Good Book for my Dad

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Another book to consider is Out of Captivity, about the three Americans who were prisoners in Columbia for years, and were rescued.

 

[minniecarousel]

Sully's book is out now (he's the pilot who landed the jetliner in the Hudson).

Highest Duty: My Search for what Really Matters, by Chesley Sullenberger.

 

[DisneyKT]

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson have put out a new book. I believe it is called (When the game was ours.) Now I am not a big sports fan but I live in MA and love the Celtics especially in the 80s. So I want to get this book also.

 

[yoopermom]

The Krakauer book (I just finished it) is EXCELLENT, but be forewarned, it's actually half about Afghanistan (history leading up to the war, then the war itself) and half Tillman's story. My DF, who loves history ate up the former, while I skimmed those parts. It would be a hardhearted person, though, who isn't weeping by the end (and I don't think that's a spoiler!).

Terri

 

[JCJRSmith]

"The Great Escape" by Paul Brickhill
"Escape from Colditz" by P. R. Reid

Loved those books.

 

[laughinplace199]

These aren't new, but they're both great reads:

Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA
by Antonio J. Mendez


Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit
by Eric L. Haney

 

[monkeybug]

I'm reading a book right now called "Dog On It". It's great! It's about a private eye and his dog, solving a case of a missing girl. It's told from the dogs prespective. As I type this it doesn't sound that great, but trust me it is!! Funny, suspensful...all the good stuff!

I also love the author Christopher Moore! He is hysterical!!!! My husband loves him as well. My husband isn't usually much of a reader, but if I bring home a Christopher Moore book it's a sure bet he'll read it! (can be a bit vulgar though) Lamb is one of my all time favorite books ever!

I loved Three cups of tea as well! Good book, excellent writing!

 

[themilesfamily]

The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw

 

[Praying Colonel]

Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend (it's the story of Satchel Paige) and When Pride Still Mattered: A life of Vince Lombardi

My dad loved both of them!

Big thumbs up on the Lombardi biography. Absolutely loved it.

In addition to the suggestions so far, I'd also add a couple by David Ambrose: "Undaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West", and "Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest".

 

[DancingBear]

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. Sarah is the voice of Violet on "The Incredibles"
It is an irreverent look at US history -she goes to all the sites of US presidential assassinations. A ton of background info on the presidents and the people who killed them.
She is a bit unconventional though -if he is really conservative it may not be his cup of tea.

I wouldn't buy Sarah Vowell for my Dad, but love her myself. If you liked Assassination Vacation (the last time we had visitors from out of town, we took them to the museum at Walter Reed to see the bullet and pieces of Lincoln's skull), check out her last book, The Wordy Shipmates, about the Puritans.

 

[Sorsha]

Big thumbs up on the Lombardi biography. Absolutely loved it.

In addition to the suggestions so far, I'd also add a couple by David Ambrose: "Undaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West", and "Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest".

I LOVED Undaunted Courage - I'm a sucker for anything Lewis and Clark.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Oh--and if he's not read Volumes I and II of the Edmund Morris biographies of Teddy Roosevelt, "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" and "Theodore Rex", I highly recommend those, too, especially the first one. Even if he'd never been President, TR would've led an amazing life.

 

[kathymc]

I heard the author of When the game was ours on radio this am. If your dad is a basketball fan this sounds pretty cool. I think I am going to get it for my dad.

 

[clarabelle]

I wouldn't buy Sarah Vowell for my Dad, but love her myself. If you liked Assassination Vacation (the last time we had visitors from out of town, we took them to the museum at Walter Reed to see the bullet and pieces of Lincoln's skull), check out her last book, The Wordy Shipmates, about the Puritans.

Did you like it as much as "Assassination Vacation"?

I have it ordered from Amazon

 

[Stumpy]

Someone already mentioned him, but Erik Larson is an excellent non-fiction history writer. The Devil in the White City is his most famous work, but I have also read Thunderstruck and Isaac's Storm by him, all of which are well researched and wonderfully written.

Another author your father might enjoy is Bill Bryson. He typically writes very humorous travel essays but has also written some other interesting books including A Brief History of Everything.

Since my reading tastes are very similar to your father's, I think you would do well with either of these two authors.

 

[kristilew]

I followed your thread last Christmas, when you asked the same question, and I got some great suggestions from it as well. (So, thank you!)

One that I got that was a big hit is not a history book, but is nonfiction. It is called Outliers:The Story of Success by Malcom Gladwell. My dad loved that one!

One that is high on my list this year is A World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester. It is about medieval times and the renaissance. It's an older book that was refernced in a study I did on Martin Luther, and it seems really interesting, although definitely more academic than some mentioned here.

I think I mentioned last year two medical history books: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson, about London's Cholera epidemic and the scientist who figured out what was causing it; and The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History by Molly Crosby. This was a great read and really, really fascinating.

Finally, I know he doesn't like fiction, but you might try him on some the Harry Turtledove alternative history thrillers. My DH also is a nonfiction history buff, and he enjoyed the way these played into how much he already knew of the real history.

 

[dalt01]

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson have put out a new book. I believe it is called (When the game was ours.) Now I am not a big sports fan but I live in MA and love the Celtics especially in the 80s. So I want to get this book also.

OMG for about 20 seconds i thought you said LADY BIRD and Magic Johnson had a book out and i was like what the...........................

 

[MizTink]

two of my favorites are:
-A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
-Mutant Message Down Under (a little controversy about whether it's fiction or non fiction, author claims it's non)

these are both books that my mom and i both read, then i gave them to my son (15yrs old when he read them) on separate occasions. they are 2 of the few books he actually read, and enjoyed. he's not a person who reads just for enjoyment!!!! point being they are good reads for different age groups!

 

[hoosll]

Last Days of Last Island by Bill Dixon
about the 1856 hurricane which destroyed Last Island, Louisiana

very good