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Thread: Books We Read/Listen To

  1. #331
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Books We Read/Listen To

    Quote Originally Posted by Applejack View Post
    Don't forget the sex!
    Sorry, the only Hardy novel I have read is Far from the Madding Crowd, and the relationship between Gabriel and Bathsheba surely exceeded the highest standards of the BYU honor code. By the way, now I am a little worried about the focus of your literary interests.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  2. #332
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Books We Read/Listen To

    According to Kindle I am only 14% into "Tess" I already know where this is going. I wonder if the bad guy will twirl his mustache.
    Last edited by LA Ute; 02-22-2017 at 06:16 AM.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  3. #333
    Quote Originally Posted by USS Utah View Post
    If you haven't read them yet, I highly recommend the three books by DeVoto, The Year of Decision: 1846, Across the Wide Missouri and The Course of Empire.

    I bought a book last week about western history, Men to Match My Mountains by Irving Stone. Looks really good.
    I just picked up the entire DeVoto trilogy for $12 at a used bookstore in my town. No markings in any of them. Cannot wait to read them.

  4. #334
    I'm trying to remember who recommended it, but I'm reading "Ghost Boy" right now. Was it someone here?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #335
    Here is a neat and tidy list of all the books we have read in my men's book society here in Northern California...

    1. Gilead by Marilyn Robinson http://www.amazon.com/Gilead-Novel-M...eywords=gilead
    2. The River of Doubt by Candace Millard http://www.amazon.com/River-Doubt-Th...river+of+doubt
    3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck http://www.amazon.com/East-Penguin-T...s=east+of+eden
    4. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay http://www.amazon.com/Power-One-Nove...s=power+of+one
    5. The Razor's Edge by M. Somerset Maugham http://www.amazon.com/Razors-Edge-W-...razor%27s+edge
    6. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Me...ch+for+meaning
    7. Tenth of December by George Saunders http://www.amazon.com/Tenth-December...th+of+December
    8. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner http://www.amazon.com/Angle-Repose-W...ngle+of+repose
    9. A River Runs Through It And Other Stories by Norman MacLean for the 9th book. http://www.amazon.com/River-Through-...uns+through+it
    10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, http://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451...fahrenheit+451
    11. The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor, https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Stor...ery+o%27connor
    12. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain. https://www.amazon.com/Billy-Lynns-L...+halftime+walk
    13. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven https://www.amazon.com/dp/0804172447..._zelaybTRXWZ18
    14. All The Kings Men, Robert Warren Penn. After this election I am really looking forward to reading this book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156012952..._siviybXMSDYAK
    15. The Old Man And The Sea. Ernest Hemingway. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/06848...vdL&ref=plSrch

    and the next book is...

    16. A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles, https://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Mos...eman+in+Moscow

    The discussion on Old Man and the Sea was absolutely great. 130 pages in 14 point font, and it lasted more than 2 hours. Lots of great philosophy and religious symbolism in that book. plus, it is a simply told and wonderful story.

  6. #336
    How did you like Station 11? I have wanted to read it but never gotten around to it.

  7. #337
    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    How did you like Station 11? I have wanted to read it but never gotten around to it.
    I liked it quite a bit. it is not excellent, but it is entertaining and has a few creative plot twists. there is a character who reminded me a bit of Joseph Smith, and his nickname is "the prophet" so that made it fun. there are a few satisfying themes in it, such as not sleepwalking your way through life. I have recommended it to some friends who were looking for a good vacation/lose yourself in a story book.

  8. #338
    I have a suggestion for book #2 for the UB5 book club:

    Dereliction of Duty by H.R. McMaster. I've often thought about reading it, and now that he is the national security advisor, this might be a good time to do so.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  9. #339
    Started reading "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht. Not doing it for me.... I think I'm going to put it on the shelf and go buy something else.
    Last edited by bestellen; 01-03-2018 at 02:38 AM.

  10. #340
    Quote Originally Posted by bestellen View Post
    Started reading "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht. Not doing it for me.... I think I'm going to put it on the shelf and go buy something else.
    i gave it to my wife for Xmas a couple of years ago b/c it was on a lot of year-end ten best lists. My wife and I both read it, and you are making the right decision. It doesn't get any better; I kept wondering why it was on all those lists.

