February 14, 2011

Ranty Is Reading




All I can say is: buy it. Buy it today. Or sooner, if you have a time-machine.

By page 45 you will have discovered the solution to our problems. As ever, to get where we are going, we need to plan the route. If you lot bought the book you could help me iron out the kinks.

Salvation lies within, but if I announce it here, I would be stealing AT's thunder, and I will not do that.

Meanwhile, I am researching like a man possessed. I thought I was having fun before, from here on in it will be orgasmic. Join me. (But bring your own tummy-wipes).

CR.

PS-you can find details here on how to purchase both of his books.

19 comments:

IanG said...

I bought this book a while ago, following a plug from you, since then it's sat on my shelf - the reason; the text is soooo bloody small, I get a headache just looking at it.

Still, I'll follow your lead & try again tonight, either with a box of aspirin or a microscope!

Captain Ranty said...

I hear you brother!

I have eyes like a young hawk but I find myself squinting a bit.

A bigger font would have been better.

CR.

Dioclese said...

Samll font = less paper. Very eco friendly!

Angry Exile said...

All I can say is: buy it. Buy it today.

Well, we can hardly borrow yours now that the pages are stuck together.

Dioclese, fuck 'em, they're only trees. Actually I think I'll put that on a tee shirt and keep it by the door in case Greenpeace call.

Captain Ranty said...

:)

Sticky pages can easily be avoided with the assiduous use of Tummy Wipes For Big Boys. Available at all good stockists.

CR.

James Higham said...

Soon Ranty will be writing [a write-up anyway].

Captain Ranty said...

I will happily provide a review but if it's anything like the last book, it will only take one word: Mindblowing.

CR.

mescalito said...

its a great read, excellent illustrations as-well

CrazyDaisy said...

Loads of fun! I'm reading The Origin of the Family, State etc by Fredrick Engels from the work of Marx a few years after his death - it has a few things from 1889 that are exactly the same today - clearly we or they haven't learned!

C D

Caratacus said...

Thanks Captain - copy ordered and a couple of bottles of Scruttock's Old Dirigible hauled up from the cellar and dusted off in prep. ;)

Gareth said...

Quick comment -

I bought both of his books, and they are both very good indeed.

Captain Ranty said...

Mesc,

Yeah, the drawings are good. There are lesson in them too !

CR.

Captain Ranty said...

CD,

I have heard of Engels but I have never read his stuff.

I'll have to look him up.

CR.

Captain Ranty said...

Caratacus,

Scruttocks? Sounds dodgy. Never had that before.

I tried "Flash" (a sort of home made loopy juice) in Libya once. Went blind in one eye, briefly, and developed a game leg. Three days on and I was as right as rain.

CR.

Captain Ranty said...

Gareth,

Thanks for that.

I haven't finished the second one yet, so no spoilers!!

CR.

Anonymous said...

There's a preview of the few of pages on the Amazon site....

Looks interesting - I've placed an order

CrazyDaisy said...

CR

Just finished Engels and then bought my own copy which I'll lend you. I will write a few paras and then we can all see the bigger picture. They had it nailed 120 years ago - fuckin scary!

Stay safe

CD

Captain Ranty said...

Thanks CD.

There were some very bright people around 120 years ago, weren't there? Wonder where they all fucked off to...

Looks like the London trip will be next week.

Be good,

CR.

CrazyDaisy said...

Ranty,

Looking fwd to catching up, I'm around first 3 days. Anyway I promised a quick para to demonstrate the accuracy of the book - Engels “ (regarding Merchants) Now for the first time a class appears which, without in any way participating in production, captures the direction of production as a whole and economically subjugates the producers; which makes itself into an indispensable middleman between and two producers and exploits them both. Under the pretext that they save the producers the trouble and risk of exchange, extend the sale of their products to distant markets and are therefore the most useful class of the population, a class of parasites comes into being, true ‘caterpillars of the community’, who as a reward for their actually insignificant services, skim all the cream off production at home and abroad, rapidly amass enormous wealth and corresponding social influence, and for that reason receive under civilisation ever higher honours and ever greater control of producton, until at last they also bring forth a product of their own – the periodical trade crises.”

Ring a bell anyone?

F*ckin unbelievable clarity in some of his work. I'm impressed by much of his research and it goes on to money, barter, trade and the rise of the state.

A damn good read to be honest.

CD