What Are You Reading?

Finished Wager With The Wind and decided to stay on the Alaska theme. I finally ordered Troy's book 14 Days To Alaska and knocked that out. A fun read and adventure. I'm looking forward to his next release.

I've been on a reading kick lately and with a new Kindle Fire from my Bride for Christmas I decided to download a few more books. Reading Flight of Passage and then I'll get back to Land Here?, You Bet.

So many good reads listed in this "what are you reading" thread....I'm going back to the OP and update my list. Keep posting folks, good stuff.
 
A recent release, " the aviators" about the lives of Doolittle, lindbergh, and rickenbacker. Great book!
 
Command and control. Just finished it. About massive screw ups in missal sites here in the U.S. And many airforce accidents with nukes on board. Great read, especially the massive f.u. At Damascus , Arkansas!
 
Just finished "Revolver: How the Beatles Reimagined Rock `N' Roll ", next up, "Hang Gliding for Beginner Pilots"
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Command and control. Just finished it. About massive screw ups in missal sites here in the U.S. And many airforce accidents with nukes on board. Great read, especially the massive f.u. At Damascus , Arkansas!
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I'll second that! Just finished it as well. Very entertaining and also pretty unnerving. Agreed, the Titan accident was a case study in how to NOT deal with an emergency.

Also finished up Lawrence in Arabia:

http://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Arabia-Deceit-Imperial-Making/dp/038553292X

Excellent! Seems things haven't changed all that much in the Middle East in the last 100 years.

Gary
 
Sharpe's Eagle. Its about a British officer who is raised from the ranks during the Napoleonic Wars. Very good book. Sean Bean did a tv series about it about 20yrs ago in the mid 90s.
 
Someone recommended The Dog Stars, which is a fanciful post-apocalyptic story of a pilot and a crazy ex-SEAL living at, and defending the KEIK airport from zombies created by a mutant virus eight years after the outbreak starts.. LOL. Cessnas and zombies. What's not to like? Haha. The author did do a pretty good job of doing it in first person style and the rambling thoughts of a zombie holocaust survivor. The crazy nut job scene at the KGJT airport is totally goofy, but I can't spoil it. I'll just say it's good to practice go-arounds. Hahaha.

Read it. Entertaining. Not very realistic, and not up there with a Clancy novel, but what is? Heh. Cheap on Kindle. Author deserves a couple of bucks. Time killer story.

Since it was loosely about a SEAL and I usually read non-fiction that lead to Never Fight Fair! which is basically a bunch of interviews of SEALs back to WWII where they were UDT/Frogmen and on into whenever the book was published. Not very far into it yet.
 
I just cranked through the first book in the "Gone" series in a couple of days.

It was free with my new tablet, and I discovered -- much to my annoyance -- that it was pretty hard to put down once I got into it. The series is aimed primarily at teenagers, so don't expect much, but it's mindless, good, and cheap (like, "free") entertainment.
 
On my overloaded nightstand right now: Stick and Rudder, Night Flight, The Hindenburg, Art of War, The Gist of Nietzsche arranged by H.L. Mencken, Letters From The Earth by Mark Twain, Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, McCormick Vineyard Tractor Operators Manual, Most of the Parrakeet Pilot issues, Small Craft Advisor mags, and a Kitplanes mag. I jump back and forth depending on the zeitgeist.
 
Finished Chickenhawk a few days ago. Just started on Boyd.
 
Just finished The Thinking Pilot's Flight Manual, by Rick Durden. It's definitely not dry or boring. Great reading for new student pilots, and lots of meat to chew for experienced pilots as well. He has a chapter where he essentially vents anger and frustration about pilots that do stupid things that get people killed and encourage government to make onerous rules. The chapter on aviation myths could spawn hundreds of PoA flame wars alone! :lol:

Currently reading The Killing Zone - How and Why Pilots Die, by Paul A. Craig. Very readable, in spite of the fact that there are charts and graphs throughout the book. Spoiler: the killing zone is basically the logged time between 50-350 hours when statistics show an abnormally high number of pilots kill themselves.
 
Try lords of the sky. Written by dan Hampton, former U.S. A.F. Fighter pilot. Excellent research , footnotes on history of fighter warfare, WW1, 2 etc. He is a very well respected pilot, many awards. Etc. good read. Written very recently.
 
The best aviation book I've ever read- Wager with the Wind by James Greiner
The best human adventure book I've ever read- Minus 142* by Art Davidson

The common lesson? Suck it up, Sally. These guys were tough.
 
Excellent Sheep which is based on this article. Quite good, highly recommended especially if you have school age kids. Seems I'm excellent but apparently not at being a sheep.:D
 
Pilots in Command - K. Pierson.
 
I just finished Joseph Wambaugh's Fire Lover (which is a true crime book)
 
Now reading Your Brain at Work- David Rock...a Xmas gift. Interesting facts about our brains and ways to handle things (like stress, and uncomfortable social situations..but I never have those :redface:)
 
Still fooling them- Billy Crystal autobio- priceless
Days of Infamy-michael Coffey- shocking
Fate is the Hunter - Ernie Gann- best aviation book EVER- ( 4 or 5th re- read- must do every few years)
Yup, always more than one book on the go at any time.
 
Duty - Robert Gates. It goes with my Army gig and knowledge of the top.

So I Bought An Air Force - W.W. Martin. Flew with a guy who is his brother in law and he sent me a copy in the mail. So far it's an awesome story.
 
