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Recommend books to me

TMC

New Member
I would like to read "Let's go and get it" books--books that deal with expeditions, recoveries, et cetera. I'm looking for something along the lines of Michael Crichton's Congo. Can you recommend any to me?
 
TMC, several books leapt to mind when I read your post. The first idea I had from the world of fiction was H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines. It is the archetypal Victorian adventure novel, set in "darkest Africa" and featuring a dashing hero and fabulous treasure.
However, most of the titles that occured to me are non-fiction. For instance, Alfred Lansing's book Endurance tells the story of Shackleton's failed expedition to the South Pole. It is a staggering tale.
Also, a book called Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea (I think) deals with the recovery of a Civil War-era steamer along with it's cargo of gold.
I'll try to think of some others and get back to you.
 
Expanding the requirements

If we take the idea of "recovery" to cover people as well, I would say you couldn't get much better than The Silver Chair by CS Lewis, the sixth book in The Narnia Chronicles. Lewis got much more heavily involved with characterisation as the chronicles progressed, and - while the whole series is certainly worth reading - this is probably the best novel of the lot. You could read it as a stand-alone book, as he's careful to give a certain amount of "previously on the Chronicles" info to bring you up to speed.

Elsewhere, my major recommendation must be Monkey by Wu'Eng-En (sorry for the phonetic mis-spelling), translated by the brilliant Arthur Waley. A folk classic from The Orient, all about a monk's journey from ancient China to India to search out sacred Buddhist texts that will save the world from evil. The monk is accompanied by King Monkey (a fabulous character - and wholly recognisable to any who have seen the classic Japanese TV show) and his companions.

Tobytook
 
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I recommend The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares A REALLY awesome book! I would recommend this book to anyone. It is a great book about life, love, friendships, and a good pair of pants.

edited by Dawn]

I hate to edit posts, but I must insist you refrain from posting your book report on this forum again...under any user name.
 
I enjoyed Timeline. As to the movie, I am doubtful it will be as enjoyable as the novel. I may be pleasantly surprised, but that is unlikely.

Recently I read Riptide by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It was a good read; very fast paced and exciting. The story concerned the retrieval of pirate treasure on a booby-trapped island. The island in question is patterned after Oak Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia. Also check out the book's site for a diagram of the island in the novel (I always enjoy supplements like that :) ).
 
I forgot to mention Temple by Matthew Reilly. It is one of the fastest paced books I have ever read, but it also one of the most implausible. The plot concerns the retreival of a South American idol made from a meteorite. The book actually has two concurrent storylines; one in the present, and one in the seventeenth (or maybe sixteenth, I can't clearly remember) century. The author's web site also has concept sketches supplementing the book.
 
I enjoyed Temple also, but had to suspend disbelief quite a bit. It was just a fun ride. I'll have to check out the web site.
 
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