What are the Forum members reading (1 Viewer)

[Terp152]

Have read it, back in 1974, as my wife (then girlfriend), gave the set to me as a gift Christmas 1973. Was a great read and I also need to re-read it at this point. Still have the set in as issued condition and it has pride of place in my collection of military history books. Used to have the R.E. Lee set but it is gone as it didn't have the emotional attachment as LL's. -- Al

A girlfriend that gave Lee's Lieutenants to a history major. No wonder you married her! Sounds like a perfect match.

 

[lancer]

A girlfriend that gave Lee's Lieutenants to a history major. No wonder you married her! Sounds like a perfect match.

Thank you. It has been. We got hitched May 14, 1976, so this May is our 35th year of married bliss (depending on who you ask). Can't let her find out my secret to remembering the date, which is May 10 (German invasion of France, 1940) and add four. She just thinks I'm romantic. -- Al

 

[uksubs]

just finished - Leading the way to Arnhem & book about Jagdtiger

 

[Leadmen]

I have been reading about the Pacific War this winter. Some new books came into the library and they are ordering more world war ll books since they got rid of the librarian that only ordered "chick books".

Guadacanal, Tarawa And Beyond "A mud Marine's memoir of the Pacific Island War by William W. Rogal 2010.
This book is a excellent report and easy read. The book is like Eugene Sledge's book about Peleiu. I did not know that a regiment of the second marine division was on Guadacanal and also Tarawa. What luck for those poor guys. The author served in A company First battalion, Second Marine Regiment of the Second Marine Division on Guadacanal and Tarawa.

The second book is Kamakaze Attacks of WWll. A complete history by Robin L. Rielly 2010. This book has many B/W pictures, diagrams and maps. I did not finish it. There are many stastics and lists of every ship hit by kamakazes. The book was too left brain to keep my interest and I did not finish reading all the reports.

The third book I just started looks more interesting. The Twilight Warriors by Robert Gandt 2010. This covers the 95 days of the battle for Okinawa. John

 

[theBaron]

Reading "1984" again, online. Also started rereading "Doomed at the Start", about the Army Air Corp units stationed in the Philipines during the Japanese invasion in '41-'42.

Prost!
Brad

 

[RedBaron]

Currently reading, "storm of steel" by ernst junger. Excellent read.

 

[Mitch]

agree, an excellent book
Mitch

Currently reading, "storm of steel" by ernst junger. Excellent read.

 

[lancer]

The author certainly has his viewpoint and isn't very subtle about dismantling the various aspects of the battle. As I have read this book, I found that the author has made a good argument and done his homework, but as you pointed out, he seems to believe that his view is the only correct one, totally throwing 175 years of written history to the winds. EVERY other history to this point (while conceding Huffines had some of the story correct in his book "Blood of Noble Men") has major errors in virtually every aspect of the battle. Still, it is an interesting read, if just for his viewpoints, but it did raise my blood pressure some. -- Al

Just to wrap this up, I found the book quite interesting but absolutely counter to just about everything I thought I knew about the Alamo. According to the author, all the defenders were there for self-serving reasons; were totally incompetent as fighters/soldiers; had never planned on fighting to the end and had planned to escape if attacked; the garrison was caught totally unaware by the dawn assault; offered little resistance and then the majority tried to run away; very little resistence offered at the walls and very little combat as the total time of the battle was 20 minutes; most of the defenders were caught outside the walls by Mexican cavalry and killed while trying to escape; total Mexican casualties numbered less than 300, 62 KIA and that the casualties were mostly friendly fire caused by the dark and confusion. Some of the points are well supported, others much less so. I don't care for the way the author assumes he knows how the defenders were thinking and how he assumes that the defenders behaved a certain way just because he assumes it would be logical for them to do so. There is just no way to support some of his theories, but I do not consider it a wasted read, just a little controversial. -- Al

 

[DMNamiot]

Well I just finished 2 books, Emma's War by Deborah Scroggins, about a British Aide Worker who gets deeply entangled in the Sudan Civil War from 1989 by meeting and marrying one of the primary guerrilla leaders in the SPLA. Interesting to be sure. The other is Rude Mechanicals The development of Tanks from the interwar era till the end of WWII. The same author wrote a book called A New Excaliber about the Tank Development in WWI. Both a high on the must read list if you interested in Tank Development. The Author is Smithers. Anyway its time to read something a little lighter so I am reading Sharpes Tiger. Got to love Sharpe!

Dave

 

[Wendy]

The Most of P.G. Wodehouse. A collection of short stories by Wodehouse, a lovely Christmas present that.

 

[eborris]

Just to wrap this up, I found the book quite interesting but absolutely counter to just about everything I thought I knew about the Alamo. According to the author, all the defenders were there for self-serving reasons; were totally incompetent as fighters/soldiers; had never planned on fighting to the end and had planned to escape if attacked; the garrison was caught totally unaware by the dawn assault; offered little resistance and then the majority tried to run away; very little resistence offered at the walls and very little combat as the total time of the battle was 20 minutes; most of the defenders were caught outside the walls by Mexican cavalry and killed while trying to escape; total Mexican casualties numbered less than 300, 62 KIA and that the casualties were mostly friendly fire caused by the dark and confusion. Some of the points are well supported, others much less so. I don't care for the way the author assumes he knows how the defenders were thinking and how he assumes that the defenders behaved a certain way just because he assumes it would be logical for them to do so. There is just no way to support some of his theories, but I do not consider it a wasted read, just a little controversial. -- Al

I also read J R Edmondson's The Alamo Story just prior to starting Exodus from the Alamo. I much preferred the former, he provided as many facts as possible and let you know of all the other possible scenario's, but then left it up to you to decide for yourself what happened. I prefer this method rather then have someone try and convince me that his version is actually the only true version of what occured. Of course maybe he is the only on this planet that really knows the truth, if one wants to reamin objective we can not rule out that possibility either.

