What BOOK are you reading right now?

i have about 30 of the GILES ANNUALS (GILES was probably the most famous cartoonist in great britain - he passed away in 1995) .
christmas wasn't christmas without the GILES ANNUAL .
giles was a superb commentator on the daily life of all britons - from nurses and royalty to streetsweepers .
my brother and i would sit there all christmas eve and just laugh our heads off at his wonderful cartoons .
the annuals had been sitting in the rec-room for some time and i was ready to tosss them , but mrs h suggested i keep them .
the last several days i've brought sone of them up to re-read "the history of britain" - and what fun it is to see what the british wrestled with 30 and 40 years ago - strikes , power shortage , water shortage , flooding ... and in a way not much has changed - really quite astonishing !
THANK YOU , GILES , FOR MAKING ME LAUGH - AGAIN !
hbg

GRANDMA - THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE GILES FAMILY OF CHARACTERS




CHALKIE - JUNIOR'S HEADMASTER



i hope you'll visit with GILES and have a laugh !

"Dialogues of the Dead", I think it is actually. I've left it upstairs.

Hello!

We used to enjoy seeing the Giles cartoon every week in the Sunday Express when I was a boy.

The Secret History of the American Empire
I've ordered this book after watching the presentation on C-SPAN by author John Perkins. ---BBB

The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth about Global Corruption
by John Perkins

Editorial Reviews - From Publishers Weekly:

Having made a splash with Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, Perkins offers similarly entertaining but disturbing accounts of the American government wreaking havoc around the world in support of American business. In Perkins's view, American presidents willingly comply with their CEO masters, distributing foreign aid to corrupt Third World leaders who keep a share and return the rest to U.S. business for major projects, leaving their nations poor and massively in debt, and requiring more loans and slavish obedience to U.S. policy. If any leader objects, the CIA destabilizes his government, by assassination if necessary. Gathering evidence is not Perkins's strong suit. Typically, a shadowy figure pulls him aside, insists on anonymity, then reveals all. Critics will rightfully accuse Perkins of dreadful journalism and a taste for conspiracy theories. Yet economists admit that loans and "expert advice" to poor nations are often harmful. Few deny that America has ruthlessly undermined uncooperative governments and supported dictators including Saddam Hussein. Perkins's assertions that the U.S. assassinated Ecuador's reformist president and connived at genocide in Timor and Sudan are not absurd, merely unproven. This book's greatest value may be to encourage a competent journalist to cover the same ground. (June 5)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States
A sweeping, bold assault on the tyranny of corporate globalization, full of drama and adventure, with devastating stories of greed run wild. But Perkins is undaunted, and offers imaginative ideas for a different world.

Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and The Blade and The Real Wealth of Nations

John Perkins' new book is both an eye-opening expose of global corruption and a fascinating story of adventure and intrigue. This devastating indictment of current economic policies also offers hope by showing the power of the growing movement toward a caring economics worldwide.

Book Description:

A riveting exposé of international corruption?-and what we can do about it, from the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list.

In his stunning memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins detailed his former role as an "economic hit man" in the international corporate skullduggery of a de facto American Empire. This riveting, behind-the-scenes exposé unfolded like a cinematic blockbuster told through the eyes of a man who once helped shape that empire. Now, in The Secret History of the American Empire, Perkins zeroes in on hot spots around the world and, drawing on interviews with other hit men, jackals, reporters, and activists, examines the current geopolitical crisis. Instability is the norm: It's clear that the world we've created is dangerous and no longer sustainable. How did we get here? Who's responsible? What good have we done and at what cost? And what can we do to change things for the next generations? Addressing these questions and more, Perkins reveals the secret history behind the events that have created the American Empire, including:

• The current Latin-American revolution and its lessons for democracy
• How the "defeats" in Vietnam and Iraq benefited big business
• The role of Israel as "Fortress America" in the Middle East
• Tragic repercussions of the IMF's "Asian Economic Collapse"
• U.S. blunders in Tibet, Congo, Lebanon, and Venezuela
• Jackal (CIA operatives) forays to assassinate democratic presidents

From the U.S. military in Iraq to infrastructure development in Indonesia, from Peace Corps volunteers in Africa to jackals in Venezuela, Perkins exposes a conspiracy of corruption that has fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe. Alarming yet hopeful, this book provides a compassionate plan to reimagine our world.

