Recommended Books

[mickeym3]

Searched without success to find books that are recommended for general information, enlightenment, educational, etc.  I’d like to see any that you’ve read recently that you’d recommend to a friend.

 

I’ll kick it off by recommending “The Art of Racing in the Rain”.  It will definitely stay with you, especially if you’re a dog lover. 

Also, it has been many years since I read Steinbeck’s “East of Eden”. Just finished and think age must have brought some clarity about the human condition, it’s no wonder this is considered a true classic. 

 

ANY of Jon Krakauer’s work. I read “Into Thin Air” long ago and it’s a remarkable account of tragedy on Everest. This summer we were RV’ing  in a state park in Spokane and a young man rode in on a old KLR only to be informed by he ranger they had no available tent sites. I ultimately offered to let him pitch his tent besides our RV and we had a nice evening of hiking, talking and beverages. Turns out he had just learned to ride and was trekking from his home in Calgary to meet a friend in Bend. He’s also a climber and he reintroduced me to Krakauer.  His writings are very appealing to all those who love adventure, which I’d hazard a guess pretty much describes most of the members here. 

[Rougarou]

Recently read Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack at Benghazi  by Fred Burton (a retired Department of State Counter Terrorism operative).  Excellent read.

 

I'm currently reading With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge (telling his story of the battles).  This particular book, I should have read a loooong time ago as it's always been on the Commandant's reading list as part of a Marine's professional development, but alas, I never got to it, but should have 'cause it's an excellent read.

[poodad]

Truth, Lies, and O-rings by Allan McDonald is a really good first hand account of what exactly happened in the Challenger disaster. It sometimes wallows in technical details, but for us gear-heads, that's a bonus.

 

Carrying the Fire is Apollo astronaut Mike Collins' account of his days at NASA. Arguably the best of the astronaut memoirs. I've read pretty much everything in print about the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo NASA eras, and this book as well as Gene Krantz's Failure is not an Option are my favorites.

 

Around the World Submerged: The Voyage of the Triton by Edward Beach is an entertaining read of the first submarine to navigate the globe submerged. Unfortunately light on details (I'd imagine much of the details were classified when he wrote the book), still a worthy quick read.

 

Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now had a profound impact on my life. Tolle puts forth a philosophy that I like to call applied Buddhism. While he includes a bit of feel-good generic spiritualism to please the Opera bookclub crowd, ignore that, and the rest is a solid plan on how to make sense of life.

[Red]

"Salt Fat Acid Heat"  by Samin Nosrat.  Changed the way I prepare food, for the better.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

A few years ago I recommended "Being Mortal: Medicine And What Matters In The End" by Atul Gawande.  Not the most joyful subject matter, but it can help to gain some perspective on the choices that each of us likely will have to make as we or someone we love deals with the decline and death that inevitably come with the passing of years.

[ltljohn]

I really enjoyed Rig Ship For Ultra Quiet  It gives a real account of an nuclear attack submarine patrol written by a seasoned enlisted sailor.

[Rinkydink]

Flags of Our Fathers is an account of the Iwo Jima battle and the flag raisers Rosenthal photographed. It follows the survivors during the conflict and after their return to the states and their trials and tribulations. Very telling. It is written by one of the Navy Corpsman’s son James Bradley. This was long before PTSD was recognized. Truly the greatest generation. 

[RandyShields]

Posted last year -- Oct. 18, 2018:  "And you thought you were a tough rider?"  An intrepid female rider, Elspeth Beard, the young lady who, in the early 80s did a jaunt around the world on her /6 with homemade panniers, becoming the first British woman to accomplish that feat. Here is a link to a YouTube video. Her website has some amazing photos. Now an accomplished architech living outside London, we got to meet her when she visited BMW Motorcycles of Charlotte last November to promote her book, Lone Rider. There is a lot about her on the web these days, but her book is a great read.  There is talk of it being made into a movie.

 

 

 

 

 

[Rougarou]

8 hours ago, Rinkydink said:

Flags of Our Fathers is an account of the Iwo Jima battle and the flag raisers Rosenthal photographed. It follows the survivors during the conflict and after their return to the states and their trials and tribulations. Very telling. It is written by one of the Navy Corpsman’s son James Bradley. This was long before PTSD was recognized. Truly the greatest generation. 

 

Excellent read!!  But, I think likely the reason that Doc Bradley never really wanted to talk about the flag raising was because he wasn't actually part of it.  This was determined in about 2016, along with recent articles identifying others as being part of the Rosenthal photo.  Still an overall excellent read and a look into issues that weren't yet diagnosed.

[JohnnyJ]

 

Unbelievable Read! I was so affected by this book that I am now taking cold showers and practicing holding my breath. 

This book shows how pampering ourselves too much can have significant health consequences. Lots of scientific study to back it up. 

 

Quoted from the Amazon site:

 

 What Doesn't Kill Us, a New York Times bestseller, traces our evolutionary journey back to a time when survival depended on how well we adapted to the environment around us. 

