I am fascinated by WWII, both as a historical event and by the fractal like way it rippled throughout the world. I'm certain all the stories of the war could never be told. Oddly enough I don't read a lot of books about WWII. Mostly I prefer the countless documentaries from the dusty dry to the riveting to the made for Hollywood.

So I finished this book and I'm going to tell you about it:

The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History is great fun for those of us who want both the human stories of the war effort as well as points of to entry for casual examination. Over the course of the book I made a hand full of notes about people, works of art and places that I have really enjoyed looking up. I think book hit a sweet spot between the boots on the ground story of these men and women and a larger view of how the cultural treasures of Europe throughout the war.

I just finished Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. It only took me 3 years reading it on and off.  It is a fascinating book that covers a remarkable sweep of knowledge and history.  I had promised myself I would finish it before reading anything on my new Kindle and I didn't relish the idea of carrying it, yet again, on another airplane only to make minimal headway.

I definitely recommend it and would make sure you are pretty dedicated to powering through it.  This feels like I've definitely accomplished something.

Ranked 68th on Foursquare in San Francisco, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

Woot! Granted I've been a neurotic checker-inner trying to get some SF
badges, but top 100 in a major city is pretty damn good.

A recurring theme, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

Here I am again at the Falafel drive in. This makes the score 2 for 2
- times in mountain view and stops at the drive in. Large falafel and
rootbeer freeze in my future.

Regular night out at the club, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

Jazz club that is.