Thanks to recommendations from you guys, I've read two excellent books in the past couple weeks--Band of Brothers and Bernard Goldberg's Bias. Anyone else have any suggestions for "must-read" books?
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Thanks to recommendations from you guys, I've read two excellent books in the past couple weeks--Band of Brothers and Bernard Goldberg's Bias. Anyone else have any suggestions for "must-read" books?
Starship Troopers is an excellent book if you haven't read it yet.
As long as we're talking classics, Asimov's "I, Robot" and "Foundation" series are must reads for Sci-Fi fans.
Let's not forget "The Caves of Steel" a amazing Asimov book.
And getting away from Sci-Fi, a amazing book is "Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris, that is my most favorite book. The book is much better then both the movies that were made off of it.
Another wonderful book is "The Stand" by mr. King
If you're into the war theme right now (as I am) try this book:
How Wars are Won
Sort of a modern day "Art of War". Some interesting stuff in there.
I didn't forget it. That's why I said the "I, Robot" SERIES of which "The Caves of Steel" is a part. ;)Quote:
Originally posted by [AK?]StitchJones
Let's not forget "The Caves of Steel" a amazing Asimov book.
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
We the Living - Ayn Rand
Anthem - Ayn Rand
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Tangled Web - Richard Power
I feel great and you will too! - Pat Croce
Quit your bellyaching I had to point the most important book out of the series. If you don't say it by name it will get lost in the mix. You survivor watching sally!!Quote:
Originally posted by [AK]Bribo
I didn't forget it. That's why I said the "I, Robot" SERIES of which "The Caves of Steel" is a part. ;)
http://www.survivornews.net/mig/albu...diStrobel2.jpg
Stop knocking Survivor, Dude. You're missing out!
Dude, two words.
HAIRY ARMPITS!
http://www.survivornews.net/mig/albu...sty/sn0961.jpg
There is a series of books (5 or 6 i guess) by a spanish author, i don't know if its translated to English or not, it's called "Caballo de Troya" "Troyan Horse!?!?" it's by J.J. Benitez, and talks about americans finding the way to travel across time in the 70's so they have a few places to go and decide to go if Jesus Christ did in fact existed, it's a journey thru the last days of Jesus Christ, and it's very interesting. A little Sci Fi with History and the Bible involved.
I just finished reading Catch-22, which I really enjoyed. Get a different perspective about World War II the Joseph Heller way.
Also if you want to dive head first into cyber punkish sci-fi, grab Snow Crash. Absolutely amazing.
The best WWII book I've read is Easter Day 1941.
*has no patience to read a book unless it is very good, or the computer reads it to him*
Best books that I've been working on reading are Peter the Great and The Bible.
Starship Troopers - EXCELLENT READ. It is much better than the lame-ass movie was. Want to know my politics? Read this book. :-)
Snow Crash - Excellent! This is a very good book ... would make an awesome movie.
Cryptonomicon - Also by Neal Stephenson, the author of Snow Crash. This is a great read ... combines WWII cryptography with modern-day computer hijinks. A plus - some of the ciphers given as examples in the book are good enough to be classified as "munitions" by the U.S.
Neuromancer - by William Gibson. The definitive cyber-punk novel, although Snow Crash is better.
And three golden-oldies:
Inherit the Stars, The Gentle Giants of Ganymede and Giant's Star (all by James P. Hogan). These are great hard sci-fi, and not nearly as cheesy as the titles sound. The books start with the discovery of a human corpse in a pressure suit on the Moon ... who died 50,000 years ago.
Just finished "PREY". Wasn;t bad and a quick read. Just picked up " On Killing" and Behind Emeny Lines ( Stories of WWII soldiers ).
"In Harm's way" isn;t bad either and I thought "Timeline" was awesome.
Wow, what a list! I keep a list of titles I want to check out in my Palm, which is almost always with me, especially when I go to the library. Right now I'm finishing Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Dark Tower 5 comes out this year!), then I've got a series of Jeffery Deaver books to get through (one of his books became the so-so movie The Bone Collector with Denzel). I'm almost as big a fan of mystery-thriller as I am of fantasy/sci fi. I definitely want to get those war books in there--all the Battlefield stuff has me in that kind of phase.
if your big on counterterrorism, and military stuff I shouldnt have to mention Tom Clancy.
