What are the Forum members reading (7 Viewers)

I am also in the process of reading "First Team". Very well covered on the early Pacific war. Naval aviation and naval ships in the Pacific are my favorite books. J
 
h.hammer said:
This was probably mentioned in an earlier post
just finished Ian Toll's second book on the Pacific War. It is a must read, although I have read at least fifty books on the same subject.
Start with Volume 1 if you can.
Harvey
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Quite agree Harvey. I posted earlier, this series compares to the Rick Atkinson trilogy on the US army in Africa & Europe. Toll was awarded the SE Morrison Naval History Award. Only downside is having to wait 3 yrs for the next vol. Chris
 
Osprey Campaign Series #50

Malta 1565 Last Battle of the Crusades

I like reading the Osprey Books to give me an overview of the topic before I pick up major works on the subject.
 
....currently reading "A Few Bloody Noses - The American War of Independence" by Robert Harvey....

...first book I've ever read on the subject, which I plan on making my new study interest for the time being.....

...I'd be interested in hearing of any recommendations on the subject.....

Kind Regards !
 
Cairnbeg said:
....currently reading "A Few Bloody Noses - The American War of Independence" by Robert Harvey....

...first book I've ever read on the subject, which I plan on making my new study interest for the time being.....

...I'd be interested in hearing of any recommendations on the subject.....

Kind Regards !
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You might want to try Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer. A very good read about everything surrounding the Battle of Trenton, a turning point in the war by proving to many doubters Washington's ability to lead the Continental Army. - I believe the book won a Pulitzer for history.
 
Dragoon said:
You might want to try Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer. A very good read about everything surrounding the Battle of Trenton, a turning point in the war by proving to many doubters Washington's ability to lead the Continental Army. - I believe the book won a Pulitzer for history.
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I recommend David McCullough's "1776", too, on the same topic.

Prost!
Brad
 
I finished, "The Forgotten Fifteenth", and have started on "Mission at Nuremberg". This is one that I find so compelling that if I didn't have to work today, I'd read it straight through.

Prost!
Brad
 
Recently finished 2 novels dealing with the air war in WW1. Embarrassingly enough, I have had these 2 books on my shelves since the 1960's and had never read them until now. I'm glad I did because I thoroughly enjoyed them both. The first one is titled 'Falcons of France' written jointly by the famous pair of Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall in 1929. They also wrote the definitive 2 volume history of the Lafayette Flying Corps but are most well known for their HMS Bounty trilogy which includes 'Mutiny on the Bounty'. 'Falcons of France' is a fictionalized history of the author's service in the LFC and is very good in terms of the POV of the common pilots and their experiences in the air and on the ground in WW1. The second book is 'Winged Victory' written by V. M. (Victor Maslin) Yeates in 1934. This is a fictionalized account of his service in 46 Squadron as a Camel pilot in WW1. It is widely considered to be the best of it's kind and was highly sought after by RAF pilots in WW2 for it's authentic representation of air combat. It was a terrific read. The thing that surprised me the most was the authentic view he expresses regarding the Camel. It was considered to be a great dogfighter but was not a favored aircraft because it was difficult to fly and had to be 'flown' constantly as any lapse in attention could be dangerous to the pilot's control of the aircraft. His main complaints about the Camel were it's slow speed, climb, and performance at altitude. Because of these shortcomings, the aircraft was used a lot in the ground attack mode, which was extremely dangerous work. He professed the view that the Sopwith Dolphin was the favored aircraft because of it's speed and ability to reach a high altitude.
Both books are well worth reading, Falcons for it's kind of idealized viewpoint and Victory for it's more realistic writing. -- Al
 
I have just read Ian Knight's "The Anatomy of the Zulu Army". He has written a rather academic treatise based on mostly primary sources. It can get a little dry in sections especially with Zulu terminology but gives a very thorough treatment on the subject. Everything is there from military training, discipline, costume, weapons, identification, tactics, logistics, black magic, taboos, marriage and so on.
 
I'm currently reading "The Letters of Private Wheeler 1809-1828" and I have to say I'm getting a lot of insights into the day to day lives as well as action and adventure of soldiers of this time from their own mouths. The copy I have is published by the Windrush press.

I'd also like to recommend the excellent Tales from the Rifle Brigade by Captain Sir John Kincaid published by Pen and Sword.

Rifleman Costello Published by Leonaur. Bugler and Officer of the Rifles. Bayonets, Bugles and Bonnets. Rifleman Harris. All published again by Leonaur.

Regards
Steve
 
...I currently have two books on the go....again related to the American Revolution / War of Independence...

...my 'day-time' book......."Oliver Wiswell" by Kenneth Roberts....a work of fiction relating to the events of the AWI from a Loyalist / British perspective....what makes this book even more appealing (to my mind) is that it was printed in 1943, and is free from PC concerns....words are used that are appropriate for that period....another reason for my appreciation of books written in the early 20th century that cover topics from the 18th century...

...one more aspect to note, is to imagine who may have been reading said book in 1943/44...considering the history of that time....another reason that I prefer to track down older books...

...my 'evening' book, more recently printed...."British Soldiers, American War - Voices of the American Revolution" by Don N. Hagist.....I've always liked books in the 'voices' category, as they really bring forth the human element into history.....I know that my reading so far in this subject (AWI) has been British or Loyalist based......so to avoid having a biased opinion of the events I plan on reading the likes of :- "Almost a Miracle" by John Ferling, and "The War of the Revolution" by Christopher Ward.....

...a fascinating subject with so many 'what if's and 'why didn't they do this or that'....good stuff !
 
I am reading two books as well:

Nigel Tranter's "The Isleman" about Angus Og Macdonald (I am a Macdonald on my mom's side.)

R. W. Peake's "Fraternitas" which is the 11th book in the Marching with Caesar series.
 
Currently reading in my secondary area of interest, SciFi/fantasy. Reading the very entertaining "The Martian" by Andy Weir. Quite a good story of survival. Also reading various Robert E. Howard stories, as I do quite often. Conan rules, but I also like Kane and Bran Mak Morn. Another completely different Kane worth reading are Karl Edward Wagner's superb novels and short stories. Fun reads, all. -- Al
 
Having now finished reading Private Wheelers letters 1808-1828 , which furnished me with many insights into the daily lives of an ordinary Infantryman in Wellingtons army in the peninsular, France, Waterloo such as the reason that the front ranks in squares receiving cavalry held their fire was that they were reserved to fire on retreating cavalry. Then his service later in Corfu, Zante, Cefalonia at the time of the Greek war against the Turks. Which I found most interesting not having read anything on the subject before. And will make any further visits to these Greek islands the more interesting.

Now about to start Alexander Cavalie Mercer's, Journal of the Campaign of 1815 which promises to be excellent reading too.

Steve
 
...time for a pause in my burgeoning interest in reading up on the AWI....I've temporarily turned back to my long-term interest in the '45'....

...and started on "Fight for a Throne:- The Jacobite '45 Reconsidered" by Dr. Christopher Duffy...(having previously enjoyed his "The '45: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the untold story of the Jacobite Rising" from a few years back)....his books are definite 'must-haves' on the subject.....that and the fact that the author is also Chairman of the 1745 Association...

...I've been looking forward to reading this for a while now.....
 
Having just finished Simenon's Act of Passion, I'm now turning to Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.
 
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