Luap: Great book! Edmond Dantés is one of my favorite characters and an expert on Tolkien.
With regards to the argument that the difference was soil and different cotton seed strains, he does mention this:
And this after their great-grandparents were picking 200 pounds a day, with more difficult to pick bolls. Even if the bolls were improving during slavery - and I could believe that - it doesn't account for the improvement in production. If it did, we wouldn't have seen a massive drop-off in the production of pickers.
You listened to the audiobook, right? You should pick up the physical copy and look at the charts and tables. For instance, he indexes cotton production in 1820 at 100, and then shows the increase in production:
And during those same years, the price of cotton dropped from 191 in 1790 to 172 in 1800 to 100 in 1810 to 48 by 1860.
I don't think he was arguing that there were vast tracts of unpicked cotton (though presumably it happened from time to time that not all the cotton was picked for whatever reason), but simply that picking represented the part of cotton production that required the most labor and was therefore the place where cotton production was limited. It wasn't land; the land available was far larger than you could possibly have workers to pick. It wasn't the the processing; the processing had been removed as a bottleneck thanks to the invention of the cotton gin. I assume over the course of the sixty or so years that the pushing system was in effect, as slaves were tortured into greater efficiency, more and more cotton was produced. Baptist says at one point that in 1800, the slaves produced 1.4 million pounds of cotton - and in 1860 they harvested almost 2 billion pounds of it. This is obviously a combination of more cotton being planted, more slaves, and much better production.
I thought he demonstrated pretty well that the pushing system was key. Take out the pushing system and what happens to production? Well, we know that per worker production falls by at least half and that's assuming that there were no improvements in the cotton boll. And it probably means that less cotton is planted, since there's no reason to plant more than can be picked. Just compare the 66 in 1800 to the 230 in 1860, and ask what happens to the 2 billion pounds if the slaves in 1860 were picking like the slaves in 1800. Even if you generously assume that improvements in the cotton boll would have gotten them improvements in and of themselves, it couldn't account for a 3.5 times better production per person.
I feel like I'm talking in circles, tell me if you agree or if I'm missing your point
I am not really sure why I didnt think that slavers expanded their cotton fields without expanding their labor supply, but simply pushed that labor supply to pick more cotton. For some reason I thought they had huge tracts of land and they just didnt end up picking it all until the pushing system started really pushing...
I imagine that is why you were a bit confused on what I meant because my whole previous conception was pretty stupid.
I'm about to do a re-read of Tad Williams "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" trilogy. It's been awhile since I've read them and I felt it was time to come back since he is currently working on a sequel trilogy. Love these books.
I'm about to do a re-read of Tad Williams "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" trilogy. It's been awhile since I've read them and I felt it was time to come back since he is currently working on a sequel trilogy. Love these books.
You may be OK but i certainly ain't.
I think i once read the final book of the trilogy in a day... There's a limit to how many times i can re-read books, unless it is Dune (i read it every year).
I can't even find any good fantasy series to read while waiting. I've read WoT (and can't bring myself to re-read it yet again), ASOAIF and... well i can't remember any other good long series.
There are more books I want to read than books I have time to read. Obviously it's hard to wait for something I really want to read, such as something in an unfinished series, but I can always find worthwhile books to occupy my time with.
There are more books I want to read than books I have time to read. Obviously it's hard to wait for something I really want to read, such as something in an unfinished series, but I can always find worthwhile books to occupy my time with.
Of course.
I'm just projecting as i don't really find much beyond Sanderson's works i like at the moment.
(There's some stuff i think i might like but i can't find them anywhere. Or getting them is prohibitively expensive.)
Of course.
I'm just projecting as i don't really find much beyond Sanderson's works i like at the moment.
(There's some stuff i think i might like but i can't find them anywhere. Or getting them is prohibitively expensive.)
I kind of agree with you there. I started reading Sanderson with Way of Kings in May of last year, and I've been working my way through his published works. I absolutely love his style. So I have a lot to occupy my time with between Stormlight Archive books...for now. He hasn't really released an insane amount of stuff, so I figure I probably have enough to keep my occupied until the third book. After that...I don't know. I'm scared.
Luckily, it seems like he releases a couple of books every year. Like, last year he had Words of Radiance and Legion: Skin Deep.This year he has Fireflight (which I'll get to after I finish up the Mistborn trilogy [halfway through book two right now]), Shadows of Self in October tentatively, and SA 3 is supposed to be sometime between fall of this year to spring of next year. Hopefully the former.
I'm skipping Sanderson's non-Cosmere works. They don't interest me. Kind of off-putting for some reason.
But even if i read them, they would not be enough. I can read a book i'm drawn to very, very fast (like i said, i once read the Mistborn's final book in a day, or about that).
I'm the sort of person who reads daily, either while i'm traveling or just a little bit at home at very least.
I am not really sure why I didnt think that slavers expanded their cotton fields without expanding their labor supply, but simply pushed that labor supply to pick more cotton. For some reason I thought they had huge tracts of land and they just didnt end up picking it all until the pushing system started really pushing...
