CapitolFax.com - Latest Comments in Question of the day

Re: Question of the day

Rod Blagojevich — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:49:37 -0000

I'm referencing daily "The Peter Principle."

Re: Question of the day

Establishment Republican — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:25:58 -0000

I am reading a new book entitled, "Horribly Corrupt Governors and the 'Bills' That Love Them."

Re: Question of the day

Dem Bob — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 12:24:14 -0000

"Team of Rivals" really deserved the Pulitzer and give an absorbing account of how Lincoln kept his friends close and his enemies closer.

Re: Question of the day

MMS — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 09:27:39 -0000

Savage Inequalities-Jonathan Kozol. Interesting w/a sad section about STL metro area.
Bloody Williamson-Paul Angle. Torrid and violent history about S. IL.

Re: Question of the day

John Rooney — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 23:15:30 -0000

I'm half way way through Fort Dearborn, a historical novel by my friend and colleague, Jerry Crimmins. Crimmins spent 6 years researching and writing this excellent tale told through the eyes of two young boys and their fathers about the 1812 Fort Dearborn Massacre.

This is a must read for any Chicago history buff.

Re: Question of the day

Martha Mitchell — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 23:08:23 -0000

Just finishing the fourth in a series on Tudor monarches and their courtiers by Philipa Gregory.
Before that, Pillars of the Earth (am a sucker for anything about the construction of the great cathedrals - awestruck by what can be done by man with a hammer, chisle and the mind). Would recommend anything by E.M. Forster, Austen or Michener.

Re: Question of the day

anonymous — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:42:58 -0000

reading Christmas books puts me in the spirit so I re-read The Christmas Train by David Baldacci and will start on A Christmas Carol. I'd like to get Dave Berry's new one about Christmas when he was a kid too, should be pretty funny

Re: Question of the day

Lovie's Leather — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:32:36 -0000

ZC, you know that Plato's Republic is actually Bush's favorite book, right? And, John Filan, I laughed so hard I almost coughed up a $1500 check!

Re: Question of the day

ahem — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 21:35:19 -0000

I'm reading "Ring Lardner/Selected Stories" right now. I'm still in "You Know Me Al" which has its moments but is not a real page-turner. A book I can recommend that I read a while ago is "Chicago By Gaslight/A History of Chicago's Netherworld 1880-1920" by Richard Lindberg. Despite the title the book touches on some early Chicago political events, giving names, dates, and even exact addresses in many instances. A fun read!

Re: Question of the day

Boone Logan Square — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:30:49 -0000

Craig Colten's An Unnatural Metropolis: Wresting New Orleans from Nature (a fine environmental history of the city from the 18th century to about a year before Katrina).

David Pellow's Garbage Wars: Searching for Environmental Justice in Chicago (links Operation Silver Shovel to larger issues of waste management problems in the city).

Re: Question of the day

Shelbyville — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:10:29 -0000

For One More Day - Mitch Albom Excellent. Can be read in a couple of days. Hang on for the ending.

The Innocent Man - John Grisham Highly recommended.

Re: Question of the day

ZC — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:08:46 -0000

I'm rereading Plato's Republic. It is still the most eloquent rejection of what the Bush White House would call "the reality-based community." But you read it carefully and you realize why trying to actually govern Plato's way - as Bush has somewhat tried to do for the past six years - leads to disaster.

Re: Question of the day

Yellow Dog Democrat — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:58:25 -0000

Th Complete Short Works of Mark Twain -- the blogmaster of his day.

Re: Question of the day

anon #1 — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:56:59 -0000

Stephen King - Lisey's Story

Kind of slow in the beginning, but it is starting to get to the point where I don't want to put it down.

Re: Question of the day

Saluki Yay-hoo — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:49:51 -0000

"All Governments Lie! The Life and Times of Rebel Journalist I.F. Stone" by Myra MacPherson. Okay as far as biographies go. Really interesting to read about other journalists around that time such as Mencken and Lippmann as well as other figures such as Father Coughlin, Eugene Debs and Huey Long. It's also amazing how by comparison, in those days of rampant graft and corruption (in politics, big biz and the media), that things haven't really changed that much.

Re: Question of the day

John Filan — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:28:15 -0000

I've been trying for nearly 4 years now to read a 3rd grader's math text book. I can't seem to get past the chapters on adding and subtracting.

Re: Question of the day

TomD — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:23:26 -0000

I liked the Team of Rivals book on the Lincoln presidency, which I understand was nearly all written by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

I just started The Stolen Child, by Keith Donohue, which is a fable for grown-ups, about changelings who steal childhood. It is way cool.

The Places In Between is in my on-deck circle -- along with The Looming Tower -- I'm looking forward to both of them.

Re: Question of the day

huh? — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:57:07 -0000

Biography of Crazy Horse. Custer had it coming and got what he deserved.

Re: Question of the day

Y A J — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:34:18 -0000

Great question Rich. I'm reading both Zinn's A People's History and Obama's Audacity of Hope right now. Both are great and I'm glad to see them mentioned already.
I just gave up on Kim Stanley Robinson's Years of Rice and Salt. I couldn't get into it. I'm eagerly awaiting the third book in his global warming/DC trilogy.

Re: Question of the day

Arthur Andersen — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:34:18 -0000

OMG, two or more little Skeeters on the way? Best of luck to you.

I'm reading James Baker's autobiography. Seems he never planned to get into politics. So far, so good.

For fun, I'm reading "How to be a Super-Hero" ($6 at Barnes & Noble.) You never know when you will have to know how to repel down the side of a building or suck venom out of a snakebite. (Which reminds me of a joke...ok, I'll save it for the party..)

Re: Question of the day

charlie johnston — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:31:42 -0000

Oh...if you're looking for some occasionally obscure titles, the Warren-Newport Library in Gurnee (Lake County) has THE best used book store in the history of the world. I was there just the other day, Lovie's Leather, and there was a copy of 'The China Card' there which I almost, but ultimately did not get. Most hardcovers are $1 and almost all paperbacks are 50 cents - and they constantly supply the place with really good stuff. It will supplement your Barnes and Noble or Borders membership card and give you a lot of bang for the buck.

Re: Question of the day

Porter McNeil — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:25:34 -0000

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama ... great stuff.

Happy Holidays, Rich.

Re: Question of the day

Lovie's Leather — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:20:40 -0000

Oh, and I guess I should recommend this book... "Illinois Politics and Government: The Expanding Metropolitan Frontier" by Samuel K Gove and James D Nowlan.

Re: Question of the day

Lovie's Leather — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:13:38 -0000

"The China Card" by John Erlichman

It is a fictional book designed around factual events. It is a pretty good book (so far). If you have any interest in China, foreign policy, or the Nixon administration it is the book for you. But good luck finding it! I got it at Goodwill for a buck because the Kewanee Public Library discarded it.... So if you are ever at Goodwill and happen to see it, it is well worth the dollar....

Re: Question of the day

Skeeter — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:00:38 -0000

"What to Expect When Your Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads."

For something lighter, I am reading Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in America, Gonzo Letters Volume II. It provides some interesting insights into Dr. Thompson.

I just finished "A Meal Observed" which is a fascinating book about Taillevent in Paris.