When I was a child, the primary conversation held with friends each year after Christmas centered around what we got. If you are reading this, I have to consider you friends. Therefore, I imagine you asking me what I got, and I’m more than happy to share with you.
Among other items, from camping pots to caramel popcorn, the book-lover in me has ruled this a successful Christmas. The following have fallen solidly in my queue.
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
– This is a beautiful book even if there was not a fascinating story associated with it. I told my wife that we now need a coffee table to display such a book upon! It is a book recommended to me by my administrative assistant, and dedicated to a long-time resident of Sarasota, “Buck” O’Neil.
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
– I am told that this is one of the best novels about the Vietnam War. I don’t like reading about war, and yet it is something that defines so many of us. This book has appeared on a number of ‘best of 2010’ lists.
Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines
– I may from this book gain only enough knowledge to make myself dangerous. But so many political and ethical questions today are based upon the claims of ‘science’ that I thought it would be helpful to have some introduction by which I could at least come to understand the terms used in the debates.
Open: An Autobiography
– This is reputed to be one of the best sport memoirs ever in terms of its honesty. Agassi was one of the world’s greatest tennis players, one who hated tennis. That in itself draws me in.
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
– I’m almost fearful of this book. Bonhoeffer was everything the subtitle says, and I’m only comfortable with the first.
Expect to see comments on some if not all of these books in the weeks… no, months… ahead!
