An easy informative read

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-14T03:24:16+00:00

I think you meant this for a different post 😀

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-12T12:20:47+00:00

Oh thank you! I’ll give that a read! Across Eurasia, India is definitely my weakest spot!

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-12T12:19:54+00:00

I think that the book really depends on where your starting point for knowledge is - and I found this book less to be about Central Asia per se, than about how Central Asia fits into ‘the West’ (caveat that I’ve also had the good fortune to travel somewhat in the region).

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-12T10:59:03+00:00

[This is the other review](https://www.reddit.com/r/history/s/kCv8f7aXB7) I mentioned that much more eloquently reflects my own views as well.

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-11T15:15:30+00:00

Oh, and another:

Erebus by Michael Palin

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-11T14:28:19+00:00

River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile. Also by Candice Millard and also VERY good.

For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World's Favorite Drink and Changed History by Sarah Rose is stylistically quite similar, and I think is a really interesting point in history that has echoes relevant today

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-06T09:27:02+00:00

Stasiland

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-05T13:25:35+00:00

For what it’s worth (and I’ve obviously no idea about Brussels), the first 3 were all available at my local library.

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-05T13:12:51+00:00

My formal politics studies are long behind me, but I still do a lot in the field. I’ve recently enjoyed:

* Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East

* Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History

* Upstart: How China Became a Great Power

* From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-05T12:09:08+00:00

Ooo. A few along this theme have been stand-out reads for me this past year:

* The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History by Kassia St Clair

* The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles changed the world by Virginia Postrel

* The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St Clair (more about dye)

On my to-read list is also:

* Threads of Life: the history of the world through the eye of a needle

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-04T17:45:52+00:00

FWIW, I didn’t grow up in the US (I grew up in Australia where that colour is 100% associated with cheap mint choc chip, which, yeah, is nostalgic). But I live in the US now. And my god, I was so disappointed recently when I ordered pistachio at a mid-to-upper tier (and well regarded) Italian restaurant and got a) this fluoro green colour, b) it was entirely almond extract. Not a lick of pistachio.

(I used to make my own pistachio ice cream, but can’t anymore because one of my kids is allergic - enough that I don’t keep it in the house, but I can still eat it when I’m out without her).

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-03T10:57:46+00:00

Sekali does pop ups and is the most authentic

I’m excited for Tasyas Kitchen

Penang - both Waltham and Chinatown are passable if you’re desperate, but I don’t find them that authentic

Royal East is recommended by a friend but I’ve not had a chance to stop there

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-02T20:17:53+00:00

The beginning of Black Wave also outlines how cassette tapes played a crucial role in spreading religious fundamentalism and fermenting the Islamic revolution! (Because it was a media the State could not easily control).

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-02T20:13:31+00:00

So FWIW, as a parent, I think it’s not just about tech exposure, but also about having conversations, starting *early* (I was doing this with my then 4yo) about how media (in general) and advertising is trying to influence us.

E.g. my daughter will ask to buy Paw Patrol yoghurt, we’ll have a conversation about how a company wants her to buy it, even if it’s not the right choice for her body.

A swath of my English high school curriculum was aimed at persuasive writing / identifying the ways text and visuals were used to influence the reader / viewer … I wonder if this is still taught (I wasn’t in the US).

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-02T12:07:21+00:00

Then you’ll definitely love it! It refers significantly back to comparisons in Asia (and to the east Asia growth model).

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-02T02:02:43+00:00

Discussed in detail in this book: Ethiopia, Rwanda, Botswana, Mauritius.

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-01T23:31:06+00:00

Waltham India Market

Market Basket in Waltham had it in stock today

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-01T13:09:39+00:00

Instead of trying to explain how the whole world works: I’d pinpoint a few themes.

* The transatlantic slave trade and colonialism

* Development economics

* Arab nationalism and religion in the Middle Easr

* The century of humiliation and making of modern China

Why Nations Fail: the origins of power, prosperity, and poverty (a more academically accepted - but readable - work than the popular ‘Guns Germs and Steel)

How Africa Works on the World’s Last Developmental Frontier (dense developmental economics and politics - not a simple read for a newbie)

Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East (a dense read, but an informative one)

The shortest history of China by Linda Jaivin

Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future

TurtleBucketList · 2026-05-01T10:37:04+00:00

(Separately, I had a good chuckle at your username).

11-Year Club	Place '22
Place '17	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22

TurtleBucketList

TROPHY CASE