Cover to Cover: Guns, Germs, and Steel
Hopefully by now you have come across the right column of Slant Rhyme and noticed "Cover to Cover in 2006." It is there that I will list the books that I've read this year. As you can see, I've been a bit of a bookworm in these, the first two months of the year (gives you a glimpse of my social life I guess).I intend on creating a post for each book when I finish it. The post will take form depending on the book and my reaction to it.
I must say that this is not the best book to start my Cover to Cover segment of Slant Rhyme. I'm tempted to wait until I finish the other book I'm reading in a few days and write about that one first. But I'm a stickler for the truth.
I won't write a review of the book. I was challenged by this book because I am used to reading fiction (or at least the non-fiction I read is politically based).
I am one for the details. The big picture means nothing to me if I don't experience the smaller aspects that make the big picture real (see: william carlos williams). I think that is one of the elements of this book that I really was impressed with. Jared Diamond really brings you to these finite details and influences: Almonds; Domestication; Hunting and Gathering; Crop production (naming a very select few).
I think this will be a book that I reference back to when I read or experience other things. Already, this has happened with the other book I am reading (Botany of Desire).
There is a National Geographic documentary based on this book. I am looking forward to seeing it.
Listening to: Format
Reading: Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
Reading: The Trouble with Poetry, and Other Poems by Billy Collins
posted by Steve-O @ 11:12 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Do you ever find Collins too clever, too simple for this own good and the good of poetry-kind?
It was the first poetry book that I ever read cover to cover and really enjoyed it at the time but now I have mixed feelings.
LGT, Please save your Billy Collins comments for the appropriate post.
No, i don't think he is too clever or too simple. I actaully am looking forward to finishing the book (this will also be my first poetry book that i'll read cover to cover) so i can write a post on it. Until then...
Hey, glad you gave that book a try. I think you'll really enjoy the National Geographic documentary. I saw that before I read Diamond's book. The writing style in GG&S is a little difficult to get through at times but Diamond's concepts are brilliant, in my opinion. The assertion that geography as a determinant answers a lot of interesting problems and effectively demolishes any sort of racist interpretation of the history akin to Eurocentrism. If you want to give Diamond another try, I would recommend Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. It is written better, but the concepts are slightly less impressive. That said, the notion of ecological destruction is certainly relevant to our modern circumstances. Good luck with the rest of your reading. 4-man.
I shall post where ever I choose to grace your blog with my presence! I will not be censored!
The Format will grow on me I think.
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