| The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS after its initial publication, The Making of the Atomic Bomb remains the seminal and complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan. Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly—or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than twenty-five years. What began as merely an interesting speculative problem in physics grew into the Manhattan Project, and then into the bomb, with frightening rapidity, while scientists known only to their peers—Szilard, Teller, Oppenheimer, Bohr, Meitner, Fermi, Lawrence, and von Neumann—stepped from their ivory towers into the limelight. Richard Rhodes gives the definitive story of man’s most awesome discovery and invention. Told in rich human, political, and scientific detail, The Making of the Atomic Bomb is a narrative tour de force and a document with literary power commensurate with its subject. This is a great history book and will delight the reader with depth of reasearch into the lives of the people who shaped this event. Made into a good movie, Fat Man and Little Boy. | |
| The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks like most of his other books this deals with his patients. The title case was a man who had severe facial aphasia and how he dealt with it. A tender yet very funny book. | |
| Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change by William Bridges. We all want change. We all fear change. This book looks at the dynamics and gives the reader positive tools to manage and help others manage transitions. Every day the newspapers report more corporate mergers and restructuring. Every day thousands of lives are altered by these changes. Most managers and employees, however, do not have the experience to effectively work through such transitions. In Managing Transitions, William Bridges provides a clear understanding of what change does to employees and what employees in transition can do to an organization, and he shows how to minimize the distress and disruptions caused by change. Directed at managers and employees in today's corporations, where change is necessary to revitalize and improve corporate performance, Managing Transitions addresses the fact that it is people who have to carry out the change. It not only talks about what should be done, but also shows how to do it, giving managers practical ways to bring the people "on board." Armed with this new information, managers will look at future changes in a new way, no longer feeling anxious and hopeless, but rather looking at opportunities. Everybody talks about "managing change" and "resistance to change," but Bridges is the first to talk about what is going on inside the people who have to make the change work. He is the first to provide any real sense of the emotional impact of change and what can be done to keep it from disrupting the entire organization. Bridges's years of experience helping organizations and individuals successfully take control of change has proven the need for specific, concrete guidelines for dealing with change. Managing Transitions provides these guidelines. | |
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. In The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury, America’s preeminent storyteller, imagines a place of hope, dreams, and metaphor— of crystal pillars and fossil seas—where a fine dust settles on the great empty cities of a vanished, devastated civilization. Earthmen conquer Mars and then are conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race. In this classic work of fiction, Bradbury exposes our ambitions, weaknesses, and ignorance in a strange and breathtaking world where man does not belong. Originally written as separate short stories, Ray went to New York to get them published. Staying at the NY YMCA for 50 cents a night, he visited and was rejected by a number of publishers. On his last night, he had dinner with a publisher. He explained that everyone liked his stories but want a novel length book. The publisher suggested he tie the short stories together. He did and The Martian Chronicles was the result. I am so glad he didn't just return to his home and pursue the family business. | |
| Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown. A great parody of Science Fiction. Luke Deveraux, the protagonist, is a thirty-seven year old sci-fi writer who is being divorced by his wife. Deveraux holes himself up in a desert cabin, with the intention of writing a new novel (and forgetting the painful failure of his marriage.) Drunken, he considers writing a story about Martians, when, all of a sudden, someone knocks on the door. Deveraux opens the door to find a little green man, a Martian. The Martian turns out to be very uncourteous; he insists on calling Luke 'Mack,' and has little in mind other than the desire to insult and humiliate Luke. The Martian, who is intangible, proves to be able to disappear at will and to see through opaque materials. Luke leaves his cabin by car, thinking to himself that the alien was but a drunken hallucination. He realizes that he is wrong, when he sees that a billion Martians have come to Earth. I first read this book in 1955 just after it was published. I hurt myself laughing. The general Martian response to questions is to say, "Fuck you!" | |
| Maybe (Maybe Not) (Maybe Not : Second Thoughts from a Secret Life) by Robert Fulghum. THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER I once began a list of the contradictory notions I hold: Look before you leap. He who hesitates is lost. Two heads are better than one. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Better safe than sorry. Out of sight, out of mind. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. You can't tell a book by its cover. Clothes make the man. Many hands make light work. Too many cooks spoil the broth. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. It's never too late to learn. Never sweat the small stuff. God is in the details. And so on. The list goes on forever. Once I got so caught up in this kind of thinking that I wore two buttons on my smock when I was teaching art. One said, "Trust me, I'm a teacher." The other replied, "Question Authority." [signature] Fulghum | |
| Memories of a Gisha by Arthur Golden. A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction—at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and completely unforgettable. | |
| Migraine by Oliver Sacks. The many manifestations of migraine can vary dramatically from one patient to another, even within the same patient at different times. Among the most compelling and perplexing of these symptoms are the strange visual hallucinations and distortions of space, time, and body image which migraineurs sometimes experience. Portrayals of these uncanny states have found their way into many works of art, from the heavenly visions of Hildegard von Bingen to Alice in Wonderland. Dr. Oliver Sacks argues that migraine cannot be understood simply as an illness, but must be viewed as a complex condition with a unique role to play in each individual's life. | |
