.Shogun, by James Clavell.The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking.Crossfire, The Plot That Killed Kennedy, by Jim Marrs.The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich, by William Shirer.Ringworld, by Larry Niven.The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand.Zero, by Charles Seife.Alpha and Omega: The Search For The Beginning And The End Of The Universe, by Charles Seife.On Basilisk Station, by David Weber.The Second World War, by Sir Winston Churchill.The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury. (I like all his books ... )

I could go on and on ...

Z

[rn79870]

The Book of Five Rings- Miyamoto Musashi - wow, the greatest swordsman of all times. So great in fact, that he stopped using a sword when battling other swordsman to give them a fair advantage, and he still won.

One Shot, One Kill. The best part is the tales of Carlos Heathcock. A one man army. Still a sniper legend 93 to 0

[heliochrome85]

can i move in? seriously. god that sounds like heaven. i have boxes and boxes of books. i just dont have enough space in my room to display them all. Once I move out, you better believe im going to be living in a Hanger, filled with cars, and a big library. whats not to love?

[Cold_Zero]

Can't believe no one's said anything about "The Prince", by Nicolo Machiavelli...

I have The Prince.. its in one of those boxes. I didnt think it was as great as everyone claims it to be.

[heliochrome85]

what about the little prince? i have that book on my shelf. what a great little book. you know what i appreciate, is that no one has praised Tuesdays with morrie, which vies for the most "read" book in america.

[szh]

I have The Prince.. its in one of those boxes. I didnt think it was as great as everyone claims it to be.

Agreed. It was okay.

BTW, I found "The Art of War", by Sun Tzu, a more fun read. It is not in the same politics genre as the "The Prince", of course!

Z

[Cold_Zero]

can i move in? seriously. god that sounds like heaven. i have boxes and boxes of books. i just dont have enough space in my room to display them all. Once I move out, you better believe im going to be living in a Hanger, filled with cars, and a big library. whats not to love?

Moving in with szhosain comes with a price. He will make you wear an apron and call you "Sallie."bud

[srellim234]

Nothing really political in the library at the moment. We pass books around a lot and give them away when we're done reading them. Particularly anything along political lines.

I have a large collection of print and audio customer service/business/self help books (easily 100+) since I was a corporate trainer. I maintained a library for my use and allowed employees to check them out as well. An awful lot of them can be applied to governing and government.

I have a habit of keeping some comedy books around for entertainment. Currently about 20 of those in the bookcase.

A few science fiction, a few sports related (I was a track athlete and coach) and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff in the bookcases right now.