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minnesotasmith
01-16-2005, 15:22
I would like this thread to be solely a list of books and authors (and perhaps some poetry) members believe good enough for reading while camped out during AT hikes. No attacks on other people's lists, if you don't mind; please just contribute your own list, or refrain from posting here.

Here are some I suggest as worth lugging:

"The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand
"Looking Out for Number One" by Robert Ringer
"The Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
"Starship Troopers" by Robert Heinlein
"Death of the West" by Pat Buchanan
"Grey Dawn" by Peter Peterson
"Civil War Two" by Thomas Chittum
"The Clash of Civilizations" by Samuel Huntingdon
"Lee's Lieutenants" By Douglas Southall Freeman
"The Encyclopedia of Country Living" by Carla Emery
"Carnage and Culture" by Victor Hanson
"The Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies" by Richard Heinberg
"The Fourth Turning" by Strauss and Howe
"What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us" by Danielle Crittenden
"What Men Know That Women Don't" by Rich Zubaty
"The Camp of the Saints" by Jean Raspail
"The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula LeGuin
"Closing of the American Mind" by Allan Bloom
"The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America" by Charlotte Iserbyt
"Slouching Towards Gomorrah" by Robert Bork
"The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce
"Looking for Alaska" by Peter Jenkins
"Alaska" by James Michener
The Wamphyri series books by Brian Lumley
Anything by Claire Wolfe, Peter Brimelow, or Harlan Ellison
Anything by Jerry Pournelle, David Drake, or Isaac Asimov
Anything by H.P. Lovecraft, Lord Dunsany, or E.A. Poe
Anything by Mark Twain, Jack London, or P.J. O'Rourke

Some poetry I consider inspiring:

"The 'Eathen" and "If" by Rudyard Kipling
"Invictus" by Willaim Henley
"Scots Wha' Hae" by Robert Burns

hikerjohnd
01-16-2005, 15:45
While I am not a huge Stephen King fan, I could read any of the 7 Dark Tower books over and over again. If you start, be sure to get a copy of the original Gunslinger (the 2003 rewrite would be useful inthe privy, but not for reading...)

LionKing
01-16-2005, 16:05
The Catcher In The rye
Into The Wild
Into Thin Air
The Hobbit
The Godfather
Any Hunter S. Thompson



LK

The Scribe
01-16-2005, 16:06
There is a Stephen King novella from way back when he was writing as Richard Bachman.

It's the story of The Long Walk. Every year there is a contest with Super Bowl proportions. 100 young men start walking and the last one walking wins. You don't want the penalty for falling below 4 mph.

Great read. And it just might make that next challenge seem more manageable while reading it. :D

pcm

saimyoji
01-16-2005, 17:41
I must concur, The Long Walk was a great tale. Originally published in a book of four short stories called The Bachman Books, by Richard Bachman, Stephen King's pen name. Also included in this set are The Running Man (ala Arnold) Rage (about a kid who takes over his school) and Roadwork (a tale of a school teachers revenge on a mobster). A nice set of stories from one of my favorite authors.


To add to the list:

Gizzly Years: great reading while on the trail?
Tale of two cities: a great classic
Count of Monte Cristo: my all time favorite, never get tired of it.

A Walk in the Woods: Seemed like he copied styles of outher authors (Stephen King, Dave Barry) and never found his own. Also, his story never went anywhere. Left me feeling I'd wasted my time, though there were quite a few laughs found within, worth a read while preparing??

max patch
01-16-2005, 18:02
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter

Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism by Sean Hannity

Rewriting History by Dick Morris

Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man by David T. Hardy

A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat by Zell Miller

SiuWonfung
01-16-2005, 18:05
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling


"A must have on the Appalachian Trail" -Rollingstones Magazine
"A Masterpiece" -the New York Times
"..never have I read a better book" -Jakie Chan

saimyoji
01-16-2005, 18:13
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter

Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism by Sean Hannity

Rewriting History by Dick Morris

Michael Moore Is A Big Fat Stupid White Man by David T. Hardy

A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat by Zell Miller


Wow, doesn't sound like a very fun hike... more of an "affirm my already ensconsed political views" kind of monotony. Though I too am a conservative, there must be something more FUN to read!!!

MOWGLI
01-16-2005, 18:29
Wow, doesn't sound like a very fun hike...

What do you mean> The Sean Hannity book comes complete with crayons. That's always helpful at the shelter registers. :D

saimyoji
01-16-2005, 18:45
I've heard of this special edition, however I doubt that the average hiker would be able to afford the Special Edition Child Friendly Hanitization Report. Its on special reserve at Ruth's Criss Steakhouses kept in the humidor with the top class cigars. I know, I've been there, compliments of a rich uncle. :)

minnesotasmith
01-16-2005, 20:03
Did you read this sentence near the beginning of the post with which I started this thread?

"No attacks on other people's lists, if you don't mind; please just contribute your own list, or refrain from posting here."

Please abide by that request on this thread. We can fight like cats and dogs elsewhere (and probably will, with our usual relish). Let's just have a pleasantly constructive sharing of lists of books; no one is going to make you so much as touch one you don't care for, so protest IMO is not in order.
=================================
More books and authors:

"Man And Society in Calamity" by P.A. Sorokin
"History of the World" by H.G. Wells
"The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer
Anything by Fred Saberhagen (author of the "Berserker" sci-fi series)

Poetry:

"The Second Coming" by William Yeats
"To the Virgins" by Robert Herrick
"In Flander's Fields" by John McCrae

Lone Wolf
01-16-2005, 20:08
Listen to you preaching. You're ALWAYS sh***ing on everyone's post. Get a clue Scooter.

