What Next?

I have finally finished Intrepid's Last Case; I'm not sure if I have gained any knowledge except for the realization that my knowledge of history, post WWII is paltry. So I have put Willliam Manchester's The Glory and the Dream into my reading pile.

Actually, it's not a pile. It used to be a table, an old fashioned ladies dressing table, and I kept my "to be read" pile there. Very respectable. However, all-too-frequent trips to the library's sale table and the AAUW's book fair, and the local Borders, have turned my trusty table into a table plus overspill into a cardboard box. It's not very attractive, and I am going to have to break down and find a bookcase - maybe something dignified with glass doors? - to put in its place.

So the question is, as always, what next? I have a number of choices. My friend Sharlene lent me an Edna Ferber book, and I should start that. I bought a fantasy title that I LOVED reading a few years ago that is part of a trilogy. I found #s 2 and 3 on the library sale rack, bought them, and broke down and bought #1 at full price. My friend Julie has lent me a couple of titles that I could read - one is The Alchemist.

And there's always Trollope. It's been a while, I should revisit the purpose of this blog and read some Trollope. Barchester Towers awaits me. I find this one a hard start after The Warden, since in the first few pages I learn that one of my favorite characters from that book has died!

Continuing Intrepid

I am still reading Intrepid's Last Case by William Stevenson. It's a look at the development of the western intelligence agencies after WWII. The Intrepid of the title is William Stephenson, who coordinated intelligence between the British, Canadians and the US during the war, prior to the US' involvement. He was a very interesting figure who saw the cold war developing and had such foresight on the nature of the Soviet threat to the West. Post war history is not my strong point to say the least, so I'm not sure how much of this book I am truly understanding.

I'm looking for recommendations to supplement this foray into post-WWII history. There are some quotes in this book from The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester, so I thought maybe that would be a good place to start. Any other suggesstions would be welcome.

I remembered some other books read this summer:

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (kids book), this was super.
Undue Influence by Steve Martini
The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin. Futuristic sci-fi with strong social commentary. Obviously written during the cold war, so it's an interesting counterpoint to my current reading.