Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries
Friday's ONT Has a Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi
Leveling Up to a Ph.D.: Scholar Examines Racial and Gender Roles in, Get This, Dungeons & Dragons Darkly Conspiratorial Hillary Clinton: "I Knew They Would Never Let Me Be President" Byron York: Trump's Demand for "Loyalty" Looks Different Now, Given That His First Meeting With Comey Consisted of Comey Basically Saying "We Have a Document Claiming You Paid Whores to Pee on Each Other and All the Media Wants Us to Help Them Publish It" Justice Department "Reviewing" At Least Two of the Memos Comey Leaked to His Pal To Leak to the NYT, For Possible Violations of Classified Material Law "Collusion" Narrative Skeptics a Year Ago: Was The Dossier Briefing Just a Set-Up to Give CNN a News Hook to Run the Dossier Story They Otherwise Could Not? Comey Memo: I Told the President "CNN Was Looking for a News Hook" for the Dossier McCabe, Now Criminally Referred by the OIG For Possible Prosecution for Making False Statements, Suing Trump for Defamation? Duke "Student" Activists Hijack Alumni Event; Are Shocked to Find the People Whose Event They Hijacked Criticizing and Jeering Them; Whine That the People Who's Event They Hijacked Should Have Made Them Feel Safe The Morning Rant Mid-Morning Open Thread Moron Meet-Ups
Listen up Colorado Morons: Saturday May 5th: Cinco de Quattro Colorado Morondezvous. Email: acewestminsterdogshow at the gmail for details. |
« EMT 12/18/16 |
Main
| Good Songs Gone Bad..... »
December 18, 2016
Sunday Morning Book Thread 12-18-2016: Aftermath![]() Library of Lurkette 'swim mom'
Lurkette swim mom tells me: As a teacher for 30 years, I've amassed a lot of books. The 2 photos I have here show the reading corner in my rec room and a separate 12x16 square foot outbuilding for approximately 5000 books. These shelves are 2 deep. Here is a panoramic wide shot of another section of swim mom's library, just to give you an idea of how yuuge and luxurious it is.
I heard from a lurkette last week who wrote: With the recent news of General James "Mad Dog" Mattis as President-Elect Trump's choice for DOD secretary, and the multiple mentions of the general's 6,000-book library, I started to wonder what the Warrior Monk had read. Another 'ette, All Hail Eris, suggested I post a pic of Mattis' library (reputed to be over 6,000 volumes, all of which he takes with him from post to post), and I'd love to do so, but unfortunately have not been able to find one. Lurkette pointed me to this article from the Small Wars Journal site. From 2007, it is then-Lieutenant General Mattis' reading list, for all grades of officers. Due to the time period, there is an understandable focus on the Middle East and Afghanistan. The list links to some free PDFs, full-price Amazon books, and a few cheap Kindle ebooks. Morons interested in history and particularly military history should have a field day with this list. The one weird name that jumped out at me was Tom Friedman, but I guess if Mattis can read Rommel, he can read Friedman. To paraphrase Bret Easton Ellis, reading a book is not an endorsement. Also, a site called Military Reading Lists has the same series of books as Small Wars Journal, but with pictures of the book covers: https://militaryreadinglists.com/reading_list/47-lt-gen-james-mattis. There is also a GoodReads list that includes some classics like The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. So what's on Gen. Mattis' list that might be of general interest. I'm tempted to leave out such narrowly specialized titles such as Small-Unit Leaders' Guide to Counterinsurgency: The Official U.S. Marine Corps Manual and Afghanistan Cave Complexes 1979-2004: Mountain strongholds of the Mujahideen, Taliban & Al Qaeda, but this being the Smart Military Blog that it is, perhaps I shouldn't. However, there are a couple of fiction books on Gen. Mattis' list. One of them is Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae, an historical fiction novel set at Thermopylae in ancient Greece, a narrow pass where 300 Spartan soldiers held off the vast army of the invading Persians, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Another (non-fiction) item that looked interesting is Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to Al-Qaeda by John Keegan, the defense editor of The Daily Telegraph (UK): From the earliest times, commanders have sought knowledge of the enemy, his strengths and weaknesses, his dispositions and intentions. But how much effect, in the 'real time' of a battle or a campaign, can this knowledge have? In this magisterial new study, the author of A History of Warfare goes to the heart of a series of important conflicts to develop a powerful argument about intelligence in war. Keegan's narrative sweep is enthralling, whether portraying the dilemmas of Nelson seeking Napoleon's fleet, Stonewall Jackson in the American Civil War, Bletchley as it seeks to crack Ultra during the Battle of the Atlantic, the realities of the secret war in the Falklands or the numerous intelligence issues in the contemporary fight against terrorism. Lastly, documentation for what pretty much everyone knows, but is routinely ignored by our government: Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism, Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. and internationally known Middle East expert, uses previously unpublished intelligence documents to piece together the links between the current wave of global terrorism - from the World Trade Center to Bali, Indonesia - and the ideology of hatred taught in the schools and mosques of Saudi Arabia The book I just completed, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 says that the reason for this is not that the Saudis are particular fans of jihad, but rather out of fear, i.e. they want to be the ones eaten last. So they fund a lot of Wahabist madrassahs and mosques all over the world. And our gov't sort of looks the other way. I wonder how this arrangement will suit President Elect Donald Trump? Lurkette ends with: This quote in particular from that interview stood out: "... ethical, competent and admired leadership is badly needed nowadays. For young officers, certainly to gain trust and respect from their subordinates. But they also have to be able to gain the affection of their troops. Not popularity - affection." That distinction in itself is insightful if not profound, and seems rife for a long-form Ace essay. She also mentions that the University of Adelaide runs a site with free ebooks that have a cleaner appearance than what Gutenberg offers.
