|
Welcome To My Reading
List I love to read. I am always looking for something to read. I can't sit still without something to read and authors are among my heroes. So I'm going to list my favorite books here, in hopes that you readers might post me yours. I read histories, fiction, non-fiction and historical fiction. I read for entertainment, and occasionally I learn something. I can't possibly recall them all, but as I remember these books, I will attempt to place them chronologically, as I read them. To see what I've been reading lately go to the bottom of this list. Paddle To The Sea, by Holling C. Holling This is the first book in my memory, and really got me started on reading. A small boy carves a tiny wooden canoe and sets it free on a snow bank in the Hudson's Bay area of Canada. When the snow melts, it begins a journey out the Saint Lawrence Seaway. I still remember the suspense I felt when Paddle To The Sea goes over Niagara Falls. Don't worry- "Paddle" has a happy ending. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J. R. R. Tolkien I nearly flunked high school chemistry because I was so involved in this fantasy about Bilbo Baggins and the trouble he stirs up in the Shire and Middle Earth. I remember Mr. Bearse, my 10th grade social studies teacher, snuck up on me at my desk and caught me reading The Two Towers. He tossed the book out an open window and called it "trash"! Now, for your information Mr. Bearse, the Rings trilogy is considered a classic. Bored Of The Rings A Harvard Lampoon, starring Frito and Dildo Baggins. I soon started reading counter-culture stuff: Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson A wild chronicle from a true wildman, I also read The Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, and others from the original Gonzo Journalist. Thompson is still with us daily, as the irascible Uncle Duke in the editorial comic strip 'Doonesbury', and occasionally in the headlines. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Keesey Who hasn't seen the movie? Also by Keesey: Sometimes a Great Notion. The money Keesey earned from these screen plays were the funds he needed to gather a bunch of Merry Pranksters and a chemist who set out in a psychedelic school bus to turn on the World. Tune in, turn on and drop out! That story is told in: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolf. Keesey and friends turn on Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Timothy Leary and a cast of hundreds, including Hunter Thompson and the Hell's Angels. The Bounty Trilogy: Mutiny On The Bounty, Men Against The Sea and Pitcairn's Island. A fantastic true story, the struggle of man against nature- and against himself. From tyranny before the mast to lovely island women and gentle island breezes, the Bounty Trilogy has it all. I don't recall the author's name. Two Years Before The Mast by Richard Henry Dana. A fantastic memoir of a shanghaied sailor, and a great travelogue, too. All the early stuff from Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: Player Piano, Mother Night, Welcome To The Monkeyhouse, Slaughterhouse Five, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Cat's Cradle, The Sirens Of Titan. Meet a pathetic and loveable bunch of characters who appear and reappear in Vonnegut's work often at the mercy of chrono-synclastic infidibulum. Billy Pilgrim was my hero and Montana Wildhack was my fantasy. A Confederate General From Big Sur, and others by Richard Brautigan The hippies had a great time. This one's good fun. Another Roadside Attraction and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, by Tom Robbins I had a good laugh with both of these irreverent tales. The Sot-Weed Factor, by John Barth The story of the founding of our country, minus the Pilgrims. Barth is a professor of American literature at Penn State University. I read it twice. A story of scoundrels and villains and miscreants and run-away slaves and Indian princesses and pirates and junkies and whores and false priests and imposters and swine-maidens... and every sort of misfit you can imagine. Oh... and one hapless Poet Laureate. Read the original and uncensored journal of Capt. John Smith's journey up the Chesapeake Bay, and his erotic encounter with comely Pocahontas, in a sweatlodge. Swiving... lot's of swiving! NOT TAUGHT IN GRADE SCHOOL Men To Match My Mountains, by Irving Stone When the Mormons reached the Promised Land, their leader sent back these words: "Give me men to match my mountains". Irving Stone presents some remarkable stories from the history of western expansion. My favorite? How Lost Was Zebulon Pike? Death Valley and a Creek Called Furnace by Edwin Corle More fantastic history from the American west, you'll meet the likes of the Smith brothers: Leander, Meander, Salamander and Philander. Desert Solitaire and The Monkeywrench Gang, and everything else by Edward Abbey. I carried around various copies of Desert Solitaire until they were dog-eared and tattered, then I gave them away. I sure love this guy's common sense! The Farm On The River Of Emeralds, by Moritz Thomsen The author was a hog farmer for thirty years before joining the Peace Corps and moving to the jungles of South America. A hilarious and yet sad story, I loved it! The People's Guide To Mexico by Carl Franz and Lorena Havens. It won't tell you where to go, but The People's Guide WILL tell you just what to expect when you get there, and how to make the most. Full of funny anecdotes, authentic recipes, snakebite remedies and other curiosities. If you're going south-of-the-border, take along a copy! Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowatt. I enjoyed everything from my favorite Canuk, this one especially. A true story of man against himself, set in the wilds of the north country. Pick up some other reads by Farley, including his recent release: an autobiography called Born Naked. Little Big Man by Thomas Berger They made a movie of this, which I enjoyed as well. Dustin Hoffman plays a truly mixed-up man, who doesn't know if he's more Indian or white man. Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake The above story reminded me how much I loved Dances. This was a very quick read, and had me howling with pleasure! The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling. Fantastic adventure with fantastic prose. Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun!. The Dirty Dozen by E.M. Nathanson Much different from the movie- the book is a character study of some tormented men. I really enjoyed this. Flight To Arras and Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exuperéy Did I spell that right? This is the finest prose ever written by an aviator, in my opinion. If you are a Richard Bach fan, if you love to fly- you've gotta sit down with this Frenchy. He also wrote The Little Prince. The Travis MaGee series by John D. MacDonald. Look for the earliest publishing date and then read them in order. You'll get to know all about Travis, who is in the "salvage business" and lives on a house boat in Fort Lauderdale. All these titles have a color in them, like The Quick Red Fox (might be the first), The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper, The Dreadful Lemon Sky, Pale Gray for the Shroud and at least a dozen more. These are quick reads, and when he died I mourned his passing... The Once And Future King by T.H. White A great tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. My father gave me this book, and it was one of the few things we saw eye-to-eye. Aztec by Gary Jennings The memoirs of one loveable Aztec, and his encounter with a stinking band of cutthroats and thieves led by Hernan Cortez. Bizarre, sacrilegious, scurrilous and big, this tale kept me laughing and wondering for weeks. What an imagination! The King's Cavalier The flip-side of the above story, here is the tale of the conquistadors from a fictional perspective. Many of the same characters, vastly different point-of-view. The Conquest of New Spain The very first book ever penned in the New
World, scribe and priest Bernal Díaz was at Hernan Cortez' side for the whole sordid
affair. There was nothing these guys wouldn't stoop to in the name of riches, the
Pope and King Juan Carlos of Spain. Pillars In The Earth by Ken Follett (might be Pillars of, or Pillars From) Just one of the many fine stories from Follett, this one tells the tale of building a cathedral in medieval Europe. Just fantastic! I also liked Night Over Water, and The Key To Rebecca. Shibumi by Trevanian A spy thriller, a page-burner, by the author of The Eiger Sanction The Painted Bird and all the others by Jersey Kosinski, who also wrote Being There. Kosinski writes mostly strange twisted tales of suffering and revenge in war-torn Eastern Europe after WWII. But there's something beautiful in it, too. His skiing-for-revenge adventures are great! Flight of Passage by Rinker Buck This true-life memoir is the story of two teenagers and their eccentric one-legged barnstormer father, in the 1960s. At the age of 15 and 16 two brothers, Rinker and Kernohan Buck, rebuild a Piper Cub in their barn one winter, and then set out the next summer to fly from New Jersey to California. The Cub has no radio and no lights. The brothers leave home as two boys, but come back as heroes, as men- a flight of passage! Fantastic! The original 'youngest aviators'. Flyaway by Desmond Bagley I just finished this one- an intrigue set in the Sahara Desert, which I really enjoyed. I'm going to look for more Bagley. FLASHBACKS by Timothy Leary I just remembered this one and added it to my list in a random location. I remember this was a very entertaining read, one that put together a few more pieces in the history of phychedelia. I liked reading about Timothy's captivity in Lybia, his mushroom camps in Zihuatanejo, and his experiences with other hipsters. Did you realize that Timothy Leary was busted for nudity in the privacy of his own home? True. Even more strange was who busted him- G. Gordon Liddy, who later became one of Nixon's henchmen. Even more comical- Liddy and Leary subsequently hit the lecture circuit... together! Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson A murder mystery, a love story, set in the San Juan Islands in the Puget Sound. More than a great story, this is also great prose! The Flying Dutchman The autobiography of Antony Fokker, first published in 1931 by George Routledge and Sons, London. Here's a man that the Allied forces of WWI felt was a villain- he sold his aircraft to the Reich. Yet he tells a light-hearted story with humor. Whatever you think of Antony Fokker, he was truly an aviation pioneer and innovator, as well as a dashing and daring flyer. Fokker Aircraft were simply the best. He writes this autobiography at the age of 41, and I'm headed down to the library for more... A Hostage To Fortune The autobiography of Ernest K. Gann. I have a new aviation hero, and I don't know what took me so long to find him. Ernie Gann was a film maker, a sailor, a writer, an aviator and a bon vivant. Here is the story of his fascinating life, a great place to start on his writing. Ernie's story about flying over the Taj Mahal had me laughing on the edge of my seat. Other great titles from Ernie Gann include The Song Of The Siren, The High And The Mighty, Gentlemen Of Adventure, Ernest K. Gann's Flying Circus,and more. These books are all out-of-print and you'll have to look for them at the library. During Ernie's life many of his books were brought to the silver screen, his heroes played by the likes of John Wayne, Rita Hayworth and a host of other luminaries. Fly Fast, Sin Dangerously by William Lear, Jr. Here's another autobiography from a flyer. At the age of seventeen, Bill Lear Jr's father, who would eventually make the words "Lear Jet" a household phrase in America, bought his son a P-51 Mustang at salvage. They paid $1,250 for the aircraft- an incredible extravagance at the time. But then Bill Sr. left Billy Jr. standing there on the tarmac- nearly abandoning his son to make his own way, without even filling the fuel tank. The rest is a fascinating and exciting tale. This book is newly published. The Happy Bottom Riding Club, The Life And Times Of Pancho Barnes, by Lauren Keesler I had often wondered about Pancho Barnes. Was