MOWGLI
01-16-2005, 20:25
Did you read this sentence near the beginning of the post with which I started this thread?

"No attacks on other people's lists, if you don't mind; please just contribute your own list, or refrain from posting here."

Please abide by that request on this thread.

Jeepers, have they made you a moderator! What's this site coming to? :D

Well, anyway, I love books. I don't really have any interest in reading any books by political pundits when I'm out on the trail. I prefer Natural History.

Here's a couple of winners.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

I also learned of a new book entitled Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. I read a review of the book today in the NY Times book review, and actually thought about you Scooter while I read it.

Here's a copy of the review;

MALCOLM GLADWELL has written a book about the power of first impressions, and every review, including this one, is going to begin with the reviewer's first impression of the book.

Mine was: Boffo.

Gladwell opens ''Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking'' with the story of a kouros, an ancient Greek statue of a youth that came on the art market and was about to be purchased by the Getty Museum in California. It was a magnificently preserved work, close to seven feet tall, and the asking price was just under $10 million.

The Getty did all the normal background checks to establish the authenticity of the piece. A geologist determined that the marble came from the ancient Cape Vathy quarry on the island of Thasos. It was covered with a thin layer of calcite, a substance that accumulates on statues over hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. After 14 months of investigation, the Getty staff concluded the thing was genuine, and went ahead with the purchase.

But an art historian named Federico Zeri was taken to see the statue, and in an instant he decided it was fake. Another art historian took a glimpse and sensed that while it had the form of a proper classical statue, it somehow lacked the spirit. A third felt a wave of ''intuitive repulsion'' when he first laid eyes on it.

Further investigations were made, and finally the whole scheme unraveled. It transpired that the statue had been sculptured by forgers in Rome in the early 1980's. The teams of analysts who did 14 months of research turned out to be wrong. The historians who relied on their initial hunches were right.

THERE is in all of our brains, Gladwell argues, a mighty backstage process, which works its will subconsciously. Through this process we have the capacity to sift huge amounts of information, blend data, isolate telling details and come to astonishingly rapid conclusions, even in the first two seconds of seeing something. '' 'Blink' is a book about those first two seconds,'' Gladwell writes.

Well, I'm impressed. Here we have a guy who has already written one of the best and most successful nonfiction books of the past few years, the ubiquitous ''Tipping Point.'' He's the author of dozens of unfailingly fascinating articles in The New Yorker. And he's opened his new book with a crisp anecdote that suggests each of us possesses a hidden power, which we could use to improve our lives if only we knew how to tap it more fully. That's the essential formula for self-help-book greatness.

I'm ready to be sucked in.

And indeed, ''Blink'' moves quickly through a series of delightful stories, all about the backstage mental process we call intuition. There is the story of the psychologist John Gottman, who since the 1980's has worked with more than 3,000 married couples in a small room, his ''love lab,'' near the University of Washington. He videotapes them having a conversation. Reviewing just an hour's worth of each tape, Gottman has been able to predict with 95 percent accuracy whether that couple will be married 15 years later. If he watches only 15 minutes of tape, his success rate is about 90 percent. Scientists in his lab have determined they can usually predict whether a marriage will work after watching just three minutes of newlywed conversation.

Gottman believes that each relationship has a DNA, or an essential nature. It's possible to take a very thin slice of that relationship, grasp its fundamental pattern and make a decent prediction of its destiny.

Gladwell says we are thin-slicing all the time -- when we go on a date, meet a prospective employee, judge any situation. We take a small portion of a person or problem and extrapolate amazingly well about the whole. A psychologist named Nalini Ambady gave students three 10-second soundless videotapes of a teacher lecturing. Then she asked the students to rate the teacher. Their ratings matched the ratings from students who had taken the teacher's course for an entire semester. Then she cut the videotape back to two seconds and showed it to a new group. The ratings still matched those of the students who'd sat through the entire term.

''We are innately suspicious of this kind of rapid cognition,'' Gladwell observes. We assume that long, methodical investigation yields more reliable conclusions than a snap judgment. But in fact, ''decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately.''

This book is only 277 pages long, but there are dozens of stories about thin-slicing. There's one about a Pentagon war game. There's one about New Coke, which seemed to test so well, but flopped in the marketplace. Gladwell shows how the New York City police officers who killed Amadou Diallo made a series of horrendous snap judgments.

Gladwell has us flying around the world and across disciplines at hectic speed, and he's always dazzling us with fascinating information and phenomena. Take priming, for example. Two Dutch scientists asked their subjects to play a demanding game of Trivial Pursuit. They asked one group to think beforehand about what it would be like to be a professor and the other group to think about what it would be like to be a soccer hooligan. The people who were in a professorial frame of mind did much better than the ''hooligans.''

One group of African-Americans was asked to take a test without identifying their race on the pretest questionnaire. Another group was asked their race and ''that simple act,'' Gladwell writes, ''was sufficient to prime them with all the negative stereotypes associated with African-Americans and academic achievement.'' The African-Americans who identified their race did much worse than the people who didn't. The number of questions they got right was cut in half.

MY first impression of ''Blink'' -- in blurb-speak -- was ''Fascinating! Eye-Opening! Important!'' Unfortunately, my brain, like yours, has more than just a thin-slicing side. It also has that thick-slicing side. The thick-slicing side wants more than a series of remarkable anecdotes. It wants a comprehensive theory of the whole. It wants to know how all the different bits of information fit together.

