December Non-Fiction Reading

Figured I might as well get a new thread going.

I finished the fascinating and hard to find Perish by the Sword: the Czechoslovakian Anabasis and Our Supporting Campaigns in North Russia and Siberia 1918-1920 by R. Ernest Dupuy

This is the history of the 40,000 strong Czech Legion that found itself cut off when the Russian Army collapsed in World War One and, according to the Preface, "marched from the Volga to Vladivostok and back again, fighting both ways, held a new Eastern Front for two years and went home around the world to build a new nation." The history also includes an account of "our {i.e. the United States, within the context of multi-national forces assembled by the Allies of WWI} two assisting campaigns in Siberia and North Russia, both fought mainly after the Armistice of November 11, 1918."

I'm reading The Wright Brothers by David McCullough.

I'm reading Van Loon's Geography and listening (in the car, to and from work) to A Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester.

The first was originally written in 1932, prior to WWII, and is fascinating. It's also a bit distressing sometimes, as he reveals prejudices that grate on my nerves. But it is well written, witty, informative, and prescient.

The second is a bit of a happy surprise, as I was expecting a book "just" about the 1906 earthquake, but he brings in geography, the history of California, plate tectonics, history, science, and a host of other delicious diversions and details.

Listening to books in the car is about the only pleasure I take in the workday, since work is pretty awful right now.

Finishing The Song of the Dodo which I had been meaning to read for a long time

I'm reading The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner.

Listened to a short audio book - The Art of Procrastination

Finished a history book meant to teach adolescents about primary sources - The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

And I'm savoring a couple of Timber Press publications - Cultivating Chaos : how to enrich landscapes with self-seeding plants and Landscapes of Change.

I'm reading The Concubine's Children by Denise Chong

The Man Who Ate the World by Jay Rayner

No Man's Lands: One Man's Odyssey Through The Odyssey - Scott Huler

I've recently finished 935 Lies by Charles Lewis and Intellectual Capital: Forty Years of the Nobel Prize in Economics by Thomas Karier.

My current reading includes Twilight of the Habsburgs by Alan Palmer, America Aflame by David Goldfield, Economics Rules by Dani Rodrik and Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre.

I'm reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis. I'm amazed at how removed the Wall Street brokers were from thinking risk through in the real world. And I'm bemused how the market created what amounts to side-betting for people who had no security interest in the mortgages or bonds to begin with. I worked in the mortgage field back in the 1980s and I remember shaking my head over the new low-doc mortgage offerings. I worked briefly for a get rich quick company that sold every mortgage they made, and saw the low quality of the packages from the appraisal side.

I finished Just Yesterday on the Outer Banks by Bruce Roberts.

>12 nrmay: For combination purposes, would that be the same as Just yesterday : North Carolina people and places?

If not, could you add a book description and a disambiguation note, please?

>13 2wonderY:

These are 2 different books, both by Bruce Roberts.
Oddly, they both appear to be unique LT titles held only by me.
They're photographic essays by Bruce Roberts, former photo journalist with the Charlotte Observer.

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America about the extreme poverty traps resulting from the dismantling of the U.S.' welfare system and liveable working conditions for those at the grim end of the employment market.

>14 nrmay: Okay, did some googling around and discovered that he is Bruce Roberts (1). There are a couple more copies.

Just started Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen and had a couple of laughs right away, in addition to learning a few things I didn't know.

I'm reading Being Wrong Adventures in the margin of error. The author is a smart cookie and this is a very interesting read!

I'm still reading the Goldfield book and am also reading Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood by Ellen Brown and John Wiley, Christendom Destroyed by Mark Greengrass and Liberation Square by Ashraf Khalil.

>18 mdoris: I got Being wrong for SantaThing, looking forward to reading it.

Being Wrong is on my TBR shelves with 53 of its closest friends.

Yesterday, I finished The Man Who Ate the World, traveling the globe in search of the perfect dinner. Highly uneven, but overall ok though a bit disappointing. Author is best dining alone, as well as digressions on his personal life (usually a minus); hob-nobbing with celebs and rich people ... not so much.

starting Tower An Epic History of the Tower of London by Nigel Jones

>21 LynnB: Hi Lynn, I'll try to keep an eye on your TBR pile with the 53 close book friends. I bet there will be some real gems in that pile!

>21 LynnB:, >24 mdoris:
Being wrong moved from the select group of 296 "tbr" books to the more select group of 9 "currently reading" books. It looks like she's got a refreshing take on the subject.

wester, do you actually have the 296 books? Or a list?

I have 31 books on my wish list, and 55 on my TBR shelves.

>26 LynnB: I have several hundreds of books, physical books on literal shelves, waiting on my shelves to be read. So do many LT folks.

>26 LynnB: All books on my tbr are books I physically own. If not, they are on my wishlist.

I've just "rebalanced" my TBR/wish list by spending my Christmas money. Plus 6 for TBR; minus 5 for wish list.

I achieved a minor miracle by only spending the amount I'd received as gifts...I usually spend considerably more!

Still reading a couple of the books from my previous post and I've also started Age of Ambition by Evan Osnos, Our Declaration by Danielle Allen, and The Conquering Tide by Ian Toll.