she really an aviatrix? Did she really have a dude ranch down by Edwards? Did she really rub elbows with Chuck Yeager and Ridley and Rutan? How did she get that name, anyway? Pancho? Read this biography and get all the dirt on Pancho. Published in 2000, I can't remember the author's name. Check out Pancho here: http://panchobarnes.com/happybottomridingclub.html The Golden Haze, by Roderik Cameron The author visits the South Sea Islands, retracing Captain Cook's three voyages in the South Pacific. Included are excerpts from the Captain's journals and logs, as well as those of his artists and scribes. An often bizarre and always fascinating story of real-life adventure. I loved it! The Testament by John Grisham. I try to avoid the best seller list, but I've gotta admit I've read nearly everything from Grisham. The guy can really spin a yarn. The Testament is my favorite, and has not one- but TWO happy endings. LAST CLIMB, The Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory by David Breashears and Audrey Salkeld. Here's a book that would cost you $35 at Barnes and Nobles. I found it at the library and enjoyed it greatly. The authors are from the team who found George's remains high on Everest last year. George, of course, is the Englishman who uttered the famous quip "Because it is there!" Lots of great maps and charts and photos, including several fold-outs. As the book jacket says, this is "an evocative portrait of an era when gentleman adventurers wore tweed at 25,000 feet." THE AVIATOR by Ernest K. Gann I am working my way through Ernie's life works, but they're hard to find. This is number 6 that I've read, and Ernie lists 21 titles by 1989. THE AVIATOR is a simple tale of fiction with some amazing insights into myself as a flyer. The guy is just great! SKUNK WORKS, by Ben Rich with Leo Janis. Here's the story of Lockheed's secret laboratory which produced the U-2 spyplane, the SR-71 Blackbird and the STEALTH Fighter, among others, and as told by the CEO of the facility, Ben Rich. A fascinating story! BAND OF BROTHERS, by Ernie Gann. I'm finding more stuff from Ernie, and it all reveals a remarkable insight into the minds of men... and pilots. Hurray Ernie! This one revolves around a 727 crash in China, and I remember reading in the author's autobiography that he spent a year or two living there, researching for this book. OFF THE PLANET, Surviving five perilous months aboard the Space Station MIR, by Jerry Linenger. It was no picnic circling Planet Earth in a decrepit Russian Space Wagon. Busted down life support systems, flaming oxygen generators, out-of-control space garbage scows and the MIR itself, tumbling through the void. A testament to human ingenuity and endurance. THE RETURN, by 'Buzz' Aldrin and John Barnes. One author was the pilot of the EAGLE, the first wagon to land on the moon. Together with Barnes, he spins a good yarn about space tourism. PROPELLERHEAD, by Anthony 'Ants' Woodward. An often hilarious look at an obsession with a microlight in England. The author goes from a lame homeboy to an insightful aviator, compliments to his aircraft. THE TRIUMPH, by Ernest K. Gann. I would have preferred to start with THE
ANTAGONISTS, which has apparently been re-tittled MASADA, but my library got me
this one first, and THE TRIUMPH is the sequel. The Romans spent some years
building an enormous ramp up the side of a castle stronghold in Judea, and on the eve of
their conquest the inhabitants of Masada, hundreds of men, women and children, all
committed suicide, rather that capitulate. Here is the story of what became of the
Roman General in command. THE MOUNTAINS OF MY LIFE, by Walter Bonatti. Here was one determined and tormented dude, a mountaineer. The first guy to solo the Matterhorn's north face, in winter, to mention just one of his impossible climbs. At age 24, Bonatti was abandoned to bivoac high on K2, left for dead by his climbing partners. He didn't die, and never forgave them... Read all about it! SLAYING DRAGONS The Conquest of the Alps, by Fergus Fleming. More mountain adventure. This colorful tome concentrates on the Golden Age of Alpine exploration- from 1854 to 1865. Back then people were convinced that dragons lived in the Alps, especially on Mt. Blanc. I enjoyed this one very much. CONTACT! by Carl Sagan. A friend saw me reading this, and gave me the video. I waited until I finished the book, and then watched the movie. Here is a case where the movie was better than the book. The opening scenes were fantastic and then, well... Jodie Foster! BLAZE OF NOON, by Ernest K. Gann THE RAGMAN'S SON, the autobiography of Kirk Douglas. Lots of Hollywood dirt, but also a good story from an amazing man, and a little history thrown in. DOORKNOB FIVE TWO, by Fredric Arnold. This was a great story regardless of its title. Doorknob Five Two was the name of Fredric Arnold's squadron of P-38 fighters in World War II. Arnold was one of the few Jewish pilots during this war, and he was an artist too, sketching his way across North Africa and Italy. I enjoyed this one enough to go back and read it again. ISLAND IN THE SKY, by Ernie Gann. I have nearly finished all of this
writer's flying stories. I have enjoyed them all. His character development is
terrific. He brings the flights alive in a way that few others have. This
particular story must have been one of Ernie's first, published in 1944. I'm getting started on NAPLES 44, by Norman Lewis. I'm afraid I will have to leave my reading list now, and all my other web site files. I'm heading for Mexico, where my internet access is limited to email only. If you find something good to read that's not here, I wanna be the first to know! Hasta la vista! I have neglected my reading list while I was three months in Mexico, and didn't have my PC. But I did LOTS of reading down there, and I'm going to recall as much as I can, starting with a terrific history of Mexico called: FIRE AND BLOOD, by an T.H. Fehrenbach This is a rather heavy history,
starting with pre-Aztec times and the people the author calls Amer-Indians and leading
right up to the assassination of Luis Donoldo Colosio in the streets of Tijuana in 1997.
