ORIGINAL: James B
I enjoy Simpsons writing and while I don't always agree 100 percent with him, There are many great cartridges and trying to cut them down to 12 picks is tough. He is a writer for a living and thus will stir some emotion.
You are right, it is tough to make a list like that, and please everyone! There are so many good calibers out there! It doesn't matter to me if mine is on someones "favorites" list or not! As long as someone is using enough gun to get the job done, its a good caliber!
Speaking of guns and authors, I like an article written a few years back, by J.R. Sunders, (I believe it was him!)
It was entitled "30-06, jack of all trades, master of none." He pegged my sentiments exactly! I have to say that the '06 IS the gun of the century, and if I owned one gun it WOULD be the '06! It does most all things well, but for specific purposes, you can usually find a better cartridge!