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Ask HN: Coffee table books

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Re: Ask HN: Coffee table books

#43

Post by gt_ »

rainloft wrote: post #13

The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan. https://www.amazon.com/Medium-Massage-Marshall-McLuhan/dp/15... He combines words and images in a style that inspired Wired magazine. The book is about the influence of technology on how and what humans communicate and think. Your guests will be flipping the book upside-down and looking at the reversed image in a mirror at times. It's entertaining as well as informative!

While not bad (I have it) this is not Marshall Mcluhan's work. It is some other guy's. The text is ripped from Marshall Mcluhan's work of the same name which is a for more exploratory work and not fit for a 2017 coffee table.

Re: Ask HN: Coffee table books

#45

Post by hprotagonist »

aj_g wrote: post #27
hprotagonist wrote: post #12

“accidents in north american mountaineering”, a publication of the american alpine club.

or 50 classic/100 favorite climbs books

Freedom of the Hills is actually a great coffee table book. The material is somewhat dated for free-climbing, but it's a great book to read.

Re: Ask HN: Coffee table books

#47

Post by senorsmile »

I just picked up "Reading the Past: Ancient Writing from Cuneiform to the Alphabet". It's actually a combination of 6 smaller "books" that goes over:

- Cuneiform - Egyptian Hieroglyhps - Linear B - The Early Alphabet - Green Inscriptions - Etruscan

Much of what's in the book are things I've already learned. However, it makes for a great summary for people that are over and have questions.

Re: Ask HN: Coffee table books

#48

Post by synicalx »

I like to leave copies of Mein Kampf lying next to copies of Das Kapital, just to keep my guests alert and on their toes. Also I've found it tends to lead to a general decrease in the amount of time it takes for someone to be labelled as Hitler during discussions.

Re: Ask HN: Coffee table books

#49

Post by api »

synicalx wrote: post #48

I like to leave copies of Mein Kampf lying next to copies of Das Kapital, just to keep my guests alert and on their toes. Also I've found it tends to lead to a general decrease in the amount of time it takes for someone to be labelled as Hitler during discussions.

Had a friend who put Ayn Rand next to Marx because he said the repulsion helped hold up his books on the shelf.
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