Meanwhile I learned a great deal about Mocteczuma, his predecessors and progeny,
his advisors and enemies, about Cortez and his stinky band, about the peasant Juan Diego
and the Virgen de Guadalupe, about Vicente Guerrero, Francisco de Madero, Emilio Zapata,
Nicolas Bravo, Pancho Villa, Porfirio Dias and a host of other colorful and dastardly
historical figures. Fehrenbach's style is a little dry, but the events are so
compelling that the story cannot fail. WINGS OF MORNING, by some Cuban fighter pilot (can't recall his name) who stole a MIG 21 and flew it to Florida to surrender for political asylum. The guy then tries for two years to get his wife and kids out of Cuba, but finally has to go steal them. He gets his US Private Pilot's License and flies at wave-top level across the Straits of Florida, to rendezvous with his lovely wife and kids on a lonely stretch of Cuban highway. Fantastic! The bleak picture he paints of Cuban life is a good read in itself. The rescue is just terrific! THE TORTILLA CURTAIN, by T.C. Boyle This, one of the most depressing stories I've ever read, is so good it's awful. I was in Mexico reading this- the story of a Mexican 'mojado' and his young wife, trying to make a better life in the Land of Opportunity. Their story is set against one of a successful writer in Beverly Hills who encounters the Mexicans in a series of accidental and tragic/comic meetings. I won't read this one twice; just too damn depressing. LEFT FOR DEAD, by Beck Weathers Weathers is the doctor-climber who tried to climb Everest with Scott Fischer and Mountain Madness Expeditions. The author was left for dead in the 'death zone' above 8,000 meters when Fischer himself perished in a storm high atop the mountain. But Weathers has an epiphany during the storm and picks himself up off the mountain to stumble blindly into high camp, his naked and frozen hand out in front of him like some bizarre claw. An excellent read, one that readers of John Krakauer's INTO THIN AIR should consider for another look at that tragedy, as well as the next book: THE CLIMB, Tragic Ambition on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev The author, a noted Russian alpinist, was hired by Fisher and Mountain Madness as a guide. By some accounts, Boukreev is the only real hero of the deadly Everest storm, having returned up the mountain to rescue three stranded client-climbers above High Camp and lead them out of the death zone. But Boukreev is maligned in Krakauer's book, and wants to set the record straight. Another good mountain read. THE YEARLING by Marjorie Kinman Rawlings I must have been fairly bored to read this in it's entirety, but I was attracted to it because I've always heard this was an American classic. Well... maybe so, but I don't think I'll be running to the library looking for more Rawlings. UNDAUNTED COURAGE, Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the
American West, by Stephen E. Ambrose. This was the first I've read at length of
the Lewis and Clark expedition, and I enjoyed it very much. I had no idea of the
bizarre man that Lewis became after the mission, and how he took his own life, perhaps
driven mad by syphilis and its treatment back then, which included bleedings, mercury
pills and laxatives. The author claims to have re-traced Lewis' steps dozens of
times. Coincidentally, the next publication to catch my interest is yet another river-of-discovery yarn that takes place fifty years later and an ocean away, THE WHITE NILE, by Alan Moorhead, which I am just starting... March 26, 2002 I've set aside THE WHITE NILE as a book I'd like to
savor, and read meanwhile: COYOTES, by Ted Conover. This is the true story of
a gringo journalist- a 'gringo guero', who smuggles himself across the US border from
Mexico, along with his amigos from Ahuacatlan, a tiny village in Michoacan, and walks
thirty-five miles of desert to the Tucson area.. He travels back and forth to Mexico
with his friends, visits his amigos in their native land, and toils with them in the
citrus fields of Arizona and Florida as well, the object being to better understand these
people, and report on their travails. April 16, 2002 ACCIDENTAL ADVENTURER, Memoirs of the First Woman to Climb Mount
McKinley by Barbara Washburn. Here's a simple tale of a modest woman, the story
of a life filled with remarkable adventures, told in a straight-forward manner. Good
reading for anyone who is enthralled by mountains and the people who climb them. I have picked up and put down several books, looking for something to grab me. I re-read SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE. I started HITLER'S HENCHMEN by Guido Knopp, but set that aside for A TOUGH TRIP THROUGH PARADISE by Andrew Garcia. Sno-Isle bought this one too, but I lost interest after a couple hundred pages. April 26, 2002 THE WRECK OF THE MEDUSA, The Tragic Story of the Death Raft
by Alexander McKee. This is the story of a French sailing ship which ran aground off
the west coast of Africa in 1816. After being abandoned by the skipper, the Governor
and the chief military officer, 150 Frenchmen were left to drift aboard a 'life' raft. 5/06/02 DOWNWARD BOUND, A MAD! Guide to Rock Climbing by Warren J.
