What are the Forum members reading (1 Viewer)

Just started "General Kinney Reports: A Personal History of the Pacific War" by General George C. Kenney. This is a 1987 reprint of the 1949 edition. It is an important memoir by the Commanding General of Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, and Commander, Firth US Air Force. Going to take a while as it is 594 pages. Bong and McGuire were just 2 of the men under his command. -- Al
 
Al, I have that book as well, don't know when I will ever get to it. Be aware SE Morrison and a host of others critized Kenney for bombastic claims of the results of 5th AF engagements. Still, should be a great read. Will be interested to hear what you think of it. Chris
 
Terp152 said:
Al, I have that book as well, don't know when I will ever get to it. Be aware SE Morrison and a host of others critized Kenney for bombastic claims of the results of 5th AF engagements. Still, should be a great read. Will be interested to hear what you think of it. Chris
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Will do, Chris. Be interesting to know whether the criticism is inter-service rivalry or not, while taking into account that claims about air service effectiveness are often open to criticism. -- Al
 
Another interesting title for you naval airpower fans is "Destined For Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower", written by Thomas Wildenberg, published by Naval Institute Press in 1998. This is a good book on the development of US Navy dive bombing, including aircraft and tactical development. It is not a history of the battle of Midway but rather the weapon that won the battle. Very informative. -- Al
 
Just received a massive research title that I have been wanting since it was published in 2014. It is titled "American Military Aircraft 1908-1919" by Robert Casari, published by Aeronaut Press. It is an oversize hardcover of 752 pages and contains hundreds of photos (plus 16 pages of color profiles) of every aircraft the US Military (Army & Navy) made, bought, borrowed, and used in the time period stated. If you think that the US didn't use many different aircraft, think again. There are over 5 dozen manufacturers covered from the US, and then there are the many planes purchased from England, France, and Italy. A virtual treasure trove of the famous, the well-known, and the virtually unknown. Very highly recommended for the aircraft researcher and fan of the USAS leading up to and including WW1. -- Al
 
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...finished "The War for America 1775-1783" by Piers Mackesy.....

....which has improved my understanding of looking at the events of the AWI in a new way.....until now I had viewed the events quite singularly, not really taking into account the wider impact felt by Britain....after reading this book....I have a better appreciation of the political feuding, the chess-like manoeuvres of the navy against France and Spain...and how more (financially) important were the likes of retaining British possessions in the West Indies, India, etc...

...extremely well written and recommended...it thoroughly helps with the bigger picture....

...now for something closer to home...."Jacobites - A New History of The '45 Rebellion" by Jacqueline Riding...

...the good reading continues !
 
Finished Pacific Payback, the story of the USN carrier air groups from Dec 6, 1944 thru Midway. Lots of good info on individual pilots and their radio gunners.

Now reading The Journals of Lewis and Clark by Bernard DeVoto, 1953 edition, considered the classic one volume edition. Don't have time to read the entire eight volumes by Lewis and Clark. Have always been interested in the expedition and read S Ambrose Undaunted Courage, great read. Rekindled my interest when visiting Camp Dubois (Camp Wood) last yr. Great visitor center with reproduction fort. Built for the bi-centennial celebration and sadly to be dismantled this yr due to lack of funds. :rolleyes2: Also has a reproduction keel boat. Nice book store where I bought DeVoto's book. Chris

More info here: http://www.campdubois.com/ with pics of the keel boat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Dubois with pic of the fort.
 
I just finished "The Sea Hawks: With the PT Boats at War", by Lt. Cdr. Edgar Hoaglund, his memoir of his service in the Navy in WWII. He enlisted in the fall of 1940 and served aboard destroyers in the Atlantic through 1942, then transferred to PT boats and served in Nee Guinea and the Philippines in '44 and '45. It's a brief but interesting look at the life and action of the PT boat crews.

Prost!
Brad
 
theBaron said:
I just finished "The Sea Hawks: With the PT Boats at War", by Lt. Cdr. Edgar Hoaglund, his memoir of his service in the Navy in WWII. He enlisted in the fall of 1940 and served aboard destroyers in the Atlantic through 1942, then transferred to PT boats and served in Nee Guinea and the Philippines in '44 and '45. It's a brief but interesting look at the life and action of the PT boat crews.

Prost!
Brad
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Brad, you might also like to read PT105 by Dick Keresey. He was in the same sqdn as J Kennedy. All first person experiences like when he accompanied some Marines to scout a location for a new fwd base. Couldn't figure out why palm branches were falling on his head until he discovered the sniper taking shots at him. Chris
 
Terp152 said:
Brad, you might also like to read PT105 by Dick Keresey. He was in the same sqdn as J Kennedy. All first person experiences like when he accompanied some Marines to scout a location for a new fwd base. Couldn't figure out why palm branches were falling on his head until he discovered the sniper taking shots at him. Chris
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Thanks for the suggestion, Chris, I'll track it down.

