Recommend me some books

"Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager" (Nighthawkwill7) 05/31/2014 at 12:59 • Filed to: None

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I'm looking for some memoirs or history books. Be it about race cars, motorcycles, aircraft, spacecraft, military history, that sort of thing.

Diesel > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:04

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The Right Stuff

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:04

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I read Haynes manuals and I love to do it. So I recommend any Haynes manual.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:04

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Ever read Cannonball! ? (damnit, that looks so stupid. the book name has an exclamation point, the question mark was mine.)

I remember that book making me laugh out loud a few times.

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > feather-throttle-not-hair 05/31/2014 at 13:06

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No I have not, I've heard of it though. I'll add it to the list.

jkm7680 > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:06

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I've got a good book about Ransom E. Olds, but it isn't exactly super interesting.

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > Diesel 05/31/2014 at 13:07

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That one is already in the Nighthawk library but I second that recommendation for anyone who hasn't.

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > Vince-The Roadside Mechanic 05/31/2014 at 13:07

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brb Malibu Haynes manual.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:08

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Another book i read recently that I liked was The Lost City of Z

It's about European explorers back in the day exploring the Amazon, and mostly getting eaten by gross bugs. It was a fun and really easy read compared to a lot of history.

lone_liberal > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:09

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I liked The First World War by John Keegan . It's a war that I didn't learn a lot about in school and this provided a good overview.

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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:10

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what about the josef ganz biography

http://www.amazon.com/The-Extraordin…

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Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > lone_liberal 05/31/2014 at 13:11

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Wow thanks! I'll add it to my list!

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s 05/31/2014 at 13:13

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That sounds mighty interesting, thank you!

jariten1781 > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:14

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If you're interested in WWII submarine warfare, my favorite is Clear the Bridge .

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Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken > feather-throttle-not-hair 05/31/2014 at 13:16

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Great one! Percy Fawcett was a very interesting guy.

Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:17

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Ganz is an interesting story for sure

Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:20

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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:21

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no prob

sliding-sideways > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:39

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July 1914 is a pretty good one on the month between Ferdinand's assassination and the beginning of WW1. More political than military, but it's a well researched account of the process that led to WW1.

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The Men Who Lost America focuses on British generals/admirals/high ranking officials during the Revolutionary War. I highly recommend this one.

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My hovercraft is full of eels > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 13:50

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Ones that I have read recently:

Hands - McGowan: Don't cry for me, sergeant major

Anthony Swofford: Jarhead (so much better than the movie!)

Nichol - Peters: Tornado down

Nichol - Peters: Team Tornado: Life on a front-line squadron (a sort of sequel to Tornado down - not as good IMHO, but still interesting)

Kuwahara - Allred: Kamikaze (this is supposed to be memoir, but some parts were proved to be fictitious - anyway, it's a good book)

And finally, a memoir I found fascinating (although it does not belong to the war/aircraft/race car topics):

Thor Heyerdahl: Kon-Tiki

tromoly > feather-throttle-not-hair 05/31/2014 at 19:46

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Yep, Cannonball! was a fantastic read, took me about a week to read it and it was awesome.

tromoly > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 19:47

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Daredevils of the Speedway is pretty good, all about the first 60-some years of Indianapolis.

f86sabre > Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager 05/31/2014 at 22:49

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Stages to Saturn. Very technical, but accessible. I spent money for the paper version, but you can get it for free electronically,

https://archive.org/details/stages…

Tale of a Tiger by RT Smith. Diary of a Flying Tiger. You actually read photocopies of the diary pages in his own hand. Very cool.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi…

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Cannonball! By Brock Yates - Details the first couple real life Cannonball Runs.

http://www.amazon.com/Cannonball-Bk-…

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The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donahue. Great book by the driver.

http://www.amazon.com/Unfair-Advanta…

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Skunk Works by Ben Rich. They guy who ran the Skunk Works tells so,me great stories.

http://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Works-Pe…

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Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > f86sabre 06/01/2014 at 14:35

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I love Skunk Works, I bought a copy back in 10th grade. Ben Rich and Kelly Johnson were brilliant men.