I like to read biographies and other pieces of non-fiction that tell a good story. At any given time you’ll see at least one book on my desk that causes someone to ask, “Why in the world are you reading that?” On occasion I like to share these super-fun books that you wouldn’t necessarily expect a pastor to be reading:
1. Mookie: Life, Baseball, and the ‘86 Mets. I love reading baseball biographies. This one by Mookie Wilson is an interesting behind the scenes look at the ‘86 Mets.
2. The Devil’s Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the Twentieth Century. This book is about the trial of Roland Molineux, a wayward son of a Civil War general who poisoned his arch-nemesis. I’m about 1/4 of the way into the book and I’m intrigued.
3. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President. James A. Garfield goes down in history as being a victim of an assassin’s bullet, a mad-man named Charles Guiteau. But the actual cause of death was medical malpractice.
4. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency. I’ve been reading biographies of little known US Presidents. The one on Polk I got from the library and it smell like cigarette smoke—but it is still an enjoyable read.
5. Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. I was introduced to The Smothers Brothers about a year ago and enjoyed some of their comedy. I also like learning about the 1960s. This book tells the story of both.
6. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball’s Super Showman. I remember my uncle telling me stories about crazy Charlie Finley when I was a boy. He was right. Charlie did some outrageous things.
7. Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson: A Study in Character. The writing is a bit difficult, because it feels like being dropped in the middle of a story. But the tale of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton is compelling enough to keep me reading.
What books have you enjoyed reading lately?
