What are the Forum members reading (1 Viewer)

Just started reading William C. Davis' Cricible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee - The War They Fought, The Peace They Forged. Given everything that's going on with statues being torn down, I thought I should learn more about the Civil War. So far, it's quite good.

Brendan
 
Started on 'SPQR' by Mary Beard.

I'm resolved to stick with it, but as a history of the city of Rome (as opposed to the Empire) she starts off in an awful manner using Cicero and Catailine as her metaphor of choice and wastes 50 odd pages wittering on about their adversity.
 
.....for anyone with an interest in the AWI, I can definitely recommend - "Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle" by Mark E. Lender & Garry W. Stone.....a thoroughly engaging and informative book that helps make sense of the complicated manoeuvres during the day of the battle.....it also (I believe) offers one of the better descriptions of the Washington V Lee 'disagreement' that occurred as the day unfolded, making for quite a plausible explanation on the subject.......

....I am following up the events of Monmouth with:- "Grand Forage 1778 - The Battleground Around New York City" by Todd W. Braisted......which describes the events that happened in the North, following after the British had left Sandy Hook and moved back to New York....

....all very good reading.........before starting on the book pile that relates to the conflict in the South.....
 
My father turned 77 today. He is former Airborne, Ranger and Artillery in the US Army.

I am trying to think of a good book to order for him when he gets here next week.

I wondered if the forum had any suggestions.

He really liked the Maj. Gen. Reynolds books about about Normandy (Steel Inferno and Men of Steel.)

Looking for something focusing on the US involvement in WW2 (which he knows a fair amount about) or the American Revolution which might be a good starter book?

Any ideas?
 


This is a terrific book. The author was a psychiatrist who survived Auschwitz and three other camps. From this book, he discovered that out of suffering you can find meaning. In addition, if you can find a why to live you can survive the how.

Most of the book is devoted to his experiences in the camps and how he survived them. The remainder is about his theories on finding the "why."

I can't recommend this book enough. It's very short, only 160 pages but well worth your time.
 
I'm not religious at all, but I listen to Phil Sandoval (therapist) on a Catholic radio station. Anyway, he talks about the author a lot and I always wondered if I should read his book. Maybe I'll give it a shot.
 
I'm not religious either. We were cleaning out our laundry room because we were going to have it redone and my wife found the book. It had been my son's and I remember him saying when he read it three years ago that it was very good so I started reading it and dropped what I was reading.

I think you'll find it worthwhile.
 
bradleyl30 said:
My father turned 77 today. He is former Airborne, Ranger and Artillery in the US Army.

I am trying to think of a good book to order for him when he gets here next week.

I wondered if the forum had any suggestions.

He really liked the Maj. Gen. Reynolds books about about Normandy (Steel Inferno and Men of Steel.)

Looking for something focusing on the US involvement in WW2 (which he knows a fair amount about) or the American Revolution which might be a good starter book?

Any ideas?
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Rick Atkinson's WWII trilogy is excellent. The focus in on the American involvement in Europe and Africa. "An Army at Dawn" is the first book and a Pultizer Prize winner:

http://liberationtrilogy.com/books/
 
....just ordered a new book which should be of interest to readers of Jacobite history.....released as part of the Helion & Company range of books called "From Reason to Revolution 1721-1815"....(see the full list via the link below)...
http://www.helion.co.uk/published-by-helion/reason-to-revolution-1721-1815/books-in-series.html

...the book is titled:- "On Gladsmuir Shall The Battle Be! - The Battle of Prestonpans 1745" by Arran Johnston....the cover of the book is very eye-catching....

Glasmuir.jpg

...it will be interesting to see how this compares to a previous book written about the battle (printed 10yrs ago)....."The Battle of Prestonpans 1745" by Martin Margulies.....which I found to be a very good read....

...it's great to have more books on the '45....
 
....finished reading - "Grand Forage 1778 - The Battleground Around New York City" by Todd W. Braisted......which describes the events that happened in the North, following after the British had left Sandy Hook and moved back to New York......a well-written short volume that uses detailed evidence to tell the story of the actions of Clinton & Cornwallis, as they sought to gather supplies for themselves and for the British troops that had been instructed to be sent overseas....it neatly explains some of the last actions of the AWI in the North....it is all too easy to be caught up with solely reading about the larger well-known battles and miss such events as these......very interesting.....

....another source of recent reading was centred around the actions of the Royal Artillery / the Ack-Ack / and the Tankers of the British Army during WW2.......five books, all featuring fictional stories written by an author using the pen-name of 'Gun Buster'....

"Return via Dunkirk" (1940) / "Battle Dress" (1941) / "Zero Hours" (1942) / "Grand Barrage" (1944) / "Victory Salvo" (1946)

.....written with in an honest / blunt / matter-of-fact style, each of which exemplifies the characteristics of the British soldier during combat.....it is easy to imagine that these fictional stories originated with real stories from the soldiers themselves.....if you've grown up reading the 'boys-own' adventures from the likes of Commando / Warlord / Battle / etc, then these will be of great interest to you......you will appreciate that these were written for an audience from a vastly different era during very difficult and challenging times......thoroughly recommended by yours truly......
.
 
photographic views of Shermans campaign,,George Bernard ,,found AT the pea Ridge gift shop
 
