In a shrewd campaign move forty years ago this month, the sitting president of the United States designated the third Sunday in June to commemorate “the love and gratitude we bear to our fathers.” Unfortunately, the announcement coincided with news of a mysterious break-in at the Watergate office complex. Richard Nixon might not be remembered as the “Father of Father’s Day,” but the holiday has survived and thrived despite its founder’s foibles. Here’s a list of titles specially curated for dads who might revel in that bit of trivia as much as they enjoy settling into a hammock and a hardback.

1. For Fathers Who Revere the Man Known as Papa

“Hemingway’s Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934-1961” by Paul Hendrickson

Ernest Hemingway was the ultimate man’s man, a globe-hopping force of nature who reveled in writing, fishing, imbibing, fighting, fornicating, and failing in his paternal duties. Or so that’s the story that’s been told. Hendrickson’s award-winning biography is an illuminating portrayal of Hemingway, showing a complicated man who was capable of great compassion, not just familial terror. In particular, the book highlights dad's complicated relationship with his cross-dressing son Gigi, of which Hendrickson says: “Amid so much ruin, still the beauty.” Crafting the narrative around Hemingway’s beloved 38-ft. fishing boat, Pilar, is a stroke of genius. It’s a perfect metaphor for Hemingway’s heroic/tragic life, and a brilliant vessel for readers who want a deeper understanding of the flawed father figure known as Papa.

2. For Fathers Who Love Animals, the Earth, and/or Eccentric Zookeepers

"Mr. Hornaday’s War: How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife That Changed the World" by Stefan Bechtel

William Temple Hornaday isn’t a household name, but outside of Theodore Roosevelt, nobody did more for animal preservation in the nineteenth century United States. Hornaday was a big-game hunter who scouted the last bison in Montana and went on to save the species. An eco-awakening saw him go from killing tigers in Borneo to founding the National Zoo in Washington D.C., running the Bronx Zoo for thirty years, and waging “Plume Wars” against the nefarious feathered-hat industry. Bechtel’s tale shows the contradictions of an enigmatic man, one who kept the Alaskan fur seal alive, but also featured an African man in a zoo exhibit. Like so many other creatures roaming the planet, Hornaday had his flaws, but he shouldn't be forgotten.

3. For Fathers Who Still Think Dinosaurs Are Like, the Coolest Things Ever

“Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of Largest, Most Fought Over T. Rex Ever Found” by Steve Fiffer

This rollicking book is the tale of Sue, a T. Rex discovered in South Dakota in 1990. Named for Sue Hendrickson, the paleontologist who found her (along with partner Peter Larson), it’s the biggest and best-preserved T. Rex fossil to date. It was an incredible discovery that kick-started an even more incredible saga, one that brought a majestic prehistoric beast face-to-face with modern legal weasels. Sue’s story incorporates the local Sioux, the FBI, Chicago’s Field Museum, Sotheby’s, McDonald’s, courtrooms, jails, and bags and bags of money. It’s John Grisham in Jurassic Park, except it’s all true. All Sue.

4. For Fathers Who Just Want to Get By With a Little Help From Their Friends

“John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me” by Tony Barrow

Fifty years ago, Pete Best was replaced by Ringo Starr, and the world of popular music would never be the same. The Clash were wrong. Beatlemania never bit the dust; it’s become a cottage industry that’s outlived half the band. Now “John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me,” a memoir by Tony Barrow, the band’s press agent from 1962-68, joins the canon. During his years with the “Fab Four” (a moniker coined by Barrow), they went from the clean-cut kids of “Love Me Do” to the world-dominating psychedelics of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” Barrow’s book is full of amazing moments, from their famous Shea Stadium show, to a party with Elvis, to Lennon’s emotional press conference after declaring the band bigger than Jesus. Barrow isn’t just a paperback writer, he's an insider eyewitness to the Beatles, eight days a week.

5. For Fathers Who Feel They’re Missing Out on Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll

“The Book of Vice” by Peter Sagal

Raising kids right is the highest fatherly virtue, but it doesn’t exactly provide the illicit kicks of a lost night like the The Hangover's Wolfpack endured. As a wise man once said, better to laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, but that’s just not possible when the weekend’s activities are structured around pediatric appointments and karate lessons. Enter Peter Sagal, host of the down-and-dirty NPR show Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! A mild-mannered family man, Sagal wants know what he’s missing out in his staid existence, so he wades deep into dens of iniquity. He checks in on a San Francisco sex club (public foursomes!), a swinger’s party (banal as a potluck, minus the copulation), Vegas (nothing really happens) and a porn shoot (“Silence. Then: the squishing sounds.”) Sagal’s schtick is a lot of fun -- if stretched a bit thin -- but ultimately supports your average Joe lifestyle. Yes, porn stars want to be in bed... at home, sleeping peacefully, just like everyone else.

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