with two weeks left until christmas, you have probably already finished your holiday shopping. unless you are like my dad, who is notorious for his yearly christmas eve shopping dash (in that case, this list could be very helpful). i've read a lot of books and seen a lot of movies lately that i feel have been worth my time. here are some recommendations and reviews of my favorites, in no particular order. follow the links to read more reviews at amazon:
recommended books
the last two years of salvador allende by nathaniel davis:
"written by the US ambassador to chile during the allende years, this is perhaps the only book that deeply explores--and meticulously documents--the utter failure of the democratically-elected communist president's leadership and form of government. most books dealing with chilean history between 1970 and 1990 blame only agosto pinochet for the extreme levels of domestic turmoil. davis points out the leftist leader's culpability for sparking (and ignoring) the chilean decline. the author's seemingly endless provision of facts and figures became a bit tedious during my reading of the book, but the volume is worth it's price for davis' electrifying retelling of the coup-de-etat, alone. also recommended: the capitalist revolution in latin america by paul roberts and karen araujo. not recommended: a nation of enemies by pamela constable and arturo valenzuela. 'i wouldn't soil my cat's litter box with the worthless, empty pages of a nation of enemies.'" --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and former resident of chile.
at any cost by bill sammon:
"sammon thoroughly and methodically refutes the concept that al gore won florida in 2000. sammon shows how completely ridiculous the claim is that george w. bush 'stole' the election, and sets the record straight: it was the democratic candidate who tried to steal the presidency. this is one of the most satisfying books i've read in a long time, especially considering the fact that some, including keith olberman of MSNBC, have still not conceded the 2004 election." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and political junkie.
music and the mind by anthony storr and the aesthetics of music by roger scruton:
"these two books almost convinced me to pursue a graduate degree in aesthetics. but what do you care?" --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and amateur musician.
how to know if someone is worth pursuing in two dates or less by neil clark warren:
"i read the book and i'm happily married. the proof is in the pudding. but seriously, this has got to be the most straight-forward, useful relationship book in existence. dating can really suck. to minimize suckage, read this book and take notes. dr. warren's new book falling in love for all the right reasons looks to be a rehashing of this book, plus some information about marriage--probably another extremely useful book. i would recommend anything by this author." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and married man.
be thou an example by gordon hinckley
"the most inspiring book i have ever read." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and god-fearing man.
shut up and sing by laura ingraham
"a well-researched and timely book in which liberal, blue state elite-think is the butt of the joke. very enjoyable read." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and 2004 values voter.
tricky business and big trouble by dave barry:
"dave barry's first two forays into fiction writing (as opposed to 'whatever you call it' that he was doing before). these books are hilarious, though somewhat crude. they (blatantly and unapologetically) follow similar plot patterns, which might turn you off if you are some kind of literature snob who uses terms like "denouement" on a regular basis. but if you like hilarious characters, complex, knee-slapping plot twists, and access to a new side of dave's humor, these books are must-reads." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and uncouth literati outsider.
the screwtape letters by clive staples lewis
"an interesting perspective on temptation. funny, enlightening, and inspiring. my only complaint is that it is so short." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and frequent target of tempters.
joseph smith the prophet by truman madsen
"full of amazing stories from the life of the prophet joseph smith. a must-read for any latter day saint, it should be part of the missionary packet." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and latter day saint.
truman by david mccullough
my favorite history writer, david mccullough, goes on for more than 1100 pages about president truman. about the length of president clinton's memoirs, only this book is actually worth your time. --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and history buff.
the proper care and feeding of husbands by dr. laura schlessinger
i don't know how much work of her own dr. laura put into writing this one. if we were to add up all of the emails, letters, and other comments from listeners that she uses in the text, her commentary might be shown to constitute a minority of the book. however, the true stories from actual couples are compelling and shocking. and the advice dr. laura gives is uniquely family-friendly, and to some extent (despite the title) the instruction she gives can be used by both husbands and wives. --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and simple-minded biped
give me a break by john stossel and a national party no more by zell miller
i am neither a libertarian nor a democrat, but these were two of the best books i read this year. in fact, i'll just say it: give me a break was THE best book i read this year. stossel, my favorite news personality of all time, advocates a strict libertarian approach to government and markets while using the book to look back on some of his most memorable moments as a journalist. just like his pieces on 20/20, this book alerts the audience to government policy, spending, and political-correctness outrages that need to be addressed.
