What the heck? Nobody reads anymore. Post your recommendations on some good books to read. Survival, spy novels, etc.

I recommend Pete Rose - My Prison Without Bars.  I read this a few years ago and I enjoyed it.  But then again, I am a huge Reds fan and Pete Rose fan.

No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah

By; Bing West

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell.  

Sounds dry, but is a great read.  If you have never studied economics, this is an easy to read introduction to the basic principles and history of economies.  For the more learned folks who already have a good understanding of the topic, there are great examples from history illustrating what has and has not worked.  Very relevant book for today, especially with our current economic situation; oil, airlines, housing, credit.

BTW, glad to see this new forum.  I have enjoyed reading many suggestions from other members throughout the years.

+1 for Bing West.   "The Pepperdogs" ( a novel) was awesome!!!

Here's a sampling from what I've gone through during this year ...

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS James Grippando
* THE CLEANER Brett Battles
COAL BLACK HORSE Robt Olmstead 8/17/07
The PROTECTOR David Morrell
* The AFGHAN   Frederick Forsyth
THE HARD WAY   Lee Child
* VOLK’S GAME Brent Ghalfi
The FAR REACHES  Homer Hickam
The 47th SAMURAI    Stephen Hunter
The NIGHT GARDNER
TERMINAL Vaachs
GONE FOR SOLDIERS   Shaara
STRAITS of FORTUNE Anthony Gagliano;  Miami mystery
NAPOLEON’S PYRAMIDS
CHASERS
FIELD OF FIRE
The STANDOFF Chuck Hogan
The BOBBY GOLD STORIES Anthony Bourdain
* The WARLORDs SON   Dan Fesperman
DEEPER Jeff Long  
* HARD MAN Alan Guthrie
CAT & MOUSE   Harold Coyle
RAT RUN Gerald Seymour
COURAGE UNDER FIRE   Patrick Sheane Duncan
EUREKA  Jim Lehrer
SACRED BONES  
BLEEDING HEARTS   Ian Rankin
KOREA STRAIT David Poyer
TALES FROM Q SCHOOL  John Feinstein

I'll call these   *      HIGHLY recommended

Stay safe

Reformation Study Bible
John Calvin - Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Foxes Book of Martyrs
Plutarch's Lives

Anything by Jeff Sahara.  Just finished The Steel Wave.  Great read.  
Cormic McCarthy. Blood Meridian is a good one.

Ok, this is a little off the wall and a little outside of the normal ARFCOM realm but if you ever lived or grew up in Chicago, especially if you grew up in the 80's you'd identify with Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Nemo.  Great book about 2 kids growing up in Chicago on the south side(where I am from) and living the punk rock lifestyle.  I read this book a few years ago in college and attended a book signing.  

Shooter by Gunnery SGT Jack Coughlin-truly a great book, a no fluff account through the  eyes of a select individual. Also, it's not all blazing guns but has a very thought provoking side to it.
Chosen Soldier
In Bad Company
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the original Apocolypse Now
The Rescuers just beginning to read but seems interesting

I really like the idea of this thread.

I've never been a big fiction reader. It seems there is so much good non-fiction out there that I haven't yet read. But this past winter I got a hankering to read something a little different from the typical political history, that I so enjoy, so at the insistence of some of my friends I picked up a few novels to "broaden my reading experience".

OK I confess, it was fun!

Unintended Consequences  by John Ross; ISBN-10: 1888118040; 863 pages.
This is a true page turner. Unintended Consequences is a political thesis on today's gun culture and its opponents. It is told through the eyes of a gun lover, starting in his early childhood and going through his present life giving a sprinkling of American gun culture/history along the way (for instance: how many folks know the 1934 NFA was originally found unconstitutional but later, on appeal, upheld? I didn't.) This book is guaranteed to make you to think. Not only about where we are today as a society but, how we got here and what our next steps might be.

