1Bushwhacked
I have only the broadest brushstrokes of knowledge of the American Civil War, but I'm slowly expanding this section of my library one volume at a time... which in this case currently finds me thumbing my way through The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant: The Complete Annotated Edition. There had previously been a copy on the shelf at The Hill of Content Bookshop in Melbourne, but it was a little pricey and I hesitated, and it had sold... but it has been recently restocked, so I succumbed.
2Shrike58
Have wrapped up Warships after London and The Last Cavalryman. The second works best if you've read Truscott's own memoirs, and want some more context, or if you've read the relevant operational literature and want a better sense of Truscott's personal background.
3jztemple
Completed Manufacturing Independence: Industrial Innovation in the American Revolution by Robert F. Smith. An interesting book at times, discussing the creating of organizations and industries to make or repair armaments, accoutrements and other military equipment in the American Revolution, as well as gather, maintain and distribute military supplies. A lot of good information, but also quite a lot about organizations and budgets which I didn't find as interesting. As the author notes, for instance, the generally believed version of Revolutionary history is that French muskets arrived and were immediately distributed to the armies is false. In fact, weapons were tested and quite often were found to be of poor quality. They were taken to American arsenals, fixed and refurbished before being sent to the troops. Part of this book is describing how those arsenals were created, staffed and operated. Quite enlightening.
4PocheFamily
I'm adding a mention here of The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel by Douglas Brunt although I've already noted it in the Submarines group because there are several areas of this book which focus on the development of diesels for the use by militaries of WW1-2, particularly in the dreadnaught competition between Britain and Germany prior to WW1 (other applications such as tanks are mentioned but pretty briefly). This book is a decent biography of Rudolf Diesel, and I appreciated the author's focus on placing the inventor's accomplishments within a larger technological history context. The "mystery" part is there but well ... no real new evidence, just conjecture.
5John5918
Just finished To War with Wellington: From the Peninsula to Waterloo by Peter Snow. An excellent and very readable overview, with plenty of quotes from people who were there. Simple but helpful maps for almost every battle.
