I think that I shall never see a tree that reads as well as a great book. What makes a web page is content. What makes a great web page is great content. And what is great content if not just great writing? Part of writing well is learned from reading what others have written. Although many people consider many books to be well written, I have strong personal opinions on certain books that belong on this list of truly great books, and on certain books that do not belong on this list.

A great book, in my opinion, need not challenge you to figure out what it means, although it may do just that. It may be a great tool; it may make you feel smarter. It can explain the unexplainable, or do little more than amuse you. My intention is that someone looking for something great to read be able to select any book from the following list, and be thrilled by what they find.

If there are any books that you can strongly recommend for inclusion in this list, use the e-mail link, and drop me a line. Please include at least the title, author, and a brief description. The publisher's name is helpful, but not required.

At the bottom of this page you will find links to other recommended lists.

This page will be updated, corrected, and more, with time. Latest update: 9/18/2004. Please feel free to drop your suggestions in the e-mail to me for consideration. My latest reading includes the many books by Elmore Leonard, a book on acting by David Mamet, and The Art of Rhetoric by Aristotle. I need to add Short Stories by Ambrose Bierce. That guy puts together words as well as anyone I've read.

Return to Leonard Frieling's law firm home page.

Topic Index
• Adventure
• Animals
• Biography
• Children's
• Computers
• Dictionary
• Nasty Crime
• Exclusions
• History
• Horror
• How-to Books
• Hunter S. Thompson
• Law
• Literature
• Music
• Oriental Wisdom
• Poetry
• Science
• Science Fiction
• Sets of Books
• Shakespeare

Our whole life consists of building birds with lacy wings, out of wet sand, only to have them dry up and blow away.

Adventure

• The Perfect Storm was a shock. Even though it was on the New York Times Bestseller list, I was surprised, given the hype of the movie, to find a truly wonderfully written page turner. The best parts may be the history of New England fishing and the science of the ocean. In the spirit of true blasphemy, I contend that this is Moby Dick if Moby Dick had been well written.
• Shibumi, by Trevanian is one of the best of the spy adventure type books. Ian Fleming, (who is also highly recommended), eat your heart out.
• Jurrasic Park, by Michael Crichton, is a perfect example of a book being much better than the good movie made from the book. I'm not a big fan of Michael Crichton, but I sure liked this one.
• Flight of the Intruder, by Stephen Coonts, appeared in a picture sitting on a president's (Reagan?) desk. That was how Coonts was discovered, and the book (unlike the movie) is top notch adventure.
• Rogue Warrior, by Richard Marcinko. (I do not claim to have puritan taste. Good characters and good stories come in many forms, and this is one of them. If you are offended by someone being called a "pencil dick, no-brain, ...... then this one is not for you. On the other hand, if you have any interest in SpecWar, Seal Teams, and the like, it gets no better than this. Warning: Do not start one of Rogue Warrior books at night. You'll be up all night reading.
• The Godfather, by Mario Puzo
• The Carpetbaggers, by Harold Robbins. The very best of trash novels, this is a great story, based on fact. Although I have not read this in years, I suspect that it holds up well with time.
• I understand that the book about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Undaunted Courage, is wonderful. The copy that was gifted to me is still waiting my hopeful gaze.

Animal Books

• Jack London animal stories, just pick any one
• This should be under "How To", so I'll put it there too. The Monks of New Skete, The Art of Raising a Puppy, and How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend. These are offered here because they contain such great information that the style of the writing is secondary. No one should raise a dog without reading these books, and without having them available for reference. The Monks have raised German Shepards for many years, and really understand (and can teach you) how to speak in "dog."
• How To Raise Your Puppy and How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend are without doubt the two best things ever written on dog training. The Monks of New Skeet have done nothing else but raise dogs for hundreds of years. They will teach you how to speak "dog" in easy lessons. This is THE way to house break, to avoid barking, to keep dogs from chewing furniture, and most important, to get along with you.

Biography

• Wired, by Bob Woodward, is the rather upsetting biography of John Belushi, the dead talented brother in the family.
• Frank Zappa, by Frank Zappa

Children's Books

• The Harry Potter books are as good as they say they are. I did not care for the movie. The books are a "must read."
• Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers, is a wonderful example of how Walt Disney can destroy a character. Although I am a Disney fan, I am not a fan of what a Disney characterization can do to a *person.* The Disney version removes the rough edges from Ms. Poppins, and the rough edges are what make this book fun.
• Watership Down, by [insert] must be the best rabbit book ever written. Read this one out loud to your children, your husband, your wife, or to yourself, but not until you've finished The Hobbit.
• Charlotte's Web
• The Hobbit is so much fun to read that it is just barely legal. If you have not read this one, turn off the computer now, and go read it. The same is true, in spades, for Lord of the Rings, also by J. R. R. Tolkien.
• Dr. Suess. Need I say more about these?

