Brandon's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 13 Jul 2019 09:21:15 -0700 60 Brandon's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy]]> 28186015 But as mathematician and data scientist Cathy O'Neil reveals, the mathematical models being used today are unregulated and uncontestable, even when they're wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination--propping up the lucky, punishing the downtrodden, and undermining our democracy in the process.]]> 259 Cathy O'Neil 0553418815 Brandon 4 3.86 2016 Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
author: Cathy O'Neil
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age]]> 36296465 Imperial Twilight looks back to tell the story of the country's last age of ascendance and how it came to an end in the nineteenth-century Opium War.

When Britain launched its first war on China in 1839, pushed into hostilities by profiteering drug merchants and free-trade interests, it sealed the fate of what had long been seen as the most prosperous and powerful empire in Asia, if not the world. But internal problems of corruption, popular unrest, and dwindling finances had weakened China far more than was commonly understood, and the war would help set in motion the eventual fall of the Qing dynasty--which, in turn, would lead to the rise of nationalism and communism in the twentieth century. As one of the most potent turning points in the country's modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today's China seeks to put behind it.

In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to "open" China--traveling mostly in secret beyond Canton, the single port where they were allowed--even as China's imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country's decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China's advantage. The book paints an enduring portrait of an immensely profitable--and mostly peaceful--meeting of civilizations at Canton over the long term that was destined to be shattered by one of the most shockingly unjust wars in the annals of imperial history. Brimming with a fascinating cast of British, Chinese, and American individuals, this riveting narrative of relations between China and the West has important implications for today's uncertain and ever-changing political climate.]]> 555 Stephen R. Platt 0307961745 Brandon 0 currently-reading 4.34 2018 Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
author: Stephen R. Platt
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Paul of Dune (Heroes of Dune, #1)]]> 2920001 Dune ended with Paul Muad'Dib in control of the planet Dune. Herbert's next Dune book, Dune Messiah, picked up the story several years later after Paul's armies had conquered the galaxy. But what happened between Dune and Dune Messiah? How did Paul create his empire and become the Messiah? Following in the footsteps of Frank Herbert, New York Times bestselling authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are answering these questions in Paul of Dune.

The Muad'Dib's jihad is in full swing. His warrior legions march from victory to victory. But beneath the joy of victory there are dangerous undercurrents. Paul, like nearly every great conqueror, has enemies--those who would betray him to steal the awesome power he commands. . . .

And Paul himself begins to have doubts: Is the jihad getting out of his control? Has he created anarchy? Has he been betrayed by those he loves and trusts the most? And most of all, he wonders: Am I going mad?

Paul of Dune is a novel everyone will want to read and no one will be able to forget.]]> 512 Brian Herbert 0765312948 Brandon 0 to-read 3.74 2008 Paul of Dune (Heroes of Dune, #1)
author: Brian Herbert
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> New York 8258519 New York: The Novel gloriously captures the search for freedom and opportunity at the heart of our nation’s history.]]> 862 Edward Rutherfurd 0345497422 Brandon 0 to-read 4.23 2009 New York
author: Edward Rutherfurd
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Grant 34237826
Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had been dismal, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War, he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in the Civil War, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the Battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee after a series of unbelievably bloody battles in Virginia. Along the way Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. His military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff. All the while Grant himself remained more or less above reproach. But, more importantly, he never failed to seek freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him 'the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race." After his presidency, he was again brought low by a trusted colleague, this time a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, but he resuscitated his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre.

With his famous lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as "nothing heroic... and yet the greatest hero." His probing portrait of Grant's lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America's greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of America's finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant's life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary.]]> 1074 Ron Chernow 159420487X Brandon 0 currently-reading 4.46 2017 Grant
author: Ron Chernow
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Revenger (Revenger #1) 28962452
And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them.

Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It's their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded by layers of protection—and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous.

Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore's crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune: the fabled and feared Bosa Sennen in particular.

Revenger is a science fiction adventure story set in the rubble of our solar system in the dark, distant future—a tale of space pirates, buried treasure, and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism and of vengeance...]]> 425 Alastair Reynolds 0575090537 Brandon 0 currently-reading 3.74 2016 Revenger (Revenger #1)
author: Alastair Reynolds
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor]]> 20578533
Africa has been coveted for its rich natural resources ever since the era of the Pharaohs. In past centuries, it was the lure of gold, ivory, and slaves that drew merchant-adventurers and conquerors from afar. In modern times, the focus of attention is on oil, diamonds, and other rare earth minerals.

In this vast and vivid panorama of history, Martin Meredith follows the fortunes of Africa over a period of 5,000 years. With compelling narrative, he traces the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms and empires; the spread of Christianity and Islam; the enduring quest for gold and other riches; the exploits of explorers and missionaries; and the impact of European colonization. He examines, too, the fate of modern African states and concludes with a glimpse of their future.

His cast of characters includes religious leaders, mining magnates, warlords, dictators, and many other legendary figures-among them Mansa Musa, ruler of the medieval Mali empire, said to be the richest man the world has ever known.]]> 745 Martin Meredith 1610394593 Brandon 0 currently-reading 4.13 2014 The Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor
author: Martin Meredith
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> War of the Spark: Ravnica 41814546
Teyo Verada wants nothing more than to be a shieldmage, wielding arcane energies to protect his people from his world’s vicious diamondstorms. When he’s buried alive in the aftermath of his first real tempest, the young mage’s life is about to end before it can truly begin—until it doesn’t. In a flash, a power he didn’t know he had whisks him away from his home, to a world of stone, glass, and Ravnica. Teyo is a Planeswalker, one of many to be called to the world-spanning city—all lured by Nicol Bolas, the Elder Dragon. Bolas lays siege to the city of Ravnica, hungry for the ultimate godhood itself. His unparalleled magic and unstoppable army appear poised to bring the city to utter ruin.]]> 384 Greg Weisman 1984817930 Brandon 2 3.06 2019 War of the Spark: Ravnica
author: Greg Weisman
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.06
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Eleventh Metal (Mistborn, #0.5)]]> 22823333 Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection.

