A good book you've read recently?

[Lilly Marlene]

I agree with a lot of what you said, Lily -- I'm a traditional Republican in the sense that I would support a small protective tariff to protect American interests, harkening back to the days of Henry Clay.

I had to look that up just now !

You probably knew this already, but the article mentioned that Clay wanted to put some of the tariff revenue to another use ...

From http://www.tax.org/Museum/1816-1860.htm:

"Kentucky’s Henry Clay, one of the congressional champions of the tariff, actually proposed that some of the revenue collected be used to fund state colonization societies dedicated to relocating African Americans overseas. By diffusing the American black population abroad, such organizations effectively sought to phase out slavery in the United States. In this context, Calhoun and his supporters targeted the tariff issue to test the limits of federal power, since the south had continually lost tariff-related battles."

I really had failed to appreciate how large a part tariffs played in the secession.

I guess I should start a new thread soon about tariffs, free trade, and so forth, since this thread is about books.

 

[Friendindeed]

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson

 

[USMC the Almighty]

I had to look that up just now !

You probably knew this already, but the article mentioned that Clay wanted to put some of the tariff revenue to another use ...

From http://www.tax.org/Museum/1816-1860.htm:

"Kentucky’s Henry Clay, one of the congressional champions of the tariff, actually proposed that some of the revenue collected be used to fund state colonization societies dedicated to relocating African Americans overseas. By diffusing the American black population abroad, such organizations effectively sought to phase out slavery in the United States. In this context, Calhoun and his supporters targeted the tariff issue to test the limits of federal power, since the south had continually lost tariff-related battles."

I really had failed to appreciate how large a part tariffs played in the secession.

I guess I should start a new thread soon about tariffs, free trade, and so forth, since this thread is about books.

Yeah. A lot of Southerners maintained (and still claim) that if it weren't for protective tariffs, they wouldn't have kept slavery around -- basically blaming the Civil War on the North. Whether or not you agree, it's an interesting premise that most people are unaware of.

 

[TVoffBrainOn]

What's the book about?

secret society involvement throughout history. i.e. Freemasonry, the trilatral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, etc.

(cue USMC tin foil response)

 

[USMC the Almighty]

secret society involvement throughout history. i.e. Freemasonry, the trilatral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, etc.

(cue USMC tin foil response)

Were you born with a tin foil hat or did you work to acquire it over time?

 

[TVoffBrainOn]

Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne

Kip Thorne is one of the most renowned american theoretical physicist's of our time. He's a longtime friend and colleague of Stephen Hawking, who's book A Brief History of Time is worth reading as well.

 

[southside]

yeah, that is a good book

 

[HighVoltage123]

"Lord of the Flies", By William Golding

 

[RadicalActor]

Lord of the flies was a pretty good book.

It was a bit creepy though.

 

[TVoffBrainOn]

Steven King's "Dark Tower" series

I'm reading book 3, "the Wastelands" right now.

 

[Dave]

I just finished "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond. Now I'm starting on his follow up book, "Collapse."

 

[Grounded]

What's "Guns, Germs, and Steel" about?

 

[Dave]

It pretty much gives descriptions of why certain civilizations have thrived, while others have really struggled to get off the ground. For instance, Europeans endured many plagues and built up very strong immune systems, so when they began expanding into Africa and the Americas, they brought diseases with them that the native people were not immune too, and these diseases ravaged them the same way they ravaged Europe when they were first introduced. Diamond ends up making the claim that guns, germs, and steel are the 3 main things that have given certain civilizations an advantage over others.

 

[HighVoltage123]

Lord of the Flies, By William Golding

 

[RadicalActor]

You said that before...