That thick-slicing part of my brain wasn't as happy with ''Blink,'' especially the second time through. Gladwell never tells us how the brain performs these amazing cognitive feats; we just get the scattered byproducts of the mysterious backstage process. (There have been books by people like Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner that go deeper into the brain chemistry of it.)

The thick-slicing side isn't even sure what this book is about. Is it about first impressions, or intuition, or that amorphous blending of ''what is'' with ''what could be'' that we call imagination? In some of his stories, it's regular people who are making snap judgments; in others, it's experts who have been through decades of formal training. In some experiments, the environment matters a great deal; in others, the setting is a psychologist's lab. In some, the snap judgments are based on methodical reasoning -- as with a scientist who has broken facial expressions into discrete parts; in others, the snap-judgment process is formless and instinctive. In some, priming is all-important; in others, priming is disregarded.

MOREOVER, the thick-slicing part of my brain is telling me that while it would be pleasing if we all had these supercomputers in our heads, Gladwell is overselling his case. Most of his heartwarming stories involve the lone intuitive rebel who ends up besting the formal, bureaucratic decision-making procedure. Though Gladwell describes several ways intuition can lead people astray, he doesn't really dwell on how often that happens. But I've learned from other books, notably David G. Myers's more methodical but less entertaining ''Intuition,'' that there is a great body of data suggesting that formal statistical analysis is a much, much better way of predicting everything from the outcome of a football game to the course of liver disease than the intuition even of experts.

The thick-slicing part of the brain reminds me that not long ago I read Michael Lewis's great book, ''Moneyball,'' about a baseball executive who used rigorous statistical analysis to clobber fuzzy-minded old pros who relied on their gut impressions. Now I'm reading ''Blink'' on how impressions can be as reliable as data. This part of my brain wants to know how I should reconcile Lewis with Gladwell. What is the relationship between self-conscious reason and backstage intuition? Which one is right more often?

For example, if I have to cast my vote for either George ''I go with my gut'' Bush or John ''I deliberate until the cows come home'' Kerry, how should I evaluate their rival cognitive styles? Most important, that thick-slicing part of my brain, which is blessed and burdened by self-consciousness, wants to know the meaning of what Gladwell is telling it. When he is talking about the cognitive powers of the brain, he's not just reviewing a cool piece of software. He's talking about us, the thinking process that is the essence of who you and I are.

I am perfectly willing to accept that the brain processes huge amounts of information on a subconscious level, thus freeing up conscious neurons for major tasks, like writing, gossiping or remembering humiliating moments from the distant past. I am willing to accept that we are all to some large extent strangers to ourselves, unaware of how we make the decisions that shape our lives.

But I am not willing to assume, as Gladwell sometimes seems to be doing, that our brains are like computers -- uniform pieces of hardware that can be tested and reverse-engineered by scientists or psychologists in a lab. Isn't it as possible that the backstage part of the brain might be more like a personality, some unique and nontechnological essence that cannot be adequately generalized about by scientists in white coats with clipboards?

''Blink'' is part of a wave of books on brain function that are sweeping over us as we learn more about the action inside our own heads. This literature is going to have a powerful effect on our culture, maybe as powerful as the effect Freudianism had on our grandparents' time (the last time somebody tried to explain the brain's backstage process).

WE should be a little wary of surrendering this field to the scientists. Philosophers ranging from Vico to Michael Oakeshott to Isaiah Berlin were writing about thin-slicing (which they called ''wisdom'') long before the scientists started picking apart our neurons, and long before psychologists started showing people snippets of videotape. And much of what they observe is more profound than anything you can capture with some ginned-up control group test in a psychology lab.

I'm sure Gladwell knows all this. Perhaps it's unfair to expect him to write a book that encompasses Isaiah Berlin and the ''love lab.'' It's just that in the general culture the psychiatrists and neuroscientists are eclipsing the philosophers, and that's horrible.

If you want to trust my snap judgment, buy this book: you'll be delighted. If you want to trust my more reflective second judgment, buy it: you'll be delighted but frustrated, troubled and left wanting more.

Or just go to the bookstore, look at the cover and let your neurons make up their own damn mind.



David Brooks is an Op-Ed columnist for The Times and the author of ''On Paradise Drive.''

MOWGLI
01-16-2005, 20:29
Here's a new book on my list. It's too big to carry on the trail however;

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond

art to linda
01-16-2005, 21:14
The Dark Tower series, The Bachman Books, and any of the Geodyssey series by Piers Anthony

smokymtnsteve
01-16-2005, 21:18
Carl Sagan..science as a candle in the dark

art to linda
01-16-2005, 21:29
if you want to strech the brain a little instead of just relaxing with a good read try "A Choice of Catastrophies" by Isaac Asimov

rocket04
01-16-2005, 21:46
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Story of B by Daniel Quinn
The Alchimist by Paulo Coelho

Oh, and a mind stretcher (good idea art_to_linda), A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber.

SavageLlama
01-16-2005, 22:53
"The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand
Reading The Fountainhead now.. GREAT book. I'll have to pick up Atlas Shrugged next.

A few others I haven't seen listed yet (with an outdoor/adventure theme):

The Call of the Wild - Jack London
The River Why - David James Duncan
Fire - Sebastian Junger
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
White Fang - Jack London

And since this thread is heavy on Stephen King, how about "The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon" - nothing like reading about getting lost on the AT while you're on a long hike. And now it's out in pop-up version.. :D

saimyoji
01-16-2005, 23:53
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Soon to be made into a Holywood flick.

What was the question? I remember the answer was 4 but....

