I've had a lot of downtime on my hands while the elections were going on. It may for a great time to catch up on some reading. Here are my most recently read (I recommend all): "Where Have All the Soldiers Gone?" by James J Sheehan- Great read about the changes in European attitudes about war since WWI. "Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein- Can't believe I never read this before. I think Heinlein's idea of citizenship should be the new American model. "The Road" by Cormac Mcarthy- Great book. Saw it at the bookstore and grabbed it. Found out it was a movie (I had been out of the country for like 7 months) and had to go immedaitely that night to catch it. The book is slightly better as always. "I, Sniper" by Stephen Hunter- I can't stand fiction. Stephen Hunter is one of the few fiction writers I read. This one is another Bob Lee Swagger novel. Pretty good overall. I am just glad to read another even if it did seem forced. I hate to see the end of a great fictional character... this may be the last Swagger novel?? "Alive" by Piers Paul Read- I think everyone has seen the movie. The book is really good at describing the reasoning that people go through before making a decision as they did in order to survive. Great read. Again, much better than the movie. Currently reading: "Dynamics of Destruction" by Alan Kramer- has started out well enough. Currently just finished the part that recalls the burning of Louvain. A good description of what happens to a disarmed people in the face of tyranny. Will read: "On Combat" by Dave Grossman- I got this one form a buddy that never did start it. I am a big fan of "On Killing". In light of "Where Have All the Soldiers Gone" and "Dynamics of Destruction", I realize how right on Grossman is. I don't know why... I just seem drawn to this topic. Maybe it's trying to make sense of all my life experiences as this war ends? Maybe it's just looking for meaning to all the waste here and asking "what did we accomplish?" "Deliverance" by James Dickey- A "classic" about outdoor adventure?? I dunno. Saw the movie, don't like that part but liked the rest.... I guess I will reserve judgement until the book is read. Anyways, it was free on a book shelf.
Dave Grossman is top notch, I have read a lot of his columns. I have read a lot of Stephen Hunter's books, the last I think was "Pale Horse Coming". Hot Springs was one of my favorites of his. I do not read a lot of fiction, but I make the exception for Michael Connelly and Stephen Hunter. The last books I have read were "God and Caesar", "The Battle of Mogadishu", "Inside Delta Force", "Juvenile Delinquency The Core", "Common Sense Economics", and "Inside The Revolution" by Joel Rosenberg and "Liberty, Order and Justice An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American Government."