Nasty Crime

• Michael Connelly, writing both as an experienced crime reporter, as well as an expert in spinning yarns, is a truly wonderful writer. He's seen the blood, and can capture the complexity of the reactions in his characters. Lincoln Lawyer is especially wonderful.
• Eddie Little, along the lines of Eddie Bunker and Elmore Leonard has had a book or two made into movies. The books were better.
• Eddie Bunker, retired petty criminal and successful author is a "must read" or he would not be listed here.
• Elmore Leonard has written well over 34 books, and I'm through about 35 of them. Many are crime stories similar in ways to the Eddie Bunker stories. Other topics include Cuba and the Spanish American War (Cuba Libra). The style and the stories are great.
• Stephen Hunter, Dirty White Boys is nasty, as promised, and riviting also.
• Thomas Harris, Red Dragon (the first Hannibel Lecter book)
• the "Prey" Books, by John Sanford. Any desire to get into the mind of a serial killer, or into the mind of the hunter of serial killers? Amazing what books will allow us to do without fear of being arrested, and without leaving a lot of blood to clean up.
• American Psycho, by Ellis, is awful, terrible, pornographic, not for children, bannable, and I could not put it down. This one is REALLY dark and the character is truly evil.

Computers

• I love ALL of the books about hackers, including Takedown, by Shimomura and Markoff,
• Cyberpunk, by Hafner and Markoff,
• The Hacker Crackdown, by Bruce Sterling,
• and Masters of Deception, The Gang that Ruled Cyberspace.

Dictionary

• The American Heritage Dictionary is Totally Fun!. The three color pictures per page really add to the book.
• The Oxford English Dictionary is interesting in that its uses of english are extracted from great works of literature. It is English usage, which is not always American usage. For example, "conflated," which is totally acceptable in America, is not listed.

Exclusions

There are many authors who are considered by many authorities to be great. I do not always agree, and this is my page. The following authors are not forgotten or unread, but are intentionally not listed under the recommended reading list.

• Charles Dickens. I never understood the attraction to this wordy weaver of waste. I don't just dislike Dickens, I hate Dickens. From "It Fails in Two Cities" to just about any one of his other "efforts" I have yet to find one that I like.
• Russian Authors who are not well translated.
• The Yearling
• The Red Badge of Courage. No wonder people do not always like reading, having been exposed to this garbage in school, and being forced to read it, and being lied to when they are told that these things are great literature.

History

• Jewish Literacy, by Rabbi Joseph Tellushkin, fits here as well as anywhere else. I was quite surprised to find a book about history and religion that I could not put down. This is for Jews and non-Jews alike.
• Winston Churchill's A History of the English Speaking Peoples, although not politcally correct, is as good as history gets, in my experience. The first tongue in cheek comes only after a hundred pages or so, but this is great reading. I understand it was written in the middle of the night, in the bathtub, while smoking cigars and drinking champagne. Now that is a writing style with which I can be comfortable. When an editor made a margin note remarking unfavorably on a dangling participle, Churchill's response was "you are correct. That is just the sort of thing up with which we should not put."
• William Manchester, The Arms of Krupp. While Manchester's writing style is a bit awkward, the content is fascinating.
• The Source, and Mexico, by James Michener, may not qualify as history, but when you read it, you certainly get the idea that you have a real feel for the history of the area involved. The Source takes place in Isreal, and Mexico takes place in, well, you guess. Hawaii is also a great Michener. Although long, these books all read like short stories, which take a little longer to read.

Horror

• Steven King. If I were to read one Stephen King, it would be the re-issued and more complete version of The Stand. I confess to loving them all, including (especially?) the Bachman books.
• Dan Simmons, just pick any one. It is hard to find a less than great one

How To books

• I suppose that "How To" is the appropriate heading for a link to a truly wonderful company, Books by Bookends . They will print 10 copies of the book you write, in paperback, for $150.00.
• Fortunes in Formulas is dated, out of print, and available in used book stores. It is amusing, and very useful. It has been printed under a variety of titles, and includes everything from cleaning solutions to photography formulas, to etching information.
• Strunk & White, The Little Book of Style, is the best short, usable, work on how to not make the most common stylistic/usage mistakes in writing. Obviously, it has been too long since I've read this one!
• The Monks of New Skete, The Art of Raising a Puppy, and How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend. These are offered here because they contain such great information that the style of the writing is secondary. No one should raise a dog without reading these books, and without having them available for reference. The Monks have raised German Shepards for many years, and really understand (and can teach you) how to speak in "dog."
• Elizabeth Kubler-Ross would be pleased, I suspect, to have On Death and Dying listed under "how to." This is the "how to" of dying and grieving, things which we all will do at some point.

Law

• The Art of Cross Examination, by Wellman, as I recall. This is for lawyers, law students, and arm chair lawyers.
• Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow, as well as all of the other books by Turow.
• ALL of the John Grisham books, and especially A Time to Kill, his first book, published second. This one made a great movie also, unlike the others, which made only fair movies, in spite of being good stories.

