Carnett: Loving Kindle and these books

Eighteen months ago my wife bought me a Kindle e-reader for my birthday.

I recently finished my 100th book on it.

To be honest, when I received the Kindle I wasn’t certain I’d get through the opening passages of my first book. I’m now hooked, and reading more than ever.

I like my Kindle so much that I may never read another hardbound book again.

It’s with utmost enthusiasm that I list — and briefly describe — my Kindle 100 Top 10:

10.) “Dream Team: Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time,” by Jack McCallum. Published last summer, this book tells in detail the previously “untold story of the greatest [basketball] team ever assembled,” the 1992 U.S. Olympic men’s squad, according to Amazon. The book has been crafted with striking insight.

9.) “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden,” by Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer. This is a Navy Seal’s “account of the planning and execution of the Bin Laden raid,” according to Amazon. This book takes a close look at an American hero’s Seal career, and offers a gripping portrayal of the mission to get the Al Qaeda leader.

8.) “Peter the Great: His Life and World,” by Robert K. Massie. This remarkable book tells the story of Russian emperor Peter the Great, set “against the monumental backdrop of 17th and 18th century Europe and Russia,” according to Amazon. Peter brought Russia out of the darkness of its Middle Ages and into Enlightenment. Russia is what it is largely because of Peter.

7.) “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympics,” by Daniel James Brown. This book relates the inspirational story of an American rowing team that shocked the world by winning gold at Adolf Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics. The crew representing the U.S. was the 1936 University of Washington varsity eight.

6.) “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” by Jon Meacham. This Pulitzer Prize-winning author captures in a single volume the life of Jefferson, American philosopher, politician and president. The book brilliantly examines Jefferson as a towering figure of world history, and as an imperfect human being.

5.) “Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue of World War II,” by Mitchell Zuckoff. An American plane crashes in the remote jungle of New Guinea during the final days of the war. Zuckoff tells an amazing story of survival and of a subsequent high-risk rescue mission. It’s a nail-biter!

4.) “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman,” by Robert K. Massie. This Pulitzer Prize-winning author tells the extraordinary tale of a German princess who becomes Russia’s empress and a most powerful woman. Catherine utilizes incredible determination and effort to transform herself into a great leader. Massie depicts an indomitable ruler and a flesh-and-blood woman.

3.) “Bonhoeffer,” by Eric Metaxas and Timothy J. Keller. This is the story of German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who chooses to stand up to Hitler and the Nazis during World War II. Bonhoeffer’s moral courage, displayed in the face of monstrous evil, is breathtaking. His life ends tragically in a Nazi death camp in 1945.

2.) “C.S. Lewis — A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet,” by Alister McGrath. This highly readable biography looks at the life of intellectual giant C.S. Lewis. Lewis went from atheist to one of the great Christian thinkers of all time. In preparation for writing this book, McGrath spent 18 months reading everything Lewis wrote — including an enormous volume of correspondence — in chronological order.

1.) “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption,” by Laura Hillenbrand. Louis Zamperini managed to live through this incredible World War II saga. He crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 1943, survived a journey of thousands of miles on a raft in the open ocean, and spent two years in Japanese prisoner of war camps. This book has been at the top of many bestseller lists. Hillenbrand writes with a rich narrative voice.

I heartily recommend them all!

JIM CARNETT lives in Costa Mesa. His column runs Wednesdays.