Confederate Sharpshooter

When I get the same idea from two sources as different as the Freeholder and Facebook in the same hour, it must mean something. In both places today were laments on the lack of reading present in today's society. Very true, and very unfortunate- as a people these days we are reading less than ever before, and what we do read is often of dubious quality and content. While some of this can be blamed on modern technology like computers, cable television, and other distractions, I believe there is a more unpleasant aspect of it as well: laziness. It takes time, effort, and concentration to sit down and go through 800 pages on one subject, writen by a single author. Much easier to plop down in front of the labotomy box and let the mindless twittering kill off those few remaining brain cells. Much like taking that first step to losing weight, it won't be easy to relight the fires of learing in some of us, but we need to try. As usefull as short blogposts or news articles can be, there is nothing like a well thought out novel or educational book to help concentrate the mind. Or better yet, a classic novel from years past to bring the history to life, or the adventure to the heart.

With that in mind, in coming weeks I hope to start posting some books in the left hand column that I consider the best, books that I'd loan to a friend if I wanted to help them become a more enlightened person. Not everyone will like every book I recomend, of course, but if you find even one 'great' book in the list, perhaps it will be worth the effort. I hope so. And of course if you have a great one you'd like me to read, by all means post it in the comments section.

Enjoy.

Never get from Amazon what you can get from Alibris:

http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?binding=&mtype=&keyword=Rocket+manual+Brinley

Probably one of the best written books on the subject, should you be interested in Model Rocketry, of course much of the electronics information is terribly outdated. The Rocket designs, in particular the nozzles, nose cones, safety instructions (Critical!) are just as good today as they were back then.

The author is better known for the "Adventures of the Mad Scientist Club" series, which deserves a post of it's own. Check back later for that.