Ten really, really good books I read in 2009

I seem to have lost the first part of my list which means this is a very incomplete article. But, there's still some good stuff on here. If I ever find the rest of the list, I'll update.
Among the best books I read in 2009:

Public Enemies by Bryan Burroughs is a very good look at the famous Depression era bandits like Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. It's a long book, jammed with facts but the story never gets tiresome. Best of all, Burroughs shatters the myth of the heroic, brilliant FBI investigators hot on the trail of the bad guys. He details the incompetence of both Hoover and Melvin Purvis, while pointing out the unknown agents who really deserve the credit. The Johnny Depp movie that came out this year was based on this book, but don't blame Burroughs. His work is a lot more interesting than the film.

If Public Enemies puts you in gangster mode, then follow up with Go Down Easy, Jeff Guinn's highly-detailed review of the short lives and colorful times of Bonnie and Clyde. Again, many of the popular myths are exploded by Guinn's research. Bonnie and Clyde were small-timers compared to the Dillingers and Pretty Boys of the era, but their story is in many ways just as fascinating.

I was in the mood for some spooky short stories and dug the collection Night Freight by Bill Pronzini out of a stack. Touchdown! It's a great selection of tales from an author I had never read before. They'll be some more Ponzini on my 2010 reading list for sure.

The Eternal Prison by Jeff Somers is the third "Avery Cates" novel. In a high-tech, Blade Runnerish world of the future, Avery is a perpetual bad boy, constantly in trouble with both the law and the lawless, not that there is a lot of difference in the two. The action comes fast and furious and Somers isn't afraid to ratchet up the body count. I read this installment within days of its arrival and am already looking for the next in the series.

For years I've said I was going to write the first great novel about moonshining. But Matt Bondurant beat me to it with The Wettest County in the World. It's a fictional story allegedly based on true events involving Bondurant's own family. It's a brutal revenge story and an accurate look at the hardscrabble existence of the mountain people who hoped "shine" business would help them scracth a little bit better life out of the land.

With Wings Like Eagles is Michael Korda's myth-shattering look at the Battle of Britain. Korda cuts through he usual BS and tells the real story of the strategy, tactics, technology and personalities who combined to help Britain survive those most trying of times. An excellent work.

Another history book I enjoyed a lot was Manvell and Frankel's biography Heinrich Himmler. It's an older book, but probably still a first rate best bio of that savage little man.

My Civil War pick of the year is Richard McMurry's biography of John Bell Hood. It's an older book and has some holes it it, but McMurry does a better job than most looking at the complexity of Hood and the strategic situation he faced as commander of the Army of Tennessee. McMurray is no apologist for the Texan, but he also isn't afraid to make a case for Hood's generalship when the case is there to be made.

Larry McMurtry brings the saga of Duane Moore to a lovely end with Rhino Ranch, the fifth novel to feature Duane and other characters created 40-plus years ago in The Last Picture Show. As always, Duane is a charmer and a magnet for the oddballs McMurtry brings to life with such precision.

James Crumley was a terrific writer and The Wrong Case is one of his best novels. Milo, the alcoholic, druggy detective stumbles into a case that could bring him love and redemption. Fat chance. It's down and dirty business and nobody does it better than Crumley. I plan on reading the rest of Crumley's crime stuff this year