What Are You Reading Now Part Two

[Kingspoint]

What book did you want for Christmas this season?

I asked for an original "Grant's Memoirs", but settled for a 2nd Copyright of the original publisher of the two volumes in one book....much cheaper for the condition I was willing to accept.

[Roy Tucker]

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted - Suleika Jaouad

A non-fiction account of her cancer diagnosis, battle for recovery, and subsequent after-cancer struggle. A very honest and no holds barred account of her 4 year battle with cancer. I very much related with this book since I spent most of 2022 battling cancer (and winning so far). It didn’t dawn on me till the end of the book that the Jon she had a relationship with was Jon Baptiste from the Stephen Colbert show.

[Kingspoint]

From the greatest Naval Historian in the history of literature, Samuel Eliot Morison, his, "The European Discovery of America, The Northern Voyages, A.D. 500-1600, @1971. Also picked up his, "Journals & Other Documents on the Life & Voyages of Christopher Columbus", translated and edited by Samuel Eliot Morison, @1963.

Morison's credentials:

https://www.history.navy.mil/content...muel-Text.html

Classically trained (learned Greek and Latin as a child, French, Spanish and German in his teens, and Portuguese when he was getting his Doctorate in France), he was from the 1908 Harvard Graduating Class, taught there for 50 years, with a few years at Oxford. Extensive Military experience in both WW's. Created the idea and presented it to his friend Roosevelt that he should write the history of WWII from the U. S. viewpoint from the inside as historians are always writing their conclusions from the outside, and so, was at most major campaigns. His detestment for historians who claim opinions on subjects without experiencing them firsthand (not navigating the ocean, but writing about navigators) shows his attention to details as he calls out many historians for blatantly made up works based on zero knowledge of actual facts that occurred. Read the original sources in their original languages (was probably a master of Middle English and Old English) of French, Spanish and Portuguese, as the majority of sources are housed in European libraries and records buildings, including all of the maps of the Western world before 1600. I don't know about his knowledge of Arabic, but knowing the scholar that he is, and the time that he spent in Europe and around the Mediteranean Sea and the importance of the Mediteranean Sea to the history of sea traffic, he probably learned basic Arabic, too.

If there's an Award, he received it, and often more than once.

The current one I'm reading won the "Bancroft Prize". There was to be a sequal, "The Southern Voyages", and then another sequal, Post 1600, but at the age of 84 when he wrote what I'm reading, he didn't make it further. He ended the preface of the one I'm reading with, "So, dear reader, this is an au revoir, not (I hope) adieu!

If you like John Paul Jones, he won a Pulitzer for his 1959 biography, "John Paul Jones", his second Pulitzer Award.

I've been to Greenwich, CT many times. My brother's residence his last 10 years was there. I haven't been the the National Maritime Museum there. Have to get there. In little Garibaldi, Oregon, we have the great fortune of having the world's greatest collection of artifacts of Navigator James Cook, in their Maritime Museum. Should you ever find yourself along the Oregon Coast, it has one of the very few places along the entire coast where you can find an indoor pool and suana (with availability, as it's been almost 10 years now that all Oregon Coastal rentals are booked in advance, except for the cheapest and worst Motels...many of the better ones, and there are so few that have an indoor pool, are booked 6 months to 12 months in advance...most of this being that the price for someone to live on the coast has exceeded that of the workers who work at the commercial properties, so understaffing is a major issue at all places, even before COVID hit). But, Garibaldi still has a place you can enjoy an indoor pool and not be bothered by any crowds, an unusual combination. It's only 10 minutes from a great beach, Rockaway Beach, and there's endless quality hikes where you can find yourself hiking and not be bothered by a crowd. 20 more minutes and you have the best beach on the Oregon Coast for walking, Manzanita, a 5-mile stretch of sand that has since become crowded on nice days, but you'll have it to yourself if you get up early.

[Roy Tucker]

I guess I have to turn in my man card. I read it Ends With Us and then It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover. Chick books, pretty clumsy writing, but they have a lot of heart. I was hoping for better writing so I could read the rest of her books. But my Colleen Hoover string will end here.

[cumberlandreds]

I recently read a good biography on Jim Thorpe. The title was Path Lit by Lightening by David Marannis. I never knew much about Thorpe. Basically all I knew was that he was Native American who won gold medals in the 1912 Olympics but had to give them up because it was deemed that he had been paid to have played some semi pro baseball. Which was all true but Thorpe was a complicated person who brought a lot of problems on himself because of his alcoholism but was treated unfairly because of his being a Native American. One thing I never knew was that his medals were taken away by the American Olympic committee not what was the International Olympic organization at the time. It took over 70 years and lots of heartache to finally get those medals restored but long after Thorpe was dead. Very interesting book if you like biographies of famous people and very much worth the time to read a rather long book.

