What are you reading?

[greenonion]

This from out of nowhere. But if you claim Irish descent, you better have this book MEMORIZED!

"The Immortal Irishman", by Timothy Egan.

What a f***** story. A guy who lived through the potato famine. Banished from Ireland and sent to Tasmania penal colony. Escapes, flees to America, joins the Union Army to fight in the Civil War and ends up in Montana where he mysteriously drowns in the Missouri River.

If that storyline does not draw you in, then take a pass, but this is one of those historical novels that is both entertaining and educational. (factoid, this is the guy who designed the national flag of Ireland)

A fast page turner and fun to read.

I’d call that description a bit too close to a spoiler. I love the Irish, have the heritage, and enjoyed The Big Burn by Timothy Egan, but you just gave away the meat of the book and not sure I’d want to read. Convince me otherwise?

I'll second Wentzl's recommendation. He didn't really give anything away. It's a great book.

Thanks. His earlier response about the author's comment helped too. Might look into this one. Does sound very good.

[nyker]

The latest edition of Accidents in North American Mountaineering is out, so picked that up...

[Dave B]

Where the Water Goes: David Owen - Great book on western water issues with a solid focus on Colorado. I've never been able to make it all the way through Cadillac Desert, just too dry (lulz pun), but this is a fun and easy book to read.

Comfort Crisis: Michael Easter - I'm typically wary of the Bro Jogan, bio-hacking, masculine bs, but really like this book. A good motivator to intentionally go be uncomfortable and/or bored and how much it can improve other aspects of life. Story centers, more or less, around a long Caribou hunting trip in Alaska. Author leans a little too far into the Bill Bryson "aw shucks I've never gone backpacking before, backpacks are heavy, bears will eat me" schtick at times, but still very good.

[dwoodward13]

+2 for Where the Water Goes. A fantastic book.

A somewhat companion book to that is "Science Be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River" which dives into deeper detail on the behind the scenes issues and ignorance of those making the 1922 Compact and the 1928 Boulder Canyon Act as well as more recent legislation and management decisions.

Another favorite is "Fire on the Mountain" by John Maclean about the South Canyon Fire in 1994 outside of Glenwood Springs.

[greenonion]

+2 for Where the Water Goes. A fantastic book.

A somewhat companion book to that is "Science Be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River" which dives into deeper detail on the behind the scenes issues and ignorance of those making the 1922 Compact and the 1928 Boulder Canyon Act as well as more recent legislation and management decisions.

Dan McCool (not the other Dan McCool Forum member on this site) is a prof at the U of Utah and an expert in water rights and law. He was a heck of a Political Science prof for me a million years ago... https://radiowest.kuer.org/show/radiowe ... ter-policy
Heard him today on NPR discuss the very interesting and very sad state of the lack of water rights for Native Americans. Another example of how badly they got, and are, screwed. https://www.google.com/search?q=daniel+ ... oBegQIQhAC

[Canman]

Any fantasy lovers out there should check out the First Law series by Joe Abercombie. Dark humor and grounded novel, but awesome read. I'm chewing my way through the latest book during the Age of Madness.

Also, since its winter, it's an excellent time to read The Terror by Dan Simmons. Historical fiction novel, but the book is well researched about the Terror. and Erebus ships that got icebound in the arctic. It makes you feel cold when you read it.

Thanks for the recommendations. It’s a good trail to deviate from mountaineering books at times. I’m anxious to read a lot more from Dan Simmons. Hyperion series…wow, awesome.

[XPLSV]

End Game by Dennis Behreandt, a book my brother sent me for Christmas. Was rather hesitant to read it, knowing my brother, but three chapters in, I can say it has been somewhat interesting. Jury still out...

[Dave B]

End Game by Dennis Behreandt, a book my brother sent me for Christmas. Was rather hesitant to read it, knowing my brother, but three chapters in, I can say it has been somewhat interesting. Jury still out...

Out of curiosity, I looked this up on Amazon and now I'm worried I'm on a list. If anyone from the FBI is reading this, I have an alibi for Jan 6, 2021.

[Scott P]

Freedom Climbers is what I'm currently reading. It's one I haven't read yet.

[greenonion]

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Cathedral building etc in 1100s England. Don’t ask me why/how I zeroed in on this one but it’s pretty dang good. Gives a good sense of what life was like there, in that time period.

(Looking forward to getting around to the Immortal Irishman eventually per Wentzl’s and Montanahiker’s recommendations)

[Steve2]

The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds, by Christopher Mason. Don't be misled by the reference to 500 years; this is as much about what we're developing now in genetic engineering.

Bottom line, we're on the verge of being able to edit the human genome not only to eliminate diseases, but to create almost any attribute from the embryo stage.

[petal53run]

Shadows Reel by CJ Box. Its about a game warden in Wyoming. Mystery and thriller and surviving the wyoming wilderness. Why? I use to teach in WY and my music room was the gathering place for presentations and meets. CJ Box based one of his books in that town, was a featured author invited by the librarian and gave us his books for our library. Ive followed him ever since.