Good books

Haagedorns Roosevelt book is pretty good. Paints an interesting picture of the changing Dakotas of the time.

Another endorsement for Undaunted Courage. Ambrose wrote a lot of books including Nothing Like It in the World, story of the competition to build the transcontinental railroad.

If you are a Teddy Roosevelt fan I recommend The River of Doubt, story of his trip of exploration in South American. They renamed the river Rio Roosevelt after him.

Deep Survival – who lives, who dies, and why – Laurence Gonzales. I am about halfway though it and it falls under the nonfiction category. Its about true stories of endurance and sudden death – and the science/psychology of why that may have happened. Its a bit in depth in some cases but I have to say it has been interesting so far.

shockers wrote:

I read The Devil in the White City years ago and it was great (takes place in Chicago 1890s…serial killer….pretty interesting.)

That was a really good one too!

BigWerm wrote:

I’m about to start Gulag Archipelago, which is 3 books long and might take the whole year or longer without a concerted effort.

Wow – good luck with this one, Werm. My Grandpa survived and successfully fled Soviet Occupation/Oppression in 1940s Latvia. Two of his brothers were not so lucky – one died in the Gulag and the other survived only to be released into exile. My Grandpa kept this book on his shelf until the day he died, I was always impressed by how big of a book it was, but a very personal book to him. Someday I will dedicate time to reading it.

“Making the Carry” by Timmothy Cochrane is an amazing detailed account of John and Tchi-Ki-Wis Linklater during the early fur trade era in the MN/Ontario border country.

“Trap-Lines North” by Stephan Meader is an account of the adventures along a family trapline in the Thunder Bay District of Ontario

“The Last Guide” by Ron Corbett about the life of Algonquin Park fishing guide Frank Kuiack.

“Quest for Ore” by Russel H Bennett includes some beautiful written accounts of a geologist’s explorations in the pre-Cambrian shield lakes of the MN Ontario Border country prior to, and including the discovery and development of the iron ore industry in MN.

“Once Upon a Lake: A History of Lake Minnetonka and It’s People” by Thelma Jones describes the pre-settlement era through the early settlement of the lake. This book includes references to the lifestyle of the indigenous people in the area, and gives the reader an idea of the diversity of flora and fauna surrounding the lake, including it’s vast populations of fish, game, and other natural resources.

ThunderLund78 wrote:

Wow – good luck with this one, Werm. My Grandpa survived and successfully fled Soviet Occupation/Oppression in 1940s Latvia. Two of his brothers were not so lucky – one died in the Gulag and the other survived only to be released into exile. My Grandpa kept this book on his shelf until the day he died, I was always impressed by how big of a book it was, but a very personal book to him. Someday I will dedicate time to reading it.

I’ll let you know once I finish it, hopefully this year . I feel like it’s something everyone should read at least once, and very informative in where we are headed as a society imo.

Another one that I read that is more fitting for this thread is American Buffalo by Steven Rinella. Super interesting and a great combination of history, biology and how our country was built.

crawdaddy wrote:

Moby Dick is what I’m reading now.

The ultimate cautionary tale for the obsessed fisherman?

Steven Krapfl wrote:

Death in the Tall Grass by Capstick and Horn of the Hunter by Rurak, both must reads. The Green Hills of Africa by Hemingway is a real good read too. Also, Jack O’Connor had a bunch of good reads, too.

All great reads.

If you enjoy the African/Asian big game hunting tales, I would also recommend…

– The Jim Corbett Omnibus – a compilation of books by Jim Corbett.

Corbett was the man that colonial India called on to dispatch man-eating tigers and leopards. The most prolific of these big cats gone bad often killed hundreds of people before Corbett arrived on the scene. And dispatch them he did, often at great personal risk. These tales are absolutely thrilling. Imagine sitting up at night in complete darkness hoping to get close (but not too close!) to a giant man-eating leopard that has already killed hundreds of people by silently entering their homes at night.

Fun fact, I’ve seen and held Jim Corbett’s .275 Rigby bolt-action rifle that was presented to him for killing the dreaded ‘man-eating tigress of Champawat’ in 1907.

– The Man-Eaters of Tsavo – by JH Patterson. This time, we’re off to colonial Africa to take on two lions who have been preying on workers building the Uganda railway. Wonderful story full of vivid details of colonial Africa as well as a hair-raising tale of taking on these night-killing lions.

I’m giving a shout out to Fishthumper for mentioning Duane R Lund in a recent post about LOTW history. I’ve been reading Lund’s books and I was impressed by the early history of fur trading at Ft Charles in the Angle. The La Verendrye diaries give a lot of detail about life there and fur trading in general. I’m amazed how far those guys traveled, and they did a lot of it in winter. The Natives too traveled and traded long distances between villages. One fact that struck me was that LaVerendrye and his sons visited the Mandans and left an inscribed lead plaque in a rock monument. Well that plaque was found by school kids in 1913 in Pierre SD!

