Mutiny on the Bounty by William Bligh

Mutiny on the Bounty
William Bligh
2006 (1790), White Star, Italy
8854401234
332p.

This book contains William Bligh's logbook of the narrative of the Mutiny and subsequent happenings to the crew members thrown off the ship, proceedings of the court martial of the crew who stayed behind on the ship and were captured, an answer to allegations by Captian Bligh written by the mutiny's ringleader's brother, an answer to that answer from Captain Bligh, and a narrative of what happened to the mutineers who escaped to Pitcairn Island.

So parts of this we're quite exciting , such as the logbooks of Bligh detailing the adventure of the open seopen sea, angry natives, and low provisions as they sailed in a small inadequate craft for TIMor. Timor. I also enjoyed reading of what happened to the mutineers when they reached Pitcairn Island. Island. The minutes from the trial and the back and forth between Nicholas Christian and Eillial Bligh were rather dull though.

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

My Family and Other Animals
Gerald Durrell
1956, 1977, Penguin, London
0140282599
301p.

Gerald and his family moved to a Greek Island from England when he was a young boy. He spends time exploring, discovering animals, insects and birds, and generally avoiding an education.

This is an enjoyable read, written in a modern style - I was surprised when I read the publication date. It sounds like a great place to be a child, and Gerald was a very inquisitive one!

Link to journal at bookcrossing

The Snow People by Marie Herbert

The Snow People
Marie Herbert
1973, 1974, Book Club Associates, London
unknown isbn
253p.

The author, her husband, and their baby spend over a year living with Greenland Eskimos to document their lives through film.  This book is her account of what they experienced during their time there.

Now I want to go to Greenland!  The conditions are so harsh (although, this book was written in the 1970s so perhaps things have changed a little), but quite enticing.  The story was a little rambly, and could have done with some editing to make the narrative flow more smoothly (I'm talking end-paragraphs here, just basic stuff).  However, the adventures they had were amazing - the fact that they took their baby along even more so.  

Link to journal at bookcrossing

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Freakonomics
Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
2005, 2006, Penguin, London
9780141019017
284p.

An economist and a journalist look at the economics of everyday life.  From asking questions about real estate agents incentives, to the effect of specific baby names on a child's future potential.

This was a very interesting, if sometimes uncomfortable (the parts on the abortion-crime link), read.  It is data analysis for the morbidly curious.  The only disappointment is that the book portion ends about two-thirds of the way in and the rest is bonus material.

Zodiac by Robert Graysmith

Zodiac
Robert Graysmith
1986, 2007, Penguin, London
9780425212189
307p.

Non-fiction account of a serial killer from 1960s and 1970s San Fransisco and then taunted the police with letters.

The writing style was dull and hard to wade through, but the story interesting.  It's hard to believe that a criminal like this could get away uncaptured.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
Allison Hoover Bartlett
2009, Kindle Edition
1594488916
unnumbered

True story of a man who wanted to gain a rare book collection, but didn't have the money. So he took the next logical step - he stole them.

This book just makes me want to collect rare books! I could smell them! I found Gilkey's reasons for stealing to seem really quite immoral and yet make total sense - as a bibliophile.

The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston

The Demon in the Freezer
Richard Preston
2002, Headline, London
075531218X
296p.

Non-fiction about the eradication of small-pox, the anthrax attacks in America just after the World Trade Centre attacks and the future possibility of a terror attack using an engineered version of the small pox virus.

This was a scary read, and sometimes a little gross. One of the earliest scenes is of an autopsy on one of the anthrax victims - let's just say it involves a ladle! It was written in accessible language (or I thought it was accessible, but then I work in a lab). It was very hard to put down.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

The Omnivore's Dilemma
Michael Pollan
2006, Kindle Edition
9781594200823
un-numbered

This is the first book I read on my Kindle. Michael Pollan decides to eat three meals from three very different ways of procuring food: the factory farm; the sustainable organic farm; and hunting and gathering.

I read this because it was recommended to me by a vegan so I thought it would be a little more powerful in the anti-meat department, but on the contrary, it gave some very logical reasons why humans should eat meat. He's a very good story teller and I enjoyed the parts of the book where he's discovering how to locate and prepare his own meals from their original sources.

Princess by Jean P. Sasson

Princess
Jean P. Sasson
1992. 1993, Bantam, London
0553405705
299p.

Biographical account of "Sultana", a Saudi Arabian princess who lives under the oppressive regime of a patriarchal society. She witnesses many offences against women whilst living in palatial opulence.

I found myself wondering if this book was truth or fiction, not in that I don't believe that this kind of thing could happen, but I guess the 'story' of how the story came about sounds fake. After googling it however, I think it must be a true story, because 20 years later, there've been no revelations about its authenticity.

I am astounded at the opulence of the Saudis' lives. And Sultana is just so casual about her wealth - it's mind-boggling. I guess it just shows that money doesn't buy freedom in all parts of the world.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
2000, Abacus, London
0349113467
259p.

A look at the sociology and psychology behind the reasons certain fads and other social phenomena become very popular.