  11. #341
    1939: Countdown to War by Richard Overy

    A short book recounting the last few days of peace from August 25 to September 3, 1939. The non-aggression pact between Russia and Germany surprised Britain and France which then scrambled for ways to avoid war. Hitler then gave the allies more time by cancelling the invasion of Poland originally scheduled for August 26. Hitler did not believe Britain and France would choose war, because he did not want them to, even has Britain and France believed that war might still be avoided if they could make it perfectly clear that they would choose war if Hitler invaded Poland. An excellent, quick read, at just 124 pages.



    In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

    An excellent look at the whaling industry of the early nineteenth century with the experiences of the crew of the Essex as the vehicle. There were reasons to think the last cruise of the whaleship would be unlucky, but it was nonetheless a surprise when an eighty-six foot sperm whale rammed and sank the ship -- interestingly, there was no mention by any of the survivors of the whale being white, or that the whale was seeking vengeance against a whaleship, if anything, it was a case of mistaken identity. Eschewing a relatively short boat trip to the Society Islands, whose natives were suspected to be cannibals, the Essex survivors chose to head for the coast of South America, thus embarking on the longest journey of any survivors of any ship sinking, which, ironically, resulted in cannibalism. The author weaves in the history of Nantucket and the experiences of other ships and crews lost at sea in recounting the greatest maritime disaster of the nineteenth century. Fantastic.



    The Second World War, Vol. II: Their Finest Hour by Winston S. Churchill

    Volume II of Churchill's history of World War II, which is also part autobiography, covers the period from the May 10 German assault on the west through the Fall of France and the Battle of Britain to the end of 1940. The volume concludes with victory in the Western Desert against the forces of Mussolini's Italy. Had Hitler been in a position to act immediately upon his stunning success against France and the low countries, history might have been different. But having allowed the British to escape at Dunkirk, time turned against Germany. With every passing week, Great Britain grew stronger, and the crossing of the sea became an ever more difficult challenge. The air campaign against Britain lacked focus and patience, and on more than one occasion, while on the verge of a possible breakthrough, Air Marshall Goering would shift targets, ultimately seeking to defeat the island nation from the air. Through it all, Churchill provides inspired leadership, not micromanaging, but staying fully engaged in the day-to-day conduct of the war.

    Excellent.



    Highest Duty, My Search for What Really Matters by Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III

    On January 15, 2009, Sully was at the controls of US Air Flight 1549 as it took off from La Guardia, encountered a flock of Canada Gease, and ended up landing the Airbus A320 in the Hudson River after bird strikes took out both engines. This is Sully's autobiogrpahy, recently released under the title Sully, to tie in the with recent movie of the same name. The author describes how lessons learned throughout his life, from learning to fly as a teenager, 4 years at the Air Force Academy, flying F-4 Phantoms, and a career as an airline pilot helped in those 3 critical minutes of the crisis of Flight 1549.

    Excellent.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  12. #342
    Quote Originally Posted by OrangeUte View Post
    Here is a neat and tidy list of all the books we have read in my men's book society here in Northern California...

    1. Gilead by Marilyn Robinson http://www.amazon.com/Gilead-Novel-M...eywords=gilead
    2. The River of Doubt by Candace Millard http://www.amazon.com/River-Doubt-Th...river+of+doubt
    3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck http://www.amazon.com/East-Penguin-T...s=east+of+eden
    4. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay http://www.amazon.com/Power-One-Nove...s=power+of+one
    5. The Razor's Edge by M. Somerset Maugham http://www.amazon.com/Razors-Edge-W-...razor%27s+edge
    6. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Me...ch+for+meaning
    7. Tenth of December by George Saunders http://www.amazon.com/Tenth-December...th+of+December
    8. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner http://www.amazon.com/Angle-Repose-W...ngle+of+repose
    9. A River Runs Through It And Other Stories by Norman MacLean for the 9th book. http://www.amazon.com/River-Through-...uns+through+it
    10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, http://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451...fahrenheit+451
    11. The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor, https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Stor...ery+o%27connor
    12. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain. https://www.amazon.com/Billy-Lynns-L...+halftime+walk
    13. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven https://www.amazon.com/dp/0804172447..._zelaybTRXWZ18
    14. All The Kings Men, Robert Warren Penn. After this election I am really looking forward to reading this book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156012952..._siviybXMSDYAK
    15. The Old Man And The Sea. Ernest Hemingway. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/06848...vdL&ref=plSrch
    16. A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles, https://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Mos...eman+in+Moscow

