Rebecca Blood has started her collection of summer reading lists. Over the years I have found several great books from her blog and her collection of lists. I thought I would come up with a collection of great books to read at the lake. The hammock is already up there and all I need now is to train the dog to bring me out a cold iced tea once in a while.
- The Great Depression: 1929 - 1939 by Pierre Burton :: I think this is one of Pierre Burton’s finest books and the reason I chose it is that as I drive from Saskatoon to the cabin, I pass by thousands of pieces of land which at one time were homesteads whose very existence today is a tribute of those who made it through the great depression. Towns like Watrous, Govan, and Nokomis all paid a tremendous price as their families banded together to make it through. Many historians say that Canada was harder hit by the depression than the United States and Europe and western Canada took it the hardest yet. It tells the stories of not only my family but also many friends of the family.
- The Last Spike: The Great Railroad, 1881-1885 by Pierre Burton :: While I found The National Dream to be extremely boring, The Last Spike is an amazing and fun read. From real estate speculators driving up housing prices in Winnipeg to prices not seen again for 100 years to stories of the CPR frantically trying to find money to finance their project and obsession, it’s the kind of book that screams to be read under a shade tree in a hammock on a hot summer afternoon. While Arlington Beach is a great place to read it, I can’t help but think that Chitek Lake is an even better place to read this book where you can listen to the train rumble by in the distance and the quiet summer morning being interupted by the train whistle as it makes it way from the Meadow Lake mill.
- The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson :: Well this one I did read at the cabin already so it is kind of cheating but you can read my thoughts on the book here.
- Wildfire in the Wilderness by Chris Czajkowski :: This latest book from Chris Czajkowski's spectacular corner of the world is another engrossing account of life in her wilderness. She regales the reader with stories of shimmering mountain peaks, roaring snow-fed creeks, bears, eagles and monstrous storms; and tales of her dogs--Bucky (short for Buckethead), who chases everything; Max, who tussles with wolves and a porcupine; and Raffi, a large, happy animal who thinks he's a lapdog. The book culminates in a white-knuckle account of the all-too-close Lonesome Lake fire of 2004, from its infancy as a lightning strike reported in nearby Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, to Czajkowski's realization that her first wilderness cabin had been consumed by fire, and the dreaded moment when she was ordered by radiophone to evacuate everyone from the area.
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson :: Bill Bryson’s books exemplify summer reading; they are pure, unadulterated pleasure. One has to stop frequently to read aloud sections to whomever is around, not just to share the fun, but also to explain one’s uncontrollable laughing. However, this book goes far further. Without compromising his inimitable style, Bryson presents an unbelievably well-researched account of science and its discovery. He conveys pure wonder about the universe and its working, and introduces the reader to many of the idiosyncrasies and quirks of some of the giants of the technical world.
- Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond :: Diamond considers societies that have failed-Polynesians on Easter Island, the Norse in Greenland, the Anasazi in the southwestern U.S., the Maya in Mesoamerica-and compares them with societies that prospered over long periods of time. In many cases the failures resulted from environmental fragility combined with unwillingness of the society to recognize or adapt to the problems until it was too late. A fascinating read with particular relevance to current problems.
- The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander :: This is the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's failed 1914 attempt, with a crew of 27, to be the first to cross the Antarctic on foot and reach the South Pole. Their ship was crushed in an ice floe, trapping them. They survived over 20 months in brutal Antarctic conditions. Not one person died, a testament to Shackleton's judgment and leadership, including a keen understanding of the personalities of his crew.
- Madame Secretary by Madeleine Albright :: I have read a lot of books that disagreed with her decisions while she was Secretary of State (The Problem from Hell being among them) but I had never read her story as time of Secretary of State.
- Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II by Len Deighton :: A pragmatic look at the early years of WW II. His narrative concentrates on six major phases of the 1939-1941 period: the Battle of the Atlantic (U-boats versus convoys); Hitler's blitzkrieg victories in Western Europe and the Dunkirk evacuation; the tank battles between the British and the Germans in the Western Desert; the struggle between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force for command of the air; the German invasion of Russia; and the complex combination of events and hardening attitudes that led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
This isn’t a post about the cabin but another way of getting away in the summer. I am a big fan of 
Saskatchewan is located in the heart of North America, bordered on the east and west respectively by the provinces of Manitoba and Alberta, on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota, and on the north by the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.