Read any good books lately?

I need to look through this thread. I have recently taken up reading.  I am not fast, only reading 3-5 book per year, but I am enjoying it.

So far I have been reading non-fiction about subjects I am interested in, and biographies.

Here are some of the latest books I recommend......

The Friendly Orange Glow

This book starts with a brief history about why we started using computers for education, and then focuses on PLATO and ends with Control Data ruining PLATO, and also kind of goes into what happened to the key players lives after creating PLATO.

I read this book because my dad started his career at Control Data in the early 70s, and he was a programmer on the PLATO system. He could dial in and work from home in 1980, and we had a computer with a touch screen monitor in 1984. And the funniest thing is I didn't even care, I was too busy playing with hot wheels and building models.

Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow

This was an interesting book about Preston Tucker and the creation of the Tucker 48. The book covers some of Tuckers inventions during the war, and then his dream to build the car of tomorrow. Then it goes into just enough detail to cover how he ran his business and then how the government eventually stepped in and shut him down. He was tried for fraud, and proven innocent, but suspending production and spending time in court put him out of business.

And then I am going to read Chasing the Demon next.  It is a book about the men that first broke the speed of sound.

Oh, and if you like Dungeons and Dragons type fantasy adventure books, I highly recommend The Dragonlance Cronicles.

The Dragonlance Chronicals is a large book that contains 3 books in one. Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning. It is a great read for people that like adventure and fantasy.

I had the book about the Atlantis back when I was in H.S.

Currently I'm part way into The Monuments Men.

Over the years I have had several of those Bantam War books,Pig Boats about the US sub war sticks in my mind.

Yes Baron,I still pull out Shattered Sword and reread parts,still one of my top books.

It was a couple of weeks ago, but I re-read "Incredible Victory" and "Shattered Sword", to observe the anniversary of Midway.  I've re-read my paperback copy of "Shattered Sword" so many times that it was falling apart.  It has split several times vertically along the binding.  I'd glued it so many times that I figured it wouldn't last another reading.  So I picked up a hardbound copy on eBay to replace it.

Since then, I also re-read some of Victor Davis Hanson's books, "The Two World Wars", "The Soul of Battle", and "The Savior Generals".

Tojo72

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An oldie but a goodie,very interesting.

I would love to see a new tool Atlantis in 1/350,would be pretty cool

I remember that one from when I was in elementary school Tojo.  There was such a great selection of paperbacks on the war, and reading them fueled my modeling interests, too.

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An oldie but a goodie,very interesting.

I finished "6 Frigates"

Outstanding book and a different view of the history of that time.

Now I'm reading 

"On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini"
By Barton Hacker and James Grimwood

Recently finished "Fortress Malta" bu James Holland. Pretty good read on and aspect of the war I was very unfamiliar with.

"Moon Lander" by Thomas J Kelly the engineer in charge of the LM for Grumman.

A fascinating read with much insight into the problems designing the LM.

Mr. Kelly is an engineer not a professional author, and it is written as/for engineering.

I'm up to Apollo 15.

Before that it was my yearly re-reading of Niven/Pournell's "The Mote in Gods Eye"

Before that was James Scott's "The War Below" the story of 3 WW2 pacific submarines.

Next up is "Six Frigates" by Ian Toll

EST1961,

I've read the Aubrey–Maturin series twice, about 15 years apart. A great epic read, Highly recommened but you have to commit the time.

On a side note, I've visited the Surprise in San Diego a few times. It's amazing how familiar it feels after reading the books.

"The Spitfire kids". Not about pilots but about the folks, mostly very young men and women who built the legendary machine. How they lived, how they worked in the Spit factories, built and repaired planes. Very good read as there are very few book about , call it, rear echalon people without whom you can not only win a war but not even conduct one.

I just finished The Aviators by Winston Groom. Good read. 

Currently reading Unmasked, the memoir by retired homicide cold case investigator (and popular podcast co-host) Paul Holes. I'm a big 'true crime' fan, and this is an informative (and very sobering) look at the inside of a career spent chasing the worst of the worst in terms of what humans can do to one another.

Highly recommended, if you're at all into the topic.

