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Thread: Books We Read/Listen To

  1. #61
    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    you will have to let me know what you think after you are done.
    The book I am reading now, The Longest Silence, The Life in Fishing, is a good read if you fly fish (not for Orvis-heads.)

    If you are like me and need to read books with short chapters try The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

    Of course, there are my old favorites: Brothers Karamazov and Catch 22. I recently stated reading Brothers K for the fourth or fifth time but got bogged down, so switched to The Longest Silence.

  2. #62
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    you will have to let me know what you think after you are done.
    Halfway through already (most of that reading done last night and this morning). It is a great read so far. I'll probably finish it this weekend.

    "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. #63
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Irving Washington View Post
    The book I am reading now, The Longest Silence, The Life in Fishing, is a good read if you fly fish (not for Orvis-heads.)

    If you are like me and need to read books with short chapters try The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

    Of course, there are my old favorites: Brothers Karamazov and Catch 22. I recently stated reading Brothers K for the fourth or fifth time but got bogged down, so switched to The Longest Silence.
    Welcome! You need to go to Emiigration Canyon and introduce yourself. Not everyone here knows you. I promise not to tell stories oo you if you won't tell them on me.

    The Brothers K is the greatest book 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

  4. #64
    http://www.amazon.com/Room-A-Novel-E...&keywords=room

    Finished "Room" a few weeks back.
    One of the most enjoyable reads in quite a while. Finished it just before the Cincinatti kidnapping thing broke. Bizarre timing. The narrator of the story is a 5 year old boy. Seemed like it would be pretty hard to pull off, but she did a fantastic job with it.

    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.

  5. #65
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    you will have to let me know what you think after you are done.
    Finished it yesterday. Powerful and absorbing. Before I hold forth on it further I want to make sure you've finished it so I can avoid spoilers.

    "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

  6. #66
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    Finished it yesterday. Powerful and absorbing. Before I hold forth on it further I want to make sure you've finished it so I can avoid spoilers.

    i have a little bit left. I have to share it with my wife for the same book club, and she has it as the moment.

  7. #67
    I picked up a book last year called The First American Republic. It Chronicles the fourteen presidents of the United States prior to George Washington, those that presided over the Continental Congress and in some cases helped to shape the way that the role of the President of the United states works.

    When I got the book, I quickly read through the first two; Peyton Randolph and Henry Middleton. I picked up the book once again this weekend and read through the story of John Hancock. I had never realized how much of an impact he had on the early American political scene and how much of a player he was in the process beyond just the big signature.

    Here's an intro to the book for those that are interested:

    George Washington's Inauguration in April 1789 marked the beginning of government under the new United States Constitution. What few Americans realize is that there had been a fully functioning national government prior to 1789. It was called the Continental Congress and it was, in every respect, the First American Republic (1774-1789).

    It began on September 5, 1774, when elected delegates from eleven of the American colonies first assembled in Philadelphia. Surprisingly, that First American Republic is most often dismissed in textbooks and popular history as a failed attempt at self-government. And yet, it was during that fifteen year period that the United States won the war against the strongest empire on Earth, established organized government as far west as the Mississippi River, built alliances with some of the great powers of Europe and transformed thirteen separate entities into a national confederation.

    When the Continental Congress initially met in 1774, its very first order of business was to elect one of its own members to serve as President. He functioned as Head of State, much as the Presidents of Germany and Italy do today. He signed all official documents, received all foreign visitors and represented the emerging nation at official events and through extensive correspondence. While Congress retained all other executive, legislative and judicial functions, the President even presided over its deliberations. Eventually, a house, carriage and servants were provided for the President as a sign of national pride and respect.

    In all, fourteen distinguished individuals were chosen by their peers for this unique and awesome responsibility. They were the giants of their age, men of power, wealth and experience who often led their new nation through extremely difficult days largely on the strength of their character. For far too long they have been lost to history.

    This is their story.
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  8. #68
    Quote Originally Posted by happyone View Post
    Just finished Douglas Waller's biography of William Donovan

    http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Bill-Dono...d+bill+donovan

    Solid biography, Mr. Waller doesn't whitewash Wild Bill. The Donovan that Mr. Waller presents is a flawed man. He is an indifferent manager/administrator, but a superb leader. His personal life is a mess as is his finances.

