OT: Good books

[HuskyHawk]

I mostly like lighter fantasy/espionage/horror novels. If you want a fantastic, interesting, thought provoking novel: Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco is amazing. He also wrote The Name of the Rose.

 

[Umami Zen]

I loved “The Fountainhead”. I discovered it at a cottage that I was renting and I couldn’t put it down. A good book to read when I want that “don’t give a shoot”attitude like Howard.

Also the same name as a good local band. I wonder if Kenny and Artie were inspired by the book.

I know/knew one of their road managers that went to Middlebury with them. He was pretty tight with Art-who BTW-was a pretty decent BB player in HS

 

[HCCForever]

I know/knew one of their road managers that went to Middlebury with them. He was pretty tight with Art-who BTW-was a pretty decent BB player in HS

I didn't know that about Artie. I believe he is still around. Kenny passed away in 2018. He was a SVP with a career in finance. I used to follow that band in my youth and beyond.

 

[B1GEast]

Building a second brain - Tiago Forte

 

[my2cents]

Anything by Erik Larson.

You saved me a post. "Devil in the White City" is a great read.

 

[64Zcode]

Other Bill Bryson’s works worth considering - “A Short History of Everything”and “In a Sunburned Country”. Both are a lot of fun - he gives a layman’s take on everything so it’s easily understood but likely a bit under-explained.

Glad I read through all the suggestions..
Another recommendation for pretty much everything by Bill Bryson and especially 'Short History', lots of very interesting stuff in there and a pretty easy read.

Also the Ayn Rand books.

For something not already suggested; The Chemist, by Stephenie Meyer

Stranger To The Ground, A Gift of Wings, & Biplane, by Richard Bach. I also liked his 'Illusions, Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah'.

 

[ZooCougar]

History

“I Dread the Thought of the Place”

It’s about the Battle of Antietam. It weighs 8lbs but it’s a total page turner.

Antietam is just as important as Gettysburg but it doesn’t get nearly as much attention but it should.

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/11509/i-dread-thought-place

 

[Monte]

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, by Doris Kearns Goodwin: A true story which takes place in the 1950's in a suburb of NYC. She tells the interaction with her family, while growing up, but mainly how her father made her a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.

 

[dvegas]

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, by Doris Kearns Goodwin: A true story which takes place in the 1950's in a suburb of NYC. She tells the interaction with her family, while growing up, but mainly how her father made her a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.

"The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn is a much superior read. I know, my father lived it, grew up in Brooklyn a huge Dodger fan in the 40's and 50's. Never set foot in Yankee Stadium 1 or 2, only went to 3 because his grandsons (my sisters' kids) are Yankee fans . . .

 

[storrsroars]

While I've read a lot of history and historical bios, I tend to favor fiction as I appreciate imagination, character development, and the ability to write compelling dialogue. I adored "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and rank that as the best Irving I've read. And while I've read plenty of spy/military thrillers from LaCarre, Clancy, Child, et.al., I love me a engaging story with quirky characters with humanity. Probably the one that sticks out is "The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler. I would also recommend Tyler's "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant", with the caveat that I probably enjoyed it because of my interest at the time in opening a food business, but it is (to me) a brilliant portrayal of a really stubborn guy trying to hold on to what matters to him and simply not understanding why the world doesn't see things as he does.

 

[Monte]

"The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn is a much superior read. I know, my father lived it, grew up in Brooklyn a huge Dodger fan in the 40's and 50's. Never set foot in Yankee Stadium 1 or 2, only went to 3 because his grandsons (my sisters' kids) are Yankee fans . . .

Right! I've them both. Saw my first game in Brooklyn in 1950.

 

[dvegas]

Right! I've them both. Saw my first game in Brooklyn in 1950.

Jackie Robinson lived on Cascade Road in Stamford. Member at Rockrimmon Country Club. I bet he knew about Worthy Patterson.

 

[alphasigko]

"The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn is a much superior read. I know, my father lived it, grew up in Brooklyn a huge Dodger fan in the 40's and 50's. Never set foot in Yankee Stadium 1 or 2, only went to 3 because his grandsons (my sisters' kids) are Yankee fans . . .

