Free Republic Book Club

Tanniker Smith

[Tanniker Smith]

Welcome to the Free Republic Book Club.

Last time I checked there were over 70 posts on

our first thread by 40+ posters. Not bad at all.

Let's call our second meeting to order. I'd love to give you a topic, but I have to go dig up the car and take the kids bowling. So talk amongst yourselves.

The results of yesterday's "survey" are below.

[Tanniker Smith]

Top Three Conservative Books You've Recently Read

The thread didn't get a lot of responses, and out of the books that were listed, some weren't in any particular order, or weren't read yet. Soooooo, instead of using a totally unscientific method that would have made the WashCompost proud, and totally assembling the data out of whole cloth and randomly assigning percentage values (I mean "skewing"), I just sorted through the titles that people have read (though I may have stopped after your third book listed).

Books That Got Four Mentions:

• "Unfit For Command" John E. O`Neill and Jerome R.Corsi,PH.D

Books That Got Three Mentions:

• "How To Talk To A Liberal (If You Must)", Ann Coulter

Books That Got Two Mentions:

• "State of Fear", Michael Chichton" (yeah, it's fiction, but it got mentioned twice! I can't ignore it. What am I, the L. A. Times?)

Books That Got a Mention:

• "Art & Part", Freeper James Macomber
• "At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election", Bill Sammon
• ""Back to Basics for the Republican Party"
• "Bargained for Exchange", Freeper James Macomber
• "Basic American Government", by Clarence Carson
• "Bush Country: How Dubya Became a Great President While Driving Liberals Insane", John Podhoretz.
• "The Case for Democracy" by Natan Sharansky
• "A Conflict of Visions", Thomas Sowell
• "The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson", David N. Meyer
• "Enemies Foreign and Domestic", Freeper Travis McGee
• "For Shame (The Loss of Common Decency in American Culture)", James B Twitchell
• "Good to Great", Jim Collins
• "Holy War on the Home Front", Harvey Kushner
• "The Law" by Frederic Bastiat (written in 1850; you can also find it on the Constitution Society's web page);
• "Let Freedom Ring", Sean Hannity
• "Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty", James Bovard
• "Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America", Mark Levin
• "Misunderestimated", by Bill Sammon
• "Nine Parts of Desire", Geraldine Brooks
• "A Patriot's History of America", Freeper LS
• "Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity", David Limbaugh
• "Reagan's Revolution : The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All", Craig Shirley
• "The Real Lincoln", by Thomas DiLorenzo
• "A Republic, Not an Empire", by Pat Buchanan
• "Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror", Richard Miniter
• "Treason" by Ann Coulter
• "The True Believer", Eric Hoffer
• "War Stories II, Heroism In The Pacific", Oliver North.
• "Wealth and Poverty", George Gilder
• "Who's Looking Out for You", Bill O'Reilly

TS

[Tanniker Smith]

February 25, 2005 ping.

[Tanniker Smith]

Whoops, forgot the date in the title of the thread. *sigh*
I'll try to remember tomorrow.

[tumblindice]

No, "I Am Charlotte Simmons" (by Tom Wolfe)? I'm re-reading it.
Now there's a book that will tempt you to stop saying your prayers at night.

[satchmodog9]

I was really disappointed in Coulters book. I am tired of authors compiling their articles and reselling them in book form. I find it cheap and almost fraudulent. I just got my copy of "Left Illusions" by Horowitz. So far interesting, but hard to read. We are dogsitting. Three dogs in the house makes for headaches.

[Terpfen]

Coulter never said How To Talk To A Liberal was anything but a column collection. That said, there IS new material in there.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Would you mind adding me to your ping list? There have been so many books I've wanted to read, but forget to write down the titles...

[satchmodog9]

It was a gift from someone who knew I was a fan of Ann. I still think it is cheap to package your articles like that. O'Rielly did that in one of his books and I never read another one.

[Rodney King]

Coulter's new book isn't worth the money. There are a few good pieces in it here and there, but mostly it's boring. It gives the feeling that she was under contract to write a book, but didn't really feel like it, so she threw this thing together.

