I love history and historical fiction. A couple of good reads recommended from a vietnam vet friend (in my personal attempt to understand and explore a few things), "The Long Gray Line" by Rick Atkinson follows five or so men from west point through the war. "Killer Angels" is about the 4 days at Gettysburg. "Kennedy Nixon" by Chris Matthews is an interesting read. I like Col. David Hackworth and have read his "Steel My Soldiers Heart". I've gone back to some classics, "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac (I work in Lowell and have lunch at his park), "Black Elk Speaks" by Neihardt, "Fools Crow" by Mails. I revisit Solzhenitsyn often (have many original books from the '70's). Robert Conquest is good for russian history. I'm going to read Ulysses next.