Job Discussion Forums

johnslat · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 2:17 pm Post subject: Some rather giant mistakes

Dear been_there,
Not that I'm a nit-picker, but you've got the wrong side/guy/ historical period here:

" "Good," said Xerses, "then we shall fight in the shade.") Historical fiction based on fact. "

It was supposedly the Spartans' King Leonidas at the pass of Thermopolae who made this remark when told how numerous the Persians' arrows would be, shutting out the sun. Xerxes was the Persian king.

" the Spartans making a stand against the Ottoman Empire."

Well, only by using time-travel, I fear. The Spartans preceded the Ottoman Empire by about 2000 years.

Regards,
John

P.S. But anyone who recommends "Catch 22" is aces in my book.

been_there · Joined: 28 Oct 2003 Posts: 284 Location: 127.0.0.1

dont know much about history.....

Yeah, I forget names and dates, damn good book though.

My favorite bit was when the PERSIAN King Xerxes told the spartans to hand over their weapons, and KING LEONIDAS said, "Come and get them."

Felt like saying that myself a few times to various bosses...

Boss: "Where is the lesson plans you were to have filed for next weeks lessons?"
Me: "Molon Labe."*

*(Spartan for "Come and get it. No doubt, jonslat will have the correct spelling)

johnslat · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 4:19 pm Post subject: In your dreams, Xerxes

Dear been_there,
It IS a darn good book - and so are the others you mentioned. You might also like "Tides of War" by the same author, Steven Pressfield. The main subject there is the extraordinary Alcibiades, friend of Socrates, brillant orator / politician / general, and all around bad boy.
Regards,
John
P.S. Your spelling " Molon Labe" is quite correct.

http://www.thefiringline.com/HCI/molon_labe.htm

Reading it in context sent chills up and down my spine, too.

MELEE · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 4:27 pm Post subject:

In addition to books...
I got a subcription to the UTNE Reader several years ago as a Christmas gift from my brother, I've renewed it three times. It's great. And thus far, the Mexican Postal Workers haven't been interested in stealing it.

mikial · Joined: 11 Oct 2003 Posts: 8 Location: Florida

What no William Gibson fans here?
He's the author of nueromancer, count zero, and others. If you thought some of the ideas in the matrix trilogy were cool, then you might like his books.

sojourner · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 5:45 pm Post subject:

Am currently in China.I love it here but feel frustrated in not having access to a proper English-language library.

However,thanks to my enrolment in UNE's MA(Applied Linguistics) programme I have access to many online journals,through that University's library, on many topics ,not only in relation to linguistics.In addition,in recent months I have come across a handful of free sites that provide a limited range of books' and journals,usually related to my interests of comparative religion,politics,and political economy.A few weeks ago,I came across a user-pays online library:www.questa.com that provides one with access to a large number of articles AND complete books covering a wide range of topics. The charge is quite reasonable - about $US 80 pa,I think.Probably,a lot of the stuff may be available free from other sites,but it would take one many hours to search for these.One drawback with Questa is that you can't download any of their books and journal articles - however,you can copy one page at a time.Yet,I feel that Questa is worthwhile looking into,especially if one is engaged in formal studies.

Could anyone else recommend any other free or user-pays libraries,providing access to both fiction and non fiction ? If anyone is interested,I can provide them with details of the few free sites that I have come across - I can't just lay my hands on the www addresses right now.

Just before I left Australia,I came across one book that really fascinated me.It's by Simon Winchester.I can't recall the correct title (something like "The Surgeon of Crawthorne",I think;although in the US it has a completly different title) and deals with the history of the 1st edition of the Oxford Dictionary.Sounds really boring, but it's not ! Inter alia,it deals also with military discipline during the American Civil War and psychiatric treatment and diagnosis during the late Victorian period. When I return to Australia in a couple of months time,I'm hoping to get hold of Winchester's latest book called,I think,"The Map that Changed the World" - inter alia,it deals with intellectual and social elites,social exclusion,receptiveness to new discoveries and scientific concepts, in 18th Century England.

