Have purchased "French Strategic and Tactical Bombardment Forces of World War 1" by Rene Martel. It is a book I have been looking forward to as my knowledge of the subject is very basic. This 461 page softcover is going to be THE book on the subject for a long time. In actuality, it is the only book specifically concerned with the subject that has been translated to English. Martel traces the formation and development of the French bombing forces from the very modest beginning in late 1914, (at the outbreak of the war, the French had 30 squadrons of aircraft, all devoted to recon and observation), until it's peak at war's end, when the French had some 500 aircraft in the bombing squadrons, evenly split between day bombardment and night bombardment forces. The book is divided by year and includes sections on maritime bombing and action in the Dardanelles and Eastern Front. As far as I have been able to determine, this book is only available as a softcover, but it still is a 'must have' for WW1 aviation buffs. Shop for the best price as listings vary widely.:wink2: -- Al
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May have been mentioned earlier, Rick Atkinson,s final book in his Trilogy is outstanding(so far)
"guns at last Light"
my choices
for Midway:Facing Fearful Odds" by Gregory J.W. Urwin , the most comprehensive book I have read on the subject
for Eastern front fans, don't miss new release
Between Giants The Battle for the Baltics in WWII by Prit Byttar
best
Harvey
"guns at last Light"
my choices
for Midway:Facing Fearful Odds" by Gregory J.W. Urwin , the most comprehensive book I have read on the subject
for Eastern front fans, don't miss new release
Between Giants The Battle for the Baltics in WWII by Prit Byttar
best
Harvey
Just received an outstanding new addition to the ACW library, "The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses: Synopses, Orders of Battle, Strengths, Casualties, and Maps, June 9-July 14, 1863" by Petruzzi and Stanley. It is done by the excellent Savas Beatie Publishing. It has 210 pages and is heavily illustrated with maps and strength/casualty charts. My initial go through left me VERY impressed with the research that has gone into this work. It covers, as stated, the whole campaign, including the most minor of skirmishes, some of which involved no casualties. In addition to the many skirmishes it covers such engagements as the battles at Brandy Station, Winchester, Middleburg, Upperville, Westminster, Hanover, Hagerstown, Williamsport, Funkstown, and, oh yeah, Gettysburg. Keep in mind that this is not a detailed battle history, though it contains thumbnail descriptions of the various actions, but is a strength/casualty history. It looks to me to be the best work of it's kind. I highly recommend it. Retail price is $32.95, so shop around. -- Al
Have been busy adding to my ancient Spartan military library. Have gotten 3 new titles with a fourth on the way. There have been a lot of new publications in regard to ancient Sparta and ancient Greek military campaigns done in the last few years. It's about time, too. The first title is "Sparta and War", edited by Hodkinson & Powell, published in 2006 by The Classical Press of Wales. This contains 10 essays in 309 pages, covering such subjects as commemorating the war dead, whether or not Sparta was a military society, frontiers and fortifications, and why Spartans fought so well, plus others. It has been a very interesting read. The second title is "The Spartan Way" by Nic Fields, published 2013 by Pen & Sword. It is 348 pages and covers everything from leadership, weapons, tactics, what was worn, spiritual matters, strategy, etc. This book is packed and I admit I haven't had a chance to do more than skim a couple of chapters yet but this work looks like a tremendous addition to the knowledge of Sparta. The third book is "The Battle of Thermopylae: A campaign in Context" by Rupert Matthews, done in 2008 (paperback edition) by The History Press. It is a good history of the whole, from causes of the war, why Thermopylae was chosen and how they got there, weapons, tactics, and the battle itself, which does not ignore the battle at sea, or the importance of the Phocian wall. I enjoyed it. The fourth title is on the way and is called "Beyond the Gates of Fire: New Perspectives on the Battle of Thermopylae" by Chris Matthew & Matthew Trundel, a 2013 Pen & Sword publication. Can't comment on it but the publisher's blurb was good enough to entice me to purchase. It's a good time for Sparta/Greece military collectors. -- Al
Rob
Four Star General
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As some of you may know I am clinically addicted to Battlefield touring and as a result also Battlefield tour guide books. As I sit here at my pc the latest has just arrived this very min. Carol Reardon & Tom Vozzler's ' A Field Guide to Gettysburg' , this is a lush looking tome filled with script, maps and pics . At around five hundred pages its quite weighty as a guide book and looks the real deal. Shall enjoy delving into this tonight.
Rob
Rob
jazzeum
Four Star General
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Brad, the wide and varied description would certainly have been accurate at one time. In point of fact my current library is much smaller and more concentrated then it used to be. I think, at it's largest point some 20-25 years ago, I had over 2500 volumes on military history from ancient Greece through Vietnam. It was all hardcover, many 1st editions, type stuff. For many reasons, mostly financial, my collection has been broken up, rebuilt, and broken up again, several times. At this point I concentrate mainly on WW1, (largely airwar and French Army), Ancient Greece (Sparta), with a smattering of WW2, ACW, and whatever else might catch my eye on a limited basis. I probably own 500-600 books at the moment, a sad remnant of what once was. At least I don't have to worry about boxing and moving 2500 books anymore, and a lot of the bookshelf space is now occupied by my TS and airplane collection. :tongue:^&grin -- Al
Great book. Very very informative, though my only quible is that he seems to generally like Monty. The other two books were great also. One I have now is from the library, but I'd like to get the three as a set at some point.
