Nope, honestly never heard of him.

Yeah, maybe he just isn't popular over here, or maybe it was just amongst my generation. Really not sure.

nice pick larry. Was my initial thought for history too before I settled on something else.

i'm not up, am i?

I believe NoMyths is up.

yeah I posted that and then realized I wasn't up.

Fiction
Single Short Story: 8.5 - The Adventure of the Speckled Band, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Poem: 2.5 - The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
Fantasy/Science Fiction: 7.6 - Neuromancer, William Gibson
Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) 3.6 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Sport Related: 4.5 - Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger
Children's: 5.6 - Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
Non-Fiction: 1.6 - On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
Biography/Autobiography: 6.5 - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Frederick Douglass
History

I'll take Sherlock Holmes on my team, please. "The Speckled Band" was one of 56 stories by Doyle featuring the most famous detective in history, and was considered by Doyle (and most readers, according to polls) his very best. I'm not sure if there are any aspects of crime literature that are not influenced by Holmes' adventures, and I tend to think everyone here knows of the cat. Glad to see Doyle still on the board -- taking him at this point is elementary, my dear Watson.

Now you're up, DT. :) I have lists for st.cronin and Chief Rum again, so if cartman is around when I get to work we should be able to blast through some picks again.

So - I have to defend Izulde for a minute.

In my holier than thou way I asked my fiance at the breakfast table:

"So, you ever heard of a book called 'Little Prince'?"

She says in her "you're such a moron way", "Uh, yeah - it's a Newberry Winner".

So.... I would have to say if it's a Newberry Winner I probably shouldn't discredit it QUITE so quickly as that usually means it is considered good and was at least popular at one time.

I was wondering if Sherlock Holmes was going to be taken, or something else from Doyle.

There's some really good stuff out there left to be picked. I imagine at the pace this has been going, it'll be done by the time I get back from work. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the draft plays out (and I look forward to getting my life back since I've been obsessed with following this thing since it started. :) )

As the Kool-Aid man says, "Oh yeah!!!"

i sent lordscarlet my pick via PM last night but he must have missed it. lemme go back and get my last pick so i have the list. coming in a minute

Unfortunately the way I worded "series" it took away some interesting choices like Holmes.


Wow. I'm so sorry. I was a mess last night. :)

1. Fiction: Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong
2. Single Short Story: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy
3. Poem: 5.5 Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction: 4.6 FARENHEIT 451, RAY BRADBURY
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) 1.5 The Foundation Series, Isaac Asimov
6. Sport Related
7. Children's 3.5 Children's and Household Tales (1857 - 211 stories) by The Brothers Grimm
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography 2.6 Autobiographical Notes, Albert Einstein
10. History: 8.6 History of the Pelopennisian War by Thucydides

Nothing against Herotodus, but Thucydides is the REAL father of history. Real actual scientific history, and political realism. Herotodus is more pop-history, storytelling-history.

And that was the other History choice. Based on what I said earlier, I'm going to have to give them both top marks. Nicely done.

First post updated and Maple Leafs is up!

bah. herotodus is bunk to serious historians. thucydides is where it's at

*Raises one eybrow while looking at his History B.A.*

Not that I think Thucydides is a poor choice, mind you...but are you seriously bashing Herodotus?

Nice job, I was leaning towards making this my next pick.

Man, the wait is killing me.

Fiction - 1.4 Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Single Short Story
Band, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Poem - 4.7 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Fantasy/Science Fiction - 3.4 War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
Series
Sport Related - Paper Lion, by George Plimpton
Children's - 5.4 The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss
Non-Fiction - 6.7 Analects, Confucius
Biography/Autobiography - 8.7 The Confessions of St. Augustine
History - 2.7 The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

*raising the other eyebrow looking at HIS History B.A.*

yep

Thucydides is much more...reputable history than Herodotus. much more "hard" history and less heresay. and the father of political realism.

This would've been my autobio pick if Night had been off the board.

I'm ready whenever st.cronin or lordscarlet make an appearance

Not to get off-topic here but...


After a good bit of searching:

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...light=football

I really enjoyed the draft. I don't think we ever made a voting thread though, alas. It probably hurt that the guy doing the draft disappeared during the middle of it never to reappear on FOFC again.

