[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Game of Thrones.[/quote]
I recently, randomly, picked up a storm of swords again… I forgot just how amazing this series by George R.R. Martin is.
Dennis Lehane: Prayers for Rain, pretty good.
First Jack Reacher novel, i’ll keep going on this series.
Started The Little Black Book of Violence, hard to read everyday like fiction.
I really miss reading David Gemmell books.
[quote]theuofh wrote:
“Power, Why Some People Have it and Other Don’t” by Jeffrey Pfeffers or soemthing close.
It sucks. Everytime I pick up one of these management/career books, I think it is going to be different from the last one I attempted to read. Then I get in a couple chapters and have to admit that its ridiculous and pointless.
I’ve also been thumbing through the “Definitive Book of Body Language” and that one is worth checking out.[/quote]
“The Definitive Book of Body Language” is a great book and on my list of soon to be read again. I highly recommend it.
I am currently reading:
“A Short Course in the Secret War” by Christopher Felix
“Forensic Photography, the Importance of Accuracy” by Sanford L. Weiss
Most of the books I read seem to be somehow work related.
“The Discourses” by Machiavelli
Love and Responsibility - Fr. Karol Wojtyla
Men, Women and the Mystery of Love - Edward Sri
Theology of the Body - Pope John Paul II
The Spirit of Father Damien - Jan De Volder
Frontier Bishop - James Roosevelt Bayley (related to the Roosevelt’s and Seton’s)
The Seven Storey Mountain - Thomas Merton
The Long Loneliness - Dorothy Day
Resurecting an old thread here, but did’nt want to start a new one.
I’m reading the first book of the “The Flashman Papers” called “Flashman” by George MacDonald Fraser.
Hilarious and historicaly educational fiction set in 1839 - 1842.
It’s about Harry Flashman who is expelled from his posh boys school for being drunk, insolent and a bully amongst other things, he then starts a career in the army and soon starts climbing the ranks and making a name for himself as a brave soldier of the British Empire in spite of being a lier, cheat, womaniser and a terrible coward, he always acidently comes out of scrapes looking the hero, when, in fact he spent most of it playing dead or blubbing.
A great read with lots of uncomfortable truths about the old empire and the racism, snobbery, inequality and social ladders that came with it, but also a very funny read.
I’m going to look for a good dark science fiction novel next, does anybody have any to thrw my way?
Just finished “Wilderness of Mirrors” by David C. Martin. It’s a biography of famous CIA officers, James Jesus Angleton and Bill Harvey. Very interesting read. I’d read a much more definitive book about Angleton a few years ago, but the stuff about Harvey was very interesting. He was the guy who headed up ZR/RIFLE, the CIA’s “executive action” program designed to carry out high-risk assassinations.
Just started reading “Counterplot” by Edward Jay Epstein. It’s a critical analysis of the many JFK assassination theories out there. I just started, so I’m not sure where it ends up standing on the issue (conspiracy or not?) but so far, Epstein is tearing apart Jim Garrison, both the man and his investigation into Clay Shaw, David Ferrie and so forth.
[quote]jss11483 wrote:
Currently, I am reading the Moral Minority (a look at America’s founding father’s according to their letters and speeches)
Reading list: Atlas Shrugged (its long but worth it)
Some think Rand is a genius, some think Rand is a crazy bitch. Either way its a worthwhile read.[/quote]
I read her two big books when I was 21 or so…she helped me turn into a critical thinker with all of her talk about logic and reason and even though I am socially liberal I do believe in some fiscal conservatism, thanks to her.
She’s not as evil as the people that hate her make her out to be but she’s also nowhere near the genius the people that love her make her out to be.
I’m currently reading Galapagos by Vonnegut.
I just finished Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy…I’d heard that John le Carre was hard to understand and convoluted but it was easier to understand than I’d thought and then I watched the 2011 movie and I could understand the book better than the movie. I don’t know how people that hadn’t read the book could keep up with it.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Just finished “Wilderness of Mirrors” by David C. Martin. It’s a biography of famous CIA officers, James Jesus Angleton and Bill Harvey. Very interesting read. I’d read a much more definitive book about Angleton a few years ago, but the stuff about Harvey was very interesting. He was the guy who headed up ZR/RIFLE, the CIA’s “executive action” program designed to carry out high-risk assassinations.
[/quote]
So, two things. A book recommendation, Mastery by Robert Greene.
And an idea. That I got from Robert Greene.
In Mastery, he talks about how to become the best at what you’re meant to do - your ‘life task.’