Enemies Foreign and Domestic  by Matthew Bracken;ISBN-13: 978-0972831017; 576 pages.
Amazon.com description: "... a domestic terrorism thriller set in the near future. The novel begins on opening day of the NFL season, when bullets begin to rain down upon the upper deck of a packed football stadium. A panic stampede ensues, leading to mass casualties. The alleged sniper is found holding a smoking assault rifle, and is killed by a police marksman. One week later, congress bans the private possession of all semi-automatic assault rifles. Gun owners are given one week to turn in their semi-automatic rifles, or face a five year mandatory sentence. The plot revolves around the true identity of the actual sniper. The alleged sniper killed at the scene may be a patsy, and many Americans refuse to turn in their banned weapons, leading to a civil crisis in the nation."

Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista  by Matthew Bracken; ISBN-10: 0972831029; 544 pages.
Wouldn't rate this as high as Bracken's 1st book but still an excellent read.
Amazon.com description: "a novel set in the near future in the American Southwest, during a period of low-intensity civil war. The action takes place between Texas and California, but the story is mainly centered around New Mexico. Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista is a sequel to Enemies Foreign And Domestic, but it may be enjoyed on its own."

Molon Labe!  by Kenneth W. Royce a.k.a. Boston T. Party; ISBN-10: 1888766077; 454 pages.
Royce is IMHO the least talented writer of this bunch but, he has put together a good story in Molon Labe!. Amazon.com description: "After a decade of retaking their stolen freedoms, the people of Wyoming (many of them newcomers) are forced to finally confront their jealous masters in the U.S. Government. Can a lone, courageous state successfully resist federal tyranny, or has the Bill of Rights been reduced to a myth? Can an allegedly free people act free, or is our liberty just a 4th of July farce?"

Split Ticket by H. L. Richardson; ISBN-10: 084993933X; 315 pages.
Richardson is a retired California State Representative and the founder of "Gun Owners of America". His 'insider's view' of state politics makes this a hilarious and expertly told story. Amazon.com description: "... a hilarious, fast-paced tale of politics gone bonkers, budding romance, devious double-dealing, and a murder mystery without a murder. With insider's expertise, H.L. Richardson takes readers along on one man's reluctant ride up the political ladder, from cow-country commissions to the state capitol. And there's even talk of the presidency."
BTW Richardson's What Makes You Think We Read the Bills is another hilarious (non-fiction) book about the inner workings of politics. ISBN-10: 0916054780; 144 pages.

"a matter of Timing" G.E. Miller.

This was the first book I have read in a dozen years. It was reccomended by a friend. It tells the story about the chaos that follows a massive earthquake. People have to protect themselfs from luters, and other criminals. The government attempts to take away the firearms of individuals, and U.N. troops occupy the U.S. Basically your SHTF scenario. CAUTION! it may make you want to stock up un ammo!

I like to read fiction here are a few of my favorites.

Red Storm Rising    by  Tom Clancy


Team Yankee     by   Harold Coyle


Red Phoenix        by  Larrry Bond

Dick Couch's books about the SEALs are great-The Warrior Elite, The Finishing School, and Down Range. I don't know about his fiction books. Chosen Soldier, his book about Army Special Forces training is okay, but there are better books out there on that particular subject.

The Divine Comedy (translated of course)
On Killing
Art of War
Zombie Survival Guide

Bravo 2-zero

Generation Kill

anything by w.e.b. griffin

and i just found out he's a lifetime member of the NRA to boot!

"Unintended Consequences" of course.

Another good book is "Lucifer's Hammer" about TEOTWAWKI after an asteroid hits the Earth.

Next up is "World War Z" by Max Brooks about life after a zombie war.

Originally Posted By KingRat: Plutarch's Lives

And don't overlook his Moralia.

I'll add Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates

A 3rd vote for UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

It is about 850 pages and I have yet to put it down. I got it from the Book Exchange tacked at the top of the Books forum.

I have read 800 pages in 3 days because I CAN'T STOP READING IT.

It has got to be an ARFCOM dream book. Guns, ammo, corrupt gov, and revolution by the people in a modern society (i.e. todays time). It also incorporates all the BS gun laws that got us to where we are today.

YOU WILL LIKE IT.

Originally Posted By Spartanatheart: "Unintended Consequences" of course. Another good book is "Lucifer's Hammer" about TEOTWAWKI after an asteroid hits the Earth.

