THE GOONERSID BOOK THREAD

It's all a load of Cannonballs in here! This is the virtual Arsenal pub where you can chat about anything except football. Be warned though, like any pub, the content may not always be suitable for everyone.
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goonersid
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THE GOONERSID BOOK THREAD

Post by goonersid »

Looking for a couple of books to read on holiday this year, and I was wondering has anybody read "Making The Arsenal".
I'm no bookworm and tend only to read when away on holiday.
For a thriller I like a good "page turner" nothing to deep and a Dan Brown usually fits the bill. :oops:
I don't mind a decent autobiography or anything to do with Arsenal. 8)
I also like a good conspiracy theory, like a good "Catholicism bashing" David Yallop, though I started reading "The Power and The Glory" two years ago and still haven't finished it. :oops:
So any suggestions would be appreciated.
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marcengels
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Post by marcengels »

Brillant Orange by David Winner

About Dutch football - where football attitudes and thinking are linked to social attitudes and thinking. I find this sort of shit fascinating. Not that heavyweight.

Can't go wrong.

8)
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Perryashburtongroves
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Post by Perryashburtongroves »

Dynamo- Defending the Honour of Kiev. A true tale of how the team took on the Nazis and beat them.

Perry Groves' book and Patrick Vieria's are both decent if you haven't read them.
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NBM
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Post by NBM »

Perryashburtongroves wrote:Dynamo- Defending the Honour of Kiev. A true tale of how the team took on the Nazis and beat them.

Perry Groves' book and Patrick Vieria's are both decent if you haven't read them.
Seconded the Dynamo book, quality read.
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DB10GOONER
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Post by DB10GOONER »

At the moment I'm reading;

Chickehawk by Robert Mason - A helicopter pilot's memoir of his year in Nam. Fascinating read and tells it like it was.

Big Boys Rules (America's mercenaries fighting in Iraq) by Steve Fainaru. A great read that lifts the lid on the awesome level of chaos and violence in present day Iraq. Reveals the shocking story of what alot of the PMC's are up to over there - they basically roam Iraq with impunity, doing the dirty jobs that the military can’t or won’t do, and they literally shoot first, ask questions later. Scary stuff.
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g88ner
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Post by g88ner »

A Season with Verona, by Tim Parks.

A chap who lives in Verona and spends a dramatic season following Hellas Verona home and away games through a Serie A season.

It's a great insight into Italian fans, and their mentality, as well as part travel book as he visits Rome, Milan, Turin, Sicilly, Florence, Bari, etc. all in the name of watching football.

Loved it, and if you don't know the outcome of the season, then it turns into something of a page turner! 8)
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olgitgooner
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Post by olgitgooner »

DB10GOONER wrote:At the moment I'm reading;

Chickehawk by Robert Mason - A helicopter pilot's memoir of his year in Nam. Fascinating read and tells it like it was.
Chickenhawk is a great read.

One of the very few books I've read twice. 8)
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DB10GOONER
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Post by DB10GOONER »

olgitgooner wrote:
DB10GOONER wrote:At the moment I'm reading;

Chickehawk by Robert Mason - A helicopter pilot's memoir of his year in Nam. Fascinating read and tells it like it was.
Chickenhawk is a great read.

One of the very few books I've read twice. 8)
Yeah - it's so well written and the futilty of war in general but that war in particular comes across very clearly.

I'd also highly recommend "Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War" by Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss. It's a particularly harrowing but enlightening read about just how mental that war could be on the ground.
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xDAVEYx
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Post by xDAVEYx »

my 3 favourite books are:

THE GODFATHER - Mario Puzo: bear in mind how good the film is, then imagine SO much more depth. Puzo adapted the book for the screen himself, a real quality read.

CAPTAIN CORRELLI'S MANDOLIN - Louis de Bernières: ignore the film of this one, its shite. the book is beautifully written with a slow, consistent flow and some great character development and some good laughs (if you've got a dark sense of humour like me) and some really sad, provocative bits. i end up reading it pretty much every summer, love it.

FATHERLAND - Robert Harris: alternate history of post-war europe, crime thriller with some great tension and a fantastic ending. must have read it about 4 or 5 times since i was at school and my teacher recommended it to me. great insight into the future intended by the hitler regime with some subtle criticism of it and some heavy cynicism from the main character who is cool as fuck.

notable mention to Robert Heinlein's STARSHIP TROOPERS (again, the film is a somewhat poor adaptation) but it's quite a short book. also, dont knock then lord of the rings books and the hobbit, they are easy reading and very entertaining if you approach them in a less cynical way in which you pass comment on the arsenal :wink:
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flash gunner
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Post by flash gunner »

Perryashburtongroves wrote:Dynamo- Defending the Honour of Kiev. A true tale of how the team took on the Nazis and beat them.

Perry Groves' book and Patrick Vieria's are both decent if you haven't read them.
Excellent book well worth reading
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MegaGooner
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Post by MegaGooner »

When the "better half" wasn't looking, I took her book and read it. I'm not the most religious/insightful person you will find, but it opened up a different level of thought for me...

The book is by Brian Weiss - Many lives, Many masters.

I'm sure you won't regret it....
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northbankbren
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Post by northbankbren »

Mad Dogs by James Grady last book i read, and can recommend.

I love a good book whether it be fiction or not.

But have found I expect far too much from novels. I want a good ending, and far too many new novels (and also movies) cop out with the ending. Too many unanswered questions, the whole head fuck thing is being overused.

Give me a proper bloody ending.
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MegaGooner
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Post by MegaGooner »

northbankbren wrote:Mad Dogs by James Grady last book i read, and can recommend.

I love a good book whether it be fiction or not.

But have found I expect far too much from novels. I want a good ending, and far too many new novels (and also movies) cop out with the ending. Too many unanswered questions, the whole head fuck thing is being overused.

Give me a proper bloody ending.
They need a string attached incase they have to make a part 2
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OneBardGooner
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Post by OneBardGooner »

All very different but V. Good in their own way.....

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas - Hunter S Thompson (Laugh Out Loud Funny and Weird(ish)

Rolling Thunder - Doug Boyd ( True Story excellent Read) About A Native American elder ......

Black Smoke - Maragret De Wys (true and entertaining) about a woman's search for a cure for her cancer...sounds down but it really isn't.....

Slow Boats To China - Gavin Young (Brilliant funny, enjoyable (holiday) read)....about a british guy who decides to travel to China via ship, boat and any other sea going vessel....back in the 7o's well good!

The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior - Dan Millman 8) ....just a good (and educating) read

Lightningbolt - Heyemeyhosts Storm (Brilliant!) One of the best bokos I have EVER read....about a Native American Medicine man - and the variouis stage sof his life including a 12 year apprenticeship with a N. American medicine woan.....the whole book - is excellent!...sad, funny, bewildering, etc etc
Last edited by OneBardGooner on Fri Jun 04, 2010 6:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bergkamp-Genius
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Post by Bergkamp-Genius »

A very interesting book i read a while ago is ''The Grand Chessboard'' Zbigniew Brzezinski...
If you want to get a better idea of the real agendas behind U.S policy and planning in the middle east and Eurasia this will give an insight into what is really going on and why....
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