[squarebarb]

Has anybody read Thomas Dalrymple, on the state of culture in the UK? He's good.

Also, 'Tom And Huck Don't Live Here Anymore', forgot the author, will look it up.

[cyncooper]

Link to first thread.

[Question_Assumptions]

Some conservative books that I've read and really enjoyed:

The Death of Right and Wrong by Tammy Bruce

Useful Idiots by Mona Charen

The Rise and Fall of Socialism by Jason Muravchik

The Quest for Cosmic Justice, Race and Culture, and another recommendation for A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Sowell (any book by Thomas Sowell, actually)

I recommend reading Unfit for Command if you haven't, specifically because you can't really appreciate just how much the left was covering up for Kerry without looking at the sheer number of claims and how they are supported in this book.

Not conserative books, per se, but useful books that undermine some key liberal academic assumptions include Stereotype Accuracy: Toward Appreciating Group Differences edited by Yueh-Ting Lee, Lee J. Jussim, and Clark R. McCauley and War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage by Lawrence Keeley. The first addresses the assumption that all stereotypes are wrong and bad and the second addresses the liberal myth that all violence springs from Western culture. Both have been favorably reviewed in National Review in the past.

[Question_Assumptions]

I also enjoyed Peter Hitchens' The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana.

[Jeff Head]

A number of posters yesterday talked about fiction and particularly Freeper fiction. I thought I would compile a partial list of really good Freeper fiction available.

First (sheepishly hanging my head) let me shamelessly promote my own Military techno-thriller series about World War III pitting Red China, the fundamental Islamic nations and their allies against the United States and our allies. Sort of a Clancy with a consntitutional attitude blending in many conservative issues of the day into the storyline.


THE DRAGON"S FURY SERIES

Then, there's Freeper Travis McGee's (Matt Bracken), Enemies Foreign and Domestic, as good a second amendment thriller about rogue governmental agencies and politicians pitted against 2nd amendment adherants as you will find. A GREAT read.

Freeper Jim Macomber's Art & Part and Bargained for Exchange. Two novels, really a series about the main character, that are outstanding reads that mix Grisham and Clancy type writing styles into very good legal/espionage thrillers.

Freeper LS has writtne and is doing extremely well with, "A Partriot's History of America". He also has "Spetember Day" which should be coming out soon, a thriller based on the 9-11 attacks. I've read the manuscript and it is exciting and an excellent blend of historical fact with fictional what-if's that are sure to rasie the haris on the back of your neck and pull you into a an exciting stroy line.

A great ficitonal, Sci-Fi read is byFreeper author E.E. Knight (snake65). His Vampire earth Series (and don't be put off by that title, it is NOT your typical Vampire novel...it's true sci-fi with an unbelievably good story line, Way of the Wolf and Choice of the Cat.

I know I have missed others. Please chime in.

Having read all of the books I just mentioned, I can say that we have Hope a wealth of fictional literary talent here on FR. Hope everyone enjoys it all

[ken5050]

Great idea..thanks for starting, and please put me on your ping list.. 1. Since a book, by nature, takes a little more time to read than a newspaper or magazine..I think you should foreswear the idea of a daily thread...Start a new one every weekend..and let it run for the week..

2. A book club thread , be it conservative, or Republican, or libertarian, is waaay to broad in scope,..and therefore is not focused. I think that every week you should consider limited the area of discussion to a particular topic, or genre..examples..and there are others..

1. Contemporarey politics

2.Biographies

3.Military history

4. Fiction

5. European history

> 6. Religion

Otherwise the thread is all over the place...in this way,each week there's a little more focus to the books discussed.. thanks for letting me weigh in..

[LS]

It's not written by a Freeper, but if somsone wants a really thought-provoking Christian fiction book, try "Blink" by Ted Dekker. (NOT the "Blink" that is out there by a secular writer in non-fiction). I also strongly recommend "Smoke Screen" by Kyle Mills, which offers a remarkable answer to all the tort-lawsuits in the nation today.

[LS]

Let me say that Jeff Head's five volume series is worth the money. I would not have purchased every one of five volumes.

[Jeff Head]

would not have purchased every one of five volumes.

