What are the Forum members reading (1 Viewer)

[hotel3alpha]

Just finished Amuk and Letter from a Woman by Stephan Zweig. Two mega short stories that are just gritty. I am a huge fan of Zweig and highly, highly recommend The Royal Game by him.

John from Texas

 

[Terp152]

Chris, agree with your critique. I remain quite impressed with Winters but maybe I read too much Winters all at once. BoB superior to the memoirs and both were superior to the 'conversations with' book, but maybe, like I said, it's just too much repetition. Compton's book is on my list but haven't gotten it yet. -- Al

Al, regretted my somewhat negative post. Had the great honor to meet Buck Compton at a signing in Louisville a couple of yrs before his passing. Still thrilled about that. Chris

 

[hotel3alpha]

Hi Al, did not find Winter's memoirs all that engrossing, at least not up to the level of BoB. But Major Winters was not a professional writer, can't remember if he had a ghost writer. I thought Buck Compton's book was better (hope you find time to read that one). Also read a book about F Company. Just my 2 cents. :wink2: Chris

Chris,

I have not read Winters book nor Comptons, but I think will after a couple of other reads on the list of books to read. I did watch BoB and I know that is various versions of the story, but man what a story indeed.

John from Texas

 

[Terp152]

Chris, agree with your critique. I remain quite impressed with Winters but maybe I read too much Winters all at once. BoB superior to the memoirs and both were superior to the 'conversations with' book, but maybe, like I said, it's just too much repetition. Compton's book is on my list but haven't gotten it yet. -- Al

Compton unloads on Lewis Nixon, the intel officer, in the book. Very unflattering portrayal and refutes the mini-series depiction. Will have to go back and re-read. Chris

 

[lancer]

Compton unloads on Lewis Nixon, the intel officer, in the book. Very unflattering portrayal and refutes the mini-series depiction. Will have to go back and re-read. Chris

Nixon was Winters best friend and Winters called him the best combat soldier he knew, but this friendship didn't blind Winters to Nixon's other traits, such as the constant drinking. Still, Winters thought the world of him and the job he did keeping the line of communications open within the battalion and keeping the companies in the loop of information. I haven't read the Compton book, so I look forward to the different viewpoint. -- Al

 

[hotel3alpha]

All,

I forgot to add I finished up Fatal Treasure by Jedwin Smith. A compelling story about Mel Fischer's quest for the Spanish Galleon Atocha in the Florida Keys. Folks, this book is a page turner and is gritty, funny, sad and triumphal. It has everything you would want to read about in treasure hunting, the business of treasure hunting, maritime law and the human factors in it all.

245 Pages.

John from Texas

 

[Peiper007]

Just started reading D-Day The Soldiers' Story by Giles Milton. Good read and interesting.

 

[lancer]

Involved in 3 reads at the moment, 'The Brusilov Offensive' by Tim Dowling; 'The Construction of Memory in Interwar France' by Dan Sherman, and a rereading of the superb 'Street Without Joy: Indochina at War, 1946-1954' by Bernard Fall. -- Al

 

[Terp152]

Involved in 3 reads at the moment, 'The Brusilov Offensive' by Tim Dowling; 'The Construction of Memory in Interwar France' by Dan Sherman, and a rereading of the superb 'Street Without Joy: Indochina at War, 1946-1954' by Bernard Fall. -- Al

Have always wanted to read the Street Without Joy. What is the second title about? Sounds intriguing. Chris

 

[lancer]

Have always wanted to read the Street Without Joy. What is the second title about? Sounds intriguing. Chris

Hi Chris. The second title is about how France dealt with the aftermath of WW1 in human terms, ie., the remembering of their veterans and war dead, and how this all shaped France moving to WW2. There are many memorials to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and to WW2, but they are far outnumbered and it is no exaggeration to say that French WW1 memorials dominate the French landscape.
Get a copy of Street without Joy, as it is well worth reading and the conclusions drawn by this book in 1961 are heartbreaking in their application to later events. -- Al

 

[Terp152]

Hi Chris. The second title is about how France dealt with the aftermath of WW1 in human terms, ie., the remembering of their veterans and war dead, and how this all shaped France moving to WW2. There are many memorials to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and to WW2, but they are far outnumbered and it is no exaggeration to say that French WW1 memorials dominate the French landscape.
Get a copy of Street without Joy, as it is well worth reading and the conclusions drawn by this book in 1961 are heartbreaking in their application to later events. -- Al

Thanks Al. Have visited Verdun and the huge mausoleum with bones and where human remains were scooped up and deposited, skulls and bones visible. WWI memories figured very much in the French lack of fighting spirit in 39 - 40.

ANd "Street" is on the list, though with great trepidation. Chris

 

[Terp152]

I just finished House on Garibaldi Street by Isser Harel, first chief of Mossad. He engineered the capture and move to Israel of Adolph Eichmann (movie by same title). This yr's movie Operation Finale was same story though somewhat fictionalized.

