Read any good books lately?

" A Great and Terrible King ", Edward I and the Forging of Britain, Marc Morris.

Just finished "A Higher Call" and loved it! One of Franz Stigler's rides is now on my short list of builds to do.

Beans

I just finished a book that’s been on my bucket list for years; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. A 1,600ish page paperback that’s been taunting me for years to read it. I think I picked it up for fifty cents.

 

Incredible book and worth the commitment.

 

I have always been a fan of WWII history and read what I thought was enough to grasp the events but I never read anything like this.

 

The book accounts the many missed opportunities that could have saved millions of lives. There’s enough blame to go around, believe me. The first three quarters of the book documents Hitler’s rise to power and the last quarter is the rapid downfall.

 

 

 WTF Germany!?!

 

An excellent choice, and I pull it off the shelf and re-read it every so often.  It's a little dated, and Shirer accepted the premise that there was a direct line through German history that led inevitably from Teutoberg to Auschwitz, but otherwise, it's a great account.  He had access to the tons of documents we captured from the Germans at the end of the war, as well as first-hand sources of people who were involved, and it's a good account.

I had that same paperback edition, given me by an uncle, and I literally read the covers off.  I taped them back on, till the outer pages started falling off.  I replaced it with a hard-bound edition that I found at a flea market.  That has maps in the end-papers.  In the front, it's a map of the Third Reich at its height, from the Channel to the Volga and North Cape to Libya.  In the back, it's a map of the Allied positions at the time of the collapse.

GMorrison

I'm halfway through "Shattered Sword". What an informative book!

Wayne, if you haven't read Heinrich's "Cross of Iron". WAY better than the movie.

 

Probably my favorite all around military book,just enjoyed it do much.

Currently reading Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45

All, Exploring the library and stumbled on Enterprise by Barrett Tillman. Its quite the easy read, and covers the career of the CV-6 U.S.S. Enterprise of WWII fame.  Since then I have read Corsair and Whirlwind by Tillman also.  I like his books.  Whirlwind covers the bombing campaign over Japan during WWII. Corsair covers the career of the F4U Corsair during WWII and beyond.   Very approachable writing style, seems well researched and thoughtful.  Starting to read Clash of Carriers now.  It covers the Marianis Turkey Shoot.  So far, so interesting.   I'll let you know more when I get done.

John

Now have a look at John Toland's "The Rising Sun", and Alan Clark's "Barbarossa". And if you're still wanting to head down that path Churchill's six volume memoir "The Second World War"... I read the first two and made it partway thru the third so far...

 

 WTF Germany!?!

I would recommend for those students of the Battle of the Bulge, three books:  Duel In The Mist, The Leibstandarte During The Ardennes Offensive, vol. 1-3 (Volume 1 is out of print, though with some examples being $1,000+.  Volumes 2 and 3 are about $30).  It is a forensic analysis of the German armor used during the battles around Stoumont and La Gleize.  The authors have tried to identify almost every piece of armor used in the battle and their dispositions after the battle.  It is also explicit on modifications and the coloring schemes used by Leibstandarte.  I am currently borrowing vol. 2 and 3 from a friend of mine while I am looking up information on the 740th TB of which I found a clarification from MacDonld's book, A Time For Trumpets. 

I left off reading "Monuments Men".  It's a thick book but goes into a lot of things they left out of the movie.  Unfortunately, with my eye situation, I'm having a little trouble reading it.

I've finished reading 2 books - both highly recommended reads.

Fighter Group - basically about the Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney.  A great read!

 Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crews over Europe in World War II by Robert Morris.

If you think Switzerland was a safe, neutral country during WW2, guess again. Chapter 2 (or is it Chapter#?) tells the story of one Dan Culler who endured far horrible conditions/treatments while interned at Wauwilermoos internment camp.

Interesting... reminds me of a mid 1980's novel titled "Warday" with a similar aftermath set in the 80s

Half-way thru Antony Beevor's Ardennes-Hitler's Last Gamble,it's very good.

"Resurrection Day" by Brendan Dubois. A "what if" of how the USA would have looked in 1972 if the Cuban Missile Crisis had instead turned into the Cuban War. General Curtis LeMay under a modified name is present as well as all the Kennedy Administration using their actual names. The ending is kind of a gut twister and the main characters description of what we did to Russia I didn't believe until I came across a PDF detailing the US/USSR comparison of nuclear forces in October 1962. 

I found a book on Mercenaries in my grandma's house, it used to belong to my uncle. Took it home with me yesterday, it has some detailed info on their involvement in Croatia, Africa and how they operate. Its an interesting book. 

I have read "In Harms Way" about the sinking of the Indianapolis.  Its quite the tragedy, but an interesting read. 

John

I just finished "Out of the Depths" by Edgar Harrell on the sinking of the Indianapolis. Really quick read from the perspective of someone who was there, his struggles and how his faith helped him through such a trying time. I must confess ignorance of this event before reading the book, but I'm glad my eyes have been opened. Shows just how little I know of the "lesser known" events of WW2 & history in general.

All, Finished The German Air Force 1933-1945  An Anatomy of Failure by Matthew Cooper.  Interesting perspective on why certain aircraft were developed and others were not.  A bit different from what we are used to hearing about that topic, but it makes sense.  Got caught up on the Hell's Gate series by David Weber and am now reading the third book in the series.  So far, its as good as I expected. 

John

I'm about 1/4 of the way through "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay".

While I don't read much fiction, I'm enjoying this one so far.

(Always thought about being a cartoonist, as I have a reasonable sense of humor and like to draw).

All, just finished Intrepid Aviators about VT18 and the sinking of the Musashi.  Its a pretty interesting read.  Turns out the author's dad was one of the first to hit the Musashi, and was shot down for his troubles.  His crew was killed, and he was stranded on an island until he built a raft and was eventually picked up by some Philipino resitance fighters.  He even participated in a fire fight with the fighters.  Its a good read, and seems well researched.  I'm currently reading a very scholarly book on the Luftwaffe before and during WWII and how they were essnetially doomed to failure.  Its called The German Air Force 1933-1945  An Anatomy of Failure by Matthew Cooper.  He examines the role of the leadership (or lack there of) of the Luftwaffe and how they and the political leaders mismanaged the air force to its eventual ruin.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  My next book will be Hell's Gate by David Weber.  There is finally a third book in that series out, and I need to get caught up.

John

Yep, but if you're interested in reading the Great American Novel, don't try to find Moby ***...

But I bet I could call you a commie in such a flame war, hypothetically speaking... 

It's so that the trolls can't insult other members in online flame wars. Nazi for instance is ok.

the Baron

 

 

gobobbie

...the trial of the leading ***.

 

 

 

The nannyware strikes again!

 

Yes, because if we can spell out the acronym used for the National Socialist German Workers Party we will all become goose stepping black shirt wearing racist war mongers... 

gobobbie

...the trial of the leading ***.

The nannyware strikes again!

Nothing earth shattering,but an interesting account