Howard Wilson said:
On my overloaded nightstand right now: Stick and Rudder, Night Flight, The Hindenburg, Art of War, The Gist of Nietzsche arranged by H.L. Mencken, Letters From The Earth by Mark Twain, Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, McCormick Vineyard Tractor Operators Manual, Most of the Parrakeet Pilot issues, Small Craft Advisor mags, and a Kitplanes mag. I jump back and forth depending on the zeitgeist.
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I've read just about everything I could find of menckens . Funny person, great writer. Re: Milton Friedman and the " Chicago school", Naomi Klein has a best seller explaining how well friedmans ideas worked in South America. It's called " the shock doctrine." Don't miss it!
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Try lords of the sky. Written by dan Hampton, former U.S. A.F. Fighter pilot. Excellent research , footnotes on history of fighter warfare, WW1, 2 etc. He is a very well respected pilot, many awards. Etc. good read. Written very recently.
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Just got the kindle version of Dan Hampton's Viper Pilot. I haven't read anything of his until now. The reviews on Amazon look to be very good so we shall see.

I just finished up Flying Low by Brian K. Bryans , excellent read. Bryans also wrote Those '67 Blues, another good read.
 
"The Next Hour", Richard Collins on Kindle

&

"The Wright Brothers", David McCullough on Audible.
 
GMascelli said:
Just got the kindle version of Dan Hampton's Viper Pilot. I haven't read anything of his until now. The reviews on Amazon look to be very good so we shall see.

I just finished up Flying Low by Brian K. Bryans , excellent read. Bryans also wrote Those '67 Blues, another good read.
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Read both books. Both very good reads. Viper Pilot has some amazing stories from Desert Storm and the early months of OIF. Only thing that I didn't care for was a tone of arrogance on the part of the author. But, he's a fighter pilot so I'll cut him some slack.:D
 
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Currently reading .....the American war with Japan by Robert Spector. It describes how unprepared we were and how kind fate was to us early in the war, how poorly our wildcat did against the zero ,also our torpedoes, which refused to work, and especially how MacArthur screwed up many times and how he was disliked by his fellow officers. They called him dugout doug as did the enlisted men. Also a good read......"with the old breed, " about marines in the pacific. Makes Isis look like a bunch of sissys.
 
Velocity173 said:
Finished Chickenhawk a few days ago. Just started on Boyd.
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'Chickenhawk', wow, read that many years ago, great book. 'Boyd' is excellent too, as I'm assuming you're talking about Col Boyd, the USAF genius?

Another excellent book is 'The Patriot', a bio about Col Bud Day. He fought as a Marine (WW2), Korea (maybe Army), and Vietnam as an Air Force F-100 pilot who was shot down, escaped from NVM twice but was caught both times. Received the Medal of Honor.
 
Truth in Comedy. Yes, I've joined an improve group...
 
mscard88 said:
'Chickenhawk', wow, read that many years ago, great book. 'Boyd' is excellent too, as I'm assuming you're talking about Col Boyd, the USAF genius?

Another excellent book is 'The Patriot', a bio about Col Bud Day. He fought as a Marine (WW2), Korea (maybe Army), and Vietnam as an Air Force F-100 pilot who was shot down, escaped from NVM twice but was caught both times. Received the Medal of Honor.
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Yeah it's odd I waited so long to read Chickenhawk. It was almost required reading for pilots in the Army. For some reason I waited til retirement to read it. A lot of people compare today's wars to wars of the past and they just don't understand what real war like Vietnam was. When you read Chickenhawk, you get a real appreciation of what they went through. Over 5,000 Army helos lost during the war. That's our entire inventory today!

Yep, just about to finish Boyd. Brilliant guy. Some of his theories I don't agree with though and they were disproven in Desert Storm but his contributions can't be discounted. Should've risen the ranks faster but a big mouth won't get you far in the military.

Read "American Patriot" as well. Years ago I met him when he was campaigning for McCain. Heard he was flying into my local airport so I grabbed my book and went out there to have him sign it. I brought up his F-84 ejection in Germany and immediately he went in to telling the story of what happened. You could also see the effects of the rope torture did on his arms. He still had pain in his forearms from it. Was a great American.
 
"Aurora"

A science fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson.

About "Generation Ships" seeking a new home for mankind.

Recommended by Brian Brushwood of Weird things, and now by me as well.
 
Velocity173 said:
Read "American Patriot" as well. Years ago I met him when he was campaigning for McCain. Heard he was flying into my local airport so I grabbed my book and went out there to have him sign it. I brought up his F-84 ejection in Germany and immediately he went in to telling the story of what happened. You could also see the effects of the rope torture did on his arms. He still had pain in his forearms from it. Was a great American.
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He became a lawyer or had a law degree after release from NVN. Never met the man but he had a practice in Ft Walton Beach and I heard stories of him helping out enlisted guys who couldn't afford a lawyer. Fought for veteran benefits with Congress too. He should have been promoted to at least BGen. Died a few years ago. A great man and patriot.
 
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My reading has been significantly impeded by children and career demands, but here are a few noteworthy reads from this year:

Wordsmithy by Douglas Wilson
The Devil's Alliance by Roger Moorehouse
Coming Apart by Charles Murray
Dead Wake by Erik Lawson
Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof
Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot
Instrument flying handbook
 
Flying know-how by Robert N. Buck is a good book IMO
 
3/4ths of the way though Civilian Warriors by Eric Prince - It's really good!
 
Just finished "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline for the second time. I'm about to start "Armada"

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