Read

Reading is a free education. When I was young I read a lot, mostly adventure books mixed with a healthy dose of western lore. Good guy, bad guy, gold, a woman, lots of shooting and then good guy kills bad guy, gets girl, finds gold and scores the amazing property with a river running through it. I couldn’t get enough. During school my reading fell into the more predictable categories of course books, homework and research, and reading became a grind of sorts, not the mind-adventure it had once been. A few years ago I made a decision to delete my social media accounts, stop going online unless I absolutely had to and read as much as possible. Last year I read eighty books. Something strange happened. My brain changed. My focus changed, and believe it or not, I actually began to feel more intelligent. The more I read the more I feel like I’m finally beginning to understand things, as each day I move through a written world of love, war, adventure, history and the human diaspora.

Read: West With the Night

This is a beautiful book I’ve read many times. Africa, 1930’s. Author is a pilot, an adventurer, pioneer. She writes SO well it makes me somewhat ill knowing I will never be able to do something so good. Check out … Read More

Read: Death Comes for the Archbishop

A book about New Mexico. Do I need to say anything more? Yes, laced with religion, hardship, faith, war and the landscape, not to mention rife with power names that still resonate through the high desert and the Sangres, this … Read More

Read: Joe

Another recommendation from my friend Jack. Another good one. Another Southern writer, but don’t let that allow you to think of him as a “regional writer,” which is a strange title I hear from time to time. The characters in … Read More

Read: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Two pages in and you know the author can tell a story and you are in for a good ride. Recommended by my friend Jack, a writer himself, so I knew this book wouldn’t disappoint. What is it about a … Read More

Read: American Assassin

So I saw the trailer for the film adaptation and thought I would read the book. Vince Flynn. I think he’s done about ten thousand books. All best sellers. That might be a slight exaggeration, but I know he’s got … Read More

Read: The Outlaw Sea

I’m doubling down on my monthly prescription of William Langewiesche. “The Outlaw Sea,” is another book you don’t want to put down. Turns out the world’s oceans are a big place. And few laws apply. Consequently the world’s water is … Read More

Read: Heat

One of those things you may or may not think about. Heat. I love heat, always have. I’ll take heat over cold any day. But what Bill Streever brings to us with “Heat, Adventures in the World’s Fiery Places,” is … Read More

Read: The Atomic Bazaar

Who doesn’t love a bomb book? I thought this a fitting read as I sit in SoCal waiting for the crazy guy with the bad haircut to turn me to dust. Trump I mean. Who did you think I meant? … Read More

Read: Myth and Meaning

So I minored in anthropology. That means nothing in the grand scheme, but I can tell you with certainty that I was far more interested in my anthropology classes than I was in my photography classes. That’s called foreshadowing, or … Read More

Read: Writing my Wrongs

This book was in the trunk of a friend’s car. He handed to me and I dove straight in. You might think this book a departure from the kind of things I normally read but it really isn’t. I was … Read More

Read: Tree of Smoke

Denis Johnson can write. Just choose anything he’s done. But if you really want to sink your teeth in pick up Tree of Smoke. As many of you know the photography of the Vietnam War was what made me become … Read More

Read: The Man from Saigon

When I read the description of this book my first thought was “Catherine Leroy.” If you don’t know who this is you owe it to yourself, and to photography, to look her up. And if you call yourself a photojournalist, … Read More

Read: The Old Ways

“A Journey on Foot.” Just think about that. When people say “The world is a small place,” I always add “Unless you are on foot.” It’s true. Our rock is huge when you are under your own power. “Th Old … Read More

Read: Rest

I loved this book from Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. Yes, the back fifth of the book is a notes section which references the work, lives and examples of other folks. So the book fits a certain look, design and feel of … Read More

Read: The Last Magazine

Okay, I’ll read anything that shines a light, however unflattering, into the darkness of the editorial world. Fiction, nonfiction etc. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If you faithfuls remember, a few short weeks ago I posted about another book … Read More

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