About the Author:

John Perkins is the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, a startling exposé of international corruption that spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list. He is a founder and chairman of Dream Change, a nonprofit organization devoted to raising consciousness and creating a stable, sustainable, and peaceful world for future generations. Perkins has lectured and taught at universities on four continents including Wharton, Princeton, and Harvard, and is a champion for environmental and social causes.

I'm hoping to be reading 'Klan-destine Relationships' soon. If the damn thing ever arrives.

Haven't been here in six weeks.

Helen of Troy by Bettany Hughes. Fascinating and much better than her PBS show on the same.

POM- I was just going to go on that missing a2k thread and ask about you. I remember your last posts were on that thread where you were a little depressed about turning sixty, and I was worried about you. I'm glad you're alright.

I'm reading a short story collection Telling Tales- it's an anthology, the proceeds of which go to AIDS research and treatment. Their are stories by Arthur Miller, Salmon Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, etc.- and the stories themselves have little or nothing to do about AIDS. It's a pretty good and eclectic collection.

I just started "MayFlower" and am trying to read a few pages each day.

I am trying to sneak in Orpheus Lost before starting the final project for my current course. It's fabulous so far!

MsO, all those Cambridge locations are for real. The only one I haven't been to is the Marakesh Cafe. Maybe the author renamed a different middle eastern cafe....? Even the Mosque is right there where she says it is!

Oh I'm pleased you like it, k. Like I said, I wasn't too confident about your taste in novels, but I absolutely loved it!

You know, the Boston location didn't register with me (in terms of you) till I'd actually sent the book. Then I thought: Boston & Oz (Daintree forest). Perfect!

Maybe she invented the Marakesh Cafe? Rather than create a stigma or controversy about an existing place?

What do you think of Cobb Slaughter, k? (Great name, hey?) What a sinister character!

My landlady (I told her of the book) and I were concerned about the Mosque on Prospect Street more than any restaurant.

Cobb is creepy. That whole switch flow thing (brrr).

I <gasped> when hamburger told me he'd nearly thrown out the wonderful collection of Giles annuals. I usually pull one or two out to browse through when I visit the hamburgers.

They're great reads/re-reads - and there are also wonderful memories of hamburger and his brother laughing and laughing and laughing on Christmas Eve.

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani. It is filling in the mysteries of the movie for me, while being fascinating in itself.

There was a cartoon in the papers yesterday which seemed to me to exactly copy the Giles style.

Now, I wonder if I can link to it.....?


"Gentlemen. Her Majesty doesn't want to be disturbed right now......but there is a message."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/news/maccartoon.html?in_page_id=1831&in_date=270607

I just started "A Moveable Feast" by Hemingway, after finishing "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. I loved Catch-22, and I am already getting a warm fuzzy feeling from the first several pages of A Moveable Feast.

Lucky me.

Finished Orpheus just now. Wow. (Screech says: nmjjjjjjjjjjjm nnnnn)

Next up are two pratchett novels: Soul Music and The Thief of Time

I just finished Duane's Depressed by Larry McMurtry.

When I started laughing on the first page, I knew this was going to be one of the McMurtry's that would make me happy. The last two chapters ... nnnh <shrug> ... but the rest of the book - loved it!

Yes? Really? Why?

Jeez, who knows with that cat!

I am having a slight disturbance in my ability to tell fact from fiction. That book was so realistic that I keep having to separate, in my head, the book details from real life details.

I looked up Marrakesh Cafe. There wasn't a MC in Cambridge. There is an Cafe Algiers, but it's in the wrong location and doesn't have belly dancing. The Middle East Club fits the bill. After 9/11 there was a significant police presence parked in front of that club. Maybe the author couldn't put their name in legally. Maybe she just made up the cafe as pure piece of fiction (but given her eye for detail, I doubt it).