What Are You Reading Now?

[happyone]

Finished Enduring Battle - fascinating. It has a very academic feel to it, doesn't flow particularly well and is a bit dry in spots, but I thought it was well worth the read. The book has the same feel as John Keegan's Face of Battle

Hammer contrasts the infantry soldier experience in the Revolutionary War, Civil War and WW II. He looks at how the changing weapons and tactics changed their experience and how the way war was waged changed the way soldiers were motivated to overcome their natural flight responses.

Some of his conclusions are that the main difference between the civil war and the Revolution is in scale - He uses the Battle of Cowpens and the Shiloh to illustrate this. Cowpens was over in about 30 minutes or so while Shiloh took 2 days. Also more men died at Shiloh that fought at Cowpens (about 3000 deaths vs 2900 participants on both sides). By WWII the indivual soldier basically stayed in combat until either the war was over or he became a casuality.

The size of the battle fields also changed - Cowpens was a couple of acres, Shiloh a couple of square miles and the Battle of the Bulge/Hurtgen Forest was 100's of miles long
Hammer hypothises there are 3 major things that keep men fighting
1-training
2-leadership
3-companionship
He also looks at how those three things have changed over the last 200+ yrs.

Currently reading Bernard Cornwell's latest


[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Kings-Novel-Saxon-Tales/dp/0061969656/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330811431&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Death of Kings: A Novel (Saxon Tales) (9780061969652): Bernard Cornwell: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xVj7SPJ3L.@@AMEPARAM@@51xVj7SPJ3L[/ame]

This is the latest entry into the Saxon tales series

[Omaha 680]

Just finished "In the Garden of Beasts".

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331141361&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin (9780307408846): Erik Larson: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51L2fVYw1dL.@@AMEPARAM@@51L2fVYw1dL[/ame]

It's an account of the experiences of the US Ambassodor to Germany and his family between 1933 and 1937 when Hitler was consolidating his power. It was quite thorough, with a lot of the book consisting of direct quotes from correspondence and journal entries. Honestly, the first half of the book kind of dragged for me.

The best part of the book for me was Larson's detailing the events of the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934 when Hitler smashed what he framed as an SA uprising, arresting and executing hundreds (maybe thousands) around Germany.

[happyone]

finished Death of Kings - standard Cornwell, I think it is well researched and a good adventure novel with lots of swordplay Worth the read if you like that sort of thing ( and I do )

Also finished

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Wanted-Dead-Alive-Manhunts-Geronimo/dp/0230104851/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331478944&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Wanted Dead or Alive: Manhunts from Geronimo to Bin Laden (9780230104853): Benjamin Runkle: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51oRRcM5-xL.@@AMEPARAM@@51oRRcM5-xL[/ame]

This another one of those books that I saw the author on Booknotes. It is a look at 8 strategic manhunts the US gov't has conducted in the last 125 yrs, 6 succeeded and 2 failed. I thought it was well written and had the author had some good thoughts.

Runkle does a good job of describing the tactics and reasons behind each of the manhunts and how they fit in with the overall US strategy. His main conclusion is that in manhunts the most important thing is human intelligence(HUMINT) - all the technology in the world can't replace it. In the two manhunts that didn't succede ( Pancho Villa and Assid-Blackhawk Down fame ) the US was not able to develop consistant humint and was not successful. To go along with that, you have to have help of the local population - In each successful hunt there was significant help from the locals.

Another major trait of a successful op is patience - the average length of time for a successful operation is 18 mths. The two unsuccessful hunts were called off after an average of 4 mths.

All in all a good book and well worth the read.

Currently reading

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Kearnys-March-Creation-American-1846-1847/dp/0307270963/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3"]Amazon.com: Kearny's March: The Epic Creation of the American West, 1846-1847 (9780307270962): Winston Groom: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51afvIlYqPL.@@AMEPARAM@@51afvIlYqPL[/ame]

I've read several of his books and have enjoyed them.

[happyone]

Finished Kearny's March - good read. It covers much the same ground as A Country of Vast Designs and I think is a better "read", but not as good a history (if that makes sense). I think Groom is a much better writer than Merry, but not as good a historian. I would recommend this as an intro to the Mexican American War and the conquest of the West.

This is more than just a retelling of Kearny's march. Groom includes some of the politics that led to the war, Fremont and Stockton's conquest of California, before Kearny got there, a lot on the Mormon Battalion, the Kearny-Fremont confrontation after the war, and for some reason a quite a few pages on the Donner-Reed Party

One of the quibbles I have with the book is that there are absolutely no footnotes; one doesn't know where he gets his information.

