Summer Reading
- Thread starter mullin17
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How you gonna look at the ladies with your nose buried in a book?
Audiobooks with earbuds are discreet. Plus, an inexpensive MP3 player can hold a hundred books, not to mention music.
Across the River, which is about a poor high school in New Orleans with a very good football team that is held together (barely at times) by an unconventional coach.
I don't read many sports books, but I do read a lot of military history. Few subjects are more riveting than the great, decisive battles that formed the foundations of this country. And now with fall approaching, these books on warfare, which has many parallels with sports, may get you fired up for the football season. Here's a few recommendations, in chronological order. Each one is a masterpiece.
Revolutionary War: "The British Are Coming," by Rick Atkinson
Civil War: "Pickett's Charge," by George Stewart
Indian Wars: "The Battle of the Little Big Horn." by Nathaniel Philbrick
World War I: "The Devil Dogs at Belleau Wood," by Dick Camp
World War II: "Ardennes, The Battle of the Bulge," by Antony Beevor
VietNam: "Dispatches," by Michael Herr
Anything by Atkinson and Beevor is worth reading. Read Atkinson’s The Long Gray Line in college about the West Point class of 1966 and their experience in the Vietnam War. Very powerful.
Excellent suggestion. Book is crazy. At least 100 “this can’t be serious” moments. That coaching staff did things that were celebrated that would have gotten most staffs fired without any hesitation.
if you’re looking for a high school football book, this is the one to read for sure…
"A Civil War" by John Feinstein is a great read. Follows Army and Navy football teams during the course of a season.
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I just read “Sooley” by John Grisham. It’s a fictional story about a 17 year old who escapes from his war torn village in Sudan and leads a small North Carolina college through the NCAA tourney. It was very entertaining.
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After reading it, you’ll want to put the Army/Navy game on your bucket list.
I would recommend reading the following and then watch the 10 part HBO miniseries Band of Brothers:
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose
CITIZEN SOLDIERS : The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany -- June 7, 1944-May 7, 1945 by Stephen E. Ambrose
D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose
Or you could read the following and then watch the 10 part HBO miniseries The Pacific:
Helmet for My Pillow: From Paris Island to the Pacific May 28, 2019 by Robert Leckie
Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific by R.V. Burgin
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge
I had read most of the books on D-day prior to the miniseries Band of Brothers. But when The Pacific first aired on HBO I took a bathroom break about 20 minutes into the first episode while I was taping it. I went to the computer and ordered the above three books on the Pacific landings and went back to the TV. After the first episode was over all the books were out of stock for several months. Years later when my father passed away, my uncle told us about my father’s war record. My dad was a hero in my eyes in the way he led his life. My Uncle confirmed he won several awards in the military we never knew about. When my mother passed away, we were going thru her records we found my dads military records from the Army. We also found my uncles war records from my mothers side of the family. Those two uncles served in the Marines in the Pacific Theater.
Those books had new meaning to me after reading their records. To the older members of this blog on Father’s Day today remember those who served back then. They were truly the Greatest Generation!
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose
CITIZEN SOLDIERS : The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany -- June 7, 1944-May 7, 1945 by Stephen E. Ambrose
D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose
Or you could read the following and then watch the 10 part HBO miniseries The Pacific:
Helmet for My Pillow: From Paris Island to the Pacific May 28, 2019 by Robert Leckie
Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific by R.V. Burgin
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge
I had read most of the books on D-day prior to the miniseries Band of Brothers. But when The Pacific first aired on HBO I took a bathroom break about 20 minutes into the first episode while I was taping it. I went to the computer and ordered the above three books on the Pacific landings and went back to the TV. After the first episode was over all the books were out of stock for several months. Years later when my father passed away, my uncle told us about my father’s war record. My dad was a hero in my eyes in the way he led his life. My Uncle confirmed he won several awards in the military we never knew about. When my mother passed away, we were going thru her records we found my dads military records from the Army. We also found my uncles war records from my mothers side of the family. Those two uncles served in the Marines in the Pacific Theater.
Those books had new meaning to me after reading their records. To the older members of this blog on Father’s Day today remember those who served back then. They were truly the Greatest Generation!
Great post! I have read most of those books too and share your sentiments on the "Greatest Generation".
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