Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
The author is Winifred Gallagher. She has a list of other books she authored that look interesting.
This book shows the connection of how the development of the Post Office in the United States was interwoven into the making of the US. I have only read the first two chapters but it has me hooked.
This ties together two of my favorite subjects, Postal History and American History. I have my High School teachers to thank for my love of history.
Vince
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The Secondary Colors, by Alexander Theroux. Prior to that, The Primary Colors, by Alexander Theroux. Have been pursuing an interest in color, especially ancient colors and dyes contrived from minerals, plants, and shellfish.
Wine
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this post
Currently I am reading Baudolino by Umberto Eco. A curious historical novel set in the 12th century with a narrator that mixes fact and fantasy to an extent that you do not know whether he just takes liberties with the truth or simply makes it all up.
All of this is served with the Eco trademark style of eloquency and a love for esoteric medieval knowledge.
It is not as good as The name.of the Rose, but it comes close.
Another book I am reading simultaneously is James Covey's A higher loyalty. Given the sensibilities here I will not give my judgement of this book other than that it is fascinating reading even though the style of writing could be better.
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Anna Karenina and prior to that War and Peace.
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"88 Keys", about Steinway.
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"Snowblind" 1976 by Robert Sabbag
About a career in the 'hey day' of the cocaine trade in the 1970s. Fascinating non-fiction account. Who would have ever thought how grueling and nasty it was to count rooms full of cash.
Don
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i am attempting to read "Emerson" about Ralph Waldo Emerson but its slow reading as it sidewinds along and many of the words are no longer in our dictionary. Also reading 100+ journals of Porto Info (international society for Portugese Philately) starting with issue 1 in 1961 and ending in 2007..that was the latest edition in the box. Its amazing the history that is in these journals about African colonization in addition to the articles on stamps and covers of the 19th century.
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No Time to Wave Goodbye, by the Canadian journalist Ben Wicks. It’s an historical account of the evacuation of British children from urban areas to safer areas during the Second World War. Wicks was one of the evacuees. I knew a bit about the evacuation and some of the incidents that occurred, including the death of many evacuees who died when their ship was torpedoed. I wasn’t aware of the profound social changes that resulted from the program.
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Two philately related books have been my most recent reading items. Just finished Congo: The Epic History of a People by David Van Reybrouck which was a very informative and enlightening book and my current project is reading through The World History Stamp Atlas by Stuart Rossiter, John Flower, and others. I've completed through the section on Europe. It has been fascinating learning about the changing political world and its impact on mail delivery and stamp issuance.
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Into The Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis. It's a look at the attempts in the 1920s to scale Everest, looking at personal and historical context. Absolutely fascinating stuff.
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Undaunted by Jackie Speier
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Just finished Vietnam: 1945-1975 by Max Hastings. I've read just about everything Vietnam-related, and this new book is one of the best. A large proportion of this long book is through Vietnamese eyes, both communist and...other. Fascinating, well-written (Max Hasting is a premier author), with some new perspective on strategy, and cogent discussion of prior perspective.
Just started Max Hastings' earlier book, Secret War.
-Paul
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"War of the Wolf" by Bernard Cornwell. The eleventh book in the series about Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
The story of Uhtred is now in its third series on Netflix under the title "The Last Kingdom".
In the past couple of weeks I have read the latest Jack Reacher by Lee Child and the latest Bob Skinner by Quentin Jardine. No Titles given as I can't remember them and have given the books to my mother in law.
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"Emerson, Thoreau,Burroughs ,Whitman"
Which one doesnt belong???
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the last three were all influenced by Emerson..Thoreau was in the same time and and place as Emerson..Concord Ma. The other two started to be recognized after the Civil War. Whitman was against the war thinking the cost in American blood North and South was too high.
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Following a trip to the Baltic and St Petersburg this summer I read Peter the Great: His Life and Times by Robert K. Massie. Wonderful book - Peter was a fascinating man and the book gives tremendous insight into Tsarist Russia.
Currently, I've come west to American Colonies: The Settling of North America by Alan Taylor, about pre-1776 America.
I have read good books about the history of Africa and the Belgian Congo, which I would recommend to anyone is interested. let me know.
Geoff
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Phil, I also have King Leopold's Ghost and am waiting for the right psychological moment to commence reading it. I have the same problem with The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes, about Australia's convict transportation system.
Less forbidding is Prisoners of Geography -- Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World, by Tim Marshall. This is a great basic primer of geopolitics.
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I did listen to an audio book about the War of the Roses.
