Author Topic: Latest book you've read  (Read 45365 times)

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Offline AlanS

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #20 on: March 05, 2014, 05:06:42 AM »
Finished the book "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand, who also has best seller "Seabiscuit', that I've not read yet.
Anyway yes I'm in a rut and read a lot of military books and Unbroken is no different; the book revolves around Louis Zamperini.  Trying to see if he was still alive at 90 plus years I came across this video, so instead of trying to tell the story, listen to his own words - fabulous ;;

Unbroken - Louis Zamperini - CBS Sunday Morning - 5-27-12

I bought the book on my kindle - but am going to buy a hard copy for the bookcase and future re reading.

Also Wikipedia at;[below] has a good review also

http://www.charter.net/search/index.phpcontext=homepage&tab=Web&q=louis+zamperini+unbroken

I read that a couple months ago. AWESOME read! I really want to see the movie when it comes out.
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Offline rustybayonet

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #21 on: March 05, 2014, 09:26:17 PM »
Just finished Vince Flynn's "The Last Man" a couple of days ago. It was excellent.

If you liked that you'll like any or all of the rest.
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Offline rustybayonet

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #22 on: March 07, 2014, 04:07:06 PM »
Along with the trailer for the movie coming out around Christmas of this year, I found this - it's long, but interesting.

UNBROKEN | A True World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
« Last Edit: March 13, 2014, 03:45:50 PM by rustybayonet »
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Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #23 on: March 08, 2014, 06:44:33 PM »
I love Vince Flynn's books. I've enjoyed Brad Thor's too but I think in the last couple of books he gets a little heavy-handed with the preaching.

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Online Libertas

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #24 on: March 16, 2014, 03:14:24 PM »
Finally getting caught up on my reading.

I finished:

Masters of Chaos by Linda Robinson, special forces missions from Vietnam through Iraq.

SEAL Team Six by Howard Wasdin, most about Somalia, Iraq...going through BUD/S, good firsthand accounts.

American Sniper by the late Chris Kyle, another good one, centers mostly on his 4 tours in Iraq and has contributions from his wife showing the turmoil on the home front.

Three recent Stephen Hunter novels - Dead Zero, Soft Target and The Third Bullet.  Can't have enough of Bob Lee Swagger.  Wasn't sure I'd like the material in the last one as it does a spin on the JFK hit, but I have to say the story worked and the operational and ballistic issues covered are quite provoking.  Some of the periphiral players are known historical people, the non-fiction yarn creating some new ones that may or may not be based on alleged players, depending how far down the conspiracy rabbit hole you may have already chased.  Anyway, it's a page turner.

Now I am reading Common Sense for the first time in what feels like ages, and then I will launch into Levin's Liberty Amendments.
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Offline Dan

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #25 on: March 17, 2014, 07:29:11 AM »
Mr. Infinito did you finish the Liberation Trilogy last summer?
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Online Libertas

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #26 on: March 17, 2014, 07:32:47 AM »
I did not, it is on my list though for items to acquire, and I hope to have them by summer.

I see Amazon has a boxed set for $76 and free shipping. 
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Offline Dan

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #27 on: March 17, 2014, 08:26:52 AM »
I think you'd enjoy it.
As would most folks here, I'd bet.
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist

Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #28 on: March 17, 2014, 04:35:59 PM »
I recently read Where Hope Begins. I don't remember the author's name since I dropped it back at the library already. The author was a fairly young reporter in Michigan who 5 months after transferring to a tv/radio station in California was covering the story of Marcus Wesson. Wesson is a nut case who basically brainwashed his children into a suicide pack if he ever thought the government were threatening them. The kids and wife were the subject of abuse (physical and incestuous)  and not allowed to do much outside of his control. One fateful day eight of his kids were killed by one of his daughters before she killed herself (around 2004 if I remember correctly). Anyway, he got arrested and the reporter sought to get the surviving family members' story especially since they were still defending the man despite the evidence that he was a monster. Through a series of contacts she discovered that the wife and two daughters had no where to live and had no money (Surprise! They'd lived on welfare.) so she offered the spare bedroom in her condo well aware that as a reporter she shouldn't. But she felt sorry for them. The book does cover Wesson's treatment of his family but mostly it focuses on the story after--when she was putting up the 3 family members and how all of them tried to move on. Apparently, the wife still lives with the reporter.

