Things I Read

"To compensate a little for the treachery and weakness of my memory, so extreme that it has happened to me more than once to pick up again, as recent and unknown to me, books which I had read carefully a few years before . . . I have adopted the habit for some time now of adding at the end of each book . . . the time I finished reading it and the judgment I have derived of it as a whole, so that this may represent to me at least the sense and general idea I had conceived of the author in reading it." (Montaigne, Book II, Essay 10 (publ. 1580))

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

The Battle of Alamein (John Bierman and Colin Smith)

North Africa in WWII as armies go back and forth. Read at gym. Good.

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Sharpe's Trafalgar (Bernard Cornwell, 2000)

"Read" this via audio book format while commuting.

The author has a long list of books featuring "Sharpe."

In this one, he is returning to England from India in 1805; lovely lady on board ship; captured by French; ends up linked with Nelson at Trafalgar while dealing with French intriguers.

Cornwell always has good detail in these historical novels. "Line ahead," for example.

Thursday, July 15, 2004

The Opium Wars (Hanes and Sanello)

Imperialism; mid 19^th century war, Britain in China (taking advantage).

Thursday, July 01, 2004

Wellington – the Years of the Sword (Elizabeth Longford)

Biography through Waterloo. The lines at Torres.

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

MiddleMarch (George Eliot, 1871-72 (serialised))

As best I can tell - deservedly on various lists of the best novels in English literature.

Main story involves Dorothea - something of a do-gooder - drops the fiance folks that she would marry (with every expectation of a good match) to marry a middle-aged, not-robust scholar (Casaubon) who she thought was involved in a great work, and she thought it would be great to be his assistant. This didn't work out so well. There were a few other story lines as well, quite a few characters.

Would be worth a re-read.

Friday, May 07, 2004

Tomorrow's Gold (Marc Faber)

Economist reviewing history, recommending commodities Asia. Not very interesting.

Saturday, April 10, 2004

The Tsar's Last Armada (Constantine Pleshakov)

Battle of Tsushima, 1905. Russian unpreparedness. Consequences for Russian politics.

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Empire - How Spain Became a World Power (1492-1763) (Henry Kamen)

Per title

Thursday, January 15, 2004

The Victorians (A. N. Wilson)

Victorian era - I like Wilson's writing.

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

The Origins of American Slavery (Betty Wood)

Role of English colonies in slave trade.

Thursday, September 25, 2003

Victory: An Island Tale (Joseph Conrad, 1915)

European businessman living in Indonesia travels to a town on some island to do whatever business; saves a girl (playing in the hotel band) from an attacker and takes her back to the island where he lives; they fall in love. The attacker seeks revenge, including via sending three guys to the protagonist's island to kill him.