I'll be dipped in shit.

Fiction
Leonard B. Scott

Charlie Mike
The Last Run
The Expendables
The Iron Men
Duty Bound
The Hill
Forged in Honor
Solemn Duty

War
Richard Wheeler

IWO
The Bloody Battle for Suribachi

Originally Posted By Schulze: Originally Posted By Spartanatheart: "Unintended Consequences" of course. Another good book is "Lucifer's Hammer" about TEOTWAWKI after an asteroid hits the Earth. I'll be dipped in shit.

Does that mean you didn't like those books?

Originally Posted By Spartanatheart: Originally Posted By Schulze: I'll be dipped in shit. Does that mean you didn't like those books?

Ahhh, did you read Hammer? That was a favorite saying of Senator Jellison.

Originally Posted By Schulze: Originally Posted By Spartanatheart: Originally Posted By Schulze: I'll be dipped in shit. Does that mean you didn't like those books? Ahhh, did you read Hammer? That was a favorite saying of Senator Jellison.

I have but it's been a while.

Charles Henderson

Marine Sniper:93 Confirmed Kills
Silent Warrior
Good Night Saigon

In The Company Of Heroes, Mike Durant

Non-Fiction

Band of Brothers by Stephen Abrose
Flyboys by James Bradley
Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
Unknown Rider by Scott Anderson
Sleeping with the Devil (How Washington sold our soul for Saudi Crude) by Robert Baer
See No Evil by Robert Baer
None Braver by Michael Hirsh
Misty by MajGen. Don Sheppard
Lone Survivor by Maurice Lutrell


Fiction

The Broker by John Grisham
The Borne Identity by Robert Ludlum (I just finished this one and have bought the 4 sequals, I love the movies and the books have been better so far)

Not a big fan of fiction but pick one up from time to time.

Here are a few that I've read and enjoyed so far this year.

The Vanishing Hitchhiker and The Choking Doberman by Jan Harold Brunvand
Aliens, Ghosts and Cults: Legends We Live by Bill Ellis
Attorney for the Damned and Closing Arguments by Clarence Darrow
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
The Trial by Franz Kafka
No Country for Old Men and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Damn! A Book of Calumny and The American Language by H.L. Mencken
The Law and Parable of the Broken Window by Frederic Bastiat
Hells Angels and The Proud Highway by Hunter S. Thompson
The Cases That Haunt Us by John Douglas
Reclaiming History and Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi
Oedipus Rex by Sophicles

Originally Posted By UH_SALT_RIFLE: No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah By Bing West

+1.

Originally Posted By oldschool63: I like to read fiction here are a few of my favorites. Red Storm Rising    by  Tom Clancy Team Yankee     by   Harold Coyle Red Phoenix        by  Larrry Bond

+1

Mil History

One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer
by Nathaniel C. Fick (From MCRD to Iraq)

Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943
by Antony Beevor (A broad look at the battle that also keeps you highly engaged)

Chickenhawk
by Robert Mason (Vietnam. Helicopter. Period.)

Assault In Norway: Sabotaging the Nazi Nuclear Program
by Thomas Gallagher (Felt like a Rainbow Six mission, great intriguing tale)

We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance
by David Howarth

The Forgotten Soldier
by Guy Sajer (German landser on the Ostfront.  I've been reading military books all my life and this one made me get it, the agony, drudgery, the psychological damage, mostly through what was left unsaid.)

Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, Knight's Cross
by Albrecht Wacker (Much more digestible look at the Eastern Front)

Adak: The Rescue of Alfa Foxtrot 586
by Andrew C. A. Jampoler (P-3 wreck and rescue)

First Light
by Geoffrey Wellum (Fantastic essence of the the Battle of Britain)

Climbing (for the masses)

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer

Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
by Joe Simpson (Anything by Simpson is good, this one will hurt you)

Shit Happens

Armageddons
by Jack Dann (A collection of TEOTWAWKI shorts)

Lucifer's Hammer
by Larry Niven (Live steam!)

