Read any good books to take camping?

[kennyrayandersen]

"Truman" by David McCullough
"The Private Life of Chairman Mao" by Li Zhi-Sui
John's latest novel, "The Aisha Prophecy," is finished and, he hopes, will be published this year. The prophecy - a real one - could turn the radical muslim world on its ear. Google "The Aisha Prophecy" and see for yourself. It foretells the arrival, right about now, of a sort of muslim Joan of Arc who, accompanied by an avenging angel named Qaila, is coming to "show men how they have fallen into error" and "to raise up the women of Islam." It ends, "Woe to those who would deny her or kill her. The angel Qaila will send them to hell."

Thumbs up on Truman – probably the only Dem in history I admire. Also, I have read every single one of McCulloughs books, that’s right – every one – they’re all good esp. Johnstown, 1776, and I really enjoyed the one about the Panama Cannel (French screwed that one up!). His book on Roosevelt was really enlightening as well – it helps you understand where these social elitists come from and how they get their [superiority] mindset.

Mao, that’s one sick sorry bas… I saw a documentary of his private life, though I haven’t read the book. That dude was a perv and CRAZY! – Sad times – set China back 50 years (good thing for us).

The Aisha Prophecy, if history repeats itself, the book will be declared heretical and a fatwa will be issued for the death of the author… I wouldn’t touch that topic…

"Atlas Shrugged"
At 1,100+ pages it ought to last for several trips.

Ah, Ann Rynd – always a good read, if you can handle the truth!

Common Sense (Glen Beck / Thomas Paine)
Liberty and Tyranny (Mark Levin)
For relaxation and rest.....not so much. Good books none the less.

I haven’t read either of those, but shall put them on my list. :lol That’s what I read for relaxation!

Try also:
Thomas Sowell: Race and Culture, Barbarians inside the Gates, A Quest for Cosmic Justice, Vision of the Anointed, A conflict of Visions, Black Rednecks and White Liberals, and that just the ones I can remember I’ve read. Sowell is one of the most prolific writers of race, culture, and economics of modern time -- a genius and perhaps my favorite author.

Mark Levin said, "Sowell is always worth conferring," and very much appreciates his views on politics, rhetoric, and economics.

Also classics:
Shelby Foote: trilogy on the Civil war (or war between the States – depends on which side of that Mason-Dixon line you are on ). Each of the 3 volumes took Foote around 8 years to write and are around 1000 pages each – simply stunning.
Fredriech Hayek: The road to Serfdom, and The Fatal Conceit
Milton Friedman: Free to Choose
Walter Isaacson: Benjamin Franklin
Emanuel Hertz: Lincoln Talks

[FireLion]

:
Shelby Foote: trilogy on the Civil war (or war between the States – depends on which side of that Mason-Dixon line you are on ). Each of the 3 volumes took Foote around 8 years to write and are around 1000 pages each – simply stunning.

To quote Guns-N-Roses, "What's so civil about war, anyway?"

[Todah Tear]

GOOD BOOKs:

1. Courage and Calling
2. Step by Step
3. Christian Mystics
4. Valley Boy

(http://www.audio.com has a good collection of audio books, standup comedy, and poetry, etc)

If you really like to read and end up buying a lot of books OR have nowhere to store anymore books, check this out!

The Kindle by Amazon.com! The Kindle is a digital book. I bought mine over a year ago and by far it was the best purchase that I have made in a while as far as customer satisfaction goes.


http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Generation/dp/B00154JDAI/ref=sa_menu_kdp23?pf_rd_p=328655101&pf_rd_s=left-nav-1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=507846&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1379Z5A0KQ674G82Q53E

Quite a few books are available for downloading and I found that they are generally a few dollars cheaper than the paper copy. With some books, I have seen as much as $5. Newspapers, magazines, and journals are also available.

I have the older version of Kindle which is about the size of a small book (pocket book) and lightweight. I can hold it in one hand and turn pages in either direction with that same hand by clicking strategically placed buttons with a finger or thumb. Audio books and/or MP3 recordings can be downloaded and listened to while you read, as well as, WORD documents, and PDF files. It is also equipped with a dictionary so that word definitions can be found with a few clicks of a button. The newer model is about the size of a large book. It has an audio feature that lets you can choose to read the book OR switch to audio and it will read the book to you. The great thing about both versions of the Kindle is that the reader can adjust the font size to fit his/her vision.


Todah

[hiker chick]

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Yes, indeed. A must-read because it has been so influential and enduring. Engrossing but in sections a bit thick with proselytizing. Not everyone's cup of tea. But I loved it. Have read it three times.

The movie rights have been sold and re-sold many times. But it'd be tough to translate and I cringe at what Hollywood could do to it.

I didn't mention it because it can be provocative in a public forum.

On the surface a novel. But so much more. Over a half-century since it was first published and still being cited in surveys as the 2nd most influential book in America -- next to the Bible.

I've given away countless copies and will surely buy another, read it a 4th time, and give it away again. The last hardback I gave to a Russian emigre. She devoured it and has given many copies away since.

Who is John Galt?

Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead is also a good read -- her philosophy expressed through architecture.

