James Michener, Joseph Heller, Peter Capstick, Joseph Wambaugh

[Monty]

I have a collection of nearly all Michener's his novels. Although the characters are fictional, the events that are protrayed are very well researched and many of them are factual. He always spent a lot of time on site to do his own research and it shows in this books. The only one of his novels I didn't particularly like was "Space" and it was mostly contemporary stuff whereas his other works were written from day one to present. My favorite one is "Centenial". One of only a few books I have read over several times.

Another book I have read many times over is "Catch 22". It is hilarious although ironic about the subject of WWII. It makes you laugh and think at the same time. Heller's other books are crap in my opinion and read like he was doing them just to meet a contractual deadline. I was deeply disappointed.

I also have a collection of Capstick's African hunting books that are very interesting at least to me. My lifelong dream is to take a hunting safari in Africa. I realize I will never be able to and Capstick takes me along with him on many adventures. Plus I have learned a lot about Africn people and natural science of the continent. Very good for just about any age.

Many folks like to read detective novels but I don't because I lived it! When I have tried to read few of them I find so many errors that the author's ignorance of the subject shows through. Joseph Waumbah did quite well in his earliest works as far as authenticity went, be even he veered off base in his last few attempts.

Those are my favorites, albeit they are all different as night and day. I am no literary critic but I am just to myself I guess? Monty

 

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[truckinbutch]

Not a bad choice , given the variety .
Capstick was a bit prone to stealing other folk's stories .
I would recommend J.A. Hunter , Jean-Pierre Hallet , and Wilbur Smith for Africa . Sascha Seimel's book 'Tigrero' for some real adventure in the Mato Grosso .
Jim

 

[P.B. and Dylan]

James Michener is one of my all time favorites Monty. I haven't read all his books yet but it's not because I haven't have the opportunity, it's because I don't want them to end so I pace myself. My favorite is probably Chesapeake partly because it's in my part of the world. I also liked The Novel because the fictitious town in the book is practically in my backyard. It wasn't what I consider a standard Mitchener novel but a good book none the less. I also enjoyed Centennial, Alaska, Texas, Iberia and quite a few others. And if you want a better understanding of why things are the way they are in Afghanistan his book Caravans (written in 1963) is a must read.

Paul

 

[RGINN]

Michener's the greatest, Monty. I read a lot of his books. I finally got the dvd's of 'Centennial' about a couple of years ago and just finished re-watching them the other day. Generally I don't like movies adapted from a book but this one hit it pretty good. Michener gave the movie his approval. Since I'm in Colorado now it makes it even better. His book 'Texas' was a great read, but the movie's not worth your time. Me sitting there reading the book aloud would have made a better movie than that. 'Chesapeake' and 'Alaska' are great novels too. Michener had a way of getting you involved with his characters, and you would find yourself concerned about them and what would happen next when you had to stop reading, so you couldn't wait to get back to the book.

 

[Monty]

Very true about Michener's books. You pace yourself so they won't end so soon. Very few books are like that. Capstick was more or less, probably more so an amateur writer. It shows but nevertheless entertaining. He doesn't take credit for all the stories he relates, rather I personally think he gives enough credit for the authentic characters. Just an opinion I suppose? I was never led to believe all the tales happened to him. I like Wambaugh's early works because being an ex cop I know he doesn't put in a lot of Hollywood BS like most mystery writers. Glad to hear everyone's comments and thanks for the other book titles. I'll look them up. Monty

 

[RGINN]

And I shall mention Joe Wambaugh. He was a big city cop and we were small town cops but he hit a common thread, and every cop I knew loved his books. (see, we could read) I think everybody, from wannabes, security guards, jailers, dispatchers, guys like me who raised h*ll when they tried to take me off night shift, put me on days and give me weekends off, and even county deputies could identify with his stories. The general public liked it, but they didn't get a lot of what he wrote.

 

[P.B. and Dylan]

How about Clive Cussler? Never read one of his books I didn't like.
Looks like he has 54 books....I've read about 15 so far.
All his books are about hunting for treasure (if you don't already know).
He's a very good writer and the books are hard to put down.

 

[Monty]

I read a few of Custler's books but I was involved with different things at the time. May have to go back and check some of his work.

The PD I was on was in Tulsa, about 280,000 population. The metro area was about half a million so it was a fair sized PD. Monty

 

[W6PEA]

How about Clive Cussler? Never read one of his books I didn't like.
Looks like he has 54 books....I've read about 15 so far.
All his books are about hunting for treasure (if you don't already know).
He's a very good writer and the books are hard to put down.

True