LOL, my friend, it appears that you and I are both plagued by the typo bugs today.

[LS]

Jeez. I meant to say that if they weren't good, I would NOT have purchased all five volumnes. You know what I meant.

[Jeff Head]

I know...just reviewing my own post I saw a couple of typos and thought it was humorous is all. Thanks in any case for the kind words...they are more than mirrored back to your own excellent work.

[LS]

I know you are working on a Klamath book, but are you doing a new fiction, too? Can you keep it to one volume this time out of compassion for our wallets?

[jim macomber]

Just came across this thread. Great!
And thanks, Jeff, for the kind words.
Since this thread/club may renew/increase interest, let me give the Freepers the link to the page we set up a little while ago just for them:

http://www.jamesmacomber.com/FRSpec.html

and mention that #3, "A Grave Breach", will be out soon.

[jim macomber]

Forgot to explain that the web page cited - http://www.jamesmacomber.com/FRSpec.html -
has my first 2 novels "Bargained for Exchange" and "Art & Part", available at a very large discount for Freepers - $10.00 ea.

[beaureguard]

"Unintended Consequences"

Has been out for a few years, but very good 2A book.

Sorta slow getting started, though...

[RushCrush]

I almost picked up Charlotte Simmons yesterday...you're re-reading it? how would you describe it?

[Jeff Head]

I finally got the DFS series into one large hardback.

I hope to get...

The Stand at Klamath Falls
How rural western farmers took on entrenched environmentalism and won

out by late spring or early summer. Maybe sooner.

Have no plans as yet for more fiction...but am getting lots of requests.

[RushCrush]

Another EXCELLENT book:
Flyboys : A True Story of Courage
by James Bradley

This acclaimed bestseller brilliantly illuminates a hidden piece of World War II history as it tells the harrowing true story of nine American airmen shot down in the Pacific. One of them, George H. W. Bush, was miraculously rescued. The fate of the others-an explosive 60-year-old secret-is revealed for the first time in FLYBOYS.

[506trooper]

"...Start a new one every weekend..and let it run for the week.."

Second that.

[sandalwood]

I agree if you are looking for bedtime reading. I, however, used to cut out her columns and save them for future reference, always blasting myself if I missed one. So this book suits me just fine. If, however, her next one is the same, they'll be HELL to pay, Ms. Coulter!!

[MississippiMan]

Although I've thoroughly enjoyed Kyle Mills's prior books, I held off on this one in fear that it would be an anti-tobacco rant.

Wholly concur and recommend Ted Dekker. Excellent author with really fresh and unusual Christian fiction. I've not yet read BLINK, but it's on order. I have read TH3EE (sp?), as well as all three books of the CIRCLE trilogy. Excellent reading.

I read ~100 novels per year, primarily thrillers when I can find good ones. I'm always on the lookout for great fiction.

MM

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"'...Start a new one every weekend..and let it run for the week..'" "'Second that.'"

I vote for that idea, too. I'd like to read "State of Fear" or "Useful Idiots." I'll see how quickly I can get them from the library because I'm fiscally conservative, a.k.a. "cheap," LOL! :)

[TightyRighty]

I haven't read much non-fiction but here is a couple of my favorite fiction books:

The House On Old Vine - Norah Lofts

1000 White Women - Jim Fergus

And The Ladies Of The Club - Helen Hooven Santmyer

[LS]

I loved the first of the "black/white/red" trilogy," but didn't like how he developed it. "Three" was ok. "Blink" is much better.

Don't worry about "Smoke Screen" being an anti-tobacco rant. I think he offers a way out of this whole mess. :)

[LS]

By the way, if you haven't read Caleb Carr, "The Alienist," that is very good. His second book, I didn't think, was quite as gripping. And I love all Nelson DeMille books.

[506trooper]

"I'll see how quickly I can get them from the library because I'm fiscally conservative, a.k.a. "cheap," LOL! :)"

I'm the king of cheap when it comes to books....I average 10-12 books a month, and if it wasn't for second hand book stores or the book exchange shelf at work. I couldn't afford me.

