What are the Forum members reading (1 Viewer)

[tdubel]

I recently finished "The War For All Oceans," by Roy & Lesley Adkins, which takes the reader from the Nile through Waterloo. It's a great read for anyone who's interested more in the lives of the common men & women on all sides of the naval conflicts from that time period and less about what Sam Watkins referred to as the "big bugs."

I would also recommend "Moscow 1812; Napoleon's Fatal March," by Adam Zamoyski.
Again, it's less about the "big bugs" and draws more on the common person's experiences.

I did an online search for T.A. Dodge's "Napoleon," but came up short. While that work is referenced by people like David Chandler, I wonder why it's not easy to find. Does anyone know?

Search on www.abebooks.com Dodge as author and Napoleon as title. There seem to be many variations of books he did on Napoleon. Here is another, though high expense from amazon http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-history-Theodore-Ayrault-Dodge/dp/B002XQ34BG/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_8

TD

 

[bromhead]

Britains Coast,,photos 1890-1955

 

[theBaron]

I picked up a copy of Richard Harris' "Fatherland" on eBay; I read it a while ago, but never got it for my library. It was in yesterday's mail, and I just finished reading it tonight.

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

Now reading Konrad Heiden's "Der Fuehrer", another book I picked up at the Secaucus show back in March.

Prost!
Brad

 

[binder001]

I finally read Parshall and Tully's "Shattered Sword". It is the "untold story of the battle of Midway" and it lives up to its premise. These guys have written from the JAPANESE viewpoint. They debunk a number of myths that have grown up about the battle. It can be a little dry as it has a lot of material about the development of the Imperial Japanese Navy and its battle doctrines. That helps explain why the Japanese made the choices that they did. A tremendous amount of fascinating material.

Gary B.

 

[lancer]

Now reading Konrad Heiden's "Der Fuehrer", another book I picked up at the Secaucus show back in March.

Prost!
Brad

One of the early works on Hitler, still well thought of in historical circles. -- Al

 

[lancer]

I finally read Parshall and Tully's "Shattered Sword". It is the "untold story of the battle of Midway" and it lives up to its premise. These guys have written from the JAPANESE viewpoint. They debunk a number of myths that have grown up about the battle. It can be a little dry as it has a lot of material about the development of the Imperial Japanese Navy and its battle doctrines. That helps explain why the Japanese made the choices that they did. A tremendous amount of fascinating material.

Gary B.

Hi Gary, This is a marvelous book and has become one of my favorite books on WW2 and military history in general.I found the whole thing just fascinating, especially the debunking of Fuchida's points. A "can't be missed read" if one has any interest in the Pacific War. -- Al

 

[RedBaron]

Just finished reading, Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed by Michael Jones. Excellent book. Im now starting Leningrad State of Siege by the same author.

 

[Leadmen]

I been reading the naval battles of the Pacific War and currently I am reading a new 2011 book on the Naval Battles at Guadalcanal. I am enjoying this book and more new facts about the battles around Guadalcanal. Highly recommend this book.

Neptune's Inferno ( 463 pages plus references )
James D. Hornfischer
Bantam books 2011.
This author also wrote a previous book called: The Last Stand of the Tin Can
Sailors.

 

[lancer]

I been reading the naval battles of the Pacific War and currently I am reading a new 2011 book on the Naval Battles at Guadalcanal. I am enjoying this book and more new facts about the battles around Guadalcanal. Highly recommend this book.

Neptune's Inferno ( 463 pages plus references )
James D. Hornfischer
Bantam books 2011.
This author also wrote a previous book called: The Last Stand of the Tin Can
Sailors.

Thanks for the heads up on the new book. I thought "Th Last Stand..." was a great book so I'll keep an eye out for Hornfischer's latest. -- Al

 

[kogu]

With my recent interest in the K&C Sons of the Empire line and the 19th century British Empire era anyway I just started to read a book called "The Indian Army of the Empress, 1861-1903" by Alan Harfield.
Comes with plenty of illustrations (mostly b&w though).
Quote: "This beautifully illustrated volume is a comprehensive record, of the final flowering of a great Empire, and of the men who served their distant Empress with unswerving loyalty and devotion".
ISBN 0-946771-03-0
Konrad

 

[fortdearborn]

Bernard Cornwell, "Agincourt" and more...