I imagine that is why you were a bit confused on what I meant because my whole previous conception was pretty stupid.
Meanwhile, one of the most remarkable political movements in American history, epitomized by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., began to demonstrate peacefully for the end of racial discrimination in the marketplace as well as in the law. It took ten years of ever larger demonstrations and courage in the face of sometimes brutal repression, but finally, in 1964, the Twenty-fourth Amendment outlawing the poll tax and the Civil Rights Act were passed. The following year the Voting Rights Act was also passed by Congress. They put the federal government, and the nation as a whole, squarely behind the doctrine of racial equality.
Although at the time it seemed that the fight for equal rights had just begun, in fact, the battle was won. With the rapidly increasing political power of blacks in the South, politicians began attending to their interests, including even die-hard segregationists such as George Wallace and Strom Thurmond. Within a decade, Jim Crow was largely an ugly memory, and the most divisive and shameful aspect of American life was expunged from the body politic and increasingly from the hearts and minds of Americans as well.
From Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power. Gagging. The book completely skipped over the role of slave labor in creating wealth, and repeated engages in this sort of sunnily optimistic view of American race relations. It's not surprising given the author's background and the fact that he isn't a historian but a columnist but still. I would at least expect a nod to these issues, given that there are many books that came out before this one that address these issues.
LTTP but I just read that Stormlight is planned for ten books.
I've never had to endure a wait for more than 2 books (worst I've had to deal with is the last two harry potter). This is going to be a long wait, isn't it?
I'm skipping Sanderson's non-Cosmere works. They don't interest me. Kind of off-putting for some reason.
But even if i read them, they would not be enough. I can read a book i'm drawn to very, very fast (like i said, i once read the Mistborn's final book in a day, or about that).
I'm the sort of person who reads daily, either while i'm traveling or just a little bit at home at very least.
Actually I was just going to edit my post to say I'm mainly focusing on the Cosmere works, lol. I'm not going to force myself to JUST read those, though. I've read Steelheart, Legion 1 and 2, got Rhythmatist which I'll read after after Fireflight or maybe before since I haven't actually bought Fireflight yet, and I bought a couple of Alcatraz and the Evil Librarian books since they're so short and were cheap. I don't want to confine myself only to Cosmere stuff because he has some other cool books out there.
His best works do happen to be the Cosmere books, for sure. So far, of those, I still have Mistborn 3, Alloy of Law, Elantris, and the Elantris novella to read. I've read both Stormlight Archive 1 and 2, Mistborn 1 and [soon] 2, Warbreaker, and Sixth of the Dusk (novella).
I've never had to endure a wait for more than 2 books (worst I've had to deal with is the last two harry potter). This is going to be a long wait, isn't it?[/QUOTE]
The first book was release 2010, the second 2014, third is planned for 2016... Let's say 2.5 years per book after the third one and a 5 year break between books 5 and 6... eh, i'd say we're looking for a finished series closer to 2040. (Damn, i'll be 50 that year.) Might be earlier if Sanderson drops some books from the planned ten, he did note the possibility somewhere once.
From Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power. Gagging. The book completely skipped over the role of slave labor in creating wealth, and repeated engages in this sort of sunnily optimistic view of American race relations. It's not surprising given the author's background and the fact that he isn't a historian but a columnist but still. I would at least expect a nod to these issues, given that there are many books that came out before this one that address these issues.
I'm skipping Sanderson's non-Cosmere works. They don't interest me. Kind of off-putting for some reason.
But even if i read them, they would not be enough. I can read a book i'm drawn to very, very fast (like i said, i once read the Mistborn's final book in a day, or about that).
I'm the sort of person who reads daily, either while i'm traveling or just a little bit at home at very least.
The first book was release 2010, the second 2014, third is planned for 2016... Let's say 2.5 years per book after the third one and a 5 year break between books 5 and 6... eh, i'd say we're looking for a finished series closer to 2040. (Damn, i'll be 50 that year.) Might be earlier if Sanderson drops some books from the planned ten, he did note the possibility somewhere once.
I believe this is my first time posting in this thread and I am currently reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I am Book 2 of 6 and I am not really sure how I feel about it. Curious to see if the movies are as good everybody says as well compared to The Hobbit.
Same here...
Note that was a roughly calculation assuming one book every 2.5 years and a 5 year break after 2016 when the next book is scheduled. So we're looking for '38 or '39 for the final book.
Realistically, the wait is likely to be longer, i think. There may be unexpected delays, after all, though thats why i added the .5 years: Sanderson's plan is to have one book out every two years plus a break of unspecified length. At least, that's what i recall. His plans may have changed already.
LTTP but I just read that Stormlight is planned for ten books.
I've never had to endure a wait for more than 2 books (worst I've had to deal with is the last two harry potter). This is going to be a long wait, isn't it?
It's going to be two interconnected five volume series, with the second series taking place years (decades?) after the first. So, we'll get some resolution to the Kaladin/Shallan story by book five.
It's going to be two interconnected five volume series, with the second series taking place years (decades?) after the first. So, we'll get some resolution to the Kaladin/Shallan story by book five.
