Jon Finkel📚💪

HUGE NEWS: My next book is LOCKED & LOADED. I set out to write a thriller unlike any other... Inspired by two of my favorite novels of all time: Jaws & First Blood. It's Rocky meets The Revenant. Next fall... get ready... for BEAR BRAWL:

@CaptainCons agreed, cons... not in the same class. BoB stands above almost everything else.

Controversial because The Pacific is not even close to Band of Brothers in any way

This Week's Books & Biceps Memorial Day Issue: The Band of Brothers Extended Reading List Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101s Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose It’s Memorial Day this weekend and if you haven’t read Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose make it the next book on your list (even if you’ve watched the HBO series). I could write 2,000 words on why it belongs in the pantheon of books on men, war, US history, history in general, leadership, friendship, and on and on… But I won’t. Honestly, the back cover description of the book itself still gives me goose bumps. Here it is: …They came together, citizen soldiers, in the summer of 1942, drawn to Airborne by the $50 monthly bonus and a desire to be better than the other guy. And at its peak — in Holland and the Ardennes — Easy Company was as good a rifle company as any in the world. From the rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to the disbanding in 1945, Stephen E. Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company. In combat, the reward for a job well done is the next tough assignment, and as they advanced through Europe, the men of Easy kept getting the tough assignments. They parachuted into France early D-Day morning and knocked out a battery of four 105 mm cannon looking down Utah Beach; they parachuted into Holland during the Arnhem campaign; they were the Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne, brought in to hold the line, although surrounded, in the Battle of the Bulge; and then they spearheaded the counteroffensive. Finally, they captured Hitler’s Bavarian outpost, his Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden. (read that paragraph again… the same group of guys did all of this… it’s unreal)… They were rough-and-ready guys, battered by the Depression, mistrustful and suspicious. They drank too much French wine, looted too many German cameras and watches, and fought too often with other GIs. But in training and combat they learned selflessness and found the closest brotherhood they ever knew. They discovered that in war, men who loved life would give their lives for them. This is the story of the men who fought, of the martinet they hated who trained them well, and of the captain they loved who led them. E Company was a company of men who went hungry, froze, and died for each other, a company that took 150 percent casualties, a company where the Purple Heart was not a medal — it was a badge of office… I mean, come on… If that doesn’t make you want to read the book, I don’t know what will. After you read the book, you’re going to go through a mild obsession with the men of Easy Company and Major Dick Winters. You’ll definitely devour the Band of Brothers special on HBO again, were Damian Lewis gives the most understated, unbelievable performance as Winters. But then, you’ll want more… So here are a few pieces I’ve come across over the years to help you get your fix: This ArtofManliness.com piece on Major Dick Winters is a must: Life Advice From Major Dick Winters His obituary in the New York Times is damn good too: Winter’s NYT Obituary There is a full interview/doc with the men of Easy Company available on YouTube as well. You might also like the book by Sergeant Don Malarky, who you’ll know well after reading Band of Brothers. His book is called Easy Company Soldier. His book focuses a little more on the battles, but adds some more details to several scenes and situations readers become familiar with in BoB. And of course, you kind of have to read Beyond Band of Brothers, which are the war memoirs of the aforementioned Dick Winters. Though not as compelling a read as Band of Brothers, Winters is a really thoughtful, really smart guy, and this book tells BoB in his own words. It provides new details and some revealing looks into his mindset at several stages of the war. And there's an article explaining the vital and genius strategy at the Crossroads Battle which is worth taking a look at, even if you’re not a military strategy buff: Crossroads Battle Map Take a moment to reflect and honor those who served on Memorial Day.

@BHLevesque my man!

@Jon_Finkel I got up at 5 on friday on a day off to lift before i did yardwork 9-4 😀

dudes will get up at 6:30AM on a day off to get a run of hoops in before BBQs and family stuff these are my dudes. over 40. even over 50. still ballin'. good times.

@craigfehrman yes! that would be so awesome! and i'm seeing all the great reviews still coming in for Vast... so happy for you! it's such an achievement, dude.

@Jon_Finkel Oh man -- all we need to do is add Seaman in there!

this would be epic @craigfehrman

@justingordon212 did this months ago. you will miss nothing in a week. just use it on your computer when you're working...

