What to Give Dad for Father's Day?
/ 0
- Details
- Category: Local Business
- Last Updated on Saturday, 18 June 2011 18:01
- Written by Terri Garlick
By Ellen Burns
Father’s Day is June 19th and Books on the Common has a great selection of gift ideas for Dad!
In non-fiction, we highly recommend two World War II stories of survival and adventure: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff. Both books are thrilling, incredible, yet true stories of heroes of that war.
Another great non-fiction choice takes place during the early years of Hitler’s rise to power in Germany – In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. Larson (Devil in the White City, Isaac’s Storm) has written a compelling, well-researched story of Ambassador William E. Dodd, an academic posted to Berlin in 1933, whose warnings to the state department about the anti-Semitic policies and plans of Hitler’s government fell on deaf ears. His daughter, Martha, plays an important role in the story – she was quite promiscuous and had a series of affairs with high-ranking German officials during her father’s tenure.
One of our favorite memoirs of this year is Townie by Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog, The Garden of Last Days). Townie is a gripping, emotional recounting of his childhood in gritty Massachusetts mill towns following the his parents’ divorce. He learns to survive with his fists, and his story is a sometimes shocking meditation on violence, family, loyalty and loss. His story is a heartbreaking, funny, and tragic tale of the era – drugs, sex, rock and roll, absent or preoccupied parents, and finally, the importance of writing as a way out.
On the socio-political front, we have Henry Kissinger’s long-awaited, definitive history of contemporary US-Sino relations, On China. Kissinger was the first official American emissary to Communist China, and has made more than 50 trips in the four decades since that momentous visit. In On China, Kissinger reflects on his remarkable diplomatic efforts with the rising Chinese world power.
A revised and expanded version of Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World, Release 2.0, would also be a great choice for Father’s Day. Zakaria discusses America and its shifting position in world affairs.
If Dad is a music fan, Keith Richard’s Life would be a great choice. And what a life it has been! Voted “famous guy I’d most like to have a beer with” by our nephew, we’d have to agree with that assessment after reading this very funny, engaging memoir. Despite all the drugs, alcohol, partying and insane risk-taking, Keith is still rock and rolling, and his love for music – writing, performing, meeting his musical heroes over the years – comes through on every page. An amazingly engaging and funny book.
A more recent release is a slim volume called Bob Dylan: Like a Complete Unknown. Each chapter travels from the 1960s to the present, offering a historical perspective on the many facets of Dylan's life and career, exploring the mystery that surrounds the enigmatic singer and revealing the complete unknown Dylan.
If Dad is a sports fan, we have lots to choose from:
Bottom of the 33rd by Dan Barry tells the amazing story of the longest, and surely the strangest, game in baseball history: the April 1981 AAA league game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings. This book will certainly be among the classics of baseball literature.
56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports. Sports Illustrated senior editor Kennedy follows the days of Joe DiMaggio’s immortal hitting streak, evoking the mood of a long-gone America to which DiMaggio was a central figure. DiMaggio played 56 games in a row in which he got a hit. How unique was the streak? “Through the end of the 2010 season,” writes the author, “17,290 players were known to have appeared in the major leagues. Only one of them had ever hit in 56 straight games.”
For the truly sports-crazed Dads, the new tell-all about ESPN, Those Guys Have All the Fun, is a huge (763 pages) tome that covers the birth, development and wild success of ESPN, with lots of dirt on all its major stars. Unfortunately, you might have to give Dad a “to be delivered” note with the card, as we have sold out and are having difficulty getting it back in the store!
For those who love mysteries and thrillers, we recommend The Terrorist by Peter Steiner. This is a vivid and colorful novel with a cast of vibrant and amusing characters. It takes the reader from the beaches of Brittany to the halls of official Washington to old Algiers and back again along a route so twisty that it would make you dizzy if it weren’t so much fun.
Also, he might enjoy Our Kind of Traitor by John LeCarre. LeCarre’s latest is a fast-paced story of loyalties, altruism, defections, and collapsing ethics where high ranking spymasters enrich themselves by leaving the service to rub shoulders with the element upon which they formerly spied.
