What book(s) are you currently reading?
- Thread starter john4psu
- Start date
So, after reading this thread, I’ve come to the conclusion that @Tom McAndrew ‘s avatar picture is actually him.
Just finished “The Long Goodbye” by Raymond Chandler. I read a mix of fiction and non-fiction books. My mood dictates which I gravitate to when I start a new book, and then which genre within fiction and non-fiction.
I recommend “Factory Man” by Beth Macy. The subtitle, “How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town” is a bit misleading. He didn’t completely avoid offshoring, and most of the town was decimated anyway. He may have just kept it from getting completely wiped out. But the title probably helped sell more books.
A lot of topics touched on could be books on their own. But it gives a brief overview of furniture making in North Carolina from the point of view of the Bassett’s, some history of the various Bassett family companies and the people who ran them (I never realized there were multiple Bassett companies), and an inside look at how and why offshoring began, and it’s affect on the people and towns where the factories were located. It also touches upon the the personalities and family drama/scandals of certain family members, with a focus on the man the title refers to.
The irony of it all, is the people condemning offshoring, owe their jobs, and in some cases, fortunes, to people who used the same tactics to set up furniture making in North Carolina. It went from Europe, to New England, to Michigan, to North Carolina, to Asia. Factories were opened in areas to exploit cheap labor (including paying African Americans much less than white workers), designs were ripped off, production techniques and factory layouts were stolen, key employees hired away. All things we are currently fighting China and other Asian countries about. The Bassetts admit to this part of their history, and yet seemingly fail to see how what they did to northern factories is no different than what Asia is doing to them. Even the author seems to not see the irony, although that could be more a function of not wanting to write it given the amount of access she was given when researching the book (it was extensive). The only difference is with offshoring, companies like Bassett still are making money. They put northern furniture companies out of business when they ascended. But then many companies that are considered icons of American business got their start through less than honest and fair means.
When a business closes a factory, and opens a new one in a state with cheaper labor and taxes, he’s a smart businessman, keeping costs low for consumers and enhancing shareholder value. When he does the exact same thing by moving his factory out of the country, suddenly he’s a greedy, heartless businessman. Funny how that works.
If you want a better understanding of the offshoring that started back in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, but within the scope of just one industry, it’s a good primer. It also mixes in a lot of personalities and stories, so that it’s not a dry, academic business book.
Just finished “The Long Goodbye” by Raymond Chandler. I read a mix of fiction and non-fiction books. My mood dictates which I gravitate to when I start a new book, and then which genre within fiction and non-fiction.
I recommend “Factory Man” by Beth Macy. The subtitle, “How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town” is a bit misleading. He didn’t completely avoid offshoring, and most of the town was decimated anyway. He may have just kept it from getting completely wiped out. But the title probably helped sell more books.
A lot of topics touched on could be books on their own. But it gives a brief overview of furniture making in North Carolina from the point of view of the Bassett’s, some history of the various Bassett family companies and the people who ran them (I never realized there were multiple Bassett companies), and an inside look at how and why offshoring began, and it’s affect on the people and towns where the factories were located. It also touches upon the the personalities and family drama/scandals of certain family members, with a focus on the man the title refers to.
The irony of it all, is the people condemning offshoring, owe their jobs, and in some cases, fortunes, to people who used the same tactics to set up furniture making in North Carolina. It went from Europe, to New England, to Michigan, to North Carolina, to Asia. Factories were opened in areas to exploit cheap labor (including paying African Americans much less than white workers), designs were ripped off, production techniques and factory layouts were stolen, key employees hired away. All things we are currently fighting China and other Asian countries about. The Bassetts admit to this part of their history, and yet seemingly fail to see how what they did to northern factories is no different than what Asia is doing to them. Even the author seems to not see the irony, although that could be more a function of not wanting to write it given the amount of access she was given when researching the book (it was extensive). The only difference is with offshoring, companies like Bassett still are making money. They put northern furniture companies out of business when they ascended. But then many companies that are considered icons of American business got their start through less than honest and fair means.