I picked it up because I was intrigued by the idea of helping the family members who were victims but no one seemed to see them that way. But when I finished the book I found myself thinking this reporter was a little weird. She decried the family members for keeping secrets all those years yet she strove for months to keep her living arrangements with these women secret. There was a little too much ink spent on her thoughts about the whole thing rather than the family members. As I read I kept thinking surely they were all getting counseling? Finally near the end she does mention that the family members were getting therapy. Sometimes I felt like she was writing some of it so the family members would know what she thought about the whole thing.

An additional aspect of the story that was interesting was how Wesson was so sure that the government was tracking him yet the day this happened of course no one saw it coming. He wasn't really on their radar.

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Offline rustybayonet

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #29 on: March 20, 2014, 08:50:35 AM »
Just finished reading "Devil at my Heels" written by Louis Zamperini with David Rensin.  Yes this is the same person that "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand was written about, only in his words and it goes into more depth especially concerning his time in the life raft floating in the Pacific after his plane went down in WWII, then his time in and after as a POW in Japan.  The last 1/3rd of the book is his recovery from nightmares and alcohol.  If interested in human survival from unbelievable circumstances, both books are highly recommended.
All gave some -- Some gave all    Humbled to be one of the 33 original members of the Coast Guard Honor Guard, started in 1962.
 Today is the Tomorrow, we worried about Yesterday

Online Libertas

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #30 on: April 05, 2014, 06:11:21 PM »
I set aside The Liberty Amendments (sorry Mark, I'll get back to it though!) and finished reading Killmeade & Yaeger's "George Washington's Secret Six" about the Culper Spy Ring.  With "Turn" starting tomorrow night I wanted to get that done before viewing the AMC production.  It is an easy read and they take a different tack in telling the story that I think works and is a nice general primer on the subject most would enjoy.  They rely on the known historical record other researchers have compiled from many of the principles attached to the story and blend it with literary license to imagine what some of the underlying meeting discussions may have been like and weave throughout it the vista of the Revolutionary War and American life at the time.  They restrict the literary constructs to the probable and avoid manufacturing anything controversial and overall I think they pulled it off nicely.
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Offline AlanS

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #31 on: April 05, 2014, 07:05:54 PM »
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. About the spirit of Christmas in giving. The only disappointment was he never mentioned Christ.
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem."

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Offline rustybayonet

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #32 on: April 10, 2014, 08:58:30 AM »
Finished " In Harm's Way" by Doug Stanton          [Was not the movie with John Wayne]

The story of the USS Indianapolis and her crew.

This was the ship that delivered the atomic bombs to Tinian that were dropped during WWII.  On the return trip after delivering the bombs the ship was sunk by a Japanese sub in shark infested waters.
The book also follows up on some crew members after rescue.  IMO a very good historical read of a tragedy.
All gave some -- Some gave all    Humbled to be one of the 33 original members of the Coast Guard Honor Guard, started in 1962.
 Today is the Tomorrow, we worried about Yesterday

Online Libertas

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #33 on: April 10, 2014, 10:50:02 AM »
I don't know if I can read about sharks munching on sailors...that horror is too much for me...that was my number one fear while I was sailing the Seven Seas....they can shoot me, blow me up, whatever...but stuck in the water surrounded by those cold dead-eyed devils of the deep?!

Nah ahh, no way!
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Offline rustybayonet

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #34 on: April 12, 2014, 08:28:02 AM »
Libertas - In agreement about being 'bait', so how about the other side of WWII.   Awhile ago I read "Beyond Band of Brothers" by Major Dick Winters.  Basically the same story as the book by Stephen Ambrose, but more first hand information.  One thing came to my mind about why he never received the Medal of Honor for leading the charge 'if you will' and taking out the big guns on the first day of D-Day, was he admitted to disobaying an order near the end of the war, telling the squad to stand down and not go across the river, then submitting a false report, [protecting his men when they were ordered to do a futile mission].
Anyway, good read and no man eating glassy eyed fish, just Germans with lots of big guns.
All gave some -- Some gave all    Humbled to be one of the 33 original members of the Coast Guard Honor Guard, started in 1962.
 Today is the Tomorrow, we worried about Yesterday

Online ToddF

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #35 on: June 09, 2014, 07:43:48 AM »
Empire by Orson Scott Card

Red America vs. Blue America and how it might turn out.  He takes on both sides.  He uses leftists' own words and he portrays a right wing general as George C Scott in Manchurian Candidate.  Special venom is reserved for Low Information Media, as it's portrayed in this story exactly as I would have.  For the record, Card considers himself a Democrat, of the Truman era. 

