100th post! - another list

Last 10 Non-fiction books I have read. Note that the most recent book argues that there is no such thing as a non-fiction book as all things require a subjective observer in order to exist.
1) Global Brain by Howard Bloom. Describes the evolution of organized thought from microbes to the current mess we are in.
2) Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos by Ian Stewart. A lot of confusing numbers but still a great introduction into mathematical chaos and why everything you learned in school is wrong.
3) Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. Starting 40,000 years ago things have just fallen apart...mainly thanks to Guns, Germs and Steel. Those conquistadors were even bigger assholes than you suspected.
4) A Short History of Everything by Bill Bryson. Starting with the latest string theories of creation and building up to evolutionary biology in a easy to read and often funny book. Gives credit to many great inventors, kooks, and explorers who never got any.
5) A Short History of the World by H.G. Wells. Written in 1941, with an after-word written in 1944, Wells describes our history from microbes to Nazis. Things looked pretty grim for the Brits. This should be a standard text for history as it is well written and displays a fair balance of world cultures. A noticeable anti-religious theme runs throughout. Money quote: “It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that at present mankind as a species is demented and that nothing is so urgent upon us as the recovery of mental self-control. We call an individual insane if his ruling ideas are so much out of adjustment to his circumstances that he is a danger to himself or others. This definition of insanity seems to cover the entire human species at the present time...”
6) Sideshow by William Shawcross. Describes in detail the giant shit that Kissinger and Nixon dumped on Cambodia. Great for swatting Republican mosquitoes.
7) The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Volume 2, abridged) by Gibbon. Déjà Vu all over again?
8) The Histories by Herodotus. Great historian, often describes events with the caveat, “ ...but I doubt this could have happened.”
9) Before Kampuchea by Milton Osborne. Cambodia was once the wealthiest country in South East Asia. Osborne describes Cambodia before Pol Pot but cannot hide his contempt for Sihanouk and a general right wing imbalance spoils the usefulness of this book.
10) Why Do Men Have Nipples? by Mark Lerner and Billy Goldberg. Why indeed.

Jasmine and Bokor

Jasmine and Bokor
Originally uploaded by ubikwity

Gulf of Thailand

DSC00029.JPG
Originally uploaded by ubikwity

We took a boat out to the sea and stopped for a picnic on this sandspit.

Lists!

I can't seem to keep my blog updated so I'm going to make lists. I'll start with a list of the last ten fiction books I've read (most recent first).
1) Prelude to foundation by Isaak Asimov, would've been a good short story as contained only one good idea.
2) Highways To A War by Christopher J Koch, good fictional account of a war photographer's love of Vietnam and Cambodia. Weak ending.
3) KPAX 2 by Gene Brewer, I hadn't read the first one but I saw the movie starring Kevin Spacey. I like the writing style, simple and breezy, but over-all it seemed a bit meandering, and it leaves the major mysteries unsolved, saving them for K-PAX 3, I suppose.
4) Villa Incognito by Tom Robbins, great book with the added bonus of taking place mostly in Laos.
5) Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami, just my favorite contemporary writer.
6) The Sirens Of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, A great American Hero.
7) Hard Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World by Haruki Murakami, this book should be the basis for a new religion.
8) Kafka On The Beach by Haruki Murakami
9) South of The Border, West Of The Sun by Haruki Murakami
10) The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, this was the book that got me hooked

Kampot River

Kampot River
Originally uploaded by ubikwity