The Old Fhart
01-17-2005, 00:00
What was the question? I remember the answer was 4 but.... I just asked Arthur Dent and he confirms the answer to life, the universe, and everything, is.........42

art to linda
01-17-2005, 00:31
Love that one! I have a copy of the PBS series and got my kids hooked on it.

steve hiker
01-17-2005, 00:37
Endurance: Shackelton’s Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing. This is about Ernest Shackelton’s doomed 1914 voyage to Antarctica, in which his ship was shattered by ice, leaving him and his crew stranded on ice floes. It’s a fascinating read. For the next year they floated on the Antarctic current and eventually worked their way north until Shackelton was able to reach New Zealand. No backpacker has ever endured conditions like this. Most impressive of all is Shackelton’s amazing leadership skills. He consistently made correct decisions under very adverse conditions, when morale and hope were virtually non-existent. If I remember correctly, he didn’t lose a man.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/078670621X/qid=1101919965/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0362235-2882545 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/078670621X/qid=1101919965/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-0362235-2882545)

Grizzly Years, by Doug Peacock. After serving 18 months in Vietman, Green Beret medic Doug Peacock headed west to clear his head, roaming the wild grizzly bear country of Montana and Wyoming. He has many close encounters with bears, some dangerous and some outright funny. But more important is the insight into bears that he gained during those years. I’ve promoted this book before, so I’ll just say it's one of the best books I’ve read.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805045430/ref%3Dpd%5Fsxp%5Felt%5Fl1/102-0362235-2882545 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805045430/ref%3Dpd%5Fsxp%5Felt%5Fl1/102-0362235-2882545)

Walking With Spring, by Earl Shaffer. He was the first AT thru-hiker, in 1948. Some high points:

Lightweight backpacking - true to thru-hikers, Earl became very conscious of his pack weight. Commenting on two other hikers, "We discussed hiking gear and the light loads they were carrying, about 30 pounds each. I recall seeing a toothbrush along the Trail in Georgia. 'Hmmm,' says the guy, 'thought I heaved that into the brush.' My toothbrush, by the way, was not thrown away but it did lose its handle. Inevitably, a long-distance hiker must choose between travelling light and not travelling at all." (Remember, this is 1948.)

Satisfaction in simplicity - "The weather was turning cold and windy as I climbed from Deals Gap, and a brilliant moon was shining when I stopped to sleep. With poncho underneath and pack windward, I rolled in the blanket and pulled the gunny sack over my feet. Meanwhile those ex-navy guys undoubtably were sleeping in so-called luxury at Tapoco Lodge. I fell asleep to the lullably of the wind in the trees and the somewhere calling of a whip-poor-will. Most people in all their lives never sleep under the open sky, and never realize what they are missing."

No wonder Smokies bears are bold - He found some interesting things when he stopped at Spence Field Shelter late one evening: "Rustic tables were loaded with a variety of canned goods, jars of jam or butter, other jars with 'fatback' or ham, enormous pancakes still in the skillets, and plates of partially eaten food. Was the shelter full of people? Yet there was absolute silence. I struck a match to look. The leanto was empty. Here was a mystery indeed ... Apparently a party had come for the weekend and then left in the middle of a meal. Amongst the rubble were several empty bottles of whiskey, mute evidence of what had caused the exodus."

Gatlinburg a one-store town - He includes a photo of Ogles Market, "the only store then in Gatlinburg, Tenn." (1948).

wacocelt
01-17-2005, 00:47
"No attacks on other people's lists, if you don't mind; please just contribute your own list, or refrain from posting here."

Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
Cosmic Trigger I, II, III - Robert Anton Wilson

DMA, 2000
01-17-2005, 02:19
A Thru-hike is ideally good for the body and the spirit as well. Might as well make it good for the mind too. Why not read some "important" literature. Maybe a Tolstoy or something that'll take you the whole hike to read (since reading time tends to be a bit limited). Sure, it might be heavy, but a paperback edition actually has a hell of a lot of book for the weight.

saimyoji
01-17-2005, 02:25
How about E-books? Anyone try these on/off the trail yet? I've not used one, but have heard good things from relatives who travel often.

The Old Fhart
01-17-2005, 09:50
In response the posts by DMA,2000 and Saimyoji, Ebooks are generally laptop sized tablets that you would basically be loading a single book onto so forget them. Ebook reader programs can be installed on most palmtop devices and are practical (if you own a palmtop). There is quite a selection of current releases available for sale as well as many thousands of free classics that can be used on these readers.

On my thru hike in 1998 I carried an 11oz. HP palmtop computer with me that was powered by 2 AA batteries. I had loaded the A.T. data book into it and also used it for my journal. I also had a couple of dozen classic books loaded. Initially I was using the text editor as the reader but Mobilepocket makes a reader that is really slick and is freeware. There are several other reader programs available and there are thousands of great classics (ones the copyright has expired on) available free through Project Gutenberg on line or on cheap CDs. I had everything from Alice in Wonderland to Thus Spake Zarathustra to read, depending on my mood. You can even get the 9/11 Commission report in several formats, free. Olive Tree has every version of the Bible available free along with its own reader with a powerful search engine if you want to find a verse or words.

Also there are audio books available that you can buy and I converted and loaded “A Walk in the Woods” onto my MP3 player along with a couple of hundred songs. I also have “The Lord of the Rings”. My MP3 player also has an FM radio built in and weighs a couple of ounces. There are many, many MP3 players available at Walmart, Best Buy, and on line depending on what features you want. Prices can range from $50 up to a few hundred for an Apple Ipod. Storage start from about 128Mb for flash memory based players to 60Gb for micro hard drive based players that can hold thousands of tunes.

