What are you currently reading? [Archive]

konny

10-29-2007, 15:18

Just finished:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516BZ1DVcdL._AA240_.jpg

That is "The Roman Art of War" in English

And now started with

http://media.libri.de/shop/coverscans/326/3261481_BZ6489052_big.jpg

no longer available in German, therefore in English

TWFanatic

10-29-2007, 15:32

Right now? "Motor Trend."

I assume you mean book-wise though. The Camulod Chronicles, by Jack Whyte. The First book in the series is Skystone. Also reading The Roman Army at War, by Adrian Goldsworthy.

Timoleon

10-29-2007, 15:58

Yesterday I finished "Rubicon" by Tom Holland (which was great by the way) and I have just started "The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece" by Victor Davis Hanson.

Geoffrey S

10-29-2007, 16:06

I'll just quote myself elsewhere:

Currently reading (as coursework for the first semester...)
- Global Transformations,David Held a.o.
- Global Capitalism, Jeffry Frieden
- The Middle East and Central Asia: an Anthropological Approach, Dale Eickelman
- A Vision Unfulfilled: Russia and the Soviet Union in the Twentieth Century, John Thompson
- Writing History: Theory and Practice, collection of articles
- A Concise History of the Middle East, Arthur Goldschmidt (first half is good, modern history is rather biased imo)
- The Origins of the Modern World, Robert Marks
- The Enduring Vision: a History of the American People, number of authors
Those are ones from cover to cover. Also a lot of articles, and various books and articles for an essay.

Long lost Caesar

10-29-2007, 17:47

subtle knife by phillip pullman. nothin to do with antiquity in the SLIGHTEST :clown:

beatoangelico

10-29-2007, 18:04

I'm in the middle of "The Fall of the Roman Empire" by Peter Heather

agua

10-29-2007, 18:19

Alexander by Robin Lane Fox

Strategos Alexandros

10-29-2007, 18:25

This:laugh4: . The Gotrek and Felix novels by William King plus several hundred other books.

Centurion Crastinus

10-29-2007, 18:28

I'm reading "We Were Soldiers Once... And Young" by Lt Gen. Harold Moore, and I am reading "Mark Antony's Heroes: How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor" by Stephen Dando-Collins. I recomend all of Stephen Dando-Collins' books on different legions. They area all pretty good.

Rhipsaspis

10-29-2007, 18:36

just finished Asimov's "Foundation" series, now reading "The First Casualty" by Ben Elton, good stuff!

Long lost Caesar

10-29-2007, 18:40

i read some of 'we were soldiers once' but it was too heavy for me to be honest. it seems to be a very good run-down of the battles the company took part in, but it never really gripped me enough to keep me coming back.

Maeran

10-29-2007, 19:24

just finished Asimov's "Foundation" series, now reading "The First Casualty" by Ben Elton, good stuff!

I liked First Casualty. I'm sure Ben Elton has a thing for WWI.

Currently reading, well a few things, including Livy again (book 4 currently) because I decided to make a note of who Livy says are Consul/Tribunes and see if any other sources match. Alright, in all likelihood Livy is working off flawed sources and everyone else is copying Livy, but you never know.

The main book I'm reading now, because it is Halloween, is Dracula.:vampire:

Mouzafphaerre

10-29-2007, 20:40

.
These... :book2:
.

Rhipsaspis

10-29-2007, 21:02

I liked First Casualty. I'm sure Ben Elton has a thing for WWI.
His grandfathers where on opposite sides during WWI (British and German). He dedicated the book to them :book:

Horst Nordfink

10-29-2007, 21:19

I'm reading "We Were Soldiers Once... And Young" by Lt Gen. Harold Moore....

I read that a couple of years ago, and I've never been more bored by a book in all my life.

For some reason I also watched the film, and that was equally as cack. I hate Vietnam films, you'd never know they actually lost that war!!

I blame Mel Gibson!!

Does anyone have a recommendation on some books about the Diadochi?

