I was asked what books have affected me over my lifetime. This has really been an interesting to go back and look over my library shelves. To think back on books and when I read them. Books that I have read, perhaps repeatedly. It is difficult to pick just several of them which have impacted me over time, but I will give it a try. One is the old classic, The Old Man and the See by Ernest Hemmingway. What is so profound about that book to me, is in some ways, the simplicity. Hemmingway was a gifted writer, but he wrote in such a way that we could all understand him. Simple Sentences. I will never forget the line, “The old man taught the boy to fish and the by loved him”. Those are the kind of things we learn from reading good literature that we can do simple things for other people and have a profound effect on them. Another book that I read that affected me was To Hell and back by Audie Murphy. Many may have forgotten that Audie was one of the most decorated soldiers in American History. He was a medal of Honor winner and he came back to an acting and song writing career. He only had a seventh-grade education and he wrote a book that was and still IS used in some places as a model for students to look at for writing well. Again, like Hemmingway, simply so that everyone could understand. Audie with only his 7th grade education had a gift. He shared it with others through the written word. There are so many books I have loved over the years. The Cane Mutiny by Herman Wouk. What a great book that was and is. Also, what a great movie it turned into staring Humphrey Bogart. A great story told so well by a great writer. Then of course, I have always enjoyed the genre of Motivational Books. There was the old classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. You know what? That book is genius because the principals in that book still work today. One of the things I remember from that book is when you are trying to persuade someone, win their hearts first and then appeal to the logic. Thank you for letting me share some of my favorite encounters with books over the years. There are so many more. This is Glynn Gilcrease. Thank you for joining me.
