The following is a list of books I've read. You'll discover quickly I'm enamored with history with a sprinkling of mystery thrillers.
In a display of shame-filled vanity, I listed my own book, Roofing Ripoff, at the top of the list. In all seriousness, it's the one you should read first as it only takes one hour and it will save you THOUSANDS of dollars.
Asphalt shingles, like many things, are not made like they used to be.
My 30-year-warranty shingles started to show serious wear in less than ten years.
I was so upset I decided to find out what was going on within the industry. I sent an email to the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers PR people and they blew me off. I knew then I was onto something.
Using the wisdom of the crowds, I decided to devote one of my national Ask the Builder columns to the topic. Readers from all across the USA responded to a survey form I mentioned in the column.
A deep-throat source who works in the asphalt shingle industry also stepped forward and assured I'd not reveal his identity, he agreed to a 90-minute recorded phone interview. What he told me will shake you to the core of your being.
Roofing Ripoff is available as a paperback, a Kindle download, or an Audiobook!
CLICK or TAP HERE now to get your copy. Wait until you see the full-color graphics on each page. I doubt you've ever seen a book like this one.
Say what you will about Steve Jobs, his life story is beyond interesting. I think part of the allure of this book to me is captured in the lyrics of Don Henley's hit song, Dirty Laundry.
I've been told by many of my friends that my attention to detail on craftsmanship borders on obsessive-compulsive. When you look at how I make sure the slots in the screws in switch and outlet cover plates are always straight up and down, you might be right.
Steve was OC too - to a fault. He also understood how to sell sizzle. One other character flaw was not trusting doctors. He had all the money he needed to get early treatment of his cancer. Who knows, he still might be with us and his family had he attacked the demon earlier. CLICK or TAP HERE to see how close Apple was to going out of business back decades ago, yet Steve died a billionaire.
Although widely rumored, I'm not the grown-up Ralphie. All too often people say I look like him and wonder if I was the child actor.
When you read the actual book that inspired the classic film, you'll howl with laughter. The actual screenplay and audio from the movie are in the same voice.
It's important to realize that I did own two BB guns. I didn't have a Red Ryder, but the one I did have was very accurate.
I also owned a CO2 BB semi-automatic pistol.
In the spirit of doing stupid things as Ralphie did in the book, one day Johnny Boncutter and I decided to play real cowboys and Indians in the woods behind my house shooting at each other.
Johnny had my rifle and I had the pistol. When you first put in a fresh CO2 cartridge the BBs come out with tremendous force. One of them hit Johnny in the thigh and I shot him out of a low tree.
We were NUTS to do this with no eye protection. This is why women live so much longer than men. CLICK or TAP HERE to read some of the other crazy stuff Ralphie did that wasn't in the movie.
I can't remember how I stumbled across the Bill Travis mystery series by George Wier, but I'm glad I did. Desperate Crimes is the first in the series and I think George is up to #15 now.
Bill Travis is the main character and his diligence and determination are inspirational.
George is a good writer and he keeps the story moving.
If you think you're good at guessing the endings of mystery books, then George will put you to the test.
I'm convinced you'll feel you got your money's worth and the books get better as the series expands.
CLICK or TAP HERE to start reading or listening to Desperate Crimes.
Have you ever been to the Hoover Dam? I was lucky enough years ago to be able to drive across it. After the terrorist attacks by the radical Islamists on 9/11, the Federal Government knew they had to make it nearly impossible for a terrorist to blow it up, so they built the new bridge that now crosses the Colorado River next to the dam.
But I digress.
This is an insanely interesting book. Built during the Depression years, men and their families streamed to the bleak and blistering-hot desert to build this incredible dam.
The US Government solicited bids for the dam. They only wanted contractors to bid for the labor as the government was going to buy the materials directly.
What do you think the winning bid was for the labor?
Can you imagine what it took to create the two diversion tunnels that had to built to channel the mighty Colorado River as the dam was being built?
Can you imagine pouring concrete NON-STOP for years no matter what the weather was? Think of those logistics.
CLICK or TAP HERE and be ready to be blown away.
My college degree is in geology. I'll never forget going out West for the first time.
I went with Pete and Charlie in Pete's new 1970 Volvo. I had never seen such scenery and I feel that trip sold me on studying geology.
Rough Hewn Land is a book written by a geologist, but it's for people like you that don't know the difference between a piece of schist and a strike-slip fault.
Wait until you see the sense of humor Keith shares in the captions in his photos. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHA!
Did you know that The entire state of California is built from rocks scraped off the deep ocean floor like you'd shave a wafer of wood using a plane?
Did you know that the astounding Sierra Nevada mountains were made by melting an enormous slab of ocean floor as they are sucked beneath the North American continental plate?
Do you like to invest in ocean-front land before the prices go to the moon? Keith shares why you might want to visit Las Vegas and start looking around for vacant land out in the desert.
I could go on and on and on about all the things you'll discover about what you see out West, but Keith does a better job.
CLICK or TAP HERE and be prepared to be amazed. The next trip you take out West, you'll have such a great appreciation for what you see.
Do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Do you have family and friends that live there?
You'll want to read Cascadia's Fault. It reads much like a thriller as Jerry Thompson peels back the onion of clues that reveal the Northwest is going to have an earthquake that will end up in the geologic history books.
Do you remember the earthquake that shattered Mexico City back in 1985? No one ever thought that was possible.
The plate tectonics theory that's now widely accepted was just beginning to be understood. The locked-up plate that finally snapped hadn't moved in recorded history.
Guess what other plate hasn't snapped in hundreds of years? Who would think that the appointed local scribe in a Japanese shoreline village would provide one of the key clues to what's going to happen when he wrote about the devastating tsunami that destroyed his village hundreds of years ago.
Cascadia's Fault will mesmerize you and you'll be ordering an earthquake rider on your insurance policy if you live in the Northwest starting in Mendocino, CA. CLICK or TAP HERE now to start reading this book. WOW is all I can say.