Whether you choose to carry one of these devices, or not, is a personal decision depending on many factors. If you are a tent person this will be less of a concern than if you are a shelter dweller. You have to be considerate of your fellow hikers reasonable expectations. Most reasonable hikers will have nothing against any of these devices but they still don’t want to hear your music while they’re trying to sleep next to you in a shelter. HYOH.

Rockjock
01-17-2005, 10:06
Walking home: A Woman's Pilgramage on the Appalachian Trail by Kelly Winters
A must read for any female hiker, I was captivated by not only the actual recount of the trail miles but by the human element. A much more gratifying read than Bill Bryson's book IMHO.

SalParadise
01-17-2005, 16:27
the Hagakure
No Bars to Manhood by Daniel Berrigan
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
William Blake
Shakespeare's sonnets
Heart of Darkness

all travel-size and great when you're out in the woods.

SalParadise
01-17-2005, 16:44
....and is it really enjoyable reading AT books when you're already hiking the AT? Isn't that like reading memos from work once you've already gotten home?

kyerger
01-17-2005, 16:46
There is only one book I plan on reading during my thur-hike.....The Bible! I feel everone should at least read it once in their short life. So this should be a great time to get it done and be able to refect on what it has to say.

SavageLlama
01-20-2005, 01:55
Outside magazine's list of all-time Top 10 Adventure Books..
</O:p

1. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard 1922
2. Journals by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark 1814
3. Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 1940
4. Exploration of the Colorado River by John Wesley Powell 1875
5. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger 1959
6. Annapurna by Maurice Herzog 1952
7. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey 1968
8. West with the Night by Beryl Markham 1942
9. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer 1997
10. Travels by Marco Polo 1298

Lone Wolf
01-20-2005, 01:58
Murder on the Appalachian Trail by Jess Carr 1984

Mountain Dew
01-20-2005, 02:33
" How to talk to a liberal if you must " .... GREAT BOOK, but the CD is better.

MOWGLI
01-20-2005, 07:50
"Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" by Al Franken.

Franken is one funny dude.

c.coyle
01-20-2005, 11:00
" How to talk to a liberal if you must " .... GREAT BOOK, but the CD is better.

Cuz you don't have to know how to read :D

I'll second the vote for Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. I'll never again feel sorry for myself when I'm cold and wet.

Rain Man
01-20-2005, 11:39
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

If it's the penultimate one, then what's the last (ultimate) one?!

The devil made me ask that question!!!

Now, one I just finished and would highly recommend is Horace Kephart's "Our Southern Highlanders." From just after the turn of the last century.
:sun
Rain Man

.

SGT Rock
01-20-2005, 12:40
During my 2001 Pinhoti hike I read "1984" and "A Brave New World" nothing to do with the trail, but they kept me thinking about them even when I was walking.

Alligator
01-20-2005, 12:48
"Give the rats to Julia..."

(think I have this right)

Footslogger
01-20-2005, 13:22
JAWS ...by Peter Benchley

'Slogger

Lone Wolf
01-20-2005, 13:25
Kill It And Grill It by Ted Nugent

bobgessner57
01-20-2005, 13:46
Second to Rain Man's suggestion of Kephart.

Wilma Dykeman's "Return the Innocent Earth" set in Newport, Tn, the next town down the French Broad from Hot Springs. Deals with one family making the transition from traditional subsistence farming to modern industrial farming, logging, etc.

Anything by Wendell Berry

Probably out of print but The Jesse Stuart Reader has some great short stories from rural East Tennessee.

The Dollmaker by Harriet Arnow. World War 2 era Kentucky coal mining/farming family moves to Detroit. Experience is similar to that of many southern Appalachian families from around the trail.

Sorry if I have some errors here, most of my library is in temporary storage while remodelling.

SGT Rock
01-20-2005, 14:11
If you are also interested "She Walks These Hills" by Sharron McCrumb. It is sort of a mystery novel that takes place in a fictional East Tennessee county based on Unicoi county where Erwin is located. Part of the story is about a grad student doing research by going on a hiking trip around Damascus heading to Roan Mountain and getting very screwed up and lost. Sharron McCrumb writes a lot of books based on that part of the Appalachians.

springerfever
01-20-2005, 14:23
Kepharts OUR SOUTHERN HIGHLANDERS is a great read

as well as

Colin Fletchers MAN WHO WALKED THOUGH TIME

springerfever
01-20-2005, 14:25
and TOUCHING THE VOID by Joe Simpson.....

Dances with Mice
01-20-2005, 14:49
I tried to read some Abbey once but each time I started to read I felt an overwhelming urge to stand up!

There are a few books I've read before but I get something new out of them each time I open them back up. In no particular order:

'Dune' by Frank Herbert. Stephen Hawking 'A Brief History of Time'. Stephen J. Gould 'The Panda's Thumb'. Gary Zukav 'The Dancing Wu-Li Masters'.

Footslogger
01-20-2005, 15:04
"Red Cell" by Dick Marcinko

gravityman
01-20-2005, 15:08
During my 2001 Pinhoti hike I read "1984" and "A Brave New World" nothing to do with the trail, but they kept me thinking about them even when I was walking.

The third book in this grouping is "We" by some russian dude. Very good, and actually predates both of these.

Gravity

SGT Rock
01-20-2005, 15:11
I'll have to look for it.

Tabasco
01-20-2005, 16:18
Stephen R. Donaldson's
1st, 2nd and now, after 20 years, the beginnings of the 3rd
Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I am a very avid reader, and collectively,
IMHO, these are the best 6 (now 7) books I have ever read.

