book suggestions

[Tickdoc]

leaving for italy in three days and I need a good book recommendation.

Last decent cycling book I read was Phil Gaimon's "cycling on $10 a day"

Doesn't have to be cycling, but I like history, or non-fiction, or science fiction.

Any suggestions?

Oh, and thanks in advance :beer:

[Elefantino]

"Lassoing the Sun" by Mark Woods. It's about the future of our national parks, told through the eyes of a great, great writer.

[FlashUNC]

The Race Against the Stasi by Herbie Sykes. About a defection at the Peace Race. Excellent stuff.

[carpediemracing]

Some that struck me:

Manifold: Time, Stephen Baxter (sci-fi)
Lance Armstrong's War, Daniel Coyle (cycling of course, not a Lance fan but this book really entertains me)
Replay, Ken Grimwood (sci-fi?)
Old Man's War, John Scalzi (sci-fi, first of a trilogy)
Neuromancer, William Gibson

I read WW2 stuff, European theater mainly:
Bridge Too Far, Cornelius Ryan
Tigers in the Mud, Otto Carius (this is one of a series of green/black books)

Only read a couple books on Vietnam:
We Were Soldiers Once And Young, Harold Moore
Fiction but worth the mention - The 13th Valley, John Del Vecchio

These are pretty mainstream I think, but I re-read them somewhat regularly.

[rrudoff]

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt has a lot of relevancy to Italy and the Renaissance

[Birddog]

I recently read "The Wright Brothers" and "Rust; The Longest War". I recommend both highly. The "Wright Bros" has some bicycle content as you might expect and gives a very clear picture of the Wrights systematic approach to manned flight. "Rust" is very readable and interesting even to a non engineer type. Waldman's first book is a nugget. Each chapter is devoted to a different aspect of corrosion and it's effect. There was one bicycle example too.

Reading about the Wright Bros on an international flight is just the "Wright thing to do"!

[CampyorBust]

Bridge Too Far, Cornelius Ryan
Tigers in the Mud, Otto Carius (this is one of a series of green/black books)

https://i.imgflip.com/17a2gk.jpg (https://imgflip.com/i/17a2gk)via Imgflip Meme Generator (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)

The Nazis Next Door: How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler's Men - Eric Lichtblau

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man – Perkins

And how about the whole Chomsky library.

Now you're really going to hate me … Dan Brown’s Inferno. I know some are very critical of him but having lived in Florence for a bit I really enjoyed revisiting some of the locations in this book.

[Sierra]

An offbeat, fascinating book for you that has nothing in the world to do with Italy; but, as long as you are escaping. It's a kaleidoscope of a book; equal parts science fiction, philosophical tract on the relationship between good and evil, and love story, filled with wry, Russian humor:

The Master and Margarita

It was written by Mikhail Bulgakov. Wonderful writer. Kidney disease got him before Stalin could.

[CampyorBust]

An offbeat, fascinating book for you that has nothing in the world to do with Italy; but, as long as you are escaping. It's a kaleidoscope of a book; equal parts science fiction, philosophical tract on the relationship between good and evil, and love story, filled with wry, Russian humor:

The Master and Margarita

It was written by Mikhail Bulgakov. Wonderful writer. Kidney disease got him before Stalin could.

Hmmmm… Respek! Great book, love Bulgakov! Another lighter Bulgakov read Heart of a dog. Great social commentary on the some of the absurdities of soviet society, now with bonus parallels to some of the realties we are faced with today.

[steelbikerider]

history, cycling and Italy all in one
https://www.amazon.com/Road-Valor-Cyclist-Inspired-Nation/dp/0307590658

[AngryScientist]

check this thread for some good recommendations:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=28291&highlight=reading

[2LeftCleats]

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Interesting look at our way getting old in this society and how we might do it differently in order to maintain meaning and autonomy.

[thwart]

If you're interested in a cycling-related book, then 'The Rider' by Tim Krabbé is one of the best.

A true classic.

[drewellison]

Full Disclosure ... this is my wife's book. It's a good one. :banana:

"Forty Years Master" - a memoir of a merchant sailing ship captain, Daniel O. Killman, who spent 50 tough years at sea, 40 of them as captain during the wooden sailing ship era, finishing his "rough and tumble" career as the merchant sailing era came to an end, yielding to steamships, and as unions came into being. (Reading it, you'll see why seafaring unions began forming.)


Find it on amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Forty-Years-Master-sponsored-University/dp/1623493803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468343215&sr=8-1&keywords=forty+years+master

[seric]

For Historical fiction: The Baroque Cycle (Neal Stephenson)

[velotel]

The Brilliance Triology, Marcus Sakey

[alexstar]

I'm currently halfway through "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" and enjoying it very much. I suspect you would, too.

[kmla320]

Nathaniel Philbrick's Valient Ambition.Revolutionary War stuff.Could not put it down!!