about miller's offering, a national party no more: i have never felt such a desire to moderate my conservative views as i have since reading this book. he spares nothing in attacking the democratic party, and doesn't go much easier on the republicans. if anything, i've come to find great respect for senator miller through reading this book. i recommend it to everyone with an interest in politics. his chapter two (pages 9-20) provides a most-timely discussion of the blue-red hate-fest going on in america right now. highly recommended to such people as my sister and other church-going democrats. for recent stuff on the hate-fest, try scrappleface or philosophical blitzkrieg." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly', bush supporter, and former resident of a former slave state. [are those last items a matter of coincidence? wackos think not.]
childbed fever by k. codell carter and barbara carter:
"this book should be made into a movie, or at least a history channel documentary of some sort. it is filled with outrageous tales exposing the guessing-game that was 19th century medicine. it's rare and out of print and it took me about a year to get my copy. if you're interested in the book, contact me or email the professor and encourage him to reprint it independently." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and former student of the author.
recommended movies
"i continue to be impressed with tom hanks' movies, and his versatility as an actor. first forrest gump, castaway and saving private ryan, and now ladykillers and the terminal. you may not recognize hanks from one movie to the next, but these movies are all worth your time, and perhaps money. in ladykillers, hanks plays a likeable southern gentleman and bank robber, but the surprise protagonist turns out to be the devout christian lady from whom hanks' character rents his room. the terminal is a heartwarming film and, like ladykillers, hanks has mastered a strange accent for his role in it. i have seen over 100 movies this year, and the terminal was my favorite." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and a guy who is not afraid to walk out of a movie if it sucks.
it's a wonderful life and a christmas carol:
these two DVDs will be part of our family's christmas tradition every year. starting now. --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and holiday tradition advocate.
"visually stunning and fascinating, even for someone like me who knows nothing about birds. contains footage compiled over a three-year period, from practically every corner of the earth. this is an epic documentary. --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and bird-liker.
endurance and touching the void
"two of the most incredible survival-story documentaries out there. both are true stories. in touching the void, the retelling is done by the survivors of the peruvian mountain climb, accompanied by recreated video footage. in endurance, historians, journals, and logs tell the tale of shackleton's 1914 antartic expedition, in the which recreated footage is mixed with surviving video and photography. endurance is probably a PG-ish film, while touching the void, for the EXCESSIVE use of the F-word, is R." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and survivor of the 1999 lonquen missionary hiking disaster, lonquen, chile.
band of brothers (HBO's WWII movie series)
"ahh, to remember the days when 'liberation' wasn't a bad word!" --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and war-movie fanatic.
"completely unique, a future cult classic, and infinitely better than 'revenge of the nerds'--in addition to being family friendly." --travis, senior reviewer from the unheardofly popular blog, 'all-encompassingly' and former nerd.
recommended music
the newest sunfall CD will be available here soon, but for now just go stream some awesome songs for free.
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those are my recommendations. i like them; you might not. either way, good for you. if you want more music recommendations, my favorite artists haven't changed since this post, and i really don't feel close enough to the music scene to recommend any new artists. if you have recommendations for me (music or otherwise) i welcome them. please email me or leave them in the comments below this post.
***one final thing: if you are a close friend or family member who wants 1/20th of your amazon purchase price (whenever you shop there) to go to all-encompassingly, the gesture is much appreciated and welcomed. you may drag the link from the box below (the text in the box's black background has the code "allencompassi-20" embedded in it) into your internet browser and make it your amazon bookmark, or you can come here to search amazon's inventory any time you need to do online shopping. thanks again, and merry christmas.
Posted by travis at December 10, 2004 11:56 PM | TrackBack