BigWerm wrote:

Another one that I read that is more fitting for this thread is American Buffalo by Steven Rinella. Super interesting and a great combination of history, biology and how our country was built.

Yes, this is a great book – I like how the history of the buffalo is intertwined with Rinella’s own account of his own trip to hunt one of the last pure-strain wild buffalo in Alaska. Ken Burns now has a documentary on the topic and I know Rinella contributes. I gotta try to find time to watch that.

I’m currently reading Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose the one the show was based off of. Its a damn good read so far about the training they went through and actually pretty funny at times.

I Highly recommend Picking up The Terminal List by Jack Carr, Its the first book in his James Reese series. Theres 6 or 7 total and the newest one comes this spring. Im a huge fan.

Was out in montana last fall saw a Mitch Rapp for president bumper sticker
Lol

Don Carlisle wrote:

Was out in montana last fall saw a Mitch Rapp for president bumper sticker
Lol

Awesome.

Don Carlisle wrote:

Was out in montana last fall saw a Mitch Rapp for president bumper sticker
Lol

He’s got my vote as long as he picks Reacher as the VP

February is I love to read month. So far I have read by recommendation here, Canoeing With The Cree which was a great read. I also read Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks. It was an ok book. It is a collection of short stories.

Anybody else reading some good books?

The Mulligan by Nathan Jorgenson.

I love to read- lots of great options already mentioned- cj box, William kent Kruger, and Peter hathaway Capstick for sure.
Bigwerm brought up Shadow Divers which is excellent- same author (Robert Carson)he also wrote Pirate Hunters. Ship of Gold by Gary Kinder is another excellent read in that vein.
couple of my all time favorites not mentioned yet -The power of one and Shantaram

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Don Carlisle wrote:</div>
Was out in montana last fall saw a Mitch Rapp for president bumper sticker
Lol

Awesome.

Hilarious! Got into 2 books after Flynn had passed and gave up on em. Whole series very good.

New Gray Man book popped this week can’t wait to dive into that one, been waiting awhile!

Recently strayed away from my typical spy, thriller, war stuff and sticking with other type novels. Some great reads so far.

Current book is None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewel, last was Still Life by Louise Penny, pic was my favorite of last year

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I just finished Taking Paris by Dugard. Though I have read several books on WWII, they were more of an American perspective. This starts with Rommel rolling through France and the long occupation of Paris.

Now I am working on Killing the Mob. Also by Dugard via O’Reilly. Just read about the Little Bohemia shootout.

Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides. Account of 1 of the first ever raids by the Army Rangers to save survivors of the Bataan Death March

Krh129 wrote:

Gunflint Burning: Fire in the Boundary Waters

This same author just came out with a book called Gunflint Falling: Blowdown in the Boundary Waters. It’s about the 1999 blowdown storm which was one of the huge catalysts of the Ham Lake fire. I’m going to pick it up from the library next time its available – I’m really excited for this one.

If you like WW II first person accounts: Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II by Adam Makos is one of the best I’ve read. Follows the accounts of both a German and American tank crewman through the war up to their fateful meeting in the German city of Cologne late in the war. Also is the back story to one of the most iconic combat film clips of WW II.

Wow… got some readers here! I’m releasing my first novel summer of 2025 in hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook formats. It’s an all-ages fantasy fiction writing, book 1 of a double trilogy. My partnering publisher is also submitting the manuscript to a team of screenwriters, and this is scheduled to be pitched for movie production as well.
It’s an easy reading original tale that shares influences of Harry Potter, Toy Story, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones. It’s got action, humor, sci-fi, animation, magic, adventure… a little something for everyone. Your “tweeners” should really enjoy it but 100% of the adult test readers reported a thumbs up as well.

I planned to make an announcement when the products release, so this is only a teaser blurb, but I’d sure be grateful if any of you were willing to check it out! The title is “The Clometheons” which is a blended word, combining “clothing” and “chameleon.”

The Gift of the Deer, Helen Hoover.
Three Against the Wilderness, Eric Collier
Grouse of the North Shore, Gordon Guillon
Of Wolves and Men, Barry Lopez

Update:I finished Undaunted Courage a couple of weeks ago. I really want to read the details from the journey now. Too bad lewis didn’t get his books written.

My list is growing also!

“Hell, I was there”, by Emler Keith.

For you older well read; I’ve been searching for a book I read back in the late 50’s. The book was about a bear hunter. The chapters alternated between the hunters viewpoint and the bears viewpoint. Can’t remember the author or the book name. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

Some good ones I’ve read lately.

Spearhead – Adam Makos
The Taking of K-129 – Josh Dean
Blind Man’s Bluff – Annette Lawrence Drew
The Spy and the Traitor – Ben Macintyre
No Beast So Fierce – Dane Huckelbridge
The War Below – James Scott

Wow fishing is slow if we are talking about books! Ok-short story ‘To build a fire’ Jack London.
Stark, pure, tight, cruel. a must read for any outdoors person who lives in a cold climate.