recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

often times there is a topic that I have an interest in, and I want to get a broad overview of it before deciding if I'm really interested in exploring it further.

I'd like to have a thread where people can post a topic they are interested in learning more about, and someone who has some knoweledge of that topic can recommend 1 or 2 quality resources for learning.

the idea here is to keep the recommendations very simple, and not to have responses containing long lists where 10 different books get recommended and the original poster has no idea what to read first. in the interest of brevity, let's try and keep discussion focused on the resources recommended, rather than the topics themselves.

to kick off the thread, if anyone is curious about indian cooking, two resources I really like are:

1) the wikipedia entry on indian cuisine is a really great overview of the different styles of cooking, which vary a lot by region. I've read a lot of wikipedia articles and this series stands out to me.

2)classic indian cooking, by julie sahni is the best overview I've read of indian cooking. there are plenty of recipes, but the entire first section of the book is dedicated to a discussion of the ingredients and techniques used in indian cooking, and their function in a dish. by learning how different spices interact, you can understand the spice's function in a dish and often make a substitution in case you're running low on mango powder.

some topics I'd love to hear recommendations for are

1) economics
2) chess
3) the great depression

ok, either recommend or post something you'd like to learn about!

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

I'd like to learn more about basic political theory, particularly in the US but World politics interests me too.

Are there any basic primers or websites that discuss foundational issues such as the left/right spectrum, conservative vs. liberal, the origin of our existing political parties and their original platforms vs. today, etc...? (Ideally something non-biased if that's even possible.)

Basically when I try to have an intelligent discussion about politics I feel extremely undereducated and I'd like to know a little more what I'm talking about.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

On economics, everyone should read Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson. It's cheap, it's a fast read, and it will give you a very sharp understanding of economic thought and how to use it in policy analysis.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

chess - depends on the level you're at....pachman's book (modern chess theory or something?) is amazing but v dry...dvortesky's books are ridic good esp. his endgame manual dealio. Silman's stuff is easier to read but he essentially just is compiling stuff from my nimzovich and pachman and then adding a bit of humor and less good analysis.

Yugoslav

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

for the great depression, there's one called "freedom from fear" that i believe won the pulitzer. it's a sweeping history of the period. a few people i know have read it and enjoyed it very much. be warned though, it's a pretty sizable book.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

these arent exactly about economics but two books that are both very interesting and engaging reads which deal with risk, luck and finance are:
1)fortune's formula
2)fooled by randomness

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
On economics, everyone should read Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson. It's cheap, it's a fast read, and it will give you a very sharp understanding of economic thought and how to use it in policy analysis.

[/ QUOTE ]

Since I can't simply QFT this in this forum, I will add emphasis by saying that this book, while slightly dated in some places, should be a must read for everybody.

[ QUOTE ]
Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man. This is no accident. The inherent difficulties of the subject would be great enough in any case, but they are multiplied a thousandfold by a factor that is insignificant in, say, physics, mathematics or medicine-the special pleading of selfish interests. While every group has certain economic interests identical with those of all groups, every group has also, as we shall see, interests antagonistic to those of all other groups. While certain public policies would in the long run benefit everybody, other policies would benefit one group only at the expense of all other groups. The group that would benefit by such policies, having such a direct interest in them, will argue for them plausibly and persistently. It will hire the best buyable minds to devote their whole time to presenting its case. And it will finally either convince the general public that its case is sound, or so befuddle it that clear thinking on the subject becomes next to impossible.
<font color="white"> . </font>
In addition to these endless pleadings of self-interest, there is a second main factor that spawns new economic fallacies every day. This is the persistent tendency of men to see only the immediate effects of a given policy, or its effects only on a special group, and to neglect to inquire what the long-run effects of that policy will be not only on that special group but on all groups. It is the fallacy of overlooking secondary consequences.
<font color="white"> . </font>
In this lies the whole difference between good economics and bad. -- Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lessson, p. 1.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

i think some of these topics are too broad to really be covered by one book in more than a cursory fashion.