    A Gentleman in Moscow is fantastic. Truly one of the most enjoyable and interesting books I have read. Many reviews set forth the basic plot and premise, but I will add this. The author is in no rush to spoil the plot and it builds and builds and concludes in a manner that does not disappoint. I highly recommend this one.
    Next one up...

    17. The Brothers Karmamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/03..._st_dp_summary The Richard Peaver/ Larissa Volokhonsky translation. Looking very much forward to this one.
    Last edited by LA Ute; 04-05-2017 at 09:42 AM.

  13. #343
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OrangeUte View Post
    Next one up...

    17. The Brothers Karmamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/03..._st_dp_summary The Richard Peaver/ Larissa Volokhonsky translation. Looking very much forward to this one.
    The greatest work of fiction I have ever read.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  14. #344
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I finished "Tess." Didn't like it much. If it is "Hardy's fictional masterpiece" I don't want to read his lesser works.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  15. #345
    Against All Enemies by Tom Clancy with Peter Telep

    This book introduced a new character to the Clancy universe, Max Moore, a Navy SEAL turned CIA covert agent. Two failed missions in Pakistan lead Moore to drug cartels in Mexico. The Taliban is collaborating with the cartels to move opium into the United States, and a group a terrorists hope to use those connections to cross the boarder for a major attack.

    The book was published in summer of 2011, and was the second book purportedly written by Clancy after a break of nearly a decade, and the second written with co-author. At the time there was a lot of speculation that Clancy had no actual part in writing the book. This had also been suggested about Dead or Alive, a Jack Ryan book published six months earlier, but not as strongly. A sequel book, Search and Destroy, was to be published in the summer of 2012, but was cancelled by the publisher at essentially the last minute. Due to the speculation of the actual authorship of the book, and the cancellation of the sequel, I didn't plan on reading Against All Enemies. More recently, I changed my mind, and to my surprise I found it rather enjoyable, much more than Under Fire, a Jack Ryan Jr. story written by Grant Blackwood that I read about a year ago.

    --

    Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam by H. R. McMaster

    Civilian control of the military is an American tradition, ordained by the Constitution, but wise civilian leaders listen to the advice given to them by military leaders. John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara and others of the Best and the Brightest first chose not to listen, then sought to mold the advice they received from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At the same time, inter-service rivalry led the chiefs to make arguments which marginalized their own best advice. Finally, the chiefs themselves acquiesced in giving the civilian leaders the tactical advice they sought. All of this led to the nightmare that became the Vietnam War.

    Excellent.

    --

    Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid the Avenged Pearl Harbor by James M. Scott

    Out of a burning desire to avenge the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor rose the first joint U.S. military operation of World War II. A Navy submariner wondered one day if a medium Army Air Force bomber could take off from a Navy aircraft carrier and took the suggestion to his boss, the chief of naval operations. The CNO took the idea to the chief of the Air Corps, who called on a famous pilot to explore which bomber could do the job. When the B-25 Mitchell was selected, a test takeoff was made from USS Hornet (CV-8), the Navy's newest flattop. After that, volunteers were trained and the mission to bomb Tokyo was on its way to becoming a reality.

    Target Tokyo provides a definitive look at the mission, from to moments after the attack on Pearl Harbor was revealed in Washington, to the moment the raiders captured by the Japanese were released. There was another excellent book published in recent years titled The First Heroes which focused mainly on the Doolittle Raiders. Target Tokyo seeks to cover every facet of the raid, including the retribution of the Japanese against the Chinese who helped the raiders.