I ended up taking some lineage charts of the various people involved to understand it better given it was families against families.
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Here's a couple to recommend:
Blue Highways, A Journey Into America by William Least Heat Moon. On a map, the blue lines are the older, less traveled highways. The author did one lap of America and the book relays his adventures.
I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards. An anecdotal tale of the early days at Google.
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Hey Tom, I read that Blue Highways book, in 2009, I think. Very good read!
I absolutely LOVE road stories. It's a perfect escape for me, particularly if the vehicle is a boat! I'll recommend Shantyboat, A River Way of Life, by Harlan Hubbard (1953). An obscure book, the story of a couple who took 6 years to raft down the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers, from Cincinnati to New Orleans on a motorless boat they built themselves, from scratch, beginning in 1944. It's a book I can really step into, mentally. Wife's not on board, though...yet...
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is another prototype. My 24 year-old son is reading that now, bless his heart. There are a couple of Charles Kuralt books up on my shelf that I need to crack open!
-Paul
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The latest book I checked out is the UPSS Postal Stationery of Mexico. I recently re-read Thud by Terry Pratchett.
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this post
War and Peace one of the greatest novels ever written.Read it a number of years ago while wintering in Morocco;nothing like a winter holiday in Morocco to get your teeth into these Russian novels..... bring your own copies... when the only alternative in English is a week old Manchester Guardian.....at full price no less.
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this post
"Stealing From God" by Frank Turek;
"Strange History" by the Editors of Portable Press
and
"A Wrinkle In Time" by Madeleine L'Engle
...in the middle of all 3 right now.
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this post
I also read Blue Highways, many years ago. At times hilarious, but most importantly a very influential travel story. Many authors started to do similar travels and write about it.
I wonder what these places are like now, almost 40 years later...
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this post
I was working book 3 of the Dark Tower series by Steven King (8 books). I had them in Kendle format but my reader went the way of the dead.
Going to try a new power cord as soon as I can order one
Mike
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At the moment, I am reading a book titled "Guns In Paradise" - The Saga Of the Cruiser "Emden" by Fred McClement. Quite an interesting book on the WW I history of this German cruiser. Now, if only I could find a postcard image of her, that would be great.
Happy collecting.
Chimo
Bujutsu
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"Now, if only I could find a postcard image of her, that would be great. "
I found one on ebay: Nice picture postcard of the Emden used with the stamp soaked off.
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this post
Swansong 1945 by Walter Kempowski. It's a collection of letter and diary entries from various sources, focusing on four separate days immediately prior to the end of WW2 in Europe - from ordinary soldiers to top-echelon Nazis, from concentration camp survivors to civilians. The days are April 20 (Hitler's last birthday); April 25th (meeting of US and Soviet troops at Torgau); April 30th (suicide of Hitler); and May 8th (German surrender). Absolutely fascinating, and a stimulus to further poetry writing - which I have been doing quite a lot of in the past few months, to the detriment of my philatelic endeavours (and indeed to contributing on this forum).
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this post
At the recommendation of a sci-fi friend, I just finished Permutation City by Greg Egan, and am about halfway through Diaspora, also by Egan. Fascinating subjects, but not the easiest reading. Egan writes hard science fiction stories with "mathematical and quantum ontology themes." Ouch!
The friend who recommended them is still a friend. We discuss the content, but laugh and cringe at some of the "over my head thinking" that goes into the stories. Here's a brief excerpt from the author's own synopsis of Diaspora:
"In 2975, the orphan Yatima is grown from a randomly mutated digital mind seed in the conceptory of Konishi polis. Yatima explores the Coalition of Polises, the network of computers where most life in the solar system now resides, and joins a friend, Inoshiro, to borrow an abandoned robot body and meet a thriving community of “fleshers” in the enclave of Atlanta."
Easier reading but a weightier theme, I'm also about halfway through "Making Sense Out of Suffering" by Peter Kreeft. Kreeft takes on the philosophical and theological issue of why our world is full of seemingly and random suffering. That is, "Why would a God who is all good allow suffering." Highly recommended.
-Steve
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I just received "How The Post Office Created America" from one of my favorite Philatelic book sellers, http://www.pbbooks.com/index.htm
The author is Winifred Gallagher. She has a list of other books she authored that look interesting.
This book shows the connection of how the development of the Post Office in the United States was interwoven into the making of the US. I have only read the first two chapters but it has me hooked.
This ties together two of my favorite subjects, Postal History and American History. I have my High School teachers to thank for my love of history.
Vince
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like this post.
