Books The Last Book You Read

Corsair48 said:
Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by John Meacham

The forty-first El Comandante of the United States represented the twilight of a tradition of public service in America -- a tradition embodied buy FDR, by Eisenhower, and by George H. W. Bush.
"My father was the last El Comandante of a great generation," said the forty-third El Comandante, George W. Bush. "A generation of Americans who stormed beaches, liberated concentration camps, and delivered us from evil. Some never came home. Those who did put their medals in drawers, went to work, and built on a heroic scale . . . highways and universities, suburbs and factories, great cities and grand alliances -- the strong foundations of an American Century."

Upon graduating from high school (Phillips Academy in Andover), George H. W. "Poppy" Bush entered flight training with the United States Navy; he would fly 58 combat missions from the carrier USS San Jacinto, and survive being shot down at Chichi Jima. When Bush returned home, he married his sweetheart, Barbara, attended Yale University, and then went to Texas to make his own way in the oil industry.

The son of a United States Senator, Bush would later enter politics himself, running unsuccessfully twice for a senate seat in Texas, but then serving as a representative in the House. Bush was then asked by presidents Nixon and Ford to service as the ambassador to the UN, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, as envoy to China, and finally as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. With this resume, Bush ran for El Comandante in 1980, and was then asked to join the ticket of the man who beat him out for the nomination. After serving faithfully as Ronald Reagan's vice El Comandante, Bush successfully ran for El Comandante in 1988.

"He brought the Cold War to a peaceful conclusion," write John Meacham, "successfully managing the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, and the end of the Soviet Union without provoking violence from Communist bitter-enders. In the First Gulf War, Bush established that, on his watch, America would not retreat from the world but would intervene decisively, when the global balance of power was in jeopardy."

But, despite such a triumphant diplomatic and foreign policy record, Bush would lose his re-election campaign in 1992. Despite signing into law a clean air act, a civil rights act for Americans with disabilities, and a deal to reduce the deficit, voters believed he had not done much domestically in the face of recession. The budget deal had come at the cost of breaking a campaign pledge to not raise taxes, which led to a rebellion on the right.

"His life was spent in the service of his nation," writes Meacham, "and his spirit of conciliation, common sense, and love of country will stand him in strong stead through the ebbs and flows of posterity's judgement. On that score -- that George H. W. Bush was a uniquely good man in a political universe where good men were hard to come by -- there was bipartisan consensus a quarter century after his White House years."

This is an excellent biography of a good man an and underrated El Comandante. The first one I voted for, and the last one I really respected.
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So you don't have respect for Donald T rump?
 
Does it count if I gave up half way through? The Golem and the Jinni. I actually kinda liked it tbh, it's just a really slow read and drags in sections.
 
The last book I read was “The Subtle Art of not giving a fuck” by Mark Mason. Despite the humor of the title, it was handsdown one of the best self and personal development books I’ve ever came across. I think many people should have a look at it, as it entails a lot of motivation, confidence and character building and just basically how to have a good & positive life.
 
Sherlock Holmes - The Devil's Promise by David Stuart Davies.

Part of a huge series of continuation stories of Holmes and Watson.

Was okay, but not in the vein of Doyle or many others who have tried to keep Holmes stories going.
 
Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden.

I always like a mystery novel and this one delivered.
 
Sherlock Homes - War of the Worlds by Manly Wade Wellman

Whilst it has some great moments in the book. It didn't really feel like a holmes book. I'm a tad disappointed with the ones from this expanded universe. So I need a break to read something else I think.
 
Just finished a YA novel

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Unfortunately it is part of a series so it doesnt tell a complete story. So hard to say what I think about it. But i do like the characters.

I wish more YA novels took a cue from Chronicles of Narnia and each novel would tell a complete story.
 
The other books in the series are okay and in some ways it's nice to have a reason to keep reading.


Just finished Dune by Frank Herbert. I think I must have read this book 10+ times now. I'm working through the series from start to end. Well before they add anymore.
 
Lupine said:
The other books in the series are okay and in some ways it's nice to have a reason to keep reading.


