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Summer Reading List

June 19, 2000

Looking for a great read or a gift for someone? Check out this stack of books, compiled and recommended by us Fools. Look for them at your local library or bookstore, or just order them through Amazon.com by clicking on the title.

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II
By Stephen Ambrose

If you enjoyed Stephen Spielbergs Saving Private Ryan, and want to know more about the history behind the movie, then this book is for you. Ambrose's best seller is a top-notch work of history and as smoothly written and engrossing as any novel. The book combines the personal stories and anecdotes of hundreds of American troops who participated in the invasion with a comprehensive account of its planning and execution by military and civilian leaders. While Ambrose would probably agree with the Greatest Generation label that Tom Brokaw has applied to World War II vets and their families, he does not gloss over the mistakes of leaders or the horrors of the invasion. As a result, D-Day June 6, 1944 is a respectful but unsentimental account of a turning point in American history. -- Chris Rugaber, Editorial

Dance of a Fallen Monk: A Journey to Spiritual Enlightenment
By George Fowler

Fowler, a former priest and Trappist monk, has journeyed to, through, and out the other side of institutional religion. This book chronicles his journey, which ultimately was a journey to God and his own soul. He has had life happen to him in ways he never could have anticipated while growing up in a small Montana town. His journey is engaging reading for anyone also on a journey to God and their own soul. He is as self-critical as it is realistic and possible to be in an autobiography. He has not always made wise choices but he has always made his own choices. -- Kelly Bowers, Techdome

Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms
By John Downes

How many regional U.S. stock exchanges still operate? What is a saucer chart? And if you would, an illustration would be so helpful. Warrants, incentive stock options, class A/class B shares, anyone have a clue? Make friends with this fine financial dictionary and these and over 4,000 other financial terms will be at your fingertips. Get your terms down, and it becomes so much easier to evaluate all that info out there on the 'Net! On or offline, this is my favorite financial resource and the best place to start your research. -- Rachel Leahey, Customer Service

Fool on the Hill
By Matt Ruff

No, it wasn't the title that attracted me. Everyone who's read this book raves about it. A writer searching for love, a dog searching for Heaven, and a group of decidedly Bohemian students converge at Cornell University and mingle with other off-beat characters in this fascinating and fantastical book. It's a fun trip and tells a great story about the power of language and literature and having faith. -- Jen Silber, Promotions

The Game of Kings
By Dorothy Dunnett

James Bond meets Peter Wimsey in 16th century Scotland. Dunnett has penned some of the most remarkable historical fiction to be had anywhere. The Game of Kings (first in a six-part series) is a fast-paced thriller filled with intrigue as well as an incredibly daring, erudite, musical, polyglot (not to mention devastatingly handsome) twenty-something Scot -- Francis Lymond. Dunnett, to her credit, does not slow down for her readers. The reader who keeps going long enough to get used to the plethora of characters and catch on to the incredibly byzantine relationships of families living on the Scottish/English border is richly rewarded. Warning: these books are highly addictive. -- Gabrielle Loperfido, Business Development

Going to Meet the Man
By James Baldwin

This collection of short stories is a must-read for anyone who has read and loved Native Son. James Baldwin conveys the experience of pre-Civil Rights African-Americans as well as any writer/orator I have ever heard. Like Richard Wright, Baldwin's writing produces sympathy with his characters, black and white, while never allowing his readers to stereotype either. He presents flawed people, wishing that they were better than they are, but often unable to resist the forces that drive them to depravity and degradation. -- Brian Lund, Editorial

The Lion's Game
By Nelson DeMille

The Lion's Game brings John Corey of Plum Island fame back for another exciting adventure. Corey, now retired from the New York Police Department, has taken a stint with the Antiterrorist Task Force, based in New York City. His badge may be gone, but his sarcasm is as prevalent as ever. His first assignment seems a relatively easy one -- accept the shipment of a defecting Libyan terrorist held in custody by two CIA agents aboard a flight arriving at Kennedy Airport. But it becomes painfully obvious long before the flight arrives that something has gone horribly wrong. It is Corey's intuition and willingness to break all the rules that breaks this case wide open, and begins a coast-to-coast manhunt for a savage killer. Nelson DeMille weaves a fantastic mystery and takes us on a thrilling ride from New York to California with some of the best-written characters I've come across in fiction. This is first-rate novel by the master of sarcasm and suspense. -- Rob Schmidt, Human Resources

Living With Our Genes: Why They Matter More Than You Think
By Dean H. Hamer and Peter Copeland

It's an age-old debate -- nature versus nurture. Which side do you come down on? Are our personalities and lives dictated by our genetic code, or does the environment we're raised in affect us more? This book explores the argument from the point of view of geneticist Dean Hamer. The book's take is that from birth, we are imprinted, through our genes, with a set temperament. Whether we'll be aggressive, or bright, or even overweight is all right there in our little DNA spirals. But that's not the end of the story for Hamer. He also believes that we have the ability to change our temperament. He refers to the changeable aspects of our temperament as our character. The book's argument is an intelligent mix of both nature and nurture. If you're interested in psychology, or genetics, or you just wonder why you've been a wallflower since day one, this book will definitely interest you. -- Lou Lofton, Editorial

Magnificent Universe
By Ken Croswall

This new book has many of the latest and most amazing pictures of outer space that scientists have been able to capture: very distant stars collapsing, entire galaxies forming, all of the planets in our solar system, and much more. The glossy photographs are all color and many need two pages, even in this large format (length and width) book. A picture is worth a thousand words, but this book also has valuable words. Planets, moons, stars, comets, galaxies, and more are explained by veteran expert Ken Croswall in very readable and understandable terms -- even Foolishly so. This is an excellent book for anyone with interest in the subject of infinite space and what it holds. -- Jeff Fischer, Editorial

A Suitable Boy
By Vikram Seth

Remarkably, although this book has some 1,200 pages, it still seemed too short. I wished there had been another 1,200 pages. Set in India, it revolves around a young woman named Lata, who is under pressure to marry. Get to know her suitors, her family, and India in this captivating book. It's a very warm and funny book -- and even offers a small workout for your biceps as you read. Don't just take my word for it, though. A whopping 110+ Amazon readers have given it an average of four and a half stars out of five. -- Selena Maranjian, Editorial

The Worst Journey In the World
By Aspley Cherry-Garrard

Climbing Mt. Everest looks like small potatoes compared to what the early Antarctic explorers experienced. Not only did these men have to worry about freezing to death or falling through cracks in the ice, but often their ships were landlocked by icebergs for months at a time. And if you twisted an ankle on one of these journeys, you'd be left behind to die. The men on Robert Falcon Scott's 1912 expedition relied on dogsleds and cross-country skis in their race to reach the South Pole before the Norwegian explorer Roard Amundsen. The author, one of the youngest members of the expedition, combines journal entries and letters by his fellow adventurers with his own recollections to create a 3-D portrait of the emotional and physical suffering endured by these remarkable men. -- Sue Basalla, Promotions

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