A corresponding really good read is "Perfect" about Don Larson's Perfect game in the "56 WS.

 

[CL82]

Lots of good suggestions here. I’ve read most of all of McCullough stuff. For in depth history he is amazing. If you like history, Doris Kearns Goodwin has great options including Team of Rivals(Lincoln); Ron Chernow(Alexander Hamilton); Civil War buffs should look at Jeff Shara.

For fiction, 2 of my Favorites are Shantaram by David Roberts ( Bombay ) and Trinity by Leon Uris( Ireland) for amazing character development and cultural drama. For lighter stuff, anything by Michael Creighton ( JURASIC) or Dan Brown (Davinci Code) is a good bet.

I recently read The Boys in the Boat, and I agree it is an excellent read, far better than the movie.

Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels is an excellent book on the battle of Gettysburg. I particularly enjoyed the sub story on the 21st Maine. It is historical fiction, but it is based upon the letters and books by the actual participants. Jeff Shaara is his son. His biography on Teddy Roosevelt is excellent as well.

While we are talking about historical fiction, let me mention Patrick O'Brian's outstanding Master and Commander series. I found myself without a book as I headed off to vacation so I grabbed this off the shelf and read it probably for the fourth time. It is still excellent. Excellent character development, a multitude of integrated subplots seamlessly woven into the main plot, excellent self-effacing humor all part of a gripping adventure with characters you care about. The series is 20 or 21 books long. I've read through it twice and probably will go back for a third time. It's that good. The movie starring Russell Crowe is very good as well, but it is actually based on Far Side of the World which is a leader novel in the series.

Agree with you too that Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals is a outstanding book that gives great insight into the Lincoln cabinet and into some of Lincoln's most famous speeches, which are a hybrid between his rating and Stanton's flowery prose of the time.

 

[CL82]

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appal…

The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine a…

www.goodreads.com

Working through this one. Easy reader

Excellent book. Very funny.

 

[AreBee1969]

Working my way through Children of Dune (Book 3 of 6). I first read Dune in my early teens and just re-read it. Book II, Dune Messiah was really slow and is admittedly a set up for Children of Dune. It also started slow but is picking up steam. I guess I'll have to order the last three books. I have Mark Twain's biography by Ron Powers on deck though.

 

[ZooCougar]

I recently read The Boys in the Boat, and I agree it is an excellent read, far better than the movie.

Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels is an excellent book on the battle of Gettysburg. I particularly enjoyed the sub story on the 21st Maine. It is historical fiction, but it is based upon the letters and books by the actual participants. Jeff Shaara is his son. His biography on Teddy Roosevelt is excellent as well.

While we are talking about historical fiction, let me mention Patrick O'Brian's outstanding Master and Commander series. I found myself without a book as I headed off to vacation so I grabbed this off the shelf and read it probably for the fourth time. It is still excellent. Excellent character development, a multitude of integrated subplots seamlessly woven into the main plot, excellent self-effacing humor all part of a gripping adventure with characters you care about. The series is 20 or 21 books long. I've read through it twice and probably will go back for a third time. It's that good. The movie starring Russell Crowe is very good as well, but it is actually based on Far Side of the World which is a leader novel in the series.

Agree with you too that Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals is a outstanding book that gives great insight into the Lincoln cabinet and into some of Lincoln's most famous speeches, which are a hybrid between his rating and Stanton's flowery prose of the time.

The Killer Angels isn’t that historically accurate. Although it was my gateway drug to being interested in the Civil War. The movie Gettysburg which is awesome, was based on it and just as “accurate”,


The gyy who wrote the Antietam book mentioned wrote companion for The Killer Angels that sets the record straight and talks about what is accurate. He used to be the Head Ranger at Gettysburg.

One thing that is interesting is over the years how the 20th Maine’s role kept growing and growing. Chamberlain lived for a long time after the war, as did Longstreet. Chamberlain wrote quite a bit and over the years in his writing he gradually became like the main character. Shaara was influenced by that and that transferred to the book.

 

[CL82]

@ZooCougar
So if Chamberlain's first-hand accounts aren't correct, whose first-hand accounts are presumed correct?

