It has taken me 40 years but I have finally managed to identify my favourite kind of book. Whilst I enjoy a range of reading from historical fiction like Philippa Gregory, to entirely factual like Yuval Noah Harari, I have found that my favourite type of book is rather specific.
The books that I like reading, I have concluded, are those that contain amazing stories about real people. I like learning about often normal individuals, that did something great.
Here is a selection of my favourites in this genre. If you share an interest in great books about great people doing great things, then perhaps you might like some of these.
Amedeo: The True Story of an Italian’s War in Abyssinia
This book follows the life of Italian Cavalry Officer Amedeo Guillet as he fights for the Italians before and during World War 2, mainly in Africa. He leads the world’s last cavalry charge against British tanks and ends up in prison in Yemen. An incredible (and true) story of love, valour, adventure, espionage, etc, this is the kind of book I like.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/757852.Amedeo
Nuremberg’s Voice of Doom: The Autobiography of the Chief Interpreter at History’s Greatest Trials
This book tells the story of Wolfe Frank, the man who interpreted the the famous Nuremberg trials, but also did much much more. He started life as a well to do German who dined in the same restaurants as Hitler, before moving over to work against the evil dictator. Like Amedeo, Frank spent some time in prison before going on to fight with the British and then became their trusted interpreter. He also invented (or at least popularised) simultaneous translation, which would have a huge impact on the trials and many other events since. A great story about a great person; this is the kind of book I like.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/41392589-nuremberg-s-voice-of-doom
Beneath a Scarlett Sky
This books tells the story of Pino Lella. As a young man, he was recruited by a liberal priest in the mountains of northern Italy to smuggle jews over the border to the safety of Switzerland, and he became very good at it. He then ended up as a German soldier, driving for the Nazi commander in Italy but just as you think he’ll fall into line as a good little Nazi, he shows his true colours and plots and schemes against them from the comfort of the commander’s car. A incredible tale of courage, and exactly the kind of book that I like.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32487617-beneath-a-scarlet-sky
Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World
As I write, I realise that all of the above books are based during the second world war, so here’s a more recent one. This book tells the story of the die-hard humanitarian, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who rose through the ranks of the UN to Under Secretary General. He was widely tipped to take the top job before he was killed in a bomb attack in Iraq in 2003.
Sergio was present during most, if not all, of the humanitarian crises during his career. From Cambodia, to Lebanon, to Kosovo, to East Timor, Sergio had an unparalleled enthusiasm and belief in the good of his work. An incredible story of an incredible man, and the type of book that I love.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2017247.Chasing_The_Flame
SAS: Rogue Heroes
This is the book that I’m currently reading, and the one that inspired me to write this article. It tells the story of the foundation of the SAS in Northern Africa in 1941 by a man named David Stirling. It’s the first book that has ever been sanctioned by the SAS themselves and so the author was given unprecedented access to historical records has allowed him to tell the story of early SAS operations in incredible detail. From surprise attacks on Nazi airfields to surviving in the dessert on radiator water from discarded vehicles, the adventures of early SAS soldiers make for gripping reading and, you’ve guessed it, exactly the kind of book that I love!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28503837-rogue-heroes
I’ve mentioned only 5 above but here are some more that fall into the same category, which I would also recommend (once you’ve read the ones above!)
- Papillon – the French epic about multiple prison escapes which may or may not be real
- Shantaram – a similarly epic (i.e. long) marathon of a book about prison, slums, and mujahadeen
- What is the What – incredible story of a lost boy in South Sudan who has to fend for himself in the wilderness when he’s only 6 years old.
- Emma’s War – The story of a young humanitarian who married a warlord in South Sudan.
- Shake Hands with the Devil – Story of the Rwandan Genocide from the UN Force Commander
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