I have been tagged...

I was wondering when this would happen. I have been "tagged" by Bridget over at Seeking Sanity so here is goes...

Number of books owned: Somewhere around 500. They run the gamut from technical manuals to programming languages and on over to military history and biographies. We have a kick ass book store called Foozles where they sell remanded books. That is they sell books from stores that have gone out of business or books from publishers that over printed them etc... They are dirt cheap and quite often the books are only about 10-25% of the suggested price. I have been known to buy $125 worth of books for $7 there when they have the $1 bins out.


Last Book Purchased: Bloodsport The President And His Adversaries by James B. Stewart. The War On Pain by Dr. Scott Fishman and Amazon.com Get Big Fast by Robert Spector. I bought them all the same day, from Foozles, and paid $1 a piece for them.

Last Book I read: The War On Pain. I have read it a few times but it seems like every time I pick it up I find something I missed the last time.

Five books that mean a lot to me: Hmm...this is going to be a bit tougher then you would think. So many great books through the years but I am also not one of those who is going to put down The Catcher In The Rye or any of the other "classics" that I see on these lists. Sure they are good books but to tell you the truth they are crammed down your throat from such an early age that I truly do not care for them and have always wondered if all those who rave about them truly liked them or just rave because everyone else does. I hate the bandwagon so...

My first book would have to be To Hell And Back which is the story about and by the most decorated American soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy. It is truly an amazing tale of about the human spirit and what one person is capable of doing with a little determination and drive.

Nineteen Stars by Edgar Puryear is a look at 4 of America's greatest Generals of the Twentieth Century. MacArthur, Eisenhower, Marshall and Patton. The title obviously taken from adding their ranks together (MacArthur, Marshall & Eisenhower all having achieved the rank of General of the Army and wearing "5 Stars" while Patton was a General and wore "4 Stars"). Rather then being just another Bio on these 4 men it is a look at how they came to be the great men they are through their leadership abilities.

Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels. This has nothing to do with the fact that Ray is an associate of mine or that we share a birthday but more because this is without a doubt one of the best books for someone who is learning how to brew beer. When I first started brewing I bought this book, before I even knew Ray, and it is the book that really got me pumped about brewing. Unlike a ton of the other brewing books out there that make a simple hobby into something far more technical then need be, Ray breaks it all down in the simplest of terms so that everyone can understand. There is no need to have a degree in Chemistry or Biology for this one nor do you need to have $20K worth of brewing equipment to make great beer. When you are done with this book you will continue to go back to it years later to cross reference or to just re-read. My copy is so old and tattered that I had to buy a second copy. If you ever thought about becoming a homebrewer or a professional brewer as I was, then this is a book that must be on your shelf.


Blackhawk Down by Mark Bowden. Yes, this is the tale of the Battle of the Black Sea in October of 1993. I was on Active Duty in the Army at the time and remember this very well. This is a story that has a closer meaning to me perhaps because I was in the Army as a grunt at the time but more perhaps because since the time of the fight I have met and become friends with several of the men who were there that day and their stories are amazing. This is a modern day version of Band Of Brothers in my humble opinion.

Beyond Nam Dong by Roger Donlon. This is a harrowing look into the man and the firefight that resulted in the awarding of the first Medal Of Honor during Vietnam. Roger Donlon is also a very good family friend and one hell of a model American so I may be a bit biased on this one.

I am now supposed to tag 5 others but I will have to come back and edit that list since I need to see who has or has not done this yet.