reference books, travel guides etc?

[SleepyWitch]

Hi all,
these days I don't feel like reading literature at all. Maybe it's because I've just graduated and had to read a handful of classics for my final exams...
So I'm reading a reference book now (The Beginnings of Rome by T.J. Cornell (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beginnings-753-264-Routledge-History-Ancient/dp/0415015960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230901046&sr=8-1), 1995, Routledge). I'm also reading a self-help guide called Nice Girls don't get the Corner Office (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nice-Girls-Dont-Corner-Office/dp/0446695777/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230901083&sr=1-1) by Lois P. Frank).
I've got two more Roman history books from the same series and they will keep me busy for a while. But I'm looking for more recommendations. Do you know any good reference books?
e.g. about
* history
* politics, economy
* nature (e.g. volcanoes, deep sea, animal behaviour..)
* environment, sustainability, "third" world/ developing areas
* discoverers and explorers
* astronomy
* science
* culture(s)
* youth cultures; popular culture
* religion
* children's reference books
* travel guides (doesn't matter what country)
* country profiles
* humour like Bill Bryson etc.
* illustrated volumes with lots of nice pictures

I don't really like
* arts, artists, musicians
* biography


~~ thanks~~~~

[Emil Miller]

Hi all,
these days I don't feel like reading literature at all. Maybe it's because I've just graduated and had to read a handful of classics for my final exams...
So I'm reading a reference book now (The Beginnings of Rome by T.J. Cornell (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beginnings-753-264-Routledge-History-Ancient/dp/0415015960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230901046&sr=8-1), 1995, Routledge). I'm also reading a self-help guide called Nice Girls don't get the Corner Office (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nice-Girls-Dont-Corner-Office/dp/0446695777/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230901083&sr=1-1) by Lois P. Frank).
I've got two more Roman history books from the same series and they will keep me busy for a while. But I'm looking for more recommendations. Do you know any good reference books?
e.g. about
* history
* politics, economy
* nature (e.g. volcanoes, deep sea, animal behaviour..)
* environment, sustainability, "third" world/ developing areas
* discoverers and explorers
* astronomy
* science
* culture(s)
* youth cultures; popular culture
* religion
* children's reference books
* travel guides (doesn't matter what country)
* country profiles
* humour like Bill Bryson etc.
* illustrated volumes with lots of nice pictures

I don't really like
* arts, artists, musicians
* biography


~~ thanks~~~~

If you were to read my novel Pro Bono Publico, you would find that it contains history, politics, law, economics, and popular culture all in one book.
You would also be aware of why the UK is where it is now.

[Tallon]

Bill Bryson's A Short History Of Nearly Everything
John Gribbin's Science: a History
Are two good general science books.

[JBI]

Any interest in Canadian history? History is a very wide topic.

[SleepyWitch]

Any interest in Canadian history? History is a very wide topic.
not really, but maybe that's just because it's hardly taught over here. shame one me (and my teachers), I studied English, which includes "area studies" (i.e. bits of the history, economy, culture etc. of English speaking countries), but our teachers would invariably skip Canada, Australia and NZ and do only the UK and US :( So, I guess I ought to be interested in Canadian history.

[bluevictim]

I can definitely identify with the desire to read different kinds of books. Here are a few that come to mind that I thought were interesting, all written for general readers:

The Fabric of the Cosmos, by Brian Greene (*science, astronomy)
This book is about current theories in physics about the nature of space and time for a non-technical reader. Greene describes some basic features of relativity, quantum physics, and string theory and puts them in the context of how they developed historically. I think it does a good job of putting together a compelling framework to maintain the interest of non-physicists, and I think it does a good job of explaining technical concepts at a level that a general reader can appreciate, but I guess I would be what the author calls a "mathematically inclined" reader and I do have some background in physics, so I'm curious what a real general reader would think.

