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☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → The Massassi Reading List Thread
The Massassi Reading List Thread
2006-03-13, 11:28 AM #1
The premise of this thread is simple. Think of one non-fiction book that you've read in the last year, and that you think is so important that it ought to be required reading for the rest of Massassi. Give the title, author, and at least one reason other people should read it.

My pick: Surprise, Security, and the American Experience by John Lewis Gaddis. Read it, and you will understand much, much more about current U.S. foreign policy than you did before. And the amazing thing is, it's only 118 pages long.

Edit: Retitled the thread to something a little catchier.
If you think the waiters are rude, you should see the manager.
2006-03-13, 11:32 AM #2
I can't remember the last time I read a nonfiction book.
2006-03-13, 11:44 AM #3
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312263872/sr=8-1/qid=1142278621/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-2277430-0477735?%5Fencoding=UTF8

The Science of Star Wars: An Astrophysicist's Independent Examination of Space Travel, Aliens, Planets, and Robots As Portrayed in the Star Wars Films and Books
By Jeanne Cavelos


It shows what really could and couldn't happen in today's understanding of the universe.
The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.

-G Man
2006-03-13, 11:47 AM #4
Last book (non-fiction) I read is the one I bought the other day - it's about Building and Engineering and really isn't much use to anyone.

(Why did I even post that?)
2006-03-13, 12:41 PM #5
I'm about to start reading "GET IN THE VAN! On the Road with Black Flag" by Henry Rollins.

I hear it's really good.
>>untie shoes
2006-03-13, 1:55 PM #6
The last non-fiction book I read wasn't something that I'd recommend all of Massassi needs to read. I finished reading "Soul Surfer" by Bethany Hamilton, the shark-attack girl. It was ok.
"Harriet, sweet Harriet - hard-hearted harbinger of haggis."
2006-03-13, 2:33 PM #7
Just a clarification: It doesn't have to be the last non-fiction book you read. Really, despite what I said, you don't necessarily even have to have read it in the last year. It just needs to be something that you think will make your fellow Massassians smarter, or better informed, or better people, or anything like that.
If you think the waiters are rude, you should see the manager.
2006-03-13, 2:38 PM #8
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin is an excellent book, read it for school at the beginning of the year. Highly recommended, though its value as a tool for racial integration is considerably less now than it was forty-some years ago.
"It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener."
"Rationality is the recognition of the fact that nothing can alter the truth and nothing can take precedence over that act of perceiving it."
2006-03-14, 12:29 AM #9
Last Chance To See by Douglas Adams. It's sad, hilarious and uplifting. All in one book.
Sorry for the lousy German
2006-03-14, 2:40 AM #10
[QUOTE=Michael MacFarlane]... something that you think will make your fellow Massassians smarter, or better informed, or better people, or anything like that.[/QUOTE]HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
2006-03-14, 2:56 AM #11
The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios

This book increased both my understanding of physics and my knowledge of superhero trivia by so much. It's great fun to read and it does an amazing job explaining physics concepts. It does a great job with quantum physics along with everything else.
Ban Jin!
Nobody really needs work when you have awesome. - xhuxus
2006-03-14, 3:10 AM #12
Thinking With Type by Ellen Lupton. Anybody who ever wants to make a website or print work should read this. You'll never make the mistake of using Helvetica or Times New Roman on a website again.
Detty. Professional Expert.
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2006-03-14, 4:41 AM #13
Originally posted by Impi:
Last Chance To See by Douglas Adams. It's sad, hilarious and uplifting. All in one book.

I was gonna post that becuase I'm reading it right now. I'm really enjoying it.
"It sounds like an epidemic."
"Look, I don't know what that means. But it happens all the time." - Penny Arcade
Last.fm
2006-03-14, 5:26 AM #14
Originally posted by Impi:
Last Chance To See by Douglas Adams. It's sad, hilarious and uplifting. All in one book.


This is probably my favorite Douglas Adams book.
Marsz, marsz, Dąbrowski,
Z ziemi włoskiej do Polski,
Za twoim przewodem
Złączym się z narodem.
2006-03-14, 6:13 AM #15
The End Of Racism by Dinesh D'Souza.
2006-03-14, 8:31 AM #16
A Sand County Almanac : And Sketches Here and There by Aldo Leopold
One of the earliest works on modern conservation, he talks about his realisation of the impact on the environment that human kind has had, blames it on a sense of a lack of responsibility for the land and suggests a "land ethic". Pretty incredible nature writing, he's got a good eye for detail and he wasn't some crazy hippy character but a forestry warden and hunter.
2006-03-14, 9:16 AM #17
Originally posted by spud:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


I know, but it's worth a try. :em321:
If you think the waiters are rude, you should see the manager.
2006-03-14, 10:11 AM #18
No Nonsense XML Web Development With PHP

Not exactly a book everyone must read, but something a lot of us are interested in. It's a pretty good book even though it's not very advanced.
Historians are the most powerful and dangerous members of any society. They must be watched carefully... They can spoil everything. - Nikita Khrushchev.
Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god. - Jean Rostand.
2006-03-14, 2:16 PM #19
A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole

Just because it is singlehandedly the best book I've read in a long time. And that coming from me, a picky reader, says a lot. It is funny, coherent (usually), and not presented in a dull fashion. I was reading this over spring break... that is a rare occurrence.
May the mass times acceleration be with you.
2006-03-14, 2:28 PM #20
Bruce Campbell's If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor
2006-03-14, 3:39 PM #21
Mediated by Thomas de Zengotita.

Engaging and well-written analysis of our media-saturated consumerist society that makes books like Culture Jam look like the muddled self-congratulatory nonsense they are. Also, it nails the zeitgeist like nothing else I've seen.

And this thread is awesome. I just added like, four books to my list.
2006-03-14, 3:40 PM #22
the universe in a nutshell by stephen hawking
2006-03-14, 5:41 PM #23
Consolation of Philosophy - Boethius
"His Will Was Set, And Only Death Would Break It"

"None knows what the new day shall bring him"
2006-03-14, 6:16 PM #24
Foxe's Book of Martyrs

John Foxe

You might learn something.
2006-03-14, 7:17 PM #25
Crazy Horse And Custer by Stephen E. Ambrose.
www.dailyvault.com. - As Featured in Guitar Hero II!
2006-03-14, 7:18 PM #26
The Giver - Lois Lowry

I don't care if the book is meant for younger people, it's a damn amazing book.
Think while it's still legal.
2006-03-14, 9:37 PM #27
The last book I read was Animal Farm by Eric Blair (George Orwell), and just started reading Dune. The only thing I have read the is non-fiction for quite a long time are a lot of Gerore Orwell essays.
The tired anthem of a loser and a hypocrite.

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