What are the Forum members reading (5 Viewers)

[6th Wisconsin]

Just finished "1356" by Bernard Cornwell and loved it. If you are interested in long English claim to the French throne during the middle-age which resulted in English occupying a significant part of the French kingdom (mostly the Southwest part of it) and major battles between the 2 sides: Crecy, Poitiers (covered in that book), Agincourt, etc. you will like this novel. The portraying of the battle scenes and the plot are excellent. Very good descriptions of the battle tactics and of the advantage the English army had with their long bow archers. Enjoy!

Interesting! I had never read Cornwell but just recently started reading "Agincourt." I like it a lot so far.

 

[Mirof]

Reading The Lost Fleet serie by J Campbell

see http://www.johnghemry.com/

Best

 

[Partner]

6thW , you shoud try his" Starbuck" series (not the coffee chain) from a number of years ago , if you can find it . 3 novels about ACW
Kirk

Interesting! I had never read Cornwell but just recently started reading "Agincourt." I like it a lot so far.

 

[marco55]

Now reading Rogue Republic.It's about Americans living in West Florida (Spanish territory at the time)trying to forge an independent republic (which they did for 90 days)in the early 1800's.
Mark

 

[Grognard]

Just finished "1356" by Bernard Cornwell and loved it. If you are interested in long English claim to the French throne during the middle-age which resulted in English occupying a significant part of the French kingdom (mostly the Southwest part of it) and major battles between the 2 sides: Crecy, Poitiers (covered in that book), Agincourt, etc. you will like this novel. The portraying of the battle scenes and the plot are excellent. Very good descriptions of the battle tactics and of the advantage the English army had with their long bow archers. Enjoy!

Interesting! I had never read Cornwell but just recently started reading "Agincourt." I like it a lot so far.

Same for me. "1356" was the first book I read from that author. I actually just ordered "Agincourt"...

 

[lancer]

Just made a great mini-haul from the Military Book Club. Got Adkin's 'The Western Front Companion', Harmsen's 'Shanghai 1937', and Stephen Hood's 'John Bell Hood', all in publisher's 1st editions. Publisher's retail on these 3 books is $136. With the BC prices and the special they offered, these 3 books cost me $69, including the shipping. Great deal, especially since they are not the cheaper book club editions. Can't wait to get into these. The battle for Shanghai book looks really interesting and it is a subject I know nothing about. -- Al

 

[lancer]

Just made a great mini-haul from the Military Book Club. Got Adkin's 'The Western Front Companion', Harmsen's 'Shanghai 1937', and Stephen Hood's 'John Bell Hood', all in publisher's 1st editions. Publisher's retail on these 3 books is $136. With the BC prices and the special they offered, these 3 books cost me $69, including the shipping. Great deal, especially since they are not the cheaper book club editions. Can't wait to get into these. The battle for Shanghai book looks really interesting and it is a subject I know nothing about. -- Al

I'm well into the Hood book and the Shanghai book and I am really enjoying them immensely. The Hood book is of particular interest as JB Hood has always been my favorite CSA general and his poor reputation in the Atlanta and Tennessee Campaigns has always bothered me. This book is a very satisfying rebuttal of previous criticism of Hood by modern historians. Maybe it will help change perceptions about Hood, maybe not, but it is well done.
On the other hand, I am just slightly disappointed in the Adkin's book, 'The Western Front Companion', more for what it is not than what it is. It is very Anglo-centric and only acknowledges other participants in rather brief bits. The book is well done and does cover the war pretty well, especially the British contribution. Just as one example of how the British viewpoint overrides others, the section on tank warfare is 35 pages long. The French, German, and American contributions take up about 5 and a half pages of this allotment, the rest is all British, even though the French built and used 1400 more tanks than did the British. The book is well worth having as it does cover tactics, weapons, uniforms, logistics, etc., just be aware that it draws heavily on the British side of things. -- Al

 

[lancer]

Got the last of my Military Book Club order today, Allen Guelzo's "Gettysburg: The Last Invasion". Can't wait to get into this one as so many of the forum members have recommended it. This title was the last of my recent order from the MBC that was part of the $10 per book special, with some restrictions. Also included were the aforementioned titles "John Bell Hood" and "Shanghai 1937. These three titles retail at $35, $33, and $33, for a total of $101. They cost me $30, total, and they are all publisher's 1st editions. The MBC can offer some really fine deals if you watch for the sales/special offers and are smart about the titles you pick. I expected the hood book and the Shanghai books might come as regular publisher editions but was pleasantly surprised that the Gettysburg book came as such since I expected that it would be the cheaper book club edition. So, a good day. -- Al

