Books To Recommend ?

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I have trackside (the churchill book was a recommendation for another poster :D)

It goes back a while but his prose is as good as you would expect. i recall it was enjoyable. Well worth ordering
 
clivex said:
but then again, ive said what i need to say
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No you have not. I am still awaiting an apology for the insult you hurled my way.

Galileo, I was under the impression insults towards other members on open forum was in contravention of forum rules on here?

Perhaps you can comment?
 
trackside528 said:
I don't think I'd have the stamina for a book of Winston Churchill, Clive. ;)

I've ordered Hugh McIlvanney's imaginatively-titled "McIlvanney on Horseracing." Anybody had the chance to read it.
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Superb book. Bascially a collection of his Sunday Times articles spanning the period 1966-1996. Needless to say it kicks off with a piece written when Arkle was at the height of his powers, but focusing instead on his great partner Pat Taaffe. The article includes passing reference to a horse, like Arkle also owned at the time by Anne Dutchess of Westminster and trained by the legendary Tom Dreaper- that horse was called Foinavon!

A lot about Piggott for which the author is anything but apologetic (right so), and for me the most memorable pieces include articles about Dancing Brave's demise at Santa Anita and the first ever festival bumper at Cheltenham "there are many who think it will take a fall on the flat to beat....Tiananmen Square this week".

However the enduring memory is the article written in the aftermath of the tragic loss of Lanzarote in the 1977 Gold Cup.
 
;) numbersix

I must admit you have reminded me why i should dig the Mcillvanney book out again. thanks for that...if nothing else lol
 
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Jamie Reid's two works, A Licence to Print Money and Days Like These are also worthy of consideration. The former details a mammoth struggle in the ring between the late great J G Fitzgerald and B W Hills one Ebor!

The latter gave me great pleasure reading about the monster punt on Like A Butterfly at Cheltenham - a gamble I am happy to say I joined in immediately prior to winning a packet on Moscow Flyer in the Arkle!!!
 
Just finished 'Lonesome George - the life and loves of the world's most famous tortoise'. Despite the title sounding a bit dodgy it's a look at the background to what's thought to be the last remaining member of a group of giant tortioses (?) found in the Galapagos. Some interesting and thought provoking stuff on why he might be the last one of his kind (human destruction most likely) and possible ways that he (and other endangered species) might be preserved.

Admittedly I am a little bit of a tree hugger but anyone who's got an interest in nature/biological science will probably find it interesting and at just under 200 pages it doesn't take that long to work through either.
 
imagine said:
Just finished 'Lonesome George - the life and loves of the world's most famous tortoise'. Despite the title sounding a bit dodgy it's a look at the background to what's thought to be the last remaining member of a group of giant tortioses (?) found in the Galapagos. Some interesting and thought provoking stuff on why he might be the last one of his kind (human destruction most likely) and possible ways that he (and other endangered species) might be preserved.

Admittedly I am a little bit of a tree hugger but anyone who's got an interest in nature/biological science will probably find it interesting and at just under 200 pages it doesn't take that long to work through either.
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Is there any sex in it?
 
The Sunne In Splendour by Sharon Penman. Richard 111/Edward IV -battles, treason, royal intrigue, politics of the time and romance - brilliantly told.
 
The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper. Initially sceptical, not least since the author is American and we all know how much they respect historical correctness! The book is very well written however with good characterisation and most importantly, is historically accurate insofar as known facts are concerned.
 
The Reckoning by Charles Nicholl - the death of Christopher (Kit) Marlow and the political and spy systems of Elizabethan times.
 
At the moment, to accompany the US Presidential Election I am reading Hunter S. Thompson`s account of the 1972 campaign, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail `72. It is unbelievably excellent.
 
Shadow Leader said:
The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper. Initially sceptical, not least since the author is American and we all know how much they respect historical correctness! The book is very well written however with good characterisation and most importantly, is historically accurate insofar as known facts are concerned.
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Slightly off-topic, but what do you make of The Tudors series, Shads (if you watch it)? I've watched it the last few weeks and have really enjoyed it despite knowing nothing about the history (not hard to pick up on though really).

As for books, I'm currently reading Irving Wallace's political novel The Man. Fantastic read.
 
I started a thread about it somewhere, Trackside! (http://www.talkinghorses.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=13026&highlight=tudors )I've only seen the first series and since I missed the first couple of the second series I didn't watch it, I'll wait till it comes out on DVD.

Historically, it is horrendously inaccurate and ridiculous things have been changed or added, which drives me mental since it's not as though the story needed sexing up at all! That said I've still enjoyed watching it, I just treat it as though it is fictional which is about all I can do to stop myself going mad at all the made-up bits!
 
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