What are the Forum members reading (3 Viewers)

[Terp152]

Just finished Tigers In The Mud by Otto Carius. He wrote in 1960 and passed away in 2015 at age 92. Seemed to have been somewhat of a minor celebrity during his time. He commanded a company of Tigers on the Eastern Front before being seriously wounded. He took command of a company of King Tiger ATs in Jan 1945 on the Western Front until surrender in May. As expected he comes across as arrogant, self-aggrandizing and unrepentant. The perfect Nazi. He mentions "atrocity stories" and "atrocity propaganda." So he was a holocaust denier as well. He complained about harsh treatment by the Americans, for whom he had no respect as fighters, during his POW status. Seems to have been impressed with Himmler when receiving the Knights Cross and dining with him afterwards. Swell guy. Chris

 

[Terp152]

Added a couple of PTO books. First one is a book I had 20 or so years ago, read, and then sold off. Bad mistake as it took me forever to fins a copy at a reasonable price to replace it. The book is 'Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy 1887-1941' by Evans & Peattie. It is a Naval Institute Press book, and is 661 pages of important information covering the aspects of what made the IJN such a formidable foe in WW2. Illustrated with portrait photos of personalities, line drawings of ships, planes, and various charts. Highly recommended. The second acquisition is a highly detailed study, 'The Battle Off Samar: Taffy III at Leyte Gulf'; A detailed account of the heroic naval battle between Rear Admiral Clifton A.F. Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 and Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Imperial Japanese Navy Centre Force on Wednesday, 25 October 1944'. Written by John Cox and first published in 2010, this is a 5th edition. It is 268 pages, is heavily illustrated and has many situation charts. The author has a website, www.bosamar.com , where the book can be ordered and the history of the Battle off Samar can be read about. It is a good site. -- Al

Was intrigued Al by your description of the Kaigun book and found 16+ copies on ebay starting at about $18. Haven't pulled the trigger yet. But sounds good. Chris

 

[lancer]

Just finished Tigers In The Mud by Otto Carius. He wrote in 1960 and passed away in 2015 at age 92. Seemed to have been somewhat of a minor celebrity during his time. He commanded a company of Tigers on the Eastern Front before being seriously wounded. He took command of a company of King Tiger ATs in Jan 1945 on the Western Front until surrender in May. As expected he comes across as arrogant, self-aggrandizing and unrepentant. The perfect Nazi. He mentions "atrocity stories" and "atrocity propaganda." So he was a holocaust denier as well. He complained about harsh treatment by the Americans, for whom he had no respect as fighters, during his POW status. Seems to have been impressed with Himmler when receiving the Knights Cross and dining with him afterwards. Swell guy. Chris

Chris, isn't it amazing how many of the former Wehrmacht and Waffen SS soldiers have so little regard for the American soldier? I'll bet they all went to their graves wondering what the heck happened and how the Allies managed to crush the 1000 year Reich in less than 6 years. Arrogance is an ugly trait, especially in a loser. -- Al

 

[Terp152]

Chris, isn't it amazing how many of the former Wehrmacht and Waffen SS soldiers have so little regard for the American soldier? I'll bet they all went to their graves wondering what the heck happened and how the Allies managed to crush the 1000 year Reich in less than 6 years. Arrogance is an ugly trait, especially in a loser. -- Al

Yeah, he claimed 5 Russian tanks were worth 30 American. And the western allies could not have won without Russia. Yet his battle accounts record almost no combat loses on the eastern front. Only mechanical breakdowns. Like you said one wonders how they lost. :rolleyes2: Chris

 

[Combat]

I know there are some fans of "The Road" here - both the movie and book. Suntup Press is doing a special edition. Beautiful looking books. Alas not signed by McCarthy who won't sign copies of this particular book because his son has the only signed copies. Very pricy but I've collected some of the other Suntup books and they are fantastic. They will sell out rather quickly once they go on sale.

https://suntup.press/the-road

 

[lancer]

I know there are some fans of "The Road" here - both the movie and book. Suntup Press is doing a special edition. Beautiful looking books. Alas not signed by McCarthy who won't sign copies of this particular book because his son has the only signed copies. Very pricy but I've collected some of the other Suntup books and they are fantastic. They will sell out rather quickly once they go on sale.

https://suntup.press/the-road

Huge fan of both, as well as a dedicated book fanatic/collector. These are gorgeous editions but out of my price range. May take a shot at the LE but don't know yet, it's a lot of money at $395. Thanks for posting this. Never would have known about it otherwise. -- Al

 

[theBaron]

I just finished, "Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945". It's a good look at a part of the war that hasn't gotten a lot of coverage in the West before.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Terp152]

I just finished, "Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945". It's a good look at a part of the war that hasn't gotten a lot of coverage in the West before.