Godel's Proof, by Ernest Nagel, James R. Newman, Douglas R. Hofstadter (*science -- actually mathematics, err, actually, logic)
It has been a long time since I've read this book about Godel's incompleteness theorem, but I think it's a nice book about formal logic for non-technical readers. Godel's incompleteness theorem is one of the most important developments in formal logic in the twentieth century. At a time of optimism in the power of formal logic and mathematics, Godel proved that first order logic, the fundamental underpinning of mathematics, is "incomplete" (see below). This book describes his famous theorem and uses it as a framework for describing some concepts from formal logic which makes it much more interesting than an introductory book on logic. However, it doesn't describe the wide ranging implications of Godel's result, so it might be a bore if you have no interest in logic.

Words of Power: A Feminist Reading of the History of Logic, by Andrea Nye (*history, science -- actually philosophy, err, actually logic)
Andrea Nye gives an idiosyncratic view of the role of logic throughout history. She argues that it has been from its inception a tool for exercising power, in particular of men over women. I thought this might make an interesting read if you happen to be interested in formal logic.

Annapurna, by Maurice Herzog (*discoverers and explorers, nature)
Herzog's account of the first ascent of a mountain higher than 8000 meters. An expedition of French mountaineers explores and climbs Annapurna, becoming the first people to ascend a mountain over 8000 meters tall. Naturally, they have to deal with perilous things like altitude sickness, avalanches, and impossible terrain. The account is from the perspective of the leader of the expedition, so it is not objective (some nowadays would say it is highly distorted). I found this book quite riveting. It has been the inspiration of a countless number of young mountaineers.

The Greeks and the Irrational, by E.R. Dodds (*history, culture, religion)
I found this to be a very interesting look at the "primitive" side of the ancient Greeks -- the aspects of ancient Greek culture and religion that get minimized when we think of them as the originators of history, science, and logic. It was written in the 50s, so some of it is outdated now, but it was never meant to be a comprehensive or authoritative treatment of Greek religion anyways.

Happy reading!

[SleepyWitch]

thanks, guys.
blue, the ones about string theory and formally logic sound interesting. thanks :) I've never had to learn about formal logic, but I think some weird linguistics theories are based on it, so they might help me understand linguistics better :)

[Tallon]

The Unfolding Of Language by Guy Deutscher is a really accessable book on linguistics that i'm reading at the moment, it is actually quite funny too. I would have suggested it earlier but i've not finished it yet.

[bluevictim]

Godel's Proof, by Ernest Nagel, James R. Newman, Douglas R. Hofstadter (*science -- actually mathematics, err, actually, logic)
...
At a time of optimism in the power of formal logic and mathematics, Godel proved that first order logic, the fundamental underpinning of mathematics, is "incomplete".
...Ah, the joys of late night posting! Godel did not prove that first order logic is incomplete (in fact, he proved first order logic is complete, but that is not the topic of the book). He proved that any axiomatic system (in first order logic) powerful enough to describe arithmetic is incomplete. I wonder if anyone caught my error? :)

[Schokokeks]

Do you know any good reference books?


Why, sure! :nod:

* The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn, a classic in the history of science. Tries to uncover the pattern according to which science progresses, very interesting because it mentions some groundbreaking discoveries one tends to forget about.

* Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, edited by Bengt Ankarloo. A great series on the history of witchcraft and magic in European countries (exact title: "The Athlone history of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe"). Each volume examines a period, from Antiquity to even the 20th century. I read the first volume while researching for an essay, and found it so fascinating that I read all the other volumes to follow the history of witchcraft through the ages. The interesting thing about the series is that the essays don't only give general theses on witchcraft and magic, but also present a lot of actual cases and concret circumstances. The most interesting volume was certainly the one about the 20th century ;).

* The Search for the Perfect Language by Umberto Eco. A journey through all the ideas that have been put forward to answer the question of the "original" language of mankind, including all the attempts to prove that one language is indefinetely superior to another one, and all the (crazy and not-so-crazy) attempts to create a "better" language than the ones already existing. Eco dug up some very curious arguments and artificial languages less well known in the European history of ideas from Antiquity to modern days. Very interesting, if it's not too much "Linguistics" for you right now ;).

