"... Nothing so annihilates the present as that which kills the future." - Pierre François Réal, on Napoleon's propensity to sabotage potential for real change in France due to his wars of conquest.

Covers most if not all current RHCE exam objectives, but arguably not in a depth that may (or really may not) be required for the exam. Author also is rather gushing in his encouragement for the reader, occasionally bordering on cloying. No practice exams either. Still, an effective tool for those candidates who wish a more streamlined self-study course.

Great princes can commit great crimes - it is expected of them.

(from Chapter 15, "The Foreign Minister")

It's a fascinating read so far. The egos, the machinations, the lies, the wars, the money, the power, and at the center of it all is the "Emperor" himself. It has been a while since I've read a biography. The only thing I am finding irritating - almost tiresome - is the frequent editorial jabs against Napoleon. I would agree with the author; I just wish he'd let the primary sources speak more for themselves. Have you experienced this?

I yield to no one as a champion of the Southern soldier wherever he may have fought and in whatever army, and I do not think I shall be charged more now than in war-time with "underestimating the enemy." Honor to all!

Life being so busy, it's sometimes hard to get into a book, especially those that are considered "difficult". Reading this novel, I at first thought it was somewhat impenetrable, but then it started to have a kaleidoscopic cadence, a colourful poetry, a beauty that my mind subtly settled into. Maybe that's the way it is with some "hard" books: just steal some time, silence, and a quiet but open mind, and suddenly things just might flow...

Their invaders were a long time in conquering them; and now, after four centuries of Christianity, they still pray in Tanoan to the old deities of the earth and sky and make their living from the things that are and have always been within their reach...They have assumed the names and gestures of their enemies, but have held on to their own, secret souls; and in this there is a resistance and an overcoming, a long outwaiting.

"What was it they saw? Probably they saw nothing after all, nothing at all. But then that was the trick, wasn't it? To see nothing at all, nothing in the absolute. To see beyond the landscape, beyond every shape and shadow and color, that was to see nothing. That was to be free and finished, complete, spiritual."

Ahh... That first line feeling.

"Dypaloh. There was a house made of dawn. It was made of pollen and of rain, and the land was very old and everlasting."

I had problems at times with Singer's writing style, in addition to some murky character motivations and a 70's America that is almost oppressively bleak. Still, Singer ratchets up the tension to an explosive climax, and salient parallels even to today's society give the reader hope - or despair - depending on your view.

"It's happened in other countries... What's so sacred about this country?... This isn't a civilization any more if it ever was...Led by nonentities who come to power because there's a vacuum to fill."

"Here I'm living in a time when... individuals are smashed and trampled in terms of principles that are claimed to justify the opposite of what they state."

A story thousands of years old yet, even in translation, still manages to touch us. Freeing to read in a way, being written down when artistic ideals were only beginning to be a part of any oral or cultural heritage. Later works owe it a debt, including the Bible. An elemental tale.

Lots of parallels to the Bible, which it arguably predates. An ancient tale, a myth, yet I still feel a little sting at the death of Enkidu. What does that signify, considering the earliest discovered passages date to around 2000 B.C.E.? A blood friend and companion dies. Not a novel part of mythology, but this story still endures.

"...for whoever is tallest along men cannot reach the heavens, and the greatest cannot encompass the earth." - Gilgamesh

Be sure to not allow a lot of days to pass between readings! Book is essentially a collection of intimate scenes (separated by decades) detailing galactic imperial decline and power machinations along a fatalistic timeline predicted by a genius mathematician and "psychohistorian". Where does fate end, and chance begin? From where does power truly derive? And what is the relationship of prediction to predetermination?

"I wanted to be a psychological engineer, but we lacked the facilities, so I did the next best thing - I went into politics. It's practically the same thing."

"Never act without purpose; make sure that all your actions conform to the philosophical principles that constitute the art of living." - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (tr. Robin Waterfield), p. 66, Notebook 4.2

"Here I'm living in a time when... individuals are smashed and trampled in terms of principles that are claimed to justify the opposite of what they state."

Like a plant, war needs warmth and time to ripen.

Me: “I plaintively and earnestly seek to learn from the wisdom of sages by quietly and studiously reading this book of essays, its pages replete yet resplendent with epigrams and examinations.” Dog: “PETZ PLZ?!?!”

Life gets so busy. So hard to finish books. But damn it, I have the day off today, and I‘m gonna finish this. It‘s on, Mr. Forsyth. Spin me the story of the Jackal, and let‘s see how the story ends….

Although I feel a little guilty stopping after the first third of the translation, Smollett‘s Quixote bordered on being a slog. I didn‘t want to dislike the novel before I had to chance to finish it. Granted that may still end up being the case, but I‘m hoping my experience will be different with a newer translation (starting Lathrop today). Once more to the village of La Mancha…

“…that as love in young people is, for the most part, nothing but appetite, whose only aim is pleasure; and this being enjoyed, what he seemed love, vanishes, because it cannot exceed the bounds of nature; A whereas real love is bounded by no such limits” (V1B3C11, tr. Tobias Smollett)

I work in IT, site reliability engineering specifically, and although there is a lot in this book, it‘s valuable for those looking to succeed in this burgeoning technical field. It has occasional typos and grammatical errors, and a dearth of humor, but those who read this book probably aren‘t looking for that. Regardless, those factors don‘t detract from the content. A good high-level interview resource.

“The weakness of all dictatorships is that they are vast bureaucracies. What is not on file does not exist.”

Started Don Quixote! Dover Thrift - Smollett 1755. On C1, B2, V1. So many philosophies and avenues of translation. Rutherford, Jarvis, Starkie, Cohen, Ormsby, Montgomery, Grossman, Lathrop, Putnam, Motteux, Shelton, Raffel. I‘m sure I‘m missing some; reading Smollett now, for better or worse. I‘m starting to think every one has good and bad points. Smollett is archaic yet strangely satisfying. Your favored translation? And for what reason(s)?

Mama, don‘t let your babies grow up to be poets.

“We‘ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.” - Chapter 1, Lady Chatterley‘s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

...for I cherish the greatest respect towards everybody's religious obligations... and could not find it in my heart to undervalue... those other creatures in certain parts of our earth, who...bow down before the torso of a deceased landed proprietor merely on account of the inordinate possessions yet owned and rented in his name.

"And here, shipmates, is true and faithful repentance; not clamorous for pardon, but grateful for punishment." - from sermon of Father Mapple, Chapter 9 ("The Sermon")

For my part, I abominate all honorable respectable toils, trials, and tribulations of every kind whatsoever. - Moby-Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville, Loomings (Chapter 1)

"Influence in society, however, is capital which has to be economized if it is to last."

I am starting this book that has a reputation for being huge and interminable. Am I insane? Yes, yes I am.