Totally Selfish Post-Holiday Self Gifting Guide

[Robert Rath]

Totally Selfish Post-Holiday Self Gifting Guide

Rob Rath lists what books to buy to learn more about the historical and cultural context of Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty or Far Cry 4.

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[Barbas]

Somebody told me you can get a hold of one of those CoD-esque drones for about £50 and dick around with it over your neighbour's house like a vengeful Huey pilot having a 'Nam flashback...or maybe like that guy from Mad Max.

Total waste of money, but I suppose you can use it to kamikaze a few crows.

 

[Albino Boo]

I've read April Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici, by Lauro Martines and I can't say I'm fan. I don't know if its the translation but I found the prose a bit awkward. In my, admittedly very personal, view The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall by Christopher Hibbert is a better read. The book contains more details of the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy. In particular Lorenzo's traveling to Naples to meet Ferrante I, King of Naples. Ferrante was a nasty piece of work even by 15th century Italian standards. He liked to show guests his museum of the embalmed corpses of his enemies, dressed in the costume which they wore in their lifetime and posed with their characteristic gestures.

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Somebody told me you can get a hold of one of those CoD-esque drones for about £50 and dick around with it over your neighbour's house like a vengeful Huey pilot having a 'Nam flashback...or maybe like that guy from Mad Max.

Total waste of money, but I suppose you can use it to kamikaze a few crows.

I'd love to have one, but I suspect they've got to be more than 50 pounds, based solely on the fact that the sky is not littered with these things.

OT: If you're looking for a good book on modern war, especially drone warfare and media, Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez is a pretty solid piece of fiction. It's not as good from a literature standpoint as his books Daemon and Freedom (TM), which are more about a technological revolution in society at large, but it's still very well researched and terrifyingly accurate.

 

[Barbas]

I'd love to have one, but I suspect they've got to be more than 50 pounds, based solely on the fact that the sky is not littered with these things.

Heheheh. Perhaps that's a good thing, considering the chaos I'd orchestrate if I had too much money and not enough sense.

Spoiler: I'll give you a hint: it involves lots and lots of L.E.D.s and laser pens.

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[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I actually saw The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristoimage by Tom Reiss when I was Christmas shopping for my dad. I almost got it then, but I decided against it since I was supposed to buying stuff for other people, and not for myself.

However, I do plan on going to the bookstore sometime soon, and I'm definitely going to be snagging it.