Our ancestors crossed deserts, mountains, and oceans without even a whisper of what anyone today might consider modern technology. Those feats of endurance now seem impossible in an age where we take comfort for granted. But what if we could regain some of our lost evolutionary strength by simulating the environmental conditions of our ancestors? 

Investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney takes up the challenge to find out: Can we hack our bodies and use the environment to stimulate our inner biology? Helping him in his search for the answers is Dutch fitness guru Wim Hof, whose ability to control his body temperature in extreme cold has sparked a whirlwind of scientific study. Carney also enlists input from an Army scientist, a world-famous surfer, the founders of an obstacle course race movement, and ordinary people who have documented how they have cured autoimmune diseases, lost weight, and reversed diabetes. In the process, he chronicles his own transformational journey as he pushes his body and mind to the edge of endurance, a quest that culminates in a record-bending, 28-hour climb to the snowy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro wearing nothing but a pair of running shorts and sneakers.

An ambitious blend of investigative reporting and participatory journalism, What Doesn’t Kill Us explores the true connection between the mind and the body and reveals the science that allows us to push past our perceived limitations

[Oldironken]

American Nations: A history of the eleven rival regional cultures of North America - Colin Woodard - A real eye open as to how different areas of the country seem to be different cultures and why.  Helps me to understand a bit about people who aren't like me.  ( i like history)

 

Griftopia - Matt Taibbi - Crap we are getting royally screwed...  

 

How to think - Alan Jacobs - Just when you think you are a good thinker, think again...

 

Look me in the eye: My life with Aspergers - John Elder Robinson ( start with that one) a real eye opener, a guys life story about his experience on the spectrum...

 

Shit my Dad says - Justin Halpern - I swear he was channeling my Dad...

[doc47]

I'll second "Being Mortal". Gawande is brilliant. 

Sledge's book is classic.

I just finished "Everest 1953". Excellent.

"Paris 1919" by Margaret Macmillan. A fine background for how much of the world came to be the way it is.

Natalie Angier: "Woman: An Intimate Geography" and "The Beauty of the Beastly". She's informative, literate, and immensely clever.

And you can NOT beat Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel". His book, "Collapse" is well worthwhile.

[Kitsap]

I'm enjoying The American Story, Conversations With Master Historians by David Rubenstein.  The book is in interview format and has been informative beyond what is generally taught in history class of influential Americans.

[Rougarou]

Sooo, while I was away for work for nearly two months with no outside interference (TV, internet, etc), I read a book or two.

 

Some classics that I wanted to get under my belt and some modern stuff too.

 

1984-This book sucked, I don't care how many quotes you can pull from it, it sucked

Dracula-Excellent, I thought I'd have to decipher old writing, but the book was an easy read and outstanding

To Kill a Mockingbird-Ya, was supposed to read this in skool, but never did,....should have an excellent book

Noble Beginnings and A Deadly Distance These sucked, really, don't waste your time.  I had to give it a second chance after book one sucked.  The author lacks research skills as he stated that the main character was thrown in the back seat of a Hummer with two a thug on each side,....uh, a hummer doesn't have a bench seat in the back, it's a big freakin' hump.  Additionally, the main character is "supposed" to be a former Marine,......and the main character refers to himself as a "Soldier",....nope, not no, but hell no would any former Marine refer to himself as a Soldier,...aint'a gonna happen.

Lost at Sea-Very good read and an excellent compare/contrast on two different sets of crews.

The Dark Art: My Undercover Life in Global Narco-terrorism-Very good read, amazing how undercover operations work and how those that do it, have balls of titanium

Rescue at Los Banos-Very much worth the read.  The Japanese were horrendous when it came to POW treatment.

11 Days in December-Choppy, all over the place, I read it, and all I can really recall is it was about the Battle of the Bulge,....very hard read and to retain.

Alone on the Ice-Excellent survival story about an expedition in Antarctica

Blind Man's Bluff-Submarines ain't just for battles under the water and holding missiles.  This gives the history of how the submarines became America's best spy gadget.

The Traitor and the Spy-Holy chit!!!  This book was sooooo good I though I was reading a work of fiction,......Excellent story and superbly written!!!!

Tuesday's with Morrie-You WILL cry, you absolutely will cry when you read this fantastic read

Unbroken-The Japanese were pure evil when it came to POWs,.....pure evil, very good read

Into the Wild-What an effing moron,.......that's what I think of the guy.   Good read,....the author drags it on a bit but 'twas good read nonetheless,....guy was a moron.

The Perfect Storm-Very good read. 

Start with Why-Meh,.....nothing I didn't know already----Learned this a long time ago as "the need behind the need".

Origins-Nothing will beat The DaVinci Code, but it was a good read.

The Black Echo, The Concrete Blonde, The Black Ice, The Last Coyote, Trunk Music-What can I say,.....it's Harry Bosch, very good reads.

[Hosstage]

Thanks for the reviews, I might have to actually crack one open, it's been a few years.