I also finished Gingrich and Forschten's new book

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Battle-Crater-A-Novel/dp/0312607105/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332195364&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: The Battle of the Crater: A Novel (9780312607104): Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen, Albert S. Hanser: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bLX4XXQSL.@@AMEPARAM@@51bLX4XXQSL[/ame]

Excellent read - No matter what you think of the man's politics - he writes a good historical novel. I think this is better than Jeff Shaara's work, although not quite as good as his father's Killer Angels. This book stays pretty true to this historical record and does attempt to correct some of the legends that have grown up around the battle-specifically the performance of the Black Units involved in the battle - 4th Division of Burnsides IX Corps

The book opens with the assault at Cold Harbor and it is riviting - the descriptions of the assult troops looking for paper to they can write their names and addresses on then scrounging for pins to attach them too their backs, because they know they are going to die and want someone to be able to tell their families their fate, then it shift's to Arlington and a burial detail after the battle - really evokes the feeling of the scene. G&F portray Burnsides sympathetically - as a victim to some extent of Meade's lingering anger over Fredericksburg, while at the same time blasting him for poor generalship. His carefully laid out plans were altered less than 12 hrs before the assault by Meade, pulling the 4th Division who had been training for weeks to lead the assault and replacing them with white troops who were never told what was going on.

Currently reading

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Grants-Final-Victory-Ulysses-Heroic/dp/B0071UF11A/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332196518&sr=1-1-spell"]Amazon.com: Grant's Final Victory: Ulysses S. Grant's Heroic Last Year: Charles Bracelen Flood: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513OYHmIEUL.@@AMEPARAM@@513OYHmIEUL[/ame]

This is about the final year of US Grant's life after he and his family went broke in a Wall Street Scandal.

[happyone]

finished reading Grant's Final Victory - not bad, reads well. This is a fairly short book only 240 pagses on so and covers the time from the collapse of his son's Wall Street Brokerage firm to his death - about 18 mths or so.

Somethings I took away from this book

In spite of all his flaws Grant really was a beloved figure in the nation at that time. When the news broke that Grant was bankrupt he had people from all over the nation sending him money. Everyone from School kids to the wealthiest people in the U.S. (ie the Vanderbilts) - He refused to take the money on principle

He had resisted efforts to get him to write his memiors until the bankruptcy. He wrote the memiors in an effort to provide his wife an income after he was gone.

He ignored the first signs of cancer for months and by the time he finally went to a Doctor, who happened to be one of the best cancer doctors in the US, it was too late to do anything

He finished his memiors three days before he died.

Currently reading

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/December-1941-Changed-America-Saved/dp/1595554572/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332728925&sr =1-1-fkmr0"]Amazon.com: December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World (9781595554574): Craig Shirley: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51cSGedf7xL.@@AMEPARAM@@51cSGedf7xL[/ame]

This is another BookTV author

[BigPiney]

Just finished Unbroken - been mentioned before here, but wow. Recommended.

Read a juvenille series -really fun: appropriate for all ages. Recommended for the young ones. Reading level is Grades 3 and up. Second book was a bit slow, but the 3rd made up for it. The Mysterious Benedict Society

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Benedict-Society-Trenton-Stewart/dp/0316057770/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0"]Amazon.com: The Mysterious Benedict Society (9780316057776): Trenton Lee Stewart, Carson Ellis: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HnHhI3itL.@@AMEPARAM@@51HnHhI3itL[/ame]


The Great Typo Hunt - a guy goes on a crusade across the US fixing typos- nonfiction. It was funny and instructional. I imagine this is what Donuthole does on his summer vacation. I recommend it if you can find it at the library.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003F3PMX4/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title"]Amazon.com: The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time eBook: Jeff Deck, Benjamin D. Herson: Kindle Store@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KRszsykCL.@@AMEPARAM@@41KRszsykCL[/ame]


Last book I just read was Swamplandia!. This was listed in the Nytimes and on NPR and one of the top 5 ficiton books for 2011. I did really like it, though I have to wonder if this is one of the top 5 books, then most of the stuff out these is crap. That being said it was good. Story of a family in the swamps of Florida that runs a gator park called Smaplandia! and their misadventures and the coming of age of the 3 kids. Very enjoyable, but I was more than half way through and I said to my wife "What is this even about?" Recommend if you can find at the library or the used bookstore for under 4 bucks.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Swamplandia-Vintage-Contemporaries-Karen-Russell/dp/0307276686/ref=tmm_pap_title_0"]Amazon.com: Swamplandia! (Vintage Contemporaries) (9780307276681): Karen Russell: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Anf8Wb-SL.@@AMEPARAM@@51Anf8Wb-SL[/ame]

[HauteCoug]

Why Men Love Bitches. It's been a little obnoxious, but some of the stuff she recommends has worked fairly well, actually.

[mtnbiker]

I don't poke my nose into this thread very often. Wow, happyone likes to read military and history, doesn't he? Not too surprising, I guess. I just finished reading the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. I haven't read them since high school, and wanted to remind myself of the real story, not the movie version.

I also just finished reading 1984. It's a bit different from the Hobbit.

Need to decide what's next. I have a C# book sitting around, that I skim through from time to time to remind myself of less-used constructs. Not much of a plot or character development, though.

[Omaha 680]

Finally finished Money Mischief by Milton Friedman this morning. The first couple and the last couple chapters were outstanding for an economic novice like me who really wants to get a handle on monetary policy issues, especially the causes and cures of inflation. The middle was a bit technical and made my brain hurt.

