I’ve Been Book Tagged

I’ve been book tagged by the Lost Nomad. I actually had to do a lot of thinking to compile this list because I read so much and have such a wide range of interests. However, here is what I came up with:

How Many Books Have I Owned:

I estimate probably a thousand or more. I got one book shelf here at home plus another in my office plus two more bookcases worth of books in storage back in the states just waiting for me to come home.

The Last Book I Bought:

I recently bought Flags of Our Fathers which is a book about the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. I was inspired to buy the book after reading and seeing the pictures about Iwo Jima on Gardener in Korea’s site. Looking at Mark’s pictures of the terrain those Marines landed on really gave me a renewed appreciation of what those guys had done that month of February 1945. Just think, 110,000 soldiers were involved in the landing operation on an island that was 7.5 square kilometers. That is only 40,000 less soldiers than what we have in all of Iraq which is the size of California. Then 6,800 Americans died to take that island along with 21,000 dead Japanese soldiers. We have lost 1,700 soldiers in just over 2 years of fighting in Iraq. It really puts thing is perspective what these guys had to go through and accomplished for our country in February 1945. So I’m really looking forward to getting started on this book.

The Last Book I Read:

I am currently reading Rogue Regime by Jasper Becker. So far the book has been interesting and definitely has an anti-Kim Jong Il tone to it. Reading the stories in here about Kim Jong Il from defectors and other people who have been to North Korea just causes me to shake my head why some people think Kim Jong Il isn’t so bad. So if you haven’t read much about the North Korean problem this book is a good place to start because it is easy reading mixed with well researched opinions about the North Korean problem.

Five Books That Meant A Lot To Me:

I love to read just about any Ernest Hemingway book. My two favorite Hemingway books are The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell To Arms. The Old Man and the Sea is a fish tale that should be right up Nomdad’s alley. The book focuses on the battle between an old fisherman and a huge marlin he has caught. It is a life and death struggle between both fish and man that ends with no one winning except the nearby sharks. Hemingway draws many parrallels between one’s own struggles through life and even parrallels of Jesus’s struggles through this book. The theme of life being a constant struggle that you can’t always win, but you still need to keep your head up and wake up every morning and keep fishing is something many people can appreciate.

A Farewell to Arms is inspired by Hemingway’s own World War I experience. During the Great War Hemingway was excited to see war but was made an ambulance driver due to his poor eye sight. Hemingway ended up being the first American wounded in World War I. Likewise the hero of this book, Lt. Henry is also an ambulance driver and he to was initially excited about fighting a war. He ended up finding out the reality of war and love at the same time which is the true tradgedy of this novel.

Hemingway’s books tended to be loosely based off of events in his own life. He was a decorated war hero, loved hunting, fishing, boating, and he probably liked women more than anything else as he was married numerous times. He also served as a newspaper correspondent during World War II and is rumored to have fought side by side with the US soldiers he was covering. His books also weren’t known for happy endings which also unfortunately parralleled his own life once again as he committed suicide after battling mental illness for many years. But the legacy of his life lives on through his books.

Another author I really like is Jack London. The first book I read from Jack London was Call of the Wild. This book chronicles the life of a dog named Buck living the easy life with his master when one day he is dognapped to be sold as a sled dog during the Alaskan Gold Rush. Buck goes through much brutality and many changes in owners and environments before finally meeting the right owner that could bring out his inner wolf. People are the same way, put people in the right environment with the right leadership and great things will happen.

Being an avid outdoorsman I can really appreciate London’s use of animals and the frontier environment to tell a story.

Another book I like is Travels in the Orient which is a book about Marco Polo’s journey across the Middle East, through central Asia, and on to China. I have always been fascinated with the story of Marco Polo. It is amazing to think that a common Venician merchant was able to become a confidant of the great Mongol leader Kublai Khan who was then ruling most of the known world. The book also includes great photography along the modern day Silk Road and other areas that Marco Polo traveled through. I still like to thumb through the book and look at the pictures.

Also the book by Joseph Conrad, The Heart of Darkness, is a book I will not soon forget. This book chronicles one man’s journey up an African river to find a man named Kurtz. The further up the river he goes the more tragic things become until he finally finds the mysterious Kurtz. If this tale sounds familiar it should because this book is what the movie, Apocalypse Now! is based on except the movie is set in Vietnam with Martin Sheen traveling up a river in Vietnam into Cambodia looking for a mysterious Colonel Kurtz played by Marlon Brando. After reading the book and seeing the movie you really get a renewed appreciation for both works.

Finally I cannot leave out the books by Carl Sagan. Most notably, Cosmos, Pale Blue Dot, and Billions and Billions. Sagan is probably still the world’s most famous scientist as his books and movies had a way of making science enjoyable and understandable for kids and common people.

Some other authors I enjoy are Michael Crichton, Clive Clussler, and Ralph Peters. I also enjoy reading classical Greek & Roman history plus books about Korea, China, and Japan, not to mention my collection of Star Wars books as well.

The Next Victims:

If they want to participate I tag Brian at Gangwon Notes and the Japundit next.