Q4 2005 Reading List

Q4 2005 Reading List: "The quarter started on a down note, I was mildly disappointed with Sherwin Nuland's Leonardo da Vinci.... I hoped Nuland's work would not only shed light on the man, but also shine the lantern on the secrets of his success. Instead, Nuland told a good basic story, but fell short (I think) in illuminating the man and his genius.... I was also surprised to learn that da Vinci could rival today's venture capitalists at securing funding for his projects. ...Ellis, His Excellency and quickly moved to two more historical treatments of the birth of America, David Hackett Fischer's Washington's Crossing and another Ellis work, Founding Brothers.... Although he is hard to quote (a lesson that you don't have to say much to change the world), I found much in his life to follow. As the original military and political CEO, he's someone I thank my lucky red, white, and blue stripes for. I took a quick break from history, scarfing down a Robin Cook novel, Marker in one gulp. ...Since I was literally on a historical roll, I put the literary pedal to the metal and took on the American Iliad, Shelby Foote's three book series, The Civil War: A Narrative. A friend of mine who owns a local book store said his dad read the set over the period of a year and loved it. Since the Matrix is real, I set my iPod to ultra high speed play and digested"

The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language

The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language: "I just finished a very well told story of the English language; from its start as a Germanic dialect to its position today as the closest thing we have to a global 'common' language. The story runs about 12 hours in Audible format, is well narrated by Robert Powell and moves well despite the content. This book was a good side trip on trek through American History. I rate it 4 of 5 stars. I thought the storytelling through the Norman occupation of England was wonderful. The history of the original English dictionaries and the first English versions of the Bible were fascinating. I especially enjoyed learning about the difficulties faced in committing what the Roman Catholic church considered an act of heresy in telling the story of God in any language other than Latin. The only weak area I felt was in the author's discussion of the Internet's impact on modern English. I think Bragg missed an opportunity to tie in the ever rapid evolution of the language with the ability of peoples around the world to share that language instantly with Google. I think Bragg's conclusion that there will be 'many Englishes' is counter to the results seen from a common printed English (the web) that is globally accessible. The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language (Unabridged)
Melvyn Bragg **** four of five stars."

What an Epic! The Civil War: A Narrative

What an Epic! The Civil War: A Narrative: "Unbelievable!!! Nearly flawless in writing and narration, this is one of the most amazing works of history ever written and the most complete treatment of the United States Civil War ever penned. Every major battle and personality are brought to life. In more than 140 hours of reading (or listening) I learned the stories behind highway landmarks like Fort Sumter, Perryville, Gettysburg, and Manassis, Virginia. There are great stories in the book: how New Orleans and Kentucky were kept Union, the rapid evolution of Naval power, Lincoln and the scorched earth campaign of Stonewall Jackson. After the complete emerson in the Civil War lore for nearly two weeks, I found myself using war analogies when making points with business associates. Gaining the ability to contrast the near perfect George B. McClellan with the near perfectly flawed Ulysses S. Grant has been pure platinum. Grover Gardner brings the life to work with relentless narration that keeps the energy of the story. The story 'seems true' as told and is shared from the perspective of the people involved in it. This is the United States Iliad, and Shelby Foote's triumph. Foote died on June 27 of 2005. His work is a great treasure for the country. The Civil War: A Narrative (Unabridged) Volume I, Fort Sumter to Perryville Volume II, Fredericksburg to Meridian Volume III, Re"

Quotes of the Season

Quotes of the Season: "It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone -- but it can take a lifetime to forget someone. - Unknown We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. - Sam Keen, from To Love and Be Loved A girl asked a boy if she was pretty. He said no. She asked him if he wanted to be with her forever. He said no. She then asked him if he would cry if she walked away. He again said no. She had heard too much. She needed to leave. As she walked away, he grabbed her arm and told her to stay, he said, 'You're not pretty, you're beautiful. I don't want to be with you forever, I need to be with you forever. I wouldn't cry if you walked away, I would die.' - Unknown A friend is someone who will bail you out of jail, but your best friend is the one sitting next to you saying 'that was f***ing awesome' - J-Dub"

the upside of being down

the upside of being down: "An interesting thing happened on the way to bulgaria, I didn't go. It was not for lack of effort, but it wasn't to be (until 4 days later). The department of state said, 'no,' we have no idea where your passport is and with NY shut down, there is nothing we can do. And so on Sunday, I packed up the family for Sofia - without me. By Tuesday, a friend of a friend would find my old and new passports. By Wednesday I would be officially OK for travel, and by Thursday evening I would be on the plane. But now, my first thought was, 'this is great ?!?! all this planning and now I have nothing to do'. I immediately decided to go back to work and give the vendors who didn't make the 23 December cut-off date, another chance. ...I had already lost two weeks vacation this year because I am so far over the unused leave limit. It was then that I began to consider the possibility of actually doing nothing. ...a day where I owned my time, initiated the release of the hammer which cracked the high pressure lid on the case that held the list... ...There would be no objecting parties sub-vocally screaming boredom in the passenger and rear seats.... I could take my camera and really capture the day.... The online library (this site) could actually open if I had a few days to focus on it.... For the first time since the"