Joe Bonamassa. Just Got Paid

During the past three weeks of riding aircraft and treking Nepal I burned through the following:

Bounty; The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty - Caroline Alexander (Simon Prebble) 64Kb (2003)
Boring. What made this book great was the rich use of Olde English from the 1700s quoting from actual diaries, newspapers and courts martial reports. Delicious.

Captain Cook - Alistair MacLean (Unknown) 32Kb (1972)
Fastidious description of a fascinating man by a fantastic fiction author. Covers the three voyages of exploration and discovery. Interesting tie in with the Bounty.

Gideons Spies; The Secret History of the Mossad - Gordon Thomas (Theodore Bikel) 64Kb (1999)
Fashioned more as an expose and a setting the record straight. Quick listen and interesting insights. More believable than many of the previous misinformation put out on the covered topics. Good early timeline naming names.

Last Gunfight; The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral - Jeff Guinn (Stephen Hoye) 41Kb (2011)
Pretty detailed account covering the backstory and very in-depth descriptions of ALL the players.

Lawrence in Arabia; War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East - Scott Anderson (Malcolm Hillgartner) 32Kb (2013)
Wow. Better than Seven Pillars. Author combines many sources and puts into focus many puzzle pieces that were previously indistinct. A must read for those interested in WWI, the causes of Middle East strife, and UW.

My Share of the Task; A Memoir - Stanley McChrystal (Kevin Collins) 32Kb (2013)
Wow. Only 2/3 the way through this. Recommended for those interested in leadership, command, and reinventing established organizations. Not to mention those interested in SOF history (and possibly future?).

Portis, Charles - True Grit (Donna Tartt) 64Kb (1968)
What a great story. Donna Tartt does a magnificent job of telling this Western yarn. Highly recommended.

Looking for a copy of Killing Patton - Bill O'Reilly (2014)

For my first Halloween back after 19+ years I am downloading tracks for Friday. Found some good sounds to put together for the house.

You can't leave this one out. Might scare the Similac out of 'em though :eek:

http://youtu.be/yOTsMHTwshg

Knocked off a few more since the election:

Motion, Andrew - Silver; Return to Treasure Island (David Tennant) 56Kb (2012)
Great story about the descendants of the survivors of Treasure Island returning to collect the balance of remaining treasure. Well told - recommended.

Castles of Steel - Robert K. Massie (Richard Matthews) 48Kb (2012)
Heretofore I was pretty ignorant about the Battle of Jutland during WWI. Well told history of the evolution of battleships, transition form coal to oil, the various skirmishes in the North Sea, the Mediterranean - including Gallopoli, culminating in the final Battle of Jutland. Recommended historical.

Batista, Paul - Extraordinary Rendition (Clinton Wade) 32Kb (2012)
It is about a lawyer who is selected to represent an accused terrorist and the difficulty of the deliberately stacked legal system conspiring against him. Kinda boring.

Arlidge, M.J. - Six Degrees of Assassination (Various) 128Kb (2014)
Direct to audio book commissioned by Audible. Good story punctuated by a varied cast and too much music.

Adams, Will - City of the Lost (Jonathan Keeble) 64Kb (2014)
Centered in Turkey/Cyprus - it is a modern day coup-d-tat wrapped up in archeology and legacy terrorism ala Grey WOLVES.

As You Wish; Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride - Cary Elwes (Various) 256Kb (2014)
If you loved the movie you will like this telling of the back story by many of the living actors.

Navy SEALs; Their Untold Story - Dick Couch & William Doyle (Will Damron) 64Kb (2015)
Excellent history of Frogmen from WW2 through today's Prima Donnas. Contains more details not before released.

I didn't know whether to read Seven Pillars or Lawrence in Arabia until now. Thanks.

Currently listening to:
Donovan: America's Master Spy (Unabridged) [2014] - It's a 25-hour audiobook and I'm only 4 hours into it. It's a book about the great man William J. (Wild Bill) Donovan. Unfortunately, the storytelling isn't good. Many parts in the book really drag out. That's what happens when the author tries to include what every man on the planet thought of Donovan in every chapter. Still, if you're interested in the life and career of this man, this is the book to get in my opinion.

88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary
 

88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary
By: Robert L. Grenier former CIA station chief in Islamabad and former director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center.

Talks about days after 9/11/2001 to taking Kandahar from the Taliban.

Anyone plan on reading this or have already?

Winds of Change
 

Considering that I was a very young GI in West Germany during the Cold War this song touches me every time I hear it on the radio.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rUKiPyhy-0