A much anticipated new title showed up today. It is 'Lost Opportunity: The Battle of the Ardennes, 22 August, 1914' by Simon House, published by Helion, 2017. It is a specific study of a much overlooked and little written about day of disaster for the French Army, never equaled before or since. August 22, 1914 cost the French Army 27,000 KIA on that one day, yet it is mostly unknown to English-speaking readers, beyond a sentence or paragraph in WW1 histories.
This is a first-class production with picture hard-cover boards, slick, heavy paper, illustrations in b/w and color, and a separate map volume in softcover with about 60 battle maps in color. The book is 252 pages long. -- Al
 
…..I completed reading the newly printed – “On Gladsmuir Shall The Battle Be! – The Battle of Prestonpans 1745” by Arran Johnston (Hb, 226pgs)……great cover artwork (published by Helion)……the author describes in wonderful detail the local landscape which really helps to set the scene….coupled with a good selection of photo’s and maps, to show the progression of both sides involved….there is an overview of the early opening moves of the ’45, before getting to the meat of the book, the battle……the writing is fluid, easy to follow, engaging…..and thoroughly recommended….it is always a delight to find new books on the subject…

…for comparison I followed up the above by re-reading – “The Battle of Prestonpans 1745” by Martin Margulies (Pb, 220pgs), printed 10yrs ago…….I enjoyed the book at the time it was released, and enjoyed it again this time…….this book features in greater detail the early stages of the ’45…..before getting stuck into describing the battle…..unfortunately there are only 3x ‘period’ examples of maps…

…..if you can, read both together, as they jointly give a full understanding of the events around the first major clash of the ’45…..

….next book up is – “Saratoga – Turning Point of America’s Revolutionary War” by Richard M. Ketchum…..as a nod to the forthcoming new JJD range….(last year I had read – “Saratoga – A Military History of the Decisive Campaign of the American Revolution” by John F. Luzader, and – “1777 – Tipping Point at Saratoga” by Dean Snow)…..I’m really looking forward to this new range….

…enjoy!
 
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Just received a book on Midway that I have wanted for years but just got around to purchasing. It is titled "No Right to Win: A Continuing Dialogue with Veterans of The Battle of Midway" by Ronald Russell. Published in 2006, it is a 330 page, 4 illustration paperback. It is mainly all first-person accounts by Midway vets drawn from the Midway Roundtable. It covers many aspects of the action, from codebreaking, strategy, tactics, personal, and other facts and myths. It has a full Order of Battle for both sides and also includes such interesting things like a ranking of books about the battle in order of what the members consider the most accurate and important. Can't wait to get into it. -- Al
 
"The Man from the Train" by Bill James an account of a series of gruesome axe murders committed in the early 1900's including the famous Villisca murders. A great Halloween read. The author makes a convincing case they were the work of a serial killer who may have murdered up to a hundred people.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4767-9625-3
 
lancer said:
Just received a book on Midway that I have wanted for years but just got around to purchasing. It is titled "No Right to Win: A Continuing Dialogue with Veterans of The Battle of Midway" by Ronald Russell. Published in 2006, it is a 330 page, 4 illustration paperback. It is mainly all first-person accounts by Midway vets drawn from the Midway Roundtable. It covers many aspects of the action, from codebreaking, strategy, tactics, personal, and other facts and myths. It has a full Order of Battle for both sides and also includes such interesting things like a ranking of books about the battle in order of what the members consider the most accurate and important. Can't wait to get into it. -- Al
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In addition to the Russell book above, I have added 3 other related books that I have had in the past but sold, and always regretted doing so. These 3 books are all by Steve Ewing and are US Navy aviation related, involving 3 crucial men. All 3 books are Naval Institute Press publications and they are:
"Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O'Hare",(written in conjunction with John Lundstrom), published in 1997, 358 pages
"Reaper Leader: The Life of Jimmy Flatley", published in 2002, 384 pages
"Thach Weave: The Life of Jimmie Thach", published 2004, 338 pages
If you are a WW2 US Navy aviation fan, you need these books. All well written and tell the stories of 3 essential airmen who helped make US Navy flyers become a crucial winning element in the war in terms of actions, tactics, and strategy. Not to be missed if the Pacific Air War is your thing. -- Al
 
Have added the 4th and final volume in Prit Buttar's very important study of the Eastern Front in WW1. This 4 volume set is really the best overall study for the English reader/speaker that I know of in regards to the subject, which is relatively sparsely covered in English. All published by Osprey, each volume has photos and maps.
"Collision of Empires: The War on the Eastern Front in 1914", published in 2014, 472 pages
"Germany Ascendant: The Eastern Front 1915", published 2015, 448 pages
"Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17", published 2016, 472 pages
"The Splintered Empires: The Eastern Front 1917-21", published 2017, 480 pages
You can't do better for an overall, beginning to end history of the events in this somewhat neglected theater of war. It is not a detailed history of the Revolution or the Civil War but obviously does include them. This is a good military history that is currently all in print and won't break the bank. -- Al
 
I have really enjoyed Helena P. Schrader's series on the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Mostly focused on the real Balian d'Ibelin, but also has a very strong cast of mostly historical figures around him.

I find it very similar to Christian Cameron's Chivalry (focused on William Gold) and R. W. Peake's Marching with Caesar series where the authors stay close to the history, the characters and culture.

If you liked the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" you might find it jarring how much artistic license they took with what is really known about the actual players involved.
 
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