I left off with Hocus Pocus, and I've done several books since - so many that I may not remember them all. That's not to say I've read a lot, but my memory isn't what it used to be... no, scratch that, my memory is fine, it's just that I don't care to think about it, it's really not that important to me, although I guess I would like it to be so. Anyway, there's been Shadow Divers, 1968 - which I just finished, Hot Sky at Midnight, and a couple of short stories - Human Operators and Neighbors.

Shadow Divers was very good, and I understand there was a program on the history channel on the subject. Some commercial divers get wind of a shipwreck off the coast of NJ, and find out it's a lost German U-boat. The story is about the people that dove it to figure out which one it was, how they did it, and some of the people that didn't survive helping out. There is a lot of history in the book.

1968 - The Year That Rocked The World by Mark Kurlansky. It's a lot of background information about many events prominent in '68. Very interesting, makes me want to read more about Cuba and Castro, among other things.

Hot Sky at Midnight was written by Robert Silverberg. He has been around a while, a SF writer from way back when SF was relatively young, and it seems he still writes that way. The book is set in the future of course, but a future where global warming is a reality, so much so that people can't go outside without gas masks. He writes as if he knows nothing of computers, and even though the book was written in 1994... I think... he uses none of the hard technological advantages that we knew were coming around the corner. Silverberg has written some good books, but this is not among them.

Now I'm in the middle of The World is Flat by Thomas Freidman. I don't know how much of the book I've listened to, but this guy is touting globalization as if it's the best thing since sliced bread. He praises 'innovators' for bringing people closer, but says nothing about the fact that things being made in China is hurting Americans. Not hurting Americans, but is an example of how Americans are hurting themselves. Companies are demanding cost reduction, which forces people to go outside the US for labor that is cheaper. I've said it before, kids have it so easy today that they expect to leave high school with the ability to live in the same lifestyle they are accustomed to, which was provided by the parents. According to the author, looking elsewhere for cheap labor is good. But companies don't want things to be less costly so they can provide a less costly product or more to their employess, they need costs down to improve the bottom line. Bigger profits mean bigger bonuses for high level executives, not necessarily better products or better wages for employees here. So how are the Americans hurting themselves? They are not willing to work as hard for the good pay as workers in India and China are. He talks about the cheap labor in both countries, but says the cost of living in India is cheaper, while saying nothing of the cost of living in China. The real question is how much the labor is able to earn above what they need to simply survive. The answer is an indication of how much a laborer can improve his life by working hard. The author talks about the labor in India, and how they can improve their standard of living, but has yet to talk about the Chinese labor. He does imply that labor is cheap in Chine because there are so many people there, but doesn't use the word exploitation, hasn't yet anyway. I'm sure I'll have more to say about the book when I'm done with it.

I think I've mentioned everything. I'm still in the middle of Clay's Ark and Greene's Getting To Know the General....