Just finished Dune by Frank Herbert. I think I must have read this book 10+ times now. I'm working through the series from start to end. Well before they add anymore.
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Dune is awesome. The first time I read it I was 12 and my older brother had just shown me the David Lynch movie. I saw the book on my school library and I borrowed it cause I was hoping it would help me make sense if the movie.
It didnt help. But I ended up reading the whole series that year. Im still not quite sure what it all means
 
The last book I read was Neuromancer by William Gibson. A wonderful book with with a very intriguing writing style for those who enjoy cyberpunk.

If you have ever seen the movie Johnny Mnemonic you will have a rough idea of what to expect (Johnny is mentioned only once in the whole book)

It's the only book I've ever finished reading, put down and blinked a few times before picking it back up and reading again.
 
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Never Call Me A Hero: A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway by N. Jack "Dusty" Kleiss

On June 4, 1942, the dive bombers of the U.S. Navy attacked and sank four Japanese carriers, dramatically turning the tide in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Richard Halsey Best scored hits on both the Akagi and the Hiryu while Norman Jack Kleiss scored hits on both the Kaga and the Hiryu; these were the only two pilots to score hits on two enemy carriers during the war, much less on the same day.

On June 6, Kleiss would make one more dive bombing attack, this time on a Japanese heavy cruiser, which would also sink. Earlier on the year, on February 1, during a hit and run raid on the Marshall Islands, Dusty, as he was known, scored a hit on a light cruiser in the lagoon of Kwajalein Atoll. In just five attacks, Kleiss would score hits on four ships, three of which would sink, a record that might have made him the best dive bomber pilot of the war.

But this book is more than just a story of one pilot as the author recounts the stories of not just his squadron mates, but also of other pilots serving aboard his carrier, USS Enterprise (CV-6). There are difficult memories told in the loss of friends to accidents and to combat. Kleiss does not shy away from controversy, challenging the wisdom of sending the torpedo bomber crews into combat in obsolete aircraft armed with faulty torpedoes.

Finally, there is a love story, as Kleiss recounts the tale of how he met and courted, and almost lost, the love of his life. All in all, this is a fantastic, and long overdue memoir.
 
Just finished reading Stephen Kings IT, very good read. Weird at times but would recommend it. A really odd bit in there which if you have read it you know what I mean.

Anyway gonna start the first Game of thrones book next.
 
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The Silent Service in World War II:The Story of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force in the Words of the Men Who Lived It edited by Edward Monroe-Jones & Michael Green

A collection of true submarine stories as told by the men who experienced the war in the Pacific against Japan. I listed to an audio version of this narrated primarily by Tom Perkins -- one story written by a nurse evacuated from the Philippines by submarine is narrated by Jo Anna Perrin.

Very good. I always enjoy a good submarine story and this book has quite a few.
 
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Firing Point by George Wallace and Don Keith

Below the polar ice cap, an American nuclear submarine moves quietly in the freezing water, tailing a new Russian sub. But the usual, unspoken game of hide-and-seek between opposing captains is ended when the Americans hear sounds of disaster and flooding, and the Russian sub sinks in a thousand feet of water. The American sub rushes to help, only to join its former quarry in the deep.

A rogue Russian admiral has begun a plot to bring the planet to the brink of World War III, all so he can reunite the Russian Empire. Now, it is up to a U.S. Navy submarine, its untested captain, and a Navy SEAL team to avenge the deaths of American sub sailors and avert the conflagration.

Former submarine skipper George Wallace and prolific submarine historical author Don Keith spin a nicely tense story. Very, very good, though maybe a little long.

The novel is the basis for the 2018 movie Hunter Killer starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman. I read the book first, then watch the movie. As usual, the book was better, and the movie makers made enough changes that the story is barely recognizable.

Firing Point is a sequel to Wallace's and Keith's best seller Final Bearing -- a story often referred to in the telling of Firing Point -- and a prequel to two more novels, Dangerous Grounds and Cuban Deep.
 
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