[Chip R]

I just started A Payroll To Meet: A Story of Greed, Corruption and Football at SMU by David Whitford. ESPN already did a 30 for 30 based on this book.

[Kingspoint]

I recently read a good biography on Jim Thorpe. The title was Path Lit by Lightening by David Marannis. I never knew much about Thorpe. Basically all I knew was that he was Native American who won gold medals in the 1912 Olympics but had to give them up because it was deemed that he had been paid to have played some semi pro baseball. Which was all true but Thorpe was a complicated person who brought a lot of problems on himself because of his alcoholism but was treated unfairly because of his being a Native American. One thing I never knew was that his medals were taken away by the American Olympic committee not what was the International Olympic organization at the time. It took over 70 years and lots of heartache to finally get those medals restored but long after Thorpe was dead. Very interesting book if you like biographies of famous people and very much worth the time to read a rather long book.

One of the first books I read (and finished...ADHD, and all) was "Geek from Cabin Creek". Jerry West's authorized biography written before he had retired. Great for a kid who loved basketball and sports. Loved Jim Thorpe as a story (the movie was almost all fictional) since I was young.

[Roy Tucker]

The Measure by Nikki Erlick. Out of nowhere, all 22 year olds and older receive a string that tells them how long they will live. Some look at it and some don’t. The narrative makes it a believable thing. It all plays out in a believable fashion with ties to common people and presidential candidates alike. An interesting and thought-provoking read. Would you want to know how long you will live?

[Kingspoint]

Would you want to know how long you will live?

That is one of the inherent questions about looking at one's own DNA. If you have a gene that precipitates cancer, do you remove parts of your body before any active development can take place?

[Roy Tucker]

Just finished Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. A fun rock-era Rolling Stone-esque telling of the rise of a fictional rock band. Told in interview type format. A well told tale.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I recently read a good biography on Jim Thorpe. The title was Path Lit by Lightening by David Marannis. I never knew much about Thorpe. Basically all I knew was that he was Native American who won gold medals in the 1912 Olympics but had to give them up because it was deemed that he had been paid to have played some semi pro baseball. Which was all true but Thorpe was a complicated person who brought a lot of problems on himself because of his alcoholism but was treated unfairly because of his being a Native American. One thing I never knew was that his medals were taken away by the American Olympic committee not what was the International Olympic organization at the time. It took over 70 years and lots of heartache to finally get those medals restored but long after Thorpe was dead. Very interesting book if you like biographies of famous people and very much worth the time to read a rather long book.

Do you remember those little biographies of famous people that were written for younger readers? I must have checked out more than a hundred of those when I was 9-12 years old. You mentioned Thorpe. One of those grade school biographies I read was Jim Thorpe. Also, Babe Ruth, Davey Crockett, George Washington, etc... Was my favorite reading growing up.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Awhile back, I found and re-read a book that I've had since I was a young Reds fan in the seventies.

[cumberlandreds]

Do you remember those little biographies of famous people that were written for younger readers? I must have checked out more than a hundred of those when I was 9-12 years old. You mentioned Thorpe. One of those grade school biographies I read was Jim Thorpe. Also, Babe Ruth, Davey Crockett, George Washington, etc... Was my favorite reading growing up.

No I don't remember reading any of those. I think I did read The Main Spark a long time ago,

[cumberlandreds]

I just finished reading a good baseball biography titled, Lefty:An American Odyssey. It's about Lefty Gomez who was a great Yankee pitcher of mostly the 1930's. It was co-written by his daughter, Vernona Gomez and Lawrence Goldstone. Gomez was a real character of the game besides being a HOF pitcher. His daughter told many of the funny stories about him and his teammates and other associates. He played with some of the Yankee greats such as Rugh, Gehrig and DiMaggio. Gomez was one person DiMaggio trusted and could get along with. You really got a sense of who the man was too. Also his daughter did not side step some issues her dad faced. He wasn't perfect person by any means. He went through a nasty divorce proceeding with his wife, entertainer, June O'Dea and they then later reconciled before it was finalized. He also had a drinking problem later in life that he had to overcome. Many baseball biographies aren't all that good. They either turn into day by day account of what they did on the field or not much is known about them and the book will go off in too many directions. That happens a lot with players from the late 19th and early 20th century. This book is a great exception and if you want to learn about a great pitcher who has nearly been forgotten and what MLB was like in the 1930's I would highly recommend this book.

[RFS62]

Just finished the "3 Body Problem" trilogy.

Written by the Chinese Issac Azimov, Cixin Liu.

Just the most amazing sci-fi I've ever read. Such a different perspective.

Netflix is doing it, coming out around Christmas. I think they'll change the gender and nationality of several of the characters, hopefully not ruining it like Apple did with Foundation.