Knowing all this, look at the one star reviews spammed to the top of the first page.  Look at who the delicate little flowers (aka Fascist trash) who take this personally.  Just as you'd expect.

Online Libertas

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #36 on: June 09, 2014, 08:15:36 AM »
Ahh, Enders Game guy...I am already on record with not liking the ending of that story...

As for this effort, I have no horse in this race, people can speculate and fantasize all they want about what a future civil war may involve and who is to blame till they are blue in the face, makes no difference either way, once the real shooting starts all speculation is out the window as reality comes crashing down all around you.

That libiots find fault with this effort is somewhat hilarious, the retarded Publishers Weekly intro set the tone and libiots gleefully marched to the beat...I doubt many even read it, just poached each others parroting of typical libiot-speak..."right-wing" this, "anti-military", blah blah blah...same old crap!

Places like Amazon always attract the drones and the hive-mind kicks in and its the same bullsh*t over and over and over again...


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Offline rustybayonet

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #37 on: June 09, 2014, 08:43:36 AM »
Another WWII book;

"Wild Blue" - by Stephen E. Ambrose
History of the 741 squadron [B-24 Bombers over Europe]
I have always been a fan of Ambrose; when he was alive I don't think there was another person with the WWII historical knowledge to compare with him.  While this book was a good history of the squadrons training and then service in occupied Europe, he mentions and follows one of the pilots, and his service.  A good pilot flying a tough plane to handle, but later becoming a politician that I could not agree with - namely George McGovern, so the book historically is good, but his centering on McGovern's exploits did nothing for me.
All gave some -- Some gave all    Humbled to be one of the 33 original members of the Coast Guard Honor Guard, started in 1962.
 Today is the Tomorrow, we worried about Yesterday

Online Libertas

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #38 on: June 09, 2014, 09:08:04 AM »
I like some of Ambrose's work too...I think Undaunted Courage is my favorite, it leaned heavily on first hand journals and the later collaboration with Ken Burns for the TV special on Lewis and Clark expedition was pretty good too.  That whole story and what the endured is amazing.  I just wish better information on the death of Lewis was included, Ambrose dismissed any talk of murder out of hand, he simply would not follow the evidence there.  I think it obvious that he was murdered.  The Grinder testimony is weak and contradcitory, the wounds are highly problematic for a suicide, Jefferson heard rumors it was not a suicide, the family didn't believe the suicide story, the only doctor to examine him (40 years later) concluded it was murder, a soldier (Maj Neely) giving testimony to the scene had to have given a false statement (under higher orders?) because he was more than two days ride away (60 miles) giving testimony on another matter for which there is a court record he was in fact there and not at Grinders Stand, and Maj Russell like Neely had ties to General Wilkinson, a notorious snake, cheat, and swindler who lusted the governorship of the territory he once had before Lewis came along.  Everybody in the story seems to have ties back to the snake Wilkinson.  And the clothes of Lewis prove the wounds could not have been slef-inflicted.  Lewis was assassinated, period.  Ambrose chose to ignore it all, much to his discredit.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2014, 09:12:53 AM by Libertas »
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline rustybayonet

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Re: Latest book you've read
« Reply #39 on: January 31, 2015, 09:49:31 AM »
Gotten on a kick reading Robert B. Parkers "Appaloosa" series. 1st was Appaloosa made into a movie starring Ed Harris.  Since then have read "Resolution" by Parker and "Brimstone" also by Parker.  After he died other writers have written in his name, one of those being "Ironhorse", by Robert Knott.  Have three more to read in the series.  Parker also had the "Jesse Stone" series, Some of those made into movies starring Tom Selleck, and the "Spenser" series.  Of about 14 Jesse Stone books have read 3, and of the Spenser approx 44 books I've only read 1.  In all before his death he wrote about 70 books, so I've got my reading plannedfor awhile.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2015, 10:01:26 AM by rustybayonet »
All gave some -- Some gave all    Humbled to be one of the 33 original members of the Coast Guard Honor Guard, started in 1962.
 Today is the Tomorrow, we worried about Yesterday