When a business closes a factory, and opens a new one in a state with cheaper labor and taxes, he’s a smart businessman, keeping costs low for consumers and enhancing shareholder value. When he does the exact same thing by moving his factory out of the country, suddenly he’s a greedy, heartless businessman. Funny how that works.
If you want a better understanding of the offshoring that started back in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, but within the scope of just one industry, it’s a good primer. It also mixes in a lot of personalities and stories, so that it’s not a dry, academic business book.
Is anyone reading the new 9/11 book “Fall and Rise”? Getting ready to start it and have read fantastic reviews.
Educated by Tara Westover. It’s a story of a young girl raised by Mormons who prohibit her from attending school. In fact, she isn’t really homeschooled. Her father requires her to work in his scrapyard as a child. She eventually decides to study on her own, gets accepted into BYU, and goes on to study at Cambridge University.
I heard her interviewed a couple of times after the book was released. A pretty amazing story.
Just went to a book signing/discussion with Craig Ferguson...very funny and engaging in person. I got a copy of his new book, Riding The Elephant. Will start reading it this weekend.
It is an amazing story. Her father prohibits the family from seeking medical care outside of the home, saying that God will care for them. Anytime she attempts to wear “normal” clothes, he says she looks like a whore. When she finally encounters “civilization” outside of rural Idaho where they live, she doesn’t know how to act among her peers. She takes a history course but has never heard of the holocaust. Somehow some of her professors recognize her intellect and give her opportunities to go on to advanced study against all odds and she succeeds.
Just finished "The Traitor and the Spy". Really really good. Detailed story of the KGB station Chief in London who spied for MI-6 for nearly 20 years and was most likely responsible for stopping nuclear war in fall of 1983.
My wife has a somewhat concerning crush on that guy. LOL. She loves an accent.
I read that. It was pretty good and I do some of that and I think it helps me. Dan Harris had another book on the same topic after that. Also, Sam Harris (no relation) has a book "Waking Up" that is good.
Re-read an old Yeats favorite last night. The first stanza is a great example of Yeats's unmatched technical virtuosity. HERE is a Wiki page on Constance Markievicz, the subject of the poem.
On a Political Prisoner
BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
She that but little patience knew,
From childhood on, had now so much
A grey gull lost its fear and flew
Down to her cell and there alit,
And there endured her fingers' touch
And from her fingers ate its bit.
Did she in touching that lone wing
Recall the years before her mind
Became a bitter, an abstract thing,
Her thought some popular enmity:
Blind and leader of the blind
Drinking the foul ditch where they lie?
When long ago I saw her ride
Under Ben Bulben to the meet,
The beauty of her country-side
With all youth's lonely wildness stirred,
She seemed to have grown clean and sweet
Like any rock-bred, sea-borne bird:
Sea-borne, or balanced in the air
When first it sprang out of the nest
Upon some lofty rock to stare
Upon the cloudy canopy,
While under its storm-beaten breast
Cried out the hollows of the sea.
Thanks for posting. This causes me to recall my Penn State days and my dislike for Yeats' poetry.
Re-read an old Yeats favorite last night. The first stanza is a great example of Yeats's unmatched technical virtuosity. HERE is a Wiki page on Constance Markievicz, the subject of the poem.
On a Political Prisoner
BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
She that but little patience knew,
From childhood on, had now so much
A grey gull lost its fear and flew
Down to her cell and there alit,
And there endured her fingers' touch
And from her fingers ate its bit.
Did she in touching that lone wing
Recall the years before her mind
Became a bitter, an abstract thing,
Her thought some popular enmity:
Blind and leader of the blind
Drinking the foul ditch where they lie?
