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authorbnewbold <bnewbold@robocracy.org>2017-06-25 19:02:45 -0400
committerbnewbold <bnewbold@robocracy.org>2017-06-25 19:02:45 -0400
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-Vineland, Thomas Pynchon
+Vineland, by Thomas Pynchon
+-----------------------------
Assembling California, by John McPhee (1993)
+----------------------------------------------
+
+Part of a series on geology of the USA, covering the California section, as
+well as some history of plate tectonics in the 20th century.
+
+Good intro to the history and current geography of California on human
+timescales as well: the 1989 earthquake, gold mining in the Sierras, Napa
+valley wine country, the story of the Davis campus, etc.
+
+The last chapter, about earthquakes in the SF bay area, was as powerful as the
+July 2015 New Yorker article ("The Really Big One") about tsunamis in the
+Pacific Northwest.
+
+The Hall of the Singing Caryatids, by Victor Pelevin (2011)
+------------------------------------------------------------
+
+I think it's decent? Mako totally spoilered this entire (very short book) ahead
+of time.
+
+Making of the Atomic Bomb, by Richard Rhodes
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Dark Sun, by Richard Rhodes
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Curve of Binding Energy, by John McPhee
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Read this as a compliment to *Making of the Atmoic Bomb*, partially because I
+had described *Making* to a friend as being "well written as McPhee" and wanted
+to cross check. McPhee is more polished and doesn't drop the beat as much,
+while Rhodes is a much longer and deeper ride. This particular book seems to
+have had a huge impact when it was published, but as a victim of that success
+it's a little dated now for a general reader. I enjoyed reading it as a
+complement and second source for Rhodes (though they do end up
+cross-referencing each other), but wouldn't recommend it to others today.
+
+True Believer, by Eric Hoffer
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Empire Star, by Samuel Delany (1966)
+--------------------------------------
+
+Babel-17, by Samuel Delany (1966)
+--------------------------------------
+
+Nova, by Samuel Delany (1968)
+--------------------------------------
+
+Several people recommended Sam Delany to me in the course of a couple weeks,
+and I couldn't be happier that they did! All of his books have been great, but
+I particularly enjoyed the (short) *Empire Star* as a crisp self-contained
+nugget.
+
+Walkaway, by Cory Doctorow (2017)
+--------------------------------------------------------
- Part of a series on geology of the USA, covering the California section, as
- well as some history of plate tectonics in the 20th century.
- Good intro to the history and current geography of California on human
- timescales as well: the 1989 earthquake, gold mining in the Sierras, Napa
- valley wine country, the story of the Davis campus, etc.
- The last chapter, about earthquakes in the SF bay area, was as powerful as
- the July 2015 New Yorker article ("The Really Big One") about tsunamis in
- the Pacific Northwest.
-
-Not cover to cover:
-* Engineering a Safer World