1st Chronicles:
Lord Foul's Bane
The Illearth War
The Power That Preserves

2nd Chronicles:
The One Tree
The Wounded Land
White Gold Wielder

Mountain Dew
01-20-2005, 16:26
Coyle.... Funny. How did you know ? :D

Mow....did you actually read that book or was that another friendly jab ? I'm thinking it was a jab... hahaaaa Al Franken.....

The Old Fhart
01-20-2005, 17:37
Dances With Mice- "Stephen Hawking 'A Brief History of Time'" That is a great book and I converted the audiobook version to MP3 so I could listen to it while I hiked. I got so engrossed in following the logic that I wasn't watching for trail junctions and almost got lost so I had to stop listening to it when I hiked.

Alligator
01-20-2005, 22:27
Dances with Mice-I recently read the books by Herbert's son (plus a co-author). I took the first one out on the trail, House Atreides. They were okay, but they didn't quite measure up. Still a good read though.

Sasquatch-I liked those series a lot also.

Dances with Mice
01-20-2005, 23:08
Dances with Mice-I recently read the books by Herbert's son (plus a co-author). I took the first one out on the trail, House Atreides. They were okay, but they didn't quite measure up. Still a good read though. I've read those too. They're pretty good, way above the average Sci-Fi, and I enjoyed them. But 'Dune' is more like an old friend rather than just a book. I've read it dozens of times but I can still sit down and open it to any chapter and before I know it a couple of hours has passed.

The books I mentioned are all pretty dense, they pack a lot of thought onto each page. High calorie reading, I guess you could call it. That's why I'd pick one of them to take with me on a long walk.

Oooh - another one I don't think anyone has mentioned - 'Watership Down'.

MOWGLI
01-20-2005, 23:51
Mow....did you actually read that book or was that another friendly jab ? I'm thinking it was a jab... hahaaaa Al Franken.....

Yeah, I read the book and occasionally listen to his radio show. I've been a fan of his since the 70s when he was on Saturday Night Live. He hosted a live simulcast of a Grateful Dead concert in October 1980 from Radio City Music Hall. I paid good money to watch the performane in a theatre while in college near Rochester, NY.

So, Al and me go way back.

grrickar
01-21-2005, 00:10
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Stuart
01-21-2005, 02:18
Anybody said Mutiny on the Bounty, Treasure Island or Tarzan of the Apes. Like always the books are better than the movie. Those go well right in there with the Jack London books if you like adventure.

David Copperfield, excellent character development, probably Dickens best and long enough to last for a while.

dje97001
01-21-2005, 14:02
How about:

1. Snowcrash (Stephenson)
2. Just about any Star Wars book
3. The Indian in the Cupboard (for old times sake)
4. Any of the Darwin Awards collections
5. How about a book of short stories (like you had back in high school english)
6. One of those toilet-trivia books

smokymtnsteve
01-23-2005, 19:55
During my 2001 Pinhoti hike I read "1984" and "A Brave New World" nothing to do with the trail, but they kept me thinking about them even when I was walking.

U may be interested in huxleys "brave new world revisited"

BNW revisited is huxley's views as an older man on what he would see differently from the older prespective...esp in relation to the savage...

SGT Rock
01-23-2005, 20:28
I started to read that book, never finished it for some reason, but I know what you mean Steve. What I find interesting is how like "A Brave New World" things seem sometimes. I mean who else remembers the adds after 9/11 saying that the most patriotic thing we could do is keep buying stuff like we had before the attacks? Seemed awful like BNW. And I always thought joing the military was more patriotic than buying plasma screen TVs.

restless
01-23-2005, 22:30
"A voice Crying in the Wilderness"--Edward Abbey
"The Brothers Karamazov" --Dosteovsky
"Fight Club" and "Choke"--Chuck Pahuniak
"Walden and Civil Disobedience" --HD Thoreau
"Man Who Walked Through Time" --Colin Fletcher
"Brain Droppings" and "When will Jesus Bring the Porkchops" --George Carlin

:banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Rain Man
01-24-2005, 19:12
I had to drive to Chattanooga and back alone this weekend. After reading about the "The ENDURANCE Shackleton's Legendary Antartic Expedition" in this thread, I checked out the book-on-tape from my public library. Listening to that book made the two drives fly by!

It's an AWESOME story of survival among and on ice floes back during World War I. I have no idea how those men survived any of the numerous deadly challenges they faced. Not a man was lost in 20 months trapped there, though one had a heart attack and one had a foot amputated.

Will make me forever feel less sorry for myself when I'm hungry, wet, cold, tired, or uncomfortable on a hard floor or frozen ground on the trail.

Caroline Alexander is the author. I think I'll also read the book.

Rain Man

.

c.coyle
01-24-2005, 20:12
There are apparently several books on Shackleton. The one I read is ENDURANCE: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. This is such an incredible story, it's hard to believe any of these books wouldn't be great.

steve hiker
01-24-2005, 20:27
Not a man was lost in 20 months trapped there, though one had a heart attack and one had a foot amputated.
That's the most amazing thing about it. Shackelton was an incredible leader who consistently made the right decisions over a long period time, under the most adverse conditions. He didn't lose morale. When he finally made it to New Zealand, the first thing on his mind was rescuing his men who were left behind.

smokymtnsteve
01-25-2005, 22:21
I started to read that book, never finished it for some reason, but I know what you mean Steve. What I find interesting is how like "A Brave New World" things seem sometimes. I mean who else remembers the adds after 9/11 saying that the most patriotic thing we could do is keep buying stuff like we had before the attacks? Seemed awful like BNW. And I always thought joing the military was more patriotic than buying plasma screen TVs.

