AggieDave 6 #26 November 17, 2003 Oh yeah, I know he's an asshole and seriously full of himself, doesn't mean that the book isn't a good read though.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gmanpilot 0 #27 November 17, 2003 Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose is pretty good (long). It's mostly about Merriweather Lewis and the Lewis and Clark expedition. I can't fathom doing what he did. I'm in the middle of: A History Of Knowledge by Charles Van Doren. "Fascinating...No less than the summation of the entire experience of the human race from the bird's-eye view of a tremendous, encyclopedic intelligence" S.F. Chronicle I just finished: The Long Short War by Christopher Hitchens. Its a very short book about the liberation of Iraq, by, IMHO, the smartest journalist/political commentator on the planet. All Hitchens books are good, except maybe: Unacknowledged Legislation, it sucks out loud. Happy reading._________________________________________ -There's always free cheese in a mouse trap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McDuck 0 #28 November 17, 2003 Oh, I totally agree. I was riveted through the majority of the book. When it got into how he felt he was screwed by his former "employers", it became a yawner. Anyone having served time in the military knows that there are always TWO sides to a "less than honorable" discharge story. You're right though, it was a good read...mostly. Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gmanpilot 0 #29 November 17, 2003 Quote Door-kickers don't appreciate having their tactics displayed for the reading world to see. Exactly._________________________________________ -There's always free cheese in a mouse trap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #30 November 17, 2003 What do you think pissed Jim Olsen off about Tom Clancy? (Lets see if you know who Jim Olsen is).--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #31 November 17, 2003 Ed Foley, I believe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrBester 0 #32 November 17, 2003 Helen Arthur: "The Single Malt Whisky Companion" --- I love it!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #33 November 17, 2003 Old school favorite is always The Art of War - Sun-Tzu Other ones I liked but are not for everyone: The Communist Manifesto - Marx A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes - Stephen W. Hawking (VERY dry) AOL.com - Kara Swisher (If you want to see how a company came out of a mistake and should have never got past the Garage phase... AOL is shown to do that in this book)Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ripper0289 0 #34 November 17, 2003 The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience, Clifford A. Pickover Strange Matters: Undiscovered Ideas at the Frontiers of Space and Time, Tom Siegfried I'm Just Here For The Food, Alton Brown (A great primer into cooking) Iron John, Robert Bly (This one will be hard to find, check amazon.com, it's a really good book about growing into manhood and the importance of mentors-good stuff and worth the effort) Marine Sniper: 93 confirmed kills, Charles Henderson (the story of Carlos Hathcock, arguably the finest sniper of all time) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #35 November 17, 2003 QuoteEd Foley, I believe. Right. That and Jim Olsen has stated, whenever asked about Clancy, that he thinks he has paid informants within the CIA, since the stuff he writes usually has a few pieces of fact that the story is built around. Everyone of those pieces had been classified at the time of writing the book. Thus he thinks he's basically a criminal. (Jim Olsen is at Texas A&M at the Bush School, he has seminars/speaking dinners a couple times each year. Talk about one hell of a thing to go to, that guy is absofuckingly amazing!)--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gmanpilot 0 #36 November 17, 2003 I have been told that Clancey has to have a ghost writer helping him, who knows. It's been so long since I read one of his books, I don't remember, but I seem to recall someone DEA getting his tit in the wringer over providing Clancey with some restricted stuff._________________________________________ -There's always free cheese in a mouse trap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #37 November 17, 2003 QuoteI have been told that Clancey has to have a ghost writer helping him Yeah, for his Netcenter and crap like that he does, for his "main" novels, that's all him (from what I understand).--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #38 November 17, 2003 Anything by Robert Young Pelton. I just finished "The Hunter, The Hammer, and Heaven." Story of his travels to 3 differen't war zones as a journalist. Sierra Leone, Grozny (Chechnya), and Bouganville in the South Pacific. Another good one I just read is "My Jihad" by Aukai Collins. A friend of Mr Pelton's. It's an autobiography. Tells how he became involved in the Jihads of Chechnya, Kosovo, and Kashmir. Also has some interesting insights on the FBI and CIA's approaches to counter terrorism. He says they basically are going about it all wrong. From where I sit...I think he is right. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moodyskydiver 0 #39 November 17, 2003 I'm not sure this falls into what you're looking for, but a friend gave me a copy of The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts. Its a very interesting philosophical perspective. "...just an earthbound misfit, I." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luna 0 #40 November 17, 2003 Power Vs. Force by David R. Hawkins. Simply amazing! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HRHSkyPrincess 0 #41 November 17, 2003 It is difficult, but worthy: The Forgotten Soldier by Sajer***************** Attitude is everything! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #42 November 17, 2003 One of the absloute best reads ever, and a great fit for your personality, is "Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer. It's about the Everest expedition in May, 1996 that killed so many. Amazing story, and talks about why people do extreme sports at great risk. Another great book is "We were Soldiers Once...And Young." The movie sucked, though. The book that changed my life (it is "semi-fiction") is Plato's Republic. Talk about brilliant! For just plain fun, pick up any of the "Uncle John's Bathroom Readers." I love those things. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canuck278 0 #43 November 17, 2003 hey dave if ya liked black hawk down....read "In the company of heroes" it is written by Michael Durant the pilot of super six four...goes into detail about what really happened at the downed chopper and into his capture....great story Steve Steve Therapy is expensive, popping bubble wrap is cheap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,073 #44 November 17, 2003 >Rogue Warrior (the first one, which is non-fiction) Per Denny (Snake in the book) it's more a loosely-based-on-reality made for TV movie kind of thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #45 November 17, 2003 QuotePer Denny (Snake in the book) it's more a loosely-based-on-reality made for TV movie kind of thing. Yeah...wouldn't doubt it, its still listed as non-fiction, though. He (Denny) jumps at Perris, doesn't he?--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,073 #46 November 17, 2003 "Bush at war" by Bob Woodward "A people's history of the US" by Howard Zinn "Bully for Brontosaurus" by Stephen Gould "Soul of a new machine" by Tracy Kidder Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #47 November 17, 2003 QuotePer Denny (Snake in the book) it's more a loosely-based-on-reality made for TV movie kind of thing. Very loosely.......... Marcinko doesn't get much respect in "the real world." He tends to put a "gloss" and things and make it all sound SO COOL. It really isn't......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,073 #48 November 17, 2003 >He (Denny) jumps at Perris, doesn't he? He worked at Brown for several years doing AFF and tandem; I haven't seen him in about a year. One of my favorite Denny stories - Apparently he's a bit of a legend to navy folks in San Diego. One day I was in the Argus getting lunch, explaining the benefits of SL vs AFF to a tandem student. A navy dude, an AFF level 3, was there also. He overheard me mention that SL got you more jumps for the same price as AFF, and he warned me not to pursue SL. "Yeah, you want to go AFF, man," he said. "You learn a lot more in AFF. Static line - what can you learn from, like, a half a second of freefall?" "True, but there are some advantages in . . ." "AFF's the way to go, dude." I just nodded and said he had a point. Didn't really want to argue. On the way back I saw Denny and waved at him. The guy saw me. "You, uh, know Commander Chalker?" he asked. "Yeah, we work together," I said. He suddenly looked worried. I got back to the DZ and sure enough I had this guy for his level 3. Denny briefed him while I got ready. When I came out Denny asked "Do you mind if I go reserve side this time? I know this guy." "Sure," I said. The guy looked positively green. We took him up a few minutes later, and he did fine, but he didn't say much. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #49 November 17, 2003 Quote"Sure," I said. The guy looked positively green. We took him up a few minutes later, and he did fine, but he didn't say much. Bill...take it easy on them. They are just young guys that have been pumped so full of bullshit they think they are indestructable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,106 #50 November 17, 2003 QuoteHmmm....I guess I should be more specific....I'm not so much wanting to read someone else's story or anything like that. I would be interested in reading about things like the Catholic Crusades, Newton, super novas, etc. Ya know what I mean? Well, I already recommended it. Fits your requirement exactly: www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=762567#762567... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