Prost!
Brad

Brad, you may like Barbara Tuchman's Stillwell and the American Experience In China. She was one of my favorite authors and I read it twice. She was awarded a Pulitzer prize for this book. Chris

 

[Terp152]

Now reading James Holland's The Big Week, Operation Argument, the USAAF air campaign in Feb '44. This battle established allied air supremacy over western Europe. Good coverage of US and German pilots and aircrew, both fighter and bomber. Has interesting background story of the decimating US bomber loses, Black Thursday, etc prior to the Big Week. Excellent book about a subject I had only minimal knowledge about. Chris

 

[jazzeum]

 

[jazzeum]

 

[jazzeum]

 

[Combat]

If there is anyone out there planning on reading the new Rick Atkinson book on the American revolution, note that he will be at Politics and Prose in DC on May 14. You can order a signed copy even if you can't attend. I got his WWII trilogy signed. Looking forward to this one. There are surprisingly few good books on the AR.

https://www.politics-prose.com/even...-war-america-lexington-to-princeton-1775-1777

 

[Larry Allen]

If there is anyone out there planning on reading the new Rick Atkinson book on the American revolution, note that he will be at Politics and Prose in DC on May 14. You can order a signed copy even if you can't attend. I got his WWII trilogy signed. Looking forward to this one. There are surprisingly few good books on the AR.

https://www.politics-prose.com/even...-war-america-lexington-to-princeton-1775-1777

Oh ya', I saw this a short while ago. He will also be at The Brattle Theater in Boston, MA or 5/15/2019.

I belong to the Amazon Book club and get notices of my selected authors works. Also, I belong to the Museum of the American Revolution and get monthly notices of historical works and events at the museum.

There has been 100's of books written about the History or the American Revolution (and I have many of them; can't help but get them ) but I wonder what will be unique or different in Atkinson's narrative? ^&confuse

It will be a trilogy breaking up the war into 3 segments; a common approach. Still, a writer of his ability and talent should make a fine read.

--- LaRRy

 

[Terp152]

Oh ya', I saw this a short while ago. He will also be at The Brattle Theater in Boston, MA or 5/15/2019.

I belong to the Amazon Book club and get notices of my selected authors works. Also, I belong to the Museum of the American Revolution and get monthly notices of historical works and events at the museum.

There has been 100's of books written about the History or the American Revolution (and I have many of them; can't help but get them ) but I wonder what will be unique or different in Atkinson's narrative? ^&confuse

It will be a trilogy breaking up the war into 3 segments; a common approach. Still, a writer of his ability and talent should make a fine read.

--- LaRRy

I felt the same way regarding another WWII trilogy by Atkinson. What new material could be written? But his books are captivating. So, looking fwd to his AWI series. The only downside is it will be 3-4 yrs between books. Same with Ian Toll's Pacific War trilogy. Been waiting yrs for his last installment. :rolleyes2: And William Manchester died before is last Churchill vol came out. An associate finally finished the set but not as good as the first two. Chris

 

[Terp152]

If there is anyone out there planning on reading the new Rick Atkinson book on the American revolution, note that he will be at Politics and Prose in DC on May 14. You can order a signed copy even if you can't attend. I got his WWII trilogy signed. Looking forward to this one. There are surprisingly few good books on the AR.

https://www.politics-prose.com/even...-war-america-lexington-to-princeton-1775-1777

This is on my must read list. Looking fwd to the trilogy very much. Chris

 

[Cairnbeg]

...just completed "Those Bloody Kilts - The Highland Soldier in the Great War" by Thomas Greenshields (Helion & Co., 500+pgs).....a good many illustrations and a dozen or so coloured central plates....

...the blurb states 'this does not deal with operational history, but with the life and character of the Highland soldier'.....the book covers all the kilted Highland regiments from Britain and her Empire, the likes of Canada and South Africa during WW1.....topics such as Discipline, Comradeship, Hierarchy, Identity, The Pipes, The Kilt, Courage & Failure, Ferocity & Compassion....




...if you have read the likes of "Scottish Voices from the Great War"...personal stories, etc, then this book will be of interest....the author has done quite a comprehensive search through a number of well regarded museum collections of letters & diaries to pull together many facts to challenge a number of long established myths....not to debunk them, simply to offer additional insights and reinterpretention...

 

[Cairnbeg]

...one to look out for in August...a new addition to the Jacobite library....

"King George’s Hangman: Henry Hawley and the Battle of Falkirk, 1746" (Reason to Revolution) by Jonathan D. Oates...released by Helion & Co., 240pgs....




...it will be interesting to find out how this compares with the only other book on the battle (from 20+yrs ago), "Falkirk or Paradise!: The Battle of Falkirk Muir, 17 January 1746 " by Geoffrey B. Bailey....

 

[lancer]

Reading a couple of oldies from the ACW at the moment, Bell Wiley's classic 'The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy' (a reread as it's been 45ish years since last read) and Harold Simpson's 'Hood's Texas Brigade: Lee's Grenadier Guard', another reread originally published in 1970, but worth the time as it remains the best study of this famed unit. It is actually Vol.2 in Simpson'e 4 volume history of the unit but it is the battle history volume. This book has actually been reprinted 4 different times (1970, '83, '95, and '99), but never in PB and none of the versions are very cheap at this point, and, as always, price is tied to edition and condition. Worth the hunt if you have interest in the unit. -- Al

 

[Combat]

I saw that Edmund Morris has passed away. He wrote a great trilogy on the life of Theodore Roosevelt. Also a controversial book on Reagan.