The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom
by Slavomir Rawicz


Flying

North Star over My Shoulder: A Flying Life
by Bob Buck

Flight of Passage: A True Story
by Rinker Buck (Why we fly)

Fate is the Hunter
by Ernest K. Gann (Required reading.  End of story)

Carnage and Culture- Victor Davis Hansen
Alexander of Macedon- Peter Green
Rubicon-Tom Holland
Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
I am Legend- Richard Matheson(the movie sucked in comparison)
Overcoming Law- Cant remember first name I know his last is Posner
Man Corn- Christy Turner Little dry but lots of cool Pre Columbian info.
Endurance- Alfred Lansings
Atlantis Found- Clive Cussler
Starship Troopers-Robert Heinlein(again way better than movie)
Knights Templar- cant remember the author and is currently loaned to a buddy of mine
A Hymn Before Battle-John Ringo(I read all the way up to Cally's War in the series.Cally's War not as good as the others)
Tom Sawyer-You know
Huck Finn"         "
Treasure Island-"   "
Dracula Prince of Many Faces: His Life and Times- Radu Florescu
Beowulf-Seamus Heaney translation

Just a short list of some of favorite books.

Erik Weihenmayer's auto-biography is inspiring. Touch the Top of the World. He was the first blind man to summit Everest in 2001 and the next year he bagged the 7 summits when he climbed Australia's highest peak. I have a signed copy and it's inscribed with 1 simple word. REACH!

The Grapes of Wrath should be read and later, re-read.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich lest we forget.

I work offshore and have plenty of time to read. so here is my short list:
INTO THIN AIR
SHADOW DIVERS
MARINE SNIPER
BRAVO TWO ZERO
LONE SURVIVER (just finished, IF you get it, you may need a kleenex)

Iam not at home so i dont have the authors names.

I just started HOGS IN THE SHADOWS today . Author is Milo S Afong. I like this type of book because each chapter is a separate story. I don't get much time to read

Originally Posted By mjleo: I work offshore and have plenty of time to read. so here is my short list: BRAVO TWO ZERO

Just finished this myself...a great book, and it was interesting to look at the tactics and see the thought process he underwent...

One of Jackson's Foot Cavalry by John Worsham.  It's the book that got me hooked on reading Civil War literature.

"EON" by Greg Bear. About a small moon that takes up orbit around earth. When teams are sent to investigate, they find caverns that go on forever. It's a story about the adventures in searching the caverns, the science behind them and etc. etc...

On my personal top ten list of books I have ever read.



Brad

The Road by Cormac McCarthy-----Excellent post-apocalyptic/post-SHTF book.

This led me to read No Country for Old Men which is also excellent.

"Patriots" by Rawles.......right up there with Unintended Consequenses as far as a 'must read' for ARFcommers.

Well to add my part, I am a big fan of BOB and Ambrose in general but if you want to read more about that story.

http://www.amazon.com/Band-Brothers-Reg ... 886&sr=8-2

Well I have becime a big addict of the books since it all came out so here are a few I have read in the past that some of you might not know about.

The first one is about Winters I reall did not like this one alot but just to show the plethora that has come out here it is. It was written by a friend of Winters and I read it so long ago I don't remember alot about it.

http://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Brother-M ... 147&sr=8-4

Then of course there's "Beyond BOB" written by winters himself it was pretty good but you REALLY get what they meant by calling him a quaker in the movie.

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Band-Broth ... 147&sr=8-2

Next is one wirtten by David Webster he had a fairly large role in the movie this was publishe posthumously as he died I think in the 60's as they say in the movie. This one has a real immediacy as it was writte close to the war from his memoirs and it is not tainted by the Ambrose book or the movie which is a problem with alot of these movies. This book has alot of the drudgery of the day to day life of these guys.

http://www.amazon.com/Parachute-Infantr ... 362&sr=1-1

So a more recent entry is one written by the 2 philly guys who have a major part in the movie Bill Guarnere and "Babe" Heffron. I think this one being combined made each guys part a little short but it was still compelling.