The Celt

10-29-2007, 22:01

Does anyone have a recommendation on some books about the Diadochi?
I'm currently reading Micheal Grant's "From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Hellenistic World" Great read so far.(I'm at the Ptolemies) But don't expect a strait through chronological telling of the era.
He instead starts with an intro chapter that pretty much sums up the time period rather frankly,(I skipped it since I knew the general story.)and then goes into more detail about the actual life-styles of the Hellenistic peoples with the rest of the book.
It may feel alittle outdated re-search wise for some of our more "enlightened" members but for the rest of us it's a good summary of the successors. Especially considering how hard it is to find books about that period elsewhere.:2thumbsup:

I'm also reading "A Peace to End All Peace" and wrapping up Bernard Cornwall's "The Last Kingdom".

Geoffrey S

10-29-2007, 22:35

Does anyone have a recommendation on some books about the Diadochi?
Novel? A brilliant one is Funeral Games by Mary Renault, focusing on the time directly after the death of Alexander. Her books about Alexander are also near the top of my all-time favourites, her depiction of him and the period is the most vivid and memorable I've read. Great books.

Centurion Crastinus

10-30-2007, 01:05

I like we were soldiers thus far because it doesn't portray the American soldier as a stoned train wreck of a human being, like every other Vietnam war move or novel.

Ozymandias

10-30-2007, 01:11

"Winds of War" by Wouk and I just finished Tolstoy's "War and Peace".

cmacq

10-30-2007, 01:12

finishing Apache Nightmare: The Battle at Cibecue Creek. Charles Collins, University of Oklahoma Press, 1999. Its for work. Partly about the only recorded munity in US Army history.

Megas Pyrrhos

10-30-2007, 01:17

Xenophon's Anabasis for me....1/4 of the way through...read the book maybe 3 total times in my life, greatness incarnate in my opinion :book:

even if Xenophon refers to himself in the 3rd person...

Bonny

10-30-2007, 01:28

Just have finished:
"Shadowplay" by Tad Williams
Waited two years for it and one week after amazon finally sent it to me I have to wait another two or three years until he has finished the next book of the Triology...gah

currently i'm reading:

"The World without us" by Alan Weisman
"From Sarmarkhand to Sardis" by Susan Sherwin-White & Amelie Kuhrt
"Wers Glaubt wird Selig" by Dieter Nuhr

Those are standing on my bookshelve waiting to be read next:
"My America" by Bill Bryson
"The Sword of Karthago" by Gisbert Haefs

Hooahguy

10-30-2007, 01:30

im currently sludging my way thru Plato's dialogs.....:study:

Cyclops

10-30-2007, 01:30

I've gone all HA atm. Shadows of the Desert (persian warfare, incl. Parthians) and some book about Warriors of the Steppe (a bit general really "The Alans had armoured horse, but for the steppe it was a dead end"). It dioes seem a fair introduction for a beginner, but to much detail is washed aside in favour of grand adjectives like devastating and invincible.

Next is The Mongol Way of War by Tim May (not the Australian Cricket administrator). Thank goodness for a well stocked local library.

I won't be reading The Fall of Constantinople, which describes on the dust jacket how Constatiniple in 1450 was "impregnable..having only fallen to seige twice...". Thats like being a virgin after only your second bonk.

On the tram to work I'm reading Kim and next is Arrian's Alexander (more NAMBLA).

Alexander by Robin Lane Fox

He seems to know his stuff. I read The Classical Age and found it very impressive, even if the old queer is rather obsessed with the NAMBLA side of things. I'm certainly no expert but the few areas I had read a bit about for my degree he handled with aplomb, there's no false notes in his reduction of broad history to a single volume.

Kurulham

10-30-2007, 01:50

At All Costs, David Weber. Brain candy. Total brain candy. DELICIOUS brain candy.