The authoress was just saying impressively to her companion: “—ever know a sincere emotion to express itself in a subordinate clause?” “Joyce has freed us from the superstition of syntax,” agreed the curly man. “Scenes which make emotional history,” said Miss Heath-Warburton, “should ideally be expressed in a series of animal squeals.” “The D.H. Lawrence formula,” said the other. “Or even Dada,” said the authoress. “We need a new notation,” said the curly-haired man, putting both elbows on the table and knocking Wimsey’s bread on to the floor. “Have you heard Robert Snoates recite his own verse to the tom-tom and the penny whistle?” This reminds me bigly of the stuff Ayn Rand used to write. Like the phrase, "superstition of syntax", used to mark the degeneration of language. It just sounds so Randian (see Rand's brilliant essay on Helen Keller). And WHAT'S FUNNY ABOUT THIS, as Ben R. might tell us, is that two observers, Rand and Sayers are saying pretty much the same thing about post-modernism while they themselves are completely unalike, philosophically and theologically. In fact, if they ever had met, they'd probably have gotten into a fist fight. I think Rand would've won, being an unbalanced angry loon and all, but Sayers would have been charitable enough to bail her out of jail. And the moral of this story is, post-modernism is never not mock-worthy. (h/t Anonosaurus Wrecks)
Don't forget the AoSHQ reading group on Goodreads. It's meant to support horde writers and to talk about the great books that come up on the book thread. It's called AoSHQ Moron Horde and the link to it is here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/175335-aoshq-moron-horde. ___________ So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at the book thread e-mail address: aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm. What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as you all know, life is too short to be reading lousy books. | Recent Comments
ScoggDog:
"I'm really looking forward to working branding, bo ..."
TheQuietMan: "DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON THROWS HIS SUPPORT TO NF ..." Tonypete: "Evening Horde! ..." junior: "@7 I climbed Mt. Everest by accident once. They sa ..." Deplorable Jay Guevara [/i][/b][/s]: "[i]signs in lots of restrooms in restaurants in ny ..." BigZesty: "Delurking to say I read the last thread and you pe ..." Anna Puma (HQCaR): "Okay the guy getting chased off the boat by the ma ..." FireHorse: "Cool camera obscura, Ahmed! ..." votermom certified russian matryoshka bot: "I was walking Mr Dognabbit this morning and stoppe ..." Surfperch: "Top 20? ..." redridinghood: "Wikipedia has already updated Allison Mack's Wiki ..." that meddling fluffy: "'Sup, Peeps? ..." Recent Entries
Friday's ONT Has a Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi
Leveling Up to a Ph.D.: Scholar Examines Racial and Gender Roles in, Get This, Dungeons & Dragons Darkly Conspiratorial Hillary Clinton: "I Knew They Would Never Let Me Be President" Byron York: Trump's Demand for "Loyalty" Looks Different Now, Given That His First Meeting With Comey Consisted of Comey Basically Saying "We Have a Document Claiming You Paid Whores to Pee on Each Other and All the Media Wants Us to Help Them Publish It" Justice Department "Reviewing" At Least Two of the Memos Comey Leaked to His Pal To Leak to the NYT, For Possible Violations of Classified Material Law "Collusion" Narrative Skeptics a Year Ago: Was The Dossier Briefing Just a Set-Up to Give CNN a News Hook to Run the Dossier Story They Otherwise Could Not? Comey Memo: I Told the President "CNN Was Looking for a News Hook" for the Dossier McCabe, Now Criminally Referred by the OIG For Possible Prosecution for Making False Statements, Suing Trump for Defamation? Duke "Student" Activists Hijack Alumni Event; Are Shocked to Find the People Whose Event They Hijacked Criticizing and Jeering Them; Whine That the People Who's Event They Hijacked Should Have Made Them Feel Safe The Morning Rant Mid-Morning Open Thread Search
MuNuvians
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Election Projection Federal Review Real Clear Politics Rasmussen Reports Gallup Zogby FoxNews Polls Sabato/Crystal Ball Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) News/Chat
Archives
|