Book picks similar to
Mysteries and Conspiracies: Detective Stories, Spy Novels and the Making of Modern Societies by Luc Boltanski
non-fiction
sociology
history
c-read
Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, The FBI and a Devil's Deal
Dick,O'Neil, Gerard Lehr - 2015
Black Mass Film Tie In
Spare Parts: From Campus to Combat: A Marine Reservist's Journey from Campus to Combat in 38 Days
Buzz Williams - 2004
Buzz had thought that he would only need to sacrifice one weekend a month and two weeks a year for training to earn the money that would help pay for his college tuition. He had no idea that even the newest reservists could find themselves on the battlefield in a matter of weeks. "Spare Parts recounts Williams's harrowing deployment to the Persian Gulf after only four weeks of combat training. Enduring both the condescension of full-time Marines and the danger of his limited preparation, he manages to form a core group that struggles to gain respect from a military machine that views them as mere "spare parts." In gripping, you-are-there detail, "Spare Parts articulates the grueling physical and emotional trials that Williams and his comrades must face on the killing fields of Kuwait--where some of the woefully underprepared men are able to rise to the challenge and others are broken by the horrors of battle. A compelling portrait of the more than 1.2 million reservists who stand ready to leave civilian life to defend our nation at a moment's notice, "Spare Parts adds a moving new perspective to the literature of war.
American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land
Monica Hesse - 2017
But Charlie wasn't lighting fires alone: he had an accomplice, his girlfriend Tonya Bundick. Through her depiction of the dangerous shift that happened in their passionate relationship, Hesse brilliantly brings to life the once-thriving coastal community and its distressed inhabitants, who had already been decimated by a punishing economy before they were terrified by a string of fires they could not explain. Incorporating this drama into the long-overlooked history of arson in the United States, American Fire re-creates the anguished nights that this quiet county spent lit up in flames, mesmerizingly evoking a microcosm of rural America - a land half gutted before the fires even began.
A Lover's Discourse: Fragments
Roland Barthes - 1977
Rich with references ranging from Goethe's Werther to Winnicott, from Plato to Proust, from Baudelaire to Schubert, A Lover's Discourse artfully draws a portrait in which every reader will find echoes of themselves.
Edgar Allan Poe: The Strange Man Standing Deep in the Shadows
Charlotte Montague - 2015
Poe is viewed as the ultimate doomed romantic whose last days are shrouded in sordid mystery. His life was a disaster, but his achievements in writing are amazing. He is widely recognized as father of the modern short story, inventor of the detective story and the master of horror. A Boston born writer, editor, and literary critic, he's best known for his creepy and macabre tales as well as being one of the central figures in the Romanticism movement in the United States. Accurately being dubbed as the ultimate doomed romantic, Poe was a drunk, his last days are shrouded in mystery akin to that of his short stories. During his lifetime, Edgar Allan Poe didn't make a dime out of writing, but his legacy to the world is one of never-ending riches. He left behind seventy-three wonderfully gruesome stories and a novel filled with suspense and brilliantly twisted plots. Hist stories and poems are now read and revered globally. As another master of horror, Stephen King, has said, we are all "the children of Poe." Abraham Lincoln, Josef Stalin, Michael Jackson, and Bart Simpson all have one thing in common; they are fans of the nineteenth century American writer and poet, Edgar Allan Poe. The writer of "The Raven" has legions of such devotees across the globe. The list of authors inspired by Poe is long and varied, but his profound influence reaches much further-into music, film, and art just as much as modern day literature. There have been more than a dozen film adaptations of his story "The Fall of the House of Usher," and his works have inspired composers ranging from Claude Debussy to Lou Reed. More than 160 years after his death, Charlotte Montague has written a fascinating account of Poe's life and times, in which she uncovers a strange man, standing deep in the shadows, who's unique imagination and macabre writing have changed popular culture forevermore. n the process, she uncovers a strange man, standing deep in the shadows, whose macabre stories and twisted plots changed literature forever. The Oxford People series offers deep dives into the most influential people, subjects, and cultures from history. From horror-fiction legends like H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe, to historical heavyweights like Houdini and JFK, to the supernatural world of vampires, werewolves, and ghosts—Oxford People encompasses it all. Other titles in this series include: Angels, Che, Creating Sherlock Holmes, Extreme Science, Gettysburg, Ghosts, Gunfighters, Houdini, HP Lovecraft, John F. Kennedy, Myths and Legends, Privates and Privateers, Roosevelt and Churchill, Royal Weddings, Skies of WWII, Tesla, Tesla vs. Edison, Vampires, Vikings, Werewolves, Women of Invention, Zombies.
