Dad Books: The Compiled List

This thread started right after that WSJ piece on how ‘Dad Books’ are a dying breed. It’s a pretty good moniker and we know the vibe. These are the nonfiction business traveler airport books. It’s grandpas listening to audiobooks while mowing the lawn, that scene in Warrior where Nick Nolte has Moby Dick going on cassette. Adventure, history, biography, exploration, etc.

I posted my list and the replies were solid. So here’s the compiled version, organized by recommender. My list at the bottom. Wives, sons, and daughters, Father's Day approaches...

Recommendations from the Thread

@ScipioArizonas

• The Civil War: A Narrative (trilogy) by Shelby Foote

@Xlearner1984

• Conquistador by Buddy Levy

• Empire of Ice and Stone by Buddy Levy

@FatherFigure88

• The Frontiersmen by Allan W. Eckert

@Yumbonia

• About Face by Col. David Hackworth

@Iamj4ke

• The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

• The First Salute by Barbara W. Tuchman

• The Men Who United the States by Simon Winchester

• The Anarchy by William Dalrymple

• The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End by Robert Gerwarth

• Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile

• The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico by Bernal Díaz del Castillo

• American Caesar by William Manchester

@Hazelthebulldog

• Aztec by Gary Jennings

• Flight from Monticello by Michael Kranish

• Follow the River by James Alexander Thom

• The Fisherman’s Tomb by John O’Neill

• Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson

• Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

@mronge

• The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes

@smartin_scott

• The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko

• Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America by Tom Carlson

• Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz

• Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

@DanDonatoV

• Expedition Whydah by Barry Clifford

@BrandonCarter

• In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

• Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough

• Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson

• The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard

• Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

• The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

• Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss

@infooverload

• Long Knife by James Alexander Thom

@JeffreyHoppe

• Men to Match My Mountains by Irving Stone

@MickC_1

• SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard

• The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival in the Siberian Taiga by John Vaillant

• Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

@zac_pohlenz

• The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris

• The House of Morgan by Ron Chernow

@BostonLooper

• 1776 by David McCullough

• Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough

• American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

• The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever by Mark Frost

• The Pioneers by David McCullough

@realDatPaly

• The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party by Daniel James Brown

@HynesDm

• The Sea Wolf by Jack London

• Last of the Breed by Louis L’Amour

• Deliverance by James Dickey

And My Original List @andyflattery

• Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

• The Wager by David Grann

• Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

• Pirate Hunters by Robert Kurson

• Skunk Works by Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos

• Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder

• Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

• The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

• Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose

• The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands

• A History of the American People by Paul Johnson

• The Frontiersmen by Allan W. Eckert

• The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

• Centennial by James A. Michener

• The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal by Thomas Asbridge

• Empires of the Sea by Roger Crowley

Andy Flattery@andyflattery

Some Dad Books to get you back into Dad reading: Endurance The Wager Shadow Divers Pirate Hunters Skunk Works Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea Empire of the Summer Moon The Wright Brothers Undaunted Courage The First American A History of the American People The Frontiersmen

1:59 PM · May 19, 2026 · 18.4K Views

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29 Replies · 24 Reposts · 380 Likes

One long list, pulled from a bunch of dads. A few overlap (The Frontiersmen, Mornings on Horseback, Manhunt), and some titles you would not normally see. Got more?