So... what are you reading?

[KiltedDixon]

Locally Laid, by Lucie B. Amundesn

It's about an upstart egg farm in Northern Minnesota.

[GMan]

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

[Stoff]

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
by Giles Milton

A great read, well written about Churchill's crew of dirty trick developers.

[Jack Daw]

I finished Flexner's bio on George Washington, now I'm reading, "His Excellency George Washington", by Joseph J. Ellis. Flexner has more detail on Washington's last 2 days of life, but Ellis is better at covering Washington's growing frustrations with the British and his changing attitude on slavery.

[dcommini]

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

I had to read that book in college. I really didn't care for it. Chris McCandles just didn't seem like a likable character, and I felt like I couldn't relate to him. I understand that he was a real person, and I find his story to be very tragic. But I think it was Krakauer's writing style that put me off. I've heard the film is actually good for those who didn't like the book, and yet I've still to watch it.

And keeping in the theme of this thread... A Bridge to Light: A Study in Masonic Ritual and Philosophy by Rex R. Hutchens

[Walkman]

I read this book about 17 years ago. It was a fun read. I'm a big fan of GMF's MacNeil/MacAuslan series of stories. If you are a particular fan of his, I recommend an autobiography he wrote of his time during WWII, "Quartered Safe Out Here". That was sobering.

Thanks for the recommendations, Jack. I've added "Quartered Safe Out Here" to my reading list and will have to look into the MacNeil/MacAuslan series as well.

[Jack Daw]

Thanks for the recommendations, Jack. I've added "Quartered Safe Out Here" to my reading list and will have to look into the MacNeil/MacAuslan series as well.

I believe, The General Danced at Dawn," was the first of the MacNeil/MacAuslan series, but it's been a few years.

[Old Hippie]

Shackleton's Heroes by Wilson McOrist.

The story of the "Mount Hope Party" who were the support crew for Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic Expedition. Ernest Shackleton's personal struggles through what must surely be the most spectacular -- and in many ways the most successful -- failure ever are well known through his own account of the voyage of the Endurance. That account relates a bit of the story of the Aurora's loss (broken away from anchorage in a blizzard, taking most supplies with it) and subsequent events that affected the "other half" of his expedition.

McOrist's research, however, uncovers diaries and letters that were never made public. The book details many of the human quirks, foibles and failings that played in the broader picture. Against incredible odds and with uncertain leadership the party managed to set up a line of supply depots along the final leg of Shackleton's planned walk across Antarctica. While the popular image of Shackleton is that "he never lost a man," as overall commander of the expedition he acknowledged that the support party lost three men. Shackleton's account of the "Shore Party" relied on diaries kept by two of the ten men involved. McOrist was able to access copies of all of the men's surviving diaries (some were lost with the men, but earlier diaries had been collected for safekeeping as they were filled). Part of each man's responsibilities were to record his thoughts and observations regularly, so that Shackleton could use that material in his publications and lectures, which paid for the expeditions in part. Some of the material has only come to light in the last ten years.

Unlike other accounts of the expedition, "The Boss" as Sir Ernest was known is merely a figure in the distance in this book. Fascinating read. The foreword is written by Ranulph Fiennes, the first person to (finally, in 1992) walk across Antarctica via the South Pole.

[javankrona]

The Original Argument: The Federalists' Case for the Constitution, Adapted for the 21st Century - Glenn Beck

[thescot]

I finished Flexner's bio on George Washington, now I'm reading, "His Excellency George Washington", by Joseph J. Ellis. Flexner has more detail on Washington's last 2 days of life, but Ellis is better at covering Washington's growing frustrations with the British and his changing attitude on slavery.

The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789 by Edward Larson is a very good, well-reearched book as well if you haven't read it. It mostly focuses on the period between Washington's resignation as Commander in Chief and his being drafted as president.