I've gotten into reading WWII veterans' memoirs more and more lately. It's always in my mind that they are reaching advanced age and that we're seeing more and more pass. And I think of how many of them left stories behind that are only captured in the memories of their families, and how few are recorded.

Prost!
Brad
 
Now listening to and from work "44 Days, 75 Sqdn ANd The Fight For Australia" by Michael Vetch. The RAAF air war over New Guniea thru early '42. Al, if you read this one you'll recognize the pilots from Eagles Of The Southern Skies. Chris
 
Terp152 said:
Now listening to and from work "44 Days, 75 Sqdn ANd The Fight For Australia" by Michael Vetch. The RAAF air war over New Guniea thru early '42. Al, if you read this one you'll recognize the pilots from Eagles Of The Southern Skies. Chris
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Will do, Chris. Problem is my books 'to buy' list is longer than I am tall. My last count had over 100 books on the 'to buy' list.{sm2} -- Al
 
Have added another new title to my WW1 aviation library, 'The Lafayette Escadrille: A Photo History of the First American Fighter Squadron', by Steven Ruffin, published by Casemate, 2016. It is 194 pages and is heavily illustrated as well as being a historical narrative. There are many familiar photos, as well as many not so well known, along with some color then/now type photos, as well as 6 pages of color aircraft profiles. There are many group photos that have many of the personal identified and mini-bios of the original '38' members (remember, this is the escadrille history, not the Lafayette Flying Corps history). Many interesting tidbits, such as that the last 6 pilots killed in action with the LE all were KIA on Mondays, thus the squadron hex of 'Bad Luck Monday' and the aversion some had to flying on that day. This book is a worthy addition to the rather large number of books on the Lafayette Escadrille. -- Al
 
I have just finished reading "Singapore Burning - Heroism and Surrender in World war II" by Colin Smith.

(I was a quarter of the way into it when K&C announced their forthcoming Malaya Campaign series. Bit of a coincidence!

I bought the book a few years ago but have just gotten round to reading it - and what an absorbing, heart wrenching, tragic read it is.

Highly recommended - especially for anyone (like myself) with a limited knowledge of what happened. It's all there.................

Roy
 
On the subject of Singapore, has anyone read Stanley Falk's 'Seventy Days to Singapore'? I read his book on Bataan, which is outstanding, but I haven't read the book on Singapore. Any thoughts? -- Al
 
...finished with "Jacobites - A New History of the '45 Rebellion" by Jacqueline Riding....which makes use of comments taken from numerous letters written at the time by key individuals and witnesses to the events to tell the story, one of the last chapters in the book being very poignant relating to the executions of Lord's Kilmarnock and Balmerino, very readable.......having said that, if you are learning about the Rebellion for the first time then try the more detailed works by the likes of....Christopher Duffy (overall history), Martin Margulies (Prestonpans), Frank McLynn (England), Geoffrey Bailey (Falkirk), Stuart Reid (Culloden)...

...and now back to the AWI period.....

...about to start "With Zeal and with Bayonets Only - The British Army on Campaign in North America, 1775-1783" by Matthew H. Spring.....a book that makes a lot of 'recommended AWI' book lists.....(hopefully which makes up for the time it took me to find a good 2nd hand HB version!)....

.
 
Was intrigued about the story of Guadalcanal coast watcher Martin Clements while reading about the battle. Just ordered his account "Alone On Guadalcanal" and also Walter Lord's "Lonely Vigil" for a general coast watcher history. Almost ordered Eric Feldt's "The Coastwatchers: Operation Ferdinand and the Fight for the South Pacific." He organized the coast watcher organization. Was a little surprised at the number of books still in print on this little remembered subject. Lord knows when I'll get to these two books, but they're "in the que." Chris
 
Just splurged on a book order. Have got coming in the mail, 6 titles on WW1, 5 of them aviation and 1 on armored warfare. 3 of the aviation titles are old friends that I sold or traded years ago and am now replacing; Arch Whitehouse's 'Legion of the Lafayette', a 1962 publication that I read many moons ago; 'An American For Lafayette:The Diaries of E.C.C. Genet, Lafayette Escadrille', edited by Walt Brown; and 'Notes of a Lost Pilot' by Jean Beraud Villers, the memoirs of a French pilot that has several excellent pencil illustrations. This is a favorite of mine. The other 3 are new to me. Blaine Pardoe's 'The Bad Boy Bert Hall: Aviator and Mercenary of the Skies'. Published in 2012, it is a bio of one of the original 7 founding members of the L.E.; a new and sure to be interesting bio by R.G. Head titled 'Oswald Boelcke'. It is just published. It is one of a very few English works on Boelcke. I am very much looking forward to this one. The last book is called 'French Tanks of the Great War' by Tim Gale, also just published, and is sure to be interesting because, once again, there is not much in English that specifically covers this topic. Now, where is that mailman?:wink2: -- Al
 
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