"This story was written specifically for the Mistborn Adventure Game, a tabletop RPG. Please keep in mind that the story was intended to help a GM bring his players up to speed on the world if they haven’t read the books. There are a few goodies for those who want to know more about Kelsier, but this story is not meant to stand wholly on its own."
~ Brandon Sanderson.]]> 21 Brandon Sanderson Brandon 0 3.74 2012 The Eleventh Metal (Mistborn, #0.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hope of Elantris (Elantris, #1.5)]]> 10852065 The following is a short story I wrote in the Elantris world back in January of 2006. At that point, Elantris had only been out in stores for about seven or eight months, but I actually hadn't written anything new on the story or world since 2000, when I'd finished the first draft of the original book. This story was originally posted for sale on Amazon.com; once the contract with them ran out, I posted it on my website.

There were always a few holes in the manuscript where I decided not to include viewpoints or sections of explanation in the name of streamlining, particularly at the end. In the back of my mind, I knew what happened. This story talks about one of those holes; it is meant to be read after you've finished the novel and takes place during the events of the climax. In the , I've written a further explanation of why I wrote this piece. Some of you may find it interesting to read this ahead of time; I put it in the annotation, however, as I know others would rather enjoy the story without bias beforehand, then read my thoughts afterward.

Either way, if you haven't read the novel Elantris, this contains major spoilers. Might I suggest reading the book first? This story won't work at all for you if you haven't.

As always, thanks for reading!]]> 25 Brandon Sanderson Brandon 0 3.62 2006 The Hope of Elantris (Elantris, #1.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell]]> 21411388 Originally appearing in the Dangerous Women anthology and now available as a solo ebook, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell is a chilling novella of the Cosmere, the universe shared by Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series and the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive.

When the familiar and seemingly safe turns lethal, therein danger lies. Amid a forest where the shades of the dead linger all around, every homesteader knows to follow the Simple Rules: "Don't kindle flame, don't shed the blood of another, don't run at night. These things draw shades."

Silence Montane has broken all three rules on more than one occasion. And to protect her family from a murderous gang with high bounties on their heads, Silence will break every rule again, at the risk of becoming a shade herself.]]> 50 Brandon Sanderson Brandon 0 4.15 2013 Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings, Part 2 (The Stormlight Archive #1, Part 2 of 2)]]> 11221285
They came against man ten thousand times. To help them cope, the Almighty gave men powerful suits of armor and mystical weapons, known as Shardblades. Led by ten angelic Heralds and ten orders of knights known as Radiants, mankind finally won.

Or so the legends say. Today, the only remnants of those supposed battles are the Shardblades, the possession of which makes a man nearly invincible on the battlefield. The entire world is at war with itself - and has been for centuries since the Radiants turned against mankind. Kings strive to win more Shardblades, each secretly wishing to be the one who will finally unite all of mankind under a single throne.

On a world scoured down to the rock by terrifying hurricanes that blow through every few days is a young spearman, forced into the army of a Shardbearer, led to war against an enemy he doesn't understand and doesn't really want to fight.

What happened deep in mankind's past?

Why did the Radiants turn against mankind, and what happened to the magic they used to wield?]]> 530 Brandon Sanderson 0575102489 Brandon 0 4.79 2010 The Way of Kings, Part 2 (The Stormlight Archive #1, Part 2 of 2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.79
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings, Part 1 (The Stormlight Archive, #1, Part 1 of 2)]]> 9329354 Speak again the ancient oaths. Life before death. Strength before weakness, Journey before destination. And return to men the shards they once bore. The knights radiant must stand again.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars are fought for them, and won by them.

One such war is about to swallow up a soldier, a brightlord and a young woman scholar.]]> 594 Brandon Sanderson 0575097361 Brandon 0 4.64 2010 The Way of Kings, Part 1 (The Stormlight Archive, #1, Part 1 of 2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.64
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection]]> 28595941
Now for the first time anywhere, stories representing each of these planets, and their fully realized and distinct magic systems, have been collected in a single spectacular volume. Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection brings together tales spanning the known limits of Sanderson's universe--including the never-before-published Edgedancer, a thrilling new novella of the Stormlight Archive--along with charts, illustrations, notes...and secrets.

The Cosmere Collection encompasses six worlds in all, explored across nine astonishing works of short fiction: Sel ("The Hope of Elantris" and The Emperor's Soul); Scadrial ("The Eleventh Metal," "Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania, Episodes Twenty-eight Through Thirty," and Mistborn: Secret History); Taldain ("White Sand"); Threnody (“Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell�); First of the Sun (“Sixth of the Dusk�); and Roshar (Edgedancer).

These exciting tales will catapult you onto an unprecedented journey across a cosmos only Brandon Sanderson could have envisioned. Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection is an indispensible volume no Sanderson fan can do without.]]> 672 Brandon Sanderson 0765391163 Brandon 0 4.45 2016 Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Secret History (Mistborn, #3.5)]]> 28698036 Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection.

Mistborn: Secret History is a companion story to the original Mistborn trilogy. As such, it contains HUGE SPOILERS for the books Mistborn (The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. It also contains very minor spoilers for the book The Bands of Mourning. Mistborn: Secret History builds upon the characterization, events, and worldbuilding of the original trilogy. Reading it without that background will be a confusing process at best. In short, this isn’t the place to start your journey into Mistborn. (Though if you have read the trilogy—but it has been a while—you should be just fine, so long as you remember the characters and the general plot of the books.) Saying anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowledge of this story’s existence is, in a way, a spoiler. There’s always another secret.]]> 155 Brandon Sanderson Brandon 0 4.34 2016 Secret History (Mistborn, #3.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5)]]> 34703445 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, a special gift edition of Edgedancer, a short novel of the Stormlight Archive.

Three years ago, Lift asked a goddess to stop her from growing older--a wish she believed was granted. Now, in Edgedancer, the barely teenage nascent Knight Radiant finds that time stands still for no one. Although the young Azish emperor granted her safe haven from an executioner she knows only as Darkness, court life is suffocating the free-spirited Lift, who can't help heading to Yeddaw when she hears the relentless Darkness is there hunting people like her with budding powers. The downtrodden in Yeddaw have no champion, and Lift knows she must seize this awesome responsibility.

]]> 272 Brandon Sanderson 1250166543 Brandon 0 4.15 2016 Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Skyward (Skyward, #1) 36642458 513 Brandon Sanderson 1473217857 Brandon 0 currently-reading 4.45 2018 Skyward (Skyward, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rithmatist (The Rithmatist #1)]]> 22443261
As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.]]> 386 Brandon Sanderson 1743532806 Brandon 0 4.25 2013 The Rithmatist (The Rithmatist #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Emperor's Soul (The Cosmere)]]> 13578175 Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection.

A heretic thief is the empire’s only hope in this fascinating tale that inhabits the same world as the popular novel, Elantris.

Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Though her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead.

Probing deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan’s truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but councilor Gaotona must overcome his prejudices to understand that Shai’s forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.

Brimming with magic and political intrigue, this deftly woven fantasy delves into the essence of a living spirit.]]> 192 Brandon Sanderson 1616960922 Brandon 0 4.38 2012 The Emperor's Soul (The Cosmere)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6)]]> 18739426
The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metal minds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set.]]> 455 Brandon Sanderson 146686267X Brandon 0 4.42 2016 The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5)]]> 16065004
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

When family obligations forced Waxillium Ladrian to forsake the frontier lands and return to the metropolis of his birth to take his place as head of a noble House, he little imagined that the crime-fighting skills acquired during twenty years in the dusty plains would be just as applicable in the big city. He soon learned that there too, just being a talented Twinborn � one who can use both Allomancy and Feruchemy, the dominant magical modes on Scadrial � would not suffice.

This bustling, optimistic, but still shaky society will now face its first test by terrorism and assassination, crimes intended to stir up labor strife and religious conflict. Wax, his eccentric sidekick Wayne, and brilliant, beautiful young Marasi, now officially part of the constabulary, must unravel the conspiracy before civil strife can stop Scadrial’s progress in its tracks.]]> 376 Brandon Sanderson 0765378558 Brandon 0 4.27 2015 Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)]]> 34002132 Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.]]> 1248 Brandon Sanderson Brandon 0 4.60 2017 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Warbreaker 1268479
Their world is one in which those who die in glory return as gods to live confined to a pantheon in Hallandren's capital city and where a power known as BioChromatic magic is based on an essence known as breath that can only be collected one unit at a time from individual people.

By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be accomplished. It will take considerable quantities of each to resolve all the challenges facing Vivenna and Siri, princesses of Idris; Susebron the God King; Lightsong, reluctant god of bravery, and mysterious Vasher, the Warbreaker.]]> 688 Brandon Sanderson Brandon 0 4.29 2009 Warbreaker
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4)]]> 10803121
Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will.

After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.]]> 325 Brandon Sanderson 0765330423 Brandon 0 4.20 2011 The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> Elantris (Elantris, #1) 68427
Arelon's new capital, Kae, crouches in the shadow of Elantris. Princess Sarene of Teod arrives for a marriage of state with Crown Prince Raoden, hoping—based on their correspondence—to also find love. She finds instead that Raoden has died and she is considered his widow. Both Teod and Arelon are under threat as the last remaining holdouts against the imperial ambitions of the ruthless religious fanatics of Fjordell. So Sarene decides to use her new status to counter the machinations of Hrathen, a Fjordell high priest who has come to Kae to convert Arelon and claim it for his emperor and his god.

But neither Sarene nor Hrathen suspect the truth about Prince Raoden. Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

A rare epic fantasy that doesn't recycle the classics and that is a complete and satisfying story in one volume, Elantris is fleet and fun, full of surprises and characters to care about. It's also the wonderful debut of a welcome new star in the constellation of fantasy.]]> 638 Brandon Sanderson 0765350378 Brandon 0 4.16 2005 Elantris (Elantris, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)]]> 17332218 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.]]> 1088 Brandon Sanderson 0765326361 Brandon 0 4.76 2014 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.76
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)]]> 2767793
Who is the Hero of Ages?

To end the Final Empire and restore freedom, Vin killed the Lord Ruler. But as a result, the Deepness—the lethal form of the ubiquitous mists—is back, along with increasingly heavy ashfalls and ever more powerful earthquakes. Humanity appears to be doomed.

Having escaped death at the climax of The Well of Ascension only by becoming a Mistborn himself, Emperor Elend Venture hopes to find clues left behind by the Lord Ruler that will allow him to save the world. Vin is consumed with guilt at having been tricked into releasing the mystic force known as Ruin from the Well. Ruin wants to end the world, and its near omniscience and ability to warp reality make stopping it seem impossible. Vin can't even discuss it with Elend lest Ruin learn their plans!]]> 572 Brandon Sanderson 0765316897 Brandon 0 4.54 2008 The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)]]> 68429
The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler—the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years—has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves.

As Kelsier's protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her.

Stopping assassins may keep Vin's Mistborn skills sharp, but it's the least of her problems. Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn't run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won't get easier with three armies - one of them composed of ferocious giants - now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler's hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.

As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.]]> 590 Brandon Sanderson 0765316889 Brandon 0 4.38 2007 The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)]]> 7235533 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of The Stormlight Archive begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.

and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.]]> 1007 Brandon Sanderson 0765326353 Brandon 0 4.66 2010 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 68428 What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?

Mistborn
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.]]> 541 Brandon Sanderson Brandon 0 4.48 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Light of All That Falls (The Licanius Trilogy, #3)]]> 36111098
The Boundary is whole once again, but it may be too late.

Banes now stalk Andarra, while in Ilin Illan, the political machinations of a generation come to a head as Wirr's newfound ability forces his family's old enemies into action.

Imprisoned and alone in a strange land, Davian is pitted against the remaining Venerate as they work tirelessly to undo Asha's sacrifice - even as he struggles with what he has learned about the friend he chose to set free.

And Caeden, now facing the consequences of his centuries-old plan, must finally confront its reality - heartbroken at how it began, and devastated by how it must end.]]> 864 James Islington Brandon 0 to-read 4.39 2019 The Light of All That Falls (The Licanius Trilogy, #3)
author: James Islington
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)]]> 22878967 It has been twenty years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs—once thought of almost as gods—were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs' fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion's Four Tenets. A representation of these laws is now written into the flesh of any who use the Gift, forcing those so marked into absolute obedience.

As a student of the Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war fought—and lost—before he was born. Despised by most beyond the school walls, he and those around him are all but prisoners as they attempt to learn control of the Gift. Worse, as Davian struggles with his lessons, he knows that there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests.

But when Davian discovers he has the ability to wield the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything. To the north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir. And to the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian’s wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is…]]> 602 James Islington 099258020X Brandon 0 4.13 2014 The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)
author: James Islington
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Echo of Things to Come (The Licanius Trilogy, #2)]]> 32498052
The second book in a glorious new fantasy trilogy by the next major force in commercial epic fantasy.

In the wake of the devastating attack on Ilin Illan, an amnesty has been declared for all Augurs - finally allowing them to emerge from hiding and openly oppose the dark forces massing against Andarra. However as Davian and his new allies hurry north toward the ever-weakening Boundary, fresh horrors along their path suggest that their reprieve may have come far too late.
In the capital, Wirr is forced to contend with assassins and an increasingly hostile Administration as he controversially assumes the mantle of Northwarden, uncovering a mystery that draws into question everything commonly believed about the rebellion his father led twenty years ago. Meanwhile, Asha begins a secret investigation into the disappearance of the Shadows, determined to discover not only where they went but the origin of the Vessels that created them - and, ultimately, a cure.
And with time against him as he races to fulfill the treacherous bargain with the Lyth, Caeden continues to wrestle with the impossibly heavy burdens of his past. Yet as more and more of his memories return, he begins to realise that the motivations of the two sides in this ancient war may not be as clear-cut as they first seemed...
The Licanius TrilogyThe Shadow of What Was LostAn Echo of Things to Come]]> 752 James Islington 0316274119 Brandon 0 4.21 2017 An Echo of Things to Come (The Licanius Trilogy, #2)
author: James Islington
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times]]> 37792766 From a preeminent presidential historian comes a groundbreaking and often surprising narrative of America’s wartime chief executives

It sometimes seems, in retrospect, as if America has been almost continuously at war. Ten years in the research and writing, Presidents of War is a fresh, magisterial, intimate look at a procession of American leaders as they took the nation into conflict and mobilized their country for victory. It brings us into the room as they make the most difficult decisions that face any President, at times sending hundreds of thousands of American men and women to their deaths.

From James Madison and the War of 1812 to recent times, we see them struggling with Congress, the courts, the press, their own advisors and antiwar protesters; seeking comfort from their spouses, families and friends; and dropping to their knees in prayer. We come to understand how these Presidents were able to withstand the pressures of war—both physically and emotionally—or were broken by them.

Beschloss’s interviews with surviving participants in the drama and his discoveries in original letters, diaries, once-classified national security documents, and other sources help him to tell this story in a way it has not been told before. Presidents of War combines the sense of being there with the overarching context of two centuries of American history. This important book shows how far we have traveled from the time of our Founders, who tried to constrain presidential power, to our modern day, when a single leader has the potential to launch nuclear weapons that can destroy much of the human race.]]> 752 Michael R. Beschloss 0307409600 Brandon 0 currently-reading 4.19 2018 Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times
author: Michael R. Beschloss
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth]]> 16158491 The Way of the Knife is the untold story of that shadow war: a campaign that has blurred the lines between soldiers and spies and lowered the bar for waging war across the globe. America has pursued its enemies with killer drones and special operations troops; trained privateers for assassination missions and used them to set up clandestine spying networks; and relied on mercurial dictators, untrustworthy foreign intelligence services, and proxy armies.

This new approach to war has been embraced by Washington as a lower risk, lower cost alternative to the messy wars of occupation and has been championed as a clean and surgical way of conflict. But the knife has created enemies just as it has killed them. It has fomented resentments among allies, fueled instability, and created new weapons unbound by the normal rules of accountability during wartime.]]> 381 Mark Mazzetti 1594204802 Brandon 0 3.83 2013 The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth
author: Mark Mazzetti
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, #2)]]> 45154547 WINNER OF THE 2022 HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
Now a USA Today bestseller!
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2021
Amazon's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2021
Bookpage's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2021
Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ Choice Awards Nominee for Best Science Fiction Book of 2021

A Desolation Called Peace is the spectacular space opera sequel to Arkady Martine's genre-reinventing, Hugo Award-winning debut, A Memory Called Empire.

An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with it, no one can destroy it, and Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is running out of options.

In a desperate attempt at diplomacy with the mysterious invaders, the fleet captain has sent for a diplomatic envoy. Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass—still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire—face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity.

Their failure will guarantee millions of deaths in an endless war. Their success might prevent Teixcalaan’s destruction—and allow the empire to continue its rapacious expansion.

Or it might create something far stranger . . .
]]> 496 Arkady Martine 125018648X Brandon 0 to-read 4.31 2021 A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, #2)
author: Arkady Martine
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1)]]> 37794149
Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.]]> 448 Arkady Martine 1529001587 Brandon 5 4.08 2019 A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1)
author: Arkady Martine
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House]]> 36595101 Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

Since Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, the country―and the world―has witnessed a stormy, outrageous, and absolutely mesmerizing presidential term that reflects the volatility and fierceness of the man elected Commander-in-Chief.

This riveting and explosive account of Trump’s administration provides a wealth of new details about the chaos in the Oval Office, including:
-- What President Trump’s staff really thinks of him
-- What inspired Trump to claim he was wire-tapped by President Obama
-- Why FBI director James Comey was really fired
-- Why chief strategist Steve Bannon and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner couldn’t be in the same room
-- Who is really directing the Trump administration’s strategy in the wake of Bannon’s firing
-- What the secret to communicating with Trump is
-- What the Trump administration has in common with the movie The Producers

Never before in history has a presidency so divided the American people. Brilliantly reported and astoundingly fresh, Fire and Fury shows us how and why Donald Trump has become the king of discord and disunion.]]> 322 Michael Wolff 1250158060 Brandon 0 to-read 3.36 2018 Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House
author: Michael Wolff
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Altar of Influence: The Orsarian War (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #0)]]> 23464504
Thannuel Kerr is handsome, young and brash, fumbling through childhood toward his inevitable inheritance: the next Lord of the Western Province. He struggles to accept his arranged marriage and to grow into the man he must become. The journey toward that end, however, is fraught with more peril than he could possibly imagine. In the remote reaches of the Realm, an unknown, silent threat is growing. The Thoulden-sha of Mari-shaden is gathering his disciples, those who have relinquished their bloodlines to the Ancients and embraced Those Not Remembered, a forgotten race that inhabited VĂĄleira long before the Age of the Ancients.

As Thannuel learns more about his heritage, he begins to understand why powers that seem greater than anything the world of Våleira has ever seen are targeting him. As a young man, he and his beloved intended, Moira, will face assassination attempts, civil war, and foreign invasions that could tear the Realm—and Våleira itself—apart.

Sacrifice. It is what the Thoulden-sha demands. It is what the world desperately needs. To save all he loves, Thannuel will be called upon to lay himself upon the Altar of Influence.]]> 378 Jacob Cooper 0692306838 Brandon 0 currently-reading 4.11 2014 Altar of Influence: The Orsarian War (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #0)
author: Jacob Cooper
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Song of Night (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #2)]]> 25263586 Jacob Cooper Brandon 0 to-read 3.89 2021 Song of Night (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #2)
author: Jacob Cooper
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Remnants and Shadows (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #.75)]]> 25454454
Thannuel and Moira have been promised to each other since birth. Just as they are growing, both as individuals and together, the Marishee probe deep into Arlethia and strike at House Kerr, attempting to abduct Thannuel and assassinate Moira. While the attempt barely fails, it leaves them questioning their relationship and deeply contemplating their future together.

Amnoch, master of the hold guard for House Kerr and member of the furtive Gyldenal Order, sets out on a quest to discover more about the Marishee, disciples of the enigmatic Thoulden-sha, the Oracle of Mari-shaden. As The Resurgence continues to gain traction among the people of Senthara, Amnoch’s mission unwittingly becomes a fulcrum between the Living Light and The Ancient Dark. Remnants of things long forgotten since The Turning Away lie hidden and await him, shadows of an unknown threat too great to ignore.]]> Jacob Cooper Brandon 0 to-read 4.26 2015 Remnants and Shadows (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #.75)
author: Jacob Cooper
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Red Grove: A Short Story (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #1.1)]]> 24455381
Lord Thannuel Kerr is dead. Lady Moira Kerr is dead. Their twin children, Reign and Hedron, have fled north, hiding amid the Great Glaciers of Gonfrey at the edge of the Realm, protected by a mysterious old woman and her pack of wolves. They believe they are safe, that their presence goes unnoticed.

They are wrong.

Forces that brought down House Kerr are still at work. A cleansing of Kerrs has occurred throughout the Realm and now the last of that lineage has been mercilessly targeted—again. But there is something those who seek their destruction have not accounted for, something that lies in wait beneath the pure snow.]]> 31 Jacob Cooper Brandon 0 to-read 4.23 2015 The Red Grove: A Short Story (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #1.1)
author: Jacob Cooper
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Circle of Reign (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #1)]]> 22845353 The Living Light Fades.
An Ancient Darkness Awakens.

The Living Light that sustains Arlethia is dwindling.

An unknown, vicious enemy approaches in stealth from beyond the northern glaciers, a wasteland of ice that spans hundreds of miles. A clandestine brotherhood of assassins, held in check by the Light for millennia, seeks to break their maledictive shackles and unleash their bloodlust upon the world. Those that should stand with Arlethia clothe themselves in betrayal, desiring her secrets for themselves, leaving Arlethia to stand alone.

The rebirthing of lands ceased decades ago. The world of Våleira is dying. Only Arlethia, the Western Province of the Realm, remains untainted by the Ancient Dark’s Influence. Reign, the young daughter of Arlethian Lord Thannuel Kerr, becomes entangled in a perilous web of deceit, greed, and assassination plots after witnessing something horrific � something that will destroy all she knows and loves. As threats culminate, she and her twin brother, Hedron, must battle demons on every side � both external and internal � in their efforts to save Arlethia from extinction, as they simultaneously reach for their own personal redemption. But they have become pariahs to their own people. There will be few that dare to stand with them in the dimming Light � and even fewer that will survive.

The world of VĂĄleira cannot endure without Arlethia. And the Living Light is fading ...]]> 616 Jacob Cooper Brandon 0 3.93 2014 Circle of Reign (The Dying Lands Chronicle, #1)
author: Jacob Cooper
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2019/07/13
date added: 2019/07/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Capitalism in America: An Economic History of the United States]]> 38712616 Shortlisted for the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2018



Where does prosperity come from, and how does it spread through a society? What role does innovation play in creating prosperity and why do some eras see the fruits of innovation spread more democratically, and others, including our own, find the opposite?

In Capitalism in America, Alan Greenspan, legendary Chair of the Federal Reserve, distils a lifetime of grappling with these questions into a profound assessment of the decisive drivers of the US economy over the course of its history. In partnership with Economist journalist and historian Adrian Wooldridge, he unfolds a tale of vast landscapes, titanic figures and triumphant breakthroughs as well as terrible moral failings. Every crucial American economic debate is here - from the role of slavery in the antebellum Southern economy to America's violent swings in its openness to global trade.

At heart, the authors argue, America's genius has been its enthusiasm for the effects of creative destruction, the ceaseless churn of the old giving way to the new. Although messy and painful, it has lifted the overwhelming majority of Americans to standards of living unimaginable even a few generations past. At a time when productivity has again stalled, stirring populist furies, and the continuing of American pre-eminence seems uncertain, Capitalism in America explains why America has worked so successfully in the past and been such a gigantic engine of economic growth.]]> 496 Alan Greenspan 0735222452 Brandon 0 currently-reading 4.08 2018 Capitalism in America: An Economic History of the United States
author: Alan Greenspan
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War]]> 40180025 Sea Hunter—and examines the legal and ethical issues surrounding their use. “A smart primer to what’s to come in warfare� (Bruce Schneier), Army of None engages military history, global policy, and cutting-edge science to explore the implications of giving weapons the freedom to make life and death decisions. A former soldier himself, Scharre argues that we must embrace technology where it can make war more precise and humane, but when the choice is life or death, there is no replacement for the human heart.]]> 448 Paul Scharre 0393356582 Brandon 0 currently-reading 3.78 2018 Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War
author: Paul Scharre
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Ilium (Ilium, #1) 3973 731 Dan Simmons 0380817926 Brandon 0 to-read 4.02 2003 Ilium (Ilium, #1)
author: Dan Simmons
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/01/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)]]> 77566 500 Dan Simmons 0553283685 Brandon 0 4.26 1989 Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)
author: Dan Simmons
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/01/04
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer]]> 7170627 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here and here.

The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography� of cancer - from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.

Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with - and perished from - for more than five thousand years.

The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.�

The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist. From the Persian Queen Atossa, whose Greek slave cut off her malignant breast, to the nineteenth-century recipients of primitive radiation and chemotherapy to Mukherjee’s own leukemia patient, Carla, The Emperor of All Maladies is about the people who have soldiered through fiercely demanding regimens in order to survive—and to increase our understanding of this iconic disease.

Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.]]> 571 Siddhartha Mukherjee Brandon 0 to-read 4.32 2010 The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
author: Siddhartha Mukherjee
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/05/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Napoleon's Art of War 2578759 160 Napoléon Bonaparte 0760773564 Brandon 0 to-read 3.82 1993 Napoleon's Art of War
author: Napoléon Bonaparte
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/10/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Song of Ice and Fire (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1-5)]]> 12177850 A GAME OF THRONES
A CLASH OF KINGS
A STORM OF SWORDS
A FEAST OF CROWS
A DANCE WITH DRAGONS
Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King's Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert's name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse--unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.
Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen's brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister--the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.
Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki--whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.
"]]> 5216 George R.R. Martin 1780484259 Brandon 5 4.56 2000 A Song of Ice and Fire (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1-5)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/08/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House]]> 3147367 The definitive biography of a larger-than-life president who defied norms, divided a nation, and changed Washington forever

Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson's presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House. Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he details the human drama-the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers- that shaped Jackson's private world through years of storm and victory.

One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will- or face his formidable wrath. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House-from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to FDR to Truman-have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision.

Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe-no matter what it took.]]> 483 Jon Meacham 1400063256 Brandon 5 3.85 2008 American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
author: Jon Meacham
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope]]> 332978
Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in March of 1933 as America touched bottom. Banks were closing everywhere. Millions of people lost everything. The Great Depression had caused a national breakdown. With the craft of a master storyteller, Jonathan Alter brings us closer than ever before to the Roosevelt magic. Facing the gravest crisis since the Civil War, FDR used his cagey political instincts and ebullient temperament in the storied first Hundred Days of his presidency to pull off an astonishing conjuring act that lifted the country and saved both democracy and capitalism.

Who was this man? To revive the nation when it felt so hopeless took an extraordinary display of optimism and self-confidence. Alter shows us how a snobbish and apparently lightweight young aristocrat was forged into an incandescent leader by his domineering mother; his independent wife; his eccentric top adviser, Louis Howe; and his ally-turned-bitter-rival, Al Smith, the Tammany Hall street fighter FDR had to vanquish to complete his preparation for the presidency.

"Old Doc Roosevelt" had learned at Warm Springs, Georgia, how to lift others who suffered from polio, even if he could not cure their paralysis, or his own. He brought the same talents to a larger stage. Derided as weak and unprincipled by pundits, Governor Roosevelt was barely nominated for president in 1932. As president-elect, he escaped assassination in Miami by inches, then stiffed President Herbert Hoover's efforts to pull him into cooperating with him to deal with a terrifying crisis. In the most tumultuous and dramatic presidential transition in history, the entire banking structure came tumbling down just hours before FDR's legendary "only thing we have to fear is fear itself" Inaugural Address.

In a major historical find, Alter unearths the draft of a radio speech in which Roosevelt considered enlisting a private army of American Legion veterans on his first day in office. He did not. Instead of circumventing Congress and becoming the dictator so many thought they needed, FDR used his stunning debut to experiment. He rescued banks, put men to work immediately, and revolutionized mass communications with pioneering press conferences and the first Fireside Chat. As he moved both right and left, Roosevelt's insistence on "action now" did little to cure the Depression, but he began to rewrite the nation's social contract and lay the groundwork for his most ambitious achievements, including Social Security.

From one of America's most respected journalists, rich in insights and with fresh documentation and colorful detail, this thrilling story of presidential leadership--of what government is for--resonates through the events of today. It deepens our understanding of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt restored hope and transformed America.

The Defining Moment will take its place among our most compelling works of political history.]]> 414 Jonathan Alter 0743246012 Brandon 3 3.92 2006 The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope
author: Jonathan Alter
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> FDR 332980
This is a portrait painted in broad strokes and fine details. We see how Roosevelt’s restless energy, fierce intellect, personal magnetism, and ability to project effortless grace permitted him to master countless challenges throughout his life. Smith recounts FDR’s battles with polio and physical disability, and how these experiences helped forge the resolve that FDR used to surmount the economic turmoil of the Great Depression and the wartime threat of totalitarianism. Here also is FDR’s private life depicted with unprecedented candor and nuance, with close attention paid to the four women who molded his personality and helped to inform his worldview: His mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, formidable yet ever supportive and tender; his wife, Eleanor, whose counsel and affection were instrumental to FDR’s public and individual achievements; Lucy Mercer, the great romantic love of FDR’s life; and Missy LeHand, FDR’s longtime secretary, companion, and confidante, whose adoration of her boss was practically limitless.

Smith also tackles head-on and in-depth the numerous failures and miscues of Roosevelt’s public career, including his disastrous attempt to reconstruct the Judiciary; the shameful internment of Japanese-Americans; and Roosevelt’s occasionally self-defeating Executive overreach. Additionally, Smith offers a sensitive and balanced assessment of Roosevelt’s response to the Holocaust, noting its breakthroughs and shortcomings.

Summing up Roosevelt’s legacy, Jean Smith declares that FDR, more than any other individual, changed the relationship between the American people and their government. It was Roosevelt who revolutionized the art of campaigning and used the burgeoning mass media to garner public support and allay fears. But more important, Smith gives us the clearest picture yet of how this quintessential Knickerbocker aristocrat, a man who never had to depend on a paycheck, became the common man’s president. The result is a powerful account that adds fresh perspectives and draws profound conclusions about a man whose story is widely known but far less well understood. Written for the general reader and scholars alike, FDR is a stunning biography in every way worthy of its subject.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 880 Jean Edward Smith 1400061210 Brandon 4 4.05 2007 FDR
author: Jean Edward Smith
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker]]> 522943 This new biography-the first in twenty years- is a richly entertaining portrait of America's most memorable first daughter. Alice in fact strode across the whole twentieth century, living her entire life on the political stage and in the public eye, earning the nickname "the other Washington monument." She grew up knowing Civil war veterans, lived through two world wars, helped put the roar in the Roaring Twenties, and campaigned against her cousin Franklin's New Deal. Smoking, gambling, and dressing flamboyantly, she flouted social connections and opened the door for other women to do the same. Her barbed tongue was infamous, but whenever she talked, powerful people listened, as she was one of the most astute political minds of her age. She advised her father; her husband, Nicholas Longworth, who was the Speaker of the House, and her lover William Borah, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the most powerful man in Washington. Using love letters and other documents disclosed for the first time, Stacy Cordery provides scandalous proof of the real father of Alice's child as well as evidence of her other previously unknown love affairs
Alice Roosevelt Longworth was for eight decades the social doyenne in a town where socializing was state business. Politicians, diplomats, journalists, and the famous and infamous of every stripe clamored to be invited to her teas. Meetings in her drawing room helped to change the course of history, from undermining the Leagues of Nations to boosting Richards Nixon's fortunes.]]> 483 Stacy A. Cordery 0670018333 Brandon 4 3.83 2007 Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker
author: Stacy A. Cordery
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America]]> 4668676 —Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals

A vast, inspiring, and enormously entertaining book.�
� New York Times Book Review

From New York Times bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley comes a sweeping historical narrative and eye-opening look at the pioneering environmental policies of President Theodore Roosevelt, avid bird-watcher, naturalist, and the founding father of America’s conservation movement—now approaching its 100th anniversary.]]> 960 Douglas Brinkley 0060565284 Brandon 5 4.05 2009 The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America
author: Douglas Brinkley
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> The Rough Riders 286271
Roosevelt kept a detailed diary from the time he left Washington until his triumphant return from Cuba later that year. The Rough Riders was published to instant acclaim in 1899. Robust in its style and mesmerizing in its account of battle, it is exhilarating, illuminating, and utterly essential reading for every armchair historian and at-home general.

The books in the Modern Library War series have been chosen by series editor Caleb Carr according to the significance of their subject matter, their contribution to the field of military history, and their literary merit.]]> 262 Theodore Roosevelt 0375754768 Brandon 5 3.74 1899 The Rough Riders
author: Theodore Roosevelt
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1899
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Eleanor Roosevelt 78517
The intriguing story of Eleanor Roosevelt traces the life of the former First Lady from her early childhood through the tumultuous years in the White House to her active role in the founding of the United Nations after World War II. A Newberry Honor Book.]]> 208 Russell Freedman 0395845203 Brandon 4 3.95 1993 Eleanor Roosevelt
author: Russell Freedman
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]> 3301907 Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years, his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised, his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy in America during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.

Drawing on archival materials, public speeches, personal correspondence, and accounts by family and close associates, acclaimed bestselling historian and biographer H. W. Brands offers a compelling and intimate portrait of Roosevelt’s life and career.

Brands explores the powerful influence of FDR’s dominating mother and the often tense and always unusual partnership between FDR and his wife, Eleanor, and her indispensable contributions to his presidency. Most of all, the book traces in breathtaking detail FDR’s revolutionary efforts with his New Deal legislation to transform the American political economy in order to save it, his forceful—and cagey—leadership before and during World War II, and his lasting legacy in creating the foundations of the postwar international order.

Traitor to His Class brilliantly captures the qualities that have made FDR a beloved figure to millions of Americans.]]> 896 H.W. Brands 0385519583 Brandon 5 3.99 2008 Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
author: H.W. Brands
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America]]> 6452538
Egan narrates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force. Equally dramatic is the larger story he tells of outsized president Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot. Pioneering the notion of conservation, Roosevelt and Pinchot did nothing less than create the idea of public land as our national treasure, owned by and preserved for every citizen. The robber barons fought Roosevelt and Pinchot’s rangers, but the Big Burn saved the forests even as it destroyed them: the heroism shown by the rangers turned public opinion permanently in their favor and became the creation myth that drove the Forest Service, with consequences still felt in the way our national lands are protected� �  or not —� today.]]> 281 Timothy Egan 0618968415 Brandon 5 4.05 2009 The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America
author: Timothy Egan
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Colonel Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt)]]> 7993566
This biography by Edmund Morris, the Pulitzer Prize� and National Book Award–winning author of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex, marks the completion of a trilogy sure to stand as definitive.

Of all our great presidents, Theodore Roosevelt is the only one whose greatness increased out of office. What other president has written forty books, hunted lions, founded a third political party, survived an assassin’s bullet, and explored an unknown river longer than the Rhine?

Packed with more adventure, variety, drama, humor, and tragedy than a big novel, yet documented down to the smallest fact, this masterwork recounts the last decade of perhaps the most amazing life in American history.

“Hair-raising . . . awe-inspiring . . . a worthy close to a trilogy sure to be regarded as one of the best studies not just of any president, but of any American.”� San Francisco Chronicle]]> 766 Edmund Morris 0375504877 Brandon 5 4.08 2010 Colonel Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt)
author: Edmund Morris
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Theodore Rex 40923
President McKinley's assassination brought the 43-year-old TR a challenging presidency, one to which Morris is a clearsighted guide. At home, TR had to persuade Congress to curb competition-stifling corporate trusts, monopolistic transcontinental railroads, and unhygienic food industries that saw consumers as sheep. He also faced labor and racial strife. Abroad, the American presence in Cuba and the Philippines brought criticism, the Russo-Japanese conflict threatened major power shifts in the Far East and Europe, and a politically and financially fraught decision on the Central American canal route - Panama or Nicaragua? - had to be made. TR rose to every challenge. Despite the demands of family and social life, he read, wrote, and traveled extensively. Not least, TR put national parks and conservation of natural resources on the legislative agenda.

All TR's notable contemporaries - including historian Henry Adams, naturalists John Burroughs and John Muir, robber barons E. H. Harriman and James J. Hill, poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, financier J. P. Morgan, fellow politician William Howard Taft, civil rights leader Booker T. Washington, and novelist Owen Wister - appear onstage, their clear voices projecting the excitement of the day.

Morris is blessed with the imagination and skills to write gripping popular history. He doesn't dilute but illuminates events in presenting an account that immediately sparks interest and captures the mind. Readers will note that American interventionism abroad (today's major issue) was much debated during TR's presidency, when major interventional imperatives challenged the new superpower's tradition of relative restraint in foreign affairs.

Theodore Rex is the long-awaited second volume of the TR saga. Morris delivered the first volume, , in 1979. It won a Pulitzer Prize; Theodore Rex is a solid bet for another.
(Peter Skinner)]]> 772 Edmund Morris 0812966007 Brandon 5 4.18 2001 Theodore Rex
author: Edmund Morris
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt]]> 40929
Described by the Chicago Tribune as "a classic," The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt stands as one of the greatest biographies of our time. The publication of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt on September 14th, 2001 marks the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt becoming president.]]> 816 Edmund Morris 0375756787 Brandon 5 4.22 1979 The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
author: Edmund Morris
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1979
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume One]]> 12962439 This graphic novel adaptation contains more than fifty pages of exclusive content not available in the original comic books, including
Ěý
� a new Preface by George R. R. Martin
� early renderings of key scenes and favorite characters from the novels
� a walk-through of the entire creative process, from auditioning the artists to tweaking the scripts to coloring the final pages
� behind-the-scenes commentary from Daniel Abraham, Tommy Patterson, and series editor Anne Groell

You’ve read the books. You’ve watched the hit series on HBO. Now acclaimed novelist Daniel Abraham and illustrator Tommy Patterson bring George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy masterwork A Game of Thrones to majestic new life in the pages of this full-color graphic novel. Comprised of the initial six issues of the graphic series, this is the first volume in what is sure to be one of the most coveted collaborations of the year.
Ěý
Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.
Ěý
Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.
Ěý
Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.]]> 240 Daniel Abraham 044042321X Brandon 3 4.51 2012 A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume One
author: Daniel Abraham
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)]]> 13496
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.]]> 835 George R.R. Martin 0553588486 Brandon 5 4.44 1996 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> The Catcher in the Rye 5107 It's Christmas time and Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another school...

Fleeing the crooks at Pencey Prep, he pinballs around New York City seeking solace in fleeting encounters—shooting the bull with strangers in dive hotels, wandering alone round Central Park, getting beaten up by pimps and cut down by erstwhile girlfriends. The city is beautiful and terrible, in all its neon loneliness and seedy glamour, its mingled sense of possibility and emptiness. Holden passes through it like a ghost, thinking always of his kid sister Phoebe, the only person who really understands him, and his determination to escape the phonies and find a life of true meaning.

The Catcher in the Rye is an all-time classic in coming-of-age literature- an elegy to teenage alienation, capturing the deeply human need for connection and the bewildering sense of loss as we leave childhood behind.

J.D. Salinger's (1919�2010) classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923. It was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. It has been frequently challenged in the court for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and in the 1950's and 60's it was the novel that every teenage boy wants to read.]]> 277 J.D. Salinger 0316769177 Brandon 3 3.81 1951 The Catcher in the Rye
author: J.D. Salinger
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1951
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Princess of Mars (Barsoom, #1)]]> 40395 186 Edgar Rice Burroughs 0143104888 Brandon 4 3.81 1912 A Princess of Mars (Barsoom, #1)
author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
name: Brandon
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1912
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Steve Jobs 11084145 630 Walter Isaacson 1451648537 Brandon 0 to-read 4.15 2011 Steve Jobs
author: Walter Isaacson
name: Brandon
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>