One of life’s greatest pleasures and God’s greatest gifts is the ability to read a book.  I have been reading as long as I can remember (and as I age that time is getting shorter!) starting with the Dick and Jane books.  The first book I can remember reading cover to cover was The Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle.  It gripped my imagination like nothing else before it and started an addiction that is as strong as any addiction known to man.  While I enjoy movies, none compare to the movie of your mind.  A good book will start that movie rolling and will stick with you forever.  Robin “stole from the rich and gave to the poor” or that is how he was portrayed but when I revisited those pages years later I discovered that my libertarian leanings began within the pages of Robin Hood.  What he was actually doing was reclaiming from the government that which they took from the people!  I also learned what it meant to have courage, friendship and humor.  It was built on a base of moral correctness.  There was right and there was wrong all wrapped up in a collection of stories.  After several readings of Robin Hood I moved on to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Robison Crusoe along with James Fenimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans.  In the summer visits to Ocean City,  NJ after reading Treasure Island I could never see the ocean as just a bunch of water to be splashed around in.  I would see ships that sailed and the beach was full of buried treasure.  To this day when I am at the beach I look out over the ocean and can place myself on the Hispaniola or another sailing ship.  It is debatable whether or not it is a good thing but I stopped looking for buried treasure although I do occasionally play the lottery – same odds  but not as messy.

Reading a book is an escape.  There are books that you read that are easy pick ups that get your attention for a bit and when you are finished  you move on refreshed.   For a period Harold Robbins filled that criteria for me.  His books were entertaining and well written and that is all that was needed.  There are three authors that currently fill that need for me; Lee Childs, Daniel Silva and Bernard Cornwell.  Childs character Jack Reacher is a combination of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.  Silva’s character Gabriel Allen is more sophisticated, a James Bond type.  Bernard Cornwell writes historical fiction.  He is a master storyteller that brings the past alive.  He is one of those writers that lead you to venture down other paths through his books.  From him I started to investigate the life and times of King Alfred the Great and that lead me to other historical figures in Medieval times. What is learned from books such as these is that times may change but people do not alter their character.  Sometimes it is like a bad joke that keeps circulating.  It does beg the question whether it is better to live in ignorance than to learn that the evil that had been dealt with many years ago continues to rear it’s ugly head and will continue to do so long after we are dust?

Childs and Silva’s books are based in todays world.  Their characters are easily related to much as the characters in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes  were when it was written.  Like Holmes, Reacher and Gabriel uses the power of observation and understanding of human nature to solve what problems confront them.  And humor is sprinkled throughout as a topping.  Humor is a necessary ingredient for me to get through most novels though there are some exceptions.  Humor is  a relief valve and the more subtle the better for me.

Non-Fiction

I didn’t realize it at the time but Last of the Mohicans triggered a desire to learn more about America and our history.  I love reading history of that period and it is easy to say that it has captivated me for over 50 years.  Through reading history other branches started to sprout.  While in high school I read Berlin Diary which led me to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich both by William L. Shirer and they triggered an intense interest in political science and human behavior.  It was during that time I identified myself as a Socialist in my limited knowledge of economics and a Nationalist in my limited knowledge of politics.  However in reading more I began to understand better the limitations placed on people and the need to hate others in order live with those beliefs.  It wasn’t until my very last college class a new highway to understanding opened.  It was an economics post graduate course that was open as an elective to undergraduates  titled “Comparative Economic Systems”.  Unfortunately I have forgot the Professors name because I would like to thank him.  He did not do much lecturing and unlike the other econ professors I had you could only suspect his school of thought.  The others were flat out Socialist and told you so but not him.  We learned the different economic systems through reading and discussions.  It was because of his class I discovered Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom  ; F.A Hayek’s Road To Serfdom; Henry Hazlitt’s Economics In One Lesson ; and finally Von Mises’s Human Action (which is still a book in progress for me).  These books and the topics contained are dry and many people can not or will not even attempt to consume the contents even though they contain the knowledge that truly sets people free from the tyranny of governments.  If we do not have economic freedom then all other freedoms are short lived if ever experienced.

There truly is nothing new under the sun and that is why history appeals to me so much.  But like everything else history is easily corruptible.  With the rise of “progressive” thought our history has been distorted and changed.  I confess that I have not read the book in total but Howard Zinn’s A Peoples History of the United States borders on a work of fiction.   Aimed more at changing the social fabric of today’s society than explaining our past he promotes the school of thought that because some wrongs were committed then everything derived from that is wrong as it is “fruit from the poisoned tree”.  Did the white European do wrong to the native American Indian? Of course there were abuses as there are whenever there is a clash of cultures.  Were the American Indian tribes saints? Of course not.  Many of our founding fathers owned slaves while at the same time preached liberty.  Does that disqualify what they achieved?  Only if you want to change our society now.

There are three pivotal moments in our nations history.  The Revolution; the War Between the States and the Great Depression through WWII.   History that is written honestly with the only intention being to inform will make constructive changes within the reader.  Battle Cry of Freedom is one such book.  James M. MacPherson’s history of our War Between the States is written so that the period prior to the War comes alive.  Shelby Foote is another writer who wrote a three volume set on that war brings that time period to life for the reader.  Neither are out to tear down or build up which is what a good historian sets out to do and great writers achieve.  Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men by Jeffrey R. Hummel is one of the most balanced and thought provoking books on our Civil War.  The difference between this book and almost every other book about the Civil War is that it is approached from an economic point of view.

Coolidge by Amity Schlaes and Why  Coolidge Matters by Charles Johnson are good biographies of a forgotten President who I have come to believe to be the greatest President in the 20th. century.  Rainbows End by Maury Klein provides a good flavor of the crash of 1929 and gives some clues as to the many causes of the crash.  Amity Schlaes also penned what could be the best book on the Great Depression: The Forgotten Man.  Burton Folsom’s book enlightens the reader to the true nature of the man who was seen as the savior of the nation at that time, FDR.  New Deal or Raw Deal refutes much of what is taught by historians today about FDR and the Depression.  FDR was probably the consummate politician in this country’s history and is rightly considered the father of the modern Democrat party.  That should tell you everything!  And it is not a “hit” piece on FDR as it credits him when it is due. It is a well written and documented book that at the least will have you shaking your head in disgust.  I have read but one book concerning the economic crisis of 2008 and that is The Great Deformation by David Stockman.  Yes, that David Stockman of the Reagan White House.  It is a huge book  both in size and knowledge.  It is a honest book that spares neither Democrat nor Republican and if you want a great overview of 2008 and it’s ramifications you must not be intimidated by the size.

Reading with Ears

I have discovered  (through my wife) audible books.  I knew of “Books on Tape” from years ago but selection, quality and price were limiting factors.  Technology has made vast improvements and you can get almost any book on the market.  The narrators have expanded and most are quite talented and perform well.  You should check out audible.com to see their selection – it is vast and if you like Amazon you will like audible.com as it is part of the Amazon family.

Read, read, read!  Entertainment for sure but it keeps your mind active and expands your understanding of life.