Deleted Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter from my phone. Seems like a good decision early on.

one of my top 3 thrillers of all time:

i'm 48, Sam the fitness keys: 1) never stop lifting... maybe you don't add weight anymore to your normal lifts, but you fight like hell to subtract any 2) dedicate time to mobility/flexibility work 2 or 3x a week. not an afterthought or like, if you get to it... i mean dedicated 20-30 minute stuff 3) keep playing competitive sports. pick-up hoops. tennis. swimming. triathlons... whatever... but keep competing. signing up for stuff, even 5Ks, rules. keep having fun! 4) take rest and recovery days. at least once a week. walk. get a massage. sauna... or just do very little intensity-wise. but you need time to recover after 40... you think you don't, and you'll get used to that rundown feeling... but take 2 days off in a row and you'll see why...

Youngins: i'm 36. this is the 1st time I've ever felt like "ok, my body isn't 21 anymore." I'm beyond happy I got fit before I got into my 40s. I'm still an animal. Super strong. Sprint. Jump. Skateboard. etc. But for the 1st time: I feel recovery isn't as fast, small strains last longer + lead to proper injuries more. The secret, for me, has been being more sensitive to pain. Small tweaks, younger me I'd tough guy it out. Going from fat to fit in your late 40s/50s...seems hard for this reason. Now, I call the workout much easier. Normally, each week I try to increase weight + effort. When that happens, I give multiple sessions to get back to where I was. That said: I still feel like an athlete! I think I can kill and eat + outrun most people in a room. ...so long as I don't get hurt :) But make sure you get in the proper habits when you're young so into your 40s and 50s, you're just following the plan!!!

this has nothing to do with Ace taking the top spot in the hardware store rankings, but if you agree... then you'll want to join 30,000+ sophisticated meatheads who get my Books & Biceps newsletter every Friday: booksandbiceps.beehiiv.com

home depot has fallen off... bunch of disinterested people walking around with scanners and no expertise that place used to rule. you'd have a project and a 67 year old ex-foreman named Big Jim would walk you through your entire project. no more... my local Ace Hardware is where it's at now. that's where Big Jim and Joe and Old Ed, the guy who owned a plumbing business for 30 years, work now... happy to help and talk your ear off about washers and lug nuts for twenty minutes... you know, the good stuff.

The pinpoint accuracy of this tweet, regardless of what state you call home, is 🤌🏻.

@ByAndrewWagner 100% andrew

All those former pro's got sick of knowing more than their Gen Z "supervisors" who don't know the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver and can't count to 20 without taking off their shoes.

@FXRegan yep. dead on. young kids who've never built anything with their hands just waiting for their shift to end

Truth. A bunch of 19 year olds standing around. The usual answer, "I donno but I can look it up." I don't even bother asking them anything anymore. If it's project related, YouTube. If I need to know where it is, I can look up the aisle and bin number on the app faster than they can.

@EdLatimore @JenShahade been playing with my son. he's 13. we aim for one night a week... the most amazing thing is how much time flies once we get into a good game. you look up and 45 minutes have passed. sometimes an hour. just thinking. talking. focusing. it's awesome.

"Chess and its lessons in time are rich and vital. But perhaps the most important time lesson that chess can teach us is that sometimes we need to lose our sense of time in order to appreciate what we have left." -@JenShahade

@CaptainCons hahaha that last one is like someone off camera told her to really be casual and she overplayed it the clincher would have been: "See you at the shore, no matter what exit!"

These feels like someone on the comms team said, “hey remember they call it the Shore here.”

Still time to catch the original 1982 film, FIRST BLOOD, streaming for free on Pluto TV this month. It’s based on my debut novel that introduced the world to Rambo movieweb.com/rambo-first-bl…

Summer job season is here. I had so many back in the day. Here's my complete summer job list from HS and college: 1) TCBY (yogurt server) 2) PETCO (loaded/unloaded dog food bags / stock boy) 3) Landscaping (mowed, trimmed, the basics) 4) Lake Lifeguard (2 seasons. many saves. awesome.) 5) Construction (demo, hard work but tons of fun) 6) Construction (roofing. miserable. hot. tough. no fun) 7) Construction (decks, patios, carpentry. kinda fun) What was the coolest and worst summer jobs you had?

@cheo_coker the freedom of that sony discman was unprecedented at the time... i had the yellow sony sport walkman until that thing died, too... never left the house without it

Play "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" and "Fear Of a Black Planet" on my Sony discman, walk to the store to get a Tropical Punch Mistic and anticipate starting my FROSH year at Stanford.