Regards,

Peter

Capergirl · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:12 pm Post subject:

When I was in Taiwan, someone loaned me a copy of the book "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang. It was based on the real lives of three generations of women in China. On a weekend trip to Kenting, I began reading it. However, my job was pretty time-consuming and I had to return the book to its rightful owner before I'd had a chance to finish it. This thread has sort of jogged my memory. I'll have to make a point of getting a copy of "Wild Swans" sometime. As I recall, it was a very good read - hard to put down.

kattie72 · Joined: 31 Oct 2003 Posts: 49

Yes, "Wild Swans" is an incredible book, the life stories of Jung Chang, her mother and her grandmother, spanning nearly the whole of the 20th century...absolutely fascinating. my copy is falling to pieces, I've read it and re-read it so many times.
Go get a copy, Capergirl! Smile

Capergirl · Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 11:09 pm Post subject:

I think I will. Very Happy

foster · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 485 Location: Honkers, SARS

I will read just about anything I can get my hands on.

In China and Hong Kong, I found www.yesasia.com They offer English books at reduced rates, delivered to your door.

In Japan, www.amazon.co.jp was my best friend.

In Hong Kong, there is also www.paddyfields.com, but I find them to be pricey and unreliable.

been_there · Joined: 28 Oct 2003 Posts: 284 Location: 127.0.0.1

Umm... also www.gutenberg.org has loads of free books (past the copyright date, so no Mona Lisa Overdrive, Mikial).

I would also like to suggest to all those that struggle against the boundaries of "the way things are" : Letters to a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens. It's for everyone who knows that the current status-quo is wrong.

And, as teachers, I suggest: "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by by James W. Loewen. It goes through several high-school history books and points out the myths, half-truths, omissions, and outright lies that Americans have been taught and (perhaps not on this forum) believe. Good if you have some students who think the US is, was, and always will be the golden land of milk and honey.

Jonslat,
Yeah, that was the best bit, eh? I think it might be my next tattoo....
Thanks for the recommendation. It's on the Christmas list....
Have you read "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond? It is a general examination of the rise and fall of different civilizations based on crops (which native plants provided more or less nutritional value), disease, and technological advancements. Some interesting ideas there.

johnslat · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2003 12:39 pm Post subject: And don't forget pack animals

Dear been_there,
Whoa, have I read "Guns, Germs and Steel"? Lordy, that's one of those books I feel like I discovered. Moreover, I must have bought about half a dozen copies of it to give away to people. I LOVE it. But, just to the the opposition equal time, I must admit that a good friend of mine, a very well qualified astro-archaeologist, maintains that Mr. Diamond made a lot of "mistakes". Even if he's right, I still think it's one of the most intellectually stimulating books on the market.
Regards,
John
In that, it reminds me of Julian Jaynes' " The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind", another book that may well be prone to errors, but boy - does it ever get you thinking.

been_there · Joined: 28 Oct 2003 Posts: 284 Location: 127.0.0.1

Sounds like we are on the same page here.. Very Happy

I'll bet you have read "Ecology of Mind" by Gregory Bateson, I think it was re-released as "Sacred Unity: Further Steps to an Ecology of Mind",

The Julian Jaynes book you recommended is on the list to read.

And yes, I've heard that the Diamond book "overgeneralizes" but is generally sound.

Celeste · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2003 1:56 pm Post subject:

I am an avid reader, and one of the things that I love best about living in a country where I have only a shaky command of the language is that I have lots of time for reading as my entertainment hours are not taken up with meaningless tv. Recently I have read the collected works of Maeve Binchy, Mario Puzo, Bernard Cornwell, Amy Tan, and James Clavell. I am going to Canada for Christmas, and I will be hitting the used bookshops and sending myself a lot of care packages. (I took a lot of Russian Lit. back in university and I miss those old Russians.)

SueH · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1022 Location: Northern Italy

been-there,

I'm not being particulary helpful here, but Eco has just had a new book published in the UK on the subject of translation. I read the reviews a couple of weeks ago and ear-marked it as one to look for, but I can't remember the title. .. aha

http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/referenceandlanguages/0,6121,1090475,00.html