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Suggested readings.
• Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Walking.” It’s basically, let’s get closer to nature. He uses humor in the most effective way. You can get it in book form, which combines Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature. Both of these can probably be found on the internet for free. Not so much in love with Emerson.
• As a follow-up to his excellent Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia , Ahmed Rashad updates the historical relevance of the first book with recent events (from 2000 on) in Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. I haven’t read the whole thing, but I very much enjoy learning more about all the factors leading to the establishment of the Taliban and its hold over Central Asian countries.
• How to Shit in the Woods. It’s an environmentally sound instructional book with informative material for avoiding introducing any more pollutants into the wild than is already there.
• Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, an account of the 1996 deaths of several climbers on Mt. Everest. Krakauer blends his personal narrative with explanations the Death Zone, the flippant commercialism of climbing the highest peaks in the world, and how a series of small mistakes can lead to catastrophic ends. I am still haunted by this book, years after I read it. Gripping.
• Haunted by Chuck Palahnuik. The drama of writers and reality shows. It’s hysterical. A wicked satire that writers are sure to enjoy.