Login to Like.
re: What are you reading?
The Secondary Colors, by Alexander Theroux. Prior to that, The Primary Colors, by Alexander Theroux. Have been pursuing an interest in color, especially ancient colors and dyes contrived from minerals, plants, and shellfish.
Wine
Login to Like
this post
Auctions - Approvals
re: What are you reading?
Currently I am reading Baudolino by Umberto Eco. A curious historical novel set in the 12th century with a narrator that mixes fact and fantasy to an extent that you do not know whether he just takes liberties with the truth or simply makes it all up.
All of this is served with the Eco trademark style of eloquency and a love for esoteric medieval knowledge.
It is not as good as The name.of the Rose, but it comes close.
Another book I am reading simultaneously is James Covey's A higher loyalty. Given the sensibilities here I will not give my judgement of this book other than that it is fascinating reading even though the style of writing could be better.
1 Member
likes this post.
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re: What are you reading?
Anna Karenina and prior to that War and Peace.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: What are you reading?
"88 Keys", about Steinway.
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
"Snowblind" 1976 by Robert Sabbag
About a career in the 'hey day' of the cocaine trade in the 1970s. Fascinating non-fiction account. Who would have ever thought how grueling and nasty it was to count rooms full of cash.
Don
Login to Like
this post
Auctions
re: What are you reading?
i am attempting to read "Emerson" about Ralph Waldo Emerson but its slow reading as it sidewinds along and many of the words are no longer in our dictionary. Also reading 100+ journals of Porto Info (international society for Portugese Philately) starting with issue 1 in 1961 and ending in 2007..that was the latest edition in the box. Its amazing the history that is in these journals about African colonization in addition to the articles on stamps and covers of the 19th century.
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
No Time to Wave Goodbye, by the Canadian journalist Ben Wicks. It’s an historical account of the evacuation of British children from urban areas to safer areas during the Second World War. Wicks was one of the evacuees. I knew a bit about the evacuation and some of the incidents that occurred, including the death of many evacuees who died when their ship was torpedoed. I wasn’t aware of the profound social changes that resulted from the program.
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
Two philately related books have been my most recent reading items. Just finished Congo: The Epic History of a People by David Van Reybrouck which was a very informative and enlightening book and my current project is reading through The World History Stamp Atlas by Stuart Rossiter, John Flower, and others. I've completed through the section on Europe. It has been fascinating learning about the changing political world and its impact on mail delivery and stamp issuance.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: What are you reading?
Into The Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis. It's a look at the attempts in the 1920s to scale Everest, looking at personal and historical context. Absolutely fascinating stuff.
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
Undaunted by Jackie Speier
Login to Like
this post
05:49:22am
re: What are you reading?
Just finished Vietnam: 1945-1975 by Max Hastings. I've read just about everything Vietnam-related, and this new book is one of the best. A large proportion of this long book is through Vietnamese eyes, both communist and...other. Fascinating, well-written (Max Hasting is a premier author), with some new perspective on strategy, and cogent discussion of prior perspective.
Just started Max Hastings' earlier book, Secret War.
-Paul
Login to Like
this post
Auctions - Approvals
re: What are you reading?
"War of the Wolf" by Bernard Cornwell. The eleventh book in the series about Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
The story of Uhtred is now in its third series on Netflix under the title "The Last Kingdom".
In the past couple of weeks I have read the latest Jack Reacher by Lee Child and the latest Bob Skinner by Quentin Jardine. No Titles given as I can't remember them and have given the books to my mother in law.
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
"Emerson, Thoreau,Burroughs ,Whitman"
Which one doesnt belong???
Login to Like
this post
Auctions
re: What are you reading?
the last three were all influenced by Emerson..Thoreau was in the same time and and place as Emerson..Concord Ma. The other two started to be recognized after the Civil War. Whitman was against the war thinking the cost in American blood North and South was too high.
Login to Like
this post
11:51:46pm
re: What are you reading?
Following a trip to the Baltic and St Petersburg this summer I read Peter the Great: His Life and Times by Robert K. Massie. Wonderful book - Peter was a fascinating man and the book gives tremendous insight into Tsarist Russia.
Currently, I've come west to American Colonies: The Settling of North America by Alan Taylor, about pre-1776 America.
I have read good books about the history of Africa and the Belgian Congo, which I would recommend to anyone is interested. let me know.
Geoff
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
Phil, I also have King Leopold's Ghost and am waiting for the right psychological moment to commence reading it. I have the same problem with The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes, about Australia's convict transportation system.
