Favorite Book Challenge Blogfest

  1.Undaunted Courage - Stephen Ambrose

 "Ambrose takes us into the interior of an adventure filled with high romance and personal tragedy involving the greatest expedition ever undertaken in the history of this country."

I loved this book due to its detailed description of the "grind" of some 40 men traveling almost two years from the east coast to the west coast and back in a manner that took me not only into the story but right into the boats between Lewis and Clark, all the while feeling the spray of the  water of the Columbia River.

2.  The Trilogy of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien

"The dark, fearsome Ring wraiths were searching for a Hobbit. Frodo Baggins knew they were seeking him and the Ring he bore -the Ring of Power that would enable evil Sauron to destroy all that was good in Middle earth. Now it was up to Frodo and his faithful servant Sam, with a small band of companions, to carry the Ring to the one place it could be destroyed - Mt. Doom, in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom."

I loved this book for its imagination and story line as Tolkien made you love and root for the little band of conspirators on what undoubtedly is the most dangerous and mission impossible ever.

3.  The Island of the Blue Dolphin - Scott Odell

In Island of the Blue Dolphins, our heroine Karana stays behind on her island after the Aleuts killed many of the men of her tribe and the others had left on a large ship. She stayed because she could not find her brother on the ship. After her brother's traumatic death, Karana lives alone on the island. Odell uses imagery to help the reader visualize how Karana takes care of herself and the island.

I read this the first time in Junior High School and loved the story of how this young girl found ways of surviving day after day all alone on an Island for 18 years.

4.  The President's Plane is Missing - Robert J Serling

A crisis ensues when Air Force One crashes while on a flight out west, apparently killing all those aboard, including President Jeremy Haines . The United States is in the midst of a confrontation with China that could lead to a nuclear war between the two countries, and the government is now in the hands of Vice President Kermit Madigan , a not too intelligent or sophisticated man, who was deliberately kept out of the loop.

I loved this book because of its deep and well thought through plot that just took one turn and twist after another, all the while making you wonder what would happen if Air Force One were ever to crash for real?

5.  The Left Seat - Robert J Serling

In 'The Left Seat', Serling takes the reader through the career of one idealistic pilot, McDonald McKay, from his interview with fictional Midwest Airlines, through his training, his time as a co-pilot, his rise as an expert on aviation safety, and climaxes with his own air crash, which kills 24 people and leaves him questioning his own judgement, his convictions, and his abilities.

This book makes you want to fly as Serling tells this tale in such a way that made me want to keep reading it until I finished it.