quote:

Originally posted by walkinghorse:
Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein
Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein
As a young man, most anything by Andre Norton.
Science fiction novel about a young man marooned with a knife, cannot remember the author or the title?
Takes place on another planet in the future, and a group of young people go on a camp, and various adventures about how important a good knfe allows one to survive and proper!

Tunnel in the Sky, also by Heinlein. One of my favorite authors

I’ve been looking at this thread for a couple of days, deciding whether or not to partake. I have a personal library of books that mean a lot to me for various reasons. Typically, I keep the books of authors that I really value.

Jack Schaefer: Shane and Monte Walsh. Especially, Monte Walsh. The story of the life of a cowboy, and quite a life—the movies didn’t touch this book.
Mari Sandoz: Old Jules, Crazy Horse; Strange Man of the Oglalas, and several more. Non-fiction and historical novels about a part of the country she was born and raised in.
C.S. Forester’s Hornblower Series. I seem to be among the few here who prefers this series over the Aubrey/Maturin books of O’Brien.
Everything by Arturo Perez-Reverte. He’s a great storyteller, and he writes stories that I want to read. Kudos to the translators he works with; Perez-Reverte writes in Spanish. The translators do a terrific job of moving the beauty of that language over into English.
Ed Abbey—really important books during the most important time in my life.
Earnest Hemingway—The Sun Also Rises in particular, but I really like his writing style, timeless.
Cormac McCarthy—in particular, The Border Trilogy

When I was younger I read a ton of books by folks who had various jobs in the service during Vietnam. These books left quite an impression on me. I was only 14-16 and I literally had to stop reading them because they were giving me nightmares. I can only imagine actually having been there... Here is my list in no particular order.

Book #1: Chickenhawk
- Great book about a Huey pilot in Vietnam.

Book #2: About Face
- Great book about one of the most decorated Army veterans ever David Hackworth. Admittedly he eventually turned against the Vietnam war but at the very least you can say he was there. Very, very there. The book covers his time in Korea as well.

Book #3: Any book by Adam Carolla.
- Hey, it's Adam. Undeniable common sense and a no bullshit delivery.

Book #4: Will to Live
- Les Stroud's book about the human spirit's desire to survive.

Book #5: Charlie Mike (Continue Mission)
- Great book about Vietnam

Book #6: Rogue Warrior
- By Richard Marcinko who founded Seal Team 6

Book #7: Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills
- The story of Carlos Hathcock. A must read!

I avoid fiction, at least intentional fiction anyway.

My all time favorite is Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. I’ve read and enjoyed it so many times over the last more than 60 years I have some of it memorized.

The Intelligent Investor is a favorite. I’m never far away from my dog eared copy and now have it on my Kindle as well.

The only exception to my avoidance of fiction is Mark Twain. I think I have read every word he wrote, even letters to his mom and sisters if they were published.

I have read Winston Churchill’s account of WWII, 6 volumes, several times over the years and enjoyed them immensely. The History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 volumes is another.

I got the multi volume biography of Churchill, by his son Randolph to start and later by Martin Gilbert and enjoyed that very much.

This spring I read The Complete Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant, 11 volumes, ~12,000 pages. It was tedious in places, but exceedingly worthwhile in total.

I have dozens of biographies that I really enjoy. Sam Houston, LBJ, G. Washington, Calvin Coolidge, T. Roosevelt, John Connally, Ben Graham, and many more. I also enjoy the books about financial successes and debacles, the mortgage crisis, Long Term Capital Management, Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds among others.

Right now, I am in the process of reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Many, but here are a few:

Catch-22

Huck Finn

Moby Dick (Really - I tried this book several times as a young person, and didn't get it. At about 40 or so, I tried again, and realized why this has the reputation it has.)