    It is also a good look at the creation of the OSS and its operations in WW II. He does a good job covering the bureaucratic infighting that accompied the creation of the OSS and throughout its existance. J. Edgar Hoover particularly comes off poorly.
    I read "Wild Bill..." a couple months ago -- you're right, it's excellent and fascinating. Donovan is one of those heroes who is not known well enough. His contribution to history is less well known than that of Allan Dulles, for example, but should be more highly valued (IMHO).

    One of my professors in business school at the U was Dr. James Gardner. His obituary doesn't mention it, but he was in the OSS in China during WWII. He was a wonderful man - brilliant, successful, caring and pleasant.

    http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/Des...78#fbLoggedOut
    Last edited by pangloss; 05-28-2013 at 11:07 AM. Reason: grammar

  9. #69
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pangloss View Post
    I read "Wild Bill..." a couple months ago -- you're right, it's excellent and fascinating. Donovan is one of those heroes who is not known well enough. His contribution to history is less well known than that of Allan Dulles, for example, but should be more highly valued (IMHO).

    One of my professors in business school at the U was Dr. James Gardner. His obituary doesn't mention it, but he was in the OSS in China during WWII. He was a wonderful man - brilliant, successful, caring and pleasant.

    http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/Des...78#fbLoggedOut
    Dr. Gardner was a wonderful guy. I interacted with him constantly during my stint in student government and enjoyed every minute of it. Something tells me he'd be happy to pass away while playing golf. Good for him.

    "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

  10. #70
    The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway by John B. Lundstrom

    An excellent book about U.S. carrier operations during the first six months of the war. The primary focus is on the fighter squadrons and their actions, but the secondary focus on other facets of carrier operations is good. The author chose to focus on the fighters because he believed the dive and torpedo bombers had been well covered (I have to disagree regarding the torpedo bombers, at least before the Coral Sea and Midway battles).
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  11. #71
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    Cheating the Spread: Gamblers, Point Shavers and Game Fixers in College Football and Basketball, by Albert Figone

    Most of the book deals with college basketball cheating scandals from the 1950s-1970s (CCNY, Seton Hall, Kentucky, Boston College, just to name a few) and a landmark Bear Bryant accusation in the 1960s. If you're a fan of sports history past individual accomplishments and ready-for-ESPN moments, then this book is for you. It also rips coaches and administrators for their apologist views and outright reluctance to take action when presented with strong circumstantial evidence that something was amiss. (I never thought much of Dan Henning the strategist, but my respect for him as a coach grew 100 fold when I read about how he went after rumors of point shaving on his BC football team in the 1990s).

    As with any sports book, I look for the Utah connection and there are several in this book. It has been documented that Vadal Peterson was approached in throwing the 1944 NCAA championship game. He responded by punching the man in the face.

    Our 1951-52 game against St. John's was fixed, although we lost the game. St. John's following game against BYU was also fixed. Utah lost by 9, BYU lost by 6. Given the records both teams had, that the games were in NYC and that St. John's was the better program at the time, it makes sense for the spreads in those games to have been higher.

    Finally, while the 1961 Final Four wasn't fixed, our third-place game opponent St. Joseph's, ultimately vacated its Final Four appearance because of a point-shaving scandal that earlier that year. It has been suggested that Utah may have gotten a better game than it should have gotten from St. Joseph's, given the meaninglessness of third-place games.

    As he talked, Majewski gave the suggestion of an answer to his own question. Basketball is a game, and somber Frank Majewski seemed to have reached a point where worry, pressure and fear made it impossible for him to enjoy a game any more.
    Yet, ironically, basketball was about to offer him one last challenge that stirred him. He played well in a lost cause against Ohio State in that NCAA semifinal. The next night, in a game against Utah for national third-place ranking, Majewski was at his leaping, fighting best. Once he even outjumped Utah's 6-foot-9 Billy McGill.
    Then, with the score tied and one second to play, Frank Majewski got the ball. He was all alone, 20 feet from the basket. He shot, and missed. St. Joseph's went on to win in four overtimes, but after the game Majewski was thinking only of the shot he missed. "I wanted it to go in so badly," he said.
    It was almost as if he owed a debt to St. Joseph's and had tried to pay it off in his last game.
    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...19/4/index.htm

