NationStates Jolt Archive

See... I got a few books at Christmas... the bad thing was, I couldn't figure out what to read... so I'm at about page 10 for all of them... which is bad. So I figured I'd see what everyone elses opinion was, so that I actually get round to reading them.
Anyways, since I don't have much else to say.... here's tha list. It'll/s also in poll form, if that floats your boat.

Book 1: The Prince, Nicollo Machiavelli
Book 2: The divine comedy, vol 1, Inferno, Dante
Book 3: The Iliad, Homer
Book 4: The Odyssey, Homer
Book 5: The history of the Peloponnesian war, Thucydides
Book 6: The conquest of Gaul, Ceasar
Book 7: On War, Carl Von Clausewitz
Book 8: The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud
Book 9: Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzche

So there you have the list. Damned choice. Sometimes the world would be a better place without it. *shakes fist*

Anything by Homer is a good read. I'd start with the Odyssey.

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Caeser man, Kaiser! He had that great slick down curly hair.

odyssey first, man.

Crap. I mis-spelled Caesar. Woopsie daisies.

other cool offerings in this vein are Ulysses S. Grant's Memoirs as well as "War and Remembrance"

I have both "The Odyssey" (not going back to check spelling lol) and your last title by Theucydides (ditto).

i would definitely start with the iliad and then the odyssey....ancient greek literature is the greatest! look into medea too!

Dante's tons of fun. Either Homer would be my second choice, also neat. And Nietzche, depending on the translation, can be pretty cool too.

On the other side of things, Freud is incredibly, mind-bogglingly dull. Brilliant man, poor writer. In my opinion, and all that.

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ROLFMAO

Von Clausewitz's stuff is pretty good too. Made alot of good points.

Anything by Homer is a good read. I'd start with the Odyssey.

Start with the Illiad, as they should be read in that order (that's the chronological order of the stories).

Dante's tons of fun. Either Homer would be my second choice, also neat. And Nietzche, depending on the translation, can be pretty cool too.

On the other side of things, Freud is incredibly, mind-bogglingly dull. Brilliant man, poor writer. In my opinion, and all that.


I have read somewhat more of inferno than I have the other books, though I'm still not particularly far in. It certainly has some memorable sections though, particularly this juicy fragmentlet.

"I am the way into the doleful city
I am the way into Eternal Grief
I am the way to a forsaken race

Justice it was that moved my great creator
Divine omnipotence created me
and highest widom joined with primal love

Before me nothing but eternal things
were made, and I shall last eternally
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here"

Absolutely beautiful...

Start with the Illiad, as they should be read in that order (that's the chronological order of the stories).

That's what I thought, I wasn't sure I would start with the Iliad first, but rather depending on the popularity of either of those choices, read the Iliad and the odyssey first, one after the other.

Dante's inferno is absolutely brilliant. I have yet to get my hands on a good copy of Purgatory or Heaven yet, but the Hell part was both brilliant and disturbing, not necessarily in that order

Dante's inferno is absolutely brilliant. I have yet to get my hands on a good copy of Purgatory or Heaven yet, but the Hell part was both brilliant and disturbing, not necessarily in that order

I am taunted with a good copy. I have zero pounds and zero pence, so I can't buy it.

it's sitting there though.

How strangely apt that I'm taunted with a copy of the divine comedy.

I tend to read three or four books at a time. Of your list, I've read them all, but if you haven't, go with The Iliad. Read it three times in a row. You won't regret it.

I tend to read three or four books at a time. Of your list, I've read them all, but if you haven't, go with The Iliad. Read it three times in a row. You won't regret it.

I don't think I've read any book other than the art of war more than once, and I've read it a lot. Still, I do want to read quite a few books more than once.

Well, I voted Nietzsche's 'Thus Spake Zarathustra', an obviously biased choice since it happens to be my philosophical favorite. This is however a very interesting book, well and intelligently written (though some of it is lost to the devil that resides in translation). A powerful piece of history, and one that I have read over and over as many times as I've had the opportunity. It can seem simple, and then evelopes every point in the most complex mystery - truly amazing. :)

read the world of warcraft strat guide !..wait, no thats what i want to read nm...

Caesar. It's not amazing literature. It's simply a glimpse into the mind of one the most powerful men to ever walk the planet.

Wow, that is a brilliant collection of literature. I wouldn't know where to start either, though, considering this forum, I'd recommend The Prince.

I've read a few of those mentioned, but I'm curious, who gave you all these books? Many of those titles don't really scream 'gift.'

