Book recommendations, please...

[twotimer]

Hey guys...I'm leaving early next week for my annual trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. I'll be there six weeks...must be nice, huh?

Indeed it is. While there, I do epic amounts of hiking, swimming, eating, backpacking and actually find time to sit on my ass and read books. I tend to prefer history and non-fiction, biographies and autobiographys...although fiction will work if it's really good.

Before I cruise over to Barnes and Noble to walk around and look for something that may interest me, I figured some of you may have some recommendations...please indulge me. Thanks.

[Iceaxe]

Endurance by Alferd Lansing
It should be at the top of everyone's must read list.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465062881/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NL.cEb2AX44KB

Climb-Utah.com

[dougrz]

Down the Great Unknown. About Powell's first Grand Canyon exploration. History non. Fun read. At the heart of the desert SW, for all of us canyon lovers.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060955864/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_jWkdEb9P6YXFG

Side note: in my early canyon exploration days (around 2007 iirc), I found a wagon wheel tire in the East Fork of the Virgin on the Fat Man's loop. At the time I thought maybe it was from early explorers and got all excited. I went to see a Zion historian in her office in the park and showed her the location on a map. She was unimpressed, said it was probably debris washed down over the decades from some town.

I've always wanted to go back and heft that out. But those pups weigh like 100-150 pounds.

[Goat]

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. It's about deep sea divers and the group of men that found a sunken U-Boat off the coast of the northeastern US and the struggle to figure out what the boat's ID was.

Honestly, any of Robert Kurson's books are great. I've read all of them. His Apollo 8 book and Shadow Diver are my favorite.

Manhunt by James L. Swanson. It's about the Lincoln assassination and its aftermath.

Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson is an excellent history of the Civil War

[middlefork]

Just finishing up The Ghost Mountain Boys by James Campbell. The Battle for New Guinea during WWII.

[diesel]

Emerald Mile, In the Heart of the Sea, River of Doubt, We the Drowned (historical fiction). I'll Never get Out of This World Alive (fiction), Last of the Breed, Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf.

Also get an e-reader. I use an Onyx and travel with an older Kindle (pre touch screen).

Sent from my LG-M210 using Tapatalk

[Goat]

Also get an e-reader. I use an Onyx and travel with an older Kindle (pre touch screen).

Totally second this. The best part about an e-reader is you can use an app called Overdrive to connect to your local library (make sure you have your library card) and checkout books to your heart's content and not have to worry about a late fee.

I use Overdrive to download audiobooks to my phone and ebooks to my tablet.

[twotimer]

Endurance by Alferd Lansing
It should be at the top of everyone's must read list.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465062881/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NL.cEb2AX44KB

Climb-Utah.comI knew you'd throw this one out...this book came up months ago here on this forum. It's fantastic...I'm actually going to take it with me for a reread.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I appreciate it. I'll pick up a few of them and report when I get back if they were satisfying...they look good and aside from Endurance, I haven't read any of these others.

Man, I've read a lot about the Civil War...and Lincoln. I don't know if I can do anymore of that. That U-boat one looks interesting, though...same with the Powell book.

Can't do the e-reader...I'll be backpacked in the boondocks with no way to charge the thing for many days at a time...and that's the only place I'll sit and read. Look it up...it's called Halape on the Big Island...a beach in the National Park. Only 3 hours to hike in from where you park, so I'll bring in pineapples, bananas and stuff...backpacking like a king.

[diesel]

No worries with battery life on an e-reader. I use mine in Alaska hunting. I'm able to get 40 hrs of daylight reading on a single charge. An e-reader is not a tablet. And the money you invest will pay dividends on your eye care. My son and I code using an advanced type with high refresh rate (Onyx). I recommend an old kindle (~25$) model #D01100. You'd prolly need a new battery on something this old. Have fun and my latest book is Dead Mountain the untold true story of the Dyatlov Pass incident.

Sent from my LG-M210 using Tapatalk

[diesel]

I recommend an old kindle (~25$) model #D01100. You'd prolly need a new battery on something this old.

Update. My kid just read this and said it is a difficult, glued in battery, and a replacement isn't easy to locate.

So just drop some cash on a new one that is a smaller, carryable format. Pay attention to usable non backlit battery life. You can store millions of pages of text.

