The ‘collectible’ book market on Amazon is pretty interesting. A few years ago I thought I’d get a friend of mine a copy of one of my favorite monographs by Erwin Olaf, and I was stunned to discover that it was over $1000.00 on Amazon. There appear to be a small number of gamblers who like to buy books and then list them for high prices so they can score a tidy windfall if it turns out someone wants them that badly.
Years ago, I read Massey’s Dreadnought and the Coming of The Great War [amzn] and one tidbit stuck in my mind: naval blockades are an act of war. Of course, it’s more complicated than that, usually cutting down to the core of the conflict – war supplies or food.
My accountant says “there are only two kinds of people in hell: those who were caught in the act, and those who kept records.”
The intelligence state has not been collecting data for its own entertainment; they have to find a use for it. Remember back to when the Bush administration’s secret interception program was disclosed? Probably the most painful bit of news in it was that the NSA wasn’t (yet) capable of doing anything particularly interesting or useful with the data.
David Landes’ The Unbound Prometheus is on my recommended reading list; [amaz] it’s an account of the changes in European societies brought about by the industrial revolution. It’s a book you can pick up, open to a page at random, and learn something fascinating.
… was when he went through the mouth of Hell.”
Recent discussion in some comments brought up the nature/nurture question and Steven Pinker’s book The Blank Slate.
Racial segregation has probably done more to shape American cities than any other factor. The Guardian [guard] has a thoughtful and very deep article about the structural effects of inequality on some cities – including Baltimore, Maryland, where I grew up.
The Iraqi army got US-made M-1 Abrams tanks (older generation) from the Americans. [stderr] It’s the world’s premier main battle tank; the gold standard of tankness.
Now, when there is a mass shooting incident, a new strategy has begun to appear; it’s a form of “what about-ism” – delaying having to do anything by throwing up a barrage of problems with every possibility that anyone offers.