Most Americans, I would wager, know of Richard the Lionheart through the various Robin Hood movies, as the king who was busy battling in the crusades while his brother ran roughshod over the English people he left behind.
Non-Fiction
One Pitch Away: The Players’ Stories of the 1986 League Championships and World
The Astros put up a valiant fight ultimately losing to the amazing Mets and one of the most famous baseball playoffs of all time in the 16th inning.
How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck
If you have a smart phone, you have a video camera. If you use it like the vast majority of people use it, you need to read this book and quit making video that sucks.
Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile
As Marshawn Lynch so eloquently put it, “football is a team sport”. I thought it would be interesting to read the biography of someone who had a successful NFL career.
The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor’s Heroic Search for the World’s First Miracle Drug
Medical professionals had already discovered that bacteria was the cause of infections and diseases, and antiseptic solutions had been in place since the 1890s.
Wingman: Vital Connections for the Struggles Men Face
Wingman was written by the pastor who officiated Jennifer and Mark’s wedding, someone I consider a good friend. But Frank has a much stronger personal bond.
Great by Choice
Great by Choice is the third of Jim Collins’ books which I have read and enjoyed. This one struck me as being not only about building a business.
Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War
Gates treads lightly when comparing the two administrations. He prefaces the book, and most of his comments wherein he differed with either Bush or Obama.
Revolution By Murder: Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and the Plot to Kill Henry Clay Frick
This book focuses on the lives of one anarchist, his wife, and the man that Andrew Carnegie put in charge of his steel empire, Henry Clay Frick, who they attempted to assassinate.
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
At a time when much of the world was either enticed with or entrapped by fascism, Dietrich Bonhoeffer dared to live the morally responsible Christian life to its most expressive, and tragic, end.