Recommended reading for civ players

[Novi Nomad]

St Leo,

What is the sequel to Catch 22? I read this several years ago, and didn't realize that Heller made a sequel...

[Sten Sture]

quote: Originally posted by tonic on 08-26-2000 06:08 AM A Study of History by Arnold Toynbee I only have the abridged illustrated edition...

Isn't the unabridged edition 20+ volumes?? I think MacUsers should have to read that one and report back to us!

[DarkCloud]

The Day of the Triffids film was pretty laughable especially when
the plants are being electrocuted by the fence (you can see the
humans in plant suits rustling around trying to act scary!)

The Dragonriders of Pern are all technically the same story and thus
boring. If you have read one you have read them all.

The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy is good in the first two books
but become increasingly more incoherent as the series progresses and
thus they become unreadable.

[Hueij]

quote: Originally posted by Novi Nomad on 08-28-2000 10:47 AM St Leo, What is the sequel to Catch 22? I read this several years ago, and didn't realize that Heller made a sequel...

IIRC it's called Nothing Happened. It's not as hilarious (and tragic) as Catch 22 tho still a good read.

[Case]

Anything by Neal Stephenson is good. They've all got plenty of comedy, violence and computer programming. What more could you ask for out of a book

[MacUser]

quote: Originally posted by Sten Sture on 08-28-2000 01:24 PM Isn't the unabridged edition 20+ volumes?? I think MacUsers should have to read that one and report back to us!

!!!

MRS. MacUser could finish 20 volumes, but me.....
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"And now for something completely different..."
- John Cleese
[This message has been edited by MacUser (edited August 29, 2000).]

[SCG]

well, gee, I would have thought Lews Therin here would have bumped up this thread and recommended Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series

well, I might as well do that. After all, I seem to remember seeing a map in the archives for randland (or WoT)

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T(one time)PB Mynal Silvar
Gaidin to Celes Sedai of the Green Ajah

(for anyone who may have mudded/played on TCS)

[Caligastia]

Civilization players should check out The Urantia Book,
It has a complete history of life and civilization
on this planet. It is extremely long(2000+pages)
and claims to be authored by celestial beings.
You can search the text at www.urantia.org

[Sten Sture]

quote: Originally posted by Fergus Horkan on 09-05-2000 12:22 PM A great read for Civers, IMHO, is "Guns, Germs and Steel", by Jared DIamond, which answers the question "How was Cortez able to conquer the Aztecs with 50 men" and poses, and answers "Why didnt the Aztecs land in Spain with 50 men, and conquer them first". Of course, we all know the answers to those, but it is a good read.

I am reading this now on the recommendations of pchang and mindseye from an Off-topic thread and it is excellent.

[Laertes]

The "sequel" to Catch-22 is "Closing Time". It is not exactly a sequel - Yossarian and a minority of other characters, and the majority of YoYo's neuroses, are retained for a story/fantasy set 50 years after the war.

I think Hueij might have got confused with another Heller book, "Something Happened", which was his second novel, I believe, and an excellent book in its own right, but not a sequel.

Heller was once challenged that he had never again written anything as good as Catch-22. He replied "Neither did anyone else".

A great read for Civers, IMHO, is "Guns, Germs and Steel", by Jared DIamond, which answers the question "How was Cortez able to conquer the Aztecs with 50 men" and poses, and answers "Why didnt the Aztecs land in Spain with 50 men, and conquer them first". Of course, we all know the answers to those, but it is a good read.

[cavebear]

Late entry to a thread I had overlooked.

Yes, "Bored of the Rings" is hillarious. I read it when it first came out, and I dissolved into tears of laughter over the Ballhog bit. But you *have* to have read the LOTR for any of it to make sense since it is a parody.

Asprin's "MYTH" series is also superb spoof material of the whole genre, and I fully recommend it.

Along that same line, Civer's might enjoy the "Heroes in Hell" series, since it is much like a Civ game; people from all times jumbled together in Machiavellian chaos of diplomacy and warfare. Romans vs French vs Viet Cong vs etc.

"Guns, Germs, and Steel" is the best book for understanding true historical causality that I have ever read. In a true Civ nightmare, it shows how geography rules!

[debeest]

I cannot even express how emphatically I agree with the recommendation of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel. I finished it a month ago, and I spent the entire book constantly reflecting on how phenomenally accurate a simulation Civ2 is of the processes described therein. The only thing Civ2 lacks is ecological differences reflective of the real world's climate and biota. And the book also contains a wealth of fascinating information that I, a reasonably well read fella, had never heard of (though many war-gamers may be much more familiar with some of it).

[kcbob]

Bored of the Rings was terrific. But let's not forget the grand daddy of them all, Lord of The Rings.

And while these are not necessarily Civ2 related, the best series of books, IMHO, are the Tom Clancy books that follow Jack Ryan/John Clark and those by James Clavell.

Actually, I suppose Clavell's books could be Civ2 related. They deal with life in Japan, China/Hong Kong, and Persia. Okay, it's really Iran but you get the idea. But could someone tell me if I heard correctly? Did he pass away recently?

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Frodo lives!

Better dead than "Red"... or green... or blue... or yellow... or orange... or purple... or white.

[Simpson II]

For a Civish title, I firmly recommend The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. According to the rumour mill, the game, Azad, which the book is set around is based on the authors addiction to Civ II!
In fact I recommend all of Bank's books, with or without the M. With means sci-fi, without means conventional literature. Just don't start with The Wasp Factory (his first book - interesting in it's way, but this is the one they study on english courses. Always a bad sign )

The Hitchhiker books are great, but it probably needs a physicist to get the last 2. His take on quantum mechanics and the many-worlds theory is excellent reading - but perhaps some people don't enjoy QM too much.. lol..
[This message has been edited by Simpson II (edited September 08, 2000).]

[Laertes]

quote: Originally posted by kcbob on 09-08-2000 08:30 AM [ And while these are not necessarily Civ2 related, the best series of books, IMHO, are the Tom Clancy books that follow Jack Ryan/John Clark and those by James Clavell. Actually, I suppose Clavell's books could be Civ2 related. They deal with life in Japan, China/Hong Kong, and Persia. Okay, it's really Iran but you get the idea. But could someone tell me if I heard correctly? Did he pass away recently?

Yes, he died in roughly the last 2 years, I forget exactly when.