My 2014 Reading List

Here's my 2014 reading list. It's a mix of fiction and non-fiction, history, science, and thrillers.  The list is more than 8000 pages. It's the most pages I've read in a single year since college. Many of the books were for fun, but most were research for my next novel.

My favorite was Dark Invasion, a history of German covert operations in the United States during World War I.  This book got me wondering about other foreign covert operations in the United States.  Hmm.  Might be a thriller in there somewhere.

Atomic Accidents was the most scary in its detailing of the countless nuclear accidents and potential disasters. Many were kept secret for decades and several resulted in numerous deaths.

The most fun was Inferno, Dan Brown's latest Robert Langdon thriller. 

What was your favorite book this past year?  Looking for a good couple reads in 2015? Make sure to check out my National Park thrillers.

Inferno

Dance with Dragons

Counter Strike

Physics for Future Presidents Locked On Death Ride Hitler vs. Stalin American Creation The Columbus Affair The Burning Shore Operation Paperclip Gettysburg: the Last Invasion Dark Invasion American Panic Atomic Accidents The Watchers Legacy of Ashes Shadow Factory

15,000 Hits!

The Park Thrillers blog just reached 15,000 hits!

Thanks everyone for visiting the site!

If you are still looking for a holiday gift for that park lover who enjoys thrillers, check out my novels here.

Thanks again!

TEDx TALK: Why Protect National Parks?

Sean Smith at the Spokane TEDx Conference 2014

On October 13, 2014 I had the honor of speaking at the Spokane TEDx conference.  I shared the stage with inspirational speakers from all over the region.  I focused on answering the question "Why Protect National Parks?" During this time of turmoil and uncertainty, are they relevant?  Can we afford them? Passing on an unimpaired national park system is a huge challenge, some may say its impossible. However,  future generations will judge us on the effort we make. 

The speech video can be found here.

After watching it I'd ask you to do three things.

First,  please "Like" the presentation!  A like button is found near the bottom of the video. As I understand it,  likes are part of the Ted rating system and an important part of how they make decisions on who to highlight.

Next, please share this video on your social media sites.  Sharing it will push up views, which I believe is another indicator TED uses when highlighting speeches.

Third, please check out my national park thrillers here.  They make great holiday gifts!