    Excellent.

    --

    Poirot Loses a Client by Agatha Christie

    Hercule Poirot receives a letter from a wealthy spinster who fears for her life. Unfortunately, the letter was mailed more than a month after the lady died of supposedly natural causes. Poirot nevertheless chooses to take the case on, much to the amusement of Captain Hastings, at least at first.

    Excellent

    --

    The Korean War by Matthew B. Ridgeway

    An excellent analysis of the Forgotten War by the general who replaced MacArthur in command of U.N forces.

    --

    Pacific Payback: The Carrier Aviators Who Avenged Pearl Harbor at the Battle of Midway by Stephen L Moore.

    On the morning of December 7, 1941, Clarence E. Dickenson took off from the carrier Enterprise (CV-6) on what should have been a routing flight to Ford Island. Instead, the SBD Dauntless pilot flew into a hornets nest, and instead of landing on Ford Island, he was shot down by a Japanese Zero. Six months later, on June 4, 1942, Dick Dickenson was making a dive bombing attack on one of the Japanese carriers that had launched the Pearl Harbor raiders. Earl Gallaher had also been on that flight to Pearl on the first morning of the war; at Midway he commanded one of the SBD squadrons that avenged the attack. Dick Best commanded the other Enterprise Dauntless squadron at Midway; on June 4, Best made two dives on two different Japanese carriers, and was the only pilot to score hits on two different flattops.

    Pacific Payback is primarily the story of the Enterprise Dauntless squadrons from Pearl Harbor to Midway, and secondarily of the other SBD squadrons at Midway. This is an excellent book, but it could have been even better had it focused on all Navy Dauntless squadrons in the first six months of the war, much like John Lundstrom did for the fighter squadrons in The First Team.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  16. #346
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    The greatest work of fiction I have ever read.
    Yup

  17. #347
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    I'm halfway through Crime and Punishment but put it down. I will pick it up again. When I am running training sessions I often create hypothetical stories using a character named Raskolnikov. Very few people get it.
    It's also great. Nothing written by Dostoevsky is an easy read. You'll love it when you finish it.

  18. #348
    Just finished a book entitled Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden. It is a story of two Canadian Indians who join the Army to fight in WWI. I thought it was a very good read.

  19. #349
    Just (minutes ago) I finished The Son by Philipp Meyer. A very good book about 3 generations of a Texas family. It is interwoven chronologically between the grandfather, who was kidnapoed and raised by Cherokee Indians, his son who struggled with his fathers ways, the transition from cattle to oil, and one event in particular with the Mexican family neighbors, and the granddaughter JA who struggles to build and maintain the family empire.

    Beautifully written. I wanted to read before watching the TV series currently on AMC. Now I'm not sure I want to watch the tv version for fear of being disappointed. When reading a book, the mind builds visualizations of the characters and settings. I'm not sure I want the tv version to replace the visualizations my mind created from this book. Maybe in a few months I'll be ready.
    “To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.

  20. #350
    Commander in Chief by Mark Greaney

    Russia launches hybrid warfare in a bid to conquer Lithuania. Terrorist acts against energy, assassinations, and a Russian troop train traveling through Vilnius on the way to the Kaliningrad Oblast enclave are all preludes to a possible invasion. Can President Ryan persuade NATO to send emergency forces to dissuade Russia. Meanwhile, the Russian president is trying to move his money out of his Russian accounts to get around the financial sanctions leveled after Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. He hires and then kidnaps a computer programmer who makes a living converting cash to bitcoins and back to cash.

    Excellent.



    Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring
    by Henry J. Eyring.


    Henry Eyring was a noted scientist -- some of his fellow scientists thought he should have been awarded the Nobel Prize -- but he was also a man of faith. An excellent biography.




    Nimitz
    by E. B. Potter


    A young lieutenant ran a destroyer aground in the Philippines in 1908. The board saw something in this officer and gave him only a mid reprimand. That officer would become the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Having been given a second chance early in his career, Chester Nimitz would often give commanders in his theater second chances, and thus Nimitz built the team that would win the Pacific War against Japan. This is a fantastic biography of CinCPac-CincPOA and an excellent history of the Pacific campaigns.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  21. #351
    Just finished Power of the Dog, by Don Winslow. It's about a DEA agent and his fight against Mexican drug cartels from the late 70's to the early 00's. I found it to be a very riveting read. I bought and am now starting the sequel, The Cartel.

