Any Good Books?

[flex_buff_chest]

Anyone here reading something worthwhile?

I am reading "the power of full engagement" and "man's search for meaning"

Both are good, and you should all pick them up!

[suckerpunch]

3 day road....

A great book about first nations snipers in the first world War. And so much more...

[ValJamesRules]

Originally Posted by flex_buff_chest

Anyone here reading something worthwhile?

I am reading "the power of full engagement" and "man's search for meaning"

Both are good, and you should all pick them up!

My signature comes from my favorite writer. He writes fiction, and non-fiction/essays. Edward Abbey put out a book called Desert Solitaire, and it's his ramblings about living in the desert as a park ranger. It is often funny, quite cynical, and very descriptive of what life in the desert is about. I'm into nature writing so this is one of my favorite all time books.

Another book I read recently is called River of Doubt written by Candice Millard. It's about a trip that Teddy Roosevelt took down an uncharted tributary of the Amazon River. Very crazy stuff he went through, and a good show of how tough that man was.

[nyisles15]

I know my suggestion will be very cliche but if you like mystery, suspense, plot twists and a book that will have you craving for more as you read on then read THE DA VINCI CODE.

[NJD Oliwa]

Just finished "Jesus is not a Republican" Pretty interesting.
Can't go wrong with Carl Sagan though.

[Strife]

A good book? That's an oxymoron isn't it?

[Bomdigity]

I'm all about classics

The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger

One flew over the cuckoos nest - Ken Kesey

[nyisles15]

For all of you guys with short attention spans, read the short stories by O. Henry, great plot twists. A&P By John Updike is one of my fav short stories of all time.

[NJD Oliwa]

Isn't that a candy bar?

[canuckfan]

Read "Flyboys" by James Bradley, the same guy who wrote Flags of our Fathers. Its about WWII pilots shot down in the Pacific around a small Japanese occupied island and taken prisoner. 8 were taken prisoner, all were executed, either beheaded or bayoneted, and all were cannabalized by crazy Japanese officers looking for a change in the war's fortunes. Whats so interesting about this book is that the families of these kids never knew the whole story as to what happened to their sons. The army knew, through testimonies at war crimes trials, but felt the need to withhold the details for political reasons. Now descendants of those kids know the real story, along with one more book giving more reasons to believe that the Japanese were animals during the war.

Anyhow, one Flyboy who did manage to just barely evade capture was George Bush Sr. His recounting of his ordeal, and the two crewman of his plane who didn't survive the crash, are heartfelt and emotional. This was a terrific, easy read that I finished in 4 days. Lots of amazing facts that will really get your mind thinking...

Here's one tidbit: After the attack on Pearl Harbour, FDR was intent on revenge and personally pushed what was to become the Doolittle Raid. Part of the plan was to have the pilots land in friendly areas of China. When the Japanese found out, they sent an army into these areas and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians as punishment in the span of 3 months. Most historians agree that nearly 330,000 Chinese fell victim to this "crusade". So, put this in perpesctive: In nearly 6 YEARS of war in Europe, 110,00 French civilians were killed. About 250,000 Dutch, a little less than that in Belgium. In 6 years. The Japanese slaughtered over 330,000 Chinese in 3 months. Brutal. All because and a direct result of FDR wanting to bomb Tokyo at any cost, which killed under 100 Japanese civilians. Plus, contrary to what most believe, most of the bombs dropped in the Doolittle Raid fell in residential areas, mostly because industrial sites, factories and what not were situated IN or around residential areas. Althought the raid shocked the Japanese and made them feel not so invincible anymore, in the end it still caused minimal damage and cost the lives of hundred of thousands Chinese civilians.

Its an excellent book, I whole-heartedly recommend it.

[Sourdoughkeeper]

I guess I'm odd. I don't stick to any particular genre, although I seem to favor the mafia styled books a bit. I do love a good book though, no matter where it's from. For example, this is a list of some of my favorites, and their authors, in no particular order:

Minutes to Burn, by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz
About an evolution race in the Galapagos Islands that requires a team of Navy Seals; due to overstretching of our military, that team is a Vietnam veteran (Savage), a pregnant woman and her husband (Cameron and Justin, respectively), a black woman from the projects (Szaabla), and the commander of that team was a washed up sentimental man (Derek).

All Quiet on the Western Front, by Remarque
Kind of a duh, you read it in World Literature.

The Godfather
The Last Don
The Family, all three by Mario Puzo
Two great mafia books, and one about a corrupted cardinal in the sixteen hundreds that ends up being the Pope.

I'm Not Really Here, by Tim Allen
Can't say much about this one, it's just strange. I have no idea why I like it so much.

[Disengage]

I have a book about the Montreal Cadaiens called "Lions In Winter" that I still haven't read in the 6 years I've had it. I should get around to it sometime.

[flex_buff_chest]

Man, I am almost done "man's search for meaning" and it is mind blowing......wow

[ValJamesRules]

Originally Posted by Bomdigity

I'm all about classics

The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger

One flew over the cuckoos nest - Ken Kesey

All great books, digity. I love the fishing scene in Cuckoos Nest.

Another good Kesey book is: Sometimes A Great Notion.

[Sourdoughkeeper]

I knew I was forgetting one of my favorites. The Tin Man. Can't remember who wrote it, but it's a good one. I recommend it to all, over the age of sixteen, that is. But then, most of my favorites I would say that about.