What are the Forum members reading (2 Viewers)

"Empire of the Summer Moon" by S.C. Gwynne. This is an outstanding book about the history of conflict with the Comanches. It's well written, entertaining, and non-revisionist. In particular, it accurately portrays the atrocities committed by the plains Indians including torture, rape, and mass murder. They operated as a type of primitive Einsatzgruppen. Some of the stories are horrific. Men, women, and infants that were roasted alive. The book has been condemned by the present-day Native Americans because it does not perpetuate the desired narrative that they were peace loving folk who only committed violent acts in their own defense. Interestingly, if you search for atrocities committed by Native Americans on sources like Google, it only provides examples of atrocities committed against Native Americans including explanations such as while there were some atrocities committed by them that they were in response to wrongs. A great example of how bias is incorporated into those algorithms.
 
Combat said:
"Empire of the Summer Moon" by S.C. Gwynne. This is an outstanding book about the history of conflict with the Comanches. It's well written, entertaining, and non-revisionist. In particular, it accurately portrays the atrocities committed by the plains Indians including torture, rape, and mass murder. They operated as a type of primitive Einsatzgruppen. Some of the stories are horrific. Men, women, and infants that were roasted alive. The book has been condemned by the present-day Native Americans because it does not perpetuate the desired narrative that they were peace loving folk who only committed violent acts in their own defense. Interestingly, if you search for atrocities committed by Native Americans on sources like Google, it only provides examples of atrocities committed against Native Americans including explanations such as while there were some atrocities committed by them that they were in response to wrongs. A great example of how bias is incorporated into those algorithms.
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I read this book. Brutal. When you watch westerns on TV and the settlers exclaim, "Those savages!", that's what you come away with when you read this book. Maybe that's what it took to survive. I read a Lewis and Clark book, Undaunted Courage and one tribe would starve out another tribe.
 
Even if it was wrong to take the indian's land, if your friends or family got captured by them and suffered greatly you would hate them too.
Mark
 
marco55 said:
Even if it was wrong to take the indian's land, if your friends or family got captured by them and suffered greatly you would hate them too.
Mark
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The Indians really didn't have any "land." They were mostly nomads with no concept of land ownership. They moved around like the wind. Their society was largely based on raiding and stealing. When they encountered settlers, they murdered and raped. Brutal stuff. There were atrocities committed against them but most often in response to these crimes as you note. Hopefully someone makes "Blood Meridian" into the film it deserves. The old west was not for the faint, and the revisionist Hollywood nonsense has created a false narrative. It was a time and place of complete insanity.
 
Letters of Eliza Wilkinson, During the Invasion and Possession of Charlestown, SC by the British in the Revolutionary War. Long title but standard for 18th century books, written during the early 1780s. About the occupation by the British in the SC Low Country. Used as a primary source by K Burns for the American Revolution series.
 
Brigades of Gettysburg by Bradley Gottfried, because you can never read enough about that pivotal battle. Gottfried has published many books of maps of Civil War battles, and I have several. Recently purchased his book of maps of the cavalry actions in the Gettysburg Campaign.
 
Picked up the latest Gerald Seymour Thriller, with Jonus Merrick as the 'hero', much more of an anti hero, this is the 6th book in the series. Could not imagine a main character further away from Reacher or 'The Grey Man' lead characters. He makes Jackson Lamb look like a double O agent. Jonus is tweed jacket wearing, cat owner, who loves his caravan holidays. A real curmudgeon, who has had a charm bypass, if he was a spice i think he would flour. But what a great central character, reminds me of George Smiley, but lacking the upper class education.
Still enjoy the Grey Man, Orphan X, Reacher [think the last few have been poor since his brother took over writing them] novels, as well as Tom Wood, Stephen Leather and Petrie, but Seymour has that bit extra, bit better written, more indepth characters, the previous book, Duty of Care was the most intense thriller i have read inmany years.
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French Colonial Rule and the Baule Peoples 1889-1911
Mark
 

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Richard Woodman's The Sea Warriors: Fighting Captains and Frigate Warfare in the Age of Nelson. Reading this book, you can see where the inspiration for Hornblower and Aubrey came from. I think the history is more exciting than the fiction.

Brendan
 
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This gem was only released last month in hard-cover by Raymond Ibrahim. If you're interested in the history of the famous warrior monks of the Knights Templar & Hospitallers then this book may be for you........
 
OzDigger said:
Oh, Okay Paddy. I'm re-reading another Halo novel; 'The Fall of Reach' by Eric Nylund.
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BTW, for those still not familiar with the Halo franchise, the books are based on the Halo games, the first game (Halo-Combat Evolved) being released on Xbox back in 2001.

I had loads of fun playing these games, with and against, my sons on Xbox since 2001. There are also several movies and at least one TV series based on these games, they are now not nearly as popular as they were, but the franchise holds a lot of nostalgia for me and I still find the books a 'great escape' from reality.

Halo is basically about a future war between Humans vs several alien species collectively known as The Covenant, who have a more than passing resemblance to Muslims, also features a lot of treachery, from all sides, and Governments doing bad things to their people, so no change there sadly.

This video provides a good introduction to the Halo experience, including the books.



 
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