He may have read these, but for your father: S. Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" (about the Lewis & Clark expedition West), and Tom Brokaw's books. (BTW, Brokaw has a new book out, recently).

Also, "Plymouth" is quite good. I forget the author's name.

What about Tony Horwitz? Confederates in the Attic and, though not American history-related, Blue Latitudes were great books.

He also has a new one coming out in April, A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World which is already on my own "must read" list. Perhaps a pre-order of that one for your Dad?

Here is a link that might be useful: A Voyage Long and Strange

Also, Alec Loker has a new paperback out on theories re: the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island, N.C.

bookmom, I mentioned here a few thread ago after listening to a radio prog. discussing the US historian (but now UK based) Kathleen Burke's latest book Old World New World: The Story of Britain and America.
It might introduce your father to some new ideas/attitudes . . . and if he knows his subject really well he can rant at the ignorance of the writer . . . or you can blame me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Old World New World

For a book on India, I highly recommend Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire by Alex Von Tunzelmann

Also, No Full Stops in India by Mark Tully is very good.

I saw an intriguing book at CostCo the other day called What If: THe World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been" by Robert Cowley. Here's how Amazon describes it:

Amazon.com
Counterfactuals--what-if scenarios--fueled countless bull sessions in smoke-filled dorm rooms in the 1960s. What if Sitting Bull had had a machine gun at Little Big Horn? What if Attila the Hun had had a time machine? What if Columbus had landed in India after all? Some of those dorm-room speculators grew up to be historians, and their generation (along with a few younger and older scholars) makes a strong showing in this anthology of essays, in which the what-ifs are substantially more plausible. What if Hitler had not attacked Russia when he did? He might have moved into the Middle East and secured the oil supplies the Third Reich so badly needed, helping it retain its power in Europe. What if D-Day had been a failure? The Soviet Union might have controlled all of Europe. What if Sennacherib had pressed the siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C.? Then the nascent, monotheistic Jewish religion might never have taken hold among the people of Judah--and the daughter religions of Christianity and Islam would never have been born.
So suggest some of the many first-rate contributors to this collection, which grew from a special issue of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History. One of them is classicist Josiah Ober, who suggests that if Alexander the Great had died at the age of 21 instead of 32, Greece would have been swallowed up by Persia and Rome, and the modern Western world would have a much different sensibility--and probably little idea of democratic government. Still other contributors are Stephen E. Ambrose, Caleb Carr, John Keegan, David McCullough, and James McPherson, who examine a range of scenarios populated by dozens of historical figures, including Sir Walter Raleigh, Chiang Kai-shek, Robert E. Lee, Benito Mussolini, and Themistocles. The result is a fascinating exercise in historical speculation, one that emphasizes the importance of accident and of roads not taken in the evolution of human societies across time. --Gregory McNamee

There's also a What If II.

Ditto anything by Horowitz, and Sheri, I also have that book preordered!

Also ditto Indian Summer. I knew some of the history but was amazed my how much I never realized. its good.

>BTW, Brokaw has a new book out, recently

Boom, about the boomer generation. I have that on my holiday wish list.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm off to the bookstore today and will take this list with me.

If he hasn't read it, it sounds like your Dad would like The Arms of Krupp by William Manchester.

Your Dad might like "The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey" by Candice Millard.

It's about the grueling rafting expedition in South America that Roosevelt took with his son after losing his reelection bid for President. There is a good Washington Post review about it on Amazon if you're interested.

Finally made it to the bookstore today and bought River of Doubt for dear old Dad, along with Indian Summer, (hey, I can borrow it) Mistry's Such a Long Journey (to read before Indian Summer) and The Zookeeper's Wife. Guess I'll package them up as a group gift for Dad and his wife. His wife lost family at Auschwitz (I think it was) so I figure they'll have a particular interest in TZW, which is a non-fiction account about the director of the Warsaw zoo hiding Jewish families in the zoo during WWII. Has anyone read it?

Boy, I so seldom buy books since I am an avid library user, but once in the bookstore, I really had to exercise restraint. Of the other books mentioned, I think he would really like The Arms of Krupp but it was not available at the store. Some of the other books so kindly recommened I know reside on his bookshelves; guess I better go borrow some. Thanks again!

>His wife lost family at Auschwitz (I think it was) so I figure they'll have a particular interest in TZW, which is a non-fiction account about the director of the Warsaw zoo hiding Jewish families in the zoo during WWII. Has anyone read it?

I haven't, but I'd be very careful about this. Whole branches of my parent's families were wiped out by the Nazis, and to the day they died not only refused to read anything about the Holocaust, but never talked about the people they lost (I learned of them only from talking to aunts and cousins). Not all Holocaust survivors would be interested and might take offense (tho I suspect you know her well enough). Now, given the subject matter, that sounds like just a book I'd like to read!

And if your dad wants some fiction to go along with Indian Summer, have him try The Spaces Between Us. I'm reading it now and find it to be an excellent picture of class in India, even during these modern times.

Actually, Cindy, I'm glad you posted. Our family is not Jewish, just my dad's wife, who is not my mother. I hesitated buying the book for fear that I'd be overstepping my bounds. I do get along well with the wife (we are all adults) and we often talk about books. As I recall, the family she lost was extended family still in Europe, not known to her personally but known to her parents and grandparents here in the States. But still...
My husband suggested I talk to my father first, privately, and see what he thinks and that I will do. Thank you for your caution and I am going to tread carefully.

And, I got Such a Long Journey as a fiction choice to go with Indian Summer. I did read TSBU which was quite good, as was her If Today Be Sweet.