I'm finishing "Six Frigates" by Ian Toll which is a history of the start of the U.S. Navy.  Then my son got me  "A Guy Called Otto" for Christmas which will be my next book to read.

tjs

Just out on November 30, 2022, my wife's first little kids book. Suitable for pre K - K age groups and a cute story with a simple, age appropriate life lesson.

Yeah, goodstuff for little kiddos and grandkids.

In the middle of "And quiet flows the Don".

Fascinating description of people in the Don river basin "The Donbas". Do not abide by outside rule from East or West.

Bill

Got a couple books for Christmas, which is great because all my books are in storage during our move.  I'm currently reading Spearhead by Adam Makos.  

So true TB, I dread the day I finish them all, but I'll start all over again. I'm in the canteen now with the book under the mobile, break coming to an end. 

AHA !

         Now, You See why I couldn't put them down. I had to keep tabs on all the Surprises in their adventures! Recently I've been reading on a Kindle because some books are not available in larger print format. I actually compared print fonts with this print here and found it smaller!

       Also I went from the Sea to the Stars and Beyond. Just finished a Boxed set called "Broken Worlds" Didn't like how it ended though!

I'm presently reading Patrick O'Brians' The Nutmeg of Consolation. I can taste the salt in the air, feel the spray on my face, the smell of gunpowder and a real feeling of sea sickness I know so well from the ferry to Wales. He brings it all to life very vivid. Perfect for the lunch break. 

Currently reading The Bomber Mafia by Gladwell. A very interesting read. 

Castel, I'm hoping to go back someday. There is still so much of the world to see...

stikpusher

 

 

castelnuovo

Next will be Ivo Andric "Bridge on the river Drina". The main character is the bridge. Everything else revolves around it, the lives of people, battles, etc. The author won the Nobel Price for literature for it. I read it in high school eons ago but am curious to re-read it again. 

 

 

 

 

I remember seeing that bridge during a patrol while I was in Bosnia. One of our interpreters pointed the bridge out and told us of that book. I had had forgotten all about that bridge and moment until you mentioned it here, then I had to go look it up. I'd be interested in reading that book if I could find it.

 

Well, time allawing, visit the bridge again, now in more peacefull times.  I crossed it several times with school trips befor the war. During the war, the area was off limits to us. Not out of range, just off limits. 

I just finished Blind Mans Bluff. It's older, Clinton was still in office, but really interesting information about the submarine force during the Cold War and  after. 

I'm reading a great book, entitled simply Gunpowder.  It is a history of gunpowder, but it is also a history of the evolution of firearms.

castelnuovo

Next will be Ivo Andric "Bridge on the river Drina". The main character is the bridge. Everything else revolves around it, the lives of people, battles, etc. The author won the Nobel Price for literature for it. I read it in high school eons ago but am curious to re-read it again. 

 

I remember seeing that bridge during a patrol while I was in Bosnia. One of our interpreters pointed the bridge out and told us of that book. I had had forgotten all about that bridge and moment until you mentioned it here, then I had to go look it up. I'd be interested in reading that book if I could find it.

Finished Joashua Slocum's book. He was the first man to cicumnavigate the earth alone. Easy to read and interesting book, not too much drama.

Next will be Ivo Andric "Bridge on the river Drina". The main character is the bridge. Everything else revolves around it, the lives of people, battles, etc. The author won the Nobel Price for literature for it. I read it in high school eons ago but am curious to re-read it again. 

Just read Winston Groom's Forrest Gump. It's a fine entertaining read, but sure not what ended up on the movie screen. 

Almost done with Indianapolis.  The July 31 1945 sinking of the cruiser.  I didn't know much of the aftermath.  Interesting read.

And Quiet Flows The Don.

Written by Sholokhov, in the era of the USSR. I've only read the first one hundred pages. It's a big epic novel that takes place in the Don River Basin (Donbas) starting in about 1918.

It's big and juicy and pretty lurid, won its author the Nobel Prize for literature.

The writing is very good and the descriptions of that part of the world are quite beautiful.

Of course I've been searching for a good resin Cossack figure. Suggestions welcome!

Bill