take chess for instance. one book can teach you the rules and basic strategy; another book can teach you about great chessmasters; another book can teach you about openings; but there is no complete chess book. to recommend a chess book, we would need to know what you want to learn about chess.

i think economics is similarly broad. hazlitt's book is certainly useful, but it is also 50 years old and therefor doesn't cover recent advances such as the economics of information. the point of the book - understanding why markets work - is very fundamental, but i think it is equally important to learn how and why markets can fail (this is a more recent theme of economics). still, i have trouble thinking of a good book. something like "lives of the laureates" should explain the most important economic ideas of the last five decades, but i've never read it so i can't vouch for it.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

this is a good point, I was going to add a caveat I forgot about. most topics are going to be too broad to be addressed by a single book, in this case just recommend a great book for beginners.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

What sort of econ do you want to read about? What questions interest you?

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

The theory and practice of Golf short-game:

Dave Pelz's Putting Bible &amp; Short Game Bible.

Guy used to be a physcist working at NASA and then decided to dedicate himself to the scientific study of golf.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

I want to know more about Greek mythology! I prefer book format, but am also okay with online resources.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'd like to learn more about basic political theory, particularly in the US but World politics interests me too.

Are there any basic primers or websites that discuss foundational issues such as the left/right spectrum, conservative vs. liberal, the origin of our existing political parties and their original platforms vs. today, etc...? (Ideally something non-biased if that's even possible.)

Basically when I try to have an intelligent discussion about politics I feel extremely undereducated and I'd like to know a little more what I'm talking about.

[/ QUOTE ]

Its going to be hard to find a book like this that is completely dry and boring to read like a typical poli sci text book. There is always Politics for Dummies and Congress for Dummies.

factcheck.org and politics1.com are two of my favorite websites. Also put yourself on the political wire daily email list. They have great AP style blurbs every morning to keep one informed.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

For anyone interested in learning card tricks all you need is Royal Road to Card Magic and Expert Card Technique by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue. Both are excellent books that just keep on giving. RRTCM has also been made into a five volume DVD that has some improvements and additions to the original book, so that may be a better choice for someone who prefers to have an award-winning magician (Paul Wilson) show you the moves and tricks in detail.

If you are interested in coin tricks you cannot go wrong with Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo. That and a lot of practice is all it takes.

If you're interested in mentalism get Corinda's 13 Steps to Mentalism and Annemann's Practical Mental Magic.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

I would like to learn to train dogs for narcotics detection.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
chess - depends on the level you're at....pachman's book (modern chess theory or something?) is amazing but v dry...dvortesky's books are ridic good esp. his endgame manual dealio. Silman's stuff is easier to read but he essentially just is compiling stuff from my nimzovich and pachman and then adding a bit of humor and less good analysis.

Yugoslav

[/ QUOTE ]

if you're only going to ever get one chess book it should probably be Nimzowich's My System.

Other than that I highly recommend manual of combinations v 1, 2, 3 - covers all [yes ALL] skill levels, gets progressively harder

While Dvoretsky is great, its really only suitable for higher level players- probably expert and beyond. Endgame manual is an exception but that also has some really tough stuff in it.

Best thing to do in chess would be to get a coach and analyze your own games.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I want to know more about Greek mythology! I prefer book format, but am also okay with online resources.

[/ QUOTE ]

Edith Hamilton: Mythology

This is what you want.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]

Edith Hamilton: Mythology

This is what you want.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ugh. My English teacher described this book thusly:

"Take all the drama, humor, humanity, and gripping stories out of Greek mythology and replace it with a dry, boring account and you have this book."

