About a year ago I compliled a list of books I want to read. But it seems that now I have finished the list (almost, I am dredging through the last pages of the last book right now!. This means its time to compile a new one!
Anyone have any good suggestions of ‘hidden gems’? I’m into non-fiction books about history (primarily Asian history, sometimes African, there’s probably space for one on European history if its intriguing), good stories, especially (but not exclusively) ones involving boats (fictional or true) (e.g. treasure Island, a high wind in Jamaica, Blood River). Books about poverty, the third world or injustice are also high on the list. Finally, I like to have a couple of intriguing books about science (theoretical physics for thos who couldn’t handle actual theoretical physics) kind of stuff and this year I think I have to read something about economics too.
Any good suggestions? All are thoroughly appreciated.
(I’m going to start a best of /worst of list in The Review section too )
Have you read “Africa - altered states, ordinary miracles” by Richard Dowden…? A good overview of Africa in modern times. Very readable, not just a list of dry facts and dates.
If you are into fiction books having to do with boats and the sea, you can read just about anything by Clive Cussler and you’re sure to be satisfied. That is especially the case if you are reading it purely for plot because the theme of his novels (if there can even be said to be a theme) never changes. Specifically, Deep Six and Raise the Titanic! are two books by Clive Cussler that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. An argument can be made for Sahara (Doesn’t sound sea-related, does it?) except I made the mistake of seeing that movie and am unable to appreciate the book anymore.
A History of 20th Century Russia by Robert Service was quite good. It’s fairly fast-moving for a non-fiction book, so you tend to lose many of the technicalities and specifics that an argument can be made for including, but a book that would include such would also include unnecessary specifics and would therefore be slow-moving. Either way, A History of 20th Century Russia is probably the best trade-off you’re likely to get if you’d be interested in reading about that.
The only thing that I can say with respect to books about Economics is to probably start with a basic Economics academic text if you’ve not really read much about it before. If you have, then I may have a few recommendations, but if not, you’re going to get lost by what an Economist would consider to be a basic term, and turning to Webster’s is going to cause you to lose the context in which the word is being used and may cause you to misinterpret the thought.
That’s all I have for now that fits your search criteria, if I think of anything else I’ll let you know. I don’t know shit about African or Asian history except for things that happened with respect to the U.S. or Europe.
Of course, as does Cussler. Actually, Cussler created NUMA in real-life which is the fictional agency for which his protagonist, Dirk Pitt, works in his novels.
Hey thanks. I like Conrad but I’ve waded through a lot of his stories in the last few years, I find the stories good but the language almost too terse (magnificant, but terse!).
I read treasure Island at least once a year! But Moby Dick - a classic that I’ve never read and completely forgtton about. It’s on the list - thanks!
I have a basic founding in economics - I did A level and a few modules at University, so I’m not a complete begginer. I was looking for something with a bit of an edge to it - any suggestions?
And I’ll lookd through some Cussler books and add one to the list, certainly.
No, I haven’t. But it looks great. And anything endorsed by Chinua Achebe is probably going to suit my boot. It’s on the list too.
Thanks everyone. Any more - keep em coming! Should have done this last year!
Comparative Economics in a Transforming World Economy by John Barkley Rosser and Marina V. Rosser is probably a good next step into slightly more advanced Economics. It pretty much incorporates rudimentary Economic principles, but uses those principles to case-study fifteen countries with largely varying economic systems and theories. The sections on Japan and India are particularly interesting.
Economics as a Social Science: An Approach to Nonautistic Theory by Andrew M. Kamarck is grossly underrated. This book incorporates the tenets of psychology and Social Sciences, and in doing so, produces more pragmatic Economic theories that are not based solely on numbers.
Actually, if you think it will be cheaper, I’d be happy to mail you my copy if you will return it when you are done with it. I’ll probably read it again.
Not a book, but a course. From Yao to Mao: 5000 years of Chinese History is a great course and a fantastic overview of Chinese history. But since you want a book, check out James Clavell’s Asia saga. It has boats and history, what more could you want? They are more “inspired by real events” than historical fiction in a strict sense and so certain (occasionally teeth-grinding) liberties are taken but if you can overlook some of those and his objectivist politics the books make a very fun read.
There’s a David Lewis book called, “papers in ethics and social philosophy” that’s just one laugh after another. Good shit. I feel sorry for anyone who’s not reading that man.
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