There’s a lot of those, so I’ll just list a few and the why.
The Bible: A sweeping saga of people and relationship with God. I try to read it cover to cover once a year, sometimes I even get through it twice. How can you go wrong reading lessons from the Creator and applying those lessons to your life.
Courageous by Randy Alcorn – the novelization of the awesome movie by the Kendrick Brothers. Since I write about Cops tossed into touch emotional, moral, and spiritual situations, it’s only natural I’d gravitate tot he book.
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James D. Hornfischer – A page turner of an epic David Vs. Goliath naval battle. A handful of U.S. Navy destroyers, destroyer escorts, and Jeep Carriers vs the cream of the Japanese navy (battleships, cruisers, destroyers). It’s a battle we should never have won, and never had the stakes been higher. Tom Clancy couldn’t have come up with a battle more intense, yet it’s not a work of fiction. it happened.
To the list add 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: Vendetta, and An Unfinished Life.
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William R. Ablan, Police Mysteries 
Rich,
Remember when I mentioned my grandfather’s destroyer (DD-586, USS Newcomb) a few months back?
It was involved in this battle as well, sir.
If I recall correctly it was part of the DesRon that sunk the Yamashiro.
I have not read Hornfischer’s book, though.
sidenote:
I still have those corrected links for the USS Newcomb’s story…
As to your “Add To” list:
As a sci-fi guy, you may want to check out “Armor” by John Steakley.
After a few reads over the years, I am pretty sure he had a close relationship with a Vet with some PTSD issues. A lot of my favorite sci-fi authors were Vets, but I couldn’t find anywhere whether Mr. Steakley had served or not.
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I read armor, it was excellent. I s tumbled across Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors the book years ago and our receptionist at Denver Seminary was a big Naval warfare nut. I was talking with her about it and then I mentioned the Johnston. She looks at me with these big brown eyes and said, “My father was in that battle.” All I could do was extend my hand and say it’s a pleasure to know the daughter of a man who was there. She said he almost never spoke of it.
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I forget if I ever mentioned running into a gentleman who had served on the Indianapolis?
It was pretty shocking actually.
And I was on a date that had no clue why it was such a big deal to me.
So when we sat down to order, I told her the bones of the story, she was like “that story that Quint told on the boat in ‘Jaws’ was REAL? Oh my God, that poor man.”
If I didn’t mention it before, I know I typed it up somewhere… I’ll look later.
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Wow.
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Yessir.
If he and his wife weren’t leaving the establishment I would have paid their bill or at least bought him a beer.
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I can see why you want to re-read those books, Richard.
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Just ordered “Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors“.
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You’ll love, brother man.
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