* And a rather general suggestion:
Oxford University Press has a series called Very Short Introduction to ... (http://www.oup.co.uk/general/vsi/), which includes about 200 titles from Anarchism, Kabbalah and HIV/AIDSto The World Trade Organisation. Nice to just read into a new subject/topic about which one doesn't know anything, without having to read through too much detail... They always give suggestions for further reading into the topic, in case the intro got you hooked ;).

And I would second this one already mentioned:

The Greeks and the Irrational, by E.R. Dodds (*history, culture, religion)
I found this to be a very interesting look at the "primitive" side of the ancient Greeks -- the aspects of ancient Greek culture and religion that get minimized when we think of them as the originators of history, science, and logic. It was written in the 50s, so some of it is outdated now, but it was never meant to be a comprehensive or authoritative treatment of Greek religion anyways.

Very interesting and readable :nod:.

And in case you're looking for more books on the Greek/Roman/Near East Ancient World, you know where to find Germany's friendliest Classics student! ;)

[SleepyWitch]

hey, Schoki, thanks :) The one about witchcraft and the Linguistics one sound sound really cool.
yep, I know the Very Short Introduction series. I've even got two volumes (Globalization; Poststructuralism) apart from Shakespeare and Literatry Theory. I've been meaning to read them forever. Thanks for reminding me. It's probably a good idea to by more volumes about different areas, as well.

[abyssinian]

I found some really good travel related reading recommendations at this site:
www.treklit.com

[Hell girl]

I love the history and life on the books for a class.

[Amylian]

Previously, I have read an excellent book about an archeolegist and in fact it was lent to me by my Prof. It is called 'Looking for Dilmun' by Bibby. It is a good read, try it out.

[kasie]

If you would like an easy, informative read, you might enjoy Colour - Travels through the Paintbox by Victoria Finlay. It has all sorts of interesting snippets of information (though it is not as scholarly as it likes to think it is) and is the sort of book that is better read as a chapter now and then rather than in one sitting. Finlay has also written a book on Jewels in the same vein.

You may find Martin Meredith's The State of Africa interesting as background to the news stories that emerge from that part of the world.

A particular corner of history is covered by Jenny Uglow in The Lunar Men, the story of a group of amateur 'scientists' (who met on the first Monday in the month following the full moon so they would have light by which to ride home after their meetings, hence the name) - they were interested in how new discoveries could be applied to their particular spheres of interests, especially manufacturing and as such could be called the fathers of modern technology The name I suppose everyone would know would be Josiah Wedgwood, the potter.

Anna Pavord's The Tulip is a fascinating account of the power of plants.

I found A C Grayling's The Meaning of Things another book to be read in small sections and mulled over in time a rewarding book.

I was going to suggest This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin but then I saw you don't care for musicians so maybe the detailed analysis of how we comprehend music, quite a difficult read, would not be for you.

[Virgil]

Hi all,
these days I don't feel like reading literature at all. Maybe it's because I've just graduated and had to read a handful of classics for my final exams...
So I'm reading a reference book now

Let me know how the early Roman history book is. I love Roman history.

If you wish to combine history, economics, philosophy, and cultural development, I recommend The Mind and the Market by Jerry Z. Muller: http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Market-Capitalism-European-Thought/dp/0375414118.

[SleepyWitch]

Let me know how the early Roman history book is. I love Roman history.

If you wish to combine history, economics, philosophy, and cultural development, I recommend The Mind and the Market by Jerry Z. Muller: http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Market-Capitalism-European-Thought/dp/0375414118.

hey Virge, thanks :)
the Roman history book is quite nice. It's very academic and thorough. Not a picture book for kids :) So you might like it, seeing as you've already got some background knowledge :)