Books

[kinghen]

imperium- set in bc rome very interesting read with good insight into politics in that era!

halfway through - the savage garden, very good so far,  hardest book to put down ive read in a long time!

[magickingdom]

Under the Hawthorn Tree.

what about it hardstation? is it about a tree or an old man walking with a hawthorn stick? is it any good? who wrote it? you gotta do a bit more work there

[magickingdom]

A woman wrote it. I like it.

that'll do then...

[fred the red]

Under the Hawthorn Tree.

Great read, about the irish famine, and the struggle to make ends meet during that period.

[laceer]

Just read Mr Nice by Howard Marks. Amazing story..you actually grow to like him the more you read, despite him being the worlds biggest dope smuggler for about 20 years!

thanks for the tip laceer just finished it and a very good read. you do actually grow to like him, tho i was delighted the yanks got him in the end. he had no problem making unknown millions out of it no matter what he says. just got judys version now so we'll see how that goes (judys grandfather was patrick murphy the catholic ruc man joe cahill was convicted of killing).

is that the one called mrs nice?haven't read it yet.read senor nice about a month ago - not as good but still tells a few good stories

[JimStynes]

Im heading to asia later in the year so i decided to do a bit of reading about some of the countries. Ive always had an interest in war books but never really the vietnam war. I have recently read 2 books about the vietnam and i am dying to find out more so i went and ordered a shit load of books off amazon.

Chickenhawk by Mason, Robert
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
Once A Warrior King: Memories of an Officer in Vietnam by Donovan
Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam by Plaster
Dear Mom: a Sniper's Vietnam by Ward, Joseph T.
Blackjack 33: with Special Forces in the Viet Cong Forbidden Zone
Blood Trails: The Combat Diary of a Foot Soldier in Vietnam

And the following 2 about what the khrem rouge done in cambodia
Survival in the Killing Fields  by Ngor, Haing S.; Warner, Roger
Voices from S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison

If anyone has an interest in the vietnam war or war books in gereral then you will love the following:
The Cage by Tom Abraham "was one of the very few Englishmen who served in Vietnam. In the late 60s he took part in some of the most carnage-filled battles of the war as an officer in the first Cavalry Division. His courage gained him a slew of medals, and he even obtained one of the most prestigious decorations awarded by the American army, the Silver Star.
This astonishing testimony takes us into the very heart of that nightmare conflict, and some passages are positively lacerating in their impact. Captured by the Viet Cong during the Tet offensive, Abraham endured torture during the relentless interrogations, and his bold escape into the treacherous jungle was a classic case of from frying pan to fire: his ordeal (naked, hungry, terrified) brought him (Abraham tells us) to the level of a beast.
Abraham's ability to convey his own extreme psychological state is astonishing, but not just in terms of the Vietnam war: the book is equally involving when Abraham takes us on to the events that nearly destroyed his life 30 years after the conflict, when he had returned to England."

The Tunnels of c u Chi by Tom Mangold - "The campaign in the tunnels of c u Chi was fought with cunning and savagery between Viet Cong guerrillas and special teams of US infantrymen called 'Tunnel Rats'. The location: the 200-mile labyrinth of underground tunnels and secret chambers that the Viet Cong had dug around Saigon. The Tunnel Rats were GIs of legendary skill and courage. Armed only with knives and pistols, they fought hand-to-hand against a cruel and ingenious enemy inside the booby-trapped blackness of the tunnels. For the Viet Cong the tunnel network became their battlefield, their barracks, their arms factories and their hospitals, as the ground above was pounded to dust by American shells and bombs."

[ONeill]

Booker Prize 2008 longlist:

Aravind Adiga "The White Tiger"

Gaynor Arnold "Girl in a Blue Dress"

Sebastian Barry "The Secret Scripture"

John Berger "From A to X"

Michelle de Kretser "The Lost Dog"

Amitav Ghosh "Sea of Poppies"

Linda Grant "The Clothes on Their Backs"

Mohammed Hanif "A Case of Exploding Mangoes"

Philip Hensher "The Northern Clemency"

Joseph O'Neill "Netherland"

Salman Rushdie "The Enchantress of Florence"

Tom Rob Smith "Child 44"

Steve Toltz "A Fraction of the Whole"

Going to get my hands on O'Neill's book. Have rate decent reviews. In fact, I want all of us to read them all by September 1st.

[Donagh]

You'd wonder how the Yanks ever lost.

