What are the Forum members reading (4 Viewers)

Combat said:
"Victorious in Defeat: The Life and Times of Chiang Kai-Shek" by Alexander V. Pantsov. A lengthy, new biography of Chiang. The US backed just about every dictator of the 20th century who opposed communism but strangely abandoned China. Arguably, the only such conflict that really mattered. Imagine how different the modern world might have been if the Communists had been defeated in China.
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A good "what if" but I doubt Chiang Kai Shek could have defeated the CHICOMS even with US help. Chris
 
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This book is of interest to anyone with a casual interest in ACW artillery.

It wasn't until after my recent visit to Gettysburg National Battlefield I realized I had this book. :rolleyes2: It's THE definitive account of the artillery in the park as well as a source for ACW artillery. Info included such as how much did the tack of a gun horse team weigh, 300lbs, how many horses for a horse artillery gun, 12, composition of gun powder, 13.8K artillery horses at the battle, best age of artillery horses 5-7 yrs, weight of each gun type. Gun limbers were posted six yards behind the gun hand spike. The caisson positioned lead horses 11 yards behind the gun limber. Number of guns at Gettysburg park, 371. There were an additional 400 gun tubes melted down to make the iron info plaques and statues. Six pounder guns, not used in the battle, were "modified" to resemble 12 pounder Napoleons. Info of each CSA and USA battery composition. Chris
 
Some interesting new books this month if you are an old timer. "A Haunting on the Hill" by Elizabeth Hand is an authorized follow up to the Shirley Jackson classic. Also "Julia" by Sandra Newman which is a retelling of 1984. The film maker Werner Herzog is releasing an autobiography.
 
'Old Man's War' by John Scalzi.

This military sci fi novel is a fan favorite, it hasn't won any major awards but is currently the most popular sci fi book on several lists. It concentrates on relationships more than actual battles, but I have found it a good read. Have already started on the next novel in the series.
 
After 10 years, a translation appears for French author Jean-Michel Steg's book "Death in the Ardennes: 22nd August, 1914, France's Deadliest Day". Been waiting ever since it appeared in 2013. As the title says, it is about the opening Battle of the Frontiers in WW1, specifically the fight for Rossignol in which the French Colonial Corps suffered horrendous casualties. French casualties for the day were a minimum of some 41,000, of which some 27,000 were KIA. This event is basically unknown in the English speaking world, except for a few historians, and a brief mention in a couple of histories. -- Al
 
The Medicus first book is my favorite behind The Eagle of the 9th... so far.
Thanks for suggesting good reads for our mutual interests.
I will get back to reading more when I'm sick again - jk, it'll be soon.
Thanks for the helpful opinions again.
Paddy
 
After watching "Band of Brothers" again over a couple of nights this week, I re-read the book, too. It really is a fast read; I think I finished it in 4 hours over Friday and Saturday.
And that made me pull down "Citizen Soldiers" for a re-reading.

Prost!
Brad
 
"Julia" the new 1984 book from the perspective of the female character turns out to be a very good read. I have very mixed feeling about tampering with the classics but both this book and the recent sequel to "The Haunting of Hill House" are enjoyable.
 
theBaron said:
After watching "Band of Brothers" again over a couple of nights this week, I re-read the book, too. It really is a fast read; I think I finished it in 4 hours over Friday and Saturday.
And that made me pull down "Citizen Soldiers" for a re-reading.

Prost!
Brad
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Interesting- I have been thinking about doing the exact same thing- once I complete this tome on Lawrence of Arabia ha ha
 
lancer said:
Chris, I have had this book in my 'to read' pile for years. I just can't get started. I read Prince of Our Disorder and Seven Pillars decades ago, and I will get to Wilson if it kills me. Not sure I can swallow another political analysis but I do like Lawrence, so... -- Al
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Well Al, I am 775 or so pages into it- the last 150 or so have been about his publication of Seven Pillars- sounds dry but it actually reads pretty well. I was astounded to read that he donated the proceeds of Seven Pillars to the RAF Benevolent Fund. He nearly went bankrupt publishing the book.
 
Currahee Chris said:
Well Al, I am 775 or so pages into it- the last 150 or so have been about his publication of Seven Pillars- sounds dry but it actually reads pretty well. I was astounded to read that he donated the proceeds of Seven Pillars to the RAF Benevolent Fund. He nearly went bankrupt publishing the book.
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Chris, if you want a good giggle, look up prices on the various 7 Pillars printings, especially the private subscription version with all the color ills. It is shocking. -- Al
 
Currahee Chris said:
Interesting- I have been thinking about doing the exact same thing- once I complete this tome on Lawrence of Arabia ha ha
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I have an early edition of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" but I haven't read that since I was in high school. I should probably queue that one up for a re-reading.

Prost!
Brad
 
From political back to historical: for the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I broke out "At Dawn We Slept" and started re-reading that one.
On the 7th itself, I watched, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" again.

Prost!
Brad
 
Just received a book which will cause an uproar in some historical circles. It is called "The Panzers of Prokhorovka: The Myth of Hitler's Greatest Armoured Defeat". Written by Ben Wheatley and published by Osprey this year. This book will explode the old myth of German AFV losses running into the hundreds in the July 12, 1943 battle at Prokhorovka during the Kursk Offensive. Recently discovered records and careful study of documents relating to armor losses on both sides reveal a totally different picture than has been presented (until very recently) about huge German losses. Russian claims have always estimated German losses in the 350-400 range in the battles of July 12, and Kursk, in general. It seems, with good proof and documentation, that actual losses of Das Reich and Leibstandarte on July 12 were as low as 4-6 total, while Russian losses were in the hundreds of tanks. This book turns what is the popular view of tactical losses at Kursk on it's ear. It is not an argument about the importance of the Russian victory, rather a study of actual numbers lost. -- Al
 
Re-reading Victor Davis Hanson's "A War Like No Other-How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War".

Prost!
Brad
 
theBaron said:
Re-reading Victor Davis Hanson's "A War Like No Other-How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War".

Prost!
Brad
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Hanson's Western Way of War is one of my favorite reads. I really like his work. -- Al
 
I completed a re-read of Peter Hofschröer's "1815: The Waterloo Campaign: Wellington, his German Allies and the Battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras", and then read for the first time, Thomas Sowell's "Conquest and Culture." I'd seen videos presenting excerpts from Sowell's book but had never read it. When I read the foreward, I learned that it's actually the third book in a trilogy on the theme of cultural transfer. So now I have to get the first two books and read those.

Prost!
Brad
 
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