Your team:

1.10 Dick Butkus, LB
2.3 Johnny Unitas, QB
3.10 Eric Dickerson, RB
4.3 Merlin Olsen, DT
5.10 Chuck Bednarik, C/LB
6.3 Herb Adderly, CB
7.10 Larry Little, G
8.3 Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, WR
9.10 Darrell Green, CB
10.3 Warren Sapp, DT
11.10 Lynn Swann, WR
12.3 John Madden, Head Coach

Sorry guys, unexpected meeting..

st.cronin: Light in August, William Faulkner

off to lunch

Ok, time to get those slap hands ready...

I'm next going to address the Children's category. I had quite a few "expected" titles that popped into my mind, but none of them really stood out as picks. Safe, yes, but tough to set apart when viewing a list of titles. I went outside the box a bit on this one. This title appeals to young and old. The base humor is there for kids to get, and the more mature you become, deeper meaning is easily obtained from the stories in this book. This book also serves as a gateway to more meaty literature, as the hero in this book and his friend go on adventures that parallel many great stories. Since it contains tons of small stories, it is always changing and keeps kids interested. My pick is:

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson

cartman's list

1. Fiction - 4.9 Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
2. Single Short Story - 3.2 The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe
3. Poem - 5.2 Paul Revere's Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - 2.9 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 1.2: The Lord of The Rings Trilogy (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King), J.R.R. Tolkein
6. Sport Related - 6.9: Casey At The Bat, Ernest Thayer
7. Children's - 8.9: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
8. Non-Fiction - 7.2 Kama Sutra, Mallanaga Vatsyayana
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History

Hobbes.

This draft is very entertaining to follow.

A few comments on recent picks. I love the Canterbury Tales as a pick, but still question whether it qualifies as a poem because it has two tales in prose.

The Little Prince is a great pick, Izulde. Don't let these cretins get you down :)

The "series" category strikes me as the most hit-or-miss right now. I'm pretty sure some of those selections don't even qualify as literature.

The race is still very wide open for my vote. I only count one person out as of now.

Thanks, fixed the name

I figured someone would find a way to add either Calvin or Hobbes or Farside. Definitely a high-risk, high-reward pick.

I'm here.. give me one sec. Sorry for the busy day, I'm killing our speedy draft.

For Chief Rum:

8.10 Sweet Science, A.J. Liebling [Sports]
9.1 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy by Isaac Newton [Non-Fiction]

I would just like to say that I'm glad people figured out that Non-Fiction does not have to be a history book.

alright, let me look over which of my final two I want to announce next...

fuckfuckfuck I screwed up Cronin's pick.

..There's only one more pick up in the category he told me to pick in round 8, so I'm just going to hope his stays open rather than take something off now that you guys have seen it. :(

EDIT: Actually, it's impossible that it will be taken unless the author is taken. I think I'm in the clear. (or it is taken in an odd category)

Uh... Is it something that someone else picked?

Ok, next category I'll make a pick for is Biography. I'm going in the way back machine for this one:

The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius

Now before you say "WHO??? WHAT???" realize that this book is considered the definitive biography for the Caesars covered, as well as a solid glimpse into the Roman way of life during this time. If not for this book, there would have been no inspiration for Shakespears' "Julius Caesar", nothing would have been documented about the depravity of Caligula, or just about any story you've heard or seen about the Roman Empire. Almost any book or story that has been written about this time period bases its information off of this book. Suetonius' method for research and data collection set the standard for hundreds of years for future biographies.

cartman's list

1. Fiction - 4.9 Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
2. Single Short Story - 3.2 The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe
3. Poem - 5.2 Paul Revere's Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - 2.9 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 1.2: The Lord of The Rings Trilogy (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King), J.R.R. Tolkein
6. Sport Related - 6.9: Casey At The Bat, Ernest Thayer
7. Children's - 8.9: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson
8. Non-Fiction - 7.2 Kama Sutra, Mallanaga Vatsyayana
9. Biography/Autobiography - 9.2 The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius
10. History

I just opened this thread for the first time today. Am I to understand that Axxon picked Danse Macabre by King in Round One?