http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Battle-F ... 715&sr=1-2

Ok now to the more recent selections. I have just finished one by "Buck" Compton if you remember the series at all you will know him. At the end of the movie when Winters was telling what all the guys did after the war Compton was said to have prosecuted Sirhan Sirhan the guy who assasinated Robert Kennedy. Well if you like that tidbit about his life get ready because this one is full of mostly that. I would say like 3 chapters in this book are dedicated to the war and the rest are his life before or after. Don't get me wrong I find that part interesting in all theese books it is just I want more meat I did not pick up thi book to find out how he became a judge or what baseball teams he played on. Suffice it to say it is worth reading bit I am glad I got it at the liberry.  One thing with this book is Compton is a local talk radio host and throughout the book really puts forth his political agenda which seemed a little out of place in a book like this.  

http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Before- ... 715&sr=1-3

Ok so lastly This one is by Don Malarkey and it is anexcellent book.  This is another that you have to wonder if Ambrose got info from him or the other way around.  This book hues very closely to the Ambrose book.  It only took about 4-5 chapters to get to the war and all the background was sort of interesting but he does really make his childhood look very pollyannish but that's ok.

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Company-Sold ... 715&sr=1-7

If you like the BOB I think it is very interesting to get a different perspective and see the stories told by other people. One big thing you get from all the books is the fact that there were a whole lot of people in Easy Co. that were left out and it is interesting to see that as well. So thats it I am sure noone is as obsessed as I have been to read all of these I just like them. You want to know how crazy I am in the past year I have also read probably 3-5 other books about the 101's airborne in WW2 and several about the 82'nd.

Carry the Wind- Terry Johnson

White Feather

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Backer
Economics in One Lesson - Henry Hazlitt

War Dog:Fighting Other People's Wars by Al Venter....about Executive Outcomes mainly but also modern Private Military Contractors.

Wings Of The C.I.A by Frederic Lert

Going to purchase Highway To Hell by John Geddes who was an ex-S.A.S. soldier working as a Private Military Contractor in Iraq for Ronin. Also, curious about the new book from Dalton Fury called Killing Bin Laden.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Great funny read, and it's not long at all,  I read it in one sitting.

A Coffin Full Of Dreams by Frisco Hitt, Mercenary by Mike Horae, Road To Kalamata, Cajun Sniper by Wayne Tally, Dangerous Game By Don Hollway, The Devils Finger by William Ungerman, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Point Of Impact, Black Light, Time To Hunt, Pale Horse Coming, and Dirty White Boys by Stephen Hunter.

For military history, I highly recommend A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940 by William Trotter. It's a great read about a fascinating WW II front that most Americans don't even know existed.

I'd also highly recommend Robert Leckie's Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan. It's a fantastic overview of the island hopping campaign and the men who fought it.

There's probably more, but those come to mind right now. Check them out if you get a chance.

EDIT: Yup, there's more.

The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood by David Simon and Edward Burns. 16 years after it was written, it's still a great account of what went wrong in inner city America.

Black Monday by R. Scott Reiss. A terrifying and entertaining novel about our dependence on oil. Swallow a little disbelief and you won't be able to put it down.

Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich by Joachim Feist. Madness, despair, and evil all reach their climax in a reinforced concrete hole in the ground.

Of course, if you haven't read Unintended Consequences, Patriots, or the first two volumes of the Enemies Foreign and Domestic trilogy yet, get on it! I am eagerly looking forward to the new Bracken book next month.

G Gordon Liddy - When I Was a Kid, This Was a Free Country



fucking epic

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES (i think ive read this at least 6 times!)
WHITE FEATHER
BOTH ENEMIES FORIEGN AND DOMESTIC (THIRD ONE COMES OUT IN 2009 BTW)
MARINE SNIPER: 93 confirmed kills
MAKING THE CORPS (follows a platoon of recruits through boot camp at perris island)

I inherited the 'Stephen King Library', so I have been reading his books lately.

-The Stand (Unedited and Uncut ) ny Stephen King

-Salems Lot by Stephen King

-The Mist by Stephen King (The movie sucked)

-Misery by Stephen King

-Lone Survivor by Luttrell

-Night Stalkers by Michael Durant and Steven Hartov

-Blowing up Russia by Alexander Litvinenko

-The Road by Cormac McCarthy