What Are You Reading Now?

[Devildog]

I like shooting, and I love hunting. But I never did enjoy killing anybody. It's my job. If I don't get those bastards, then they're gonna kill a lot of these kids dressed up as Marines.

Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock


[ame="http://www.amazon.com/SEAL-Team-Six-Memoirs-Sniper/dp/031269945X"]Amazon.com: SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper (9780312699451): Howard E. Wasdin, Stephen Templin: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CyYVypODL.@@AMEPARAM@@51CyYVypODL[/ame]

[Flattop]

Hellcat: The F6F in World War II by Barrett Tillman.

In an aerial engagement between the Grumman F6F Hellcat and Japanese fighters, 19 out of 20 times it was the Hellcat that prevailed. In a two year period, from August 1943 to August 1945, the F6F was credited with over 5,000 Japanese aircraft destroyed in aerial combat. Against the fabled Japanese Zero, the Hellcat was considerably faster and above 10,000 feet the F6F could match or even slightly exceed the A6M's rate of climb. In most performance categories, the Hellcat was superior to the Zero at higher altitudes; only in turning radius at airspeeds below 230 mph did the A6M have the advantage, but at higher airspeeds the control surfaces of the Zeke stiffened due to aerodynamic forces.

Of the American fighters that saw action in the Pacific Theater, the Hellcat had one of the best maintenance records. For example, on December 17, 1943, the Solomons Fighter Command had 268 Army, Navy, Marine and New Zealand aircraft, of which 199 were operational. Fifty-three of fifty-eight Hellcats were in commission, more than any other type, even though Vought F4U Corsairs and Bell P-39 Airacobras outnumbered the F6Fs. While the Hellcat represented 21% of all fighters, it represented 26% of those available for combat. Of 71 corsairs, 47 were operational; this meant that two-thirds of F4Us were in commission compared to 91% of F6Fs.

This is a very good book about the best navy fighter of the war. Tillman is an excellent author and an authority on U.S. Naval aviation.

[happyone]

Finished The Tudors - interesting. A good overview of the 5 Tudor Monarchs (Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I). Meyer really doesn't like any of them. His stated purpose of writing the book is to refute the "myths" that have grown up around the 5 of them, esp Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. He looks at motivations and results of there reigns. Obviously the main focus of the book is on Henry VIII and Elizabeth. He spends about 275 pages of a 575 page book on Henry and another 200 or so on Elizabeth. I think the founder of the dynasty gets a little short shrift, but he states that there is just not that much information about him around.

Meyer spends a whole lot of time looking at Henry VIII's great question and explaining just how it went from a request for an annulment to a formal break from Rome.

Some style points - Meyer periodically breaks up the narrative chapters with short filler chapters explaining the culture and society of England, broader politics in Europe (including how the Ottoman Turks influenced Spain’s politics and her wars with France and England). Meyer does use some pejorative language that makes clear what he thinks of Henry and Elizabeth - they were tyrants at best.

Just an aside – I think the portion of the book on Elizabeth feels a little rushed, almost like it was overly edited.

Some interesting facts and opinions

When Henry VII took the throne in 1485 the kingdom was broke, when he died in 1509 the kingdoms coffers were full and the economy was on sound footing

By the time Henry VIII died in 1547 the kingdom was heavily in debt and the lack of money affected the policies of the other 3 Tudors

Various Popes would have done almost anything short of granting the annulment to prevent England's break with Rome - that include granting permission to Henry to take a second wife without a divorce of Katherine.

Meyer doesn't think much of Henry or Elizabeth, but does have some nice things to say about both Mary and Edward.

Meyer’s opinion is that everything Elizabeth did as monarch was influenced by her need to survive - understandable given her upbringing

Currently reading

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Wellington-Battle-Waterloo---Commanders/dp/B0000CAR5W/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318298412&sr=1-11"]Amazon.com: Napoleon and Wellington : The Battle of Waterloo--and the Great Commanders Who Fought It: Andrew Roberts: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519S84QNVEL.@@AMEPARAM@@519S84QNVEL[/ame]

[New Mexican Disaster]

I just read the Lonely Polygamistby Brady Udall. Overall I thought it was pretty good. I think Udall stayed away from the uglier side of polygamy and set out a beleaguered fellow just try to make it through the day.

Portions of the book were extremely funny, especially the parts from the perspective of the 11 year old Rusty. And portions of the book were heartwrenchingly sad. For a book that was so much about polygamy there was not a lot of religiosity, nor was there tons of sex. A few parts were a bit overdone and more inserted for shock value than anything.

All in all I think Udall did a pretty good job of telling a good story and not getting mired in the sensationalism of the subject matter.

[Flattop]

100 Things Utes Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die by Patrick Sheltra.

An excellent book on Utah football history. A must read for Utes fans everywhere.

