A lot of the discussions here seem very military focused, for obvious reasons. But I'm curious what else everyone is reading/writing about outside of military oriented books/magazines/literature. Hell, I've used a lot of military books/authors to open by view to other genres.
For example, Matterhorn, written by Karl Marlantes -- he wrote a book called Deep River which I grabbed as soon as it came out (highly recommend it). Another example of mine is I've read the entire Lonesome Dove series, almost all of David Joy's books, and Barbarian Days (recommended by Russell Worth Parker on SOFLETE).
I ask this because I transitioned off of AD from the AF last Oct, and have found it to be quite the journey so far. The aforementioned books offered insight into things I never thought about while on Active Duty -- building a life as a Finnish immigrant, the American expansion westward during the 19th century, and perhaps most intriguing -- relationships.
To me, relationships are what PB Abbate is all about and the foundation it's built on; so I guess you could argue I'm looking to branch out and see what else there is to build in the big, scary, real world.
Let me know what else there is to check out.
Just moved into a new place so the stack of 8 that I was reading last month is still packed up. But I'm currently reading Tip of the Spear by Ryan Hendrickson and Nature's Temple: Meditations of John Muir that I picked up earlier this month in Mesa, AZ. I'm working through the May book as well, but that one is a little harder, emotionally, to read.
Hi Pete, how are you liking Nature's Temple? I have not heard of it before but I am a fan of Muir.
@Jill It's good. I lost the book so I'm only a few pages into it. It laid out like a single page journal entry. The first 10 pages were good. When I find it again and finish it I'll let you know if it's worth the purchase.
I‘m all over the map;
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman is excellent.
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
One of my all time favorite reads is Homicide by David Simon. Before he created The Wire, he was a reporter in 1980’s Baltimore at the height of the crack epidemic. He spent a year + embedded with homicide detectives. It gives a great overview of how city hall and other outside factors affect department policy, and the outcome of investigations.
Nick,
How is Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee?
I'm going to look at the Homicide book too, I'm in the middle of applying to a Federal LE agency and I haven't looked into the violent crime (drugs, homicide, etc) side of things, so that's definitely a book I'm going to look into.
It’s worth the read. It‘a a period of American history that didn’t get a lot of attention in my youth. For me at least, it’s one of those things where after having been in the Army, some of the specifics were disappointing, but not exactly surprising.
My personal take on it is that the goal should be to be aware of our country’s fuck ups and find a way to hold both love for it, and awareness of it’s fuck ups at the same time, and this book may give you some practice at that.
@Nick Ackerson I just got Michael Punke's new book 'Ridgeline' as a gift -- its pretty good so far, some what picks up off of his last book 'The Revenant'. Its focused on Sioux/US Army fighting in Wyoming in what is now the Jim Bridger Wilderness. My favorite part so far, is that what's funny to me: militaries don't change.
Just finished Pat Conroy's The Water is Wide, about his experience as a school teacher in the south. If you haven't read Conroy, you really should.
Also finished up James Wade's first novel, All things Left Wild. A tremendous debut. There are definitely shades of McCarthy streaked through the pages.
I am currently wrapping up Attacks by Erwin Rommel. WWI tactics fascinate me because I feel like you can almost watch military doctrine evolve into a modern sense in real-time. A couple of notes: WWI was just plain bonkers. The early battles of the Frontier were very haphazard and read very much like two large groups of people with guns running into each other in open field. Rommel's summaries continue this haphazard feel throughout the book. However, you get a great impression of what personal initiative and leadership looks like at the junior officer level, and Rommel is an inspiring example.
Anyone wanting to chat more on WWI (or Rommel specifically) please feel free to comment!