Dinner with Mugabe - Zimbabwe hero turned tyrant
Heidi Holland’s investigation into Zimbabwe’s ruling party president Robert Mugabe begins 30 years ago at a time when he was the nation’s freedom fighting hero. It ends with a searching interview over dinner in December 2007.
The book’s title is Dinner with Mugabe, the man behind the monster, and it attempts to probe the psyche of the man behind the ruins of Zimbabwe. It is due for release in three days time on 7 May 2008.
If Hannibal had won
I just completed an excellent novel based on historical events - Hannibal, Pride of Carthage, by David Anthony Durham.
The book is set before Rome had firmly set its boot against the neck of the rest of the world, and as it was emerging as a conquering nation. 218 to 202 BC was the time of the Second Punic War, when Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with an army of elephants up to the vicious battles of Trasimene and Zama.
In this book, Hannibal comes to grips with his nemesis Publius Scipio and, as history now knows, was ultimately defeated. The manner of his defeat is the subject of this book, and as you will see when you read it, the course of history could very well have turned in Hannibal’s favour, resulting in a very different map of the world than what we know it to be today.
I couldn’t put this book down and read it over a few days while sunning myself by the pool on holiday in Port Shepstone. If you love historic battle scenes and acts of cunning and deceipt, then this book is certainly for you.
Google Book Search
Here’s the low down on Google’s massive book project, Book Search.
Check it out and start reading for free!
If the book is out of copyright, or the publisher has given us permission, you’ll be able to see a preview of the book, and in some cases the entire text. If it’s in the public domain, you’re free to download a PDF copy.
Neal Stephenson is a genius
I just can’t get enough of his books - I’ve read Cryptonomicon, Quicksilver and The Diamond Age, and so far Cryptonomicon has been my favorite, but seriously, the others are awesome too.
His writing is just so well-researched and clever, you cannot put his books down. I read Cryptonomicon in a two day marathon that had my wife wondering what on earth had happened to her husband.
His other books include Snow Crash and Zodiac, among others, and I am rather keen on getting my grubby paws on both.
Watchmen - dark and extremely clever
Alan Moore’s Watchmen plays out over the greater part of the last century in the age of the Superhero. Initially regarded as saviors of the human race, these crime-busting vigilantes begin to fall out of favor in the national psyche, and as a result they begin to crumble. To make things worse, someone, or something is slowly and methodically exterminating the watchmen. Who is behind it all?
Brilliantly illustrated and cleverly written, Watchmen is one of my all time favorites and I have TWICE borrowed it from a friend of mine.
This is truly a must have for any fan of comics or graphic novels.
War and Peace - unreadable
It’s always nice to write a review about a book that you’ve read, but in this case I have to confess that although my life’s ambition has been to actually sit through the entire tome, I have just NOT been able to read War and Peace.
Perhaps it is too much a book whose time has come and gone, but I have been struggling to see how it relates to me, here in 2008, in any manner, shape or form.
I hope that someone else out there has been able to get through it and give me some advice on how to read it and how to glean some enjoyment out of it.
I just couldn’t get through it, alas.
American Gods
What can one say about the indomitable Mr Neil Gaiman, except perhaps to say that he is indomitable? The author who brought us the creepy Sandman graphic novels and who collaborated with Terry Pratchett on Good Omens has exploded into mainstream culture with hits like Stardust and the topic of this post American Gods.
If you haven’t yet read Neil Gaiman’s books but waited to see the movie, shame on you for missing out on a true richness and eloquence not found in common blockbuster writers seen filling the Best Seller shelves.
American Gods follows the experiences of a man named Shadow from the time of his release from prison as he enters a crazy world he never knew existed. His life is torn to pieces when his wife Laura dies in a strange car accident, and quite literally the world begins to crumble around him. He clings to sanity by following the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, but all is most certainly not what it seems as they embark together on a crusade across America.
Read this book, and after you’ve done so get hold of Gaiman’s collection of short stories, Fragile Things.
Dark, fun and nourishing to the soul.
- Michael Chabon
The Seven Basic Plots
Christopher Booker (yes, he has a GREAT surname for a writer) has created a fantastic monument to THE STORY. By comparing the basic themes in well known tales from the beginning of recorded history right through to the latest episode of HEROES, Booker’s analysis shows that frighteningly, there are no TRULY original stories.
The basic seven plots (not to be revealed here, buy the book to find out) run through every story, movie and TV show you have ever experienced. This includes the tales your grandfather told you when you were yea high.
At more than 700 pages, it’s a truly comprehensive and fascinating read. Get it at Amazon or if you abide in South Africa, try Want It All online shopping.
The Joy Of Lex
Anyone who is vaguely interested in English will be amazed and amused by this Z to A and A to Z of words by Gyles Brandreth.
It’s one of the many books I bought on a whim while on holiday at the coast. I was passing through Jeffrey’s Bay on the way down to Knysna on the beautiful Eastern Cape coast in South Africa, when I stumbled upon it.
The author’s contention is that “words and the way we use them are what make us human animals unique.” Or, to quote Bertrand Russell, “No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest.”
This is the book for lovers of words (like myself), and for all the self-confessed verbaholics out there.
Review of The Long Tail
In this book, Wired editor Chris Anderson makes the point that the days of the hit parade are well and truly over. The argument goes that the abundance of choice afforded to modern consumers in an Internet-enabled world has resulted in people not settling for the usual fare offered to them by Hollywood, record companies and television networks. Instead, people are finding what they want from small niches on the Internet, be it through downloading pirated music through peer to peer music, or downloading legitimate songs using iTunes and loading up their iPhones.
As an example, Rhapsody, an online music store, will offer millions of tracks for sale, something that a traditional retailer like Walmart would be unable to do.
As a result, the download or sales vs popularity ranking curve has a long tail of profit - items that are extremely poorly ranked in terms of mass popularity still bring in individual sales, and because the storage cost in a digital world is so small, Rhapsody is able to offer these small niche items for sale.
This results in an overall larger revenue volume than traditional brick and mortar music stores.
It’s a fascinating book and well worth reading if you’re interested in how technology is impacting on our culture and world economics.
