Just bought these for the hub . . .

[novella]

He prefers nonfiction, with a scientific or historical aspect. Complained he was out of books, so I just bought for him:

The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. This won the Pulitzer when it came out a few years ago. Supposed to be a great read and an epic account.

London Perceived by V.S. Pritchett. This is about 15 years old, but is reputed to be a brief yet fascinating history of London, neighborhood by neighborhood. I almost bought the new London: A History, but saw that this was recommended more highly on the amazon customer reviews.

Brave Companions by David McCullough. This is a collection of short portraits, many of little-known people, written over 20 years by this historian. Looks like a nice mix of interests, from aviators to engineers to artists.

Sunrise with Seamonsters by Paul Theroux. I love Theroux. I read Honolulu Hotel (that right?) last year, Kowloon Tong, and a bunch of others. This is a collection of his nonfiction essays, some travel pieces, some nature writing.


Anyone with any experience of these books? Your comments would be most welcome! Though I bought them for the hub, I'll probably get to them when he's done.

 

[bobbyburns]

I at least started the making of the atomic bomb, but never got around to finishing it. there's another book called the rocket and the reich, which looks at the V-2 rocket's impact on emotions and the war, which was essentially an instrument of fear. I thought that was more interesting than the atom bomb.

 

[bobbyburns]

I'm sorry, by 'interesting' I meant easier to read.

 

[funes]

I found Rhodes' book staggeringly good. It is a bit of a cliche to say that it "read like a thriller" at times, but it did. More importantly, though, he does a marvelous job of covering the whole evolution of atomic theory, the many colorful personalities involved, and the many forces and considerations which influenced it's use. Frankly, I can't see how it could be more definitive.
Brave Companions is also quite good, but then you can't go wrong with David McCullough. To my mind, he is the best writer of popular history in the world.
I would also recommend The Perfect Machine (can't recall the author) - about the construction of the telescope at Mt. Palomar; Banvard's Folly by Paul Collins (in the same vein as Brave Companions); I can't think of any others just now.
If you'd like, though, I'll try to think of some others (also being fond of books dealing with the history of science).

 

[bobbyburns]

hey, I too watch frasier.

 

[novella]

I found Rhodes' book staggeringly good. It is a bit of a cliche to say that it "read like a thriller" at times, but it did. More importantly, though, he does a marvelous job of covering the whole evolution of atomic theory, the many colorful personalities involved, and the many forces and considerations which influenced it's use. Frankly, I can't see how it could be more definitive.
Brave Companions is also quite good, but then you can't go wrong with David McCullough. To my mind, he is the best writer of popular history in the world.
I would also recommend The Perfect Machine (can't recall the author) - about the construction of the telescope at Mt. Palomar; Banvard's Folly by Paul Collins (in the same vein as Brave Companions); I can't think of any others just now.
If you'd like, though, I'll try to think of some others (also being fond of books dealing with the history of science).

funes,

Sounds like you and my hub have very similar interests/tastes. He's 2/3 through Rhodes and very impressed. Thanks so much for the rec on The Perfect Machine. I'll look into that.

 

[funes]

Thanks, glad to help.

 

[funes]

Oh, and by the way, Rhodes' Dark Sun (about the advent of the hydrogen bomb) isn't as good. I'm not sure if it is because of so much of the info still being classified, or what.