    http://www.amazon.com/Cheating-Spread-Gamblers-Football-Basketball/dp/0252078756

  12. #72
    The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler

    A dogfight between a World War II PBY Catalina flying boat and a World War I German Albatros D.III is how Cussler's first published novel (1973) opens. The mysterious appearance of the Albatros was supposed to encourage the NUMA scientific research vessel First Attempt to leave the waters around the Greek island of Thasos before it could uncover a dangerous secret. Excellent.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  13. #73
    No Excuses, No Regrets: The Eric Weddle Story by Trent Toone

    Fantastic! A must read for Ute fans.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  14. #74
    Warthog: Flying the A-10 in the Gulf War by William L. Smallwood

    The A-10 was the ugly duckling, the plane the Air Force didn't want, designed for a mission the Air Force was only marginally interested in. Then, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Hog got its chance to shine. The A-10 was tasked with missions it wasn't designed to preform; deep interdiction, night interdiction, Scud hunting and armed reconnaissance, to name just a few. The Warthog proved its value and led air campaign commander General Chuck Horner, an f-16 driver to say, "I take back all the bad things I have ever said about the A-10. I love them! They're saving our [butts]!"

    This book is an excellent look at the A-10 in combat.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  15. #75
    The Tigers are Burning by Martin Caidin

    An excellent book on the Battle of Kursk. Caidin points out that the Porsche designed (built by Krupp) Tiger tanks and Ferdinand self propelled artillery did not have machine guns and were thus sitting ducks for Russian infantry.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  16. #76
    I just finished Rick Atkinson's final volume of his Liberation Trilogy about the US Army in WW II - what a read. Excellent in all respects. I rated it 5 stars on goodreads. http://www.amazon.com/The-Guns-Last-...light+atkinson

  17. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by Danimal View Post
    I'm a huge John Irving fan and reading his latest In One Person. His books are typically full of irresponsible sex and personal tragedy and this one does not disappoint. The World According to Garp and A prayer for Owen Meany are two of my favorites.
    A Prayer for Owen Meany stayed with me for months after reading.

    [/QUOTE]

  18. #78
    currently reading

    http://www.amazon.com/FDR-Chief-Just...justice+hughes

    The author was on BookTV and it looked interesting

  19. #79
    I have been listening to The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today by Thomas E. Ricks, finished it last week. It was pretty good and Ricks does make some valid points, but there are some problems. First, the book is primarily about the Army; two Marine generals are discussed to show contrast with Army generals in Korea and Iraq, and one Air Force general is discussed to make the case that generals are typically fired by civilians these days rather than other generals. Regarding that AF general, however, it was a chief of staff of the AF who had loose lips about planning during the run-up to Operation Desert Storm; the problem is that as chief of staff there were only two people who could have fired him and both were civilians, there was no superior officer in the AF who could have because a chief of staff is the top officer in U.S. service branch. Two more problems I found were that Ricks did not examine the role or impact of policy, set by civilians, on strategy, which is supposed to be formulated by generals; additionally, there was no discussion of the impact of the Goldwater-Nichols Act which created the area commands and made the chairman of the Joint Chiefs nothing but an adviser to the president.

    With very few exceptions, Ricks finds areas of criticism for every Army general except George C. Marshall. He all but ignored Omar Bradley. Still, I have to agree with his premise that the Army has moved in the wrong direction since World War II in avoiding reliefs of generals and other officers. Ricks approached a retired general at a social gathering once and told him about the premise of his book and the general is supposed to have said "Why not just court martial them?" In effect, that is how the Army has come to view the relief of generals, yet Ricks argues that a relief does not need to be a career ender and uses the example of Terry Allen who was relieved as commander of the 1st Infantry Division by Patton in Sicily, but who returned to Europe a year later in command of another division. Ricks also suggested making the first six months in a combat command probationary, allowing an officer to be relieved without prejudice if they don't measure up. Finally, Ricks noted that the Navy has continued to relieve ship captains, even as many in the Navy are concerned that these reliefs, especially for offenses unrelated to ship handling, are happening too frequently.
    Last edited by USS Utah; 07-15-2013 at 01:03 PM.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  20. #80
    Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

    Simply Magnificent. This is the story of Ernest Shackleton's second Antarctic expedition which led to the loss of the ship Endurance and a desperate trek across ice and sea to safety.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  21. #81
    Five-O Diehard Ute's Avatar
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    Just finished "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell, USN SEAL (Ret)

    If you want to read about heroes read this book.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

  22. #82
    History of United States Naval Operations In World War II, Vol. VI: Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, 22 July 1942-1 May 1944 by Samuel Eliot Morison.

