"law of the forest"?
is this the one that turned Karl Marx into a Marxist, or am I thinking of something else?
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 13:17 (sixteen years ago) link
Mister M is a huge nerd in every respect, right down to his love of history, particularly classical Greek and Roman, and history of organized religion.
I like to read narrative histories about exploration, the Enlightenment, whaleboats being stove in by whales (there are more of these than you would think), and Nelson's navy.
My problem is that I can retain none of the information I read. We were having a conversation about the Cathars the other night and not one thing could I remember except that they were all killed or something.
― accentmonkey, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 13:22 (sixteen years ago) link
You and me both. As a result I don't consider myself a "buff" (that sounds like a masturbator extraordinaire somhow) by any stretch, nor really an interest of mine. I mean, I am interested in history but I forget 99 procent of what I read anyway. :-(
― nathalie, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 13:27 (sixteen years ago) link
I remember everything... except things I am studying for my course.
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 13:29 (sixteen years ago) link
Maybe you need to not look directly at your coursework, or pretend to your brain that you are not studying, but reading for fun. That'll fix it. Stupid brain.
― accentmonkey, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 13:33 (sixteen years ago) link
a "buff" (that sounds like a masturbator extraordinaire somhow)
I will never be able to look at Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the same way ever again.
― StanM, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 13:36 (sixteen years ago) link
Anyway, my list:
American Revolutionary War American Civil War WWII the Space Race the Civil Rights era
And plenty to do with the history of science & technology. Big James Burke fan(new book comes out tomorrow!) It's one of the main reason I dig on the Civ games so much. It's fun to march your little empire up the tech tree as fast as possible.
― kingfish, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 15:13 (sixteen years ago) link
whaleboats being stove in by whales
Hunh, hadn't thought of that as an area of historical inquiry. How much lit about this is out there?
― kingfish, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 15:18 (sixteen years ago) link
I was perhaps exaggerating, but I've read three books about the whaleship Essex, including Nathaniel Philbrick's EXCELLENT In the Heart of the Sea. Then there's the true account by two guys who lived through it. Then there's Moby Dick, which is based on the same story, but with extra bits thrown in.
― accentmonkey, Tuesday, 3 July 2007 15:29 (sixteen years ago) link
Oh, and there's one by Thomas Farel Heffernan, who also wrote about the mutiny on the whaleship Globe.