(I'm sure this has been beaten to death in the thread, but ???????)

Wrong pick. Cronin is the last person to pick a poem. I'd say it's safe to change his pick.

This is overstating things quite a bit. Great work yes, but there are other records around detailing the reigns besides Suetonius.

You are correct. Allthough I think he still deserves some more beatings over it ;)

And I love Cartman's kid pick.

Cronin picks before me in the 9th round, so the pick can be made then.

True, but they were for the most part one-offs. As a coherent collection, his works are verified by the one-offs, not the other way around.

Yeah, I picked his 9th rounder in the 8th and I was worried someone might snag his 8th rounder when he clearly strategized the likelihood of being blocked. However, I am saved by luck and no one blocked his 8th rounder so I will take it in the 9th (in 2 seconds)


Yes.

st.cronin's pick below!!! We are in the home stretch, boyzz!@ (is that the right number of "Z"s?

9.3 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl

Son of a @#$!@$#!!!!

HAHAHAHAHA

I was wondering when this was going to get picked! Great great pick this late in the draft IMO.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a very close 2nd for me when I picked wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Faulkner and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are very strong picks this late.

Do you really want me to start talking about that again? :D

Curious to see how this plays out..

My four "bonus" picks are all still on the board.

Fiction - 1.4 Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Single Short Story - 9.4 The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry
Poem - 4.7 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Fantasy/Science Fiction - 3.4 War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
Series
Sport Related - Paper Lion, by George Plimpton
Children's - 5.4 The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss
Non-Fiction - 6.7 Analects, Confucius
Biography/Autobiography - 8.7 The Confessions of St. Augustine
History - 2.7 The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

Great pick, Maple Leafs. Can't believe O. Henry was still on the board.

From your favorite passenger of Oceanic Flight 815, DaddyTorgo selects:

9.5 Two Treatises of Government, John Locke [Non-Fiction]

NoMyths, you're next!

Glad to see Gibbon and Herodotus go - they were my 1 and 2 in history. My number three is still on the board, though. Same with #3 poem and my #1 kids (maybe it's just me?) and my #2 sports. However, I ain't got shit left on series :p

I'm pleasantly surprised that so many here are familiar with Gibbon. I was a little worried about that pick.

Gibbon was my #1 in History as well

The first chance I've had to log in all day (and on dialup no less)...glad things haven't passed me by.

Fiction
Single Short Story: 8.5 - The Adventure of the Speckled Band, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Poem: 2.5 - The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
Fantasy/Science Fiction: 7.6 - Neuromancer, William Gibson
Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) 3.6 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Sport Related: 4.5 - Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger
Children's: 5.6 - Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
Non-Fiction: 1.6 - On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
Biography/Autobiography: 6.5 - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Frederick Douglass
History: 9.5 - The Civil War: A Narrative, Shelby Foote

Yes, the fans of "hard" history are going to moan. For the rest of us, this is the definitive history of the Civil War. The three-volume narrative was popularized by Ken Burns' wonderful PBS documentary "The Civil War", which was based on it and used Foote as one of the film's commentators. And let's be frank: these books are a hell of a lot more readable than Herodotus or Thucydides. And anyway, screw those foreigners -- let's talk about American history, and this as the defining narrative of our defining conflict. :)

Great choice.

This is one of the ones I was strongly considering for my Children's pick.

For my pick at 9.7 I am once again going to dip into the works of the 18th century. Once again, it is going to be the magnus opus of the author and is the first modern work on this area. Also, players of the Civ franchise enjoy his work very much since all libraries, temples, and barracks are now free.

The man and his work are:

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Fiction - 3.7 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Single Short Story - 5.7 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Poem - 1.7 The Iliad - Homer
Fantasy/Science Fiction - 7.7 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 2.4 The Cronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Sport Related 4.4 Ball Four by Jim Bouton
Children's
Non-Fiction - 9.7 An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
Biography/Autobiography - 6.4 Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy
History - 8.4 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

Keep in mind this is a literature draft with a history category. Given those parameters, Herodotus wins.

