patton has written/posted some great stories... :D
For animal humor, you can't beat "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be" by Farley Mowat.
Then there's the Rush Limbaugh list too.
Only history I can stand anymore is stuff like Holy Blood/Holy Graal, DaVinci Code, Keys to Avalon, etc. We know it's not real, but the real stuff isn't either. The Great Triumvirate is satisfyingly long and detailed: Webster, Calhoun, Clay in their prime.
I just finished "1776" by David McCullough and can recommend it highly.
Geography/history: Simon Winchester's natural history books, Krakatoa and A Crack In the Edge of the World.
"Pillar of Iron" Taylor Caldwell.
Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield. It's the story of the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. As silly as it sounds, I read it based on a recommendation by Bruce Willis on his website. It's a first person point of view story not only about the battle, but the Spartan lifestyle.
http://tinyurl.com/rar47
"1776" by David McCullough--I just finished reading it and it was GREAT! Put a human face on history, and it was interesting to see how close America came to losing the Revolutionary War, and the hand of God at work throughout... Humanizes George Washington as well, and how much he is like our current President in that he never wavered in his beliefs, despite terrible odds, problems with the army, loyalists (we call them liberals nowadays) back then--really nice. I felt like I was right there next to the real life characters of the book.
I see that the author has written many historical books, I bet they're good too! :-)
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
Anything by Jon Krakauer
Anything by Mark Bowden
For pictorials, I would suggest a book of photographs by Matthew Brady.
These three books have history and geography and all have a great deal of REAL swashbuckling types of adventure.
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival by Dean King.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316835145/002-9914666-3036052?v=glance&n=283155
Dean King refreshes the popular nineteenth-century narrative once read and admired by Henry David Thoreau, James Fenimore Cooper, and Abraham Lincoln. King’s version, which actually draws from two separate first person accounts of the Commerce's crew, offers a page-turning blend of science, history, and classic adventure.
Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic Expeditions by Charles Gallenkamp
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670890936/002-9914666-3036052?v=glance&n=283155
What Andrews and his colleagues found has propelled dozens of scientific missions ever since: huge caches of dinosaur bones at places such as Mongolia's Flaming Cliffs. These fossils helped demonstrate geological connections between Asia and North America, and they added dozens of new species to the paleontological record.
All the while, Andrews contended with bandits, corrupt officials, invading armies, disease, and other dangers. After finishing Gallenkamp's vigorous book, readers will understand why Andrews should have served as the model for the movie character Indiana Jones--who, if anything, pales by comparison to the real thing.
Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385504519/sr=1-31/qid=1156693314/ref=sr_1_31/002-9914666-3036052?ie=UTF8&s=books
Dugard presents thoughtful insights into the psychology of both Stanley and Livingstone, whose respective responses to Africa could not have differed more. Stanley was bent on beating Africa with sheer force of will, matching it brutality for brutality, while Livingstone, possessed of spirituality and a preternatural absence of any fear of death, responded to the continent's harshness with patience and humility. Descriptions of the African landscape are vivid, as are the descriptions of malaria, dysentery, sleeping sickness, insect infestations, monsoons and tribal wars, all of which Stanley and Livingstone faced. More disturbing, however is Dugard's depiction of the prosperous Arab slave trade, which creates a sense of menace that often reaches Conradian intensity. This is a well-researched, always engrossing book.
Might like the "All Creatures Great and Small" series.
'Memoirs of the Second World War', by Winston Churchill
'The Quest for the Historical Jesus', by Albert Schweitzer
'The Last Lion', by William Manchester
'Goodbye Darkness', by William Manchester
'The Pacific War 1941-1945', by John Costello
'The Custer Myth', by W. A. Graham
CMH Pub 60-13, Cloth; CMH Pub 60-13-1, Paper
1998; 437 pages, illustrations, bibliography, glossary, index
GPO S/N: 008-029-00332-5
Military Intelligence contains both a narrative branch history and the lineage and honors for 108 Regular Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard military intelligence units—brigades, groups, and battalions, the echelons authorized distinctive heraldic items. Based on official records attesting to the history of the respective units, John Patrick Finnegan and Romana Danysh ably capture the organizational evolution of the Military Intelligence Corps. Mindful of safeguarding intelligence sources and methods, Finnegan makes no pretense at discussing the operational aspects and the complex interrelationships between Army intelligence and other organizations in the intelligence community. His focus is on the slow development and eventual emergence of professional Army intelligence organizations and functions. The lineage and honors complied by Danysh and the colorful heraldic items foster unit pride, thereby enhancing esprit de corps among the thousands of military intelligence specialists now serving their nation. The military intelligence story, a relatively unknown part of the Army's heritage, is a story worth reading.
JOHN PATRICK FINNEGAN was a senior historian at the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command from 1982 until his retirement in 2002. His major publications include Against the Specter of a Dragon: The Campaign for Military Preparedness, 1914-1917; The U.S. Army in the Korean War: Operations and Intelligence Support; and The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command: A Picture History.
ROMANA DANYSH was a senior historian in the Histories Division and in the Field Programs and Historical Services Division from 1964 until her retirement in 2006. A recognized organizational history expert, she coauthored the narrative history Infantry, Part I: Regular Army.
