Books

Showdown on the Hogback

A smart, tough gunslinger gets hired to drive some lowlife squatters off a patch of desert, but when he discovers they’re really hardworking families, he flips sides to help defend them. 

The space in the public consciousness for guilty pleasure novels for men seems to shrink even more rapidly than it does for women.  Louis L’amour is a good deal better than many of the other writers who served the niche during its heyday, but it’s hard to imagine that his work will survive many more generations. 

It’s the kind of book that a guy might have stuffed in his pocket to read on the subway or kept on the bedside table to wind down with at night. In other words, it filled the role that doomscrolling on social media does now. 

And in the competition for attention, it’s no fight at all. Like a colt revolver against a tomahawk missle. But a lot of our experience is downstream of our information intake, and you should consider flipping sides and fighting for the good guys sometimes.

Endurance 

True story of Shackleton leading his men to safety after losing their ship in Antarctic latitudes. 

It’s one of the all time great true survival stories. The crew spent over a year stranded on ice floes and desolate islands, hunted seals and penguins for food, and crossed the infamous Drake Passage in an open boat. 

Across all that, no lives were lost, only a couple frostbite amputations were necessary, and if Lansing is to be believed, morale never even got too bad. 

The detail of the physical trials and privations makes the environment come alive, and the steady stream of stories of minor interpersonal conflicts provide a convincing social context. 

Great research, very good writing, and a remarkable story. I can’t wait until I can ask ChatGPT to make a feature film of this in the style of Master and Commander 😆

Thanks to @links for reminding me about it. 

Highly recommended for kids and adults.

Startup artist seeking inspiration.  Champion of /bcard

"Across all that, no lives were lost [...]"

They killed all 69 dogs they brought along and even Mrs. Chippy, the carpenter's cat. Really bugs me how usually this part is left out. Part of my collection of animals with shitty luck wrt humans.