What are the Forum members reading (2 Viewers)

[zblang]

You know it !!!

 

[zwil]

I'm actually re-reading a couple of books I found on a shelf I was cleaning -

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
by Richard P. Feynman

and an undergrad textbook

Discovering Psychology
by Sandra E. Hockenbury, Susan A. Nolan, Don H. Hockenbury

I was surprised my mother hadn't cleared them out with my other stuff. In fact I also found some of the old war comics my brother and I owned. I remember fighting over them and hiding them from each other. Brought back lovely old memories!

 

[DMNamiot]

Just finished Tank Action, An Armoured Troop Commanders War 1944-45 by David Render and Stuart Tootal.

Working on, Deborah and the War of the Tanks 1917 by John Taylor

Dave

 

[Cairnbeg]

Just finished Tank Action, An Armoured Troop Commanders War 1944-45 by David Render and Stuart Tootal.

I too had read that recently, and greatly enjoyed it.....then followed it with:-

"By Tank - D to VE Days" by Ken Tout (the story by one who took part)

"The Tank War - The British 'Band of Brothers', One Tank Regiments World War II" by Mark Urban (the story on behalf of several who fought from France 1940 through to the end days in Germany)

I've just started "Jock's Jocks - Voices of Scottish Soldiers from the First World War" by Jock Duncan (a well-known local folksinger)....the stories of 59 North-East men...these stories were gathered between the 1930's - 1980's.....the book is written in their own tongue, namely the local Scots / doric dialect, which could make it challenging for those outside of this area....it is a very down to earth and matter of fact book, about events that we can only now look on with wonder that men could endure such hardships and survive...ordinary men (and for these 59 who were mostly youths) in extreme circumstances.....a recommended book....

.

 

[jazzeum]

All,

Just finished Confusion by Stefan Zweig. This is the fifth book I have read by Zweig, the previous ones were Beware of Pity, Post Office Girl, Amok and my favorite The Royal Game. I have become a fan of Stefan Zweigs intense novellas that delve into the minds of the characters. Apparently, he was homies with Freud and the two got on very well.

Confusion was very good, but I still find my self drawn to the drama of his short tour de force novella The Royal Game.


John from Texas

Great to see John that you enjoy Zweig. Beware of Pity is a classic, his only full length novel. You might want to look for his collected stories from Pushkin Press. Unfortunately, it’s out of print and now a little expensive but it’s worth it. I also recommend The World of Yesterday, his memoir about the world that existed before WWI.

 

[BHogan]

I'm on a bit of an American Civil War bender right now. I read Bruce Catton's The Civil War over the holidays and followed it up with Grant's memoirs. Right now, I'm reading William C. Davis' Battle at Bull Run. Next up will be Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels and Edwin C. Bearss' Fields of Honor.

Brendan

 

[Northgate Woods]

I just finished reading a Vietnam War Book which I have been seeking to add to my library for some years now. Called "More Bang For No Bucks" by Colin Campbell (ex Lt. Troop Leader, 3 Cav 1967/68). It is the story of how a composite Troop was formed from Armoured Corp, Artillery and Infantry personnel to be known as 6 Troop, A Squadron, 3 Cavalry Regiment. After the Battle of Long Tan the Senior Task Force officers of the Australian Army were concerned about another attempt to attack the large Australian Base at Nui Dat. So they spoke with their American allies about obtaining the use of 6 x M108 105mm SP Howitzers which had replaced with M109 155mm SP Guns and the M107 175mm SP Guns for static base defence. The M108 being able to fire direct and indirect fire support.

The SP Guns were returned to the American Depot at Vung Tau after a 12 month deployment much to the displeasure of the crews who worked, trained and fought so hard with them over this time. Crews were then returned to their parent units. A truly compelling story of how soldiers from three different Corps could came together and form a very efficient fighting unit with a strange vehicle to the Australian Army. True Aussie mateship.

