These stories are not exactly edifying, but they are certainly not dull. Bukowski’s writing is remarkably uninhibited, and many of the things he writes about seem to have escaped censorship only by virtue of the fact that the respectable literary establishment takes no notice of him. A few of these stories are outstanding examples of …
Tag: Al
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/08/20/the-most-beautiful-woman-in-town-and-other-stories-by-charles-bukowski/
Aug 12 2011
Death on the Installment Plan by Louis-Ferdinand Celine
Celine has a way of writing about perfectly horrible experiences in a way that makes you laugh out loud. This book is a work of genius, although not quite as good as *Journey to the End of Night*. It’s too bad he didn’t write more. He has an uncanny way of finding humor in all …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/08/12/death-on-the-installment-plan-by-louis-ferdinand-celine-2/
Jul 29 2011
Microbe by Alan Zelicoff
Like all the books I have read on infectious disease, this book is highly alarmist in tone. It recounts several recent outbreaks, adding a good dose of medical science for good measure, in order to advance the thesis that we need to be more prepared for the next outbreak. The author is not arguing for …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/07/29/microbe-by-alan-zelicoff/
Jul 28 2011
Neuromancer by William Gibson
This book came highly recommended, but it left me cold. Gibson’s vision is of a future in which there is more of the artificial than the natural, in which reality is effortlessly constructed by ubiquitous technology, and in which what you perceive is much of the time what some powerful person wants you to perceive. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/07/28/neuromancer-by-william-gibson/
Jul 25 2011
The Second World War by John Keegan
War is terrible to experience, but fascinating to read about. I have read this book before, but it was worth rereading. Keegan’s approach to the study of war is coldly technical and rather short on human feeling, but his tactical and strategic analysis is admirably thorough. For a snobby Brit, he is a great admirer …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/07/25/the-second-world-war-by-john-keegan/
Jun 13 2011
Ancient Israel edited by Hershel Shanks
This book states at the outset that it is not anti-religious, but it clearly goes to great lengths to provide secular explanations for events that in the bible are attributed to divine intervention. In one chapter it states that the nomadic Jews, coming out of the desert armed with primitive weapons, could not possibly have …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/06/13/ancient-israel-edited-by-hershel-shanks/
May 18 2011
World War I by S.L.A Marshall
The colossal horror of this war is made even more appalling by the fact that it was probably the most pointless war ever fought, yet the sacrifice involved was unimaginable. The author is rather harsh in his assessment of the quality of both the military and political leaders during these four years of unabating slaughter, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/05/18/world-war-i-by-s-l-a-marshall/
May 15 2011
Alexander to Actium by Peter Green
I can’t possibly do justice to this monumental work in the short space allowed for Facebook book reviews, but I would just like to say that in additional to being informative and educational, this book was delightfully entertaining and enoyable. I am currently taking a course on the Hellenistic Age, but this book, combined with …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/05/15/alexander-to-actium-by-peter-green/
May 14 2011
1776 by David McCullough
This is really good stuff. Personal accounts and testimonies from those who were there. Yet it seems like a miracle that America was able to win its revolution. The campaign was botched and bungled from the beginning, and Washington was hardly a military leader of the first order. Providence certainly played a role in the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/05/14/1776-by-david-mccullough/
Apr 22 2011
Infantry Attacks by Erwin Rommel
This book reads like a series of military field reports, which is basically what it is. Rommel displays his flair for aggressive command of infantry under extremely challenging circumstances in the First World War, and I suppose many might find his accounts of courage and resourcefulness under fire very inspiring. But reading this memoir gives …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2011/04/22/infantry-attacks-by-erwin-rommel/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire