Writer's Block: Bookmarks

[carlfoxmarten]

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I don't read many books, so it's a little hard to decide which was last, let alone which one was great.
To make it easier on me, I'll just list two of the best books I've read in recent memory.

The first is called "The Disappearing Spoon: and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from The Periodic Table of the Elements" by Sam Kean.
It documents the history of the discovery of each element on the periodic table, and what scientific advancements made it possible to discover and was made possible by its discovery.
A very thorough book that I'd highly recommend to anyone with a thirst for scientific knowledge.

The second is called "Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945" written by Leo Marks.
It's an autobiography of sorts, documenting the improvements Leo made to England's codes and ciphers during World War II.
If you ever wanted to know what kinds of codes were used to communicate between agents and England, or the situations that agents and headquarters coders were in, this is the book to read.

Both I can hardly recommend enough.

Comments

[torakiyoshi.livejournal.com]

Does the one I'm reading now count? I'm reading part II of Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, which is usually called Louise de la Valliere when it's published separately. (Part III is a slight more famous, as it's known as The Man in the Iron Mask, though Dumas begins writing about him in part I, and makes hints about him in Twenty Years After.

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

I'll be generous and say Asimov's The Robots of Dawn. I didn't really love it, but I greatly admire it.