Help! To find all those good books suggested on this forum

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Since last May/June as a regular on this forum, I have printed out reams of material, much of it still to be sorted and put into binders, on "how to" and general interest subjects. However, I have read so much "how to" literature in those same months that I'd like a break now, but a constructive one. I'd like to read some of those novels and study books you friends have been recommending, mainly those dealing with our present society, need for change, government issues, etc. I just cannot dig through those reams to find the various threads where you made your recommendations.

Will you all help me by re-submitting your favorites, with a brief blurb about the book? I think this would perhaps help others as well, particularly newbies who haven't seen those suggested reads.

Thanks, all!

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), January 27, 2000

Answers

Elaine,

There's a list of recommended books on the new HumptyDumpty discussion group that I've started over at eGroups.com It's similar to this TB 2000 forum, but it's "closed" to invited participants only, in order to keep the trolls, spammers, and hackers out. It's completely free, with no obligation on your part. You, and anyone else who is willing to behave in a reasonably civilized manner, are welcome to subscribe.

To join, you can visit the egroups Humpty Dumpty web site at http:// www.egroups.com/list/humptydumptyy2k/info.html to register. Or you can simply send an email to humptydumptyy2k-subscribe@egroups.com . In either case, it will trigger an approval request to me, and then you'll be included in all subsequent messages, as well as having the opportunity to review previous postings on the egroups web site.

The fundamental objective of this discussion group is to discuss the "aftermath" of Y2K, especially in terms of lessons learned, and things that need to be fixed, repaired, and put back together. The issue here is not the technical work of putting broken computer systems back together, but rather the "social systems" that we've discovered are in need of repair or replacement. What has Y2K taught us about the way our governments work or don't work; our corporations work or don't work; our families and our personal priorities work or don't work; our usage of energy, food, and other "infrastructure" resources work or don't work; etc.

For many, Y2K was truly a "bump in the road," or BITR -- not only in terms of technological disruptions, but also interms of the impact it had on our personal lives and relationships. But for at least a few, Y2K wrought a profound change: even if the computer systems didn't collapse, the Y2K-related threat of such a collapse has made us re- examine our lives, redefine our priorities, and re-focus our energies for the future. That's what this discussion group will be talking about.

Cheers, Ed

P.S. There are about 30 books on the recommended book list (one of the shareable "databases" on the forum), including the Ayn Rand book that so many people have recommended.

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), January 27, 2000.


Elaine,

My top 2 books of all time: (so far;-))

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand - Why the world of men is the way it is.

Captains & the Kings - Taylor Caldwell - The "grey men" who control governments and their ultimate purpose.

Enjoy!!

Jimmy

-- Jimmy Splinters (inthe@dark.com), January 27, 2000.


Hi Elaine - I just went out today and picked up Lucifer's Hammer at a thrift shop. I also got some great buys on vegetable gardening (with beautiful pictures to go with the instructions) and Readers Digest book on 'Everything You Need to Know About Sewing' (with illustrations for those of us who need visuals on some subjects). Over the last 2 years I have gone every week to the various thrift shops here in town and have a wonderful library now. I ordered the newer books mentioned on various threads through Powells Books and Amazon. Used a book pricing search engine to compare availability and prices.

-- Sammie (sammie0x@yahoo.com), January 27, 2000.

Hi, Elaine,

Greatest book -- no question: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Second: The Fountainhead, also by Ayn Rand

By the way, in 1991, the Library of Congress surveyed about 5,000 people to find out which books had influenced their lives the most. Number one was the Bible. Number two was Atlas Shrugged.

Happy reading, Elaine.

-- eve (123@4567.com), January 27, 2000.