well as we both drive Fords we can't be before ford....and here in AK I have a Ford ...MY FORD,

aw consumerism...a cornerstone of the American way of life...seems to me that being and living a true conservative way of life and supporting our troops with our national production would be a preferred path in a war of self-defense. reducing our need for middle eastern oil would go a long way to help.

and yes joining the military is much more patrioit and honorable than buying plasma TVs,....or any of the rest of our overproduction. (including our over-reproduction)

true patriots also protest and question...so even protest and disagreement are more patriotic than buying Tvs.

course this savage here is on the island of bush AK visiting civilization today for a shower, veggie-burger and fries, and a little internet, but later tonight I will be snowshoeing back up to the mtn top island and the old log cabin , to gaze at the big moon and to sing with the dogs.

dickdurk
07-07-2005, 07:37
I'm kind of surprised Abbey isn't well represented here-I note one recommend of "A Voice Crying In THe Wilderness". Any Abbey connisseurs (yikes SP) who have a favorite? I thought "The Monkey Wrench Gang" worthy of author follow up, myself.

Or maybe Abbey is too much a downer while on the trail.

Catch-22
The Name Of The Rose
Reading them will give appreciation of the movies if nothing else

A warning abut "The Fountainhead". I read it on vacation 30 years ago and am still a dues paying Libertarian :)

Michael

justusryans
07-07-2005, 08:14
Anything by Steinbeck, Farley Mowat, The Jefferson Letters, Heck, anything 50 years old or older and still in print. There is a reason it has lasted so long.

Scribe
07-07-2005, 15:54
Although I am a dyed-in-the-wool Liberal (that's with a capital "L"), I forego any such reading during backpacking trips and prefer mysteries, such as Nevada Barr, Tony Hillerman, Greg Iles, etc. All those tomes by liberals and conservatives are just too heavy - in terms of both weight and polemics. Give me light stuff, its easier on my back and my mind.

Meadow Creek
07-07-2005, 18:00
The River Why - David James Duncan
David James Duncan could write his grocery list on a used tissue and I'd read it. But my hands-down favorite is still his follow up, The Brothers K. I re-read it once or twice a year, and I've given copies to more friends & family than any other book. It's such an engrossing and brilliantly written look at family dynamics. I've read it literally dozens of times and it still makes me laugh out loud and cry in public, or stuns me into reverent silence. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Another book that I recently read & loved was Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren At a Time, by Michael Perry. Only incidentally about volly Fire/EMS, this book is really a rich and poignant look at small-town life. It really resonated with me. Seems pretty fitting to read among the AT community.

Scrunchy
07-07-2005, 19:59
"A voice Crying in the Wilderness"--Edward Abbey
"The Brothers Karamazov" --Dosteovsky
"Fight Club" and "Choke"--Chuck Pahuniak
"Walden and Civil Disobedience" --HD Thoreau
"Man Who Walked Through Time" --Colin Fletcher
"Brain Droppings" and "When will Jesus Bring the Porkchops" --George Carlin

:banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana
Perfect selection!!!!!!!!!!!!

stupe
07-07-2005, 20:45
"Huckleberry Finn" and several books of rolling paper.

Husko
10-27-2005, 21:44
These have been fun and quick reads:

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
Mississippi Solo
Into the Wild

CynJ
10-27-2005, 23:08
Anything by Mary Higgins Clark; and anything by David (& Leigh) Eddings -these are my all time favorite authors.

I love the Harry Potter series but I have devoured them enough here at home.

I have read the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy 5 times. Its a long slow read but well worth it. I am trying to get through the Simillarions now.

The book "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan is fantastic.

On my list to get are: The Last of the Mohicans (and the others in the series), The DaVinci Code, 1776 by David McCullough (I heard this is fantastic), Eragon & Eldest

justusryans
10-29-2005, 11:13
Anything by Mary Higgins Clark; and anything by David (& Leigh) Eddings -these are my all time favorite authors.

I love the Harry Potter series but I have devoured them enough here at home.

I have read the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy 5 times. Its a long slow read but well worth it. I am trying to get through the Simillarions now.

The book "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan is fantastic.

On my list to get are: The Last of the Mohicans (and the others in the series), The DaVinci Code, 1776 by David McCullough (I heard this is fantastic), Eragon & Eldest

We read alot of the same stuff. Eragon and Eldest are Definately worth reading. Try The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMasters Bujold. I just finished it. definately a good read!:sun

Clark Fork
10-30-2005, 21:45
I'm kind of surprised Abbey isn't well represented here-I note one recommend of "A Voice Crying In THe Wilderness". Any Abbey connisseurs (yikes SP) who have a favorite? I thought "The Monkey Wrench Gang" worthy of author follow up, myself.

Or maybe Abbey is too much a downer while on the trail.

Catch-22
The Name Of The Rose
Reading them will give appreciation of the movies if nothing else

A warning abut "The Fountainhead". I read it on vacation 30 years ago and am still a dues paying Libertarian :)

Michael

Not a connoiseur but a consomme' of fine Abbey..."Hayduke" lives.


A few weeks back, Doug Peacock spoke at a writers workshop for authors of memoirs. In the question and answer part and in response to a question about Abbey, he noted that no one had come along to take his place. Maybe so. I think it has to do with Abbey followers now being in charge. I am always surprised how many Forest Service people will admit to reading Abbey. I got to chat with him a while and fan that I am, he was kind enough to autograph my book.

Peacock has just come out with a great book that makes a good trail read. It is also thoughtfully in paper back, making it even easier to lug.

The book is titled "Walking It Off, A Veteran's Chronicle of War and Wilderness." 2005 by Eastern Washington University Press.

