This page is a list of the books that I feel are worth sharing, and a selection of the ones I am currently reading and have currently read.

Currently Reading

Stephen Miller, Conversation: A History of a Declining Art

Miller presents a well written history of an activity that is rarely thought about. In the 18th Century, conversation was viewed as an art form. According to James Boswell, "conversation is the traffick of the mind; for by exchanging ideas, we enrich one another".

Kevin J. Hayes, The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson

This book chronicles, above all, the intellectual development of Thomas Jefferson. While most think of Jefferson as our third president, this achievement was not important enough for him to engrave it on his epithet. Above all, Jefferson was a gardener, a scientist, a philosopher, and like the rest of us, a human being. The good that Jefferson represents should be emulated by all of us. Any study of him is merited by that which we can take away and apply to our own lives, and this biography certainly provides ample examples.

Recently Read

Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Eduardo Galeano, The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent

John C. Chasteen, Americanos: Latin America's Struggle for Independence

Pictures from an early morning in on a tropical beach in Acapulco, Mexico.

This picture may not be the best picture I have ever taken but, for a couple of reasons, I couldn't help put post it. The view is from the balcony of our hotel room in Acapulco, $60 a night split between 5 people for a room and an ocean front hotel. I would venture to say that we got a pretty good deal. While we really enjoyed the beach, we also enjoyed our surroundings, and this pictures gives you a good idea of where we were.

The tranquility of the morning in Acapulco was all around me as I took a walk on the beach, and I tried to capture that in my pictures. One of the most peaceful sights is that of boats floating in our cove and the suns early light giving everything a warm glow. This picture is one of my favorites due to its peaceful nature.

This picture is one of my favorites because of its depth, and how it almost leads you down a path from the beach past the island on the right, and to the hills sitting in the middle of the bay. The warm glow of the morning light also adds a nice touch taking you from shadows to light as you go down the path.

As morning came to an end, I decided to try and take a couple from the patio area of our hotel. You really get for the laid back feel of our area in this picture, as the boats are just floating in the water and the flag is just flapping in the breeze, with no one in sight.

In case you were wondering how the boats got out in the water, here is a group of men rolling one of them along wooden cylinders. It was a great sight to see them use such an effective and low-tech approaching to putting their boats in the water, even though it was tiring just to watch them do it.

A view of the island in the middle of the cove. An oasis type island that was home to a restaurant which we did not end up going to, but still a nice sight to look at while sitting on the beach all day long.

Be sure to come back and check out Sunset in Acapulco, which consists of pictures taken during our amazing dinner on a cliff overlooking the sun set over the Pacific ocean.

This is my first video made in Movie Maker, so its not too fancy. The video and pictures come from San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico.

Walking around San Cristóbal de las Casas on our last evening in Chiapas, killing time before we left for our 12 hour bus ride to Oaxaca, we went to the big market. On our way we stumbled upon this group singing in this plaza type area. The photos come from the same night, and in them you can see just how high up we were. In case you were wondering, yes, it was extremely cold.