Maksimus

10-30-2007, 01:58

As I must finish my studies, I can not afford to read something realy nice,.. I am at my EU economy exam (about 5 books - do I have 3 only) and Financial Markets .. also the 'Economics and Geopolitics of Europe and Euroasia':book:

Power2the1

10-30-2007, 02:04

The Greek World After Alexander, 323-30 B.C. by Graham Shipley. 568 pages total, I am 1/4 of the way through. Excellent read so far :book:

Poulp'

10-30-2007, 02:06

I've just finished reading this
http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Suzumiya_Haruhi

quite a good read, really

next, I'll read "The Utopia" by Sir Thomas More

and, once I get a hand on it, I'll read "La Horde du Contrevent" (yeah, it's in French, dunno if it's translated in English)

of course, I'll suspend any activities if a new "disc world" is released !

iwwtf_az

10-30-2007, 07:36

atlas shrugged

Emperor Burakuku

10-30-2007, 14:37

"Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years" by Goethe. 30 pages left but I can't take it anymore. Somebody shoot me please! It's about a group of german refugees/colonists preparing for a journey to America... it's a strange book.:wall:

pseudocaesar

10-30-2007, 15:55

For my class, Intro to Classical Literature im reading;

Euripides Tragedies (Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus)
Ovids art of love
The Odyssey
The Aeneid.

In my own time however i am reading through the Troy series by David Gemmel, the final book just came out, but i forgot about it (I always re read the preceding books when a new one is coming out), so i bought the last book but im only half through the first again lol :P

Lusitani

10-30-2007, 17:47

"Roman Generals" by Adrian Goldsworthy

Lysander13

10-30-2007, 18:03

Currently reading The Lord of The Rings 50th anniversary 1 volume edition. Always meant to read Tolkien's work and just never got around to it. Now i'm finally doing it and enjoying it i might add.

LotW89

10-30-2007, 18:51

http://fotomania.lycos.de/d/344446-2/Harry-Potter-und-die-Heiligtuemer-des-Todes.jpg

konny

10-30-2007, 18:58

The first to tell the thruth in this threat ;-))))

Bootsiuv

10-30-2007, 18:58

Our Oriental Heriatage by Will Durant....it's somewhat outdated (for example, he believes 100,000 slaves constructed the pyramids for 20 years, a notion that has changed in recent years), but still a very good read IMO.

I've actually read the entire series in high school, but returned to it a decade later, as early history is most fascinating to me. :yes:

On an unrelated note, Dragons of Summer Flame (Dragonlance) by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is also a fantastic book.

Thaatu

10-30-2007, 19:03

Currently reading "Celtic overpowered!" thread. It has multiple authors and its focus is mainly on the impact of the Aedui vs. Arverni war on the Celtic society. The story loses it's direction a few times, and the grammar is simply appalling, but it does have it's moments. It's kind of a powder keg story, with the reader expecting it to burst at any moment, which makes it quite thrilling. Also there's a lynchian moment at the end where time keeps standing still.

The series continues and new chapters are written as we speak. Thankfully one of the authors mentioned that he's working on a summary of his chapters to lazy people like me. I'm waiting for the movie, but it's still a while away.

Maeran

10-30-2007, 19:45

of course, I'll suspend any activities if a new "disc world" is released !

Has 'Making Money' been released in France?

Hound of Ulster

10-30-2007, 19:54

Analects of Confuicius (yah :book: ), Romance of the three Kingdoms (4 volume English translation) and some stuff for grad school.:jumping:

Andronikos

10-30-2007, 20:12

Orwell: Animal farm (need it for school)
This man http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vojtech_Zamarovský wrote very good books about ancient history but I do not believe that they were translated to other language than Slovak and Czech.

edyzmedieval

10-31-2007, 19:18

Thundering Zeus - F. Holt (EXCELLENT)
History of the Ptolemaic Empire

:book:

I love em both. They're as easy to read as an adventure novel.

Erik Bloodaxe

10-31-2007, 20:53

Right now I'm reading Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire by Simon Baker, producer of the BBC show with the same name.
:book:
The last book I read was Rubicon by Tom Holland.

Severian Huizi

11-03-2007, 20:24

Normally I struggle getting through any sort of non-fiction prose, but I haven't had as smooth a read as Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford since James Burke and Robert Ornstein's The Axemaker's Gift. Weatherford's take on Temujin is firmly in the Ahead-of-his-Time Ingenious Ruler-camp, so I imagine it won't appeal to every history buff.

In fiction I'm balancing between The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk and Nova Swing by M John Harrison, a sci-fi novel.

And of course, an armful of newspapers as always. As a journalism student I recommend the International Herald Tribune, mostly for having such a wonderful online edition. The Guardian UK comes at a close second.

Malik of Sindh

11-03-2007, 20:39