[eldiente]

Finished listening to Steve Jobs Biography

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333046275&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Steve Jobs (9781451648539): Walter Isaacson: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XUOVQKYQL.@@AMEPARAM@@41XUOVQKYQL[/ame]

Really interesting story. Some geniuses can be really self-absorbed.......

Next in the que is

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Moonwalking-Einstein-Science-Remembering-Everything/dp/0143120530/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333046399&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything (9780143120537): Joshua Foer: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513umKrynIL.@@AMEPARAM@@513umKrynIL[/ame]

[eldiente]

Just finished - Moonwalking with Einstein
Interesting retelling of author's efforts to master memory techniques and become U.S. memory champion.

Now starting

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Neptunes-Inferno-U-S-Navy-Guadalcanal/dp/0553385127/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333214196&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal (9780553385120): James D. Hornfischer: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RB20n0O6L.@@AMEPARAM@@51RB20n0O6L[/ame]

Introduction is fantastic use of language. I'm anxious to get into it.

[eldiente]

HappyOne or FlatTop

I am looking for recommendations for a single volume retelling of the Pacific Theater WW2 experience. Sort of a global view in an interesting narrative. Any recommendations?

[happyone]

I don't poke my nose into this thread very often. Wow, happyone likes to read military and history, doesn't he? Not too surprising, I guess....

What can I say - When you're right - your right

.

Now starting

Amazon.com: Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal (9780553385120): James D. Hornfischer: Books

Introduction is fantastic use of language. I'm anxious to get into it.

I found it facinating - I've liked everything he has written that I've read.

I am looking for recommendations for a single volume retelling of the Pacific Theater WW2 experience. Sort of a global view in an interesting narrative. Any recommendations?

Off the top of my head I can think of two or three - the first two are older and you might have had a chance to read them

Costello's

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Pacific-War-John-Costello/dp/0688016200/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333286164&sr=1-3"]Amazon.com: The Pacific War: 1941-1945 (9780688016203): John Costello: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NOKWFh2BL.@@AMEPARAM@@51NOKWFh2BL[/ame]

Toland's

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Rising-Sun-Japanese-1936-1945/dp/0812968581/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333286225&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (Modern Library War) (9780812968583): John Toland: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TxdEmCz8L.@@AMEPARAM@@51TxdEmCz8L[/ame]

Hammel's

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Warriors-Marines-Pictorial-Tribute/dp/0760320977/ref=sr_1_31?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333286352&sr=1-31"]Amazon.com: Pacific Warriors: The U.S. Marines in World War II: A Pictorial Tribute (9780760320976): Eric Hammel: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ONtyK6LNL.@@AMEPARAM@@51ONtyK6LNL[/ame]

covers all of the Marine ops in the Pacific - not in depth, but has some fantastic photos

After reading Sorley's A Better War It seemed like a good idea to read his biography of the architect of the U.S. strategy there.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Westmoreland-The-General-Lost-Vietnam/dp/0547518269/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333755057&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam (9780547518268): Lewis Sorley: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51LZFFhIAEL.@@AMEPARAM@@51LZFFhIAEL[/ame]

Sorley really, really, really doesn't like Westmoreland! Very unusual to read a biography by a non-admirer of someone. It seems that Sorley's basic thesis it that WCW is a great example of the Peter Principal at work - He should never been given the MACV job - he didn't have the intellectual talents for it. Sorley thinks he should have been a Division Commander at best. He had some high level sponsers - Maxwell Taylor, commander of the 101st ABN during WW II and Army Chief of Staff in the '50's was one of his. According ot Sorley this enabled to get out of trouble that would have destroyed careers of people who didn't have those connections. IE Just after he took command of the 101st there was a battalion level jump that got 7 people killed. There were high winds on the drop zone and WCW knew it. Sorley attributes his survival to Taylor.

Interesting read if interested in Viet Nam

For the next book - I'm taking a break from things military - reading

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Secretaries-Making-James-Bible/dp/0060838736/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333318627&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible (P.S.) (9780060838737): Adam Nicolson: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512ikcGPV3L.@@AMEPARAM@@512ikcGPV3L[/ame]

still history though

[eldiente]

What can I say - When you're right - your right

I found it facinating - I've like everything he has written



Off the top of my head I can think of two or three - the first two are older and you might have had a chance to read them

Costello's

Amazon.com: The Pacific War: 1941-1945 (9780688016203): John Costello: [email]Books

Toland's

Amazon.com: The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (Modern Library War) (9780812968583): John Toland: [email]Books

Hammel's

Amazon.com: Pacific Warriors: The U.S. Marines in World War II: A Pictorial Tribute (9780760320976): Eric Hammel: [email]Books

covers all of the Marine ops in the Pacific - not in depth, but has some fantastic photos

thanks - I will check them out



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Uncle Ted]

Just added to my reading list...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Between-Pulpit-Pew-Supernatural-Folklore/dp/0874218381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308249741&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Between Pulpit and Pew: The Supernatural World in Mormon History and Folklore (9780874218381): W. Paul Reeve, Michael Scott Van Wagenen: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HNCE74HkL.@@AMEPARAM@@41HNCE74HkL[/ame]