One of the ways he talks about becoming the best is to COMPLETELY understand EVERY aspect of whatever it is you do. The more you know, the more connections you can make, the more intuition you’ll have, etc…
Anyway, I was just thinking as I read DBCoop’s book recommendation above… I don’t know much about the CIA at all and how, according to Greene, this lack of knowledge would likely lessen the amount of enjoyment/appreciation/understanding that I would get out of the book. So, in order to better enjoy/appreciate/understand the book, I might do a few days’ research googling how the CIA works, the political environment at the time, international relationships of the time, etc before reading the book.
Has anyone ever tried doing this? Researching a topic before reading a certain book about it?
I mean, I know that’s kinda what a book’s for in the first place, but still, could be interesting. haha
“Currency” by L.Todd Wood
Very good. And relevant.
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Just finished “Wilderness of Mirrors” by David C. Martin. It’s a biography of famous CIA officers, James Jesus Angleton and Bill Harvey. Very interesting read. I’d read a much more definitive book about Angleton a few years ago, but the stuff about Harvey was very interesting. He was the guy who headed up ZR/RIFLE, the CIA’s “executive action” program designed to carry out high-risk assassinations.
[/quote]
So, two things. A book recommendation, Mastery by Robert Greene.
And an idea. That I got from Robert Greene.
In Mastery, he talks about how to become the best at what you’re meant to do - your ‘life task.’
One of the ways he talks about becoming the best is to COMPLETELY understand EVERY aspect of whatever it is you do. The more you know, the more connections you can make, the more intuition you’ll have, etc…
Anyway, I was just thinking as I read DBCoop’s book recommendation above… I don’t know much about the CIA at all and how, according to Greene, this lack of knowledge would likely lessen the amount of enjoyment/appreciation/understanding that I would get out of the book. So, in order to better enjoy/appreciate/understand the book, I might do a few days’ research googling how the CIA works, the political environment at the time, international relationships of the time, etc before reading the book.
Has anyone ever tried doing this? Researching a topic before reading a certain book about it?
I mean, I know that’s kinda what a book’s for in the first place, but still, could be interesting. haha [/quote]
A few books I would recommend to start you on your way:
The Man Who Kept Secrets by Thomas Powers (about former CIA Director Richard Helms)
The Very Best Men: The Daring Early Years of the CIA by Evan Thomas (about the careers of Frank Wisner, Desmond Fitzgerald, Richard Bissell and Tracy Barnes)
Harlot’s Ghost by Norman Mailer (this book is a whopping 1200 pages and it’s fiction, but it’s excellently researched and, aside from creative license and the fictional characters, is actually very, very historically accurate. It’s also what I consider to be Mailer’s finest work)
Cold Warrior by Tom Mangold (about James Jesus Angleton)
Flawed Patriot by Bayard Stockton (about Bill Harvey)
Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD (it’s mainly about LSD in general, but the first several chapters deal exclusively with the history of the infamous Operation MK/ULTRA)
Denial and Deception: An Insider’s View of the CIA From Iran Contra to 9/11 by Melissa Boyle Mahle (very revealing look at the flaws behind the bureaucratic nightmare that the CIA and the intelligence community in general has turned into)
Flawed by Design: The Evolution of the CIA, JCS and NSC by Amy Zegart (title says it all)
The Sword and the Shield by Christopher Andrew (based on files provided by former KGB officer and defector, Vasili Mitrokhin, that provide a very, very detailed examination of the KGB’s methodology, particularly as it pertains to their efforts to deceive and/or penetrate the CIA)
The first few books listed are basically biographies. But they are biographies of some of the most influential people within the CIA during its formative years. Guys like Angleton, Harvey, Bissell, Fitzgerald, Barnes, Wisner and Helms were the ones who basically made the CIA what it was back then. In many ways, the failings of Angleton in particular heavily influenced the way the CIA evolved in the latter half of the Cold War and beyond.