"Batso" Harding. Batso Harding is the Yosemite climber who has been much
vilified for drilling holes all over the big granite walls and "bolting" his way
to the top. He doesn't care what the Valley Christians, as he calls them, think
however. Batso believes that rock climbing is an absurd pursuit, the act of going
nowhere very slowly, and best accomplished with a large jug of cheap wine. This is
the often funny and always irreverent tale of Basto's career, in wish he founds the Lower
Sierra Eating, Drinking and Farcing Society, makes the first ascent of the Wall of Early
Morning Light, pokes fun at climbing's elite and generally partying through life. A
climbing play in two acts, with a silly slideshow thrown in! June 20, 2002 There has been a big gap in my reading as I had a hard time finding something to hold my interest. It seems as though it gets harder and harder to find something to read. Finally, I find BAND OF BROTHERS, by Stephen Ambrose, author of UNDAUNTED COURAGE and others. This particular band of brothers is the 101st Airborne paratroops' EASY Company, one of the finest fighting forces in history. These guys started the war being dropped into Normandy, and finished it up drinking Hitler's champagne and screwing his frauliens. A pretty good read. June 30, 2002 THE ICE CHRONICLES, co-authors I can't remember, but one was Frank White. This is the true story of drilling and examining ice-cores taken from glaciers throughout the world, but mostly in the Himalayas, on the Greenland ice cap and from the Antarctic ice cap. Fascinating! September 16, 2002 I have not had a great summer for reading. I haven't touched this reading list in months. Mostly, I have been busy flying and not had much time for reading which is good. But I haven't found much to hold my attention, which is bad. Finally, I found BATAVIA'S GRAVEYARD, The true story of the mad heretic who led history's bloodiest mutiny, by Mike Dash. Fantastic! March 30, 2003 I can't believe how long I've neglected this list once again. Probably, this is because I have been having a hard time finding good reading. I have faith there's still mountains of good reads that have escaped me... I gotta just keep digging. Currently, I have a good one, but it's short: PUNK'S WAR, by Ward Carrol is about a F-14 Tomcat pilot on a carrier in the Persian Gulf, which adds current-events appeal. There is some great flying stuff here. I'm gonna be looking for more from this guy... COLD MOUNTAIN, by Charles Frazier Here's a critically acclaimed tale that I felt I must read. I could never get into ANDERSONVILLE, and I needed something more about the American Civil War. COLD MOUNTAIN is one man's story of trying to get home through the devastation of the south near the end of this conflict. Here's a fairly depressing chronicle. as one might imagine, and I'm glad it's finished. I enjoyed it I guess, but it has driven me to look for something more positive, How about... LAKE WOBEGONE DAYS by Garrison Keillor? That should be refreshing!? POBEREZNY, The Story Begins... POSTCARDS FROM THE LEDGE, Collected Mountaineering Writings of Greg Child October 12, 2003 It's been a long time since I have felt moved to put anything on this page, but then I read this: BLUE LATITUDES, Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before, by Tony Horwitz Fantastic! April 24, 2004 Has it really been that long since I updated this list? But this one has forced me to: FREEDOM AT MIDNIGHT, by co-authors Larry Collins and Dominic Lapierre Fantastic! The significance of the title is that at midnight, August 14, 1947 the British Raj relinquished 350 years of economic and military control of the Crown Jewel of the British Empire- India. The characters are fantastic, the plots and sub-plots are stranger-that-fiction and the whole story has enlightened me to the situation in the middle-east and Asia. What a story! Did you realize that one of Mahatma Gandhi's lifelong adversaries was... Winston Churchill? BLIND MAN'S BLUFF: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage by Sherry Sontag, Christopher Drew, Annette Lawrence Drew September 2004 ARMIES OF PESTILENCE The Impact of Disease on History by R.S. Bray If you like gruesome histories, this is a page burner, even if it is rather wordy. September 2004 HAVANA RUN by Les Standiford This was an easy read, just something I burned through... September 2004 FLOATERS by Joseph Wambaugh I can read trashy novels now and then too, huh? September 2004 KRAKATOA by Simon Winchester (also author of THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD) This history is subtitled The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 I like these types of histories very much and even more because much of it takes place in the Spice Islands- a location with a very exotic past... October 2004 FROM THE OCEAN TO THE SKY by Sir Edmund Hillary. An excellent tale by the first man to climb Everest. About 20 years after his epic climb to the summit of mountaineering fame Sir Edmund returns to India with his son and other colorful supporting characters, and with three jetboats which they drive up the Ganges river to the Himalayas. Did you know that Sir Edmund once nearly died of cerebral edema? Read about it here! November 2004 1688, A Global History by John E. Wills Jr. This one was a drag in places, in fact I only read until about July and then I moved on to something more interesting. But the author's theory is that 1688 was a pivotal year in human history. I especially enjoyed the history of the new Spanish empire, and I may yet finish the year! THE PRIZE by Irving Wallace I gave up on this one too- a fiction about the Nobel Prize and it's recipients for the year about 1960 or so, and how the award affects their lives. Human foible and frailty... November 2004 I am reading O JERUSALEM! which is a history that reads
