Here are the books I’ve read last month. Not as many as usual, as I struggled with a couple of books.
Red Planet — Robert A. Heinlein
Another Heinlein juvenile, showing how one boy and his Martian pet cause the planet to succesfully rebel against an ever oppressive Earth.
Goths and Romans 332-489 — Peter Heather
I enjoyed Peter Heather’s The Fall of the Roman Empire and this is an earlier book of his, on a related subject, the relationship between the Goths and the Eastern Roman Empire during the period of the fall of the western Empire.
Spycatcher — Peter Wright
The autobiography of one of a former assistant directors of MI5, which caused a huge controversy when first published, to the point of being banned from publication in the UK itself. Particularly the revelation that Labour prime minister Harold Wilson had been spied upon by MI5 under suspicion of being a Soviet mole caused a lot of interest.
Tales — H. P. Lovecraft
Huge collection of Lovecraft stories edited by Peter Straub for the Library of America series. At roughly one story per quarrter hour commute, as well as two long train journeys, it still took me over a week to plow through this. Reading more than a few of these stories in one sitting isn’t recommended either, as the simularities and stylistic tics shared by them become increasingly visible.
De Wet op Internet — Arnoud Engelfriet
Arnoud is a Dutch blogger specialised in the intersection of the internet with the law. He has now written a clear, easy to understand book on the fundamentals of internet law in the Netherlands.
The Haunter of the Ring & Other Tales — Robert E. Howard
A collection of horror and weird mystery stories by the creator of Conan the Barbarian. More variety than the similar Lovecraft collection, but with the same undertone of racism, where race determines character and there’s nothing better than somebody from clean, Anglo Saxon stock.
Civilisation and Capitalism – The Wheels of Commerce — Fernand Braudel
The second volume in Braudel’s massive history of the early days of modern capitalism between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. This one looks at how commerce and capitalism developed in these centuries.
An Army at Dawn — Rick Atkinson
The story of the North African campaign from Operation Torch to the liberation of Tunis, from an American point of view. Well told and engrossing, a good book to get an idea from of how this campaign went for the Americans. Supposedly this is the first of a series, with the next volumes detailing the rest of the war in Europe.
Too Many Women — Rex Stout
A post-war Nero Wolfe mystery. Fun, dated and somewhat sexist.
CauseWired — Tom Watson
Tom Watson is a journalist and onlive activist who believes the future of social activism is online and attempts to sketch out this future here. Sounds trite at first, but he means more than just charities discovering the power of facebook or twitter. Once you get through the silicon snakeoil and marketing speech, there is a kernel of truth here.