Cheers Howard

 

[Northgate Woods]

{sm4}

 

[DMNamiot]

I too had read that recently, and greatly enjoyed it.....then followed it with:-

"By Tank - D to VE Days" by Ken Tout (the story by one who took part)

"The Tank War - The British 'Band of Brothers', One Tank Regiments World War II" by Mark Urban (the story on behalf of several who fought from France 1940 through to the end days in Germany)

I've just started "Jock's Jocks - Voices of Scottish Soldiers from the First World War" by Jock Duncan (a well-known local folksinger)....the stories of 59 North-East men...these stories were gathered between the 1930's - 1980's.....the book is written in their own tongue, namely the local Scots / doric dialect, which could make it challenging for those outside of this area....it is a very down to earth and matter of fact book, about events that we can only now look on with wonder that men could endure such hardships and survive...ordinary men (and for these 59 who were mostly youths) in extreme circumstances.....a recommended book....

.

Hi all of those are great books! I especially enjoyed Touts book, have you read 64 Days of a Normandy Summer by Keith Jones? It’s a good one as well. While I will read anything about Tanks I am really into WWI and where it all started for recent publications I would recommend Band Of Brigands by Christy Campbell.
Dave

 

[Cairnbeg]

Hi all of those are great books! I especially enjoyed Touts book, have you read 64 Days of a Normandy Summer by Keith Jones? It’s a good one as well. While I will read anything about Tanks I am really into WWI and where it all started for recent publications I would recommend Band Of Brigands by Christy Campbell.
Dave

I have not read the '64 Days...' book nor the 'Band of Brigands' but this one is available from my local library, so I've now reserved it for my next read....thanks for the tip...

There is the first of a planned six volume set being printed later this Spring, all related to the Tank Corps during WW1...being written by a Stephen Pope....."The Tank Corps in the Great War: Volume 1 - Conception, Birth and Baptism of Fire, November 1914 - November 1916"....whether this turns out to be good or not time will tell....

Ian

 

[DMNamiot]

I have not read the '64 Days...' book nor the 'Band of Brigands' but this one is available from my local library, so I've now reserved it for my next read....thanks for the tip...

There is the first of a planned six volume set being printed later this Spring, all related to the Tank Corps during WW1...being written by a Stephen Pope....."The Tank Corps in the Great War: Volume 1 - Conception, Birth and Baptism of Fire, November 1914 - November 1916"....whether this turns out to be good or not time will tell....

Ian

I will be looking for those for my library even though I can tell it will cover ground I already have. Thanks for the tip I will be looking for them.

Dave

 

[Currahee Chris]

My wife got me "The Crusades" written by Dan Jones for Christmas.....simply superb....cannot recommend this book highly enough....I plan on getting everything else he has published.

 

[theBaron]

I'm stuck in another one of my re-reading ruts, but I don't mind it. I'm re-reading the two volumes of "For Orange and the States-The Army of the Dutch Republic, 1713-1772", by Marc Geerdink-Schaftenaar. The books are published by Helion in the UK, and they're like Osprey books in their style. As a fan of the Seven Years War, the question occurred to me-"What were the Dutch doing at that time?" Looking for material, I found these books. They're pretty good, pretty thorough, again, in the same way the better Osprey books are. If there is any fault to them, it's a lack of good maps. There are renderings of contemporary maps of specific battles and sieges, but the books would benefit from some general maps of the Low Countries, northern France, and the Rhineland, which all make up the theater of activity. I searched for some online myself, and printed them out, to tuck into the books.