    It's fictional, but there are a lot of historical references about the war on drugs from multiple angles, including government involvement, NAFTA, etc.
    Last edited by chrisrenrut; 07-22-2017 at 06:32 PM.
    “To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.

  22. #352
    I also finished A Gentleman in Moscow a month or so ago. It took me a while to get into it, but after about 1/3 of the way through, I was hooked. Lots of character development, backstory, and side story, but it is all woven together very nicely.
    “To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.

  23. #353
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I'm trying to read Trollope and have started with "The Way We Live Now," which is supposed to be one of his very best. I'm finding it tedious and hard to penetrate. Should I give up now?

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  24. #354
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    I'm trying to read Trollope and have started with "The Way We Live Now," which is supposed to be one of his very best. I'm finding it tedious and hard to penetrate. Should I give up now?
    imho, yes. i had to read barchester towers in college and thought i would die. id you have never read Middlemarch, i highly recommend it. it is my favorite victorian novel, including Dickens.

  25. #355
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    imho, yes. i had to read barchester towers in college and thought i would die. id you have never read Middlemarch, i highly recommend it. it is my favorite victorian novel, including Dickens.
    That one's on my list now. Thanks. The only Eliot I've ever read is Silas Marner. Meanwhile I decided to try Thomas Hardy again -- The Mayor of Casterbridge. Dr. Scanlon always talked about it but I thought I was too cool to read it.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  26. #356
    The Killing Floor by Lee Child


    The first Jack Reacher novel, written if first person narration. Reacher is a Army brat, former M.P., and a drifter, and a spontaneous decision leads him to a small town in Georgia, where he is quickly arrested for a murder he knows he did not commit. Behind the facade of the perfect little town is a major conspiracy that Reacher feels obligated to stick around and break apart. Excellent


    --


    Let the Sea Make a Noise: The History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur by Walter A. McDougall


    A history of the contest for power in the North Pacific rim from 1638 to the present day. The majority of the 714 page book, starting from page 269, covers the period from the opening of Japan to the conclusion of the Korean war. Written almost as a series of vignettes, jumping from various locales throughout history, to tell the story of the competition to dominated the North Pacific. Britain is a major player, but with Spain drops out in the first half of the 19th century, and the story becomes a contest between Japan, Russia and the United States. The other feature of the book are a series of fictional discussions the author has with historic figures from Hawaii, Mexico, Japan, the U.S. and Russia.


    The book is very good, but I struggled through the first 259 pages before sailing through the remainder of the book. A criticism of McDougall is that he can get lost in details, focusing, it seems, on all of them, thus leading to a presentation that may be longer than necessary. Still, I really enjoyed the final two thirds of the book, from the opening of Japan to the Korean War.


    --


    Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos.


    Jesse Brown was the first African American to earn the gold wings of a U.S. Naval Aviator, and Tom Hudner became his wingman in December 1949. Tom did not have a problem flying with a black man, but he was not so sure at first about Brown's discipline. Tom was by the book and wouldn't even consider buzzing a local community, but on his first flight with Jesse he ends up doing exactly that -- as Brown did a fly by of his house for the benefit of his wife and daughter. A year later the two were flying combat over the frozen battlefields of Korea. The squadron's skipper warned that any pilot trying to land to save a shot down buddy would be court-martialed, but when Jesse was shot down and his wingman could see that he was trapped in his cockpit, Tom quickly decided to crash land his F4U Corsair in an effort to save his friend. A year earlier, Tom would never have considered such a thing, but now he would do anything to save Jesse.


    The author also writes about a few participants in the ground battle around the Chosin Reservoir to give additional context to the story of Tom and Jesse. Excellent.


