Realm of Ice and Sky

Realm of Ice and Sky: Triumph, Tragedy, and History's Greatest Arctic Rescue by Buddy Levy

During the first part of the 20th century, great lighter than airships were very popular and were seen as the future of aviation. This is the stroy of 2 polar explorations that used these airships to explore the arctic. The first was a ship lead by Amundson to go to the North pole. This was an italian built ship so the Italian government under Mussilini used it a propganda device, not to the liking of the Norwegian crew that were the actual explorers of this ship.

The second air ship is the Italia which was an Italian government sponsored exploration, lead by the italian Umberto Nobile who was on the first ship in a minor role, but managed to leverage his participation to lead the expedition. This second air ship had a much more ambitious arctic exploration agenda, but ended in tragedy when the ship crashed in the far north and many of the crew perished. Nobile was rescued and while he was a hero in Italy, many others blamed him for the failure of the ship and the lives lost.

Into the Ice and The Third Pole

Into the Ice: The Northwest Passage, the Polar Sun, and a 175-Year-Old Mystery and The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest by Mark Synnott

Into the Ice is the story of the author sailing a small sail boat through the Northwest Passage and all the obticles involved. Also along the way lookinig for remnants of the Franklin expedition.

The Third Pole is Everest. Once both poles has been visited Everest was seen as the last great exploring opportunity. This is the story of the author going up Everest and at the same time looking for evidence of Mallory and Irvine who disappeared on the mountain in 1924. A lot of speculation but also interesting facts about what is known about them.

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America

The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America

This is actually a petty inclusive biography of Paul Revere. The 'ride' where he warned Lexington and Concord is the last part of this book. The first part deals with his younger years and is a build up to his ride to alarm people. He was a very skilled horse rider, and interestingly for his rides, to New York, Philadelphia etc, he was actually paid for his time and effort. There is also information about how he became a legend, since others rode out to warn the patriots also, but his story resonated with people.

The Last Manager

The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller

Biography of Earl Weaver, manager of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1970s and 80s. Earl was a very colorful baseball characters who lead the Orioles to many penant and world series wins. He was also ejected from ballgames more than any other managers. He was known for putting on a show by fighting with the umpires and this behavior helped to boost attendance at ball games, as fans came to see the 'Earl Show'. He played baseball in the minor leagues but never in the majors.

Sinkable

Sinkable: Obsession, the Deep Sea, and the Shipwreck of the Titanic by Daniel Stone

The story of the Titanic, but not really the last voyage and who survived and who did not. But the story of the Titanic became the legend, metaphore and symbal it later became. The autor points out that there have been thousands of ship wrecks over the centuries, but Titanic's story continues to evolve and remain relevant.

Ends of the Earth

Ends of the Earth: Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and Our Future by Neil Shubin

This is a memoir and history, the author is a arctic and antarctic researcher, lots of history and science and speculation about the future of the poles and the planet.

All the Beauty in the World

All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley

Interesting ture story of Patrick, he was working at the New Yorker when his brother passed away after a prolonged illness. Wanting a job that was completely different from his previous experience, he took a job working as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He stayed at this job for ten years, and this is the story of what that experience was like to go to work everyday and to be surrounded with the best art and artifacts in the world. During the ten years his life went through many changes, and there are many stories of his fellow employees and the museum patrons. Original to say the least.