5- Five Days in November by Clint Hill
These five days in November are a lot like 9/11 for those who were alive and old enough to remember them. This book is a recap of the trip to Texas that took President John F. Kennedy. The book is arranged chronologically and the hard copy has many pictures and other documents from that trip documenting the assassination of the president. The death of the president was brutally emotional, sad, and shocking. Hill’s writing style is brief, and factual as he describes those events scarred into his memory. He has tried to heal from the tragedy by writing about the events after so many years of silence. Hill was the Secret Service agent in charge of Mrs. Kennedy’s protection so he was very close to the family, the president, and the events that happened in Dallas. He is the agent in the photos who jumped on the back of the car after the fatal shots were fired by Lee Harvey Oswald. The book also tells stories from the days following the shooting where the nation mourned and buried the beloved president- how 34-year-old Jacqueline Kennedy planned and led the biggest state funeral of the time involving over 100 heads of state, creating some of the most iconic moments in our history.
This is for anyone wanting the real Kennedy assassination story.
(Rated PG-13, Score 9/10, hardcopy, 243p.)
4 - Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson
This is the story of Carlos Hathcock. The deadliest sniper in the Vietnam War with 93 confirmed kills. This is his story from his youth, learning to shoot, to his retirement after a devastating attack launched his troop vehicle into the air on fire and burned over 43% of his skin. Carlos was an extremely disciplined and balanced soldier. He was the perfect sniper. He embodied the woodsman, being able to read the fields and valleys with all of his senses. He was calm and collected under threat. He did not kill for vengeance or anger. He killed to protect his men, to thwart the enemy, and to win the war, but he did not kill needlessly or indiscriminately. Carlos was an extremely hard worker, deeply devoted to the Marines and their mission. He was unbelievably talented as a marksman, winning the national championship at 1000 meters, and translating that skill to the war as a sniper. His fieldcraft and military awareness allowed him to become a legend in Vietnam, earning the highest bounty offered by the enemy. Carlos was able to neutralize an enemy sniper who had been terrorizing the Marines when Carlos arrived in country, which won him support from his peers and superiors alike. In his most impressive solo mission, Carlos worm-crawled several thousand meters across open fields to assassinate an enemy General in his own front yard and then escaped without being seen, like a ghost. Another impressive aspect of Carlos’ career is how he behaves when he is shipped back to Vietnam for a second tour of duty after. He is put in command of a platoon of snipers, who have lost their pride and mission focus. Carlos leads them back into shape. He gives them their dignity back, gets them off latrine duty and back in the field, engaging the enemy with their highly specialized weapons and skills. Thanks for recommending this book Dad. I think you would like it.
This is for shooters and history buffs.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Kevin Foley, 10:52)
3 - Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenegger
I didn’t know what to expect from this book when I grabbed it from the library. I’ve always found Arnold to be an interesting character. I’ve seen the work he does with the big fitness festivals and his movies of course and I knew he had gotten into politics. I knew he was smart, but I think I sold him short because of the silly movies he’s been in. I was surprised and impressed by the clarity of his story. He deliberately outlines the four major acts of his life: bodybuilding, acting, politics, and philanthropy. This book is based on advice given to him by his father: be useful. The following are his descriptions of seven tools to help one be useful. 1- Have a clear vision. Start big, then zoom in. Get clear as you work toward your goals. Look at your work in the mirror. Like Arnold posing in a mirror, reading reviews of his movies, or listening to his constituents, we must accept feedback on our vision and refine our methods as we work toward our goals. 2- Never think small. Don’t have a plan B, because then you become your own doubter. 3- Work your ass off. Work works. Productive pain means growth. Reps reps reps. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. Follow up and follow through. Make sure the work gets done. No excuses. Do the work. 4- Sell, sell, sell. Know who you need to sell to. Part of selling is just describing your vision to people. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t. Don’t be ashamed of who you are. Be real. Take responsibility. 5- Shift gears. Don’t complain about a problem unless you are willing to try to solve it. When you feel the urge to start complaining, switch gears and look for the positive side. Learn from failure. Break the rules. Risk is all made up. 6- Shut your mouth, open your mind. Be curious. Learn from everyone. Change your fate. Change your stars. Put your knowledge/brain to good use. 7- Break your mirrors. Give back. Volunteer. Give. Do something. Look for others to help. None of us are self-made men. Others help us. Help others. I like that he read his book with passion and style. I like his hard work mantra. Overall, I found this to be a fantastic book. I intend to take some of these lessons and intentionally start trying to use them in my work and at home. Specifically, sell, sell, sell, and shift gears. I think those could help me be more effective in my current job. We’ll see.
This is for workers, terminators, and hustlers.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, audiobook read by the author, 6:19)
2- Parenting: Getting It Right by Andy & Sandra Stanley
This is a fantastic book on parenting. My favorite aspect of Andy’s (and Sandra’s) writing style is their clarity. They don’t use big, expensive words. They use small, concise words and keep the concepts simple, actionable, and relatable. To start, the Stanleys describe their definition of parenting success: building functional adult children who want to be around them and each other. Their goal is to build strong relationships and teach children how to protect and value people through relationships. The rest of the book supports that goal. They break the parenting journey into four stages: The discipline stage (birth to Pre-K), the teaching stage (Grade school), the coaching stage (Middle and High school), and the friendship stage (College and beyond). To keep things easy they didn’t have a lot of rules. One main rule is: “Honor your mother.” By stressing this rule, the family gains a great, relational perspective. To support this rule, three things are never tolerated- disobedience, disrespect, and dishonesty. The second rule is: “Never tell a lie.” Lying breaks the relationship. The book covers discipline in a way that I have not heard before. The goal of discipline is to teach children how to restore the relationship that they have damaged. This takes confession and restitution. As children get older, the consequences should be very creative, and they should focus on restoring the relationship with the person who was wronged. There are some great examples in the book, like forcing the boys to buy flowers for the babysitter and deliver them to her at work along with handwritten apology notes. The book also includes practical wisdom about schedules, priorities, and communication. One piece of wisdom I am trying to implement: Only raise your voice when there is danger. Not in anger. To round out the book, the Stanleys cover marriage wisdom and spiritual formation. I will probably buy a copy of this book and see if I can convince my wife to work through it with me. The content and approach are simple, yet profound.
This is for anyone with little people or planning to have little people.
(Rated G, Score 10/10, audiobook read by the authors, 5:07)
1- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
This is a fantastic book on negotiating. Chris Voss has so many good, practical, easy-to-implement ideas for improving your negotiating tactics. Being a former hostage negotiator with the FBI, he also has great stories and insight from some of the most intense negotiations out there. Voss also challenges some of the conventional wisdom from the business world in this book. Voss talks about listening to the other party with empathy and using conversational techniques like mirroring to get the other side to open up about what really matters to them in the deal. Voss tells stories about standoffs with hostage takers, and figuring out how to get them to work toward the resolution of the standoff by asking them open-ended questions. Voss has spent his career trying to take negotiating to the next level, from volunteering on a suicide hotline all the way to Harvard Business School. This book is a fantastic resource for all sorts of negotiating. I used some of his techniques to get a great deal on my truck. I plan to use more of these when negotiating deals at work. I highly recommend this for the stories, tactics, and growth potential.
This is for anyone looking to grow and learn.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Michael Kramer, 8:07)
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