The book is a memoir with many thoughts and stories about Abbey including
how he came to bury Abbey in the desert. It is a book well written with many trail stories and some easy to take philosophy.

It might appeal to the older hiker making the scene these days. Some quotes:


Ed's death was a wake-up call and since his death I lived with a growing sense that my life was racing toward metamorphosis, maybe even death, hurtling into the fires of tranformation."

"I intend to walk off the beaten paths, hike off the trails, bushwhacking in body and mind to see the world anew--it was the way I decided to live the rest of my life. I needed to get out in order to look back in. I believed that walking off my stale entrenched life and into a new beginning could succeed no matter what my age, that it had everything to do with living well each day."

Regards,

Clark Fork in Western Montana, "Where seldom is heard a discouraging word."

saimyoji
10-30-2005, 21:55
I haven't re-read this ENTIRE ( :eek: ) post, but a book I enjoy in camp is Stephen King's Skeleton Crew. A nice collection of stories guaranteed to keep the faint of heart up at night. I recommend the paper back version.:bse

Uncle Silly
11-05-2005, 17:36
Thanks to a very generous NYC librarian, I got to read "Life of Pi" and "Bel Canto" on the trail this year. Both were excellent. "Pi" was so good I stopped at a shelter early one afternoon and read the last half of the book!

Seeker
11-07-2005, 08:31
The Hobbit-hands down, my trail favorite.
Plato's Dialogues
Almost any of the old Penguin classics from my college Humanities courses

PartnerShip
11-13-2005, 20:50
have you seen the movie sidhartha
I own it on VHS that I copied from tv a couple of years back it is great

justusryans
11-13-2005, 21:19
have you seen the movie sidhartha
I own it on VHS that I copied from tv a couple of years back it is great

I didn't know they made it into a movie. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is among my top ten favorite books of all time.

Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

The Prophet - Kahil Gibran

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

The Man Who Planted Trees - Jean Giono

The Complete Tales - Edger Alan Poe

Enders Game - Orson Scot Card

The Chronicles Of Narnia - C.S Lewis

Cannery Row - John Steinbeck

The Hobbit and Lord Of the Rings Trilogy - J.R.R. Tolkien

My list changes from time to time, but these are ten solid selections that are both a great story and absolutly wonderful Books.

smokymtnsteve
11-13-2005, 21:26
ah U have included a J Steinbeck, :sun

I suggest "THE MOON IS DOWN"

justusryans
11-13-2005, 21:32
ah U have included a J Steinbeck, :sun

I suggest "THE MOON IS DOWN"

Actually, I could have included just about anything from Steinbeck. I'm currently reading "Travels with Charlie" He is my favorite (modern) American author. But I don't think I've read "The Moon is Down"...yet!:D

smokymtnsteve
11-13-2005, 21:35
ah yes john and his poodle..

also SWEET THURSDAY as a follow up to CANNERY ROW.

justusryans
11-13-2005, 21:39
or Tortilla Flats! You know we are going to get accused of being liberals if we keep talking about Steinbeck!!! :eek:

smokymtnsteve
11-14-2005, 00:12
I'm no Liberal,,,I'm a conservative unlike the RADICAL in the WhiteHouse!

If Mr Bush and gang were able to read and had read some Steinbeck in particular THE MOON IS DOWN , they would not have been surprised at some of the events happening in Iraq,

justusryans
11-14-2005, 03:20
good analogy!!

CynJ
11-14-2005, 05:39
I finished a great read not toolong ago I forgot to put in my list earlier

Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan -its his first novel and the first in a series. Has an Eddings feel to it. Fantasy genre.

I am finding that as I get older I am reading less and less to inform myself and more and more to just entertain myself if that makes sense. That doesn't mean that I only read fun fiction books -I read biology books for fun too. But I don't feel as though I need to read something just because its a classic or because its the book of the month. I'm only reading the things that truly interest me.

justusryans
11-14-2005, 08:38
I agree, I read everything! The ones I read for fun I call brain candy. I'll check out Flanagan. Eddings is a favorite too. Whats your favorite Eddings series?
I think my list included a little of everything.

SGT Rock
11-14-2005, 09:27
If Mr Bush and gang were able to read and had read some Steinbeck in particular THE MOON IS DOWN , they would not have been surprised at some of the events happening in Iraq,
Another one they should have read is "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom". Lawrence of Arabia wrote the how-to manual almost a hundred years ago. Nothing has changed much since then. But anyway.That is not why I cam here to post to this thread...

If you are not from the area around the southern Appalachians and want a good fiction book that will get you into the feel of the southern mountains while entertaining you, check out Sharyn McCrumb. Mainly she writes semi mystery books based in a small town in the mountains of east Tennessee (sort of like a hillbilly Tony Hillerman) and intertwines history, folklore, culture and mystery into her novels.

http://www.sharynmccrumb.com/ballad_overview.asp

And if you are from the southern Appalachians, it is nice to read a novel where someone puts it all together in a coherent way. Like a good story teller weaving a quilt from many different strands to bring it all together in the end for a great tale.

Bjorkin
11-21-2005, 21:53
...Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is among my top ten favorite books of all time...


I second Siddhartha for a trail book. I love reading this book during travels if I haven't picked it up in a few years. It's short, light and easy to read yet a very thought provoking book about a young mans journey in search of enlightenment through a choice of physical and spiritual minimalism. It's nearly the perfect AT book IMO.

TooTall
11-21-2005, 22:16
Franken is one funny dude.

His latest "The Truth (with jokes)" is even better.

Too Tall Paul