Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections by Patrick Smith
Lots of “you always wanted to know” & “this is how it really is” bits about commercial flying. Good fun 4/5
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
A very tightly written thriller about a fictional 1963 plot to assassinate Frnch President Charles de Gaulle. Fast moving, detailed and captivating 5/5
Topgun: An American Story by Dan Pedersen
Memoir from the first officer in charge of the US Navy’s Top Gun school. A mix of his life & career, the school and US Navy air history (especially during Vietnam). Excellent 4/5
Radicalized: Four Tales of Our Present Moment
by Cory Doctorow
4 short stories set in more-or-less the present day. They all work fairly well. Worth a read. Spoilers in the link. 3/5
On the Banks of Plum Creek: Little House Series, Book 4 by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The family settle in Minnesota and build a new farm. Various major and minor adventures. I’m struck how few possessions people had back then. 3/5
My Father’s Business: The Small-Town Values That Built Dollar General into a Billion-Dollar Company by Cal Turner Jr.
A mix of personal and company history. I found the early story of the company and personal stuff the most interesting. 3/5
You Can’t Fall Off the Floor: And Other Lessons from a Life in Hollywood by Harris and Nick Katleman
Memoir by a former studio exec and head. Lots of funny and interesting stories from his career, featuring plenty of famous names. 4/5
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey
75% about Big-wave Tow-Surfers with chapters on Scientists and Shipping industry people mixed in. Competent but author’s heart seemed mostly in the surfing. 3/5