[happyone]

finished Napoleon and Wellington - good read. Roberts looks at what the two great generals thought of each other. The Battle of Waterloo is only one chapter and appox 20 pages.

Some interesting facts/observations

The closest the two ever came to meeting IRL was at Waterloo. At one point they were about 1/2 mile apart. The never saw each other however.

After Napoleons abdication in 1814, Wellington started collecting all things Napoleon while he was living in Paris. That included two of Napoleons mistresses.

Wellington stopped at St. Helena on his way home form India in 1805 and commented that it had the perfect climate. Roberts speculates this led Napoleon to blame him for selecting St. Helena as his second exhile site. According to Roberts, Wellington actually had nothing to do with its selection

At a conference the morning before Waterloo, the French Generals who had fought Wellington in Spain tried to warn Napoleon about the fighting qualities of the British Infantry and Wellington, but Napoleon dismissed them out of hand.

There were members of the British Parliament, mainly Whigs, that were extremely opposed to the Napoleonic Wars and were very vocal about it. One of the leading opponents committed suicide when the victory at Waterloo was announced.

While on St Helens Napoleon tried to find every reason he could to explain his defeat at Waterloo except give any credit to Wellington’s generalship.

Wellington scouted the Waterloo area as a possible battlefield in 1814.

After Waterloo, Wellington wrote several scathing articles about Napoleon's generalship that were not released until well after Wellington's death.

This is the 3rd book I've read by Roberts and I think he is an excellent military historian.

I've also finished David Weber's new book

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Firm-Foundation-Safehold-David-Weber/dp/0765321548/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318863937&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: How Firm a Foundation (Safehold) (9780765321541): David Weber: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514qULLK-gL.@@AMEPARAM@@514qULLK-gL[/ame]

It is this 5th book in the Safehold series - mind candy but a good read.

currently reading

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Covert-Affair-Adventures-Thorndike-Nonfiction/dp/1410437450/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318864194&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: A Covert Affair: The Adventures of Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series) (9781410437457): Jennet Conant: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/612KAGEU0FL.@@AMEPARAM@@612KAGEU0FL[/ame]

This is another of the books that I saw the author on BOOKTV.

[Flattop]

Hondo by Louis L'Amour

It has been some twenty years since I last read a Louis L'Amour western. His books are usually very good and some are fantastic; yet I got caught up in reading techno thrillers and other military fiction. Recently I decided to remedy the situation and the other day I started reading Hondo, the second book L'Amour published under his own name -- there were some other novels published under pen names. The book is a novelization of the screenplay of the John Wayne movie of the same name, which was based on a short story written by L'Amour and published in Colliers.

Hondo Lane is a scout with the U.S. Army in southeastern Arizona at a time when the Apache's go on the warpath. He meets Angie Lowe, a mother -- is she a widow or was she only abandoned by her husband? -- who is determined to stay on her ranch despite the Apache threat. Vittoro is the Apache chief leading the uprising. These three individuals are then "caught in a drama of love, war, and honor."

L'Amour was one of the best of American storytellers. Hondo is a very good book.

[happyone]

Fnished A Covert Affair - not bad. It is not strickly an account of the courtship of Julia and her husband Paul, but it looks at OSS operations in Asia in 1944-45 and the effects of McCarthism on the State Dept in the 1950s. Connant uses Julia and Paul Childs relationship and the people they worked with to explore the OSS mission and effectiveness in WW II Asia and how some of the people the OSS employed fed into McCarthy's vendetta against the State Dept in the 50's.

The first chapter of the book is the account of Paul be called back from Europe to be investigated on the possiblity that he might be sympathetic to the Soviet block. It then flashes back to WW II Washington and how the various characters got involved with the OSS.

Some interesting facts/opinions

Paul and Julia met in 1944 on Ceylon and to say the it wasn't love at first sight is an understatement. He thought her a nice girl, but not his type.

There courting mainly took place after they both were transfered to China in 1945.

One woman they worked with, Jane Foster, who was in charge of propaganda in Indonisia was later accused of being a Russian Spy. None of the people she worked with in the OSS believed it, but her name later showed up in the Verona Intercepts ( a classified program that broke Russain Codes and let US Intel read some of the Soviets mail ) Connants guess is that she was a low level asset, and mainly used as a decoy to divert US Counter Intel from much more valuable assets.

They remained friends with Jane after the war and it was their relationship with Jane caused Paul to be called home from Bonn to investigated by State Dept Security. This was a direct result of McCarthy and HUAC.

It seems that all the books I've asked the library to get for me have come at the same time - I have 10 on the night stand now. I guess I'll have to spend less time on CUF and more time reading to get them all finished before they are due back

Currently reading Sharon Penmans new historical novel on Richard I

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Lionheart-Sharon-Kay-Penman/dp/0399157859/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1"]Amazon.com: Lionheart (9780399157851): Sharon Kay Penman: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KGgzEFDwL.@@AMEPARAM@@51KGgzEFDwL[/ame]

My personal opinion is that Penman is the best historical novelist writing today. Her speciality is the Plantaneget Kings of England and I would highly recomend her to anyone intersted in that period of history.