When long ago I saw her ride
Under Ben Bulben to the meet,
The beauty of her country-side
With all youth's lonely wildness stirred,
She seemed to have grown clean and sweet
Like any rock-bred, sea-borne bird:
Sea-borne, or balanced in the air
When first it sprang out of the nest
Upon some lofty rock to stare
Upon the cloudy canopy,
While under its storm-beaten breast
Cried out the hollows of the sea.
I read "The Frozen Hours" based on your recommendation. Great read....thanks!
Into The American Woods, by James H. Merrell, won several awards, and a lot of positive press, when it came out in 1999. It's been on my book list since 2000, but I just got around to reading it last week. I should not have waited so long.
Merrell's book is the best book I've ever read on the negotiators on both sides, as well as the negotiations that took place between Pennsylvania and Native American tribes in the period between Pennsylvania's founding and the Declaration of Independence.
William Penn set high standards, as well as ideals, of how he wanted to deal with Native Americans in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, his sons and his grandsons, as well as the administrators appointed by the proprietors, did not share his ideals, or live up to his standards.
To a large degree, it's questionable if the two sides ever could have reached mutually beneficial agreements. Their goals were quite different, and their understandings of what they agreed to were often quite different.
The negotiators were generally agreed upon by both parties, but in most cases the Pennsylvania negotiators, even those that had been raised by Native Americans, weren't exactly fair and forthcoming to both sides.
For those with an interest in how Penn's Woods became the colony that may have had the fewest Native American inhabitants by the time of the American Revolution (something that's suggested, but not definitely established), I highly recommend this book.
I almost quit this book early on (thought it was a little slow going at first), but am glad I stuck with it as I really didn't know that much about PA's early history. Thanks for the recommendation!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It certainly does shine a light on a part of the Commonwealth's history that is rarely discussed.
The Pine Barrens by John Mc Phee
An American Lion by Jon Mercham.
An American Lion by Jon Mercham.
Just finished A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World.
Don't know why I torture myself with books about dogs
Re-reading Martyrdom of Man, and starting The Wager at reichenbach Falls.
Don't know why I torture myself with books about dogs
Re-reading Martyrdom of Man, and starting The Wager at reichenbach Falls.
The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam. The winter of 1950, Korea, Truman, MacArthur and the Chinese. I read this when it was first published but decided to read it again. A great read about the Korean war and the linkage to the later debacle of Vietnam. If you have a lofty view of MacArthur, don't read this book. It is not kind to him. Halberstam is great at writing history and I strongly recommend his power trilogy; The Best and the Brightest (Vietnam decision making), The Reckoning (auto industry vs. Japan) and The Powers that Be (the print media)
There's no way I could get away with posting this during football season so here goes, by WB Yeats, written in the winter of 1916-7, when he was in his early fifties.
The Wild Swans at Coole
BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty swans.
The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.
I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.
Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.
But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake's edge or pool
Delight men's eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?
The Wild Swans at Coole
BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty swans.
The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.
I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.
Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.
But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake's edge or pool
Delight men's eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?
Thank you everyone who recommends books to read on here. I have enjoyed reading them and this thread comes in handy when looking for a new book to read.
My recent reads:
Gridiron Genius by Michael Lombardi
Truth by Michael Palin
Even This I Get to Experience by Norman Lear
My recent reads:
Gridiron Genius by Michael Lombardi
Truth by Michael Palin
Even This I Get to Experience by Norman Lear
Just finished the Paris Architect. I thought it was a really good book about the Nazi occupation of Paris. Really intertwined fiction with facts. You could never tell what was going to happen next.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paris_Architect
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paris_Architect
American Creation by Joseph Ellis. Last weekend, a niece got married and the wedding dinner and party was held at the Museum of the American Revolution at 3rd & Chestnut. So my interest in that period was renewed. Going through the gift shop provided my Christmas gift ideas also, so I hope to read Chernow’s bio of Washington and Atkinson’s Revolutionary war trilogy, Vol 1.
