As has been the case for the past seven years, the last message of the year is devoted to summarizing some of the better books I read over the past year. Why? Well, Elon Musk said, “I was raised by books. Books, and then my parents.”
I read a lot about Native Americans this year. Trail of Tears, about the Cherokee’s exodus from the Carolinas to Oklahoma, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown’s 1970 bestseller, Crazy Horse and Custer, Stephen Ambrose’s dual bio, Empire of the Summer Moon, about Quanah Parker and the Comanches, and The Blood of Heroes, about the Alamo. All were very good, but the best one was Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides, featuring Kit Karson.
As usual, I read several biographies, with the best one being Can’t Hurt Me by retired Navy Seal David Goggins. If you want to get motivated, this book should do the trick. (He is also the Seal in Jesse Itzler’s Living With a Seal, an absolutely hilarious book.) Runner-up goes to Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L’Amour. Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda and The Last American Aristocrat: The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams by David Brown were also excellent. Iron Heart by Brian Boyle was very inspirational, while Magnificent Desolation, Buzz Aldrin’s autobiography was just okay.
The American Story: Conversations with Master Historians, wherein David M. Rubenstein interviews prominent historians about their subject matter will appeal to all aficionados of history, as will Heirs to the Founders, by H.W. Brands, about Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John Calhoun.
While maybe not the best, the most important book I read all year was Why We Sleep by neuroscientist Matthew Walker. It not only explains the myriad ways in which sleep (or lack thereof) affects our daily lives, but he also includes several protocols on how to sleep better.
Other good reads include The Molecule of More (about dopamine), Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul, Gladwell’s Talking to Strangers and, to help me deal with the nonsense going on today, The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity.
Fiction reading was once again light. I read Comstock Lode by Louis L’Amour as a result of reading his autobiography. It was enjoyable though somewhat predictable. The Call of the Wild by Jack London was excellent, as was a reread of Orwell’s 1984.
If none of these strike your fancy, I have posted my entire post-high school reading record on my website, which now total 1,000+ volumes. Surely there are some ideas there.
I wish you all a joyous Holiday Season and thank you for reading and commenting.
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