 

[ZooCougar]

@ZooCougar
So if Chamberlain's first-hand accounts aren't correct, whose first-hand accounts are presumed correct?

It’s not so much that it’s inaccurate. It’s the premise that the war was won in Little Round Top.

Chamberlain and Little Round Top are a rabbit hole.

For starters the whole swinging gate thing was totally bogus. Not sure if that was a Shaara myth or a Chamberlain one.

Telling History vs. Making Art: Killer Angels, real and fictional - Emerging Civil War

Part five in a series. In my last post, I began to discuss Michael Shaara’s aesthetic choices for constructing The Killer Angels as he did, and how he adopted a Lost Cause-interpretation of Robert E. Lee as a central choice for his novel. Where Shaara deviates significantly from Lost Cause...

emergingcivilwar.com

 

[CL82]

It’s not so much that it’s inaccurate. It’s the premise that the war was won in Little Round Top.

Chamberlain and Little Round Top are a rabbit hole.

For starters the whole swinging gate thing was totally bogus. Not sure if that was a Shaara myth or a Chamberlain one.

Telling History vs. Making Art: Killer Angels, real and fictional - Emerging Civil War

Part five in a series. In my last post, I began to discuss Michael Shaara’s aesthetic choices for constructing The Killer Angels as he did, and how he adopted a Lost Cause-interpretation of Robert E. Lee as a central choice for his novel. Where Shaara deviates significantly from Lost Cause...

emergingcivilwar.com

That was interesting. Shaara's novel is unapologetically historical fiction and being hyper critical of it as a historical fact seems misplaced. Many readers won't know the difference, but for those readers, it may well be their only exposure to history. Even though it's fictionalized history, that's still probably a net positive.

For what it's worth, "refusing the line" is definitely a thing, though it's more commonly known as "oblique order."

 

[ZooCougar]

That was interesting. Shaara's novel is unapologetically historical fiction and being hyper critical of it as a historical fact seems misplaced. Many readers won't know the difference, but for those readers, it may well be their only exposure to history. Even though it's fictionalized history, that's still probably a net positive.

For what it's worth, "refusing the line" is definitely a thing, though it's more commonly known as "oblique order."

It's more like many people read the book or see the movie and think it's historical fact. Sort of like the whole "going looking for shoes" myth.

Also I'm not saying refusing the line wasn't a thing. But the whole swinging gate thing definitely was fictional.

 

[CL82]

It's more like many people read the book or see the movie and think it's historical fact. Sort of like the whole "going looking for shoes" myth.

Also I'm not saying refusing the line wasn't a thing. But the whole swinging gate thing definitely was fictional.

What was the swinging gate thing?

 

[ZooCougar]

What was the swinging gate thing?

You know, the part where they refuse the line and then instead of reloading they all charge with bayonets in unison.

 

[CL82]

You know, the part where they refuse the line and then instead of reloading they all charge with bayonets in unison.

It's been a while since I read the book, but those are separate and distinct events if I recall correctly. Chamberlain refuses the line and then plugs a hole in the refused line with his brother.

One of my favorite parts of the book is where the general complements Chamberlain on his military tactics in deciding to do a bayonet charge and asks him what motivated him to make that decision. Chamberlain replies, we were out of ammunition. I've never seen any documentation of that conversation in anything else, but it's still and entertaining and funny moment in the book.

When time permits, I may look for some more articles on this part of the killer angels to find out what actually has documentation behind it. This is interesting.

 

[ZooCougar]

It's been a while since I read the book, but those are separate and distinct events if I recall correctly. Chamberlain refuses the line and then plugs a hole in the refused line with his brother.

One of my favorite parts of the book is where the general complements Chamberlain on his military tactics in deciding to do a bayonet charge and asks him what motivated him to make that decision. Chamberlain replies, we were out of ammunition. I've never seen any documentation of that conversation in anything else, but it's still and entertaining and funny moment in the book.

When time permits, I may look for some more articles on this part of the killer angels to find out what actually has documentation behind it. This is interesting.

You don't need to:

There is a whole book about it and more. Written by the guy who was the head historian at Gettysburg.

A Killer Angels Companion

The popularity of Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winni…

www.goodreads.com