Can you recommend a book for a 70-something

[RayF]

conservative man? Every year I give my father a paperback as a stocking stuffer, but I'm stumped for a good book this year. Can you give a recommendation?He is a 70-something retired military man with very conservative values, so nothing too racy, minimal bad language. He tends to like historical novels -- he was a Michener fan, for example. I want to give him something which is a fun read and fairly good quality literature or interesting non-fiction, but nothing overtly political or polarizing. So no Bill O'Reilly, no "Left Behind," etc.Previous books that went over well were "Cold Mountain" and "Memoirs of a Geisha". An Oliver Sacks book went over like a lead balloon, though.Thanks for any suggestions!

[Lesley Kao]

I'd suggest Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryI'm not the biggest western fan, but this was a great read for me. It really is one of the best American novels from the past few decades and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986. Below is the link to the book at amazon....

www.amazon.com

[Dan]

There have been some great nonfiction books in the past few years that might appeal to people with an interest in history.One is "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond. The book looks at why some civilizations succeeded and some didn't.Another is "Longitude" by Dava Sobel. It's the story of the 18th century quest to figure out how ships could know their east-west position (which was crucial for navigation).There are also some good historical novels by Robert Harris. His most recent was "Pompeii," an imaginary first-person account of the events leading up to the eruption of the volcano during the days of the Roman Empire. He also wrote "Fatherland," a novel that imagines what might have happened if the U.S. had not entered WWII and the Nazis had won. (But that one might be too political.)

[baby_dweebs]

"Atonement" by Ian McEwan is a poignant WWII-era novel about a girl's attempt to atone for a terrible error. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time. Also, you couldn't go wrong with "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy, if he hasn't read it before.