[zephyr]

The Tale of the Axe: How the Neolithic Revolution transformed Britain, Thames and Hudson, 2016. I really enjoyed this book. Scholarly but accessible and the anecdotes and revelations keep one interested to the end. I could have used more maps with more detail, but there were many illustrations and photographs. Here’s a quote from a review in History Today: Oxford is full of history, dating back to its settlement in Saxon times. Yet it is rarely associated with prehistory, especially the Neolithic period beginning just before 4000 BC. In the long hot summer of 1976, that picture changed, at least among archaeologists. During the heatwave, distinct large circles appeared in the parched grass of the University Parks. Traces of a major Bronze Age barrow cemetery became visible. Subsequent excavations beneath the Ashmolean Museum’s Sackler Library located another barrow and the ditch of a henge monument near Keble College, just across the road from the Parks. Today, it is accepted that Oxford is built on a major Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial complex. From the inside book jacket: We, modern humans, are one of the youngest species on the planet. For our first hundred thousand years we survived as hunters and foragers moving about the land, following seasonal resources. Only some ten thousand years ago, faced with climate change and rising populations, did humans revolutionize the ways in which we engaged with the world around us. By domesticating plants and animals we transformed out settlements, social relationships, diet and beliefs. Focusing on the British Isles, David Miles explores this period of societal change—the Neolithic, or “New Stone Age”—using the most iconic artifact of its time, the polished stone axe, as a guide to the revolution that changed the world. These formidable creations were not only crucial tools that enabled the first farmers to clear the forests, but also objects of great symbolic importance, signifying status and power, wrapped up in personal expressions of religion and politics. The book is divided into three parts with several chapter each—1) The Emergence of Humans. 2) The First Farmers. 3) Crossing the Water to Britain. I thought these words in Part 3 stood out. Whether they liked it or not, human beings had launched themselves on a new trajectory, hoeing or ploughing a furrow from which they could not easily retreat. The consequence, intended or not, was that the wild diminished as domestic crops, domestic animals and domestic human beings spread across newly transformed landscapes. I saw this book first in The Elliott Bay Book Company, Capitol Hill, Seattle. It's also available from The Seattle Public Library. ~z

[Kim Brown]

Thanks for the recommendation on The Tale of the Axe, Zephyr! I just put a hold on this book at the library I've been reading a lot on the Catholic faith. Checking out books my priest recommends, and those he mentions in his homilies. God is Not Nice by Ulrich Lehner is an excellent read, as is Pope Francis' The Name of God is Mercy. So many others, but these two stand out.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

A buddy recommended "The Circle" by Dave Eggers. Movie based on the book was mediocre but he said the book is much better. Just started it.

[zephyr]

[olderthanIusedtobe]

[zephyr]

The Triumph of Christianity: How A Forbidden Religion Swept the World by Bart D. Ehrman, Simon and Shuster, 2018. This is an excellent work that I heard about through a podcast or radio interview. The Seattle Public Library has copies. Scholarly and accessible. If you enjoy learning about our Western civilization history during Late Antiquity, then this is for you. There is a great review of the book in the New York Times that the author published on his blog. Read it here. ~z

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Last several books have been so-so. Think I got a winner finally. Debut novel from Karen Cleveland--"Need to Know." Espionage thriller. Plowed through more than half of it last night during a car bivi.

[Mike Collins]

Darwin was troubled by the fascinating display of the peacock's feathers. He knew it didn't offer any survival benefit yet it was selected for based solely on its beauty. In The Evolution of Beauty by Richard Prum the interaction between two independent evolutionary mechanisms, sexual selection and natural selection, is skillfully discussed. The book was recognized by The New York Times as one of the 10 best books of the year and if you enjoy the natural world you will feel enriched with this reading.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

[Ski]

[olderthanIusedtobe]

I enjoyed the BBC series "Killing Eve" this spring. Just got the book that was the source material, "Codename Villanelle" by Luke Jennings. Off to a good start. Adaptations are always going to be different, but the book starts right off with Villanelle's backstory. The tv series slowly revealed bits and pieces of it as it went along.

[mike]

Atlas of a Lost World, Travels in Ice Age America Craig Childs

[moonspots]

Tommy Caldwell's autobiography, "The Push". Determination, perseverance, self doubt, etc all led to him developing into a very highly successful rock climber. Well written, and well edited, and more details of his personal life than I would have included. I give it a sincere👍.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

I really enjoyed Ruth Ware's first two books. #3 was a dud. Thought I'd try again with her latest "The Death of Mrs. Westaway." About 70 pages in it was not grabbing me, set it aside, might be done w/ that author. So instead I got totally sucked into another YA sci fi/fantasy series. Sabaa Tahir is up to #3 of an expected 4 book series, so I have some catching up to do. Plowed thru the first book, "An Ember in the Ashes." Very enjoyable. Will be moving on to the second book shortly.

[Toni]