FiveBooks Newsletter 15


Hic sunt camelopardus: this historical edition of The Browser is presented for archaeological purposes; links and formatting may be broken.

[1]

Dear FiveBooks Readers,
 Links:
   1. http://fivebooks.com/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fivebooks

Another fabulous week of interviews for you, including Patricia Meyer Spack
on  Jane Austen, Peter Snow on Military History and Tom de Waal on the
Caucasus. Happy Reading.

_[2]Paul Thagard on The Meaning of Life_
Monday, September 27th
The professor of philosophy argues that university students should study the
meaning of life. ‘Important works of literature can address issues about
meaning, and not just the most philosophical ones such as Dostoevsky,’ he
says. ‘Literature departments are more interested in French philosophers
than in talking about what novelists, or playwrights or poets were getting
at, which was often addressing key issues about life.’ Tipping more than is
expected, he adds, is a joyous experience for both tipper and tippee.
 Links:
   2. http://fivebooks.com/interviews/paul-thagard-on-meaning-life

_[3]Thomas de Waal on the Conflict in the Caucasus_
Tuesday, September 28th
The acknowledged expert on the Caucasus describes a time when Azerbaijan had
three coups in a week. In Moscow in the early 1990s there was still a veneer
of civilised political discourse, but once you got out to the fringes you
realised that it was much more about the desperate scramble for the spoils
of the Soviet Union and bizarre battles, of which Azerbaijan had perhaps the
most bizarre of all.
 Links:
   3. http://fivebooks.com/interviews/thomas-de-waal-on-conflict-caucasus

_[4]Peter Snow on Military History_
Wednesday, September 29th
The veteran British journalist and broadcaster says Stalingrad was touch and
go. It was on the Volga river and the great question was could the Russians
hold on to the west side of the river or would they be driven back across
it,  opening up a huge opportunity for the Germans to strike deep into
central Russia? But as the Russians held on, other Russian troops moved
round to encircle the Germans. From then on the Germans were starved into
defeat.
 Links:
   4. http://fivebooks.com/interviews/peter-snow-on-military-history

_[5]Larry Rohter on Brazil_
Thursday, September 30th
_New  York  Times _journalist Larry Rohter shows us a Brazil tinged with
sadness. Dispossessed tribes drunk by a roadside, betting on the ostrich in
the  numbers  game,  memoirs  of favela poverty and plays about sexual
perversion all feature in his book choices about the real Brazil.
 Links:
   5. http://fivebooks.com/interviews/larry-rohter-on-brazil

_[6]Patricia Meyer Spacks on Jane Austen_
Friday, October 1st
The professor of English says that Austen had the skill of reporting the
most tedious possible speech and making you enjoy it. It’s not only Miss
Bates  nattering  on  and on in _Emma_, but the dinner-table scene where
Emma’s father and her sister are talking about their apothecaries. ‘It is
just the essence of boredom but she somehow manages to make it hilariously
funny. It’s pure genius.’
 Links:
   6. http://fivebooks.com/interviews/patricia-meyer-spacks-on-jane-austen

_[7]M C Beaton on Cozy Mysteries_
Saturday, October 2nd
The Scottish novelist thinks Eric Ambler is better than John le Carré,
violence and torture are off-putting, Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop is not very
fictitious and Sartre, Mauriac and Gide are terrible bores. Just because
it’s easy to read, she says, doesn’t mean it’s easy to write.
 Links:
   7. http://fivebooks.com/interviews/m-c-beaton-on-cosy-mysteries

Coming up this week - Ian Buruma on Japan, Harry Sidebottom on Rome and
Madhur Jaffrey on cooking.

Have a wonderful week.
Anna Blundy
Editor, FiveBooks

[8]home  [9]about  [10]FOLLOW US ON TWITTER  [11]contact us
Find FiveBooks in this month's Prospect Magazine.
About FiveBooks: Editor, [12]Anna Blundy; Managing Partner, [13]Al Breach.
Please [14]write to us if you would like to make a comment on the site, or
suggest a link.
 Links:
   8. http://fivebooks.com/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fivebooks
   9. http://fivebooks.com/about?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fivebooks
   10. http://twitter.com/five_books
   11. http://fivebooks.com/contact?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fivebooks
   12. http://fivebooks.com/users/annablundy
   13. http://fivebooks.com/users/al-breach
   14. http://fivebooks.com/contact?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fivebooks

FiveBooks is the sister site of [15]The Browser, a site that selects the
best articles from the newspaper, magazine & blog world.
FiveBooks  |  Copyright [16]FiveBooks.com 2010 | All rights reserved |
[17]Privacy Policy
 Links:
   15. http://thebrowser.com
   16. http://five-books.com/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fivebooks
   17. http://fivebooks.com/privacy-policy?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fivebooks

You have received this message because you subscribed to a newsletter from
FiveBooks.com

Sent to *|EMAIL|*. [18]Unsubscribe | [19]Update Profile | [20]Forward to a
Friend
 Links:
   18. *|UNSUB|*
   19. *|UPDATE_PROFILE|*
   20. *|FORWARD|*

Join 150,000+ curious readers who grow with us every day

No spam. No nonsense. Unsubscribe anytime.

Great! Check your inbox and click the link to confirm your subscription
Please enter a valid email address!
You've successfully subscribed to The Browser
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in
Could not sign in! Login link expired. Click here to retry
Cookies must be enabled in your browser to sign in
search