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Best Books for Dad 2012

Father's Day

Best Books for Dad 2012

Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the men in our lives who have raised and loved us. Why not show him your appreciation by inspiring him with a great book? We have 10 titles that are perfect gift-giving suggestions for Dad, keeping him busy through the rest of the year.

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The Coldest Night by Robert Olmstead - Historical Fiction

 

Henry Childs is seventeen when he falls into a love affair so intense it nearly consumes him, but when young Mercy’s disapproving father threatens Henry’s life, Henry enlists in the marines and arrives in Korea on the eve of the battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Henry is completely unprepared for war, but the challenges he meets upon arriving home, scarred and haunted, are greater by far.

Damage Control by John Gilstrap - Thriller

 

A bus full of teenagers on a church mission are held hostage, and the ransom demands are explicit: deliver three million dollars --- with zero involvement from law enforcement --- or all captives will be executed. Rescue specialist Jonathan Grave must face the chilling possibility that someone within the U.S. government has a deadly secret to protect --- one that could jeopardize national security like never before.

The Family Corleone by Edward Falco - Historical Fiction

 

While his youngest children are in school, unaware of their father's true occupation, and his adopted son is a college student, Vito Corleone worries most about Sonny, his eldest child. Vito pushes Sonny to be a businessman, but the 17-year-old wants nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps and become a part of the real family business.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson - History

In 1933, William Dodd, the new American ambassador, arrives in Berlin, just as Hitler has been appointed chancellor. Dodd and his family watch as Germany falls under Hitler’s spell and the country is transformed. Why did the U.S. dismiss its ambassador’s warnings? Erik Larson takes a cold, hard look at this deplorable period in history.

Lehrter Station by David Downing - Historical Fiction

 

John Russell is tracked down by Soviet agent Shchepkin, who helped Russell survive war, to repay that war-time debt. He has no choice, but to be sent back to Germany and take up a cover as an investigative journalist and hand over US intelligence reports on the German Communist Party. Will John every be able to leave the past behind?

Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity by Joel Stein - Humor, Nonfiction

 

Joel begins a quest to confront his effete nature by doing a series of activities such as driving a Lamborghini, enduring a three-day boot camp, and rebuilding a house, all in hopes of learning that masculinity is not defined not by size of muscle, but by size of heart.

On Par: The Everyday Golfer's Survival Guide by Bill Pennington - Sports

 

From equipment and instruction, to the rules and language of golf, to camaraderie and psychology, to the short game/long game debate, Bill Pennington informs and entertains as he gets to the essence of this mercurial game, including golf’s holy grail: the hole in one.

One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season by Chris Ballard - Sports

 

In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen became the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands.

Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason - Thriller

In 1945, a German bomber crash-lands in Iceland during a blizzard, with both German and American officers on board. One of the German officers sets off in search of the nearest farm, only to disappear into the white vastness. Years later, a young Icelander stumbles upon the excavation and promptly disappears. But he first manages to contact his sister, who embarks on a desperate mission to find him.

To the Last Breath: A Memoir of Going to Extremes by Francis Slakey - Memoir

Before Georgetown physics professor Francis Slakey set out to climb the highest mountain on every continent and surf every ocean, he had shut himself off from other people. But as his journey veered dangerously off course, everything about him began to change. TO THE LAST BREATH depicts the quest that leads Slakey around the globe, almost takes his life, challenges his fiercely held beliefs, and opens his heart.