like a Ludlum thriller but is actually about the U.N. decision to partition Palestine and
create a Jewish State. Another End-of-the-British-Empire saga when they pull out of
conquered territory and leave the inhabitants to fight it out. Kind of like Dan
Rowan suggested when he said "Let's just give them Jews and Arabs all the guns and
bombs and tanks and let 'em settle their differences like good Christians!"
This is co-written by the same guys who wrote FREEDOM AT MIDNIGHT and I'm gonna
read it nice and slow! March 2005 I lost control of my web site for a couple months when my
notebook lost its mind. Meanwhile I read a gruesome history from World War II called
FLYBOYS, by James Bradley. The author, son of one of the US G.I.s who raised
the flag at Iwo Jima, and author of FLAGS Of OUR FATHERS, has turned his attention
to a tiny island next door to Iwo Jima called Chichi Jima, where eight US navy aviators
were shot down, tortured and worse. Can you handle cannibalism? Let's just say
that the Japanese troops on Chichi had been abandoned there by their command, and were...
HUNGRY! Some of the officers also believed that there was strength to be gained by
consuming the enemy- "kichiku" they called it. THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI, by Pierre Boulle, translated by Xan
Fielding. This is the WW II classic of prisoners of war building a bridge for the
Japanese invasion of Siam. It was a quick read and I don't know why I hadn't read it
sooner. Now, I am intrigued to learn the author is, apparently, a Frenchman?
And the translator has a strange name. Xan? Fielding? Xan
Fielding...? I must learn more of these people. The copy I have is a very
brittle paperback which was printed in 1957 and came apart as I read it. Nowhere
does it indicate anything about the author or the translator, not even if they
corroborated on other works. I'm going to google them now... March 2005 THE FIFTH HORSEMAN by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre The only fiction I know of by the authors of very compelling histories, this is the story of nuclear extorsion by a man who just died: Moamar Kadafi. April 2005 BASHER FIVE-TWO, by Captain Scott O'Grady Here is the memoir of the young F-16 pilot who was shot down over war-torn Bosnis, and then rescued six days later by a daring mission from the decks of the USS Kearsarge. This was a very quick read, at only 132 pages, but I figured I had to read it. April 2005 UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, A Story of Violent Faith by John
Krakauer If you distain organized religion as a blight upon humanity, as I do, then
you will love "Banner" as a confirmation of your "faith". John
Krakauer, famous as an alpine writer, writes a grim history of the Mormons past and
present. I discovered some very interesting facts about the Mormons, their founder
Joseph Smith, their leader Brigham Young and many others as well. What a bunch of
wackos! Did you know that the Garden of Eden was in Jefferson County, Missouri?
So declared Joseph Smith after one of his "revelations" from God.
And do you know what they consider themselves? The Chosen People- Latter Day Saints! April 23, 2005 BLEACHERS, by John Grisham. I have an urge to read best sellers now and then. This one did not dissapoint. Here's one I forgot to post from 2004: June 2005 THE WILD BLUE YONDER The Novel of the US Airforce by Walter J. Boyle and Steven L. Thompson How did this one get my attention? Must have been the title! This was a quick read, action packed and fleshed-out with characters both good and bad. Not exactly a blockbuster, even though the jacket notes call it THE SOARING NATIONAL BESTSELLER. There were some cool flying scenes. July 2005 ASA CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR TEST PREP 2005 The Feds continually amaze me about what topics they regard as necessary for teaching. For example the questions about hyperventilation... In twenty-five years of flying and nearly as many hauling people around the sky, I have never seen anyone hyperventilate: nobody. Meanwhile, I have seen plenty of people vomit, as witnessed elsewhere in these pages, but do the Feds mention anything about vomit? NO! Not one word! Perhaps they find the subject just too... messy. I must admit, I did learn a few things from this text. But I studied a bunch of crap to get there. I am now one-third of the way to becoming a CFI- Sport. August 2005 THE NEGOTIATOR, by Frederick Forsyth I just finished this spy-thriller from the author of THE DAY OF THE JACKAL and THE DOGS OF WAR, other trashy best-sellers I read long ago and neglected to post in these pages. This later adventure is about a sinister plot carried out by the former mercenaries in his previous novels- a page turner. September 2005 NORTHWEST PASSAGE by Kenneth Roberts The author
is noted for taking American history off the library shelves and bringing it to life.