The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences
Michel Foucault - 1966
The result is nothing less than an archaeology of the sciences that unearths old patterns of meaning and reveals the shocking arbitrariness of our received truths.In the work that established him as the most important French thinker since Sartre, Michel Foucault offers startling evidence that “man”—man as a subject of scientific knowledge—is at best a recent invention, the result of a fundamental mutation in our culture.
Talking with Serial Killers: The Most Evil People in the World Tell Their Own Stories
Christopher Berry-Dee - 2001
In this book, their pursuit of horror and violence is described in their own words, transcribed from audio and videotape interviews conducted deep inside some of the toughest prisons in the world. Berry-Dee describes the circumstances of his meetings with some of the world's most evil men, and reproduces their very words as they describe their crimes and discuss their remorse—or lack of it. This work offers a penetrating insight into the workings of the criminal mind.
The Society of the Spectacle
Guy Debord - 1967
From its publication amid the social upheavals of the 1960s up to the present, the volatile theses of this book have decisively transformed debates on the shape of modernity, capitalism and everyday life in the late twentieth century. Now finally available in a superb English translation approved by the author, Debord's text remains as crucial as ever for understanding the contemporary effects of power, which are increasingly inseparable from the new virtual worlds of our rapidly changing image/information culture.
24 Hours Inside the President's Bunker: 9-11-01: The White House
Robert J. Darling - 2010
Robert J. Darling organizes President Bush's trip to Florida on Sept. 10, 2001, he believes the next couple of days will be quiet. He has no idea that a war is about to begin. The next day, after terrorists crash airliners into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, Maj. Darling rushes to the president's underground chamber at the White House. There, he takes on the task of liaison between the vice president, national security advisor and the Pentagon. He works directly with the National Command Authority, and he's in the room when Vice President Cheney orders two fighter jets to get airborne in order to shoot down United Flight 93. Throughout the attacks, Maj. Darling witnesses the unprecedented actions that leaders are taking to defend America. As Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and others make decisions at a lightning pace with little or no deliberation, he's there to lend his support. Follow Darling's story as he becomes a Marine Corps aviator and rises through the ranks to play an incredible role in responding to a crisis that changed the world in 9-11-01: The White House: Twenty-Four Hours inside the President's Bunker.
Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka: The Horrific True Story Behind Canada's Ken and Barbie Killers (Real Crime By Real Killers Book 7)
Ryan Becker - 2018
Rape. Murder. Multiple assaults. Three dead teenage girls. A pair of criminals. But which one was the killer? This graphic account of convicted killers, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, shows that in some relationships, neither party is the “better half.” Both halves of this Canadian couple add up to one evil story. A story too shocking to believe, but the truth, especially true crime, is all too often stranger and more gruesomely horrific than any mere work of fiction. Weaving a tale of innocent victims who were terrorized, sexually assaulted and murdered, this true-crime thriller details the crimes and takes an in-depth look at the perpetrators. Criminal profilers have found when killers work in tandem; often they are designated as the “leader” and the “follower.” Readers are invited to draw their own conclusions as to which one of the deadly duo was the manipulator and who was being manipulated. Dubbed the “Ken and Barbie Killers” by the media, Paul and Karla's pink dream house became a place of nightmares. Get a copy today and discover the shocking confession that causes their world to fall apart like a house of cards and reveals that this “perfect couple” is in fact perfectly evil.
