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This is a hard book to follow. About halfway through, I had to go back to the beginning and start over. Hard to read or not, Hans Fallada is my favorite German author and I think it will be well worth the effort to get through this.

How did trouble in the Balkans cause WW-I? Appears ultran-nationalism was a key ingredient. Defined as extreme nationalism that promotes the interest of one state or people above all others, this was characteristic of Serbia, England and Prussia. Had each of these groups stayed within their own borders, instead of interfering with everybody else, things might have been much different.

How did trouble in the Balkans cause WW-I? Appears ultran-nationalism was a key ingredient. Defined as extreme nationalism that promotes the interest of one state or people above all others, this was characteristic of Serbia, England and Prussia. Had each of these groups stayed within their own borders, instead of interfering with everybody else, things might have been much different.

How did the assassination of an Archduke trigger WW-I? This I have long wondered, and Sleepwalkers is starting to explain this. Begins with political history of the Balkans: complex, to say the least. I've been keeping an Excel file to keep track of all the people & places that are involved. Slow going; well worth the effort.

Working my way through this. I am keeping track of characters with an Excel spreadsheet.

A very interesting plot, with believable events, and with a large cast of characters. Sometimes, I make an Excel file to go along with a book just to keep track of who-is-who, etc. For this book, I am going to have to do that. I'm taking the book back to the library, and buying one of my own, so I can take a long time to get through it all. Fallada is an awesome author.

A unique novel about life under the nazi years, written by an author who was there. And who was lucky to have survived hitler. This is the first time I've read Hans Fallada and I am certain I will read more of his books.

This book covers so much material that it is difficult to absorb. Best approach is to take it slow.

Comprehensive, well researched, highly credible, and it's taking me a long time to get through this. I'm at about the halfway point, and taking a break for a while.

This was a best seller in 1911, and I happened to find out about it in a very unexpected, offhand way. It is a great book!

Referring to "stick slip," where strain energy buil;ds up over a very long time, then suddenly releases. Only to start the whole thing over again: "The earthquake cycle ... is one of geology's most imoprtant concepts -- slow processes over long times have big effects. ... slow motions build mountains and create oceans."

A really interesting book! A huge cocaine ring operated from -- of all places -- a dental school. The ring leader, Larry Lavin, was smooth: He knew how to do business on a grand scale w/o getting caught. Until the FBI discovered the ring as a sidebar to separate investigation of one of Lavin's colleagues, for an arson case that Lavin had nothing to do with.

Theory: Sharks are afraid of killer whales. How to test this: Dress up like a killer whale (in a modified wet suit) then jump in the water with sharks, and see if they try to eat you. The author did this, and lived. Is it possible for anyone to do anything crazier?

This is a continuation of The Rainbow, but it is much less difficult to follow.

A fascinating book! It is hard to put down.

I am liking this book very much.

The most awesome of books!

DH Lawrence grew up in a district with many collieries, and he seems to have hated them. Even though they were the economic support for the region. I grew up in a factory town, where one company employed the entire area, and I ended up working there for much of my life. The same disrespect for humans that Lawrence hated about collieries? Equally present in the factory of my experience. Not a good thing.

Of all the books I've ever read, this is the most difficult to understand.

This book has a plot that moves sort of slow, which makes the story believable. It is going to take me a while to finish, and that's ok.

Slugging through, one paragraph at a time. Taking breaks by studying advanced calculus, which is less difficult.

This is a tough read. The best words to describe it: intense, emotional and difficult.

This is one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time.

Reading DH Lawrence, I'm finding I really have to focus. It takes as much concentration as studying a math book. Definitely worth the effort, although it is slow going.

DH Lawrence is SO intense.