This started with my
Wine Book
Library. People
regularly ask me where they can learn more about wine. A fine wine-book
library is almost as rewarding as a fine wine library. On that page is a
selection of wine and wine-country related books from my library. Below
are other books I've read recently that I hope you find as useful and
entertaining I did! Then came Ricks (book) Libraryfollowed by myBusiness Book
Library and now video favorites -
Videos,
Movies,
and TV
favorites.
Share your views in Rick's
Forum
Author - Title - Comments - Rating - (Click
on book jacket images for full view.)
The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of
the Brooklyn Bridge
By David McCullough
The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris
By David McCullough
Super Crunchers Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be
Smart
By Ian Ayres
The One Percent
Doctrine Deep Inside America's Pursuit of its
Enemies Since 9/11
By Ron Suskind
The Shadow Factory: The NSA from 9/11 to the
Eavesdropping on America
by James Bamford
Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal
Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander By Gary Bernstein
The Reagan Diaries
by Ronald Reagan
Stay tuned.
The Politically
Incorrect Guide to Islam(and the Crusades)
by Robert Spencer
Stay tuned.
Securing the City
Inside America's Best Counter-terror Force--The
NYPD
By
Christopher Dickey
Outliers
By Malcom
Gladwell
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
By Bill
O'Reilly Another best-seller from the #1 cable news show host.
Amazing how the liberal media have moved soooo far left that the
center is now seen as the right! Bill O'Reilly's Memoir shares
life's experiences and explains how they shaped his views and
perspectives and his approach to life and the culture war that
envelopes us all. Entertaining and thought provoking reading for
thinking people.
Dark Tide
By Andrew Gross
Thanks Andrew for the Acknowledgement! Well done on
weaving my work and our product into the complex and intruiguing
plot - it works and I got it. You exceeded my expectation with the
suspense and intrigue - and it just kept coming. I read it in one
sitting! It'll make a great movie. I look forward to meeting up for
dinner when you come to town for the book tour! Well done!
Unhinged
By Michelle Malkin
Wow, not for the feint of heart! No punches held
here. Regnery Publishing's review; Warning: Unhinged liberals
are hazardous to the nation’s health. They’re slashing your tires.
Burning your lawns. Heaving pies at Republican pundits. Hurling
racist epithets at minority conservatives. Nursing nutty conspiracy
theories. And pining publicly for the murder of President Bush. And
they call us crazy?
In Unhinged:
Liberals Gone Wild, Michelle Malkin
plays conservative Margaret Mead to the alien political creatures of
the American Left. With uproarious detail and rollicking reportage,
Malkin chronicles the bizarre world of leftists gone mad in their
natural habitats: the mainstream media, academia, Hollywood, and
Washington. Unhinged
unmasks liberals who’ve completely abandoned rationality and
reality. They’re taking chainsaws and bayonets to campaign signs.
Running down political opponents with their cars. Setting fire to
political opponents in effigy. Defacing war memorials. Swiping
yellow ribbons off cars. And supporting the fragging of American
troops. With wit, wisdom, and a bullet-proof vest, Michelle Malkin
ruthlessly and raucously skewers the myths of liberal tolerance,
peace, and civility. Unhinged
shows how conservatives are driving their opponents mad. The good
news for liberals? Self-help starts here."
Quiet Strength
By Tony Dungy
Touching autobiography of the NFL head coach Tony Dungy and the role God and
his faith play in his life - guiding his journey to triumph of
winning the Super Bowl, and supporting him through family tragedy.
His devotion guides his daily life in his family, friendships and
his leadership of gifted athletes and coaches.
Website.
February 2008
Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore
Roosevelt
by Aida D. Donald
January 2008
Charlie Wilson's War
By George Crile
The
extraordinary true story of how the wildest man in Congress and a rogue
CIA agent changed recent modern history. Basis for the major motion
picture starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts that was a fair and
relatively faithful albeit limited depiction of the book.
December 2007
The Quest for Absolute
Security: The Failed Relations Among U.S.
Intelligence Agencies
October 2007
Devil in the White City
By Eric Larson
Fascinating, horrific, spell-binding, incredible tale of the
magnificent Chicago world's fair in 1893, and an underlying true
horror story that played out in its shadows.
