Reading The 1000 Books to Read Before I Die

“Ever since childhood, when I lived within earshot of the Boston and Maine, I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it.” Paul Theroux, The Great Railway Bazaar  The Great Railway Bazaar A Review by James Romano Hello 1000 Bookies, this next book I just completed was a treat for me.  Our next stop on the 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die is The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux.  In 1973, Mr. Theroux embarked on a trip from England to the continent and proceeded to travel by train through Europe to Istanbul in Turkey.  From IIstanbul, Mr. Theroux travelled via train throughout Asia.  According to James Mustich, Theroux traveled “[O]n some of the world’s greatest trains: The Orient Express, the Night Mail to Meshed, the Khyber Pass Local, the Golden Arrow, the Trans-Siberian Express.”   Paul returns to his family approximately on New Years Eve.  This story was the height of adventure to me. . Paul goes throughout Asia over ...

“Increasing vision is increasingly expensive” R.A. Janek A Review of The Andromeda Strain Greetings 1000 Bookies!  The next stop on our journey of reading and promoting the 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die we arrive in the late 1960s United States and enter the world of science fiction to discuss the classic novel, The Andromeda Strain .  In 2020 America, living under the burden of the Covid-19 virus, The Andromeda Strain does not seem that far fetched.  Candidly, the series of events raised in the book had never crossed my mind until reading—are there viruses in space?  And those viruses could attach to our probes and spacecraft?  The story shows that even with the best technology and communications system at the time, human error in decision making still plays a major role in processes and events.  The Andromeda Strain was published over 50 years ago.  The novel was the first published by famous author, Michael Crichton.  At approxima...

“I have always regretted that the historian allowed Vashti to drop out of sight so suddenly”, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The Book of V By Anna Solomon Hey 1000 Bookies, I just finished the novel, The Book of V by Anna Solomon.   This is a fictional account of the Book of Esther in the Bible combined with a modern retelling.   The book is the story of 4 women, two are in the ancient times and two are set in more modern times.   To understand the story, reading the very short Book of Esther would not be a bad place to start.    According to legend and scripture, Esther was a Jewish woman growing up in Persia during the Babylonian Captivity.   At one point in the ancient world, Nebuchadnezzar and his empire conquered Jerusalem and moved a segment of the Hebrew people to Babylon and other cities in the empire as slaves.   Through a series of events Esther is married to King Ahasuerus, one of the successors of Nebuchadnezzar.   At some poin...