    An excellent book about operations in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands which resulted in the isolation of Rabaul and the breaking, or bypassing of, the Bismarcks Barrier.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  23. #83
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I'm reading "Gilead," which is unlike any other novel I've ever read. Summary:

    Gilead is a novel written by Marilynne Robinson and published in 2004. It won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award. The novel is the fictional autobiography of the Reverend John Ames, an elderly congregationalist pastor in the small, secluded town of Gilead, Iowa who knows that he is dying of a heart condition. At the beginning of the book, the date is established as 1957, and Ames explains that he is writing an account of his life for his seven-year-old son, who will have few memories of him.
    It has really sucked me in. Has anyone else read this book?

    "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. #84
    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    I'm reading "Gilead," which is unlike any other novel I've ever read. Summary:



    It has really sucked me in. Has anyone else read this book?
    I read it when it came out, but hardly remember it; it got excellent reviews, but I didn't find it that compelling (as I remember). I also read Housekeeping years ago, and liked that quite a bit.

  25. #85
    The First Hellcat Ace by Commander Hamilton McWhorter III (ret.) with Jay A. Stout

    McWhorter first flew the Grumman F6F Hellcat into combat over Marcus Island on August 31, 1943. By November 20, when the Marines landed at Tarawa, McWhorter had become the first all-Hellcat ace, and the first ace of VF-9. This book is an excellent look at the realities of being a Navy fighter pilot during World War II.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  26. #86
    Administrator U-Ute's Avatar
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    Finally got some time to A Dance With Dragons (book 5 of the Game Of Thrones series).

    I must say, it is a bit confusing with how books 4 and 5 are parallel timelines. I understand why he did it, but it can be confusing at times. :/

  27. #87
    Question for those on this thread regarding time for reading.

    I love to read, but part of my problem is that when I get wrapped into a book, it's hard for me to put it down. Many times in school I stayed up way to late finishing the book instead of stopping at our reading assignment.

    So, besides audiobooks, what are some suggestions for making time to read and only having a certain amount of time to read?

  28. #88
    Administrator U-Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cald22well View Post
    Question for those on this thread regarding time for reading.

    I love to read, but part of my problem is that when I get wrapped into a book, it's hard for me to put it down. Many times in school I stayed up way to late finishing the book instead of stopping at our reading assignment.

    So, besides audiobooks, what are some suggestions for making time to read and only having a certain amount of time to read?
    I'm in the same boat. For me it is my Kindle. Portable and lightweight. I read in all sorts of random places at home: while laying down with a kid trying to put them to sleep, outside next to the BBQ, at kid's soccer practice, etc. Plus any books I buy are also transferred to my iPhone so I can get a bit of reading in if the opportunity presents itself when I am not home (lunch, work, family functions, etc).

    I hate it myself, but basically, you just have to commit yourself to reading in fits and starts.

  29. #89
    Hubener vs Hitler: A Biography of Helmuth Hubener, Mormon Teenage Resistance Leader by Richard Lloyd Dewey

    A very good book about an amazing story. Huebener led a resistance movement that distributed handbills exposing the lies of the Nazi propaganda machine. He was so successful that the Gestapo assumed adults were behind the movement, or possibly even the British. Out of a fairly large movement, only three, including Huebener, were caught. Huebener would be the youngest resistance leader to be executed by the Nazi regime, and he has been so recognized in post-war Germany.
    "It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

  30. #90
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    I just finished "Gilead, A Novel," by Maryanne Robinson. It's unlike any novel I've ever read, and I strongly recommend it. Anyone who reads the book -- a Pulitzer Prize winner -- need not fear being depressed, shocked, or offended. Instead, it will lift you. I can't say that about many novels.


    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68210.Gilead

    "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

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