It is often said that one has but one life to live, but that is nonsense. For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived, for fiction, biography, and history offer an inexhaustible number of lives in many parts of the world, in all periods of time.
Louis L'Amour,
Education of a Wandering Man
Louis L'Amour at Wikipedia
Louis L'Amour, a prolific writer and storyteller about the West, wrote over 100 books before he passed away at age 80. His autobiography, Education of a Wandering Man, throws light on his development as a writer, his life events and experiences that preceded his writing days, and documents many of the books that he read in his life.
Our library has many of his works, so dip in if you feel the inclination.
In my March 17, 2008 post Click Here (Push left blue arrow at top to return to this post)
I mentioned a series of four historical novels written written by British author Conn Iggulden about Julius Caesar. These books were recommended
to me by a lady at work; she was pretty darn excited by them. She also recommended the one that C.I. wrote entitled Genghis : Birth of an Empire. Well, my wife, who likes to read and who has for her live long years, has read the first two and is hankering for me to go and get her the third book in the series. Seems that Conn Iggulden is a good writer in her opinion as well.He has also written (with his brother Hal) The Dangerous Book for Boys which we don't have at our library so you will have to request it through interlibrary loan. I have only leafed through it so don't have any strong impressions of it. BarnesandNoble.com says--
Synopsis
The bestselling book for every boy from eight to eighty, covering essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age old question of what the big deal with girls is.
In this digital age there is still a place for knots, skimming stones and stories of incredible courage. This book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity, and makes for great father-son activities. The brothers Conn and Hal have put together a wonderful collection of all things that make being young or young at heart fun---building go-carts and electromagnets, identifying insects and spiders, and flying the world's best paper airplanes.The completely revised American Edition includes: The Greatest Paper Aiplane in the World,The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,The Five Knots Every Boy Should Know,Stickball,Slingshots, Fossils, Building a Treehouse, Making a Bow and Arrow, Fishing (revised with US Fish)Timers and Tripwires, Baseball's "Most Valuable Players, "Famous Battles-Including Lexington and Concord, The Alamo, and Gettysburg," Spies-Codes and Ciphers, Making a Go-Cart, Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary, Girls,Cloud Formations, The States of the U.S., Mountains of the U.S.,Navigation, The Declaration of Independence, Skimming Stones, Making a Periscope, The Ten Commandments, Common US Trees and Timeline of American History
Publishers Weekly
This abbreviated version of the bestselling book from across the pond ambitiously tries to live up to its billing as "the perfect book for every boy from eight to eighty." Though younger boys will find much to ponder in such "Questions About the World" as "How far away are the stars?" and "Why is the sky blue?," as well as profiles of super-courageous people, they may find denser passages on famous battles of the world (Hastings, Crécy, Lexington and Concord) a bit slower going. Wyman is a game tour guide to all things boy, infusing his narration with a 'did you know...?' enthusiasm that will hook a broad listenership. Sections on girls and first aid (including CPR and setting breaks) are also meant for a slightly older crowd, but lots of boys of varying ages (and their dads) will find this enlightened nonfiction compendium of essential guy stuff hard to resist. In addition to the wealth of information provided, Conn Iggulden reminds listeners in a brief afterword that being a man ultimately means being honest, loyal, kind and unselfish-oh, and "keeping clean, body and mind." Ages 10-up.
Black History Month for 2008 has come and gone. For a post that I wrote almost 14 months ago in February 2007 including information on Black History Month, please Click Here It is so difficult to believe that it has been 40 years since Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. Two months later Robert Kennedy met the same fate. One of my book reading goals is to read a biography on Mohandas Ghandi who largely influenced Reverend King in adopting his own non-violent beliefs.
African American writers from the United States
Actually, all education is self-education. A teacher is only a guide, to
point out the way, and no school, no matter how excellent, can give you
education. What you receive is like the outlines in a child’s coloring book. You
must fill in the colors yourself.Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour at ThinkExist.com
See you at the library, my reading friends.
© Bob Hoff, 2008
