08-20-2012, 06:41 PM | #16 |
Bah, humbug!
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Here's a book I'd nominate if I hadn't already used up all my nominations. My weekly email from New Scientist led me to it.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...78#post2191978 |
08-20-2012, 07:16 PM | #17 |
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I'll third A Short History of Nearly Everything.
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08-21-2012, 01:51 AM | #18 |
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Third "Sex lives of cannibals"
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08-21-2012, 02:56 AM | #19 |
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My second nomination is for:
The Bible Unearthed by Neil Asher Silberman and Israel Finkelstein Inkmesh search Description: Description: The Bible Unearthed is a balanced, thoughtful, bold reconsideration of the historical period that produced the Hebrew Bible. The headline news in this book is easy to pick out: there is no evidence for the existence of Abraham, or any of the Patriarchs; ditto for Moses and the Exodus; and the same goes for the whole period of Judges and the united monarchy of David and Solomon. In fact, the authors argue that it is impossible to say much of anything about ancient Israel until the seventh century B.C., around the time of the reign of King Josiah. In that period, "the narrative of the Bible was uniquely suited to further the religious reform and territorial ambitions of Judah." Yet the authors deny that their arguments should be construed as compromising the Bible's power. Only in the 18th century--"when the Hebrew Bible began to be dissected and studied in isolation from its powerful function in community life"--did readers begin to view the Bible as a source of empirically verifiable history. For most of its life, the Bible has been what Finkelstein and Silberman reveal it once more to be: an eloquent expression of "the deeply rooted sense of shared origins, experiences, and destiny that every human community needs in order to survive," written in such a way as to encompass "the men, women, and children, the rich, the poor, and the destitute of an entire community." --Michael Joseph Gross Finkelstein, director of Tel Aviv University's excavations at Megiddo (ancient Armageddon), and Silberman, author of a series of successful and intriguing books on the political and cultural dimensions of archeology, present for the first time to a general audience the results of recent research, which reveals more clearly that while the Bible may be the most important piece of Western literature--serving concrete political, cultural and religious purposes--many of the events recorded in the Old Testament are not historically accurate. Finkelstein and Silberman do not aim to undermine the Bible's import, but to demonstrate why it became the basic document for a distinct religious community under particular political circumstances. For example, they maintain that the Exodus was not a single dramatic event, as described in the second book of the Bible, but rather a series of occurrences over a long period of time. The Old Testament account is, according to the authors, neither historical truth nor literary fiction, but a powerful expression of memory and hope constructed to serve particular political purposes at the time it was composed. The authors claim quite convincingly that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah became radically different regions even before the time of King David; the northern lands were densely populated, with a booming agriculture-based economy, while the southern region was sparsely populated by migratory pastoral groups. Furthermore, they contend, "we still have no hard archaeological evidence--despite the unparalleled biblical description of its grandeur--that Jerusalem was anything more than a modest highland village in the time of David, Solomon, and Rehoboam." Fresh, stimulating and highly engaging, this book will hold greatest appeal for readers familiar with the Bible, in particular the Old Testament--unfortunately, a shrinking percentage of the population. 16 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. Agent, Carol Mann. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. (from Amazon.com) |
08-21-2012, 09:45 AM | #20 |
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I'll second The Bible Unearthed.
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08-21-2012, 09:56 AM | #21 |
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For my second choice, I'll nominate The Night Lives On by Walter Lord.
It has sometimes been called a sequel to Lord's justly famous A Night To Remember But that is not what it really is. The Night Lives On is a series of chapters on new approaches to the disaster which Lord felt had developed in the thirty years since he wrote his great book. The separate chapters are really individual essays on a number of different topics. Some, of course are better than others--but they are all interesting. As an example, Lord explores the third "mystery" ship which some feel was in the area. But, of course, he isn't able to really come to a definitive conclusion. He personally feels that the only other ship very close to Titanic was The Californian. and the mysterious lights seen by the passengers on the life boats came from it. But that explanation, while logical and believable, is by no means definitive and to this day, 27 years after Lord's book, the controversy rages on. He also deals with myths that have developed since. Most significant is his analysis of the last tune played by the band. Most people believe it was "Nearer My God To Thee" but Lord shows that this is quite unlikely. First, the hymn uses very different melodies in America and in Britain. Hartley, the band leader, preferred a Methodist arrangement by the English composer Sullivan. Yet those who claimed the hymn was played were from both sides of the Atlantic. Colonel Gracie--a very dependable witness said that it was not played by the band, nor did they go down playing. Shortly after the survivors landed in New York, the surviving wireless operator said that the last song played by the band was "Autumn". He left them when they were playing it and when he returned they were gone. Now there is a little known Episcopal hymn called that, but it was eventually removed from the hymnbook--or so Lord says. And I should mention here that Lord consulted with expert hymnologists to work out these conclusions. It seems likely that MacBride was not referring to a little-known hymn but to an enormously popular piece called "Songe d'Automne" which, in fact was usually simply called "Autumn". Lord is probably correct in saying that it is the main contender for being the last piece played. Finally, one last problem. Lord notes that there were two musical groups. As well as Hartley's band there was also a string trio that played in the Parisian cafe. Did the two join up for the final songs? Did some passengers remember what one group played rather than the other? It's available in Kindle and epub formats and is available in Overdrive. Last edited by fantasyfan; 08-21-2012 at 10:01 AM. |
08-21-2012, 10:03 AM | #22 |
languorous autodidact ✦
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Third The Bible Unearthed.
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08-21-2012, 11:30 AM | #23 |
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This category is certainly making me seek out new things and I found something I'll be reading some time. For my third nomination, I'm going to nominate:
Mythologies by Roland Barthes. This is unavailable as an e-book from what I can see, but I see my library system has it so I can read it. |
08-21-2012, 01:36 PM | #24 |
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Second Mythologies.
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08-21-2012, 02:23 PM | #25 | |
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Quote:
I'd like to nominate Marilu Henner's Total Memory Makeover: Uncover Your Past, Take Charge of Your Future. I saw this segment on 60 minutes and was completely fascinated! As I age, the ability to have better recall would be beneficial! |
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08-21-2012, 02:24 PM | #26 | |
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Quote:
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08-21-2012, 03:37 PM | #27 |
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I'll use my final nomination to second Total Memory Makeover
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08-21-2012, 05:18 PM | #28 | |
Bah, humbug!
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Quote:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_1...-10391709.html And I found this segment from CBS's Early Show: Last edited by WT Sharpe; 08-22-2012 at 07:19 AM. Reason: grammar |
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08-22-2012, 07:08 AM | #29 |
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I'll nominate The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
Overdrive blurb: Spoiler:
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08-22-2012, 07:47 AM | #30 |
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I'll second Anne frank.
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