Ok, the in-laws want me to tell them things I want for holiday presents and won't take 'spend it on the kid' as an answer. They're also Amazon-first thinkers, and with Christmas 2 weeks away I need to come up with some ideas. Then I got to thinking, maybe I'm not the only one who could use some idea help. So I'll toss out a few suggestions of things I have (books in my case) that others may be interested in, and maybe you can share some suggestions of your own? The Last Cruise of the Emden Absolutely fantastic story of the Emden and her exploits. Also in the vein of ww1 commerce raiding... The Wolf You've all likely heard of this one, but if you haven't read it yet, you really should. The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors Let us step back a ways through history... Six Frigates Skipping forward again... The Wake of the Wahoo I'll admit, I actually bought this one for myself a few years ago, and then talked my Dad into reading it. He's a retired submariner and wasn't too wild about reading it at first (he already knew the fate of the Wahoo), but he read it anyways and found it well worth his time. Incidentally I think that started the borrowing of my books en masse... Going a bit more modern... Blind Man's Bluff View: https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Mans-Bluff-Submarine-Espionage/dp/1610393589/ Read this when it came out and haven't revisited it, but if high stakes cold war submarine stuff is your thing, it might be worth it to you to pick up.
Want to abandon military history and lurch into the realm of SciFi and Fantasy? I've got you there. I mostly do audiobooks these days, spend too much time in the car, but here are some that I think stand up in either format. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Book 1 of the Gentleman Bastards, Scott Lynch Scheming thieves, assassins, twisting plot, murder in a barrel of horse piss. Pretty hard to top. The First Law Trilogy - Joe Abercrombie An author who many feel has defined the 'GrimDark' genre. By the end you'll be seriously questioning a lot of things. I think it is better in audio, Stephen Pacey absolutely nails it, but its not a bad read on dead-tree either. Red Rising Trilogy - Pierce Brown This seems to end up in the YA category now and then, and I'm not entirely sure why, but I blame The Hunger Games. This one's Sci-Fi, and if you go audiobook, another of my favorite narrators in Tim Gerard Reynolds.
This is one of my favorite books. View: https://www.amazon.com/Admirals-Nimitz-Halsey-King-Five-Star/dp/0316097837/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481373241&sr=8-1&keywords=the+admirals+nimitz+halsey+leahy+and+king--the+five-star+admirals+who Great book on the War of 1812 View: https://www.amazon.com/1812-Navys-George-C-Daughan/dp/0465085997/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481373589&sr=8-4&keywords=the+war+of+1812
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is an excellent book. I also recommend the following, which I believe is the definitive book on the battle of Midway: www.amazon.com/Shattered-Sword-Untold-Battle-Midway
SciFi but still military naval related is the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. The first book is very good IMO and free! http://www.baen.com/on-basilisk-station.html Another sort-of sci fi but military is the Ring of Fire series by Eric Flint. A what-if story where a modern day West Virginia small town is set down in the middle of Germany during the 100 years war. First book is also free. http://www.baen.com/1632.html
How about DVDs of the A&E Horatio Hornblower series with Ioan Gruffudd? Great series of the age of sail, and quite well done.
I've been working through the Aubrey - Maturin series of books this past year. It's what the Master and Commander movie was based off of. Good stuff if your into the age of sail.
Been through that series some time ago and might still have all of the books if you want to borrow them
This is a fun one. Dremel 2000-01 Versa Tip Precision Butane Soldering Torch https://www.dremel.com/en_US/products/-/show-product/tools/2000-01-versatip-precision-butane-torch
I actually have the Weller P2KC, really like it. View: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WOHSHM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_mlohAbSZXBPRX
