BOTM POLL: DECEMBER

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > BOTM POLL: DECEMBER

in a way,the book chooses you This poll is closed.
Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants	7	26.92%
The Street by Ann Petry	5	19.23%
Passages from the Life of a Philosopher by Charles Babbage	4	15.38%
The Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley	6	23.08%
Winners Take All By Anand Giridharadas	4	15.38%
Total:	18 votes

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Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

I'm out of Christmas-themed ideas so this year we're going Auld Lang Syne and I'm digging up old BOTM poll contestants and suggestions.

As always, vote for all the ones you find interesting, but please only vote if you'd consider actually reading & participating.

1 Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants

quote:

This newly reissued debut book in the Rutgers University Press Classics Imprint is the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. This search was a hazardous enterprise carried out by rival labs who worked against the known laws of nature, with no guarantee of success or safety. Acclaimed scientist and sci-fi author John Drury Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity. The resulting volume is as much a memoir as a work of history, sharing a behind-the-scenes view of an enterprise which eventually took men to the moon, missiles to the planets, and satellites to outer space. A classic work in the history of science, and described as �a good book on rocket stuff�that�s a really fun one� by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, readers will want to get their hands on this influential classic, available for the first time in decades.

2. The Street by Ann Petry

quote:

The Street is a novel published in 1946 by African-American writer Ann Petry. Set in World War II era Harlem, it centers on the life of Lutie Johnson. Petry's novel is a commentary on the social injustices that confronted her character, Lutie Johnson, as a single black mother in this time period. Lutie is confronted by racism, sexism, and classism on a daily basis in her pursuit of the American dream for herself and her son, Bub. Lutie fully subscribes to the belief that if she follows the adages of Benjamin Franklin by working hard and saving wisely, she will be able to achieve the dream of being financially independent and move from the tenement in which she lives on 116th Street. Franklin is embodied in the text through the character Junto, named after Franklin's secret organization of the same name. It is Junto, through his secret manipulations to possess Lutie sexually, who ultimately leads Lutie to murder Junto's henchman, Boots. Junto represents Petry's deep disillusionment with the cultural myth of the American dream.

3. Passages from the Life of a Philosopher by Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage's autobiography.

quote:

Charles Babbage KH FRS (/ˈb�bɪdʒ/; 26 December 1791 � 18 October 1871) was an English polymath.[1] A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.[2]

Considered by some to be "father of the computer",[2][3][4][5] Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer that eventually led to more complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found in Babbage's Analytical Engine.[2][6] His varied work in other fields has led him to be described as "pre-eminent" among the many polymaths of his century.[1]

Parts of Babbage's incomplete mechanisms are on display in the Science Museum in London. In 1991, a functioning difference engine was constructed from Babbage's original plans. Built to tolerances achievable in the 19th century, the success of the finished engine indicated that Babbage's machine would have worked.

quote:

In his old age he became crotchety, and infamous for his obsessive campaign against street organists, which might be why he is now remembered as a cantankerous, antisocial fellow. Quite the contrary, he was a thoroughgoing extrovert famous for his parties and charming eccentricity. There are many, many contemporary descriptions of Babbage (far more than there are of Lovelace)�everyone remarked on his �great energy,� gregarious nature, and peculiar personality. �In my interview with him,� writes Francis Lister Hawks, �he was by turns playful, profound, practical, always enthusiastic, and always eloquent.� His rambling autobiography, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher, is highly entertaining, and you should read it as soon as you�re finished reading this comic. " <- Sydney Padua, author of The Amazing Adventures of Babbage and Lovelace.

4. The Curse of Capistrano

quote:

n the early 1800s, California was still under Spanish rule. The peaceful indigenous people were victimized by the corrupt military commanders. One man rose to stand against injustice and the abuse of power. One man stirred the hearts of Californians and gave them the spirit to resist tyranny. That man was the masked avenger known as Zorro!

Zorro was introduced in Johnston McCulley�s novel, �The Curse of Capistrano,� when it was serialized in the pages of ALL-STORY WEEKLY in 1919. The first segment of the five-part serial part serial was dated August 9, one-hundred years ago

5) Winners Take All By Anand Giridharadas

quote:

Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas review � superb hate-reading

The big questions animating this book are the ones central to western politics today: why is the state of affairs made nonsense by the economic crisis still in place? What explains both the governing class�s lack of serious response to 2008�s banking crash, and the vast inequality that continues in its wake? Rather than economic or political analysis, Winners Take All is a study of the alibis and strategies used by Dell and his kind to justify inertia. Giridharadas takes us inside charitable foundations and back-slapping summits to meet management consultants, greying politicians and a few of the most important names in philanthropy. His is the view from the panel discussion, the venture capitalist�s boardroom and the fundraiser with its bespoke canapes.

As reporting assignments go, this calls not so much for a flak jacket as a sick bag. In a Manhattan crammed with visiting dignitaries for UN week, Bill Clinton convenes a conference at which the audience is told: �Empowering girls and women is the hot new branding thing!� David Miliband gazes on as the boss of Western Union chides the prime minister of Sweden: �One of the issues in the politicians, with all due respect, Mr Prime Minister, is that you guys are voted by local people, but you�re responsible for global issues.� Never mind that Mr Western Union is beholden to his shareholders, it�s the nation state that�s parochial.

. . .

Simply put, we pay the billionaires to tell us what to do. What gives their demands such amplification isn�t just their money, vital though that is, it is that they and their friends in government have razed many of the countervailing institutions, whether organised labour or local government. Winners Take All doesn�t name it, but what it�s really describing is an institutional crisis in which the political landscape has been cleared of its forces for representation and reformation. Instead, power has been put in the hands of a group that believes trade unions are merely cartels, thinkers are far inferior to �thought leaders� and hell is other people voting.

Giridharadas�s answer to all this is simple: a bigger and more powerful state. �The government is us,� he quotes Italian philosopher Chiara Cordelli approvingly. And he is right that it is high time politics took back the ground it has lost to policy.

# ? Nov 28, 2020 15:30

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# ? Dec 7, 2024 08:33

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

If you have other suggestions, please post 'em!

# ? Nov 28, 2020 15:31

axeil: Feb 14, 2006

Ignition is a fantastic book, even if it doesn't win you all should read it. You can learn about FOOF/other crazy rocket fuel compounds and everyone almost blowing themselves up constantly. A+++

For those who don't know about FOOF: https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2010/02/23/things_i_wont_work_with_dioxygen_difluoride

it explodes violently at any temp over -300F

axeil fucked around with this message at 17:32 on Nov 28, 2020

# ? Nov 28, 2020 17:27

Idaholy Roller: May 19, 2009

Can�t vote on the app so kind admin put in a vote for rocket fuel book, please and thank you.

# ? Nov 30, 2020 16:56

Natty Ninefingers: Feb 17, 2011

Again, app, rocket fuel, etc

# ? Dec 1, 2020 03:08

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

https://twitter.com/alloy_dr/status/1333736344733032450?s=20

# ? Dec 1, 2020 11:41

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

I was really hoping it would be Curse of Capistrano but FOOF gets it! we may do curse with the new year.

I'll get a thread up for FOOF this weekend.

# ? Dec 3, 2020 03:32

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# ? Dec 7, 2024 08:33

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009; Why! Why!! Why must you refuse to accept that Dr. Hieronymous Alloy's Genetically Enhanced Cream Corn Is Superior to the Leading Brand on the Market!?!; Morbid Hound

https://twitter.com/alloy_dr/status/1335246535874007047?s=20

# ? Dec 5, 2020 15:36

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > BOTM POLL: DECEMBER