Gene's Favorite Authors

This page is under construction!

And I'm sure it'll always be this way.

Where to begin - there are so many?

I'll not mention "popular" authors, such as Michener, Stone,

Hemingway, Stegner and so many others.

Instead, I'll concentrate on what I consider to be

many great authors that are not as well known.

I have to start somewhere, so I'll start with a particular favorite.

Nevil Shute 1899-1960

A British aeronautical engineer named Nevil Shute Norway who dropped his last name when authoring his books. Every book of his that I have read relates in some way to aviation. And one of the reasons I relate so well to Nevil Shute is that I spent my career in naval aviation and studied aeronautical engineering. But this is only part of it. Nevil Shute was six years older and died eight years after my father, so they lived in the same times. Nevil Shute wrote 24 books and the autobiography Slide Rule. I have read about ten, as I can recall, but from these I know that each one I read in the future will be another wonderful adventure. I have enjoyed every one of his books, and I'm sure I'll enjoy each one in the future - he does not write a poor or dull book. It is a great feeling to have a stockpile of books by this wonderful author. I especially like his dialogues - simple, straightforward and so very realistic. He places you right there observing the conversation.

I certainly liked A Town Like Alice and On the Beach. These were probably his two best-known novels, and each was made into an acclaimed motion picture. But two I liked even better were Round the Bend and In the Wet. Both are mystical books, written in his wonderfully elegant yet simple style. Round the Bend centers around airplane mechanics and an airline in the Far East. In the Wet takes place in Australia and is the story of the future told in a most gripping and beguiling manner. Both books absorb you so completely that you truly live the stories - you are there!

This man can write! I heartily recommend him to all readers and especially to those with an aviation bent.

And I strongly recommend the Nevil Shute homepage at http://www.changeover.com/shute/.

Richard McKenna 1913-1964

How could an author who wrote a single book be one of my favorites? It's easy when that book is The Sand Pebbles. This exceptional book is the story of a man's love for machinery. It is not trite - it is a wonderful story beautifully told. It takes place in China in the 1920s on an ancient United States Navy gunboat patrolling the Yangtze River to show our flag and protect US interests. I know I relate to this book because of my aviation and engineering background and the fact that my father, as an aircraft mechanic, had that love of machinery. But one need not have these interests to be absorbed by this stirring adventure.

Richard McKenna was a Machinist's Mate during his 22 year career in the U S Navy. He served in WWII and the Korean War. This background ably qualified him to write about the 1920s U S Navy Machinist's Mate who is the central character in the book. I am sure Mr. McKenna shared Jake Holman's love of machinery, or he could not have written this book.

The book was made into a great movie starring Steve McQueen. It captured the essence of this wonderful book and received many Academy Award nominations.

George Gamow 1904-1968

A brilliant scientist of achievement who worked with Bohr and collaborated Teller, he also was a prolific writer. Some of his books were written for the layman, and I have read some of these - not nearly as many as I should have, but enough to place him on my list of favorite authors. The first book of his that I read, One, Two, Three…Infinity remains as a fascinating expose of the wonders of mathematics. Others, The Birth and Death of the Sun and Biography of the Earth were equally fascinating. These three books are most strongly recommended for the high school student interested in physics or mathematics - of course they make excellent reading for anyone at any stage of life.

One of the bonuses I have found in jotting down thoughts about my favorite authors is that I have learned much about their lives simply by searching the internet.

There is a very interesting web page about this tremendously accomplished man at http://spot.colorado.edu/~gamow/george/

Soon to come! Igloo, written by Jane Brevoort Walden in 1931. The story of Admiral Byrd's little white terrier that accompanied him on some of his expeditions. I have just started reading this delightfully captivating book. It is wonderfully written. I'm going to take my time reading this!