The Science Delusion: Freeing the Spirit of Enquiry
Rupert Sheldrake - 2012
The fundamental questions are answered, leaving only the details to be filled in. In this book, Dr Rupert Sheldrake, one of the world's most innovative scientists, shows that science is being constricted by assumptions that have hardened into dogmas. The 'scientific worldview' has become a belief system. All reality is material or physical. The world is a machine, made up of dead matter. Nature is purposeless. Consciousness is nothing but the physical activity of the brain. Free will is an illusion. God exists only as an idea in human minds, imprisoned within our skulls. Sheldrake examines these dogmas scientifically, and shows persuasively that science would be better off without them: freer, more interesting, and more fun.In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins used science to bash God, but here Rupert Sheldrake shows that Dawkins' understanding of what science can do is old-fashioned and itself a delusion.
The Established and the Outsiders
Norbert Elias - 1965
In Norbert Elias′s hands, a local community study of tense relations between an established group and outsiders becomes a microcosm that illuminates a wide range of sociological configurations including racial, ethnic, class and gender relations.The Established and the Outsiders examines the mechanisms of stigmatization, taboo and gossip, monopolization of power, collective fantasy and `we′ and `they′ images which support and reinforce divisions in society. Developing aspects of Elias′s thinking that relate his work to current sociological concerns, it presents the
Aftershock: The Ancient Cataclysm That Erased Human History
Brien Foerster - 2016
Global sea levels, as the result of rapidly melting polar ice rose by more than 300 feet in a very short period of time, causing the planet to become unstable.In Egypt, Peru, Bolivia, Lebanon and other locations we see the existence of ancient damaged but very sophisticated megalithic stone structures which we would be hard pressed to re-create today. They hint that once upon a time one or "Atlantean" civilizations indeed did exist
The Law Killers
Alexander McGregor - 2009
But only when their rage explodes and unspeakable crimes are committed do we realise we hold them in our midst. Some are unpredictable psychopaths, others achieve notoriety after a moment of madness when a single out-of-character act changes their lives forever. One thing is for certain, homicide comes in many guises - the only thing most have in common is a corpse. In The Law Killers, journalist Alexander McGregor examines some of the people and deeds, which have terrorised Dundonian communities. Having reported on many of them first-hand, he has unique insight into the cases and they are as chilling as they are compelling. The father who wanted to go one better than his double-killer son...and did. The groom who promised to love, honour and cherish both his brides...before he strangled them. The thirteen-year-old who was almost as much a victim as the child she killed. The trail of slaughter that started with a break-in and ended hundreds of miles away after an escaped convict killed again...and again and again.The unsolved murder of the wealthy spinster who led a secret life. The trail of dead women in the life of a social worker who thought he could outwit the police...and nearly did
Monaco: Inside F1’s Greatest Race
Malcolm Folley - 2017
Monte Carlo. The ultimate race in the Formula One calendar.When you think of Formula One, you think of Monaco. Once a year, yachts jam the harbour, celebrities fill the stands and luxury sports cars litter the streets as of thousands of people gather from across the world to watch the greatest, and one of the oldest, races in motorsport.Monaco is glamorous, prestigious and seductive. But for the drivers, it is the most demanding race of the year. The narrow streets, tight corners and sharp elevations make it the ultimate test of driving skill. It is physically draining and mentally exhausting.Proposed today, the race would not exist but it remains the jewel in the crown for every Formula One driver. There is simply no other race like it.Win at Monaco and your name is etched in history. You will join the likes of Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.With exclusive interviews and insight from drivers and a wealth of F1 insiders, award-winning sportswriter Malcolm Folley goes behind the scenes to discover what it's really like to drive and live and breathe this iconic circuit. He reveals along the way a unique and definitive portrait of the circuit, and recreates in thrilling detail its most extraordinary weekend, when only three cars finished.