[72gmc]

Uncommon Carriers, John McPhee. Days in the lives of truck drivers, river pilots, train engineers.

Barbarian Days, William Finnegan. The life of a surfer.

[zmudshark]

Halfway through 'The Sympathizer', very good.

[weisan]

Easy read. (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Malcolm+Gladwell)

[gasman]

I was just on vacation and blew through The Martian. I liked the movie but the book was great especially if you are a science nerd, well even if you aren't it'd still good. Only one really unrealistic scene but you need to be a real nerd to catch it.
I liked it so much that I had to buy another read for bedtime.

[brendonk]

The Power Of The Dog by Don Winslow. I picked it up based on a review I read in Esquire and I'm glad I did. Great thriller, very well written. A variety of interesting characters. Lots of details and thought put into the story. A big step above Lee Child and Vince Flynn, both of which I enjoy. I'm already planning on picking up more Winslow books since I'm enjoying this one so much.

Just finished AlphaVille about the 1980's heroin scene in New York City written by a cop and plain clothes agent based on his experiences. A solid book worth reading. Amazing what goes on in the world.

[Ken Robb]

"The Good War" by Studs Terkel is a collection of vignettes of peoples' experiences during WW II. Military, civilian. politicians, leaders are all included. It gives some different perspectives than the usual histories and biographies of famous participants.

[oldpotatoe]

leaving for italy in three days and I need a good book recommendation.

Last decent cycling book I read was Phil Gaimon's "cycling on $10 a day"

Doesn't have to be cycling, but I like history, or non-fiction, or science fiction.

Any suggestions?

Oh, and thanks in advance :beer:

5th wave.

[Sierra]

Cormac McCarthy: Blood Meridian. It is really the tale of our times.

[shovelhd]

I read Room on vacation. Highly recommended for when you have time to stay up late because you can't put it down.

[bikinchris]

If you like history and cycling:
Roads Weren't Built for Cars by Carlton Reid
Hearts of Lions by Peter Nye
The Fastest Bicycle Rider in The World by Marshall W. Major Taylor
A Social History of The Bicycle by Robert A. Smith

The last is out of print. I think all of them are available as Kindle books and other electronic books.

[gdw]

I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. Classic historical novels about ancient Rome.

[oldpotatoe]

Cormac McCarthy: Blood Meridian. It is really the tale of our times.

Tough read..

J G Ballard books, Hi Rise and Crash. The Road by Cormac McCarthy also.

[topflightpro]

Thunderstruck, by Eric Larson.

It's about an Italian too.

[malcolm]

Only cycling book I've read in years; "Road to Valor"

Other non fiction I've read recently that's very good:

Sapiens
The Sixth Extinction
The Last Gunfight
Under the Banner of Heaven
Destiny of the Republic
Catastrophe
Presidents Club
Last Call
A Misplaced Massacre - written by a Paceline member !!!!!


Great fiction you don't see mentioned much
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
Don't Stop the Carnival
Into the Fall
Lost Nation

[verbeke06]

One of the best books I've read about cycling, and cyclocross in particular, is Behind The Stare. Great great book!

[deechee]

Command and Control : Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety (https://www.amazon.com/Command-Control-Damascus-Accident-Illusion/dp/0143125788)

Easy read, and absolutely scary how close we were to numerous nuclear disasters since WWII.

[Tickdoc]

I recently read "The Wright Brothers" and "Rust; The Longest War". I recommend both highly. The "Wright Bros" has some bicycle content as you might expect and gives a very clear picture of the Wrights systematic approach to manned flight. "Rust" is very readable and interesting even to a non engineer type. Waldman's first book is a nugget. Each chapter is devoted to a different aspect of corrosion and it's effect. There was one bicycle example too.

Reading about the Wright Bros on an international flight is just the "Wright thing to do"!

Just a note of thanks for all the great suggestions. The wright brothers won out. I remembered your recommendation as I was waiting for our first flight.

Great book. I'm a slow reader, so it took the whole week for me to soak it all in. Well written is an understatement and it cleared up many misconceptions I had of these two brothers and all that they did.

Turns out it was the wright thing to do :-)

[alancw3]

having recently watched the documentary on pbs american experiences i am now starting the book "the boys in the boat" by daniel james brown. about the unlikely nine man rowing team from the university of washington that won the gold medal in the 1936 olympics in nazi germany. you can also watch the documentary from the american experience website on your computer:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/

[Birddog]

Just a note of thanks for all the great suggestions. The wright brothers won out. I remembered your recommendation as I was waiting for our first flight.

Great book. I'm a slow reader, so it took the whole week for me to soak it all in. Well written is an understatement and it cleared up many misconceptions I had of these two brothers and all that they did.

Turns out it was the wright thing to do :-)

Glad you liked it. I'll likely never see my copy again as I loaned it out and it has been re-loaned.