Great pick on Wealth of Nations. There's a few more Non-Fiction books out there I like more, though.

Hm. Gonna have to show my ignorance on this one as well.

On Wealth of Nations!?

I knew for sure that you were gonna take the Suetonius before I could claim it, st.cronin.

In this he was the one that argued that the "Invisible Hand" would result in the ability of markets to self-correct in the absence of government and other organizations. I.E. if there is a shortage of square widgets, the price of those widgets would increase until another producer gets in the market. With the increased supply the price would then come down. There are other concepts in the book as well, but this is the most famous example.

I love Suetonius, but I think its a wack pick for this draft. :)

I <3 Adam Smith.

There have been some seriously sizzling picks in these late rounds.

Correct.


Still don't know the book, even if it introduced the theory of supply vs. demand. :)


I consider myself a smart person and fairly well educated, but there are a number of higher level books that I just don't seem to know (like many of the later history, non-fiction and biography selections). Maybe I'm not as smart as I think, or maybe there are a lot of lit/history snobs on the board. I don't know which. :)

I am throwing my "undrafted" list together now that we're nearing the end. There are a lot of decidedly less than stellar selections, and it is very contemporary, but as I don't have much time to work on it and I'm not being judged, I'm not too concerned. :) This is why I ran this one without participating. I don't know all of these pretentious (said intentionally to make blood boil) selections being made. ;)

There have been some picks that really stretch what one considers literature. John Locke, a stellar philosopher, but as a man of letters inferior to Hobbes and Rousseau, among others. (IMO)

1. Fiction - 1.8 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
2. Single Short Story - 5.8 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving
3. Poem - 2.3 Paradise Lost, John Milton
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - 7.8 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 9.8 Tarzan series, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
6. Sport Related
7. Children's - 6.3 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L Frank Baum
8. Non-Fiction - 4.3 Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx
9. Biography/Autobiography - 3.8 Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler
10. History - 8.3 The Histories of Herodotus, Herodotus

Edgar Rice Burroughs created one of the most memorable fictional characters with his Tarzan series. The series comprised of 24 novels, most of which started immediately where the previous one ended, and inspired numerous adaptations in several different media forms.

Smack, not wack!

:D

Also, I have never taken an econ, business or finance course. :) Just to defend myself.

It's probably a little bit of both. Although I wouldn't use smart.. I'd say not as well-read.

Which isn't a knock on you at all... there's only so much time available for reading and even literature professors won't have read or heard of everything, including things other, allegedly less educated people, would be more familiar with.

And yes, there's a lot of lit/history snobs on this board. :D

If there's one thing this draft has revealed to me over the past few days that I didn't fully realize until then, it's that I have a very strong modernist bias.

Would that pick qualify as an invisible hand smacking yo momma?

Ok, am I up? I don't see 9,9 yet.

This will be interesting. There are several "series" which share characters and progress chronologically but don't necessarily continue the same storyline and can be read out of order. That seems to be outside the scope of the category as defined, although I have to admit I was leaning towards making a similar pick at one point.

Izulde still has to pick

Gotcha

So you're saying that all these people that are shocked I don't know the book decided to read it on their own time? Doubtful. :) They had to read it for a class at some point I would assume (although maybe I'm completely wrong).


Yeah, sorry, Izulde was here when his pick came up so I PM'd you assuming he would take his pick.


Yeah. I was disappointed when I realized that the rules taken as written would not allow this type of pick for the Series category. Or Sherlock Holmes and the like. It specifically says sequential stories.

1. Fiction - 2.2 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem - 1.9 "The Waste Land" - T.S. Eliot
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 3.9 The Musketeers Saga - The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, The Man in the Iron Mask - Alexandre Dumas
6. Sport Related - 5.9 North Dallas Forty - Peter Gent
7. Children's - 7.9 The Little Prince - Antonie de Sainte Expury
8. Non-Fiction - 4.2 The Art of War - Sun Tzu
9. Biography/Autobiography - 6.2. Night - Elie Wiesel
10. History - 9.9 The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - William L. Shirer

Shirer is one of those rare historians who writes with the beauty and lucidity of a novelist. His biography of Adolph Hitler and this masterpiece on Nazi Germany still stand even to this day as seminal works in the subject matter. I love this book and think Shirer is totally awesome.

dola (but not): I gurantee there are a ton of books I have read in the technology field that you guys have never heard of. :)

Wealth of Nations was something I learned about in High School. You must have went to some commie high school that skipped it. ;)

That was my second choice behind Foote, Izulde -- nice pick.

