Recommended reading list

K

Knochensammler

Joined
Sep 17, 2002
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Hello- I've lurked on this sight for over a year now and really enjoy and respect the open forum here. Wisdom, wit, love of good people and the outdoors seem to be themes here. I have a big favor to ask. My dad is a retired english teacher and students from the class of '71 are throwing a bash in his honor. Since he's an avid reader it's been decided that all guests should bring a good book as a gift. He loves mystery, History(especially military), and biography. Can you share the books and or authors that you all think would be worth the time?
Thanks so much,
William
 
(...waiting for Rusty to respond...)

Oh, and welcome to bladeforums. Glad to see you left the darkness to enter this magical world where dollar bills literally jump out of your wallet to get a better look at the pictures on your monitor screen...;)
 
Biographical historical fiction: Gore Vidal's LINCOLN.--actually one of three...(as I remember)...the others being BURR and er, something else.


Kis
 
Welcome but I can't make a suggestion. I'm sure he's already read anything that I might suggest but just maybe the Bagavadgita.
 
Two books by Marines: MUSTANG is by a guy named Averill who fought in WW2 and 2 tours in Korea, SARGEANT MAJOR is by a French-Canadian named Jacques who fought in Korea and 4 tours in Vietnam. THE BIG SHOW by Pierre Clostermann is by a Frenchman who escaped after the German invasion, it is very powerful and I consider it to be the best book that I have ever had the privalage to read. He flew Spitfire fighters for Britain against the Germans. He got 26? Germans but almost every Frenchman that was originally in his squadron was killed.
 
How about From Khookri to Kukri by J. Powell ? Oh wait, it isn't done yet (right ?)... :D
 
If the man likes mysteries, see if he has read the Tony Hillerman books about Joe Leaphorn a Navajo Policeman. I enjoyed them so much that I couldn't put the book that I have down till it was finished.:)
 
Here is a rare gem for you. If he doesn't have a copy already on his bookshelf, get him a copy of The Wreck of the Medusa by Alexander Mckee (ISBN 0-451-20044-6). Plenty of high drama and survival in a notorious early 19th century incident that scadalized France and the Western World.

Beyond that he may like any of the military history books written by Byron Farwell (excellent and interesting style - focused on the military history of the British empire) his book on the Gurkas is one of the best treatments of the subject, and there are always plenty of zany 19th century British miltary officers to keep us entertained.

He might also like something as off beat as a classic 19th century travel log, like John L. Stephens' Incidents of Travel in Yucatan (ISBN 0486-20926-1 vol. 1, 0486-20927-X vol. 2). First released in 1843, it recounts in the first person the adventures of an early archeologist as he explored a remote part of Mexico (it was so remote the US government actually makes him an ambassador). Incidents is probably as close as true life can come to matching the trills of a 19th century Indiana Jones. Everything from pirates, to mysterious ancient temples, to bullfights can be found in this fantastic work, and it is all richly illustrated with sketches drawn by the author from his early durregotypes (a type of camera).

Enjoy.

n2s
 
Hi, Knoch. Welcome to the cantina. Another round fer the newcomer! Pull up a seat.

Here's a few in the History section:

Ancient Inventions by Peter James and Nick Thorpe
ISBN 0-345-36476-7

The Reader's Companion to Military History, edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker
ISBN 0-395-66969-3

Keith
 
Here's a couple in the travel-log vein:

The Malay Archipelago
by Alfred Russel Wallace

Terse descriptions:
"A century and a half after it was first published, this book remains one of the great classics of natural history and travel -- perhaps the greatest. Alfred Russel Wallace, 1823-1913, deserves equal billing withCharles Darwin for his independently drawn but parallel conclusions on the theory of evaluation. Darwin himself called Wallace "generous and noble" and referred favorably to his work in later editions of "The Origin of Species."

"During eight years as a field naturalist in the Malay Archipelago, Wallace covered about 14,000
miles by foot and native canoe, and collected 125,660 specimens, many of which
were previously unknown to science. He also developed two revolutionary theories
about life on earth, including the revolutionary concept of evolution by natural
selection, independently of Charles Darwin to whom the theory is often solely accredited... "

More at:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/sweek/inspire_2000/wallace/wallace.htm

Amazon.com has excerpts:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...4056-9696824?v=glance&s=books#product-details

For any interested, Wallace's work is also downloadable from Project Geutenberg:
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/author?name=Wallace, Alfred Russel

Or maybe:

Sailing Alone Around the World
by Joshua Slocum

Account by the first person to sail alone around the world. He departed Boston Harbor in 1895 in rebuilt 37 foot oyster boat and the trip took a little over three years.

An excerpt :
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...2378849/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9914056-9696824

Wow, total thing is online also, in HTML!

http://www.arthur-ransome.org/ar/literary/slocum2.htm

Oh well, but URLs do make less than satisfactory gifts...

{I've never purchased anything form Amazon, but they do provide useful online information.}
 
Thanks for the reminder Dhuff....I'm supposed to be working on a book.

Some great suggestions and the "Wreck of the Medusa" is fascinating and something else along those lines is "Batavia's Graveyard" by Mike Dash.

If you want to get him a book on the Gurkhas, I would highly reccomend "Imperial Warriors" by Tony Gould. It's one of the newer of the bunch and has a lot of insight.
 
I just sent a brother in law who went thru multiple bypass surgery a thick trade paperback of Kipling's poetry, but Robert Service comes to mind also.

Five or six years ago my favorite used bookstore in Reno moved and I finally tracked it down just behind Uncle's on Lakeside and Moana. Two hours browsing and I covered maybe 7 or 8%.

If he hasn't discovered the Peter Bowen Montana mysteries he deserves to. They make me want to move there so I can have his characters for my neighbors. Even if I stood a chance of getting offed in his next novel. I gotta get my own instead of the library copies.

WEB Griffin's Brotherhood of War series is another I just re-read, and his The Corps novels.

Reading the singing to bears thread reminds me of Robert Ruark's "Use Enough Gun" plus his novels, and Peter Capstick Hathaway.
 
Originally posted by Rusty
If he hasn't discovered the Peter Bowen Montana mysteries he deserves to. They make me want to move there so I can have his characters for my neighbors. Even if I stood a chance of getting offed in his next novel. I gotta get my own instead of the library copies.
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly, Rusty.

Another great Marine book is James Brady's The Marines of Autumn.
 
Did anyone notice that Mr J Clifton had no suggestions? That suggests to me that he doesn't know HOW to read.....
 
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