Apparently the plan's for some 36 novels (Mistborn and the SA are 9 and 10 novels respectively), and presumably that's just a rough number. And then there are novellas and other stories set in Cosmere.
Apparently the plan's for some 36 novels (Mistborn and the SA are 9 and 10 novels respectively), and presumably that's just a rough number. And then there are novellas and other stories set in Cosmere.
It's going to be two interconnected five volume series, with the second series taking place years (decades?) after the first. So, we'll get some resolution to the Kaladin/Shallan story by book five.
Yup. Although, that being said, Kaladin/Shallan/Dalinar/Adolin/whichever ones are alive by the time the second set of books comes around with still be big characters in the last five.
Isaac Asimov was very prolific (if not the most), don't think Sanderson's beating him any time soon.
EDIT Apparently Asimov has written 515 books along with many, many short stories, essays and criticism.
Isaac Asimov was very prolific (if not the most), don't think Sanderson's beating him any time soon.
EDIT Apparently Asimov has written 515 books along with many, many short stories, essays and criticism.
Cadsuane is fucking awesome she's like the fed up aunt of the series who came in half way into the story and saw how much everyone fucked up everything.
Just read Flowers for Algernon. It's a delightful short story. It's also potently frightening. The portrayals of intelligence in the book are haphazard at times - but at least Keyes doesn't overindulge himself when Charlie gets to his peak intelligence. The beauty I find in the book is how quintessentially the essence of longing is displayed. At all stages of his mental maturity, Charlie is desiring something. Flowers captures this fundamental aspect of humanity and doesn't ever let go. This is a double blade, however, because that emotion can transfer the reader. (Perhaps this is intentional.) Before you know it you're hoping against the inevitable, as you do when you're watching a movie you've seen before and it's about to get to that part.
It's a neat look into psychology besides. Nothing with any academic depth, of course, but certain going-ons of the book elicits philosophical questions to muse upon at your leisure.
Im in the mood for books that is like th e game Under A Killing Moon.
You know, detective story set in the future and/or in space?
Like The Maltese Falcon with space ships.
Im in the mood for books that is like th e game Under A Killing Moon.
You know, detective story set in the future and/or in space?
Like The Maltese Falcon with space ships.
It might SOUND good because it's a detective story on Mars, but in practice it's like bad self-insert fanfiction where ladies can't stop falling for the protagonist who, I kid you not, tips an imaginary fedora at them.
This is my favorite Atwood so far. It's so different from her other works. I wouldn't even consider it sci-fi, except for the pulpy sci-fi story inside the other story. The framing took a little to get used to, but once it took off, it really took off.
I would have given this 5/5 stars instead of 4/5 stars, but I was just really annoyed by the women in this book. I know her thing is to write feminist novels where women have no agency as a way of showing how much it sucks to be a woman in a male-dominated world, but it also is so draining on me as a reader.
When I got to the end, I realized how much the gist of this book resembled a bad soap opera.
Huh, I loved it precisely because I thought the women were such strong characters. They were vulnerable, and people tried to control them, but they weren't flailing maidens. Old Iris was a badass even.
and it's so soapy, agreed. Which I also loved. It was likely my favorite read last year, think I'm gonna check out The Handmaid's Tale next.
Im in the mood for books that is like th e game Under A Killing Moon.
You know, detective story set in the future and/or in space?
Like The Maltese Falcon with space ships.
Apparently the plan's for some 36 novels (Mistborn and the SA are 9 and 10 novels respectively), and presumably that's just a rough number. And then there are novellas and other stories set in Cosmere.
The final Mistborn trilogy being a futuristic space opera using Allomancy to achieve faster-than-light travel blows my mind. I have no idea how that is going to work at this point.
On to my 4th book of the year after just finishing Gaiman's Stardust (it was okay). This book is also okay, almost 2nd person narrative the way they focus on the detective who is similar to a more flamboyant Sherlock Holmes. The protagonist seems interesting enough, author is clearly planning some sort of reveal to some sort of hardship she's been through.
When you do get back to the Commonwealth, you will want to read the Void Trilogy first, as The Abyss spoils a lot of stuff from it pretty early actually.
loved Warchild, Jos's life really held my interest, the checks and balances of gritty not too explicit child abuse with the pirates and his escape and redemption in alien culture (although more transplanted Japanese than truly alien) and with Azarcon felt natural
liked Slowburn, although the change to another main narrator annoyed a little as Ryan the sulky rich kid with mild ptsd and daddy-issues just wasn't as interesting
disliked Cagebird .. the protagonist was more interesting, sure, but I hated the explicit sections on pedophile grooming of 8 year olds leading to slash fanfic-style homosexual sex/rape scenes when 13. And the end! Where was the last 25% of the book? She just stops with none of the major threads or plots halfway done. Very disappointing end to a brilliant start.
Hamilton seems to like doing that. I just finished the Night's Dawn Trilogy a few weeks ago and I must say I was a bit surprised in the first book when the
Dead started possessing the living.
Then in the second book I was not expecting
Al Capone to come back and recreate his organization into a small empire.