July 2007
Culture Warrior
By Bill O'Reilly Love
him or hate him, one can't deny we are at war and Bill O'Reilly is
defining the battle lines with his highest rated television news
program and its 'no-spin
zone'. O'Reilly spells out the cultural war that is playing out
around us. If you're an O'Reilly watcher, then you know the story as
the book essentially replays the theme and backdrop of his highly
acclaimed show. From the team that arguably practices and sets the standard for 'fair and
balanced', this is a must read for the thinking person of our time.
The Innocent Man
By John Grisham - John Grisham Official Site
John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction, an exploration of small
town justice gone terribly awry, is his most extraordinary legal
thriller yet.
"If you believe that in
America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock
you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb
you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book
will infuriate you." - from the jacket.
Killing Pablo:The Hunt for the Richest, Most
Powerful Criminal in History
By Mark Bowden
Godless: The Church of Liberalism
by Ann Coulter
Wilderness of Mirrors by David C. Martin, 1980
Basis for the movie - "The Good Shepherd", produced and directed by
Robert DiNiro, starring Matt Damon and Alec Baldwin. Friend and
former CIA executive Jon Monett appeared in a minor role but served
as technical advisor to the project.
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
How Soccer Explains The
World by Franklin Foer
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink also by Malcolm Gladwell
It took 16
years for Enron to grow into a trading colossus. The company dominated
markets with $60 billion in assets. It came apart in ...
24 Days
by Rebecca Smith and John Emshwiller
of the Wall Street Journal
1776 by David McCullough
Against All
Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror by Richard A. Clarke
Plan of Attack by Bob Woodward
Preventive Defense: A New Security Strategy for
America by Ashton B. Carter & William
J. Perry
In process
Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism By Thomas L. Friedman
A
collection of Friedman's columns from the New York Times, pre and post
9/11/2001. An introspection on events and how they came to be. Thought
provoking perspectives on the new world order, or lack thereof. Not
light reading but divided into numerous bite size chunks for easier
handling.
Body of Secrets :
Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency
By James Bamford
Insights into
the ultra-sophisticated super secret National Security Agency and its
ability to monitor worldwide communications to track down territories,
spies, and other enemies of the state. See 20th centure history from a
new and insightful perspective.
The Art and Spirit of K. P. Singh Selected Drawings and Writings
By K. P. Singh
Collection of
intricate masterful drawings of buildings and cityscapes from around
the globe and particularly Indiana by this Indianapolis resident
artist and author and friend of dear friends. I had the opportunity to
attend this gala launch release recently at Butler University.
Secrets of the Koran Revealing Insight into Islam’s Holy Book
By Don Richardson
Forget all
those evening news sound bites or diplomatically correct half-truths
about the Koran and the religion of Islam. If you want to know what
the Koran is really about, you have to know what it really says.
God's Promise to the Chinese
Dr. Ethel Neison, RIchard E.
Broadberry, & Ginger Tong Chock
In Process
This book shows
new light on the origin of the Chinese writing system. Readers
will learn that the Chinese incorporated an unusual knowledge of
sacred history into their unique writing system.
The Laundrymen Jeffrey Robinson
The Hot Zone -
A Terrifying True Story By Richard Preston
Stephen
King, the horror novelist says it best, "One of the most horrifying
things I've ever read." And the scary thing is that it's a true
story!
Franklin and Winston : An Intimate
Portrait of an Epic Friendship By Jon Meacham
Books by Joseph E. Persico
Roosevelt's Secret War: FDR and
World War II Espionage
Alexander
Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Benjamin Franklin By Edmund Sears Morgan
Benjamin Franklin : An American Life By Walter Isaacson
John Adams
By David McCullough
Wonderful biography of this
most overlook founding father, provides great insights into our
country's founding, and the other notable figures of they day.
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation By Joseph J. Ellis
America's First Dynasty: The Adamses, 1735-1918
By Richard Brookhiser
Jefferson
By Saul K Padover
Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's
Potential By Richard, MD Restak
If
sis Dr. Pat bought this for me to drive me crazy, she succeeded! I
can't take more than one chapter at a sitting - the brain teasers make
your brain hurt.. but then you can't get them out of our mind!
