Member: pitjrw

My father-in-law was on LCI(R) 408. They had four launchers for 5 inch rockets; I think each launcher had three rows of five tubes. The whole salvo could be shot in a couple of seconds.

There is a group in Portland OR that is restoring a LCI(R).

posted by LamSon at 3:34 pm (EST) on Jun 2, 2009

Hello James,
It's been a while. Since LT started the home page feature events in your library come up under connection news. I noticed your rating of "In Hazard" and took a look at the books you have entered lately. The New York Review Books Classics put out some good titles, after all they do know books. There were a couple of titles you added recently that I thought were interesting. First was "Tried by War" by James M. McPherson. I have been reading a lot of Civil War and Lincoln is a hero of mine. I really enjoyed "Team of Rivals". It was amazing how Lincoln developed a mastery over that group of men whose education was so much better than his. I particularly enjoyed his jousting with Samuel Chase. I have read "Lincoln and His Generals" but it is not as specific about Lincoln as the commander in chief. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the book.
I have been looking at "Waking Giant". I recently read "What Hath God Wrought" and that is a very interesting time period. I listen to audiobooks and it was on sale at audible. If you have the time let me know how you like it.
I was also interested to see " Living Thoughts of Kierkegaard" in your recent additions. I have an anthology of his writings. He has interesting ideas but I always feel like I need some help to understand him. He did a lot of work in 41 years.
If you have any interest in chat groups there is a new one titled History: The Writing of It and Learning From It. It started 2/15/2009. The creator of the group is very active and is going through LT and trying to get a lot of LT members with an interest in history involved. If that is your cup of tea you might take a look at the group.
I always enjoy a little chat and hope you might have the time to drop by.
Bill

posted by wildbill at 10:05 pm (EST) on Mar 17, 2009

I see you are adding some volumes on the French revolution. I have the two volumes by Georges Lefebvre. For some reason LibraryThing thinks I have two copies of one book. It is a little annoying but I can't get it fixed. I also have his titles "The Coming of the French Revolution" and "The Thermidorians". In college my prime interest was political revolution. As I have said I studied a lot about the Chinese revolution. It is a very interesting process, the complete change in a society. It seemed to be the political side of economic modernization and industrialization.
One of my favorite books on this process is by Barrington Moore Jr., "Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy". It begins with the Glorious Revolution of 1688 then the French revolution and goes through the Chinese revolution. He includes the American civil war and modernization in Japan and India. His subtitle is "Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World". He uses a Marxist analysis but omits the Russian revolution.
Thomas Carlyle's 'The French Revolution" has a much different perspective. I have the Modern Library edition. I have read parts of it but his style is very emotional concentrating on the movement of events without a lot of analysis. Enjoy your new books and let me know how you like Carlyle.
Bill

posted by wildbill at 9:32 pm (EST) on Oct 1, 2008

Hello James,
I wanted to let you know I was still alive. I appreciated your comments, sorry about the disappearing post. I know they can take some time to put together, especially when you are doing a reply and have to follow a train of thought.
I really like "The Stranger" and I went to write a review of it last week. I ended up doing notes and it took a good hour. I'm an attorney and do a good amount of writing. I guess my writing habits carry over because I get pretty finicky. I can spend ten minutes getting a sentence just right. I am also not a real good typist and am very thankful for the spell checker.
I know I am being a fusspot but I will look at a post and if there is a misspelling it is the first thing I notice. I even correct friends when they say something incorrectly. I tell them I was raised by an English teacher. My mom did teach English, but then went to psychology.
I do have some Chinese books. A lot of them are left over from college. I studied the language for about one and one-half years. I got up to about an eight hundred word vocabulary. Then I decided I didn't want to be an academic. I still like to write some characters, but I never lived there and that is what it takes to learn a language.
I was very interested in Chinese history and still am. I started with the Communist revolution. Along with history I took anthropology and political science classes in college. Now I am fascinated with ancient history. The formation of the Imperial state. About five years ago I read "Imperial China 900-1800". It was about the interaction of the sedentary Chinese with the nomad tribes. The tribes ruled parts of China for over 1000 years. I also have the Cambridge History of the period leading up to 221 b.c. That's not really a book to read though, more like the Albertini.
For the last three to four years I have been reading American history from the Revolution to the Civil War, a lot of the Civil War, or as it is known in Georgia, The War Between the States.
I've been getting interested in Ancient Greece lately and just bought a few books on the Persian wars. I read "The Landmark Herodotus" this year and it got me interested. I intend to include Ancient Rome also they seem to go together. I was thinking of buying "The Greek Myths" by Robert Graves. I noticed you have the Folio Society edition. How do you like Graves?
I also noticed you have a number of the Folio Society editions. All I have is Gibbon and I bought it used. I have always liked their books. Is it very expensive over a year to be a member? I have been a subscriber to Library of America for a while and their books are only about thirty dollars. I have looked long and hard at Folio. It seems like you can get a lot of their books for up to $75.00. I guess it depends on how many you buy in a year. Let me know what you think when you have the time, I would appreciate it.
Right now I a wading through "The Age of Federalism". I notice you have it, have you read it? I feel like I deserve to get paid, it is work. I am now four hundred pages in and have to finish. It is "the" book on the period but it is work.
Well I seem to have babbled on for about thirty minutes. Enjoyed the chat. Drop by when you have a chance. Be well and enjoy.
Bill

