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Joined: Dec 2003
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2003
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Best...
Blood Meridian is pretty incredible. I'd have to put it at the top.
For Whom the Bell Tolls has a lot of great stuff in it and extremely well written. You can't go wrong with Hemingway.
Hemingway also has some really fine short stories.
Hemingway is pegged as a misogynist but he's not any easier on men. Sometimes the truth hurts. There's a whole lot of truth in his writing, real people and real situations. Not saying he wasn't misogynist to some degree, but I think it's fair to say he's misunderstood with regards to his writing about women.
Nonfiction:
Undaunted Courage by Ambrose is just awesome. He puts the whole Lewis-Clark expedition in perspective; the history, the hardship, the importance, the toughness. I love history. I love biographies. This one is extremely well done.
put me down for Blood Meridian too. My favorite. I figured that would have been the first of Cormac McCarthy's books mentioned. The Road by McCarthy. I couldn't put that one down.
...Actually Sycamore, you are sort of right....
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,176
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Good one. My favorite is The Grapes of Wrath. Everything by Steinbeck is good.
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,176
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,176 |
Tom Wolf wrote some good novels. The Right Stuff, Bonfire of the Vanities and others.
Second that and will add Man in Full and his book of short stories is good, especially Little Mummies. My favorite living author.
Last edited by LostHighway; 09/01/16.
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Joined: Jun 2012
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2012
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If you like Man in Full, grab the audio version. It is very well done.
Mercy ceases to be a virtue when it enables further injustice. -Brent Weeks
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 19,108
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2002
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The whole series is excellent - much laughter and a few tears. I too enjoyed His work. Wonder where my books went, as I have not seen them in a long time. I bet they are in storage somewhere around here, along with a lot of other stuff that I can't find. miles
Look out for number 1, don't step in number 2.
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Joined: Mar 2006
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Campfire Outfitter
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This might not go over well, but honestly The Hunger Games. I couldn't put it down.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,712
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2005
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So far I haven't read the entire thread so do not know if my favourite author has been mentioned. Most anything written by James Lee Burke is filled with descriptive prose. Not necessarily every ones type of stories but the man has a way with words found by few other writers.
Is anyone else here a fan?
Jim
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Joined: Feb 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
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Michener's formula wears thin with his later books. I've read most of his stuff and prefer the earlier books. "The Source" is the one I find is the best of his works.
"Guns, germ and Steel" is a good read.
"Captured" by Zesch. I just finished this. It is about the children captured by the Comanche, Apache and Kiowa on the Southern Plains. Interesting Missed this thread because I was in moose camp... I agree Michener wore thin, but I think it came a lot earlier. I would rather have bamboo shoots under the fingernails than have to read a large part of "his" compilations. He hires writers and then assembles and edits the work. His work is often very uneven as a result. Really like David McCullough's biographies, especially John Adams and Truman. Mornings on Horseback was also very good.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Jan 2012
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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In reading this thread it is obvious that a lot of us like the same books. There is no favorite for me as there are many many wonderful books out there on varied subjects. Fiction, Nonfiction, History, Technical. How could a person pick just one book as their favorite?
If I were going to be on island by myself for the rest of my life I would take a Bible.
I would also like to have:
Lonesome Dove
Anything by Craig Johnson (Longmire)
Tony Hillerman mysteries set on Navajo land.
Shelby Footes Narrative of the Civil War
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Campfire Outfitter
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The most influential on my thought process: Atlas Shrugged.
John Galt's speech was about 100 pages too long.
Most enjoyable read: Jurassic Park. No you can't watch the movie. AGREE on both counts. Got victimized in a a similar fashion when I decided to read the unabridged version of Les Miserable. A top ten read for sure but one where some editing and shaving of a hundred pages or so would have added to the enjoyment.
When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are something to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honors are something to be ashamed of
. Confucius
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Shoot Low Boys There Riding Shetland Pony's Lewis Grizzard
The Old Man an the Sea
Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you.....
Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other, for you freedom.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
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In the modern era, Cold Mountain. If all you've done is seen the movie, forget that maudlin POS and get ye to Amazon and read the book.
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
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I have a group of answers instead of a single one, but I'd say a short list might be:
- The Law - Bastiat
- Christianity & Liberalism - Machen
- Cryptonomicon - Stephenson
- Blink - Gladwell
Always a fan of Kipling and McManus, too.
Could probably come up with a few others if I wandered over my bookshelf for awhile.
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I required my wife to read Atlas shrugged, before i would marry her.
An unemployed Jester, is nobody's Fool.
the only real difference between a good tracker and a bad tracker, is observation. all the same data is present for both. The rest, is understanding what you're seeing.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Anything Louis L'Amour penned
A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
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Campfire Member
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“But the rest are even scared to open up and laugh. You know, that's the first thing that got me about this place, that there wasn't anybody laughing. I haven't heard a real laugh since I came through that door, do you know that? Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing.”
― Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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"Chances Will Be Taken"
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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The Gospel According to John would have to rank pretty high.
Steve.
"I was a deerhunter long before I was a man." ~Gene Wensel's Come November (2000)
"A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user." ~Theodore Roosevelt
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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"Put none but Americans on guard tonight."
-George Washington
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Campfire Savant
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