#@&*%$#@!.
American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J.
Daley: His Battle for Chicago and the Nation
By Adam Cohen
Papa Bear: The Life and Legacy of
George Halas
By Jeff Davis
New
Coach Wooden
One-on-One Inspiring Conversations on Purpose, Passion and the Pursuit
of Success By John Wooden and Jay Carty
In Process
Coach
Wooden One-on-One consists of 60 daily devotional readings. Each
one begins with a page of treasured thoughts from Coach, followed by a
page of Jay Carty’s comments that expand upon them. Each reading is
made even more memorable by opening and closing passages from the
Bible—the book that has shaped John Wooden’s life more than any other.
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
How Billie
Beane, GM of the Oakland A's threw all conventional wisdom and rules
of baseball out and applied his own. The result was the winning-est
team with the lowest payroll! Aberration or brilliance? This is not a
book about baseball - its a book about life! Fascinating and fun.
Payne Stewart: The
Authorized Biography By Tracey Stewart, Ken Abraham
Heartwarming story about the life of a well known
athlete who was an honorable Christian and devoted family man. Great
reading for any sports fan too interested in learning about life as a
pro golfer.
Joe Gibbs: Fourth and One
by Joe Gibbs, Jerry Jenkins
Singletary on Singletary by Mike Singletary, Jerry Jenkins
Past favorites:
Coming Clean:
The Inside Story of a Cocaine Drug Lord and His Unexpected Encounter
with God
by Jorge Valdes & Ken Abraham
Lincoln on
Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times by Donald T. Phillips
Few of us appreciate how tenuous the
Union was during it's toughest time in history.
Learn how a modest man
endured and helped the Union survive.
The Soul of a New
Machine by Tracy Kidder
Anyone with a career
in high tech will find this account of the development of the DG Nova
intriguing and most likely very close to home, if you're a gm or
development manager. This goes way back to the early days and advent
of the 'mini' computer. Kidder eventually won the Pulitzer for this
book.
Another favorite by him follows:
House by Tracy Kidder
One
of my favorite stories is in this book. This is a must read for anyone
building (or contemplating) a new house. Fascinating character study
of the conflicts between the owners, contractor, and architect. I
believe this so much that I have bought and given copies of this to a
dozen friends over the years who were embarking on such an endeavor.
Hard Drive : Bill
Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire by James Wallace and Jim
Ericson
If my kids ask me what
I did in the war, I'll have them read this book. Its amazing how my
career along with most in the high tech realm parallel Bill and MS. I
knew him when, or even before when... I can related first hand to much
of the drama and events including the infamous show-down dinner at Le
Chateau in Vegas at Comdex during the OS/2 - Windows debacle which is
covered.
The Puzzle Palace:
A Report on America's Most Secret Agency by James Bamford
Stay Tuned.
A Civil Tongue
By Edwin Neuman
"this is a very very funny
book. It is funny and serious at the same time in its assault on the
awful things all of us are doing to the language. He is our leading
spokesman for clear and concise and direct language. his book is
moving, inspiring, and human. It's just marvelous. - Bob Woodward
Casey: The Lives
and Secrets of William J. Casey-From the OSS to the CIA
By Joseph Persico
Father, Son & Co:
My Life at IBM and Beyond by Peter Petre, Thomas, Jr.
Watson
Fabulous book about big business -
the founding, history and culture of IBM.
In All His Glory:
The Life and Times of William S. Paley and the Birth of Modern
Broadcasting by Sally Bedell Smith
Story about the founding of CBS
corporation - insight into 'aristocratic' life in NYC and Long Island,
and the early days of big media in America. You'll be surprised at
what you didn't know about the history of our TV networks.
Ford: The Man and
the Machine by Robert Lacey
Poignant story about the genius Henry
Ford and his success in founding a motor company, and shortcomings as
a father.
Stamping Our
History: The Story of the United States Portrayed on Its Postage
Stamps
by
Charles Davidson & Lincoln Diamant
A wonderful pictorial
history of the US as told through our nation's postage stamps - laid
out categorically - the story behind each stamp and its relevance in
that era. Better than a stamp collection and a wonderful easy history
read too.
Also see favorites or key resource books from my
Business Library Collection