Elaine: My alltime favorite book is "The Education of Little Tree". It's about a boy who went to live with his Cherokee grandparents in the 1930s, and the life lessons they taught him. It's not exactly end of the world lit, but can give you a nice soulful attitude about it, if it had been teotwawki. I've read Atlas Shrugged and Lucifer's Hammer and they're both good, though I got irritated with both of them before I finished them. Guess I'm too much of a Luddite to make a religion out of technology and nuke plants. Y2K certainly gave me an appreciation for some tech that I didn't have before though.

-- soapie (soapie@suds.com), January 27, 2000.


Dear Elaine,

May I recommend my memoir, "Bastards, Bitches, And Heroes," which I am presently polishing for publication. I believe that you have never read a non-fiction like this.

My email address is real. Let me know and I will contact you when it's published.

Respectfully,

Not Again!

-- Not Again! (hatchou@yahoo.com), January 27, 2000.


Whoa -- sorry about the formatting above -- I didn't think it was going to come out that way.

-- eve (123@4567.com), January 27, 2000.

If you have an interest in nuclear power plants try reading "The day we almost lost Detroit". Not sure if that's the correct title. Found it at the local library, written in the 60's. After reading it I've was absolutely outraged with the government, special interest groups, media, the list goes on and on.

-- Trish (adler2@webtv.net), January 27, 2000.

RED DRAGON RISING: Documents the military rise of China; the sell out of US secrets by the Clinton administration; the Chinese nuclear threat; the sales by China of hi tech weapon systems to rogue nations; and Chinese grand strategy for territorial gain.

-- Bill P (porterwn@one.net), January 27, 2000.

Elaine,

Actually, there are too many good ones to choose from.

I especially like:

"The Parables of Kierkegaard" - Soren Kierkegaard "Sand and Foam" - Kahlil Gibran

-- No Polly (nopolly@hotmail.com), January 27, 2000.



Oops - Sorry about the formatting. I copied eve...

-- No Polly (nopolly@hotmail.com), January 27, 2000.

Let me add my vote for ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand. 2nd choice. TIME ENOUGH FOR LOVE by Robert Heinlein. Tough choice if I had to choose between the two.

Bill

-- Bill (Bill@SHF.com), January 27, 2000.


Too many good books..!

HUMOUR - The Bandy Papers, by Donald Jack. A series of fictionalized WW1 "memoirs" of a rugged-yet-incredibly-inept Canadian fellow who manages to succeed in everything by pure dumb luck. Too Funny!

CURRENT AFFAIRS - Origins of the 4th World War, by Jeffrey Nyquist. It is nothing less than incredible and I guarantee you will spend long amounts of time re-thinking what you thought you knew. It will kick you in the butt and get you moving if anything will!

SCIENCE - Our Angry Earth, by Isaac Asimov and Frederick Pohl. A '90s review of the state of the Earth and what we should do about it.

FANTASY - The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien. Enough said here.

SCIENCE FICTION - anything by Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlein. I prefer the Robot series (the caves of steel, etc.) Another excellent read is Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card.

HISTORY - How the Irish Saved Civilization, author beyond my memory-- it's in bookstores now. An excellent read about how the obscure people inhabiting the Islands of Ireland saved knowledge at the fall of the Roman Empire. Very useful today!

YOUR LIFE - THE BIBLE. I cannot say enough good about God's "manual to life" for His creations! Other excellent reads are by C.S. Lewis: Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, etc.

These are my favourites!

These are my favourites.

-- (Kurt.Borzel@gems8.gov.bc.ca), January 27, 2000.


Votescam, the Stealing of America, by James and Kenneth Collier.Documentation of how our votes are controlled by Voter's News Service and corrupt computer programmers.

-- Betty Alice (Barn266@aol.com), January 28, 2000.

Elaine,

Here's the list I was referring to above.