There are some books I buy as soon as they come out in hardbound because I can't wait ( John Sandford, David Wiltse, David Drake, Nelson Demille) or they are authors I've been collecting for years, but thank goodness for "Second Hand Books".

[Tanniker Smith]

Excellent idea. I'll do that tomorrow. We'll give everyone today a chance to find this thread.

That'll give us another good thing to do today -- decide what to talk about for the next week!!

Should we pick a genre? If so, what genre? (Two answers here: No or Yes/genre)

Should we pick a particular book? (This might not be good to start since I doubt we've all read any books in common and a week is a short time to get a copy and read it.)

Any other ideas? Go write ahead!

TS

[MississippiMan]

Mills has a knack for making what I call "fantasy solutions" to big problems seem feasible. RISING PHOENIX is a prime example. Talk about cutting back on drug use!

Will check out Caleb Carr; never read any of his.

Yeah, I like Nelson DeMille, too. One of my favorites, in fact, though his endings sometimes irk me pretty severely. I also love Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, both together and as solo authors. James Rollins spins enjoyable, fantastic tales. James Patterson's work is hit-or-miss for me. I like Grisham well enough to have read all of them. (I have a collection of his signed first editions that's about 80% complete.) I used to love Clancy but find his later stuff unreadable; it's obvious he's burnt out.

MM

[LS]

With DeMille, it's all about the ride and never the destination. He ranks with Stephen King as a poor writer of climaxes, but his character/story development is always entertaining.

[LittleSpotBlog]

I like the list so far! "State of Fear" is a great suggestion because it is a work of fiction written from a reasoned and conservative-leaning perspective.

So, will we be "assigning" books for all to read and then discussing? I'd be great to all get on the same page. (I know, lame pun)

[cyncooper]

...And The Ladies Of The Club - Helen Hooven Santmyer

That is at the top of my all time favorite books.

[cyncooper]

...list

[Bear_Slayer]

O'Rielly

You spelled his name wrong.

It is spelled Oh' Really

[TightyRighty]

I think it's longer than War & Peace but definitely worth the read.

[cyncooper]

I've read it about 3 or 4 times. I like to read it during the winter. There's no "the", though.

It's ...And Ladies of the Club"

[codercpc]

Please add me to the ping list. I will be out most of next week, but I look foward to reading it when I get back.

[cyncooper]

ach, I meant the first "the" in the first reference...not "And THE Ladies of the Club", just "...And Ladies of the Club".

I'll stop now.

LOL

[RebelTex]

Jeff,

Thanks for the ping. I have read some of the excerpts of your works that have been posted from time to time, and they were excellent.

I wish I had the time to read your entire series, but I can't put a good book down once I've started, and that would not be good for my business at this time.

I promise to get them just before my next vacation (a long relaxing one, I hope).

Gotta get back to work. Keep on writing and posting.

FReegards,
RT

[Jeff Head]

Thank you. I look very forward to your thoughts regarding the series whenever you read it...and however much you have time to read. I believe you will enjoy the read and find them exciting and compelling.

Best Fregards.

[EllaMinnow]

I love "The House at Old Vine"!

Have you read "Gad's Hall" by Lofts?

[ken5050]

Picking one book won't work..initially..howvere, if the thread develops a following of sorts, then it might be possible, after a review of a particularly interesting new book comes out, to announce that we'll discuss it in , say, three weeks.. I do think we could do thread about genres..for example..biography..it's a big part of the President's reading list,,so this weekend could be an open discussion of what biographies folks have read recently... another topic could be old, forgotten favorites..one nice thing about Amazon, the used book part, is now when someone tells me about a great book..they read years ago..I can instantly find a copy on Amazon for a few bucks here are three faves of mine, for example.. 1. A Senate JOurnal..by Alan Drury....a great memoire of the Senate, in the years after WW II..

2. Glory for Me..by MacKinlay Kantor..the novella upon which "the Best Years of Our Lives" was based..perhaps the greatest movie of WW II.. Kantor's now hardly remember.. 3. The Vicar ofChrist..can't remember the author's name...a wonderful read about a US Marine officer who becomes in turn, a Korean War Hero, the CJ of the US Supreme Court, and finally, the first American Pope..