Sent from my LG-M210 using Tapatalk

[twotimer]

Diesel...I don't have time to get the e-reader for this trip, but I'll certainly pick one up after I return. Time to upgrade, no doubt...especially since the batteries last so long with those things. I had no idea, as I figured they'd conk out after a day or two like every other "device" I've owned.

Yeah..."We The Drowned", holy crap that thing is as thick as War And Peace! No way I'm backpacking that puppy. That one looked interesting, too. Later.

Thanks again to everyone for all these other books...they'll keep me busy for hours during the downtimes. I'll be thinking of you all as I sit in my camp chair reading these while exfoliating my feet in the sand.

9377393772

[Iceaxe]

Shadow Divers and Rocket Men are both excellent. You'll like them, I've read them both. Shadow Divers is probably on my top 10 ever list.

Climb-Utah.com

[windminstrel]

Don't know if you have read this but you may find it enjoyable.

93775

[Iceaxe]

^^^just added it to my reading list as it sounds interesting.

Climb-Utah.com

[oldno7]

Anasazi By Richard Wetherill

But I would think that you have already read it.

[twotimer]

Anasazi By Richard Wetherill

But I would think that you have already read it.Believe it or not, I haven't. It's a biography of Wetherill by Frank McNitt. Rated high on Amazon.

Darn it...I should have posted this thread a couple weeks ago! But then I'd likely be carrying 30lbs worth of books. I'm leaving tomorrow morning.

There's only two bookstores on the Big Island...both of them sell mostly used books...one on the Kona side and one on the Hilo side. Both of them are large, housed in medium sized warehouses, but aside from a few gems here and there, it's a lot of junky reads. Lots of romance, mystery, crime and fiction...subjects I despise taking gambles on.

But then again, sometimes you get lucky. For example, I'll sell these books I just bought to them...as there's no need to carry them back. Good books for someone that knows what to look for. But I'd bet a million bucks the Wetherill book won't be there...but maybe the Monkey God one? I'll look for it when I'm there.

[oldno7]

I think you would really like the Wetherill book but some of what they did was un forgivable.

You likely know the areas as well as or better than most.

[twotimer]

I think you would really like the Wetherill book but some of what they did was un forgivable.

You likely know the areas as well as or better than most.Yeah, a lot of what they dug out of there went to Europe...other stuff to private collections.

The problem with the private stuff is that when it's owners die, those that inherit the goods may not know what the heck it is...I can't imagine how much of it ended up in the trash.

I love Cedar Mesa and visit it at least once a year. I spent the 90s crawling all over that place...there's still some hidden gems around! However, it's a damn shame so many of the easier sites to visit have been trampled under foot...every little chunk of Anazasi whatever has disappeared into people's pockets. I remember when the area around Moonhouse was littered with potsherds. Not anymore. The Citadel was a secret. There was a sandal hidden under a rock at Seven Kivas...it's gone now.

[rockgremlin]

Totally second this. The best part about an e-reader is you can use an app called Overdrive to connect to your local library (make sure you have your library card) and checkout books to your heart's content and not have to worry about a late fee.

I use Overdrive to download audiobooks to my phone and ebooks to my tablet.

I will "third" this. I love reading hard copies with actual pages, but the convenience of an e-reader is really nice, especially if you're on the go a lot.

[double moo]

A guy at work brought up Heinlien today... If you've never read it - Stranger in a Strange Land... a 60's masterpiece revered by the counter culture.

[Iceaxe]

Stand On It
A Novel By Stroker Ace

Is without a doubt the best book I've ever read. The book has a huge cult following. Not to be confused with the really shitty movie Burt Reynolds made that was loosely based on the book. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200111/de9eeb8273c7056a5cd7dd060a901818.jpg

Climb-Utah.com

[oldno7]

About 1/2 way through "Area 51"

Good read if you are interested in the history of our nuclear program, U2 spyplanes, Cuban missile crisis, etc.

As a native Utahn, I remember the "downwinders"--while reading this, I can't believe anyone downwind survived.

I had no idea of the amount of Nukes that were set off, both above and below ground.

[oldno7]

And of course I presumed that beech was the inventor of drones but I found out they were in use by the military just after WWII.