Germanwarfilms.com has a wartime film on DVD of this title. I have not seen it but it is on my long list.
Just started glancing thru and reading "A Storm Of Spears, Understanding The Greek Hoplite At War" by Christopher Matthew. Completely fascinating and knowledgeable. It's almost 300 pages just on the Hopelite spear. Some chapters include.... The reach and trajectory, Endurance and accuracy, the "Kill Shot", just a very informative book that will change your thinking of how a phalanx preformed and worked in battle. As a side note , I looked at my FL and K&C Greeks and only one, FL013 is holding the spear right in Matthew's conclusion. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Greek warfare...
I have this book and wholeheartedly concur. A VERY interesting book. Couple it with Hanson's 'The Western way of War' and you will have a good idea of hoplite warfare from all angles. -- Al
larso
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I've finally started reading Mark Bando's 'Vanguard of the Crusade' about the 101st Airborne Division in WW2. It's taken a while. I first ordered it ten years ago but my email went astray and by the time I tried again it was out of stock. Then it was reprinted last year but due to Amazon incompetence I received the French edition - TWICE! (Still got em if anybody is interested). Finally got the new(expanded edition) last month and sat down to read it yesterday. Many first hand accounts.
With the new JJD triplane just announced, I thought I would list another book I just recently received on the subject. The book is titled "Fokker Dr.I Triplane: A World War One Legend", written by Paul Leaman. It is not a recent publication but was done in 2003 by Classic Publications. This is a large format, 224 page book that is very heavily illustrated with period photos and color profiles. It is about a complete a history of this aircraft as is likely to be done. It covers development, construction, deployment, what it was like to fly it, the pilots, and even some after-the-war info. The very useful appendices cover the chronology, serial numbers, production numbers, armament, tech data, and Allied victory claims against the tripe. This is my favorite book on the Fokker Dr.I because so much info is right at hand. I am only sorry I waited so long to get it because it is now a relatively hard book to find and when it is found, it is expensive. I had to get mine from the UK in order to afford it, even with the postage this UK listing was $100 cheaper than anything I could find in the US. If you have an interest in the Dr.I, this is the book you want, if you can find it affordably. That said, I also like Alex Imrie's book on the same subject (also more affordable), but the format and illustrations are a little better in the Leaman book, IMO. -- Al
Reading my latest purchase, a book called "Early Trench Tactics in the French Army: The Second Battle of Artois, May-June 1915" by Jonathan Krause, a 2013 publication by Ashgate. This is a real eye-opener of a read. The available works on the French Army of WW1 in English are few and what is available on 1915 almost non-existent. This work fills a HUGE hole in the history of the war and French operations in particular. Basically, almost every conception I have held about the French Army is being turned around in terms of 1915. The French Army actually made great strides in it's development of tactical docturne during 1915, whereas previous thought (in the English speaking world) has believed that 1915 was a completely lost year, consisting of only slaughter and blindly pursued offensives. In both the cutting edge use of artillery and infantry, the French lead the way through 1915, developing those arms to the point where the rest of the war was fought using these techniques. For instance, the French were responsible for the artillery technique known as the rolling barrage and the infiltration tactics for the infantry that would prove successful on the Somme. The basic cause of the extremely heavy losses was the time needed to develop and learn new techniques and especially the lack of materials and resources to carry out what in 1918 proved to be successful tactics. Second Artois is all but unknown, and even in France is largely overshadowed by the Marne, Verdun and the victories of 1918, but the author believes that Second Artois and the development achieved in 1915 is just as important to France. A really interesting book. -- Al
theBaron
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Been a while since I posted to this thread. I tend to read the same books over again. But I got in a rut and couldn't decide what to read at all. So I pulled "Dune" off the shelf and re-read it. And I just received Robert Ferrigno's "Assassin" trilogy and have started the first book, "Prayers for the Assassin".
It's interesting to read two books that have a heavy Muslim/Arab theme, one written long before 9/11 and one written in the aftermath. I often wonder about works produced in the past, and the romantic way we in the West looked at the Arabs and Islam in the past (look at David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". Current events puts that view in a different light.
It's interesting to read two books that have a heavy Muslim/Arab theme, one written long before 9/11 and one written in the aftermath. I often wonder about works produced in the past, and the romantic way we in the West looked at the Arabs and Islam in the past (look at David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". Current events puts that view in a different light.
Brad, I also tend to re-read books that I have enjoyed in the past. Just so happens "Dune" is one of my all-time favorites. First read it about 1976 and then proceeded to re-read every year until the mid-90's. I think I have only re-read once since then so maybe it's time to pull it off the shelf again. I actually once owned all the 6 original Dune series in first editions, with 4 of them signed to me by Herbert. Unfortunately, I sold them in the mid-90's when I needed cash. Really wish I still had them, considering what they are worth on today's market.:redface2: -- Al
Dragoon
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Abenaki - I've got Dan Snow's ''Death or Victory'' on my Amazon wish list. Any first impressions? Will be interested in your take on the book after you get chance to read it. - Thanks
Just finished John Wilcox's "The Dragon Lady" set during the siege of the Peking legations during the Boxer War and now I've started Allan Mallinson's "A Close Run Thing" which starts with Napoleon's abdication and exile to Elba and continues up to and including Waterloo.