If you want some very interesting research topics, here is a list of subjects that could really pique your curiosity:
MK/ULTRA (CIA mind-control program)
ZR/RIFLE (as mentioned in my earlier post, a program based on developing assassination capabilities)
QJ/WIN (agent connected to ZR/RIFLE)
Bay of Pigs/Operation Mongoose
The Family Jewels/Church Committee
Rolando Cubela
David Morales
The Berlin Tunnel
Kim Philby and the Cambridge Five
Obviously, my particular area of interest is based on the early history of the CIA up to about the early-to-mid 1960s. That is mostly because when I was a kid I saw JFK in the theater (a work of pure fiction) and was instantly obsessed with JFK assassination conspiracies. By the time I was 13 or 14 I was a legitimate semi-expert on the subject. But as I read more and more and kept hearing all this shit about the CIA, I found myself gravitating toward the history of the Agency and away from JFK shit, since reading about all the different conspiracy theories is pretty nauseating after a while. Too much conjecture, too much “this happened here and it could ONLY mean a conspiracy” type of bullshit. The JFK shit just becomes this pointless circle jerk session when you’ve read more than 30 books on the subject before you turn 15.
So if you’re interested in the “Golden Age” of the CIA, this is where I would start.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Just finished “Wilderness of Mirrors” by David C. Martin. It’s a biography of famous CIA officers, James Jesus Angleton and Bill Harvey. Very interesting read. I’d read a much more definitive book about Angleton a few years ago, but the stuff about Harvey was very interesting. He was the guy who headed up ZR/RIFLE, the CIA’s “executive action” program designed to carry out high-risk assassinations.
Just started reading “Counterplot” by Edward Jay Epstein. It’s a critical analysis of the many JFK assassination theories out there. I just started, so I’m not sure where it ends up standing on the issue (conspiracy or not?) but so far, Epstein is tearing apart Jim Garrison, both the man and his investigation into Clay Shaw, David Ferrie and so forth.[/quote]
What is the name of the book you read about Angleton? I’ve been wanting to learn about his history and methods for a while and will get a chance in the near future to sit down and actually read something.
[quote]Drunkard wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Just finished “Wilderness of Mirrors” by David C. Martin. It’s a biography of famous CIA officers, James Jesus Angleton and Bill Harvey. Very interesting read. I’d read a much more definitive book about Angleton a few years ago, but the stuff about Harvey was very interesting. He was the guy who headed up ZR/RIFLE, the CIA’s “executive action” program designed to carry out high-risk assassinations.
Just started reading “Counterplot” by Edward Jay Epstein. It’s a critical analysis of the many JFK assassination theories out there. I just started, so I’m not sure where it ends up standing on the issue (conspiracy or not?) but so far, Epstein is tearing apart Jim Garrison, both the man and his investigation into Clay Shaw, David Ferrie and so forth.[/quote]
What is the name of the book you read about Angleton? I’ve been wanting to learn about his history and methods for a while and will get a chance in the near future to sit down and actually read something.
[/quote]
Cold Warrior is the more definitive book about him. Wilderness of Mirrors is another book about him, the first, actually. But Cold Warrior is far more thorough.
I would also recommend Deception by Edward jay Epstein. It’s mostly about the battles between the CIA and the KGB, but the first several chapters deal with Angleton and his claim, “verified” by KGB defector, Anatoli Golitsin, that the CIA had a KGB mole within its highest ranks.
I’ve spoken about Angleton in the past on this site and I don’t want to get too wound up about him now, but I’ll just say that of all the people I’ve read about who were in or involved with the CIA prior to the Church Committee (which effectively ended the extra-curricular activities that the CIA is now infamous for), Angleton is BY FAR the most intriguing character of them all. If there is one guy from the CIA that I would recommend people read about, it is him.
Let’s put it this way. When you said that you want to learn about his methods, the first thing that popped into my head was that scene in Apocalypse Now when Willard has finally come face-to-face with Colonel Kurtz. Kurtz something about the Army accusing him of having unsound methods and Willard responds by saying that he doesn’t see any method at all.
Reading “cancer ward” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn at the moment. An excellent read…but more than a little depressing in places.
looking into some of Edgar Allan Poe’s Work
Joe Abercrombie
The first law series on book 3
Really like how this guy writes.
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Joe Abercrombie
The first law series on book 3
Really like how this guy writes.[/quote]
X 2, I dunno if you have read the heroes yet but that is an awesome book with some great characters.
[quote]pgtips wrote:
[quote]Derek542 wrote:
Joe Abercrombie
The first law series on book 3
Really like how this guy writes.[/quote]
X 2, I dunno if you have read the heroes yet but that is an awesome book with some great characters.[/quote]
Yep like his style of writing, really sucks you into the characters
i loved metamorphosis. everybody knows that it is about a guy that wakes up and finds that he has turned into a human sized beetle, but of course there is more to the story than that. the book is really about how his family interacts and cares for him now that they cant stand to look at him. it makes me wonder the mental status of the author.