This wasn't blow-your-mind amazing, but I enjoyed it. It is very well researched and written in an accessible language. It's quite good for pop-sociology.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

Awakenings by Oliver Sacks

Awakenings
Oliver Sacks
1973, 1990, Pan Macmillan, London
0330320912
386p.

Oliver Sacks is a doctor who treated a group of patients with post-encephalitic Parkinsonism following the sleepy sickness epidemic of the 1920s. The patients were treated with the drug L-DOPA and gained remarkable results in which they "awoke" after being nearly motionless and statue-like for half a decade.

This is a terrifying book - I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares. The human body can give so much grief, and the drugs we give to counteract it are just as bad. I liked that Sacks did not gloss over what he did; if the patients had horror reactions to his treatment (and all did), he gave the full details. I must admit some of his philosophical musings at the end of the book were a little over my head and if I gave this book to someone to read I would show them the glossary in the back before they start!

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

The World Without Us
Alan Weisman
2007, Virgin, London
978075351239
275p.

A look at what would happen to the earth if all human life disappeared at once.

I found this to be a very interesting book. The author predicts what would happen in the future by taking a look at what happened in the past, so you get some history as well as science. I like information and this book sure had a lot of it. I learned many new things. :)

Link to journal at bookcrossing

The Circles by Kerry Armstrong

The Circles
Kerry Armstrong
2003, Hardie Grant Books, South Yarra
1740661257
93p.

A little self-help book written by Australian actress Kerry Armstrong which deals with our relationships with other people and how to categorise those relationships in order to better understand ourselves.

I was a bit skeptical when I started to read this book as I always am with self-help, but I found it to be interesting and it did have a few little bits of advice which were helpful. I've never really had major issues with relationships but I'm sure that someone who does have would enjoy this little book's advice.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

Things You Get For Free by Michael McGirr

Things You Get For Free
Michael McGirr
2000, 2001, Picador, Sydney
0330362275
296p.

Part biography, part travel, part history, Things You Get for Free tells the story of a Jesuit priest and his European holiday with his mother.

I enjoyed this book - McGirr manages to be cynical without being snarky or sarcastic. Reading it was like being told a story while cuddled up in a doona in front of an open fire.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss

Eats, Shoots and Leaves
Lynne Truss
2003, 2004, Gotham, New York
1592400876
204p.

This is a book about punctuation. Not exactly a style guide, though it does inform the reader of the main conventions of punctuation, it's more of a educated rant from a literate stickler.

I really loved this: it's proof that I'm not the worst grammar or punctuation Nazi around. It also taught me a thing or two I didn't know about the correct use of punctuation, which is fantastic! Now I just have to remember it all and not slip back into old ways.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

The Island of the Colour-Blind by Oliver Sacks

The Island of the Colour-Blind
Oliver Sacks
1996, Pan Macmillan, Sydney
0330358871
226p.

This is two books in one - the first is about Sacks' journey to a small Pacific island where a high percentage of the population is totally colour blind; the second is about Guam where a neurological disease causes muscular weakness.

I expected this to be more about the neurology and science of the diseases, but it read more like a travel diary which just happened to centre around a neurologist's study travels. It was interesting to read about these places and conditions which I'd never heard about before but I would have liked a little bit more in-depth.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

The Essence of Happiness: A Guidebook for Living by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler

The Essence of Happiness: A Guidebook for Living
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler
2001, Hodder, Sydney
0733613799
120p.

Psychiatrist Howard C. Cutler talks to the Dalai Lama to find out his thoughts on how we can lived a more happy and fulfilled life. This is an extract from the more complete work The Art of Happiness.

A little book with some good advice - some of it practical, some of it not so much. I will endeavour to be more compassionate towards others now. :)

Link to journal at bookcrossing

The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson

The Men Who Stare at Goats
Jon Ronson
2004, Picador, London
0330435264
273p.

This book makes the claim that highly placed members of the US military believed that they could kill goats by looking at them and that they could walk through walls. They created a unit called the First Earth Battalion in the 1970s which was brought back during the War on Terror.

When I started reading this book I was totally incredulous. I kept thinking "no way, this is all made up", but then the author related it to something commonly accepted as fact and I was like "well, maybe". It's an incredibly disturbing tale. And quite scary in places, if not downright terrifying to think that things like this could have happened.

Link to journal at bookcrossing

A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable by John Steele Gordon

A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable
John Steele Gordon
2002, Simon & Schuster, London
0743231279
215p.

The story of the concept, manufacture and laying of the Transatlantic Cable in the nineteenth century.

Wow. An amazing story. It has geography, electrical theory, economics, history, maritime history, war and science. I can't fathom how this was conceived and executed with the technology they had at the time. So many setbacks, and still they strove on. This truly is a heroic story.

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

Guns, Germs and Steel
Jared Diamond
1997, Random House, London
0224038095
425p.

This book discusses human history and the evolution of different societies in the world. It attempts to answer the question of why Europeans dominate the modern world, rather than Australian Aboriginals or Africans.

A very heavy read, but interesting topic. I found it a bit repetitive once the basic facts were established. One tiny annoying thing was the author's assumption that the reader was North American.

Link to journal at bookcrossing