Leaving Cheyenne, Larry McMurtry

Blood Meridian

O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series

The Rubaiyat Of Omar Khayyam
Moby Dick by Melville
On War by Clausewitz
The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner

The list of favorite books for me is very long. The classics are classic for a very good reason and it is very hard to discount one over another.

“The Source”, by James Michner, which I first read as a young teen is one of the only books I have reread. Prob the best historical fiction I have ever read. Tremendous account of the history of Israel up to the 48 war. Starts from primative times. More like a chronilogical progrssion of short stories.

“A Soldier Of The Great War” by Helperin. One of the best fiction books I have read. Despite the title, the focus is not the war.

I recommend authors Larry Brown, Carmac McCarthy and Walker Percy. Any of their books won’t disappoint.

a great new (for me) author i found last year: Peter Clines. started reading Ex-Heros (5 book series) and when i got through with those, quickly read 14, The Fold, and Paradox Bound. the only one left that i could find was The Junkie Quatrain, short story collection, which i've ordered.

Hah. Just realized this was an older topic that I responded to a while ago. At least I was going to have the same answer this time...

Red Storm Rising. Could be done on Netflix now. Too big and epic to be a standard length movie.

Atlas Shrugged

Enders Game

Pillars of the Earth

Quite entertained by John Grisham’s work. Many of his characters reminds me of a good friend who was somewhat of a street lawyer with a ramshackle office right by the courthouse. The floors were so crooked that you felt drunk walking around in it.

He’s now an international business lawyer working for a Middle Eastern oil company, but he earned his chops.

My favorite all time is Dune. But I really liked all the westerns that Louis L'Amour wrote. I read a bunch of those over the years.

Unintended Consequences

Will (G. Gordon Liddy's Autobiography)

The Art of War

Death in a Lonely Land (my favorite of Peter Capstick's works)

Ready player one and Enders game

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
Unintended Consequences

Will (G. Gordon Liddy's Autobiography)

The Art of War

Death in a Lonely Land (my favorite of Peter Capstick's works)

Was Liddy really "Daddy Gee?"

Ah gots to know!

Unintended Consequences
Atlas Shrugged
Enemies Foreign and Domestic
Truman

My all-time favorite is The Old Man and the Boy, by Robert Ruark. The back drop for this semi-fictional collection of short stories involving Robert and his grandfather is the woods and waters of North Carolina in the 1920's & 30's. He followed it up a few year later with, The Old Man's Boy Grows Older, which in my opinion is every bit as good as the first book.

Last year Sig Forum member Ed Fowler recommended a great book in an interesting thread concerning coyotes called, Alaska's Wolf Man: The 1915-55 Wilderness Adventures of Frank Glaser
This was one of the most interesting books I have read in years and I'm thankful to Ed for mentioning it. To say Frank Glaser was tough is an understatement.

Here's a link to the coyote thread:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...935/m/9230024914/p/1


Here are a couple links to the books:

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Man...-Ruark/dp/080502669X

https://www.amazon.com/Alaskas...ntures/dp/1575100479

Ice Station Zebra by Alistair MacLean - was my first book (required reading in Jr. High School) that turned me on to the idea that there are books I could really enjoy reading.

Others that were great:

Shibumi

Anything by Leon Uris

Anything by Edward Ellsberg (USN, marine salvage)

A Rifleman Goes to War

Unintended Consequences

Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Gary Kinder

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:

Anything by Leon Uris

I was given a first edition copy of “The Haj” for Christmas. I started it a couple of days ago. I know I read “Trinity,” and will likely read it again soon since we went to Ireland this past spring. Honestly can’t remember if I read “Exodus,” confusion probably comes from seeing the movie in the last year—better read it too.

quote:

Originally
Takes place on another planet in the future, and a group of young people go on a camp, and various adventures about how important a good knfe allows one to survive and proper!

]]

You are referencing Tunnel in Sky also by Heinlein; one of my favorites. My favorite is Heinlein’s Sixth Column.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Right now, I am in the process of reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Reading this now. A page turner.