Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Pythagorean Theorem by Eli Maor. 2007, ISBN 987-0-691-12526-8. Subtitled: A 4000 Year History. Excellent book. I really enjoyed reading this. The subject is handled correctly and the author doesn't shy away from doing real math, ie, providing theorems and their proofs. However, the book is mostly about the history of this idea and how it has come to be used in various areas of mathematics and science. I will be reading his other books soon. Purchased at Powell's books on 7-27-2007, 24.95.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010


Book Of Mark. This is from the same copy of the New Testament as the Book Of Matthew. This was shorter than Matthew, I read a couple of chapters a day. Mark contains the ministry and ascension of Jesus, but not the birth story. The print in this tiny copy of Gideons is very tiny. The version of this text is the New King James Version.

Thursday, December 16, 2010


Gilgamesh, A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell. 2004 Free Press ISBN 0-7432-6164-X. This book is a re-telling of the Gilgamesh story. There is a 60 page introduction where the author discusses what he did and why. The story itself is around 140 page, but it is in verse form and double spaced, so it really isn't that long. There is also an extensive notes section where the author describe in detail the various choices made in writing this version. I found this version to be easy to read. I think Mitchell has retold the story in a way that makes it easier for the modern reader to understand. Purchased at Looking Glass Bookstore, 11-Oct-04, for 24.00.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Buddha, The Enlightened One by Gabriel Mandel Khan. 2004 Thunder Bay Press, ISBN 1-59223-400-3. This book presents a biography of the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama. The text is short, but well written and I think covers the material enough that the reader will gain a good understanding of the Buddha. The book starts with a brief sketch of the Vedic culture that had established itself in India and gave birth to several religions, Hinduism and Jainism, etc. The book describes the life of the Buddha. The last half of the book is about Buddhism and how it spread across Asia. The book contains many color photos of Buddhist art.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Earth (The Book) by the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 2010, ISBN 978-0-446-57922-3. Subtitled: A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race. The is supposed to be a guide to be used by future aliens who come to earth sometime after the human race has ceased to be. This book explains to these aliens who humans were and what we did, etc. A silly book, but has some good jokes. Purchased on 10-13-2010 at Fred Meyers for 20.99. You can probably get it cheaper if you shop around.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The Survivor and Others by H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth. 1971, Ballantine Books. 02148-7-095. Book of short stories started or outlined by Lovecraft and completed by Derleth after Lovecraft died. I enjoyed these. They had all of the Lovecraft elements and were easy to read. Purchased from Pandora's Books (via Amazon marketplace) for 12.87 (including s&h) on June 26, 2010. Has another of those amazing covers (front and back) by Gervasio Gallardo.