[twotimer]

Just finished In The Heart Of The Sea...very good, but a bit of a downer reading about how badly they suffered. Ignorance of peaceful islands nearby is what screwed them up.

They were fearful of cannibals yet became cannibals themselves. I read the wiki on the movie and it’s totally bogus. Ron Howard puked all over the story as it really happened.

[rockgremlin]

Endurance by Alferd Lansing
It should be at the top of everyone's must read list.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465062881/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NL.cEb2AX44KB

Climb-Utah.com

I started reading this on the collective advice within this thread. I'm half way through and loving every word of it.

Incredible book, a must read. :2thumbs:

[twotimer]

Just read River Of Doubt...another excellent adventure story. Teddy Roosevelt was actually killed on that trip but it took another 5 years for death to finally choke him out. He was one tough SOB.

That journey was the very definition of “not having your shit together”.

[twotimer]

Just finished yet another backpack trip and read The Emerald Mile. Another excellent book.

It’s about three dirtbag ‘70s era Grand Canyon river runners legendary speed run in a wooden dory during the massive release from the Glen Canyon Dam in June of ‘83. Very well written...it weaves together what they did with the near catastrophe of the dam.

A page turner...highly recommended.

[oldno7]

Just read River Of Doubt...another excellent adventure story. Teddy Roosevelt was actually killed on that trip but it took another 5 years for death to finally choke him out. He was one tough SOB.

That journey was the very definition of “not having your shit together”.

Have read quite a few books on Teddy.

Will have to look into this one.

[twotimer]

So I read Shadow Divers and figured the book to be so-so. The authors writing style is somewhat juvenile...certainly nowhere near as good as these other books I’ve recently read. The Emerald Mile was downright eloquent.

Also, I think the author was disrespectful and condescending of the divers that died trying to explore the wreck. The gory details of their suffering and the deterioration of their bodies really wasn’t smart. Certainly fine in fiction, but in real life have a bit of respect for the families.

The story itself is quite fascinating...now I wish to read more about Uboats. Those poor kids (the crew of the uboat mostly all in their early 20s, one just seventeen!)...they all knew they were going to die...and just two weeks after they sailed away from Germany they all did. Horribly, too. What a waste, especially since the war was lost and Hitler would be dead in just two months.

I just watched the Nova episode Hitlers Lost Sub, which covers the discovery and investigation. I suggest watching that over reading the book.

For those of you that are familiar with this story...look up the Wikipedia on U-869...there’s some updated info on how it may have met it’s fate.

[twotimer]

Rocket Men was a good read...it's about Apollo 8, which was probably the most ballsy mission of the whole program...it was Apollo 8 that made landing on the moon 6 months later a piece of cake. They took BIG chances. Good book, but written in High School like prose.

So I'm home now and on the redeye from Hawaii they have lots of movies to chose from on the little video screen on the setback in front of you Since I've been doing reviews, I throw down a little one for that movie I watched...Joker.

Ah...it sucked. It was kind of like a remake of Taxi Driver, but nowhere near as good. I wouldn't recommend watching it cuz after it was over I kinda felt like I'd just taken a swim in a sewer...just misery from start to finish. Speaking of DiNero, as soon as he showed up in this movie it shut it down right in its tracks.

There's a lot of mental illness in my family...my mother was schitzo and several others have had to be hospitalized for being sideways. I know what crazy looks like, as I grew up with it.

I'll tell you what, Joaquin Phoenix didn't have to do a lot of "acting" in that movie...that dude is crazy for real. Made what Heath Ledger did with the character look an amateur.

[BasinCruiser]

95900

[JamesGlasfurd]

"The Worst Journey in the World", one of the best in the last couple of months, and I found out about it thanks to the review of the book, because it is a real time saving and thesis information is most important. And if you urgently need to get such material on the book you have passed or for other similar purposes, then https://edusson.com/write-my-book-report will definitely help you with this not an easy matter, a team of professional writers takes care of your book reports, they will do everything quickly and efficiently, I am always happy with the result, try it.

[Iceaxe]

Any of the trhe history books from Bill O'Reilly's Killing Series is excellent... some are better than others.

Killing Crazy Horse, Killing the Rising Sun and Killing England are some of my favorites.

[Iceaxe]

"The Worst Journey in the World"Just added to my must read list.