LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Second World War

Antony Beevor2012

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Vietnam: A History

    Stanley Karnow1983

    A clinical history of the Vietnam War using interviews and government records to track decision-making in Washington and Asia.

    Same clinical register, still military history

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

    Michel Foucault

    A philosophical history examines the shift from public torture to modern prison surveillance. It analyzes how power controls the body.

    Same clinical register, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

    A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

    clinical → bleak, still history

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    clinical → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

clinical → playful

3 more ↓

  • Fifty Shades of Grey

    E.L. James2000

    A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.

    clinical → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Smokin' Seventeen

    Janet Evanovich2011

    A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    clinical → wry

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    clinical → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    clinical → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    clinical → earnest

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • The Frontier in American History

    Frederick Jackson Turner1920

    A series of essays arguing that the American character and democracy were shaped by the continuous expansion into the western wilderness.

    Same clinical register, still history

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-2

  • Confessions

    Augustine of Hippo

    A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

    clinical → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • How to Read a Book

    Mortimer J. Adler1940

    This is a guide to active reading techniques for different genres. It outlines levels of reading from basic literacy to syntopical analysis.

    clinical → mysterious

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

clinical → elegiac, still history

3 more ↓

  • Auschwitz

    Laurence Rees2005

    A chronological history of the camp's evolution from a Polish barracks to a site of mass industrial murder, based on archival research.

    Same clinical register, still history

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943

    Antony Beevor

    A chronological account of the battle for Stalingrad using primary sources. It details the military strategy and the starvation of soldiers.

    clinical → bleak, still military history

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • By Hands Now Known

    Margaret A. Burnham2022

    An investigation into racial violence and legal failures in the Jim Crow South using previously unexamined archives.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1