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I already had The World At War, which is great but is getting sort of dated (one advantage is that many people who were actually there were still alive in the 70's when this was produced).

> Academics cannot be; we look for historical synchronicity and 'accept' the events which are attested from more than one source (ie, the Siege of Jerusalem in 715 BC, recorded in Jewish sources, namely in the Tanakh, and Assyrian in Sennacherib's Prism).

This reminded me of an elective I took in college called "The Search for the Historical Jesus", which was probably one of the most interesting classes I had. (As an aside, I was raised Catholic but my current level of engagement is best described as "Mom-pleasing"; I do have a healthy interest in religion as a discussion topic though, I spend some time in /r/atheism even though I'm not Atheist, etc.)

> they will examine every citation they can find and compile them for a mean 'truth'.

So even you put the word "truth" in quotes. :) So if one side says they killed 100,000 of the enemy, and the other side says they only lost 10,000, and a third party says probably around 20,000 died... then the average of 43K is the "truth"? :) Just look at Thermopylae... ah well ;)

> My advanced degree is p. worthless for what I am doing now

sounds like my degree. useful only peripherally. I work for this startup, which is kicking some butt. The founders are starting a mini-course in MBA concepts this week that some of us opted into. Looking forward to it, as these guys are HBS grads :)

> What military branch were you in?

I did 4 years in the USAF, stationed in California. When I was academically faltering at Cornell and asked them if I could take a leave of absence (they gave me up to 5 years), moving back home was not an option, so instead of struggling at a lame job and living in some sketchy apartment, I (somewhat drastically) decided to join the "smart" branch of the military to make something of myself in a completely different environment and I ended up a KC-10 aircraft electrician. It worked out well in hindsight, I was a late bloomer and I did grow up quite a bit more, I got to experience some responsibility and a job that was not a desk or cubicle job yet required me to think/troubleshoot, and when I did return to Cornell I did MUCH better, and was far more confident in general. I have plenty of stories from that era :)

Wow, are you me?? Female, about the same age, and totally similar interests!

I love rare meat too! Not lamb so much, but steak. Rare, almost raw. The more blood the better! Omnomnom.

And Ken Follet? Stephen King?? I can't even remember how many times I've read The Talisman. It was the adventure of my lifetime. Didn't he write it with another author, Peter Straub? They wrote kind of a sequel to The Talisman, Black House, you should check it out.

And Ken Follet, wow. I read The Pillars of the Earth, and World Without End back to back. I was actually sad when I finished them! I'm reading Fall of Giants right now and it's awesome.

And The Toadies!!! You must tell me who the lead guitarist is around here! Rubberneck is one of my all time favorite albums.

Sorry, that was a lot about me. You are an amazing artists, and a fellow breadpig legionnaire!

What do you feel is your biggest personal accomplishment?

It's strange, but I got really into it by reading a book. It really spoke to me and opened up a world to me I didn't really pay attention to.

http://www.amazon.com/Plan-Bee-Everything-Hardest-Working-Creatures/dp/0399534962

For a long time I was really interested in doing more eh....goal oriented things, but I realized that I am the kind of person that likes to keep things simple and comfortable. I'd rather relax and be with nature than try to work the corporate grind. I think bees are amazing creatures. The only thing I am worried about is that my mom is allergic to bee stings and i'v never been stung before. Hopefully I won't have a Little Miss Sunshine experience and realize halfway through realizing my dreams that I could die from a beesting and need to find something else to be passionate about.


Ah yes....and everybody should be nice to bees. I'v had to witness 2 bee killings this year by other people, which is a real shame because they are having a hard enough time as it is.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1005_041005_honeybees.html

How do we know you're really one of the first two redditors, and not just some guy trying to profit by pulling one over on the internet?

> Trappist brews

You got a favorite? How do you spell it?

> White Man's Burden

I assume you mean this one, right? Turns out it's a pretty popular title.

>The only criticism has been the focus on the American perspective.

I gave my father this series and he said the same, although he did appreciate that it had to be so - it is a mass-produced, non-academic review, so you can't expect it to be bias-free because that isn't marketable.

>Do you think that the authenticity of histories are forever tainted by the worldviews of their authors?

Absolutely not. Synchronicities in history help us, especially in the field of Ancient History, to determine accuracy of sources. Take the Old Testament (Pentateuch) for example. The Orthodox Jewry take it at its pure word - they are literalists. Academics cannot be; we look for historical synchronicity and 'accept' the events which are attested from more than one source (ie, the Siege of Jerusalem in 715 BC, recorded in Jewish sources, namely in the Tanakh, and Assyrian in Sennacherib's Prism).

So, in terms of how modern warfare will be remembered thousands of years from now - don't worry. Whomever excavates Iraq will look for other sources other than American media - they will examine every citation they can find and compile them for a mean 'truth'.

My advanced degree is p. worthless for what I am doing now. It got me my job, but it does not help me in it. I suppose I'll look back on it and be happy I was able to stave off responsibility and adulthood for 3 more years. lol

What military branch were you in?

I've kept a copy of Instant Physics on my bedside table for years...well, actually not years in a row because I keep giving it away. Have you read it?

Also, what is your favorite physics related word and/or concept?

> I am an industrial medic

Nice one, you're one of the good guys then. I thought for a horrible minute there that you were in advertising.


> 2009 in short. Major debt owed to the Province, was engaged but am now single.

Both kinds of bad :(

> Terry Pratchett

I enjoyed Going Postal so you could start there.

> Polar bear, hands down if it is in the Polar bear's natural habitat. No shark can lve for long after being pulled up onto an ice shelf to be carved alive.

That's why I said on neutral territory - bit like virtual reality.

I actually just finished reading a book called What If? about how the world would be different if small changes had been made. It's a little fantastical, but it's dangerously addicting.

If I had to choose one historical event to change, though, I'd make there be a nice breeze from the east in Tampa on January 27, 1991.

Aliens vs Predator: War

A piece of phlegm fly out of my mouth and land in Kim Kardashians hair where she doesn't notice it for hours

As for the History Book? The Republic of Pirates. Why HBO hasn't optioned this for a series I'll never know.

I'd go back and kill Hitler. I mean everyone kills Hitler the first time, right?

After that, I'd go to the future (2100 or so) to see what shape the human race is in after energy, resource, and food shortages lead to the decrease industrial output and a population correction. I am no alarmist but as an engineer, I was significantly affected by the projected data in the book "Beyond the Limits". My young daughter is sometimes frightened by "red eyes in the dark" that she imagines at night. I am frightened by those graphs in the book that predict unpleasant corrections after the inevitable end of exponential growth.

With that said, I would naturally seek out a packet of Soylent Green and Robert Thorn to eat it with so we could howl about its ingredients together.