What books would you suggest? (vanity)

all of YOU freepers out there ^

[DainBramage]

Want something about courage, fortitude, and patriotism stretched to the limit?

Count of Monti Christo by Alexander Dumas.

There is finally a movie coming out on it, but the book is a classic, and a good read.

Don't start reading crap to just to fill your time like I have many times, read the classics,

and the ones that strike your fancy after getting the advice from the people that give you ideas here..

Most of them have read so many great books and are so knowledgable about good reading.

I started vetting these type threads for my own personal benefit, and have found many, many great books.

One of the underrated attributes of Freerepublic I beleive.

[bircher45]

'The Light and The Glory' by Peter Marshall. A true and inspirational history of early America.

[gcruse]

The short stories of Franz Kafka.

[riley1992]

Biographies

The most comprehensive and unbiased biography I have read to date would be "Truman" by David McCullough. The man researches tirelessly and presents a clear and concise picture of his subject without interjecting his own biases one way or the other.

[MississippiMan]

I'm not big on non-fiction reading other than the Bible, so I can't offer much help on the educational front.

In fiction: anything by Clancy; his books could be considered educational as far as military insight goes, I guess. He has a lot of access to the military and is known for authenticity. Would recommend starting with Debt of Honor and immediately following it up with the fabulous sequel, Executive Orders.

One of my all-time favorites: Watchers by Dean Koontz. His writing is all over the board as far as topics, and he has a superb knack for making the incredible credible.

The Blue Nowhere by Jeff Deaver. Airframe and Timeline by Michael Crichton.

Would also LOVE to hear recommendations on good CURRENT technothrillers. Even though they may be well written, I don't care to read about somebody's adventures with their state-of-the-art Apple computer. ;-)

MM

[Hank Kerchief]

And don't stop the sci-fi if you haven't read C.S. Lewis's "Out of the Silent Planet" trilogy.

And if you've never read the Chronicles of Narnia, they are for children and adults the are mature enough to appreaciate them. They are delightful, and every once in a while, my wife and I will read them to each other, the entire set, alternating chapters. (We read a lot of things that way. It is marvelous fun.)

I am compiling a short list of classics that are really enjoyable. Most people have missed them, and have no idea how much pleasre they have missed. The same goes for most classical music, I'm afraid.

But, then, some have told us we don't know what we are missing because we don't watch TV. Ha ha!

Hank

[austinTparty]

Then you MUST see his website.

[sneakers]

"Captains Courageous" by Rudyard Kipling. Also, my favorites, Tolkiens "Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings". I have just started reading David McCullough's biography of John Adams. Stephen King's "The Shining" is a good one.

[Gritty]

If you are in to reading books you wish were science fiction, try a book I am now reading, PLAGUE WARS - The Terrifying Reality of Biological Warfare, by Tom Mangold and Jeff Goldberg.

You won't sleep well at night contemplating what may lie ahead,... and this was written before September 11th!

[FrdmLvr]

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Haslett
The Road to Serfdom, by F. Hayek.

[Burr5]

"Try 'Lord of the Rings'....I think it's out of print." ROTFLMAO! That is priceless. By the way so is the book itself! Other suggestions of mine: "The Secret Life of Bill Clinton" by Ambrose Evans Pritchard, "The Downing of TWA Flight 800" by James Sanders, and "Year of the Rat" by Timperlake and Triplett (lest we forget, or never grasped, the depth of Bill Clinton's corruption). Favorite Ayn Rand stuff (not the fiction, but the non-fiction): "For the New Intellectual", "The Virtue of Selfishness", and "The Romantic Manifesto". For a great historical piece, try Martin Gilbert's "The Second World War". It's not an analysis, but a true history, almost day-by-day, and hard to put down. I'll go along with Tom Clancy's "Debt of Honor", but only if you also read "Executive Orders" afterward, as it's a 'sequel', and much better. A really great history of the civilized world, that is both rich in information and interesting to read, is Paul Kennedy's "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers". "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman is probably the most enlightening book on the First World War ever written (the Germans were less responsible for the war than either the French or the Russians..surprise!) But if I were you, I'd just grab "The Lord of the Rings". There might be a copy or two still bouncing around out there.

[Chief Murphy]

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich : A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer. A first hand account of how terrible human beings can become when political correctness rules and courage is replaced by "can't we all just get along"

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

when character was king by peggy noonan

[Hugh Akston]

"Miracle In Philadelphia"

"Atlas Shrugged"

"Sum of All Fears"

"The Stand"

"Animal Farm"

"The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract"

"Farenheit 451"

"The Godfather"

"Green Eggs and Ham"

"Ben Franklin: An Autobiography"

The Bible

[InkStone]

Read every WWII book written by Stephen Ambrose. He makes history come alive and they read like exciting novels. Start with “Citizen Soldier.”

[WIMom]

Here are more suggestions:

FReeper Book List -- What Are YOU Reading?

[Clive]

Sun Tzu.

I recommend the J.H.Huang translation, published in large softcover by Quill

[SUSSA]

Atlas Shrugged and 1984.

[Peter Libra]

I will now join the world of FR book lovers - ahem, if I may. Comparitively little known American author(possibly a conservative). He is Vardis Fisher of Idaho. He had a series entitled The Testament of Man. His stories of Vridar Hunter, referred to as The Vridar Hunter Tetralogy, are insightful reading,on rural and then urban America. Two other books,one jointly shared with a liberal spouse are O Rugged Land of Gold by Martha Martin, a survival epic in Alaska. Lastly, No More Parades (Parades End). by Ford Maddox Ford, on the waste of World War One. It flays the Generals and the politicians.