 

[theBaron]

I enjoyed reading his Jeeves and Wooster stories, Wendy. Have you ever read those, too?

Prost!
Brad

 

[Wendy]

I enjoyed reading his Jeeves and Wooster stories, Wendy. Have you ever read those, too?

Prost!
Brad

I love 'em. I haven't found very many of them though, mostly due to my preference for curling up on the couch with hard copy. I own three and have found a few more at the library. Mr. Wodehouse was quite a prolific writer! I'm sure it's easy to find lots of them on e-book, but I can't stare at a screen that long.

 

[lancer]

I also read J R Edmondson's The Alamo Story just prior to starting Exodus from the Alamo. I much preferred the former, he provided as many facts as possible and let you know of all the other possible scenario's, but then left it up to you to decide for yourself what happened. I prefer this method rather then have someone try and convince me that his version is actually the only true version of what occured. Of course maybe he is the only on this planet that really knows the truth, if one wants to reamin objective we can not rule out that possibility either.

Good points. Authors that try to convince the reader that their version is the only possible correct version have to be read with some suspicion. Too many variables to claim that only they have the answer. The book did give me pause to think on some points, such as SOME of the garrison trying to escape, and Santa Anna's military abilities, but I guess I am just to hide-bound too buy into many of his other points. Just not enough evedence. -- Al

 

[eborris]

He is also the first one to refer to them as Anglo-Celts, I believe that's the term he used. He reminds me of a conspiracy buff, only uses the facts he want sto use to make his point, ignore others that would cast doubt on his point. I would prefer they give the evidence they have in conjunction with all the evidence available and let me figure it out for myself.

I've been to the Alamo on numerous occasions and there is no way anyone could see all points of the compound unless you were in a helicopter during daylight hours. How a few could give an accurate description of the battle of more then 50 yards in any direction would be beyond my comprehension.

 

[lancer]

He is also the first one to refer to them as Anglo-Celts, I believe that's the term he used. He reminds me of a conspiracy buff, only uses the facts he want sto use to make his point, ignore others that would cast doubt on his point. I would prefer they give the evidence they have in conjunction with all the evidence available and let me figure it out for myself.

I've been to the Alamo on numerous occasions and there is no way anyone could see all points of the compound unless you were in a helicopter during daylight hours. How a few could give an accurate description of the battle of more then 50 yards in any direction would be beyond my comprehension.

So true. The author put great store in just a few eyewitness accounts to support his conclusions, a dangerous approach for a historian because of the fallibility of eyewitness accounts. Eyewitness accounts are usually, by their very nature, very narrow in scope and very few accounts from different witness' will line up with each other, even when viewing the same event in the same time frame. And the action all took place in the dark. -- Al

 

[W T Allison II]

Good points. Authors that try to convince the reader that their version is the only possible correct version have to be read with some suspicion. Too many variables to claim that only they have the answer. The book did give me pause to think on some points, such as SOME of the garrison trying to escape, and Santa Anna's military abilities, but I guess I am just to hide-bound too buy into many of his other points. Just not enough evedence. -- Al

I wonder what these authors would come up with as to the Battle of San Jacinto?

 

[Terp152]

Have just picked up "The Maps of Gettysburg" by Gottfried. I had read the comments on this forum and had previously borrowed a friends copy. I really like this book as it gives an excellent account of the timeline and positions during the actions. A very good addition to an ACW library and a must have for we G-burg freaks. Also got Robert O'Connell's "The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic". Have just skimmed it so far but it seems to be a worthy addition to Punic War literature. -- Al

Got my copy of Gottfried's book on your recommendation and it looks outstanding. Good companion book to Pfanz's series. Wish he had included some casualty statistics. Chris

 

[kilted vampire]

One magazine worth looking for is MMir. Military Miniatures ir review. Kinda half book half magazine. Tons of pictures and lots of modeling tips. Not to mention all kinds of add on goodies.

Just finishing Quartered Safe Out Here by George M. Fraser. The same guy who wrote The Flashman series. These are his experiences in Burma. Great story telling. What I liked is his matter of fact views on war. Oddly enough just review in TS&MF.

 

[trooper]

Just finishing Quartered Safe Out Here by George M. Fraser. The same guy who wrote The Flashman series. These are his experiences in Burma. Great story telling. What I liked is his matter of fact views on war. Oddly enough just review in TS&MF.

If you enjoyed that, KV, you might also like "The Light's on at Signpost" his experiences after the war writing books and screenplays. It is surprising just how many famous films he was involved in including some of the Bond epics. His occasional digressions into the state of the modern world are also entertaining. I do recommend it to you. Trooper