Look's like I'm going to be making the ceremonial first post:
As the year winds down the books get shorter:
The French Army of the Franco-Prussian War (1) 1870-71: Imperial Troops (B+) and
Struggle for the Middle Sea (A).
Message edited by its author, Nov 5, 2009, 12:04pm.
Am reading about the Crimean War in
Flashman at the Charge. Good 'ol Flashy will come through this one and bounce a few ladies along way I assume. How did I go 28 years before I was introduced to Flashman?
Message edited by its author, Nov 2, 2009, 12:20pm.
It's been on my list for a while, Ammianus. I'll get to it someday. After reading
Eagle Against the Sun recently, I'm intrigued by the Burma campaign more so than any other in the PTO.
Message edited by its author, Nov 3, 2009, 10:11am.
in that case sergerca, take a peek at my CBI TAG in my collection. Maybe a title or two you're unfamiliar with....
I have found a nice free book at the Bookthing of Baltimore (
www.bookthing.org) written by
Winston S. Churchill about the First World War, from the standpoint of the chief of the Royal Navy, which he was. It is called '
THE WORLD CRISIS, an Abridgment'.
Having just begun, I am finding his prose style to be distinctly more turgid and academic than the simpler writing used in his later work on the Second World War, which won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His prose style in his later works has been described as Superb, but seems to be less clear in his earlier works. I remember reading, in one of the biographies of him, that he was a lifelong student of History, and read it as the 'revealed word' from which much was to be learned.
Message edited by its author, Nov 13, 2009, 10:32pm.
Reading
The Bloody Triangle right now. It's a good operational history of the early days of Barbarossa in the Ukraine.
Just finished
The Siege of Budapest (B-). While interesting, it's undermined by some indifferent editing and a certain awkward structure. It has neither the integration of the battle narrative and civilian experience that one of Anthony Beevor's books woud have, nor does it quite get to level of operational analysis that, say, Carlos d'Este would give you. Still, it is about the best thing going on the topic in English.
#4 - I liked
Eagle Against the Sun but didn't care for the author's obvious bias against MacArthur. Note: I am not necessarily a MacArthur fan. My grandfather was a survivor of the Bataan Death March, which can be read about here:
Courage on Bataan and Beyond. He didn't have the highest opinion of MacArthur.
I recommend reading
The Burma Road if you want to know more about the Burma campaign.
Started
The Roman Triumph this morning. Obviously not strictly a military history, but of a closely associated tradition and I would think of interest to the group
Churchill at War 1940-45 by Sir Charles Watson a recent reprint of the medical doctors experiences taking care of Churchill. Lots on different personalities British, American and Russian including all the big ones. An introduction by Watson's offspring tries to deflect the criticism put forward by
Martin Gilbert and others about its accuracy. Pointing out that the "diary" that doesn't actually exist was more of a literary device than anything else. Recommended and currently available cheap from chapters in Canada.
I just finished "The Roman Triumph" and recommend it. It is an excellent and thought provoking read.
Let us know what you think (#15); I've almost bought that several times.
Kagan is conservative in his opinions. Some reviewers see him as a major force in the American Neo-conservative movement.This colours his writings, this is something to consider when reading his works. No matter where you fall politically it is appropriate to consider this. I have read several of his works and enjoy reading them. He and his brother Frederick have been influenced by their father Robert. All three are prolific in their writing. (Frederick has writen a number of excellent books on the Napoleonic wars, e.g. "The End of the Old regime" and "Thunder on the Danube.)
Donald Kagan's writings, and it can be somewhat difficult separating the three, may be seen as a response to contemporary events, both forerign and military. I do find his writings to thought provoking and way to filter my ownm thinkink. You may not agree with everything he states but it does cause the reader to think!
Message edited by its author, Nov 8, 2009, 11:41pm.
#17-
Just to clarify; Frederick and Robert Kagan are the sons of Donald Kagan. Frederick Kagan did write a Napoleonic book,
The End of the old Order he did not write that masterpiece
thunder on the Danube.That honor goes to John H. Gill.
I stand corrected, I apologize for the mistake.
The final volume of Jack GIll's THUNDER on the DANUBE now available as an Amazon preorder!
Back from a visit to the Shenandoahs & Blue Ridge; reread
Jackson's Valley Campaign (a good starter volume on the subject) and the masterful
Stonewall in the Valley by Tanner. See too more titles on the subject under "THE VALLEY" tag in my collection.
Ammianus
THUCYDIDES: The Reinvention of History was interesting but not something I'd write home about.
I'll have to read another book or two by Kagan before I can form an honest opinion of whether or not I'll add him to my list of favorites.
Have almost finished '
THE KEY TO THE BULGE; the Battle for Losheimergraben' (1996) by
Stephen M. Rusiecki.
It is the story of the most critical point in the first two days of the German Winter Counteroffensive in December of 1944. It details how the American infantry held back the German attack long enough to ruin the plan for a lightening fast thrust through the hills of Belgium to capture the port of Antwerp and split the Allied Army in two. A quick read.
Message edited by its author, Nov 20, 2009, 1:26pm.
Dark Age Naval Power Concentrates on Germanic military seafaring (i.e. not the Vikings!), and I think using primarily archaeological evidence
31:Is there any strategic or tactical discussion or is it just on the building and design?
>32 I'm not sure yet - there are sections on specific raids and wars, so I'm hoping that there's a real strategic/tactical aspect.
31: I have heard good reviews in the past.
Reread
Pea Ridge. That finishes up my reinvestigation of the war in AR/MO. Like to make the journey to Elkhorn Tavern someday, one of the few ACW sites I've missed.
35 - Yes, me too! That and Shiloh.
This message has been deleted by its author.
The Wolf: The True Story of an Epic Voyage of Destruction in WW1 ...fascinating story of the incredible (very long) & successful voyage of a disguised German raider in WWI. The authors have for once also added the story of the enlisted sailors (including world famous author
Theodore Pliever). A nice update to the rather dated previous volumes on SMS Wolf. Check under the RAIDER tag in my collection for more raider tales.
33 and 34 excellent into the giant wishlist it goes.
41--lol, well, at least XMas is coming soon!
For Xmas, I am looking forward to
Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire, even if Luttwak writes another "Washington on the Bosporus". Grand strategy probably does not exist - and certainly not in the murderous environment of Constantinople.
The eagerly anticipated new book by Juliet Barker called
Conquest The English Kingdom of France did not match my high expectations. I wonder if European consumer protection applies to book titles? The book is about the English occupation of Northern France and there never was, as Barker readily concedes in her introduction, an English Kingdom of France but an English king who happened to be or claimed to be the French king at the same time (a claim the English monarchs only renounced when the French abolished the monarchy during the French revolution). A better title would be "After Agincourt". Barker's strange language mix of referring to Joan of Arc as "the Pucelle", led me to a binge of JoA movies (great battle scenes in
The Messenger) and Kelly De Vries'
Joan of Arc a military leader, a good biography with, again, a bad title. She was not a military leader, as De Vries shows time and again when she has to plead the French commanders to act.
Finally, American Civil War: Furgurson's account of
Cold Harbor led me to Sears'
To the Gates of Richmond. One not often sees a battlefield fought over in different directions (N-S at Gaines's Mill 1862, E-W at Cold Harbor 1864). Furgurson's lore claims Cold Harbor was named for serving cold snacks; Sears claims for unheated accommodation.
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