I tend to agree - there HAS to be better book out there, although I don't know what it is. This is basically a tiny little textbook. If that's all you need, then fine but otherwise I'd pass.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

dean,
I'd like to read a broad overview of different schools of thought for both macro and micro, but mainly I am interested in macro stuff. how does the fed decide to raise interest rates? I am also interested in currency related stuff, for example how and why currencies are pegged to each other and what implications stuff like this has, etc.

probably very basic stuff for any of you econ guys.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

This is a book that talks about how economic thought evolved throughout history. It also has biographies of different economists and gives you a general idea of their contributions to economics.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
chess - depends on the level you're at....

[/ QUOTE ]

I know the rules, other than that have no idea what I'm doing except for a few vague notions of stuff like pinning. I've played maybe a few hundred games against friends. probably pretty typical chess noob.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

For those interested in writing everything from message board posts to novels, The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is great, along with On Writing by Stephen King.

Many writing professionals recommend copying The Elements of Style word for word, just to experience clear and concise writing techniques first hand.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

I've heard really good things about Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science. I'll probably read that, but I'm mostly interested in microeconomics. Any recommendations?

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

I second these recommendations, they are all excellent books. I have to say though, for card technique there is no better/more complete series than giobbi's card college.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
chess - depends on the level you're at....

[/ QUOTE ]

I know the rules, other than that have no idea what I'm doing except for a few vague notions of stuff like pinning. I've played maybe a few hundred games against friends. probably pretty typical chess noob.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not a serious enough chess scholar to comment on the degree to which Silman is original or anything like that. His books are certainly REALLY poorly edited. That said, for a beginner, something like "How to Reassess Your Chess" will at least get you started on what kind of factors are important in assessing a position. I think it's a LOT more approachable than My System. And as far as quality of analysis goes, for most new players, the analysis is likely to fly way over their heads anyway.

I think Silman seems like a really good book to get you started on realizing what you should be thinking about. The trick, then, is probably to look at game collections of well-known masters (Alekhine or Capablanca seem to be popular recommendations for this) and then try and analyze and understand the game, preferably by yourself and then comparing to the annotations. Collections of tactical puzzles - pins, forks, combinations of various sorts - are also good practice for getting better.

To digress at the end of my post, I would be interested if anybody has recommendations for good reading on meditation practices.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

Classical Music.

But I'm looking for an online site that combines information about composers, various styles/genres and so on with links to streaming samples or clips or even downloads if in the public domain.

~ Rick

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Classical Music.

But I'm looking for an online site that combines information about composers, various styles/genres and so on with links to streaming samples or clips or even downloads if in the public domain.

[/ QUOTE ]
You might be interested in some of these courses from The Teaching Company. I haven't listened to any of the music ones, but the several history and philosophy courses I've gotten have been amazing.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I second these recommendations, they are all excellent books. I have to say though, for card technique there is no better/more complete series than giobbi's card college.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have the Card College books myself but have heard nothing but good about them. My only question is if you already have RRTCM and Expert Card Technique are the Card College books still worth getting? At about $150 for the five volumes it seems like a pretty hefty investment if they don't include that much more than the two books I mentioned.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Classical Music.

But I'm looking for an online site that combines information about composers, various styles/genres and so on with links to streaming samples or clips or even downloads if in the public domain.

~ Rick

[/ QUOTE ]

as far as books go, "The Vintage Guide to Classical Music" by Jan Sawfford is pretty good. It covers major composers and styles along with some very basic music theory. Plus it has "A Classical Library" as an appendix, which lists major works.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

hard for me to say, I used RRTCM and ECT as a kid learning magic, used giobbi's books as a refresher course years later.

you don't have to buy the complete set, I would look at the table of contents online and pick a volume that looks interesting to you, and pick up more as you see fit. the early vols are basics, later volumes get pretty advanced. I've only skimmed 4 and 5. all the volumes seem to have a good mix of different techniques (shuffles, breaks, forces, etc).

they're really quality stuff, I bet after reading one you'll end up with the whole set. man, I haven't talked about magic with anyone in forever. paul harris was my hero when I was like 10 [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
paul harris was my hero when I was like 10 [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

[/ QUOTE ]

Paul Harris is my hero now [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] (along with Dai Vernon).

