By Heidi Simmons
My father loves to read about history. This makes it fun and easy for me to choose a good book for Father’s Day. Historical nonfiction is some of the most fascinating, compelling and entertaining reading on the shelves today. More often than not, this genre reads better than fiction.
If your dad doesn’t have a thing for history, consider another topic he might enjoy. I guarantee there will be a book on a subject he loves. Here are some ideas to find the perfect book for your dad.
History — George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger (Penguin, 272 pages).
In August 1776, General George Washington realized he and his army could not militarily defeat the British, so he put together an elite group called the Culper Spy Ring, a sophisticated and secretive intelligence network. Authors Kilmeade and Yaeger reveal that this little-known, small organization changed the direction of the revolutionary war.
Business — Breaking Rockefeller: The Incredible Story of the Ambitious Rivals Who Toppled an Oil Empire by Peter B. Doran (Penguin, 352 pages).
Our world today is about global economics and this books shows how it always has been. From Russia to New York and the British Parliament, moguls fight for the control and dominance of oil. This is about cutthroat businessman changing the game for which we all still pay for today.
Science — The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddartha Mukherjee (Scribner, 608 pages). It seems the whole human species can be revealed in our DNA. One of the most significant breakthroughs of our time is the quest to understand our genetic heredity and how it may influence our lives especially regarding our health and personality type. Author Mukherjee untangles how genetics will translate from the lab to the real world and explores the moral complexity of the ability to alter the human genome.
Surfing — Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan (Penguin, 464 pages). This is an autobiography of a surf rat who figures out how to keep doing what he loves while maintaining a family and a job. It is part travelogue, adventure, history and social commentary.
Technology — The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future by Steve Case (Simon & Schuster, 240 pages). The digital age is changing fast and entrepreneur and author Case the former CEO of America Online, reveals how life and business will be changing and the required skills that will be necessary to survive.
Biography — Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (Penguin, 832 pages). Released in 2005, this book is now on the bestseller list due to the Tony winning Hip-Hop Broadway musical “Hamilton.” This book delivers new insights and sets the record straight on how the US gained political and economic strength because of Hamilton’s ideas and sacrifices that, at the time, were not fully appreciated.
Memoir — Shoe Dog by Phil Knight (Scribner, 400 pages). Building his business from the ground up, author Knight shares the good times and bad as he and a rag-tag group of eccentric athletes form Nike to become one of America’s favorite and most successful companies.
Music — It’s a Long Story: My Life by Willie Nelson (Little Brown and company, 416 pages). Nelson is a beloved American icon and in his biography he tells all. From music awards to Farm Aid and government persecution, Nelson has survived it all and candidly shares his personal passions. Recently turning 80 years old, this book gives the reader insight into his songs, his kindness and his generosity. Even when it includes the “F” bomb now and then, Nelson is charming and real.
Mystery — The House of Secrets by Brad Meltzer and Tod Goldberg (Grand Central, 368 pages). Caught up in a man’s world, Hazel Nash must make sense of an accident she cannot remember that killed her father. When the FBI inquires about her dad and his relationship with another dead man, she finds herself involved in a conspiracy that includes a priceless book that belonged to Benedict Arnold.
Thriller — Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham (Knopf Doubleday, 352 pages), this book came out toward the end of last year and remains on the bestseller list. A lawyer who is an outsider has an office in a bulletproof, kitchenette enhanced, and Wi-Fi enabled van, finds himself embroiled with shady clients who he is compelled to defend even if he must bend the law to get them a fair trail.
Essays — The View From the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, 544 pages). With over 60 wide-ranging nonfiction essays, author Gaiman provides insight, inspiration and incisive observations that cover a myriad of topics from ghosts to Hollywood. Whether your father reads Gaiman’s fiction or not, this provocative collection of ideas is fun, smart and accessible for anyone with a broad interest in the world and values create thinking.
Humor — Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy by Judd Apatow (Random House, 576 pages). What is humor and what makes something funny? Writer, director and producer of film and television some of which include 40 Year-Old Virgin, Trainwreck and Knocked Up has compiled intimate conversations with some of the biggest names in comedy from the past thirty years that include Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Roseanne Barr, Harold Ramis, Louis C.K., Chris Rock, and Lena Dunham.
Books always make great gifts. Happy Father’s Day!