 

[theBaron]

I'm reading now a serendipitous eBay find, "The Hessian Occupation of Newport and Rhode Island, 1776-1779", by RI native Walter K. Schroder. I never really read anything about any British activity in New England, once they evacuated Boston, and I knew nothing about the activity around Newport. The British considered it a vital logistical and staging area, and several of the allied German regiments were stationed there. The author includes a lot of contemporary material from diaries, journals, and regimental chronicles, and also many images and maps. If there's any negative to the book, it's that most of the maps, all of them rendered in black and white, are almost unreadable. Fortunately, he cites the sources, so I'm going to see if I can find them online.

Prost!
Brad

 

[sammy719]

New book for Xmas...Assignment to hell by Timothy M. Gay , about 4 war correspondents during WWII Cronkite, Rooney, Liebling, Bigart , pretty good so far...Sammy

 

[Pax Toy Soldier]

Read 1356 before Christmas. Now reading Agincourt. Both are excellent, as are all Bernard Cornwell novels. Check out his website. Highly recommended!

 

[lancer]

All but finished with Guelzo's 'Gettysburg' and I am very pleased with it. Very readable and easy to follow. I rate it as a 'must read' for any ACW buff. For those deep into Gettysburg, this book provides an excellent beginning to end history of the campaign in a fast paced writing style that no where lags or gets boring. Being an overview history, it is not real detailed as to individual actions within the campaign or battle. If you want the rivet-counters version to any particular action, there are plenty of them, such as the Pfanz books or the new book on Barksdale's charge. Those are micro-views of certain actions whereas Guelzo presents the overall look at the way the battle was fought and how the decisions to fight it were made. I highly recommend this book and want to thank Brad for bringing it to my attention. -- Al

 

[zblang]

Read 1356 before Christmas. Now reading Agincourt. Both are excellent, as are all Bernard Cornwell novels. Check out his website. Highly recommended!

I enjoyed Agincourt. Haven't read 1356.

I am now reading Battles that Changed History. It's a fun book with lots of illustrations. Takes a few pages per famous battle. Nothing in depth, but a nice primer if you just want a survey of important battles.

 

[Dragoon]

About a third of the way into ZULU RISING by Ian Knight. Detailed account of events leading up to, and including battles of iSandlwana and Rorke's Drift. This is a 600 page epic - Well written, entertaining, nicely covers both British & Zulu sides of the conflict. - A great read.

 

[thrawn]

Currently reading Waterloo: The French Perspective by Andrew Field. I'm quite enjoying it as it flows well and has excellent direct quotes throughout.
Josh

 

[zblang]

Just started Monuments Men. Very easy to read and a great story

 

[bradleyl30]

I enjoyed Agincourt. Haven't read 1356.

I am now reading Battles that Changed History. It's a fun book with lots of illustrations. Takes a few pages per famous battle. Nothing in depth, but a nice primer if you just want a survey of important battles.

I read it 1365 just after Christmas as it was a present. Finished it in 3 days while at the in-laws house!

 

[Grognard]

Just finished "1356" by Bernard Cornwell and loved it. If you are interested in long English claim to the French throne during the middle-age which resulted in English occupying a significant part of the French kingdom (mostly the Southwest part of it) and major battles between the 2 sides: Crecy, Poitiers (covered in that book), Agincourt, etc. you will like this novel. The portraying of the battle scenes and the plot are excellent. Very good descriptions of the battle tactics and of the advantage the English army had with their long bow archers. Enjoy!

Interesting! I had never read Cornwell but just recently started reading "Agincourt." I like it a lot so far.

6thW , you should try his" Starbuck" series (not the coffee chain) from a number of years ago , if you can find it . 3 novels about ACW
Kirk

Same for me. "1356" was the first book I read from that author. I actually just ordered "Agincourt"...

I read it 1356 just after Christmas as it was a present. Finished it in 3 days while at the in-laws house!

Just finished Agincourt (without the in-laws :wink2: ). Great reading in the same caliber as 1356!

 

[bromhead]

Life,,,January 1942

 

[Panzer ace]

I just started to read Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.