Books. Actually, Authors and Books...

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I did a list, Juvat did a list, Tuna did a list. So I was going to do another list. (Don't grimace at me like that, it won't be that bad.) I chose my subject and after a few moments realized that the task I had set for myself was impossible. I couldn't do it, it exceeded my capabilities.

Really Sarge? A top ten list of your favorite books? Might as well try to count the stars, number the grains of sand on all the beaches of the world, might as well try to...

Okay, I think you get it. There are just too many books that I truly enjoy and have read over and over to try and pick my ten favorites. It's like a three-hundred way tie for first. But while digging around for what might have been a list of favorites, I did come up with a list of books I really like and a number of authors who I really, really like. Folks who could write a phone book and I would buy it.

So here we go.

First off, there are two books I own which are dog-eared, worn out, pages coming loose, and generally exhibiting various signs of decrepitude. (Stop laughing you two in the back, while I am exhibiting a few signs of decrepitude, I ain't ready for "the cart." Not yet anyway.) Ahem, yes, the two "most read" books in my library.

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Shogun I have probably read a dozen times, Swords Around A Throne at least ten times. If I were to somehow produce a top ten list, these two would be vying for first place. Yes, I probably might just declare a tie and go home. While not everyone gets a trophy, these two books have given me hours of enjoyment.

Shogun tells the tale of an English pilot (of a ship, better described as a captain/navigator if you will) who has navigated his small, Portuguese owned vessel from Portugal, all the way to Japan. Which, trust me on this, is a long, long trip. Especially in a small sailing ship. The time period is the late 16th Century, just prior to the battle of Sekigahara (which you can, and probably should, read about at that link).

Of course, we all know that that battle led to the Tokugawa shogunate which lasted from 1603 to 1867. What we don't know that? Well, you can read more about that here, or read Shogun. While the book is a fictionalized account of that time, it's still interesting. And you might learn a few phrases in 日本語. Helpful if you travel to Japan.

Shogun was written by this fellow, James Clavell.

James Clavell (Source)

Who also wrote a number of excellent books, all of which I really enjoyed. All of which are along the lines of "white boy goes to Asia and makes good." Not that there's anything wrong with that. Remember the line from Kipling, "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet"? No? It's in this poem, The Ballad of East and West, which you can read in it's entirety here. Point is, most Westerners, while they might find Asia fascinating and interesting, don't really understand it. So if you drop a Westerner into the story (think The Last Samurai) you can tell the story from their point of view without having to know a lot about Asian culture. But if you pay attention, you might learn a thing or two. Mr. Clavell knew a thing or two about Asia.

Other Clavell books I have enjoyed. (Source)

I have mentioned Colonel Elting's work before, it's an excellent book about the army of Napoléon Bonaparte. I won't belabor the point here, if you chase that link above you can read about the book in more detail. Let's just say, it's a "must have" if you are an aficionado of the Napoleonic period. Which I am.

So those two books will make any top ten list of books of mine, were I able to actually narrow the list to ten. There are just so many books I enjoy that attempting to narrow the list of favorites to ten would be difficult, if not impossible.

Now authors, I have a number of favorite authors. If I see that one of these people has written a new book, the odds are that I will go out and buy it. Sight unseen (though I will read the blurb on the book itself before putting down cash for it, more of a formality with most authors).

The list of favorite authors is pretty big. So I'll cheat and put their pictures up. Buy a book written by one of these folks and you will not be disappointed. Well, if you have an interest in history and des affaires militaires you won't be disappointed. A partial list of my favorite authors (drum roll please) in no particular order -

Stephen Hunter (Source)

Want to learn something about snipers? Read Hunter. His characters are amazing. Bob Lee and Earl Swagger are two of the finest characters in fiction. Men of honor. Men of action.

Bernard Cornwell (Source)

Mr. Cornwell's tales of battle ring true. You'd almost think he stood in a shield wall at some time in his past. His take on the Arthurian legend is brilliant. His series on the Napoleonic Wars (think Sharpe) is worth your time. Right now I'm reading one of his books (part of The Grail Quest, yes, that Grail) and have three more of his Saxon Tales on the "to be read" stack.

His recent historical account of the Battle of Waterloo is superb. Well researched, brilliantly written. I own it, I read it, I will read it again.

Stephen Coonts (Source)

Flight of the Intruder introduced us to Jake Grafton. I have been following his adventures since then. Mr. Coonts writes it, I buy it. It's that simple. (Mr. Coonts is a great guy, I count him among my friends.)

Douglas Reeman, who also wrote under the name Alexander Kent (Source)

Most of Mr. Reeman's books that I own and have read were written under his Alexander Kent nom de plume. He specializes in naval historical fiction, both WWII, writing as himself, and the age of sail, writing as Kent.

His Richard Bolitho character is a favorite of mine. We follow him from his days as a midshipman in the Royal Navy prior to the American Revolution and through the Napoleonic Wars. I won't explicitly tell you Admiral Bolitho's eventual fate, but I will say this, I've never had such an emotional reaction to a fictional character.

Jeff Shaara (Source)

Jeff Shaara is the son of Michael Shaara. I list him first simply because I have read more of his books than I have read of his father's. He essentially picked up where his Dad left off after his father's death. His Dad would be proud of his son, I'm sure. He's a brilliant author who has mastered the art of military historical fiction. His books on the Civil War are outstanding, but he's damned good with other periods in our country's history as well.

Michael Shaara (Source)

Three words: The Killer Angels. If you read one novel, no, one book, on the battle of Gettysburg. Read that one. Trust me.

Nelson DeMille (Source)

A Vietnam vet, like Mr. Coonts, Nelson DeMille is an amazing writer of suspense and action. He's another guy who if he writes it, I'll buy it. By the Rivers of Babylon is another of my books that is getting a bit worn out. One of my favorites for sure!

Stephen Ambrose (Source)

One of my favorite historians. Band of Brothers is brilliant, his other works are not far behind. I'm sure the academics don't care for his work, I mean, people actually read, and enjoy, his writing. He brings history to life.

Barbara Tuchman (Source)

My favorite historian. I wept when she died. No, seriously. She was brilliant. And prolific.

And for the record, Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August, beats Solzhenitsyn's August 1914 hands down. (Though in fairness the former is history, superb history, and the latter is a novel. A Russian novel.) Still and all, I'll read Tuchman over Solzhenitsyn any day. Twice on Sunday. The lady was a brilliant historian, she is my favorite historian. (But that, perhaps, is a topic for another time. Maybe even a list?)

Oh yeah, these two would make my top ten list, that whole multi-book tie for first thing. My copy of The Killer Angels is nearly as dog eared as my copy of Shogun. The Guns of August is critical (I think) to understanding World War I. How it started and why. Absolutely brilliant history.

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So what (and who) do you like to read?