What books would you recommend?

[fkovalski]

In the recent tragedies of the last few years and in the wake of a war, I have lately been turning off the TV and picking up a book. I find that reading non- fiction stories about the human endeavor and overcoming adversity very uplifting in these trying times. In the aftermath of the space shuttle disaster I read "Lost Moon" by Jim Lovell on which the movie "Apollo 13" was based. I just recently finished "The Heroes Among Us" which is about the passengers and crew of United flight 93 which crashed in PA on 9-11. I found the life stories about Generals Chuck Yeager and Colin Powell as well as marine sniper Carlos Hathcock very inspiring. My next book might be about General Norman Schwartzkopf. I welcome your suggestions and recommendation of non fiction stories of triumph for my next readings. TIA- frank

 

[FATCAT]

Endurance - The Shackelton expidition

I believe the book is called "Endurance" it is about the Shackelton Expidition to the South Pole. Even though he did not make it and his ship was locked and destroyed by ice, his party managed to make it to safty after a long and difficult journey.



I myself did not read the book, but my wife did and it is one of her favorite.

 

[Morphious]

about the only non fictions stuff I've read has been on nazi germany, ie: Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Mein Campe, and some others that I can't remember the names of..... now a days, I prefer Sci Fi to the real world, I deal enough with the world when I'm at work..... If your into good sci fi, I can point you to quite a few authors/books. A really good series of books called Otherland is about Virtual Reality and is by Tad Williams. It was very indepth and an exciting series, I know it kept me waiting for 5 years to finish the series (1 book a year), but was well worth it.



Morph.

 

[esommer2500]

Second on Endurance. The story told in that book is absolutely amazing. Shackleton and his crew went through things that are very hard to believe, but the book is based on passages from diaries kept by the men onboard. Definetely worth the read.



Eric

 

[smartineau]

How about,



'To Hell and Back' by Audie Murphy. Sure you can watch the movie on AMC in 1 1/2 hours but the book is muck better.



'The Rape of Nanking' By Iris Chang. I started to read this and finally took a 3-4 hour nap about 4AM got up and finished the rest of it. What the Nazis did in WWII was terrible but the Japanese mostly continue to deny any bad things they did to the millions of Chinese that were tortured,raped, and murdered, during WWII.



'1984' by George Orwell. You may have read it in high school but it is worth it again.



If you are gun owner try Ted Nugent's 'God, Guns and Rock and Roll' or something similar to that.



'Bias' by Bernard Goldberg, it is about he biased reporting in the news media. He even names people.



steve

 

[The patriot]

If youre a gunowner....

Unintended consequences by John Ross.

The first 150~ish pages are a little slow, but the rest of the book more than makes up for it.

Eric

 

[RonaldLarson]

Some goood ones

The Final Days: Barbara Olson (died in the 9-11 Penn. Crash)

Bush at War: Bob Woodward

Hell To Pay: Babara Olson

REALLY good reading, if you like the facts behind the events, and especially if you like to be well informed.

Ron

 

[patrobertson]

Its good economic reading...

The "Lexus and the Olive Tree" by Thomas Friedman. It is a very good book outlining the new era in which we live globalization. He has some fascinating stories, real stories, and just a good smart book, one that makes you smarter, if you listen to it. Another really good book is "Good to Great" by I believe Jim Collins talks about business but it is for all aspects of ones life. Of course the Bible has some pretty good stories about over coming adversity.



Shane

 

[klenger]

I suppose you could read the complete Tom Clancy series, but it would pretty much like watching the news.

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by klenger

I suppose you could read the complete Tom Clancy series, but it would pretty much like watching the news.

Clancy ROCKS!! cept for the op-center series (I think I said that before)

Dale Brown is pretty good too. Chains of Command, Flight of the old dog, Tin Man, etc. etc.

I got to go look at the old book shelf tomorrow when I get home.

7 14 hour shifts in a row tends to make my brain more mushy than usual.

Eric

 

[Briar Hopper]

"Bravo Two Zero", by Andy McNab, the true story of a British SAS patrol captured by Iraqis in the Gulf War... .

"About Face" by Colonel David Hackworth (his biography, powerful stuff)

"Hazardous Duty" , and " The Price of Honor", also by David Hackworth..... Hack is a favorite of mine, and can often be seen on CNN giving commentary on the war... .

 

[bighammer]

In Harms Way

Story about the sinking of the Indianapolis. Very chilling true story. Couldn't put it down.

 

[fkovalski]

Excellent suggestions! Thank you. Many on the list that I will check out. I must correct myself- the correct title of the 9-11 Pennsylvania crash that I read is “Among the Heroes. ” Thanx again and keep ‘em coming. -frank

 

[Briar Hopper]

You asked for tales of personal triumph..... Russell Means' book, "Where White Men Fear to Tread", is a favorite. Powerful insight into a very complex man with a heart and a cause.

I normally can't stand radicals or activists, whether they are left wing or right wing, but since my roots are American Indian on my father's side, Russell's cause to help his people is close to my heart.

Russell writes of his personal battle to overcome alcohol's hold , his life with his Lakota Sioux tribe at the Pine Ridge Reservation, his political activities including the founding of the American Indian Movement, and his acting. Among other great roles, he was in the movie "The Last of the Mohicans" . No matter your personal beliefs, it's still great reading.

Also check out www.russellmeans.com

 

[klenger]

Here's a great one from the last war.



"The Fist of God"



Why was Saddam Hussein so confident in the face of U. S. and UN military might? Did he perhaps have a secret weapon to unleash on the armies defending Kuwait? Espionage-master Forsyth (The Day of the Jackal) raises such questions in his intriguing new novel, in which Saddam (who appears throughout at meetings of his Cabinet) does not seem to mind if thousands of his people are killed in battle. He's banking on the American and British traditional abhorrence of casualties...

 

[merryman]

Man Called Intrepid

This book by Stephenson Or Stevenson??

Is by the first head of the British secret service and covers the events leading up to WW ll. He wrote the book just after the events and record relating to them were declassified----about the end of the 1960's. Its entirely factual and based on his personal activities and the official records of that era. His code name was "Intrepid". He was not a field "spy" and while he ran that aspect of the organization, he was the secret go between for Churchill in dealing with other governments.

Its a great book for right now as it deals at length with the efforts by a few---Churchill mainly--- to deal with Hitler before he really developed power. The arguments Churchill had to face there were substantially the same we see put forth here against our efforts to defeat Saddam.

Just like Bush now, many people here and in England accused Churchill of wanting to go to war for all sorts of bad motives, the anti-war activist in this county were so many and powerfull that our government could offer no real assistance at all and such assistance as we did give to Churchill prior to Dec. 7, 1941 had to be done under cover.

Its a great read as well as a great education.



Vaughn

 

[JStieger]

Originally posted by Briar Hopper

"Bravo Two Zero", by Andy McNab, the true story of a British SAS patrol captured by Iraqis in the Gulf War... .

Did you see that 2 hr show about this story on the History Channel about a week or so ago? Andy and another fellow (Chris Ryan) who wrote a book on this incident were interviewed. The show ended with the narrator saying that the British government wasn't too happy about the books and would require SAS members to sign non-disclosure agreements. In a way I can understand that about revealing "trade secrets"etc. , but on the otherhand by reading about it makes one really understand and appreciate what these professionals have to go through.



Another good book is "Black Hawk Down", by Mark Bowden