Read Angela's Ashes.

I've read a few of those mentioned, but I'm curious, who gave you all these books? Many of those titles don't really scream 'gift.'

parents. They screamed gift to me... I asked for them. I could delve into the reasons why for each one, if you wanted... hell, my thread, why not.


Homers Iliad and Odyssey: I have a deep appreciation for all works of the Greek mythology.... but I've never read either of these poems... that's a little bit of a gap.

The fall of Carthage (Adrian Goldsworthy) : What I used to have as fascination for Greek history has recently widened to ancient history in general, particularly Carthaginian. I didn't put this up in the list as it is the one I am currently reading, but it took me more than a month to decide. Also, reading about the sheer difference of Rome as a social entity to the rest of the ancient world is quite enlightening, and interesting.

(Thucydides) History of the Peloponnesian war: Once again, it's Greek, and deals with the war of Athens and Sparta. It's also one of the first histories written with the intent of displaying the facts, instead of a homeric tribute to the conflict. Obviously, there are certain liberties taken, particularly with the speeches, but it is believed, on the whole, to be a far more accurate history than any that preceded it

(Caesar) conquest of Gaul: I may have chosen this purely on the basis of the author.... you can't just ignore a book by Caesar. I'm hoping it'll give me an insight as to what the man thought, but the war with the Gallic tribes is interesting on its own.

(Dante) Inferno: This has been a book I've wanted to read for many years now, so I listed it the first chance I got. I enjoy to read this particular style of writing quite a lot, they way it flows.

(Nietzche) Thus Spake Zarathustra: Having recently read two greatly conflicting philosophical works (Plato, The Republic and The book of Lord Shang, primarily wrote by Shang Yang) I wanted to further widen my knowledge on these texts, and Nietzche is a philosopher you simply can't ignore. I had also read the beginnings of Thus Spake Zarathustra, but it was a poor translation, and I wanted to begin again with a superior translation and construct my own opinion, as opposed to merely hearing others on the work.

(Freud) The interpretation of dreams: Another that I want to read purely to increase my knowledge in that area. I'm aware that a lot of what Freud says has come under dispute, and been outright rubbished by modern psychoanalysts, but again, I'd like to form my own opinion, and it's always good to have a knowledge of where a subject began, before you move onto other works on the same topic.

(Machiavelli) The Prince: I'm very very politically inclined, (I have, rather arrogantly called myself the reincarnation of Machiavelli, but only in public, not on the forums) and I wanted to read such a controversial work to see what I could learn from it, both in what I did and didn't agree with.

On war (Carl Von Clausewitz): I seen this referenced a multitude of times in the introduction to The Art of War, and seeing as how they were both along the same lines, decided that I should consider it important to aquire a copy of this piece of writing also.


Military theory, as well as ancient history and politics are the triple interests of my life, and despite the fact that it's looked down on, on the whole, by military historians, I enjoy considering battles and political situations, and proclaiming how it could have worked or failed, and how I'd have done it differently.

See... I got a few books at Christmas... the bad thing was, I couldn't figure out what to read... so I'm at about page 10 for all of them... which is bad. So I figured I'd see what everyone elses opinion was, so that I actually get round to reading them.
Anyways, since I don't have much else to say.... here's tha list. It'll/s also in poll form, if that floats your boat.

Book 1: The Prince, Nicollo Machiavelli
Book 2: The divine comedy, vol 1, Inferno, Dante
Book 3: The Iliad, Homer
Book 4: The Odyssey, Homer
Book 5: The history of the Peloponnesian war, Thucydides
Book 6: The conquest of Gaul, Ceasar
Book 7: On War, Carl Von Clausewitz
Book 8: The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud
Book 9: Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzche

So there you have the list. Damned choice. Sometimes the world would be a better place without it. *shakes fist*

jesus. what enormously heavy reading. no wonder you gave up at page 10. I recommend reading DBC Pierre's Vernon God Little. It's a good story.

no, don't read Angela's Ashes! god , no it'd corrupt ya... :headbang: go for the Caesar, i'd definately be my choice, we studied how he invaded gaul in one of my first year college classes, and it was trés cool...

Wow. You got some fucking wicked books. All I got was "the worst jobs in history" by Tony Robinson. It's ok, but...neh.

Illiad first, then Odyssey.
Definately.

If you haven't read any of the stuff on that list, The Iliad is the starting point. I guarantee you'll like it better than Interp. of Dreams.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with anything Freud wrote!

Any of the classics are good, I enjoyed Homer a lot! :)