    --


    On Target by Mark Greaney


    In the second Grey Man novel, Court Gentry is hired by a Russian oligarch to assassinate the president of the Sudan. At the same time, Court is tapped by his old CIA team to kidnap the president and deliver him to the International Criminal Court. If he can do that, the CIA will agree to cancel the Shoot-on-Sight order against him. From the moment the Grey Man arrives in the Sudan, almost nothing goes right. Excellent
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  27. #357
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I am reading "The Mayor of Casterbridge," by Thomas Hardy, and came across this paragraph. Does anybody else see the words that later appear in the Harry Potter series?


    "One grievous failing of Elizabeth's was her occasional pretty and picturesque use of dialect words—those terrible marks of the beast to the truly genteel....

    "[Her father's] sharp reprimand was not lost upon her, and in time it came to pass that for 'fay' she said 'succeed'; that she no longer spoke of 'dumbledores' but of 'humble bees'; no longer said of young men and women that they 'walked together,' but that they were 'engaged'; that she grew to talk of 'greggles' as 'wild hyacinths'; that when she had not slept she did not quaintly tell the servants next morning that she had been 'hag-rid,' but that she had 'suffered from indigestion.'"
    I just thought that was interesting.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  28. #358
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I really enjoyed "The Mayor of Casterbridge." The main character (Michael Henchard, the Mayor) is a fascinating and well-developed character. To avoid spoilers I'll say no more about him.

    That novel is much less melodramatic than "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" (which I did not like) and grittier than "Far from the Madding Crowd" (which I did like). So far I've read only those three Thomas Hardy novels and I will read more. Maybe Jude the Obscure next? Which one do you all recommend?

    I gave up on Trollope, by the way.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  29. #359
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    I really enjoyed "The Mayor of Casterbridge." The main character (Michael Henchard, the Mayor) is a fascinating and well-developed character. To avoid spoilers I'll say no more about him.

    That novel is much less melodramatic than "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" (which I did not like) and grittier than "Far from the Madding Crowd" (which I did like). So far I've read only those three Thomas Hardy novels and I will read more. Maybe Jude the Obscure next? Which one do you all recommend?

    I gave up on Trollope, by the way.

  30. #360
    Here is a neat and tidy list of all the books we have read in my men's book society here in Northern California...

    1. Gilead by Marilyn Robinson http://www.amazon.com/Gilead-Novel-M...eywords=gilead
    2. The River of Doubt by Candace Millard http://www.amazon.com/River-Doubt-Th...river+of+doubt
    3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck http://www.amazon.com/East-Penguin-T...s=east+of+eden
    4. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay http://www.amazon.com/Power-One-Nove...s=power+of+one
    5. The Razor's Edge by M. Somerset Maugham http://www.amazon.com/Razors-Edge-W-...razor%27s+edge
    6. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Me...ch+for+meaning
    7. Tenth of December by George Saunders http://www.amazon.com/Tenth-December...th+of+December
    8. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner http://www.amazon.com/Angle-Repose-W...ngle+of+repose
    9. A River Runs Through It And Other Stories by Norman MacLean for the 9th book. http://www.amazon.com/River-Through-...uns+through+it
    10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, http://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451...fahrenheit+451
    11. The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor, https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Stor...ery+o%27connor
    12. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain. https://www.amazon.com/Billy-Lynns-L...+halftime+walk
    13. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven https://www.amazon.com/dp/0804172447..._zelaybTRXWZ18
    14. All The Kings Men, Robert Warren Penn. After this election I am really looking forward to reading this book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0156012952..._siviybXMSDYAK
    15. The Old Man And The Sea. Ernest Hemingway. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/06848...vdL&ref=plSrch
    16. A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles, https://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Mos...eman+in+Moscow
    17. The Brothers Karmamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/03..._st_dp_summary The Richard Peaver/ Larissa Volokhonsky translation. Looking very much forward to this one.
    18. Underground Airlines, Ben Winters, https://www.amazon.com/Underground-A...round+airlines
    19. Miss Jane, Brad Watson, https://www.amazon.com/Miss-Jane-Nov...ords=miss+jane

    And the next book is

    20. The Frontiersmen, Allan Eckert, https://www.amazon.com/Frontiersmen-...e+frontiersmen

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