Its rare when I put one of his books down.
for the list that ive read:
The hunt for red october
clear and present danger
the bear and the dragon
exectuive order
debt of honor
The Sum Of All fears (better than the movie by a landslide)
bah, I cant remember em all, I'm missing a few. I havent read his non fiction stuff. so I cant comment on those. but i plan to.
Two of my farvorites by Clancy were; "Without Remorse" and "Rainbow Six".
I used to read Tom Clancy until he starting selling his name out to other people's books (Ops Center).
I agree with Abaddon, the Giants Novels are excellent books.
Some others:
I, Claudius
The following by Guy Gavriel Kay:
Lions of Al-rasan
Tigana
Sailing to Sarantium, Lord of Emperors
Hopefully I, Claudius is a better book then bbc mini series. I was bored outta my mind with it.
My all-time favorite novel is probably still Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (the book on which Apocalypse Now is based). His brilliant mastery of the English language exceeds that of just about anyone in history, yet it was not his native language; in fact, it was his third! I have always found that astonishing.
If I could only have one book on my desert island, however, the no-brainer choice is the Norton Shakespeare.
Bumping this old thread to add a good one I'm currently reading to the recommended list: Simulacron Three by Daniel Galouye. The movie The Thirteenth Floor (with Vincent D'Onofrio, I recommend it as well) was loosely based on this book, and I do mean loosely--only the bare plot points. Published in 1964, this book is really an indictment of telemarketers, pollsters, and market researchers--themes which the movie didn't bother with. Especially relevant in light of the forthcoming national do-not-call registry.
I picked up Stephen King's The Gunslinger (part one of the Dark Tower series) at the airport and have finished half of the book on the flight out to Vegas. Very good stuff. Saving the second half for the return flight on Friday.
I <3 the Dark Tower series. Book 5 is due out in November--I can't wait.
Let us all hope that the 5'th Gunslinger book is better than the 4'th. I thought Wizard in Glass was a big stinking pile of pooh.
I started reading Gunslinger when it first came out. In fact a buddy from highschool just called me last night to tell me the 5'th book was comming out. He was laughing when we thought about how long we have been reading the series. 21 years we think. Yeowch.
Oh, my addition to this book list is every Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. If you have not read any give one a try, any one, there realy isn't a folowable continuity. I would suggest Guards! Guards! for starters since the ones with the Ankh Morpork city watchmen are some of my favorites.
Never forget The Lord Of The Rings. The books are still an amazing piece of work.
The Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I've read em all a few times. Of course the same could be said about the Doc Savage books, though I would not consider those classics.
The Gunslinger was the first Stephen King book I ever read. I didn't much care for the flashback stuff in Wizard and Glass either, but I thought it did help to flesh out some parts of Roland's character.
If you like the Discworld novels, I recommend "Good Omens", which Pratchett co-wrote with Neil Gaiman. Think Dogma meets End of Days as told by Monty Python and you'll have an idea of what the book is like.
I re-read LOTR right before the Two Towers movie came out, and I'll probably at least go back over Return of the King again this fall. Here's a place to download all the Sherlock Holmes books (among others) in several formats (for free and legally), including some you can take in your PalmOS handheld, my preferred reading format: E-Book Library at the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia.
I've finished Galouye and have moved on to Oliver North's "Mission Compromised". Yes, it's that Oliver North. I'm about halfway into it so far, and he's got a pretty good ghostwriter, though you can tell which parts he wrote himself--they read like a Marine report. It's interesting to note that this book is set in the mid-90's (right around the time the Republicans gained control of Congress while Clinton was still in the White House) and was written, for the most part, before 9/11/01, but the plot centers around Osama, Uday and Qusay, and Iraq's WMDs.
Good Omens is an AWSOME book. I've read it, I think, 3 times.
Lord of the Rings I have read more times than I can think of. I first read it in Jr. High back in the late seventies. I also have the BBC radio production of Lord of the Rings, as well as The Hobbit, and all three Rings in audio book format read by a guy named Robert Englund who does an amazing job of narating it. The audio books are unabridged and very long, each book is over 14 hours long (except The Hobbit which is only about 12 hours long). I have listened to that both in the car and just sitting around at home relaxing a few times.
