Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Gift Books for Men

Need books to entertain the males in your family this Christmas? Here are a few suggestions….

If the movie, Casino Royale, awoke a new James Bond enthusiast in your family, wrap a couple of Ian Fleming’s paperbacks for him. For the older aficionado, try Mondo Cocktail: A Shaken and Stirred History by Christine Sismondo. This book contains the history of twelve popular cocktails, plus specific instructions on their construction.

For that par"d"ner in your life, there is a new collection of modern, short-story Westerns titled Gallatin Canyon. Author Thomas McGuane is, “thought of as a writer of manly-man reticence in the school of Hemingway,” notes the New York Times Book Review. They state the book is, “beautified with dashes of Big Sky coloring” and “masculine themes.”

Does the man in your life crave real stories in espionage? New in paperback, A Look Over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency is the story of Richard Helms. This man once had lunch with Hitler, pre-World War II, and later became the CIA director from 1966 to 1973.

For the rocker-boy cousin, U2BYU2, is hot this season. He will be able to follow Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. through the years as the band goes from Irish pub to Mega-stadium stardom. Tattoo by Dale Rio might appeal to those males who wear their attitudes on their arms rather than their sleeves.

Do you know any men who like hard-boiled mysteries? Robert Parker has a new Spenser out titled Hundred-Dollar Baby. Publisher Weekly says, “Spenser exchanges witty dialogue with the faithful Hawk, sexy dialogue with his beloved Susan and smart-alecky dialogue with cops and villains.”

Michael Connelly is back this season with a new Harry Bosch novel titled Echo Park. This serial-killer thriller has Bosch reflecting on the bad guy who got away. Go get him, Harry.

For the man with the funny bone, Carl Hiaasen’s new title Nature Girl will keep the laughs coming. People magazine explains, “Zapped during dinner by a telemarketer peddling Florida ‘ranchettes,’ Honey Santana doesn’t just go postal, she devises a get-even scheme of demented brilliance.”

2 comments:

nessie said...

I'll add to that list:

a) A Short Illustrated History of Progress by Ronald Wright

b) History of the World in 6 Glasses

I am giving the first to my dad this year and the other i gave to him last. That was a total success!!!!

maggie moran said...

Great books! Thanks for sharing. :-)