This particular title bills itself on the cover as nothing less than "The
Greatest Novel Of America Ever Written"! I won't quite go that far, but I
enjoyed this thouroghly, after the first hundred or so pages, that is. Here is the
story of Robert Rogers, who came up with the notion of "Rangers", as fighting
men. Rogers' Rangers went down in history as tough fighters who opened the American
frontier to westward discovery and, ultimately, Manifest Destiny. They never found
the Northwest Passage of course, but these pages show that the vision of such a path was
vivid long before Thomas Jefferson sent out Lewis and Clark. Starting around 1768,
this tale is of the French and Indian War, which I have considered but little, and which
pitted the French and Native Americans against the British and the Colonists. You'll
have to suffer through a good deal of genocide at the beginning of this tale, but if you
can get through that your rewards are a great yarn and fantastic dialog. First
published in 1937, 637 pages in paperback. September 2005 GHOST SOLDIERS, The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission, by Hampton Sides When I picked up this one I had no idea that I would be continuing a history of the Rangers. Yes, what was started before the American Revolution as Rogers' Rangers would eventually evolve into the US Army's elite Rangers. In this history they infiltrate behind Japanese lines in Bataan and rescue the POWs at Cabanathuan City- the survivors of the Bataan Death March. This was a great read by a new writer, and I'll be watching for more titles from Hampton Sides. Published in 2001, 345 pages in hardcover. September 2005 WE BAND OF ANGELS The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese. By ELIZABETH M. NORMAN I read this one in about two days and then gave it to my friend Nancy. This history stacked atop the previous one became quite depressing. October 2005 THE PILOTS, by Richard Frede How did it take me 52 years to discover a book with this tittle? Beats the heck out of me! Published in 1977 by Random House, THE PILOTS is a novel of human drama, strength and frailty, written my a man who is a pilot too. Not the most exciting novel on my list, I nevertheless discovered a few insights into the human psyche, and some interesting notions about people who fly, including one of the protagonists who is, like myself, a flight instructor. December 2005 I finally finished the "Benedict Arnold" trilogy, by Kenneth Roberts, including ARUNDEL published in 1930 and RABBLE IN ARMS from 1933. Here is an interesting American history, the like of which my schoolbook history only hinted at. This collection (along with NORTHWEST PASSAGE above) can keep a reader busy for a while! January 2006 THE R. CRUMB HANDBOOK, I'm Not Here To Be Polite Here's a tome to take us hipsters back to the Psychedelic Age! It comes with a great CD as well, featuring music from the Cheap Suit Serenades, Les Primitifs du Futur and Fiddlin' Ian McCamy among others- musicians who have had the pleasure to play and record with Crumb, better known as the contributor to underground comics like ZAP, and from whose fertile mind sprung Mr. Natural, Shuman the Human, Moms Mabley, Anglefood McSpade, Flakey Foont, Bigfoot and a host of others. I don't know what I like more- the book or the music. Taken together for about $16, they're a great deal. Plus, you get intimate confessions from a real live pervert! SANTORINI by Alistair MacClean This was a real page burner, one passage in particular inspired me to jump up and find someone to read it to... It was beautiful! Go get this one, as I am going looking for more MacClean, myself. June 2006 EXPLORING OUR LIVING PLANET, by Robert D Ballard Bob Ballard is probably best known for having discovered the wreck of the Titanic sitting about six miles deep on the floor of the North Atlantic, but he does not consider that to be anywhere near as important as his many other discoveries and breakthroughs in oceanography. The critters living in the sulfur vents of the ocean floor are a good example- the first life forms ever found on Mother Earth whose diet is not based on photosynthesis, but rather on chemosynthesis- truly alien life forms right here on the Third Stone from the Sun! A fabulous biography from a fascinating guy. July 2006 I have once again neglected my reading list, about which I regret, not so much to have a long list to consult, but because I continue to get email posts from other readers who have consulted my list and meet people along the way who say we have shared titles and even some exciting new relationships have been made. I'm going to have to recall some of the recent reads which I forgot to list here, and passed on to others, beginning with WILD BLUE YONDER, a history of WWII bomber pilots, especially George McGovern. With a title like this I don't know how I might have missed this book for so long, but I really enjoyed it. July 2006 LOST WORLD OF THE KALAHARI by Lorens Van Der Post Great prose about one man's personal search for the oldest humans- the bushmen of the Kalahri desert in Africa. I loved it! August 2006 CONGO KITABU, the Memoirs of the Belgian Giant of the Congo by Jean Pierre Hallet This is the story of one of the wildest characters I have ever read from. Featured is such magazines as TRUE ADVENTURE and PLAYBOY, this Belgian anthropologist was a giant of a man, but his most famous work