posted by wildbill at 9:41 pm (EST) on Sep 19, 2008

Hello James,
I looked at some books in your library and had a couple of questions. Have you read the Henry Adams Histories of Jefferson's and Madison's Administrations? If so, what comments do you have. I read them about three years ago. I thought they were really good history. He used a lot of primary sources, a lot of letters. He did not seem to like Jefferson very much or maybe that is just me. I thought that Jefferson's embargo was a very bad idea that went nowhere fast. The Madison was largely about the War of 1812. The summation at the end was very good. I enjoy rereading the account of the Battle of New Orleans. America didn't win the war but came out of it a much more confident nation. It was like the second American Revolution. I also have the Garry Wills book Henry Adams and the Making of America. He tried to bring back Adams as an historian. I have read parts of it but enjoyed Adams more. How do you like Adams' fiction?
I am reading Stanley Elkins Age of Federalism. This is about the third time I have started it. It has a lot of good information but it is a lot of work. I see you have a copy. Have you ever read it? If you have let me know what you think about it. Does it get better? I am on page 225.
I have been looking for a good survey history of the U. S. Something for reference and to read. Someone in my office recently read the Samuel Elliot Morrison. I see that you have that and one by Bernard Bailyn. Which would you recommend? I have Bailyn's Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. I also have the 2 volume Debates on the Constitution he edited for Library of America. The Debates is very good but it is long. Sometimes I use it to put me to sleep, it works.
One last question. I see you have Luigi Albertini's 3 volume opus on the beginning of World War One. Is that for reading or just reference? Everything I have read about it is very positive. I have read Guns of August many times but I am sure it doesn't compare. What is your opinion of the Albertini ? Do you think it is worth the investment? I am very interested in that topic. I recently read A World Undone by G. M. Meyer which I thought the best so far of the one volume histories of World War One I have read. What do you recommend as a survey of World War One? Meyer went into some of the nuances of the tactics and showed a lot of the war from the German point of view. I thought it was interesting that your grandfather flew in WW I. When I was a kid I had a lot of books on the planes and fliers from that era.
I think World War One doesn't get the attention that it merits. If you look at the world before and after it got turned upside down. The effect on society and the individuals involved was incredible. That war initiated an era of violence that to me hasn't stopped yet. I think that in 200 years WW I and WW II will simply be The Great European War or something like that. I particularly enjoyed The Rites of Spring for a history of the cultural change. It seems like no one makes any connection between the past and the present in this day. I am starting a rant so I should close. Be well and drop me a line when you can.
Bill

posted by wildbill at 5:40 pm (EST) on Aug 17, 2008

Hello James,
I snooped around a bit and added your library to my list of interesting libraries. We share 130 books (about 8.5 %) but what we have in common covers a wide range of mostly history. We share a sprinkling of Library of America, some Edmund Wilson, Barbara Tuchman, Jonathan D. Spence. I was struck by a combination of books we share about WWI: Goodbye to All That, Rites of Spring, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, The Great War and Modern Memory and The Storm of Steel. I have a number of M. I. Finley, I think his essays have the content of many writer's books. The Rise of the West I bought in the 1970's and it was very influential on my understanding of the process of history similar to Guns, Germs and Steel, I have the two other McNeill books that you have. You have I Judge Dee mystery, when I was in law school I bought all of them I could find. I just finished The Landmark Herodotus and you have another edition of The Histories. I am now reading The Age of Federalism which you have. Hopefully we can talk about books we share as we read them. I didn't get past the books we share and look forward to a romp through your whole library. If you are interested come take a look and drop me a line.
Bill Rucker

posted by wildbill at 9:41 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2008