For those not privvy to Rand and her writing, she emigrated to the U.S. from Russia in 1926. Growing up in Russia she formed deeply-held views on Lenin's Bolsheviks, Marxism, Communism and Fascism. She traded in her given Russian name and took the last name of her typewriter as her own: Rand. She became a screenwriter for Cecil B., DeMille and hit it big with The Fountainhead, published in 1943 during a wartime paper shortage. Word-of-mouth made it a bestseller. She spent 13 years writing Atlas Shrugged, which was published in 1957.

Rand's views were revolutionary in the 1930s-40s-50s. And many would say in the current day, have proved prescient.

Atlas Shrugged and Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" are books worth re-reading every decade or so.

While I'm at it, another thumbs-up for Patricia Cornwell -- her first few books more than her later work.

Am surprised they still have not been made into movies.

[Mary K]

I have Mobipocket on my Blackberry and It ROCKS!! You can download ebooks, and read them right on your phone.

I'm crazy into SciFi and currently I have been reading the Astounding Stories Magazines collected on the Project Gutenburg Site. I love these old short stories from the 30's and early days of SciFi!

The cool thing about reading on a ebook device is that you don't need a light, you don't have to turn pages, you can get really comfy and fall asleep reading and the device/phone turns its self off.

[Todah Tear]

...I'm crazy into SciFi and currently I have been reading the Astounding Stories Magazines collected on the Project Gutenburg Site. I love these old short stories from the 30's and early days of SciFi!

The cool thing about reading on a ebook device is that you don't need a light, you don't have to turn pages, you can get really comfy and fall asleep reading and the device/phone turns its self off.

Thanks for the website - free downloads rock! Also, check your public library; many have started offering free downloads of e-books.

I like that I don't need two hands to hold my e-book. Also, I can read it in the bathtub and not have to worry with the pages getting damp. I do sometimes miss the visual effect one gets from fumbling through pages to re-read something. The e-book let's you mark pages and put comments on pages of interest, but it is just not the same as with a paper book.

Todah

[iplay10us2]

About the only time I do the audible/ebooks are when I am driving long distances. I download to my mp3 player and play them through the stereo. They sure make the time go by quickly. But, I like having an actual book to read for all of the other times. A good friend was surprised that I didn't have a Kindle since I am a "techie" and love to read, but guess I just like the feel of a book in my hands.

[2bits]

Well, As an odd read... I was planning on bringing my box of receipts and adding then all up! I wonder how it ends?

[jakie]

When I re-read, Atlas Shrugged, Iget so angry at the non producers running the world, and the politics of pull. I fantasize that the TD will help me to get into the mountains to find the hidden valley. If I let myself, the whole conspiracy theory thing will drive me round the bend. I have totally enjoyed the left behind series, in the last few years.

John

[TerryLawson]

Any thing by Patrick F. McManus!!!!!!
When I have taken my son camping we have tried to make it our thing to read some of one of his books.

If you never read any of his stuff I wish you would, i believe he is one of the most underappreciated writters in the US. Thats just my 8.2 cents worth!!!

Terry

[Alfred]

Hey Gang,

I had a good Summer for books...

On the Road, by Kerouac, every time I read it, I like it more. Now it is available in the unedited original scroll form (the way Jack wrote it before the 1950's editors forced the unbroken continuous narrative into paragraphs, changed the names from real people like Burroughs and Ginsberg to fictional names, and took out most of the sex).

The Professor and the Madman - Fascinating true story about the 1800's Oxford professor who made the first Oxford dictionary, and the schizophrenic in the English insane asylum who helped. I know it sounds like a nerdy book - but it was GREAT.

Confederates in the Attic - Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War, a Pulitzer Prize winning book about how the legacy of the Civil War still impacts our culture today, from civil war reenactors, Daughters of the Confederacy, to civil rights - Very funny at points, very serious in others - Thought provoking, fun to read. Much better than I can describe it, couldn't put it down once I started reading it.

AL in Asheville

[Geron]

Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Fantasy (12 huge volumes) keep you busy for a while. Wife read all 12 volumes this past year.

Don't plan to finish it in one camping trip

[Billy Onions]

Good thread this.

I just borrowed this.

Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Glory-Loui ... 0375411925

And am about to buy this


A Boy Named Shel: The Life and Times of Shel Silverstein
http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Named-Shel-Ti ... 156&sr=1-1

Would love to know what went on in that guys head.

Audio books are great when out on the road too, as someone said download onto your ipod and put through your car audio. Last one I listened to was Fatherland by Robert Harris, it made a 4 hour drive on a rainy night a much more pleasant experience than you would imagine.

[planovet]

When I want to read mindless testosterone books, I read any of the Steven Hunter books about Bob Lee Swaggert, sniper.

I like mindless books Thanks for the idea

I usually like courtroom dramas (fiction) or cop books (I wonder why ) James Patterson (Alex Cross) and Stuart Woods (Stone Barrington) to name a couple.

Well, As an odd read... I was planning on bringing my box of receipts and adding then all up! I wonder how it ends?

I'm not much into horror stores

[iplay10us2]

My brother-in-law in KY just turned me onto a series of books: "The Darwin Awards". True stories of the stupid things people that will have you laughing while also be amazed that someone could be that stupid.

There is a website, too.

http://www.darwinawards.com/