Literature

• One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, is one of my favorite favorite books.
• Dona Flor and her Two Husbands, by Jorge Amado
• The Milagro Beanfield War, by John Nichols
• Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, is just as good as you remember it, if not better. Time to read it again, perhaps?
• Joyce Carol Oates. Although her writing is dark, it is pithy, and will get to your core. If you want *intense* than this is a great author for you. Frequent themes are incest, and violence of other types, but the presentation is pure art.
• Siddhartha and Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse, were so good that I went from there to read about everything published in English by Hesse.
• John Barth, Giles Goat Boy, Chimera, and The Sot Weed Factor. The Sot Weed Factor is the best of hysterical historical novels. Chimera is Mr. Barth having fun with 1001 Arabian Nights, and Giles Goat Boy is a must read for all college students. Giles Goat Boy is a bit of work to read, but to satirize the university system, it must be somewhat cumbersome to work.
• James Joyce, A portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, The Dubliners, Finnegan's Wake, and Ulysses. The first two are fine to sit down and read, and use the language beautifully. The last two are tedious, difficult, and magnificent. The Ralph Ellison books about Joyce and Ulysses are a really good companion book idea. If you can get someone with an Irish accent to read portions of Ulysses or Finnegan's Wake out loud, you will know bliss.

Books on or about Music

• Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess. Mr. Burgess was told (thankfully mistakenly) that he had a year to live. In that year he wrote about nine books, including A Clockwork Orange. Although several of the others are excellent, this one is special. One must play Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, or some Rossini, in the background while reading this.
• A Dictionary of Musical Themes, Barlow and Morgenstern, Crown Publishing (maybe long out of print) is a useable reference on classical music themes. You can hum a tune, transpose it to the key of C, and look up the note sequence in the index to identify the classical piece. The system works. You can also go through the main section of the book, indexed alphabetically by composer, and find the themes to all of the major classical works.

Other People's Opinions.

• Brad Geres's list of favorite reading.

Many books are available on line

• full text,, indexed by author.
• 400+ Greek and Roman classical texts

Oriental Wisdom

Poetry

• Lawrence Ferlinghetti. "Don't let that horse eat that violin."
• e. e. cummings, 50 Poems.

Science

• Petr Beckman, The History of Pi.
• A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking is better than people say it is, and people say it is great.
• e, The Story of a Number, by Eli Maor, will actually make you believe that you understand why the number e is so significant.
• Chemical Rubber Handbook (Handbook of Chemistry and Physics) comes out each year, and is listed here not as something to read, but as a truly useful compendium of information. Older editions are useful, and available at bargain prices. This is the classic book of its type.
• Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, by Richard P. Feynman, is a cross between science, biography, how-to, and just plain fun. I wish I'd met this guy. He would have been great as a teacher, or at a party.

Science Fiction

• Frank Herbert, Dune and the series. My friend Mike Lazar, reminded me that I'd left this one out.
• L. Ron Hubbard's book on religion. Notice that I have this also under science fiction. It's as good as Charles Dickens.
• Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and anything else he's written.
• Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land.
• Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Player Piano (Utopia 14), Cat's Cradle
• Dan Simmons, Hyperion. Dan Simmons writes wonderful science fiction AND wonderful horror stories.
• Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, The Mote in God's Eye, is one of the best science fiction stories I've read.
• Robert Sheckley, Mindswap, and Immortality, Inc. Robert Sheckley is really fun to read.
• I confess that I am not a great fan of Isacc Asimov, BUT, I Robot, and the Foundation Trilogy are worthy of the reputation that he has earned over many years, and many feet of library shelf space. I believe he is the only author to have published works under every heading in the Dewey Decimal System.
• Hitchiker's Guide, by Douglas Adams

Great Sets of books

• Encyclopedia Brittanica. I look forward to having this both on CD-ROM as well as in print. It is the definitive encyclopedia, and a real showing of the level of sophistication of our culture.
• Great Books of the Western World. I know that these books are considered to be the great ones, but I have found many of them to be just about unreadable. They are just not fun, and although they may be important, my intention in listing books on this page is to provide a list from which one can make a random pick, and enjoy the read.

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare is in a category by himself, and (sacrilege, I know, to say this), best served on video, with Mel Gibson in it somewhere. Mr. Gibson actually understands Shakespeare, and when you watch his "Hamlet," you'll understand it also. The language is not nearly as stilted as we are used to perceiving it as being, but I did not realize that until I watched "Hamlet," with Mel Gibson. Russian Authors who ARE well translated are an entirely different read than Russian authors who are poorly (Victorianly) translated. Have some fun in the aisles by pulling several versions of Crime and Punishment off the shelf, and comparing the first pages.

Hunter S. Thompson

• As long as Shakespeare has his own category, why not (the recently deceased) Dr. Hunter S. Thompson? Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels are both world class wonderful reading.