what are you reading?

[Stumbo]

Where did you find that? How does it differ from the published novel? That's one of my favorites from Heinlein.

Published in 1989 by his wife, it has about 80k more words from the edited first publication.

Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Strange-Land-Robert-Heinlein/dp/0441790348

 

[Jereth]

Not only that, but he is horrible at explaining his own point of view. He is a smart guy, but way out of his league when it comes to writing philosophy.

lowsound

Gotta agree with that. Much of what he takes 10 pages to explain could certainly be much simpler put in 2-3 pages

 

[KarateKid25]

No classes unfortunately

I have some routers and switches that I can play with, but I would really like some classes, but there aren't available here in Iceland.

Bummer

Oh well, good luck with the study !

 

[hbarcat]

I finished The Mote in God's Eye and the sequel The Gripping Hand, going to finish up King David's Spaceship and I think I'll be done with Jerry Pournelle for a while.

I just finished Niven and Pournelle's Escape From Hell which is the sequel to their 1976 novel Inferno - a modern re-write of the Dante classic.

Some of the characters found in hell.

* Lester del Rey
* Anna Nicole Smith
* Else Frenkel-Brunswik
* George Lincoln Rockwell
* Ted Hughes
* Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
* Albert Camus
* Carl Sagan
* Cho Seung-Hui
* Kenneth Lay
* Aimee Semple McPherson
* Peter Lawford
* J. Edgar Hoover
* Melvin Belli
* Reinhard Heydrich
* Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell
* Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet
* Jesse M. Unruh
* Leon Trotsky
* Pontius Pilate
* J. Robert Oppenheimer

 

[DudeistMonk]

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins...

The guy really isn't interested in listening to other points of views

You have to look at the nature of the debate he is having where making what seems like an innocent concession gets turned into something much bigger. He has to be very careful with his words.

I do agree that he does lump the apologists together and tends to target the most idiotic and easily disproved things they say especially in "The Greatest Show on Earth." This is where the entertainment value comes in though, as Rich is pretty much always preaching to the choir.

In terms of his lengthy explanations of simple concepts, he is writing for the layman not the philosophy student...and while I know where he is going within the first paragraph of most chapters, because the topic has held my interest for years the average Joe may not.

 

[Vorago]

Mountaineering; The freedom of the hills

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Pretty much the American standard on hiking, rock climbing, alpinism, etc.

Most excellent!

 

[iamlowsound]

I just finished Niven and Pournelle's Escape From Hell which is the sequel to their 1976 novel Inferno - a modern re-write of the Dante classic.

Some of the characters found in hell.

* Lester del Rey
* Anna Nicole Smith
* Else Frenkel-Brunswik
* George Lincoln Rockwell
* Ted Hughes
* Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
* Albert Camus
* Carl Sagan
* Cho Seung-Hui
* Kenneth Lay
* Aimee Semple McPherson
* Peter Lawford
* J. Edgar Hoover
* Melvin Belli
* Reinhard Heydrich
* Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell
* Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet
* Jesse M. Unruh
* Leon Trotsky
* Pontius Pilate
* J. Robert Oppenheimer

Interesting choice for someone to be in hell.

lowsound

 

[DudeistMonk]

Interesting choice for someone to be in hell.

lowsound

Ohh that looks like a sweet book! Larry Niven is the man. I also wanna know why Carl Sagan is in hell. Do I need to read the first one first?

 

[hbarcat]

Interesting choice for someone to be in hell.

lowsound

Actually, she isn't an inmate in hell, she is there voluntarily. The character of Aimee Semple McPherson in the book is on a mission to help some souls repent and earn their redemption from hell.

Oh, and she rides a motorcycle.

 

[hbarcat]

Ohh that looks like a sweet book! Larry Niven is the man. I also wanna know why Carl Sagan is in hell. Do I need to read the first one first?

Yes, the second one makes little sense without the first one. Carl Sagan is in hell like many of the other characters for reasons that don't make sense except in the context of Dante's original story. The main plot of this novel is for the main characters to understand why some people are actually in hell or why they are serving in a circle where they don't seem to belong.

 

[DudeistMonk]

Yes, the second one makes little sense without the first one. Carl Sagan is in hell like many of the other characters for reasons that don't make sense except in the context of Dante's original story. The main plot of this novel is for the main characters to understand why some people are actually in hell or why they are serving in a circle where they don't seem to belong.

Already picked it up and I'm 13% in to the first book...I dig it so far.

 

[hbarcat]

Already picked it up and I'm 13% in to the first book...I dig it so far.

See how long it takes you to figure out who Allen's companion is.

 

[username n/a]

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[crucislancer]

Published in 1989 by his wife, it has about 80k more words from the edited first publication.

Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Strange-Land-Robert-Heinlein/dp/0441790348

Cool! Thanks for the link.

 

[Deluge Of Sound]

The Pile (as of today):

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The secondary pile:
H.P. Lovecraft Short stories
Chomsky's Language & Politics
Dominic Dunne's Justice
David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest

 

[Joe Gress]

So I have recently gotten into Hunter S Thompson novels. Can you guys recommend any other books of the same type?

 

[iamlowsound]

Actually, she isn't an inmate in hell, she is there voluntarily. The character of Aimee Semple McPherson in the book is on a mission to help some souls repent and earn their redemption from hell.

Oh, and she rides a motorcycle.

Okay, that makes sense then. If you don't know anything about here, wiki her, interesting person.

lowsound

 

[Deluge Of Sound]

Which ones have you read?

That first book that I posted (Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flaked) is by Tom Wolfe, who was another one of the writers that pioneered Gonzo Journalism (which we now call Creative Non-Fiction), and his short story Las Vegas(What?) is a great supplement/different take on the Vegas that gets portrayed by HST.

But, really, no one wrote like Hunter, and hell, he only really wrote two and a half great books himself ('72 Campaign Trail, Hell's Angels, and half of Vegas).

 

[funkalicious101]

Just finished Midnight's Children. That's the last of my my regiment for university this year (21 or 22 books, I can't remember).

Not sure what is next. I might give Heart of Darkness another shot.

 

[burk48237]

Mountaineering; The freedom of the hills

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Pretty much the American standard on hiking, rock climbing, alpinism, etc.

Most excellent!

Wow I read that several editions ago! Back in the seventies. I imagine gear has changed immensely, great book. Have you read any of Edward Abby's stuff like Monkey Wrench Gang, The Complete Walker?

I'm reading an 1100 page book on the history of Anti-Semitism called "Lethal Obsession" by Robert Wistrich