WHY I READ

I like to read a number of things. I rarely sit down with just one book. I normally will be in the process of reading four or five books at a time as well as numerous magazines and newspapers.

In general, I read history, sports and media-related books. I'm a non-fiction reader, I really don't care much for fiction. Why make something up when the truth is so much more interesting? Even though, I wholeheartedly recommend many comic book titles (Batman, The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, The X-Men and Groo the Wanderer).

These are the top 10 books or periodicals that I like and have read or at least would like you to think I've read:

10. "Truman" (biography of Missouri's most famous son.)

9. "George Washington's War" (a historical account of the American Revolution and America's greatest leader.)

8. "The Lords of the Realm" (the real history of baseball. Read it. You won't be disappointed with the book -- just the players and owners.)

7. "Censored '97: the News That Didn't Make the News" (a yearly book published by Project Censored that recounts the most important news stories that were not spotlighted by the national media that should have been. With the exception of the Bible and Constitution, this could be the most important read for an American. And a real plus of the book is the fact that it is not biased. Even though, the people and organizations spotlighted in the book would spin it another way.)

6. The Wall Street Journal (not for the stock information, but for the news it does. When it does an in-depth story, you learn something.)

5. Any of these three historical magazines, U.S. History, Military History and American Heritage.

4. For sports, I like the Sporting News and USA Today. but ESPNET and the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball sites on the Internet are even better.

3. Newspapers on the Internet from other countries. (I wrote a column from this idea for about five weeks for Jackson USA. It's good to get a world perspective and to do so on your own instead of relying on the traditional media filters like the network news, CNN and the AP wire.) Also, any and all old newspapers on microfilm. But beware. This will give you a headache if the lighting is bad.

2. "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith (if you can grasp this book's ideas you will be one up on many of the people in Washington, D.C., today. Along with the Federalist Papers and Thomas Paine's works, this book shaped a nation and a way of life that is currently the most dominant in the world. It was written in 1776 and it still applies today. I recommend everyone read this book.)

1. The Bible. While being a great source for motivation and guidance, it is also a tremendous historical account that has an example of every human behavior both bad and good that you will run into in your life. I recommend it for atheists as well. It's a good read. While you're at it, read the Koran and notice the similarities.