Fall Reading List (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

Looks like this coming fall there will be some new books to spike our interest, all of which have been mentioned elsewhere:

The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy 1943-1944. This is the second volume of Rick Atkinson's planned trilogy about WW II. I'm reading the first one, An Army at Dawn, about the campaign in northwestern North Africa in late 1942-1943, at Combat's recommendation, and it's excellent. Slated for an early October release.

Nemesis by Max Hastings. About the war in the Pacific, 1944-1945. This is scheduled for release in the UK first and is not listed on the US Amazon website. I've pre-ordered it from Amazon UK. Slated for an early October release.

The Coldest Winter: American and the Korean War by David Halberstam. Promises to be good. Slated for a late September release.

Endgame 1945: The Missing Final Chapter of World War II. Looks at the end of World War II through the eyes of several people. Probably similar to his Ten Days to D-Day. This one is apparently out in the UK already. Slated for a November release.

 

[Rob]

Brad,have you read ten days to D Day,sounds good.

Rob

 

[Harrytheheid]

Brad,have you read ten days to D Day,sounds good.

Rob

Rob,
I've been reading some great fiction recently by Frank Barnard. Similar to Robinson's Hornet Squadron, it looks like he's intending a series.
First one is "Blue Man Falling" - Eagle Squadron flying Hurricanes, Blitzkrieg and the fall of France.
Second one is "Band of Eagles" - Eagle Squadron flying Hurricanes again - Defense of Malta.
Both books are cracking reads and I'm really looking forward to the next one.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Rob,
I've been reading some great fiction recently by Frank Barnard. Similar to Robinson's Hornet Squadron, it looks like he's intending a series.
First one is "Blue Man Falling" - Eagle Squadron flying Hurricanes, Blitzkrieg and the fall of France.
Second one is "Band of Eagles" - Eagle Squadron flying Hurricanes again - Defense of Malta.
Both books are cracking reads and I'm really looking forward to the next one.

I so have to get these books!

 

[Showman]

Brad - I had read Rick's first installment of this series , it was fabulous. I too am eagerly awaiting the second tome.


Peace....Greg

"The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy 1943-1944. This is the second volume of Rick Atkinson's planned trilogy about WW II. I'm reading the first one, An Army at Dawn, about the campaign in northwestern North Africa in late 1942-1943, at Combat's recommendation, and it's excellent. Slated for an early October release."

 

[Harrytheheid]

I so have to get these books!

They're available on Amazon Louis, and are really worth getting. Fiction - yes, but Barnard seems to really capture the atmosphere. And they also feature an American ex-Spanish Civil War anti-Fascist flying with the RAF boys.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Harry,

I love historical fiction when well researched and well written. George MacDonald Frasier's first Flashman book got me hooked on history as a 13 year old, and since then (in addition to reading every word GMF ever wrote) I have devoured ever work of historical fiction I could get my hands on, using these books as a barometer of my interest in a period of history, and then pursuing non-fiction works (preferably first hand accounts) to round out my knowledge of a period. I will definitely buy these works about the Eagle Squadron. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Rob]

Rob,
I've been reading some great fiction recently by Frank Barnard. Similar to Robinson's Hornet Squadron, it looks like he's intending a series.
First one is "Blue Man Falling" - Eagle Squadron flying Hurricanes, Blitzkrieg and the fall of France.
Second one is "Band of Eagles" - Eagle Squadron flying Hurricanes again - Defense of Malta.
Both books are cracking reads and I'm really looking forward to the next one.

They sound excellant.Next year Bantam Press is releasing the first book in a Sharpe type series by James Holland which follows a British soldier through the second world war.Should be good.

Rob

 

[Harrytheheid]

They sound excellant.Next year Bantam Press is releasing the first book in a Sharpe type series by James Holland which follows a British soldier through the second world war.Should be good.

Rob

Now that sounds really interesting - Thanks for the info.
France, Norway, Desert, Sicily, Italy, D-Day, Market Garden, the possibilities are endless. Maybe his brother could escape from Hong Kong and take us through the Malaya and Singapore battles, and after escaping from Singapore he'll join the Chindits......
Thinking about escaping from HK; "South By Java Head" by Alistair MacLean is a classic

BTW I'm holding off on ordering the commando, war and battle books from Amazon until after they've been released. That'll give my credit card a chance to recover from the frightful scare its had recently. My Dad will freak when I send them to him to hold for me until such time as I can get to the UK and pick them up, along with the 300-odd music CD's that are presently gathering dust and taking up space in my parent's house. He might even decide I'm not quite the Black Sheep of the family after all, and put me back into his will. LOL.
Seriously, if I'm going to do that, then I might as well go for it big time and order up the complete Charleys War series as well. Dad likes them too.

 

[Harrytheheid]

Harry,

Thanks for the heads up!

Louis and Rob,
I've copied and pasted some info from Amazon below;

Synopsis of “Blue Man Falling”.
In September 1939, World War Two is declared and Europe holds its breath. When will the Third Reich strike west across France and the Low Countries? For RAF fighter pilots patrolling the Franco-German border it is a bizarre time: one moment they are chasing an elusive Luftwaffe, the next ordering champagne in Paris. Then, in May 1940, Hitler launches Blitzkrieg and the Hurricane squadrons find themselves engulfed in battle. From the cockpit of a Hurricane fighter plane to the louche salons of Parisian society, Blue Man Falling follows the fortunes of two RAF pilots, an Englishman, Kit Curtis, and an American, Ossie Wolf, during the Battle of France 1939-40. Capturing the startling contradictions of a time when people were at their best and their worst, it brings to life the exhilaration and fear of aerial warfare with astonishing power and narrative skill. Above all, it lays bare the meaning of war, and the selflessness of those prepared to fight until the end.

Synopsis of “Band of Eagles”.Continuing the brilliant World War Two fighter pilot series - this time the theatre of war is the incredible story of the Siege of Malta, Summer 1941. The tiny island of Malta has become the most bombed place on earth. The Germans and Italians want to destroy it. For the fighter pilots of the RAF, initially equipped with ageing Hurricanes and outnumbered in the air, defeat seems almost certain. Flight commanders Englishman Kit Curtis and American Ossie Wolf have survived the Fall of France and the Battle of Britain but Curtis remains idealistic and eager to prove himself. Wolf, by contrast, is ruthless and thrives in the chaos of imminent invasion. But as each man is tested to the limit, they come to share a fresh understanding. By turns brutal, funny, tragic and heroic here is a spell-binding tour de force, a brilliant sequel to the bestselling "Blue Man Falling".

 

[Rob]

These sound very good,so much out there to read.

Rob