NIGHTLY READING THREAD: Welcome to Edition #36 of #GMGReads. Every night through this weird time, I'm tweeting out a list of my five favorite books around a general theme—and a link to an indie bookstore where you can order them online....
Can you believe we're into week six of this? I was reading this weekend a biography of Enrico Fermi, THE LAST MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING, the father of the nuclear age, and it got me thinking about my favorite books on engineering marvels—all available at @booksaremagicbk:...
(PS: Before I start tonight—I'm doing a virtual book club with @AvidReaderPress later this month about THE ONLY PLANE IN THE SKY and offering signed, shipped copies—with 100% of the purchase donated to two great Covid-related causes. More here: )
1) Tonight's whole category of engineering marvels could just be David McCullough books—I've mentioned WRIGHT BROTHERS before—but two stand really out: First, his PATH BETWEEN THE SEAS, on the building of the Panama Canal is captivating and enlightening. booksaremagic.net/?q=h.tviewer&u…
2) Second, you'd be hard-pressed to find a story of more inspirational grit than THE GREAT BRIDGE and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge: booksaremagic.net/?q=h.tviewer&u…
3) Stephen Ambrose's NOTHING LIKE IT IN THE WORLD, about the transcontinental railroad is a testament to the wondrous advancements in technology that seem so utterly mundane later: booksaremagic.net/?q=h.tviewer&u…
4) Annie Jacobsen's (@AnnieJacobsen) history of the most intriguing military base in the world, the Rhode Island-sized AREA 51, didn't uncover aliens, but it's a history of secret marvels just as revolutionary, from nukes to supersonic flight: booksaremagic.net/?q=h.tviewer&u…
5) On a trip to Asheville in 2015, I visited the Biltmore and was just amazed by the enormous, decadent mansion—the history of which is is recounted in Denise Kiernan's (@DeniseKiernan) THE LAST CASTLE: booksaremagic.net/?q=h.tviewer&u…
Those are tonight's #GMGReads. What are your favorites on engineering marvels, scientific advances, and human-made wonders? Your favorite indie bookstores? Share! #avidreadersunite