"BOOKS THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN READERS' LIVES" (Released November 20, 1991)

Respondents to the Survey of Lifetime Reading Habits, conducted for the Book-of-the-Monet Club and the Library of Congress' Center for the Book, cited the following when asked to name a book that had made a difference in their lives:

1 - The Bible ** 2 - Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand 3 - The Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck

4 - To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

5 - The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien

6 - Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

7 - How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie

8 - The Book of Mormon

Five titles were tied for the next place:

The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan; A Gift From the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh; Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl; Passages, by Gail Sheehy; When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harold S. Kushner

** A large gap exists between the #1 book and the rest of the list

Now I presented this as a list -- one book per line. My apologies in advance, Elaine, if the formatting gets messed up again.

-- eve (123@4567.com), January 28, 2000.



Thank you all. This is a great team! Please keep them coming! It will help others also. This could be a very productive thread.

Interesting that I was young when I read Atlas Shrugged and only recollect it as being considered avant garde then and finding it interesting. Will have to revisit it with a mature perspective.

Also interesting that I have read many of the recommended books. I want to visit the others too. Reading Lucifer's Hammer during the buildup to Y2K was really unnerving, but a good read. I found Patriots more believable, but both were interesting, as was Unintended Consequences. The latter I consider a "must read."

Thank you, Ed, for the invitation. I will go there and register today! I truly appreciate you on many levels, because your book, as I've written before, was what alerted me to the fact that all was not well, and that I needed to reevaluate my priorities and lifestyle, and I will be forever grateful to you that I am living in a more self-sufficient and empowered mode now.

Not Again, I look forward to reading your book as well. With a title like that it should be a whopper! ;-) Sounds as if it could be about various White House occupants. LOL

Kurt, I loved How the Irish Saved Civilization, since my maternal grandfather came from there, and an Englishman at work used to poke fun at those with any Irish ancestry about how our ancestors "lived in the trees like apes." It surely dispelled that myth. The Bible is my daily companion, which says it all.

eve, your list is interesting because I've read all but three, (including Gone With the Wind, which I don't think I could do...saw movie too often!) I'd like to get to Lord of the Rings and A Gift from the Sea.

All rest of you, thanks again. Who else has favorites? Some that were mentioned previously in old threads did not appear here, because I didn't recognize them here. Anyone have them?

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), January 28, 2000.


Elaine,

A few other great reads I've had...

"1984" by George Orwell;

"Romeo and Juliet", "Twelfth Night" and "Hamlet", by William Shakespeare;

"Native Son", by Richard Wright;

Many short stories (too numerous to mention) by Guy De Maupassant;

Robert Frost's poetry, especially "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"

"Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain

"Cooper's Literary Offenses" (hilarious short essay) by Mark Twain

Lots of Mark Twain's other humorous works

"The Gossage-Vardebedian Letters" by Woody Allen (from "Getting Even"); also, many other essays by him

-- eve (123@4567.com), January 28, 2000.


From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr (pic), near Monterey, California

My Y2K Books Page Stocking your Y2K Libaray and End of the World Libaray

Some others that come to mind are:
Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
History of Philosophy, Will Durrant
History of Civilization, Will and Ariel Durrant
Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu
Teach Your Own, John Holt
People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn
Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, Edmund O. Wilson
For Your Own Good, Alice Miller
Complete Works of William Shakespeare
Complete Works of Mark Twain

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), January 28, 2000.


Donot forget the book in paperback entitled "Pulling Through" by Dean Ing, a Novel but the Ings are hard core Survivalists and most of the Survival information in the book is authentic and very usable. Dean Ing and a number of other Science Fiction writers are in the Survivalist Movement, such as Pournell and Niven,the late Philip K. Dick (see his "Damnatyion Alley" the book not the movie). I know most of these authors personally to one extent or another, and I have been a hard core Survivalist since long before Kurt Saxon coined the term we use for it! by the way- investigate Kurt Saxon's Books and those by Ragnar Benson. - Always remember that the wisest residents of Pompeii made like the Good Shepheard and got the Flock out with the first whiff of Brimstone!

-- James Gregory Heavilin. (Kwahnume @ Yahoo.Com), August 02, 2001.

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