toad's wild ride

My Reading List

This page contains books that I have read as well as books that I want to read. This page is broken down by my favorite authors and then a collection of miscellaneous books.

By the way, if you are looking to give me a gift books on this list are always a good option. Another option is to look on my Amazon wishlist. I do like getting gifts :)

The lists below are keyed based upon several factors. Here is the key.

• A book I am not sure if I want to read it or not.
• A book I am currently reading.
• A book I own and plan to read.
• A book I want to read.
• A book I read and thought it was bad.
• A book I read and thought it was good.

Miscellaneous

All the books that don't fall under my favorite authors are listed here. There is no particular order to the books.

• Move to Strike by Perri O'Shaughnessy
• Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston
• Code Complete by Steve McConnell
• The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
• Ghost Wars by Steve Coll
• Leadership Lessons from Bill Snyder by Robert J. Shoop and Susan M. Scott
• Ultra-Marathon Man by Dean Karnazes
• 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days by Dean Karnazes
• Surely You're Joking Mr. Feyman by Richard P. Feynman
• The Broker by John Grisham
• The Wildcat by Craig Thomas
• The 4-hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
• The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
• Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
• I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt by Vince Antonucci
• Purple Cow by Seth Godin
• Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude by Jeffrey Gitomer
• The Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence
• The Long Tail by Chris Andersen
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
• Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister
• I Sing the Body Electronic by Fred Moody
• Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
• Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do by BJ Fogg
• The Shack by William P. Young
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
• The Road Ahead by Bill Gates
• The Art of Warfare by Sun Tzu (Roger Ames)

Robert Ludlum

My dad started me on Robert Ludlum's books. My dad has been a huge fan of his writing and convinced me to try it out. And I fell in love. Ludlum's characters are unique because they are failable adn struggle so much. The only downside is that Ludlum depicts the government of the United States is such a bad light - it seems that in every book the government is corrupt and trying to get away with bad things.

• The Scarlatti Inheritance
• The Osterman Weekend
• The Matlock Paper
• Trevayne
• The Cry of the Halidon
• The Rhineman Exchange
• The Road to Gandolfo
• The Gemini Contenders
• The Chancellor Manuscript
• The Holcroft Covenant
• The Matarese Circle
• The Bourne Identity
• The Parsifal Mosaic
• The Aquitaine Progression
• The Bourne Supremacy
• The Icarus Agenda
• The Bourne Ultimatum
• The Road to Omaha
• The Scorpio Illusion
• The Apocalypse Watch
• The Matarese Countdown
• The Prometheus Deception
• The Sigma Protocol
• The Janson Directive
• The Tristan Betrayal
• The Ambler Warning
• The Bancroft Strategy

Covert-One (written by others but based upon Ludlums work)

• The Hades Factor
• The Cassandra Compact
• The Paris Option
• The Altman Code
• The Lazarus Vendetta
• The Moscow Vector
• The Artic Event
• The Infinity Affair

Bourne Sequels (not by Ludlum)

• The Bourne Legacy
• The Bourne Betrayal
• The Bourne Sanction

Michael Crichton

When I was a teenager I started reading Crichton's books. I was hooked once I read Jurassic Park and just kept reading. Lately, his work has been less than perfect (seems to be making political statements instead of pure entertainment). But I still love his books.

• Eaters of the Dead
• The Andromeda Strain
• Five Patients
• The Terminal Man
• The Great Train Robbery
• Congo
• Sphere
• Jurassic Park
• Rising Sun
• Disclosure
• Airframe
• Timeline
• Prey
• State of Fear
• Next

Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy is one of my favorite authors. His writing style makes it hard to put down his books. And with what appears to be great research, his books are oftentimes educational.

Ryanverse

• Without Remorse
• Patriot Games
• The Red Rabbit
• The Hunt for Red October
• The Cardinal of the Kremlin
• Clear and Present Danger
• The Sum of All Fears
• Debt of Honor
• Executive Orders
• Rainbow Six
• The Bear and the Dragon
• The Teeth of the Tiger

Non-Fiction

• Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship
• Armored Cav: A Guided Tour Inside an Armored Cavalry Regiment
• Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing
• Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit
• Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force
• Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier
• Special Forces: A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces
• Into the Storm
• Every Man a Tiger
• Shadow Warriors
• Battle Ready

Power Plays

• Politika
• ruthless.com
• Shadow Watch
• Bio-Strike
• Cold War
• Cutting Edge
• Zero Hour
• Wild Card

Op Center

• Op Center
• Mirror Image
• Games of State
• Acts of War
• Balance of Power
• State of Siege
• Divide and Conquer
• Line of Control
• Mission of Honor
• Sea of Fire
• Call to Treason
• War of Eagles

Net Force

• Net Force
• Hidden Agendas
• Night Moves
• Breaking Point
• Point of Impact
• CyberNation
• State of War
• Changing of the Guard
• Springboard
• The Archimedes Effect

WEB Griffin

WEB Griffin is a fantastic writer that drew me into his writing a couple years ago. Now, I can't get enough of his interesting characters and facinating plots. Sometimes I worry that I am learning about the world and history solely from Griffin.

The Brotherhood of War

• The Lieutenants
• The Captains
• The Majors
• The Colonels
• The Berets
• The Generals
• The New Breed
• The Aviators
• Special Ops

The Corps

• Semper Fi
• Call to Arms
• Counterattack
• Battleground
• Line of Fire
• Close Combat
• Behind the Lines
• In Danger's Path
• Under Fire
• Retreat, Hell!

Men at War

• The Last Heroes
• The Secret Warriors
• The Soldier Spies
• The Fighting Agents
• The Saboteurs
• The Double Agents

Badge of Honor

• Men in Blue
• Special Operations
• The Victim
• The Witness
• The Assassin
• The Murderers
• The Investigators
• Final Justice

Honor Bound

• Honor Bound
• Blood and Honor
• Secret Honor
• Death and Honor

Presidential Agent

• By Order of the President
• The Hostage
• The Hunters
• The Shooters

Brad Thor

Brad Thor has an easy to read writing style that I have come to enjoy. His characters are interesting and the plots are exciting. He is very similar to WEB Griffin, Robert Ludlum, and Tom Clancy.

• The Lions of Lucerne
• Path of the Assassin
• State of the Union
• Blowback
• Takedown
• The First Commandment
• The Last Patriot
• The Apostle

Frederick Forsyth

I loved the movie "The Jackal" so I decided to give Forsyth's books a try. I really liked The Day of the Jackal so I am looking forward to reading more of his work.

• The Day of the Jackal
• The Odessa File
• The Dogs of War
• The Devil's Alternative
• The Fourth Protocol
• The Negotiator
• The Deceiver
• The Fist of God
• Icon
• The Phantom of Manhattan
• The Veteran
• Avenger
• The Afghan

Dan Brown

When The Da Vinci Code came out as a movie I decide to give his writing a try. So I started with Angels and Demons. It was a fun book to read since it had good character development and a good storyline. I did get annoyed with his wider-than-life conspiracies, but it was entertaining if you suspend that part of the brain (just like I do when I watch James Bond movies).

• Digital Fortress
• Angels and Demons
• Deception Point
• The Da Vinci Code
• The Solomon Key