[ONeill]

Some fictional fiction books:

Francis Bellew - Snowdrops and Daffodils
Paul Galvin - Booked Out
Mickey Harte - Unshaven
Jody Gormley - A Cold House For Aliens
Paidi O Se - The Animal Inside
Joe Kernan - One More Won't Kill Me
Pillar Caffrey - No Maguire, No Smile
Kieran McGeeney - Water, With Ice.
Mick ODwyer - Cute as a Badger's Bizem.
Brian Dooher - Red Hand Up The Passage

[magickingdom]

Just read Mr Nice by Howard Marks. Amazing story..you actually grow to like him the more you read, despite him being the worlds biggest dope smuggler for about 20 years!

thanks for the tip laceer just finished it and a very good read. you do actually grow to like him, tho i was delighted the yanks got him in the end. he had no problem making unknown millions out of it no matter what he says. just got judys version now so we'll see how that goes (judys grandfather was patrick murphy the catholic ruc man joe cahill was convicted of killing).

is that the one called mrs nice?haven't read it yet.read senor nice about a month ago - not as good but still tells a few good stories

its called mr nice and mrs marks laceer, good read i'm about half way into it. saw senor nice a few weeks ago but it was gone the other day but i'll get that too..

[john mcgill]

O'Neill, after you read Netherland you must read the History of the MCC

[The Gs Man]

Im heading to asia later in the year so i decided to do a bit of reading about some of the countries. Ive always had an interest in war books but never really the vietnam war. I have recently read 2 books about the vietnam and i am dying to find out more so i went and ordered a shit load of books off amazon.

Chickenhawk by Mason, Robert
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
Once A Warrior King: Memories of an Officer in Vietnam by Donovan
Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam by Plaster
Dear Mom: a Sniper's Vietnam by Ward, Joseph T.
Blackjack 33: with Special Forces in the Viet Cong Forbidden Zone
Blood Trails: The Combat Diary of a Foot Soldier in Vietnam

And the following 2 about what the khrem rouge done in cambodia
Survival in the Killing Fields  by Ngor, Haing S.; Warner, Roger
Voices from S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison

If anyone has an interest in the vietnam war or war books in gereral then you will love the following:
The Cage by Tom Abraham "was one of the very few Englishmen who served in Vietnam. In the late 60s he took part in some of the most carnage-filled battles of the war as an officer in the first Cavalry Division. His courage gained him a slew of medals, and he even obtained one of the most prestigious decorations awarded by the American army, the Silver Star.
This astonishing testimony takes us into the very heart of that nightmare conflict, and some passages are positively lacerating in their impact. Captured by the Viet Cong during the Tet offensive, Abraham endured torture during the relentless interrogations, and his bold escape into the treacherous jungle was a classic case of from frying pan to fire: his ordeal (naked, hungry, terrified) brought him (Abraham tells us) to the level of a beast.
Abraham's ability to convey his own extreme psychological state is astonishing, but not just in terms of the Vietnam war: the book is equally involving when Abraham takes us on to the events that nearly destroyed his life 30 years after the conflict, when he had returned to England."

The Tunnels of c u Chi by Tom Mangold - "The campaign in the tunnels of c u Chi was fought with cunning and savagery between Viet Cong guerrillas and special teams of US infantrymen called 'Tunnel Rats'. The location: the 200-mile labyrinth of underground tunnels and secret chambers that the Viet Cong had dug around Saigon. The Tunnel Rats were GIs of legendary skill and courage. Armed only with knives and pistols, they fought hand-to-hand against a cruel and ingenious enemy inside the booby-trapped blackness of the tunnels. For the Viet Cong the tunnel network became their battlefield, their barracks, their arms factories and their hospitals, as the ground above was pounded to dust by American shells and bombs."

Your a glipe.  You should have called round to my house and I'd have give ye all the Vietnam books ye wanted without going and buying them!

[Lucius Fox]

The road - Cormac McCarthy.

Father and young son in post apocalyptic America.

Short book, short sentences that snap and crackle. Some of it will stay with me a long time.
Long tim since I read a book as good.

Just finished No Country for Old Men Mack...the reviews of the Road are deadly ...probably be my next purchase!

Just finished "The Road". I can see why people have described this book as a masterpiece. Haunting tale....and one of the most original novels I have ever read.

Finished "The Road" recently also, brilliant read, couldnt put it down, will no doubt read it again - are McCarthy's other books worth reading? 

[bennydorano]

Currently reading The Ballad of a Thin Man - A biography of Phil Lynott.  An absorbing read, some very funny anecdotes etc..

[full back]

Am looking for an easy read for the holidays
Any ideas lads?