was with the elusive Efe pygmies of the African bush. "I grew up among the pygmies, learning everything that is their world...making my first bow and arrow, identifying birds and animals." A screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and director, this man was also a real-live brave and heroic man-of-action type who saved a people. His account of blowing his own arm off in an attempt to stave off a famine, and then swimming through crocodile-infested water with the one good arm he had left and a bleeding stump is worth the price of admission alone! The copy I bought had a price tag of thirty-five cents as I recall (I've given it away) and I notice all the copies at Amazon.com are used, but it IS still available. More info: http://www.pygmyfund.org/eulogy.html September 2006, I have two histories of greed, which always makes good reading. I am into THE AGE OF GOLD, The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream, by H.W.Brands, and then I have THE POWER OF GOLD, The History of an Obsession, by Peter L. Bernstein October 2006 THE AGE OF GOLD, The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream, by H. W. Brands Really a great history that I enjoyed immensely, and I learned something of the historical characters whose marks on California last even unto today- William Tecumseh Sherman, Leland Stanford, Charles Folger, John C. Fremont and a host of other colorful, successful and tragic heroes, also including Samuel Clemmons and Bret Harte. Plus I learned a great deal about the Mother Lode mines in the Nevada Comstock lode- and area I have spent a great deal of time soaring above in my hang gliders. The Big Bonanza mine definitely rings a bell in my conscience and I'm only glad I had nothing to do with it; temperatures below ground there rose higher and higher as the workers descended, finally topping out at 130 degrees. "The Fires Of Hell" they called it! The story of the transcontinental railroad is also appealing- I used to live a stone-throw from the tracks near Donner summit. 491 pages, paperback, Anchor Books October 2006 SHERMAN EXPOSED, Slightly Censored Climbing Stories, by John "Vermin" Sherman I suppose you've gotta be a climber, and maybe only a 'boulderer' to fully appreciate these irreverent and somewhat drunken tales, many of which were published in CLIMBING MAGAZINE. But I enjoy climbing stories, and I thoroughly enjoyed these. 238 pages published by THE MOUNTAINEERS. November 2006 NO PICNIC ON MOUNT KENYA, A Daring Escape and Perilous
Climb, by Felice Benuzzi December 2006 TOUCHING THE VOID, The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival, by Joe Simpson Two alpine mountaineers achieve a first-ascent of a 21,000' peak in the Andes mountains, but on the way dowm disaster struck when the author suffers a compound fracture of his leg. His partner makes a determined effort to lower him over and over with a 300' rope, but it all ends in nightmare with the author dangling over a precipice and his partner can't hold him any longer... I'm not going to spoil it here, but this is a very disturbing memoir... 215 pages with a dozen or so photos and a climbing glossary. January 2007 AMAGANSETT, a novel by Mark Mills Fantastic- reminded me a lot of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS, just great fiction, great character development, a great whodunnit, I'm gonna look for more from Mr. Mills January 2007 HUNTING BADGER by Tony Hillerman, who never dissapoints. I really liked this one, maybe because that bitch Janet... uhh, What'shername never makes an appearance, and there is a much better love-interest: Officer Bernadette Manuelito. Everybody loves Bernie! Another great episode with the Navajo Tribal police force. February 2007 ASCENT, the Physical and Spiritual Journey of Willy Unsoeld, a biography, the author's name slips my mind, but I enjoyed this greatly. A good rously mountain story, which goes beyond pure climbing. I like it! March 2007 STATE OF FEAR, by Michael Crichton March 2007 MARCUS GARVEY, a biography of a black nationalist which I found interesting, but I cannot remember the author's name. This was a thin publication, almost along the lines of a childrens' book, but the first I've read about Garvey. Now I'm gonna look for something about Halie Salasie- also known as Ras Tafari. April 2007 WEST WIND, by Crosbie Garstin A wonderful fiction starring a British privateer at the turn of the nineteenth century. Very colorful and entertaining, I bought this for a quarter, it was published in 1926, and I'm bettin' it's now out-of-print. I'll be looking for his others which are listed thusly: "THE OWL'S HOUSE," "HIGH NOON," etc. No explanation for the "etc."... April 2007 THE EXPLORATION OF THE COLORADO RIVER by John Wesley Powell I don't know how I might have missed this journal 'till now, but I found it hard to put down. This is a scrappy guy with a bunch of scrappy fellows. Powell suffers many hardships on this scary journey through the Grand Cañon and never once mentions that he has only one arm, having lost the other as a result of a Civil War wound. Imagine clinging to a vertical wall of sandstone or granite, many hundreds of feet above death while your friends try to rescue you? Imagine how many times he was thrown from his boat to swim the rapids... with one arm? This guy was really something!
|
|
|
|
Send email to Ole@LearnToHangGlide.com with
questions or comments |