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

Economics in one lesson

It is good. Should be required high school reading or something.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

If you are interested in learning more about the Arab-Israeli conflict, then this is a great place to start:
The Gun and the Olive Branch: the Roots of violence in the Middle East by David Hirst.

It has a real nice historical overview of the situation, along with some nice analysis. Also well documented to lead you to additional reading.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'd like to learn more about basic political theory, particularly in the US but World politics interests me too.

Are there any basic primers or websites that discuss foundational issues such as the left/right spectrum, conservative vs. liberal, the origin of our existing political parties and their original platforms vs. today, etc...? (Ideally something non-biased if that's even possible.)

Basically when I try to have an intelligent discussion about politics I feel extremely undereducated and I'd like to know a little more what I'm talking about.

[/ QUOTE ]

Look up Democracy and Its Discontents by Michael J. Sandel. He is a professor of government at Harvard. He also wrote Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, which is basically a critique of modern liberalism. The latter is much more philosophical (obviously) than the former. The former will be a great primer on American politics. It covers a bunch of topics. He even throws in a but of Keynesian economics in the later chapters... I had read this book prior to college and it taught everything and beyond what I learned in my American Fed Gov't class... and was several hundred dollars cheaper.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, by Charlie Papazian

in case you couldn't figure it out, it's about homebrewing. beer.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Classical Music.

But I'm looking for an online site that combines information about composers, various styles/genres and so on with links to streaming samples or clips or even downloads if in the public domain.

[/ QUOTE ]

The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music sounds like a good match. It includes a code to access the Naxos site with 525 referenced selections.

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

...Asterisk

1) Building Telephony Systems With Asterisk by Gomillion and Dempster
- a waste if you already know the basics of industry telco...

2) The internets

3) Asterisk: The Future of Telephony by Smith, Meggelen, Madsen
- typical dry O'Reilly computer book...use as reference if you suck at using resource #2 above

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Classical Music.

But I'm looking for an online site that combines information about composers, various styles/genres and so on with links to streaming samples or clips or even downloads if in the public domain.

[/ QUOTE ]

The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music sounds like a good match. It includes a code to access the Naxos site with 525 referenced selections.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have the similar The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection : The 350 Essential Works . Maybe I need to get in the habit of picking it up and reading it but that seams so passe (and hard since it's heavy!). Seriously, I just pulled it off the shelve and I realize I need some sort of "keep big books flat" thing with a magnifier if I'm going to use it next to the computer. Not sure this one has coded links yet (it's a beautiful day outside and I'm wasting it getting up past the crack of noon).

I'm still hoping to find an online site with links to samples. If any type of music needs links to sample music clips IMO it's classical. Googling a bit I did just find a [url:http://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com/home.asp]Naxos streaming site[/url] but its $15 a month. I was hoping to find a free site with clips and links to whole CDs.

Googling further I also just found ClassicalDOTcom which has free samples but the links are to MP3s. For classical I prefer samples at low bit rate with links to CDs.

I'll Google more later and report back if I find something that really fits.

~ Rick

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
as far as books go, "The Vintage Guide to Classical Music" by Jan Sawfford is pretty good. It covers major composers and styles along with some very basic music theory. Plus it has "A Classical Library" as an appendix, which lists major works.

[/ QUOTE ]

With reference material that has a potentially multimedia element I'm really hoping to find online resources. In other words something I can search or browse, listen to a sample, and then be able to click on a link to the Amazon or similar site where I can put it on a Christmas or birthday list. I'm so backed up on reading that I hope for an all music Christmas and I want to make careful choices.

~ Rick

Re: recommend a book/resource for learning about.....
 

[ QUOTE ]
You might be interested in some of these courses from The Teaching Company. I haven't listened to any of the music ones, but the several history and philosophy courses I've gotten have been amazing.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just bookmarked the site's home page. This is something I need to look at, but with my lifestyle and level of general ignorance it might be the sort of thing that might work best in my car. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

~ Rick