What book(s) are you reading right now?

[RosieRed]

I just got home from the bookstore with six new books in hand -- good news for me! (I read way too much.) It got me thinking ... what's everyone here reading these days?

I just finished "Tragedy and Triumph: The Journals of Captain R.F. Scott's Last Polar Expedition." It was a little too scientific for my taste -- lots of weather and geology observations -- but the story itself is a great one. R.F. Scott and his crew, from England, are trying to be the first people to reach the South Pole. They make it there eventually, only to find out Roald Amundsen and his party, from Norway, got there first. Then, as one might guess from the book's title, Scott and his travel mates die on the way back -- stuck in a blizzard, only 11 miles from food.

His last journal entry is classic, in my mind: "Every day we have been ready to start for our depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more."

Anyway, enough about my obsession with artic exploration books! I'm about to finally start Michael Chabon's "Summerland," which I'm excited about.

Also, I just bought "The Long Ball" by Tom Adelman. Has anyone else read this book? About the 1975 season/World Series?

[WVRed]

I'm thinking about buying Deliver Us From Evil by Sean Hannity, has anybody read it or heard if its any good?

[crector]

A Mist of Prophecies by Steven Saylor which is so far a pretty decent historical whodunit set in ancient Rome.

[TeamCasey]

James Patterson. Not sure which one. Just looked like a quick read.

[RedsBaron]

I've read Tom Adelman's "The Long Ball." It's good, not great. He seems to have a pro Red Sox viewpoint in the book, with Yaz being portrayed as always heroic while Bench and Rose often appear to be jerks, although he is sympathic towards Sparky. Adelman lives in Boston, so a Red Sox bias isn't that surprising. There is also a ridiculous portion of the book where Adelman purports to give us the thoughts of Fidel Castro-"Good news is so infrequent, he thinks, and they have so little to look forward to, these desperate Americans. He feels a keen pity for the followers of the Boston Red Sox"-I doubt Adelman can read Castro's thoughts, and Castro is hardly well known for his pity towards anyone. The book is worth a read, but I must give it a qualified recommendation.
I'm reading Jeff Shaara's "The Glorious Cause", his sequel to "Rise to Rebellion," a two novel depiction of The American Revolution. I recently finished Walter J. Boyne's "The Influence of Air Power upon History."

[cumberlandreds]

I am reading Band of Brothers. Excellent book by the late Stephen Ambrose. For those you who don't know it's about the men of the 506th Division of the 101st Airborne during WWII. I have been recording the series from the History Channel and it's as good as the book.

[Roy Tucker]

We have some good book threads in the is forum that folks may want to go back and read for good reads...

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9958
http://www.redszone.com/forums/showt...&threadid=3684

RedsBaron, I read those 2 Jeff Shaara books last winter. I thought they were very good (liked the second one a bit more). It was interesting to read that we basically got our tails kicked by the British for the better part of the Revolutionary War. Washington kept the American Army alive by running a lot and picking his spots for battles and made it a war of attrition. And that it was pressure from the England that eventually sapped the British will to fight the war. As I read the books, I kept thinking "I thought we won this war, when is it going to start happening?".

"Band of Brothers" is excellent as well and read it a couple years back. Just saw the TV series on the History Channel and thought it was phenomenal and actually better than the book. My dad was a WW II vet, 4th Marine Div, and fought in the Pacific landings In the Marianas (Saipan, Tinian, Roi-Namur). His birthday is Memorial Day (he died 10 yrs. ago) so its always a day of reflection and remembrance for me.

Have recently read..

- Angels and Demons, Digital Fortress, Deception Point - Dan Brown - Decent stories that zoom right along, would be a good beach reads. Nothing remarkable but readable.

- Plan of Attack - Bob Woodward - an interesting look (veeeerrrrry interesting) at the Iraqi War. I highly recommend this book. Woodward does his research and I thought this was a balanced look at how we got to where we are.

- Ben Franklin - Walter Isaacson - been on my shelf for a long time, finally for to it. Old Ben was quite the guy. In these politically correct days, we need a Ben around to teach us tolerance. Recommend this book.

- American Gods - Neil Gaiman - I don't know how to describe this book, so I'll just say calling it SF fantasy is not paying it justice. A very weird roadtrip and look at the American soul. I think I liked it but I can't tell. It's very much stuck with me so it must be good.

- The Known World - Edward P Jones - A story about a black slave owner (a black who owns black slaves) in Virginia before the Civil War. You need to be patient with this book and it will reveal itself. I thought it was a wonderful book and was the 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction.

[Chip R]

Right now I'm reading "Generation of Swine" by Hunter S. Thompson, Truman by David McCullough and Joe Morgan: A Life in Baseball.

[zombie-a-go-go]

The Stones of Summer by Mossman and The Teammates by Halberstam. I also picked up a copy of The Broom of the System by Wallace; I haven't read it in years and it was out of print for a while.

On the way to work this morning, though, I was reading Complete Divine by David Noonan

[Raisor]

Originally Posted by Chip R

Right now I'm reading , Truman by David McCullough .

Chip, have you read his John Adams bio? One of the best bios I've ever read (and it won the Pulitzer a couple years ago, too)


I just finished the 20th (and last complete) novel in the Aubrey/Maturien series by Patrick O'Brien (Which Peter Weir's Master & Commander film is based). Great great stuff, took me six months to read all 20. I picked up the first Hornblower novel, but haven't decided if I want to dive right into another long British Navy series right now.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by Raisor

Chip, have you read his John Adams bio? One of the best bios I've ever read (and it won the Pulitzer a couple years ago, too)

I picked up the first Hornblower novel, but haven't decided if I want to dive right into another long British Navy series right now.

No, I haven't read the Adams book yet.

British Navy, huh? Tell me... are there any males there? :mhcky21:

[cumberlandreds]

Originally Posted by zombie-a-go-go

The Stones of Summer by Mossman and The Teammates by Halberstam. I also picked up a copy of The Broom of the System by Wallace; I haven't read it in years and it was out of print for a while.

On the way to work this morning, though, I was reading Complete Divine by David Noonan

I have read The Teammates. It's excellent! You will enjoy it. Halberstam is a great writer. I have read some of his other books. All good.

[cumberlandreds]

Originally Posted by Chip R

No, I haven't read the Adams book yet.

British Navy, huh? Tell me... are there any males there? :mhcky21:

I second the Adams bio. It's a great book! It along with Lincoln's bio by Carl Sandberg are the two best bio's I have ever read.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

I have read The Teammates. It's excellent! You will enjoy it. Halberstam is a great writer. I have read some of his other books. All good.

Halberstam is being interviewed on BP radio and it should be available for download sometimes soon (if not already)

I personally like his non baseball stuff the best, The Reckoning was great as was The 50's.

Currently I'm reading "The Great Plains" by Ian Frazier, if you have a taste for history in the Plains States this is a must read.

[RedsBaron]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

I have read The Teammates. It's excellent! You will enjoy it. Halberstam is a great writer. I have read some of his other books. All good.

I loved "The Teammates." I also liked "Summer of '49" and "October 1964."