desert dweller
Trail Wise!
Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
Posts: 6,291
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Post by desert dweller on Aug 21, 2017 10:32:43 GMT -8
Just started Soldier Boy: At Play in the ASA by Timothy James Bazzett
The author's stint in the ASA (Army Security Agency) was about 10 years before mine. So far, the induction into military life for an 18 year old follows pretty much what my experience was. His time, the early to mid 1960's, was when technology was primitive compared to what it is now. No computers, no instantaneous communications, no way to decipher the radio communications from the bad guys (usually the Communists). Computers were just coming into play in 1974 when I was station near Munich. I'm curious to see how the ASA functioned just before the computer/digital revolution changed us all.
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trinity
Trail Wise!
Posts: 2,897
Member is Online
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Post by trinity on Aug 21, 2017 14:53:36 GMT -8
Due to current circumstances in our country around issues of race and racism, I am reading Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance. I highly recommend them both.
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zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,879
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Post by zeke on Aug 21, 2017 16:02:36 GMT -8
Mindless comedies by Tim Dorsey and Carl Hiaasen. Most of them take place in Florida, and mention some of the places I have walked. Sometimes, a person just needs a good escapist novel.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2017 10:36:09 GMT -8
"Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Taleb
He has a series he calls "Incerto" that includes four books. This is the last one in the series for me to finish the series. I've enjoyed his odd writing style and take on things.
Other books in the series are Antifragile, The Black Swan and Bed of Procrustes.
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Post by atvtuner on Aug 25, 2017 11:55:33 GMT -8
Pentagon Papers unabridged and... Fire on the Mountain
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,667
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 25, 2017 15:34:35 GMT -8
'Station Life in New Zealand' by Lady Barker (1870). I'll have to look for that. It's the sort of thing I enjoy.
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Post by hikerjer on Aug 25, 2017 20:58:08 GMT -8
Pentagon Papers unabridged Gad, that's quite an endeavor.
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Post by hikingtiger on Aug 30, 2017 6:14:35 GMT -8
Just finished "Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill." Quite an interesting read.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,667
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 30, 2017 12:10:44 GMT -8
Just finished "Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill." Quite an interesting read. I recently read that too. Definitely interesting, and I learned a fair bit.
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 31, 2017 4:28:10 GMT -8
Does listening to books count?
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Post by hikingtiger on Aug 31, 2017 5:15:50 GMT -8
Same here. E.g., I didn't know M. Gandhi was there during that time.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,667
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 31, 2017 8:21:18 GMT -8
Does listening to books count? Sure hope so. I do a lot of that. I will say that I retain less than when I read it with my eyes...but more than if I didn't read it at all.
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 31, 2017 9:14:56 GMT -8
I retain less than when I read it with my eyes... This very true. What happens for me is that the author will make an interesting point and my mind takes off thinking about that. Then I realize I have to back up 5 minutes because I've missed it. I do most of my listening during my commute. I got so tired of the drivel that's on radio so I turned to listening to books. Anyway... I finished " Bird Sense: What It's Like to Be a Bird" not long ago. Very interesting and I did learn a lot. Chapter 6 on "Magnetic Sense" was a very cool chapter. Did you know that Robins can't navigate if their right eye is covered but they can if their left is covered (I may have that switched) but was a good "read".
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Post by bigdee on Sept 4, 2017 9:35:43 GMT -8
Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot, brilliant imaginative book so far anyway ;P
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Post by hikerjer on Sept 8, 2017 13:42:36 GMT -8
“Land on Fire: The New Reality of Wildfire in the West,” by Gary Ferguson.
Montana author Ferguson examines the current state of wildfires in the west - their causes, attempts to control and contain them and their future impact. Unfortunately, with the advent of "megafires", it's not a pretty picture. He predicts more frequent and more intense fires in the future with not much we can do about it. I fear he may be correct. Welcome to the new West.
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