[Shaka]

Yeah, that was a good one. Erik Larson's latest just came out today:

Amazon.com: In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin (9780307408846): Erik Larson: Books

Just finished In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

I enjoyed this look into the US Ambassador Dodd leading up and into Hitler consolidating his power. It was interesting reading about how Dodd's position on Hitler and Jews shifted over time. The book also provided a glimpse into the the club of ambassadors that was comprised of the well-off. Dodd did not fit into this club and they resented his appointment.

Even better was the look at Dodd's daughter Martha who was a carouser. She slept with capitalists, Nazi's, and Communists during her time in Germany and had the opportunity to meet Hitler.

I'd recommend this book.

[happyone]

Just finished In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

I enjoyed this look into the US Ambassador Dodd leading up and into Hitler consolidating his power. It was interesting reading about how Dodd's position on Hitler and Jews shifted over time. The book also provided a glimpse into the the club of ambassadors that was comprised of the well-off. Dodd did not fit into this club and they resented his appointment.

Even better was the look at Dodd's daughter Martha who was a carouser. She slept with capitalists, Nazi's, and Communists during her time in Germany and had the opportunity to meet Hitler.

I'd recommend this book.

I've added this to my hold list at the library

I finished Lionheart - pretty good, not her best, but I would put in the top 3 or 4. It basically the story of the Third Crusade from the time Richard gets to Sicily and rescues his sister Joanna, to the time he leaves the Holy Land to recover England from his brother John. Penman portrays Richard as a person who had a real religious commitment to recover Jerusalem from the Saracens, but who also had the military sense to know what the Crusaders were capable of accomplishing. Her description of the hatred between Richard and Phillip of France and the problems is caused is really well done. It is apparent that Penman likes Richard and thinks more of him than many current historians.

Currently reading
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Then-Everything-Changed-Alternate-Histories/dp/0399157069/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319737795&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics: JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan (9780399157066): Jeff Greenfield: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BGhbBlxZL.@@AMEPARAM@@51BGhbBlxZL[/ame]

[dabrockster]

Reading "Full Black". New author. First book. After this I will be looking for a book on the creation of the CIA or a good history of it during the Cold Wars/stories..

Any help would be great..

[Flattop]

Reading "Full Black". New author. First book. After this I will be looking for a book on the creation of the CIA or a good history of it during the Cold Wars/stories..

Any help would be great..

I read this one awhile back. Great book, but it is not a pleasant story.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/038551445X"]Amazon.com: Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (9780385514453): Tim Weiner: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KJpFQ1zFL.@@AMEPARAM@@51KJpFQ1zFL[/ame]

[happyone]

Finished Then Everything Changed I think it was well written and plausible.

Greenfield takes three events in the 60's/70's presidential politics/history and explores what would have happened if things had gone a little differently.

The first is what would have happened if Kennedy had been assassinated before the Electoral College met in Dec 1960. Apparently there was an attempt at his Florida home in Dec and the potential assassin was right outside Kennedy's home and had enough dynamite in his car to blow the top off a small mountain. He aborted the attempt when he saw Jackie and Caroline in the entry way of the home. Johnson is then elected president in the House

The second scenario is what if RFK had not been assassinated in LA. One of his people who would normally lead him off the stage was not there that night and the Greenfield has him there and he prevents the assassination.

The final scenario has Ford recovering from his gaff when he said that the Soviet Union does not dominate Eastern Europe in his second debate with Carter in '76 and subsequently wins the '76 election

Greenfield has done some really good research on the personalities and the actions of the presidents are all plausable.

very readable and I would recommend this to political junkies.

currently reading Hugh Shelton's memoir

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Without-Hesitation-Odyssey-American-Warrior/dp/B004Y6MUNQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320078049&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior: Gen. Hugh Shelton, Ronald Levinson, Malcolm McConnell: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lj1VKg%2BAL.@@AMEPARAM@@51lj1VKg%2BAL[/ame]

Shelton was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs when 9/11 happened and the first Special Ops guy to become Chairman.

[lambdacoug]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC1HBY/ref=docs-os-doi_0"]Amazon.com: A Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Two eBook: George R.R. Martin: Kindle Store@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hAQlqkRFL.@@AMEPARAM@@51hAQlqkRFL[/ame]

[Blueintheface]

World War Z by Max Brooks

Bought it in the airport and read it on the flights to and from the game. Guy knows his zombies.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/World-War-Oral-History-Zombie/dp/0307888681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320346184&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (9780307888686): Max Brooks: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51k8wTBELLL.@@AMEPARAM@@51k8wTBELLL[/ame]