I went to an American high school, we don't care about some damn Scotsman! :)

It seems vaguely familiar as I look at the wikipedia entry, but it is certainly miles upon miles from being at the front of my mind or something I would ever know was a significant book. :)

I think Tarzan is a little different than Sherlock Holmes (which I would have picked much earlier if it fit). Tarzan is definitely a sequential story. The first chapter in the next book could just as well be the next chapter in the previous book. It's more than just sharing characters. The plot of each book is directly related to the previous book.

Thanks :) It was my last History pick before I was going to have to really start scrambling.

Now the tough part is going to be short story... There's too many options available and I have a feeling most of them are safe, but not homerun picks... though there is one I'm considering that's a definite strikeout or homerun selection.

I think there is at least one home run pick out there for short story. It may go on my undrafted list if you don't take it. The only reason it wouldn't is that Wade and I discussed it already and I may put one up that was free of any suggestion from anyone else (I already had it in my head, but he mentioned it to me before I could mention it, so it could be argued that he "thought of it" first).

In regards to the discussion about past drafts:

http://www.rwbl.net/fofcwiki/index.p...ategory:Drafts

There's only one there, but if someone had the time to put the older ones in as well...

1. Fiction
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially)
6. Sport Related
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography
10. History - 9,10 The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

This is such a tough category but I have to include this one. I am a fan of Russian history and the tales that he tells will truly chill your soul and he tended to understate things. This is a history of a lost people told by a man who was there who literally risked his life to get his words out. Powerful stuff.

That is a nice pick Axxon

Should I know that one? :)

1. Fiction
2. Single Short Story
3. Poem
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially)
6. Sport Related
7. Children's
8. Non-Fiction
9. Biography/Autobiography - 10,1 - The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas - Gertrude Stein
10. History

It's fitting to end my draft with a book that actually is both a biography and an autobiography but nothing less would suit one of the premier wordsmiths in our history.

This book is fascinating as it gives us a glimpe on everyone who was anyone in European art and culture and lets not forget Papa Hemingway.

I know a lot of people have never heard of Gertrude Stein and even most who have heard of her have never read her, this book is very readable and accessable and was her only bestseller.

In closing, Gertrude once remarked "I don't want to be famous, I want to be historic and she indeed did achieve that.

With this, I leave it to the voters. This has been an incredibly fun experience. :)

I've heard of it, but never read it.

Loved One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, though.

1. Fiction - 2.2 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
2. Single Short Story - 10.2 "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" - Ernest Hemingway
3. Poem - 1.9 "The Waste Land" - T.S. Eliot
4. Fantasy/Science Fiction - A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
5. Series (A set of books continuing the same story and intended to be read sequentially) - 3.9 The Musketeers Saga - The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, The Man in the Iron Mask - Alexandre Dumas
6. Sport Related - 5.9 North Dallas Forty - Peter Gent
7. Children's - 7.9 The Little Prince - Antonie de Sainte Expury
8. Non-Fiction - 4.2 The Art of War - Sun Tzu
9. Biography/Autobiography - 6.2. Night - Elie Wiesel
10. History - 9.9 The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - William L. Shirer

It's killing me to have to leave a lot of my favorite authors off the list, one in particular, but I'm closing this one out with a great short story by one of the masters in the genre.

Kilimanjaro is a multi-layered story, hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time and a reminder of what happens when we waste our talents and fail to utilize them.

It's a tale that hits pretty close to home for me, as I sometimes fear I'll be like the protagonist.

It's very similar but only focuses on a day. Gulag takes a wider view and paints on one hand with a wider brush but on the other, also goes into the day to day life. It really reads so like fiction but as we know; it isn't.

I was really wondering when Hemingway would fall and in what category. I'm an Old Man and the Sea fan but this is a good representation as well.