CMH Pub 60-15, Cloth; CMH Pub 60-15-1, Paper
2006; 584 pages, illustrations, glossary
GPO S/N: 008-029-00404-6, Cloth; GPO S/N: 008-029-00405-4, Paper
Signal Corps, the companion volume to Rebecca Robbins Raines' narrative branch history Getting the Message Through, contains the lineage, honors, and heraldic items for Regular Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard signal units at battalion level and above. Raines captures the branch's organizational evolution over time and gives a snapshot of what the corps looks like as it nears its 150th anniversary. The volume enhances the esprit de corps of the signal Soldiers and instills in them a greater appreciation for the history and heritage of their branch. To her credit, Raines has provided an invaluable reference tool for anyone interested in the organizational history of the Signal Corps.
REBECCA ROBBINS RAINES is the chief of the Force Structure and Unit History Branch in the Field Programs and Historical Services Division. She is the organizational history expert for Signal Corps units, and is the author of numerous articles and conference papers.
Against All Odds: U.S. Sailors in the War of 1812, by Charles Brodine, Michael Crawford, and Christine Hughes, 2004. GPO Stock No. 008-046-00204-5, ISBN 0-945274-50-5 (soft cover), $12.00. Order from the Government Printing Office's secure website.
In this beautifully illustrated history, Naval Historical Center staff historians examine how three naval warriors demonstrated honor, courage, and commitment when confronting superior British forces during America's "second war of independence." David Porter in the frigate Essex orchestrated a devastating attack on the British whaling fleet in the Pacific; Joshua Barney's naval flotilla in the Chesapeake helped delay the British attack on Washington in 1814; and Thomas Macdonough's superior tactical leadership at the Battle of Plattsburgh led to the defeat of his Royal Navy opponents and prompted the British government to negotiate a peace agreement.
Sea Raiders of the American Revolution: The Continental Navy in European Waters, by E. Gordon Bowen-Hassell, Dennis M. Conrad, and Mark L. Hayes, 2003. GPO Stock No. 008-046-00202-9, ISBN: 0-16-051400-2 (soft cover), $17.00. Order from the Government Printing Office's secure website.
This lavishly illustrated booklet studies the lives and careers of three Revolutionary war sea captains, Lambert Wickes, Gustavus Conyngham, and John Paul Jones, whose exploits defined the U.S. Navy during the Revolutionary War. These naval leaders, against great odds, brought the fight to the powerful Royal Navy. This booklet provides examples to today's sailors of the enduring values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment. The reader will also learn how the Continental Navy functioned and how the average sailor coped with shipboard life during the Revolution.
Washington Navy Yard: An Illustrated History, by Edward J. Marolda. 1999. GPO stock number 008-046-00191-0 (paperback). Reprint forthcoming, July 2006.
First published in 1999, this reissued work highlights the accomplishments of the Navy's oldest shore establishment still in operation, from its beginnings 203 years ago as a shipyard for the new warships of a fledgling Navy, to the end of the 20th century. Associated with American presidents, foreign kings and queens, ambassadors, and legendary naval leaders, the Navy Yard was witness to the evolution of the country from a small republic into a nation of enormous political, economic, and military power. It was also home to tens of thousands of American workers manufacturing weapons for the fleet, including the 14-inch and 16-inch guns that armed the Navy's battleships in World Wars I and II and the Cold War.
Where the Fleet Begins: A History of the David Taylor Research Center, by Rodney P. Carlisle. 1998. GPO stock number 008-046-00182-1, $61.00 (hardback), $85.40 (non-U.S.). Order from the Government Printing Office's secure website.
Details the history and accomplishments of one of the world's most fascinating technology centers. The story begins at the first experimental model basin set up by Captain David Taylor at the Washington Navy Yard in 1898. Just before World War II, a larger facility with a mile-long towing basin, named in honor of Taylor, opened in Carderock, Maryland. The historical narrative takes readers from the origin of the David Taylor Research Center through its reorganizations, and its success in modernizing the fleet through scientific and technological innovations.
Try these too
Iron Coffins: A Personal Account of the German U-Boat Battles of World War II, by Herbert A. Werner. Commander Herbert Werner served on five submarines from 1941 to 1945 and came to the United States in 1947.
THE WAR MAGICIAN: How Jasper Maskelyne and his magic gang altered the course of WWII. Photos, 315 pages. Jasper Maskelyne, was born in 1902 in England, a music hall conjurer, never fired a shot in battle, but his amazing feats played a key role in the Allied victory in Africa. Among his many triumphs, Maskelyne "hid" the Suez Canal and conjured up illusions of armies and battleships, fooling German forces led by General Erwin Rommel into retreat. The grandson of John Nevil Maskelyne, one of the founding fathers of British magic, Maskelyne was a celebrated stage magician before the war. Convinced he could use his skills to help the army, Maskelyne wooed sceptical officials by creating the illusion of a German warship floating down the Thames using mirrors and a model. He was placed in charge of the Royal Engineers Camouflage Corps and sent to Egypt where he performed some genuine mission impossibles. Asked to prevent the Germans from bombing Alexandria Harbour, the conjurer redirected the bombers by recreating the harbour's exact lighting pattern three miles away. He "vanished" the Suez Canal by building a series of spinning strobe lights to put pilots off their bearings. Maskelyne's greatest triumph came in 1942 when he successfully convinced Rommel that the British Eighth Army was in the south of the Egyptian desert and that the Alamein attack would begin there rather than in the north. Although praised privately by Churchill and hunted by Hitler, Maskelyne ended his days in relative obscurity as a farmer in Kenya and died in 1973.
Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (11 books to date)
Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series (8 or 9)
L.E. Modesitt Jr's Recluce Saga (dunno)
^^^^all fantasy (tolkienesque to a degree)
for history I'd go for Caesar's Legion from whence I drew my moniker :) and for animal humor, Calvin and Hobbes...he's sort of an animal