Dad’s Bookcase

John Grisham originally wanted to call his novel simply The Brief. His publisher pushed for something more distinctive. The new title came from the story itself—a legal memo nicknamed "The Pelican Brief" because it centered on a dispute involving Louisiana's endangered brown pelicans and oil drilling in their habitat. It's hard to imagine one of the greatest legal thrillers ever written by any other name. #ThrillerThursday #DailyDadBook

@JoshPhillipsPhD Fantastic book. I’m due for a reread.

Slowly, and then suddenly.

@ted_ryce Happy to me this week. Didn’t feel pain so truncated my recovery and went back to lifting. Hurt myself the first workout back. Slowing it down this time and giving my body to the full window to heal.

One of the biggest mistakes injured people make: They think pain relief = recovery. Generic PT exercises get them out of pain. Then they go right back to running, tennis, golf, BJJ or lifting. And get hurt again. Pain relief is step one. But building capacity is the goal.

"A Stag," by French painter and sculptor, Rosa Bonheur, 1893.

David McCullough spent 10 years writing Truman. Then, halfway through the project, everything changed. After Bess Truman died in 1982, archivists uncovered thousands of Harry Truman's personal letters and diary entries—many of which had never been studied by historians. McCullough later said there's hardly a page in Truman that doesn't contain something new. Sometimes the story behind the biography is just as remarkable as the life itself. #BiographyWednesday #DailyDadBook

@Gentleman_Ways The best poem ever

If by Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you        Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,    If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,     But make allowance for their doubting too;    If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,     Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,     And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;        If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;    If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster     And treat those two impostors just the same;    If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken     Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,     And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings     And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings     And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew     To serve your turn long after they are gone,    And so hold on when there is nothing in you     Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,        Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,     If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute     With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,    Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,        And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

@Michael_Easter @readwise Thanks for the tip about readwise. Can’t wait to try. Loved CC & the subsequent material you’ve produced.

My book, The Comfort Crisis, is $3 on Kindle right now. Pro-tip: Use @readwise ... it pairs with your Kindle to save your highlights and notes to a document. amzn.to/3Sh8oPF

Stephen Ambrose didn't discover Easy Company. Easy Company found him. A reunion organizer for the veterans contacted Ambrose after reading his work on D-Day. That introduction eventually led to hundreds of interviews, giving Ambrose extraordinary firsthand access and making Band of Brothers possible. #HistoryTuesday #DailyDadBook

@MatthewMWolfe @fred_burton Looks incredible. Can’t wait to read.

While reporting my book on the Earth Liberation Front (out tomorrow!) I managed to gain access to 30,000+ pages of secret, sealed discovery documents detailing the FBI’s investigation of the group. This included fascinating records of federal law enforcement's years-long infiltration of environmental activists in Eugene and Portland, Oregon, using confidential informants, phone records, and other forms of surveillance. Some highlights below:

@michaelbd @RobertKennedyJr Kerrygold is the only butter.

Our household usually has Kerrygold in the fridge. Yesterday morning, I put generic American butter on my son’s toast. His review: “This toast tastes like poison.” I think he’s going to succeed @RobertKennedyJr

Michael Lewis wrote Liar's Poker as a warning about Wall Street. Readers saw something else. Instead of being repelled by the greed, risk-taking, and excess at Salomon Brothers, thousands of young graduates decided they wanted to work there. Lewis later admitted people completely misunderstood the point of the book. Sometimes a cautionary tale becomes a recruiting brochure. #BusinessMonday #DailyDadBook

Strong fathers leave lasting legacies.

Most people don’t read even a single book a year. Some only read a handful. That's why every recommendation matters. At Dad's Bookcase, we believe life's too short to spend on forgettable books. Starting this Father's Day, we'll share one book every day—not because every book deserves your time, but because every great reading experience does. Some will become future reviews. Some won't hold up. A select few may eventually earn a place on Dad's Bookcase. Our goal isn't to read everything. It's to help you read, and most importantly, like it.

RT @markmaggior: Happy father day

Only 2 pitchers in MLB history have achieved the following in their first 30 career starts: 2.25 ERA or lower 190+ K’s 50 or less BB Paul Skenes. Cam Schlittler 🤯

@BookNoteApp Our lost episode on “Genghis Khan: Making of the Modern World” still stings.

10 books to fall in love with history: 1) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

I’ve posted this before, but for those who haven’t seen it, here’s a map of the Kid’s journey through the American Southwest of BLOOD MERIDIAN.

Not every great book belongs in a classroom. Some belong in a backpack on the way to work. A beach bag on vacation. A carry-on before a long flight. Or in a shady hammock on a summer afternoon. At Dad's Bookcase, we're searching for those books. The stories you'll recommend to your friends. The histories you'll still think about years later. The thrillers that keep you reading long after you meant to go to bed. Happy Father's Day. …and be on the lookout for Dad Book Daily.

I can give the exact same plot summary for both of these books, but one feels more like a warning and the other like a reminder. Both are incredibly helpful for understanding the age in which we live.

The Americans are getting good at football