Day 61, March 2: Non-Fiction

My Favorite

Non-Fiction Books

This is what I usually read, and seven of these I've read in the past few years. So, I've probably forgotten some good ones from the past. And, a list of my Top 10 Fiction books would not only be weak, but probably embarrassing. We'll see.

1. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," by Dee Brown and Hampton Sides: I've read this three times. It's an amazing and sad recap of what happened to the various Indian tribes and their leaders.

2. "A Team of Rivals," by Doris Kearns Goodwin: A fantastic look at Lincoln and his cabinet during the Civil War. It added to my already high opinion of this great leader.

3. "Luckiest Man: The Life & Death of Lou Gehrig," by Jonathan Eig: I knew a lot about the Iron Horse, but gained even more of an appreciation of this selfless, incredible athlete.

4. "Bruce Catton's Civil War, Trilogy (Mr. Lincoln's Army, Glory Road, A Stillness at Appomattox): I read this huge set 3-volume set in one book in a few days after moving back

to the Midwest from Idaho.)

5. "Cobb," by Al Stump: I had earlier read Ty Cobb's "slightly" biased autobiography and got a more honest assessment of his amazing

and controversial career.

6. "Boone: A Biography," by Robert Morgan: Very well researched and fair-minded. Pointed out positive and negatives of the white man and the red man. Boone was a pretty cool dude.

7. "American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House," by Jon Meacham: Old Hickory wasn't the most cool dude. He had a tragic childhood, which contributed to his failings.

But it can't excuse all of his failings.

8. "The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle & the End of America's Childhood," by Jane Leavy: Although I noticed her "writing" too often, she still told a impelling story about another tragic figure in our history.

9. "A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Big Horn," by Jim Donovan: A very detailed and lively tale of the oft-told story. You really feel as though you're riding with the confident and arrogant general.

10. "Faithful," by Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan: The serendipitous chronicling of the Red Sox long-awaited 2004 World Series season. They couldn't have known when they started what would happen.