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Books Updated
Mar. 15th, 2007 05:51 am4 - Coyote Something or other... Allan Steele
Actually not as bad as the other two, in fact, a distinct improvement - still I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to read these or find them at the bookstore. I really liked Steele's early near future space stuff; Clarke County - Space, Orbital Decay, Lunar Descent etc... they were much better than the more recent stuff. Still, based on part of the content of this one he's an Anglophile so he can't be all bad.
5 - Sons of the Profits - William Speidel
We went on the underground tour of Seattle at the weekend and I was persuaded to buy this book by the guy who started them in the 60s. Its a warts and all history of the founding of Seattle. Essentially, Seattle was founded on the strong American principles of everyman for himself and profit comes first. Its a sordid tale of businessmen, scoundrels, prostitution and the like. All in all, a damn good read. There's something reassuring about living in a city where for the first 30 or so years of its existance the entire city budget was from "fines" levied each month on the working girls. One of the first public highways was built after the "seamstresses" agreed to a higher fine for a few months. The ongoing feud between Seattle and Tacoma is laid out in great detail and it helped explain the rather dim view Seattle has of its neighbour to the south.
Worth a read, definately a 2 thumbs up.
Actually not as bad as the other two, in fact, a distinct improvement - still I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to read these or find them at the bookstore. I really liked Steele's early near future space stuff; Clarke County - Space, Orbital Decay, Lunar Descent etc... they were much better than the more recent stuff. Still, based on part of the content of this one he's an Anglophile so he can't be all bad.
5 - Sons of the Profits - William Speidel
We went on the underground tour of Seattle at the weekend and I was persuaded to buy this book by the guy who started them in the 60s. Its a warts and all history of the founding of Seattle. Essentially, Seattle was founded on the strong American principles of everyman for himself and profit comes first. Its a sordid tale of businessmen, scoundrels, prostitution and the like. All in all, a damn good read. There's something reassuring about living in a city where for the first 30 or so years of its existance the entire city budget was from "fines" levied each month on the working girls. One of the first public highways was built after the "seamstresses" agreed to a higher fine for a few months. The ongoing feud between Seattle and Tacoma is laid out in great detail and it helped explain the rather dim view Seattle has of its neighbour to the south.
Worth a read, definately a 2 thumbs up.
