Books HE will WANT to read!
Happy Father’s Day everyone! Do you have Book loving dad in the house? Last year I posted about historical fiction books for men and it’s actually been my most popular post ever! So, here’s an update- check out MORE historical fiction books for men!
The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell is hailed as Game of Thrones but real! It chronicles the making of England during the ninth and tenth centuries with King Alfred the Great and his grandson fighting to protect against fierce Viking invaders.
This thrilling adventure is masterfully told and meticulously researched, utilizing records of Cornwell’s own ancestors. See the full description below!
The first installment of Bernard Cornwell’s New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England.
In the middle years of the ninth century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king.
From New York Times bestselling storyteller Bernard Cornwell comes a rousing epic adventure of courage, treachery, duty, devotion, majesty, love, and battle as seen through the eyes of a young warrior who straddled two worlds.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
This Pulitzer Prize winning book is a classic for a reason! If you’ve never read before, be prepared for ALL the emotions. It’s a love story, adventure– all the above!
It does fall into Wild West stereotypes with depictions of Indian savages, but please don’t let that stop you from reading this amazing book. See the full description below.
The Pulitzer Prize–winning American classic of the American West that follows two aging Texas Rangers embarking on one last adventure. An epic of the frontier, Lonesome Dove is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness of America.
Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove and meet an unforgettable assortment of heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers. Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember.
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
This epic novel on the Battle of Thermopylae has been hailed as an education in warfare. It’s even on the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Reading list.
Although written as a fictional account through the eyes of a survivor of the battle, Pressfield demonstrates his attention to detail and meticulous research in every sentence. It’s a definite Must Read! See the full description below.
Thousands of years ago, Herodotus and Plutarch immortalized Spartan society in their histories; but today, little is left of the ancient city or the social structure of this momentous culture.
One of the few antiquarian marks of the civilization that has survived lies scores of miles away from Sparta, at a narrow Greek mountain pass called Thermopylae.
It was there that three hundred of Sparta’s finest warriors held back the invading millions of the Persian empire and valiantly gave their lives in the selfless service of democracy and freedom. A simple engraved stone marks their burial ground.
Inspired by this stone and intrigued by the lore of Sparta, author Steven Pressfield has brilliantly combined scholarship with storytelling. Narrated by the sole survivor of the epic battle–a squire in the Spartan heavy infantry–Gates of Fire is a mesmerizing depiction of one man’s indoctrination into the Spartan way of life and death, and of the legendary men and women who gave the culture an immortal gravity.
Culminating in the electrifying and horrifying epic battle, Gates of Fire weaves history, mystery, and heartbreaking romance into a literary page-turner that brings the Homeric tradition into the twenty-first century.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
This is a beautifully written book that is in essence an ode to literature. But it’s also an intricately woven mystery and homage to 20th century Barcelona. See the full description below.
Barcelona, 1945—just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his eleventh birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother’s face. To console his only child, Daniel’s widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona’s guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again.
Daniel’s father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Carax’s work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness and doomed love. And before long he realizes that if he doesn’t find out the truth about Julian Carax, he and those closest to him will suffer horribly.
As one leading Spanish reviewer wrote, “The originality of Ruiz Zafón’s voice is bombproof and displays a diabolical talent. The Shadow of the Wind announces a phenomenon in Spanish literature.” An uncannily absorbing historical mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the mystical power of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller’s art.
The Eisenhower Chronicles by M.B. Zucker
This is an informative inside glimpse of the life of President Eisenhower. Ike had not only an illustrious military career, but was president during a particularly tumultuous time in U.S. history. Zucker masterfully shares his story. See full description below.
A Five-Star Book about a Five-Star General.
In 1938 he was a lieutenant colonel stationed in the Philippines; by 1945 the world proclaimed him its savior. From leading the forces of liberal democracy against history’s most evil tyrant to the presidency, Dwight D. Eisenhower fought for and kept the peace during the most dangerous era in history.
The Eisenhower Chronicles dramatizes Ike’s life, portraying his epic journey from unknown soldier to global hero as only a novel could. He is shown working with icons such as FDR, Winston Churchill, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and confronting challenges like D-Day, the Little Rock Crisis, and Sputnik.
Eisenhower’s legacy is grounded in defending the world from fascism, communism, and nuclear weapons. This novel shows how he accomplished it all and takes readers into his mind and soul, grounding the history in the man who made it.
“An ambitious novel that illuminates the complexity of one of the great figures of the twentieth century. Ike’s homespun manner concealed a remarkably skilled, at times Machiavellian, leader who guided the nation through perilous times. M.B. Zucker brings us inside Eisenhower’s world as he wrestles with a series of decisions affecting the survival of free government and the fate of humanity. This is a fun, fast-paced, informative read that captures the man and his times. Highly recommended.”
Stephen F. Knott, Professor of National Security at the Naval War College and author of Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America.
Hope you enjoyed this historical fiction books for men round-up and it gave you some inspiration. Happy Reading!
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