As I read books in a "theme" series, next up is Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt, the Eichmann trial. Chris

 

[lancer]

Re-reading 'All Quiet on the Western Front', with a difference. My original 1st edition, published in 1929, was translated by A.W. Wheen and is the standard version and the only version I had read. I recently picked up a 2010 Folio Society re-print of the book and saw that this is a new translation, done in 1994 by Brian Murdoch. This is a much more complete and accurate translation of Remarque's book. The difference is noticeable within the first dozen or so pages with a whole new scene that somehow wasn't in the Wheen translation. I am thoroughly enjoying the Murdoch translation and suggest that if you haven't read the book in a long time and are only familiar with the Wheen version, that you get a copy of the Murdoch version and re-read. The book has always been a powerful read and this newer translation is even more so. -- Al

 

[Terp152]

Reading Carl Becker's 1922 The Declaration of Independence, A Study in the History of Political Ideas. A Cornell professor of history, he examines the "rough draft" by Jefferson, the various changes by Adams and Franklin, the "fair copy" as presented to Congress and the "parchment/signed" copy. He notes the Congress voted on 2 July in favor of Richard Henry Lee's proposal dated 7 June for independence (not the Jefferson proclamation).

It's an interesting read the political thought of the day, of the governed and king's responsibilities. The continentals routinely blamed a "bad" Parliament for the troubles between colonies and king, claiming to be loyal subjects. But the Declaration mentions Parliament not once, naming the king for all calamities. He examines Jefferson's wording for effectiveness and the various changes made by the committee and Congress. He cites John Hazelton's 1906 "The Declaration of Independence: Its History." It's on order and little daunting at 600+ pages.

Most people know the first verse of the eloquent Gettysburg Address "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation." Very few realize he was referring to the Declaration of Independence.

Chris

 

[lancer]

Got a title that has been on my want list since it was published in 2005, 'Victory through Coalition: Britain and France during the First World War' by Elizabeth Greenhalgh, published by Cambridge. As the title indicates, it is a study of how to age-old mortal enemies suddenly found themselves as allies and a bulwark against the possibility of a Prussian dominated Europe. Never having worked together and having no real blueprint in place on how to do so, with different approaches and methods, it is a story of improvisation and OJT. -- Al

 

[lancer]

Added another WW2 USN aviation title, 'They Turned the War Around at Coral Sea and Midway: Going to War with Yorktown's Air Group Five' by Stuart Ludlam. It is a 264 page SC with illustrations, published by Merriam Press in 2011. It is a series of first hand accounts taken from members of the Air Group. Very interesting anecdotes as opposed to an official history but valuable and detailed because of that. -- Al

 

[Terp152]

Added another WW2 USN aviation title, 'They Turned the War Around at Coral Sea and Midway: Going to War with Yorktown's Air Group Five' by Stuart Ludlam. It is a 264 page SC with illustrations, published by Merriam Press in 2011. It is a series of first hand accounts taken from members of the Air Group. Very interesting anecdotes as opposed to an official history but valuable and detailed because of that. -- Al

You know the old saying, "You can never have too many books on Gettysburg AND Midway." :smile2: Chris

 

[Terp152]

Half way thru Dunkirk, The Men They Left Behind by Sean Longden. Tells the story of the 40,000 soldiers of the BEF left in France after Dunkirk evacuation. Looks at the ill equipped BEF, Vickers guns marked for "trng purposes only" issued to the front line battalions, etc. Death of the 51st Highland Div at St Valery with Blackwatch, Seaforth, Sherwood battalions. A lot of interviews with the former POW's, published in 2009. Those soldiers went thru Hell fighting rear guard actions at the end of the battle for France. Just started the account of their imprisonment. Rather grim but fascinating reading.

See a related article about the sinking of the RMS Lancastria during further evacuations from France after Dunkirk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lancastria
She sank with 3,000- 5,800 soldiers aboard at St Nazaire. Largest British maritime loss ever, more than Titanic. British gov't denied information as late as 2007.

Chris

 

[lancer]

You know the old saying, "You can never have too many books on Gettysburg AND Midway." :smile2: Chris

Ain't that the truth. I have more books on both subjects on my 'to buy' list. One could spend a lifetime buying Gettysburg related literature alone.:wink2: -- Al

 

[Cairnbeg]

...unsure as to which history books I should read in 2019, I have instead started with some fine classic fiction....

'Kidnapped' and 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson....great fun!

'The Time Machine', 'The Invisible Man', and 'The War of the Worlds' by H.G. Wells......it can be so easy nowadays to forget what a revelation these were when first published...

...next will be several books printed under the heading of Casemate Classic War Fiction.....books long out of print relating to the WW1 period.....

...sometimes it's nice to give the brain a holiday from reading the factual stuff !

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