Return to the Booklist (and a few movies)
(Bolded are my personal favorites, recommendations)
129. War Without End: Israelis, Palestinians, and the Struggle for a Promised Land - Anton La Guardia
Exceptionally long. I'm still impressed I made it through it. I knew (and still know) very little about the history of the region, and despite some apparent biases (especially as the book gets into its latter stages), I definitely learned a bit about the region and its people from reading it.
130. Words that Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear - Dr. Frank Lutz (Advanced Readers' Copy)
Dr. Lutz was the brains behind the Newt Gingrich-era "Contract with America." This book was a short introduction to his theory on why certain words ring true, while others fail. He uses his experience in politics and marketing as a form of case study, choosing particular campaigns for each chapter to help address his point. While interesting for the majority of the book, the format starts to lose momentum in the final 4 chapters and I found myself sitting there thinking "great googlie mooglie, how many more pages do I have LEFT in this sucker?!" Quite possibly one of the ugliest covers I've seen in a while. I have flashbacks to Win98 WordART every time I look at it.
131. Sex, Drugs and DNA: Science's Taboos Confronted - Michael Stebbins
Stebbins is a geneticist by trade and has held positions as far reaching as an editor of Nature Genetics (one of the Big Momma journals of science), time at Cold Spring Harbor labs, and his current stint as the Director of Biology Policy for the Federation of American Scientists. This book is not for the shy or wishy-washy: Stebbins kicks the data in your face about sex, racism, bioterrorism, prescription drugs, healthcare, and a variety of other current "hot button" topics. His first chapter starts out describing the life of the aspiring PhD student and nearly made me quit my program (I knew it was tough, I just hadn't read *how* tough quite so bluntly) :P Anyways, scary data (average of $1.9 billion to get a new drug to the market) presented in an in-your-face polemic. Especially potent is his chapter on the state of US science education.
132. The Man in the Mirror: A Life of Benedict Arnold - Clare Brandt
Benedict Arnold was a total WHACK JOB. Whoa dookies. Utterly fascinating though. After a number of successes on the battlefield for the American Patriots (no, not the football team), Arnold turned and promised to deliver West Point to the British in the hopes of ending the Revolutionary War and reuniting the colonies with England. Note: this didn't work. Brandt does an excellent job of describing the many facets to the man: his easily bruised ego, his unfailing belief in his righteousnes, his fortitude on the battlefield, his mental cowardice. A contradiction in terms and a fascinating character.
133. The Janissary Tree - Jason Goodwin
I can't believe this is the only fiction book on my list this time around :P Goodwin's book is set in the period of decline of the Ottoman Empire and introduces Inspector Yashim, a eunuch in the business of intelligence. Yashim is sent to investigate a series of disappearances in Istanbul (which is no longer Constantinople) and is pulled into the intrigue himself (like any good detective) the closer he gets to the truth. Goodwin is known for his studies and non-fiction works on the Ottoman Empire, so the history and tapestry of the period is spot-on.
CURRENTLY ON DECK:
The Informant - Kurt Eichenwald
Little Children - Tom Perrotta
Time Dancers (Sequel to The Meq) - Steve Cash
The Uglies - Scott Westerfield
I've been watching some old movies, like The Thin Man (an all time favorite) and Casablanca because I figure its about time I sat down and paid attention to my mom when she blatters on about how fantastic these movies are. (also, I'd like to beat her at Trivial Pursuit once in a while - she wins based on the Entertainment category alone :P And that Scene-It game? Someone got her the Turner Classic Movies edition and she whooped up on all of us, INCLUDING the grandparents.) Anyhow, I'm now tucked in to watch The Third Man for the evening.
Shockingly, Netflix doesn't have African Queen! Bogart and Hepburn! Wtf?!
129. War Without End: Israelis, Palestinians, and the Struggle for a Promised Land - Anton La Guardia
Exceptionally long. I'm still impressed I made it through it. I knew (and still know) very little about the history of the region, and despite some apparent biases (especially as the book gets into its latter stages), I definitely learned a bit about the region and its people from reading it.
130. Words that Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear - Dr. Frank Lutz (Advanced Readers' Copy)
Dr. Lutz was the brains behind the Newt Gingrich-era "Contract with America." This book was a short introduction to his theory on why certain words ring true, while others fail. He uses his experience in politics and marketing as a form of case study, choosing particular campaigns for each chapter to help address his point. While interesting for the majority of the book, the format starts to lose momentum in the final 4 chapters and I found myself sitting there thinking "great googlie mooglie, how many more pages do I have LEFT in this sucker?!" Quite possibly one of the ugliest covers I've seen in a while. I have flashbacks to Win98 WordART every time I look at it.
131. Sex, Drugs and DNA: Science's Taboos Confronted - Michael Stebbins
Stebbins is a geneticist by trade and has held positions as far reaching as an editor of Nature Genetics (one of the Big Momma journals of science), time at Cold Spring Harbor labs, and his current stint as the Director of Biology Policy for the Federation of American Scientists. This book is not for the shy or wishy-washy: Stebbins kicks the data in your face about sex, racism, bioterrorism, prescription drugs, healthcare, and a variety of other current "hot button" topics. His first chapter starts out describing the life of the aspiring PhD student and nearly made me quit my program (I knew it was tough, I just hadn't read *how* tough quite so bluntly) :P Anyways, scary data (average of $1.9 billion to get a new drug to the market) presented in an in-your-face polemic. Especially potent is his chapter on the state of US science education.
132. The Man in the Mirror: A Life of Benedict Arnold - Clare Brandt
Benedict Arnold was a total WHACK JOB. Whoa dookies. Utterly fascinating though. After a number of successes on the battlefield for the American Patriots (no, not the football team), Arnold turned and promised to deliver West Point to the British in the hopes of ending the Revolutionary War and reuniting the colonies with England. Note: this didn't work. Brandt does an excellent job of describing the many facets to the man: his easily bruised ego, his unfailing belief in his righteousnes, his fortitude on the battlefield, his mental cowardice. A contradiction in terms and a fascinating character.
133. The Janissary Tree - Jason Goodwin
I can't believe this is the only fiction book on my list this time around :P Goodwin's book is set in the period of decline of the Ottoman Empire and introduces Inspector Yashim, a eunuch in the business of intelligence. Yashim is sent to investigate a series of disappearances in Istanbul (which is no longer Constantinople) and is pulled into the intrigue himself (like any good detective) the closer he gets to the truth. Goodwin is known for his studies and non-fiction works on the Ottoman Empire, so the history and tapestry of the period is spot-on.
CURRENTLY ON DECK:
The Informant - Kurt Eichenwald
Little Children - Tom Perrotta
Time Dancers (Sequel to The Meq) - Steve Cash
The Uglies - Scott Westerfield
I've been watching some old movies, like The Thin Man (an all time favorite) and Casablanca because I figure its about time I sat down and paid attention to my mom when she blatters on about how fantastic these movies are. (also, I'd like to beat her at Trivial Pursuit once in a while - she wins based on the Entertainment category alone :P And that Scene-It game? Someone got her the Turner Classic Movies edition and she whooped up on all of us, INCLUDING the grandparents.) Anyhow, I'm now tucked in to watch The Third Man for the evening.
Shockingly, Netflix doesn't have African Queen! Bogart and Hepburn! Wtf?!