| Mismeasures of Man by Stephen Jay Gould. When published in 1981, The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits. Yet the idea of biology as destiny dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined. In this edition, Stephen Jay Gould has written a substantial new introduction telling how and why he wrote the book and tracing the subsequent history of the controversy on innateness right through The Bell Curve. Further, he has added five essays on questions of The Bell Curve in particular and on race, racism, and biological determinism in general. These additions strengthen the book's claim to be, as Leo J. Kamin of Princeton University has said, "a major contribution toward deflating pseudo-biological 'explanations' of our present social woes." | |
| Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville. First published in 1851, it is considered to be one of the Great American Novels and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab has one purpose on this voyage: to seek out Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg, which now drives Ahab to take revenge. In Moby-Dick, Melville employs stylized language, symbolism, and the metaphor to explore numerous complex themes. Through the journey of the main characters, the concepts of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of God are all examined, as the main characters speculate upon their personal beliefs and their places in the universe. The narrator's reflections, along with his descriptions of a sailor's life aboard a whaling ship, are woven into the narrative along with Shakespearean literary devices, such as stage directions, extended soliloquies, and asides. The book portrays destructive obsession and monomania, as well as the assumption of anthropomorphism—projecting human instincts, characteristics and motivations onto animals. Moby Dick is ruthless in attacking the sailors who attempt to hunt and kill him, but it is Ahab who invests Moby Dick's natural instincts with malignant and evil intentions. In fact, it is not the whale but the crippled Ahab who alone possesses this characteristic. Moby-Dick has been classified as American Romanticism. It was first published by Richard Bentley in London on October 18, 1851, in an expurgated three-volume edition titled The Whale, and weeks later as a single volume, by New York City publisher Harper and Brothers as Moby-Dick; or, The Whale on November 14, 1851. The book initially received mixed reviews, but Moby-Dick is now considered part of the Western canon, and at the center of the canon of American novels. | |
| Moly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? by Molly Ivins. Whether she's writing about redneck politics in her native Texas or the discreet charms of Bushwazee, Molly Ivins in never less than devastatingly honest—and hilarious. Our toughest, funniest, and savviest columnist delivers the goods on: -Texas politics: "Well, our attorney general is under indictment. He ran as 'the people's lawyer'; now we call him 'the people's felon.'" -The flag burning debate: "Bush's last birthday cake was in the form of the American flag, and he ate it—stars, stripes, and all. Think about where that flag wound up—I call that desecration." -Being a woman in Texas: "There are several strains of Texas culture: They are all rotten for women... One not infrequently sees cars or trucks sporting the bumper sticker "Have fun—beat the hell out of someone you love." | |
| Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut. A daring challenge to our moral sense. American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal. But is he really guilty? In this brilliant book rife with true gallows humor, Vonnegut turns black and white into a chilling shade of gray with a verdict that will haunt us all. There is good and evil in us all. Or is there? | |
| My Brother was an Only Child by Jack Douglas. Jack was a writer for Red Skelton, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, Woody Allen, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Jack Paar Show, The George Gobel Show and Laugh-In. The producer of Laugh-In, George Schlatter, said, "He saw the world from a different angle than the rest of us. He was not only funny, he was nice." He was a funny man that made others seem even funnier. He was a joke writer for--among others--Johnny Carson. I read this book more than 50 years ago it was funny then and now...and I have stolen most of his good jokes. Beware of these books. They are addictive. Folks tend to read and reread them at a single sitting--reading through the night; missing their stop on the subway--all else fades into obscurity; there is a craving for more Jack Douglas--worse than chocolate!!! | |
My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday. Welcome to Nancy Friday's secret garden, a hidden place where ordinary women are free to express the sexual dreams they have never dared to confide before. Safe behind the walls of anonymity, hundreds of real women responded to Nancy Friday's call for details of their own most private fantasies. My Secret Garden is the daring compilation of those fantasies. When it first appeared, it created a storm of outrage in the media...and an equal sense of exhilaration for those women who finally were able to share their sisters' most intimate thoughts. Even now, in a new millennium, over then thousand women each year buy a new copy of this astounding classic of feminist literature. Join them in their exploration of the meaning of desire. Dare to read, dare to dream, and dare to discover the beautiful blossoms, the winding paths, and the hidden nooks of female sexuality. I first discovered this book around 1975. I was working at the University of Pittsburgh's Johnstown campus at the time. A woman working for me, read part of it. My desk was in the computer room and not secured. (I also didn't care that anyone read any book I had.) After about 15 minutes, she called her boyfriend and told him to meet her in her apartment in 20 minutes. She left. Apparently, he arrived at her apartment and she wasn't there so he went to work. She was mad at him for about 3 weeks. A student working for me would take the book when she did her laundry. She liked to read it while sitting on the washer. Hmmmm. Other people's fantasies can be a turn on. Read with caution. | |
| Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. Basically a sequel to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and the English verison is a bit tedious, but still worth the effort. Americans escape a civil war battle in a balloon and are carried to an uncharted island in the South Pacific (neat trick given the prevailing westly winds). This is a saga of how men can live and overcome nature in a peaceful way. There are no women in the story and just about when the reader is about to give up, the mystery begins to unfold. Read the original French version if you can. It was made into a dreadful movie. | |
The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain. This is the final novel attempted by the Twain. It was worked on periodically from 1897 up until 1908. The body of work is a serious social commentary by Twain addressing his ideas of the Moral Sense and the "damned human race".
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