I'm someone who reads mostly non fiction history. However, the past few months I have been on enforced rest (just recently have been able to sit up at the PC) and not having a lot of focus or attention span I have been plowing through a pretty big pile of historical fiction. I zipped through the 5 published (so far) books which comprise the Saxon series by Bernard Cornwell (he the author of the Sharpe series which takes place during the Napoleonic Wars-- but you already knew that, didn't you?) Uhtred the Saxon just captured my imagination and I went on to read a dozen non fiction books on the Vikings and Saxons for additional background. And, I picked up any painted Viking or Saxon figures that I could find on-line that I didn't already have. Then I moved on to Cornwell's Warlord series which is his trilogy about King Arthur. I enjoyed the series especially as it very solidly grounds the Arthurian saga in the hundred years or so after the departure of the Romans. In other words, Arthur fighting in the Shield Wall against Saxons and other British Warlords, not at tournement tilting with a bunch of 15th Century Knights in Shining Armor. Not quite sated on Conrwell or his fiction depicting guys hacking and stabing each other I am now reading his novel, Agincourt (the subject of which I presume is self explanatory). I highly recommend all of Cornwell's books whether you are looking for very accurate and engrossing historical fiction, or if you just want some entertaining escapism.
Marc Gaynes
Chicago

 

[Jay]

Put fiction aside for a bit and am reading Wicked River by Lee Sandlin. (Still continuing through Mark Twain's autobiography, Volume 1.)
Wicked River is not a sequel to the one about Elphaba, and about her aversion to water. It's about the Mississippi River, from early formation through history. Not just about the river, of course, but the people who live on it. Very interesting. Well worth picking up.
Speaking of picking up. I did get a bunch of books last week at a few of the local Borders before they closed. By Friday you could get 4 books for $10. My son had picked up some $50 books a few days before for $4 each. Aside from text books, I have a ton of stuff to read this summer. It's going be good.

 

[wayne556517]

Just started reading "Trackers"the untold story of the Australian Dogs of war.

By Peter Haran

Trackers is a gritty and moving story that reveals the Australian Army’s little known use of combat tracker dogs during the Vietnam War.

A war veteran tells his story with vivid and compelling immediacy, blending the terror of hunting and encountering the elusive Vietcong with the tender relationship between a naive young Australian soldier and his larrikin labrador-kelpie cross, Caesar.

 

[Grognard]

Just finished The Barbary Pirates from William Dietrich: way much better than the previous installment: The Dakota Cipher...If you like Napoleonic thrillers, this book and the previous ones are for you!

 

[Louis Badolato]

Just finished The Barbary Pirates from William Dietrich: way much better than the previous installment: The Dakota Cipher...If you like Napoleonic thrillers, this book and the previous ones are for you!

Liked the first book in the series, couldn't finish the Dakota Cipher, it was just that badly written.

 

[Jay]

Finished Wicked River, plus, The Ultimate Battle, about Okinawa and am now well into Matterhorn. This is the one out last year about a young Marine 2ndlt in Vietnam in 69. Can't put it down. If I hadn't been working on a fifty page paper for school after reading fourteen books for class I'd have it done by now also . Not sure what's next after this. But looks like I'll have all summer to read. I'll have to try some Civil War ones next.

 

[nmrocks]

I been reading the naval battles of the Pacific War and currently I am reading a new 2011 book on the Naval Battles at Guadalcanal. I am enjoying this book and more new facts about the battles around Guadalcanal. Highly recommend this book.

Neptune's Inferno ( 463 pages plus references )
James D. Hornfischer
Bantam books 2011.
This author also wrote a previous book called: The Last Stand of the Tin Can
Sailors.

I concur, a great read, really puts it into perspective that the navy casualties were 3 to 1 to those lost on Guadalcanal. The close in night actions must have been horrifying to live through. A throw back to turn of the century fleet heavy gun actions before the long arm of technology changed warfare forever. Highly recommended
Ray

 

[theBaron]

Heiden's "Der Fuehrer" is dragging a bit, so I picked up "Shogun" again, for my annual reading of that novel. For as long as it is, I rip through it pretty quickly. "Hai, wakarimasu, Anjin-san!"

Kampei!
Brad

 

[Rob]

Just started the first of two books on the ACW, ' The coming fury ' by Bruce Catton ( the second being The impending Crisis) so far so good and really enjoying it.

Rob