Less forbidding is Prisoners of Geography -- Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World, by Tim Marshall. This is a great basic primer of geopolitics.
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
I did listen to an audio book about the War of the Roses.
I ended up taking some lineage charts of the various people involved to understand it better given it was families against families.
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: What are you reading?
Here's a couple to recommend:
Blue Highways, A Journey Into America by William Least Heat Moon. On a map, the blue lines are the older, less traveled highways. The author did one lap of America and the book relays his adventures.
I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 by Douglas Edwards. An anecdotal tale of the early days at Google.
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likes this post.
Login to Like.
01:34:15pm
re: What are you reading?
Hey Tom, I read that Blue Highways book, in 2009, I think. Very good read!
I absolutely LOVE road stories. It's a perfect escape for me, particularly if the vehicle is a boat! I'll recommend Shantyboat, A River Way of Life, by Harlan Hubbard (1953). An obscure book, the story of a couple who took 6 years to raft down the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers, from Cincinnati to New Orleans on a motorless boat they built themselves, from scratch, beginning in 1944. It's a book I can really step into, mentally. Wife's not on board, though...yet...
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is another prototype. My 24 year-old son is reading that now, bless his heart. There are a couple of Charles Kuralt books up on my shelf that I need to crack open!
-Paul
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: What are you reading?
The latest book I checked out is the UPSS Postal Stationery of Mexico. I recently re-read Thud by Terry Pratchett.
Login to Like
this post
07:34:49pm
Approvals
re: What are you reading?
War and Peace one of the greatest novels ever written.Read it a number of years ago while wintering in Morocco;nothing like a winter holiday in Morocco to get your teeth into these Russian novels..... bring your own copies... when the only alternative in English is a week old Manchester Guardian.....at full price no less.
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
"Stealing From God" by Frank Turek;
"Strange History" by the Editors of Portable Press
and
"A Wrinkle In Time" by Madeleine L'Engle
...in the middle of all 3 right now.
Login to Like
this post
Auctions - Approvals
re: What are you reading?
I also read Blue Highways, many years ago. At times hilarious, but most importantly a very influential travel story. Many authors started to do similar travels and write about it.
I wonder what these places are like now, almost 40 years later...
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
I was working book 3 of the Dark Tower series by Steven King (8 books). I had them in Kendle format but my reader went the way of the dead.
Going to try a new power cord as soon as I can order one
Mike
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
At the moment, I am reading a book titled "Guns In Paradise" - The Saga Of the Cruiser "Emden" by Fred McClement. Quite an interesting book on the WW I history of this German cruiser. Now, if only I could find a postcard image of her, that would be great.
Happy collecting.
Chimo
Bujutsu
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
"Now, if only I could find a postcard image of her, that would be great. "
I found one on ebay: Nice picture postcard of the Emden used with the stamp soaked off.
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
Swansong 1945 by Walter Kempowski. It's a collection of letter and diary entries from various sources, focusing on four separate days immediately prior to the end of WW2 in Europe - from ordinary soldiers to top-echelon Nazis, from concentration camp survivors to civilians. The days are April 20 (Hitler's last birthday); April 25th (meeting of US and Soviet troops at Torgau); April 30th (suicide of Hitler); and May 8th (German surrender). Absolutely fascinating, and a stimulus to further poetry writing - which I have been doing quite a lot of in the past few months, to the detriment of my philatelic endeavours (and indeed to contributing on this forum).
Login to Like
this post
re: What are you reading?
At the recommendation of a sci-fi friend, I just finished Permutation City by Greg Egan, and am about halfway through Diaspora, also by Egan. Fascinating subjects, but not the easiest reading. Egan writes hard science fiction stories with "mathematical and quantum ontology themes." Ouch!
The friend who recommended them is still a friend. We discuss the content, but laugh and cringe at some of the "over my head thinking" that goes into the stories. Here's a brief excerpt from the author's own synopsis of Diaspora:
"In 2975, the orphan Yatima is grown from a randomly mutated digital mind seed in the conceptory of Konishi polis. Yatima explores the Coalition of Polises, the network of computers where most life in the solar system now resides, and joins a friend, Inoshiro, to borrow an abandoned robot body and meet a thriving community of “fleshers” in the enclave of Atlanta."
Easier reading but a weightier theme, I'm also about halfway through "Making Sense Out of Suffering" by Peter Kreeft. Kreeft takes on the philosophical and theological issue of why our world is full of seemingly and random suffering. That is, "Why would a God who is all good allow suffering." Highly recommended.
-Steve
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