Books That Influenced Me

Academic philosophy was one of my most hated classes in my undergrad years-- the only class I ever made a D in was a philosophy class.  That being said, I loved Zen and read it once a year for many years.  Superficially, I loved the descriptions of the road trip and the motorcycle knowledge, but deep down I saw my wolf stalking me in my peripheral vision like the author.  The book has new meaning to me now that I have lost my father, and I look back on the times we were tinkering with cars and motorcycles as some of the better times in our tumultuous relationship.  

Mornings on Horseback, David McCullough - 2012

Theodore Roosevelt had always ranked as one of my favorite presidents-- part progressive, part conservative, total badass in perfect proportion.  I picked this book up at a used book store for a trip I was fixing to go on but made the mistake of starting it before I left and had to find another book because I finished it.  Oops.

I don't remember what book replaced this one in my bag, but I do remember how close of a personal connection and empathy I had to David McCullough's telling of young Theodore Roosevelt's life before the White House.

Somehow, in all my years at Sam Houston State University and living in Huntsville, I had no idea that this book existed.  I was too involved in my other classes and studies, but surely this should have popped up on my radar studying history at the university named for Big Sam.  James Haley's Sam Houston is one of the best biographies I have ever read.  He made the great man's life approachable, shed light on some of the most persistent mysteries of Houston's life, and gave him the dignity and respect deserved without shoveling more dirt on his less desirable attributes (according to today's society).   In my opinion, your Texas education is not complete without this biography of Sam Houston.  

I hope to read Haley's other biographical work, including his work on Stephen F. Austin soon.