You might say I am a fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I would suggest Good Omens to ANYONE. It is a fantastic read.
The same Robert Englund who played Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies?Quote:
Originally posted by [AK]Widowmaker
I also have ... all three Rings in audio book format read by a guy named Robert Englund who does an amazing job of narating it.
http://www.michalak.org/fh/robertenglund.jpg
This guy?
http://www.dadoomp.com/englund.jpg
With makeup
Oops, did I say Rober Englund?
It must be because I picked up the 'V' miniseries the other day on DVD. Englund played Willie, the friendly alien which is why I could only laugh at Freddy Kruger, he never could be scary to me, only silly. Not that I minded, I liked the first and third nightmare movies.
No, the name of the narator in the Lord of the Rings audio books was Robert (Rob) Inglis, not Englund. What a fool I am. Inglis is a very accomplished traditional Shakespearian actor who also puts on one-man Hobbit and Lord of the Rings stories since he is also a professional story teller.
Very good performance on the books, he even wrote tunes for all the songs and sings them. He has a different voice for every character and gives them proper intonations so you can tell who is talking all the time. Very well done.
*digs this thread up out of the graveyard*
For those who enjoy the WWII books, I recommend Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck. It's sort of the exact opposite of Band of Brothers: the tale of a high-born, high-ranking commissioned officer, fighting for the Axis, that tends to emphasize the wonderful places and people he saw and met, and downplay the bloodshed. Very interesting read, with forward by Stephen Ambrose.
I was always partial to "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" http://a1055.g.akamai.net/f/1055/140...00/1232384.gif and MAD magazine.
I did read Clancy's "Without Remorse" in two days though, literally, I couldn't put it down.
"Dispatches" written by a Michael Herr. Book that Full Metal Jacket was based upon.
I haven't read Panzer Commander, but it is on the list (and has been).
"Catch-22" is one of my all time favorites ... Yossarian
Besides that, It's all classics, and PHP manuals and such. I haven't actually read a non-technical book since '97.
I usually read diving books, but I'm currently reading A Drinking Life
Get outta here--I never realized Full Metal Jacket was based on a book. I'm going to have to add that one to my must-read list. A Drinking Life looks interesting, too. I just polished off a computer thriller by Jeffrey Deaver (mentioned in the early days of this thread) called The Blue Nowhere. It's probably the most accurate "computer fiction" I've read. I'm working on the Artemis Fowl series (by Eoin Colfer, an Irishman) right now--think Harry Potter with Harry as a criminal mastermind and a lot of gun/karate combat.
I dunno, Clancy's last two have been absolute pieces of crap, particularly his latest, The Teeth of the Tiger.Quote:
Originally posted by [AK]Garrett
if your big on counterterrorism, and military stuff I shouldnt have to mention Tom Clancy.
Its rare when I put one of his books down.
It's so ridiculous and far-fetched that I almost couldn't finish it. I did think of a good tagline, though:
Tour de Farce.
Is he still writing? I thought he sold that franchise out ?
He sure as hell sold something out. His latest tripe is absolute pulp.
Reading Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's Well of Darkness
VOlume one of the Sovereign Stone Trilogy.
Its really good if you like fantasy settings...
I read Teeth of the tiger...I wasnt hostile to it. It was done the same way as his other books, but I agree that the meat was a bit far fetched.
I suppose I'm only comparing it to his prior good works. The entire plotline of realizing that he's used up the Jack Ryan franchise and resorted to the obvious and predictable cop-out of switching gears to "Jack Ryan Junior" doesn't fly with me.
I solidly stand by my tagline:
Tour de Farce.
Dark Tower V, baby...Stephen King's Wolves of the Calla is in my grubby little mitts. I'm going to polish off the book I'm reading now and dig right in. We've talked about the series earlier in the thread, so I won't rehash it...suffice to say that I've very much enjoyed the first four books of the series (yes Wid, even Wizard and Glass--read it again the other week and it really grew on me with a second reading) and highly recommend them to fans of epic fantasy, Westerns, or King in general.