But despite that criticism, I recommend the books as a good overview on the Dutch army of the period, and a good starting point for further study.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Terp152]

Just finished Edwin Layton's And I Was There (Pearl Harbor). Starting Jack Kleiss's Never Call Me A Hero. He was the other pilot to score two hits on Jap(anese) carriers at Midway. He and Dick Best, also scored two hits, never flew another combat sortie during the war. Chris

 

[hotel3alpha]

All,

Just started The Great Influenza by John M. Barry after finishing Long Pig by Russel Foreman. In TGI, a soldier has just returned to his camp from a R&R trip from home in Kansas (considered the origin) and with in a week 1,000 soldiers were sick and 37 dead. Its a page turner and it was the next book in the "stack" that I am reading this year. I had no idea it would be a education on our medical history in America and a history of the pandemic. Long Pig was a good read: the ship Argo is marooned on Fijian Island in the 1800's which is full of cannibals. Its fiction, but based on a actual ship that's crew went missing in the South Pacific and the harrowing tale of the survivors. Oh, and the natives blamed the "gods" for bringing disease to the island.

John from Texas

 

[OzDigger]

Have started on The Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time. A well known series and one of the few books I've read multiple times. Most recent chapter, Fog on the Barrow Downs, Frodo and the gang have just been rescued from the Barrow Wights by Tom Bombadil, an unusual but important character that was omitted from the movie versions. Therefore no scenes in the films of hobbits running naked on the grass.....thankfully.

However this chapter was important in the books as it reveals how powerful and ancient Tom is. And he gives the hobbits some vital weapons from the Barrows, ancient burial mounds of important men who battled the servants of the Dark Lord in earlier times. In the movie version it is Aragon that gives the ancient weapons to the Hobbits, apparently he found them somewhere.

 

[paxtoysoldier]

Have started on The Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time. A well known series and one of the few books I've read multiple times. Most recent chapter, Fog on the Barrow Downs, Frodo and the gang have just been rescued from the Barrow Wights by Tom Bombadil, an unusual but important character that was omitted from the movie versions. Therefore no scenes in the films of hobbits running naked on the grass.....thankfully.

However this chapter was important in the books as it reveals how powerful and ancient Tom is. And he gives the hobbits some vital weapons from the Barrows, ancient burial mounds of important men who battled the servants of the Dark Lord in earlier times. In the movie version it is Aragon that gives the ancient weapons to the Hobbits, apparently he found them somewhere.

Reading LOR yet again too. Every chapter has great backstory and moves the plot forward. You're almost in Bree, which is great fun. I'm with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli on their way to Edoras (King of the golden hall). Ahhh. Relaxing. Best book ever.
Paddy

 

[OzDigger]

Reading LOR yet again too. Every chapter has great backstory and moves the plot forward. You're almost in Bree, which is great fun. I'm with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli on their way to Edoras (King of the golden hall). Ahhh. Relaxing. Best book ever.
Paddy

Yes a great book, I first read LotR back in 1971, 12 years old, first year of High School. Read it again every year or so. Also a Christmas tradition to play the LotR trading card game against my two sons. It's based on the films but lots of fun.

 

[paxtoysoldier]

Yes a great book, I first read LotR back in 1971, 12 years old, first year of High School. Read it again every year or so. Also a Christmas tradition to play the LotR trading card game against my two sons. It's based on the films but lots of fun.

Great tradition! Some of the movie merchandise is fun, the films were a good way to renew interest. No Bombadil but I guess that would have slowed them down too much. Dad read them first in 1971 too, 1993 for me. We both read them again every 3 years or so.
Best wishes
Paddy

 

[paxtoysoldier]

Reading LOR yet again too. Every chapter has great backstory and moves the plot forward. You're almost in Bree, which is great fun. I'm with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli on their way to Edoras (King of the golden hall). Ahhh. Relaxing. Best book ever.
Paddy

I think Tom's too powerful and aloof to play a big part in the War of the Ring, it's more dramatic to have humans and elves and dwarves fight the darkness - more like life. Elrond is somewhat dismissive of him and Goldberry as Allies, but he certainly helps the Hobbits! Great side-story, imo. I think he's an angel gone native - he likes Middle Earth but he's not fully invested in it's future. Just a thought.
Keep up happy traditions and stay healthy.
Paddy