#26 - Read 6 New Books (contributed by Brian Moore)
#1 - A Crack at the Edge of the World:
America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon
Winchester - A recounting of the events of April 18th through 20th,
1906, when San Francisco suffered a bad earthquake followed by even
more destructive fires. In true Winchester style, the actual disasters
are only a small part of the story. He ties in a lot of backgorund info
related to geology, plate tectonics, seismology, human inhabitation of
the land that became San Francisco, the Gold Rush, and other such
exciting and enticing topics. I found it to be an interesting and
informative read, written in a style that makes a potentially dull
topic much less so.
#2 - Three Cups of Tea: One Man's
Mission to Promote Peace. . . Once School at a Time by Greg
Mortensen and David Oliver Relin - The story of a mountaineer who
promises a small town in the mountains of Pakistan that he will build
them a school to repay their kindness for caring for him after a failed
attempt at K2. He goes on to become the founder and director of the
Central Asia Institute, which to date has built almost 80 schools in
Pakistan and Afghanistan. In facilitating the education of thousands of
children, especially girls, in these regions, he is giving them a
chance to have a life beyond the violence and hatred that Islamic
extremists are breeding in that part of the world. It's an incredibly
inspiring book, which has me thinking about raising enough money for
the CAI to build a school in memory of my dear, departed friend
Nathaniel Keith.
#3 - What's Your Poo Telling You?
by Josh Richman and Anish Sheth, M.D. - A humorous and informative look
at everyone's favorite subject to avoid. I bought it at Spencer's as a
fun addition to the bathroom library. Admittedly, it's quite brief and
I feel like I'm cheating by adding it to this list. However, if by
December 31st I've only read five other books, this baby is staying.
#4 - The Lost City of Z: A Tale
of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann - The story of
Percy Fawcett's adventurous life, focussing on his explorations of the
amazon rainforest and his growing obsession with identifying the
location of a once-great city he has dubbed "Z". The author follows in
Percy's footsteps in an effortto learn what happened to the explorer,
who disappeared along with his son and his son's friend on his
(obviously) final attempt to find Z in 1925. The author does not come
to a definitive conclusion, but he does learn of some interesting
discoveries through his encounters with natives and modern
archeologists. A very interesting read, as most books that include
desperation and death in the rainforest prove to be.
#5
- Running Fast and Injury
Free by Gordon Pirie (edited by John S. Gilbody) - Gordon Pirie
was an accomplished runner for something like 45 years until his death
in 1991. He set several world records (all have since been beaten, I
believe), won a handful of Olympic Gold Medals, and spent much of his
life training others to run. He provides delightful insight into the
world of running properly, focussing not so much on barefoot running as
on running in minimal footwear. He details proper technique and delves
into training programs and nutrition. I found it incredibly informative
as I was adapting to "barefoot" running and just getting into my
marathon training. I HIGHLY recommend that anyone looking to begin
running or take their running to a different level give this book a
read. It's quite short, and the chapters on technique only take up
about half of it. It's available for free download at the links below.
#6
- Born to Run: A Hidden
Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
by Christopher McDougall - The author, plagued by foot pain, goes on a
mission to discover the roots of running and stumbles upon a man trying
to organize a race with a tribe of super-runners who live in the Copper
Canyons of Mexico. A really good read that, of course, details the
evils of modern running shoes and dives into the beauty of barefoot
running. A must read for any runner.
#7
- Extremely Loud and
Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer - I don't read a lot of
fiction, but this came recommended by a close friend and I'm glad that
I read it. It's a truly captivating story of a young boy in New York
City who is struggling to get by in the wake of his father's death on
September 11, 2001. He finds a key that he thinks will lead him to
informaiton about his father, and spends the majority of the book
trying to find the lock that they key opens. This is intertwined with
background stories told form the point of view of his father and
grandparents, which serve to explain how his family ended of in the
situations they are currently in. I was skeptical of the book at first,
but it is written in such a way that I found myself truly interested in
the story and just wanted to keep reading.
