What are you currently reading ?

Started by goat major, 03 November 2012, 06:40:05 PM

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Duke Speedy of Leighton

Wasn't Whitewash and plaster standard on most ancient walls, so any besieged couldn't count the bricks and know the height for ladders/siege engines?
You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
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FierceKitty

Quote from: Dr Dave on 28 November 2017, 04:21:18 PM
Many years ago went to a lecture by Paddy Griffith on the wall. At the time evidence had been unearthed that it was painted - or "white washed" - to make it look even more inspiring / formidable. Any evidence of that in your readings?

A good story some here may not know: a Japanese army in an incomplete castle realised they weren't ready to stand siege, and certainly not big enough to face the approaching force of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the field, so they retreated. The following day they received a dispatch-rider from Hideyoshi, just inviting them to have a look over their shoulders. They did so, and saw their castle, now captured, and complete, even unto the whitewashing on the keep. Feeling utterly outclassed by an enemy who could do six months of construction work overnight, they surrendered on terms (Hideyoshi was so successful partly because he noticed you didn't always have to grind a beaten enemy into powder).

When the news got out that the castle had been "completed" with Hollywood-style constructions that wouldn't have stopped a punch, and that they had surrendered quite unecessarily, there were a few red faces; not sure if there were also a few sepukku acts.
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Leman

The book I am reading does mention the discovery of whitewash remains on some parts of the wall not excavated until the 1990s. apparently there was also the possibility that red lines were painted onto the whitewash to mimic bricks.

I have just read, very quickly, Neil Thomas' Napoleonic Wargaming. I must admit that, having read and played both C19th Europe and One Hour Wargames, I am raring to have a go at these. Going for the 60mm frontage and Iberia to start with in 6mm (armies I already have). 6mm should make the 8 units look spectacular.
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Terry37

Having finished the New World Series by Hopf I just started a new series - "Trackers" by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. So far it is very good.

Terry
"My heart has joined the thousand for a friend stopped running today." Mr. Richard Adams

KTravlos

I finished Lars Erickson's "Devil in the White City". A really great book but the Holmes part was depressing and disturbing. A truly evil man.

Still wrestling with producing summaries for the FB group from Howard's book on the Franco-Prussian War.

Starting Tsirigiotis book on Greek Grand Strategy during the Asia Minor Expedition (in Greek) for my Salvation and Catastrophe Project.


Chieftain

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Fenton

If I were creating Pendraken I wouldn't mess about with Romans and  Mongols  I would have started with Centurions , eight o'clock, Day One!

Roy

The Border Reivers, by Godfrey Watson
princeps Roy , prince de Monacorra, (ascended in February 2023)
His Serene Highness the Sovereign Prince of (the imaginary sovereign microstate of) Monacorra

All Hail the Principality of Monacorra!  8-}

Womble67

Voices from Stalingrad: Nemesis on the Volga (Voices from) by Jonathan Bastable

some of the stuff these men had to go through was absolutely horrific

Take care

Andy
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kipt

Finished "The Dogma of the Battle of Annihilation: The Theories of Clausewitz and Schlieffen and Their Impact on the German Conduct of Two World Wars" by Jehuda Wallach.

Book One is the theories; Clausewitz, Schlieffen and a comparison of both.  Book Two is the practice and discusses various phases of WWI.  This is part one.

Part two in the interwar period and part three is WWII; Blitzkrieg, Barbarossa, Rommel, Hitler's "hold" orders, the Ardennes and then a discussion of the relationship between policy and war in Nazi Germany.

I found it an interesting book, with good descriptions and explanations of the theories.

kipt

Finished "The Journal of Military History", Volume 81, No. 3 (distributed each quarter).

Articles for this issue are:
"For Want of a Nail: The Impact of Shipping on Grand Strategy in World War II"
"Holy War and Just War in Early New England, 1630-1655"
"Adversary and Ally: The Role of Weather in the Life and Career of George Washington"  not very good in my opinion
"Dissecting the Origins of Air-Centric Special Operations Theory"

plus others.  Always some of interest and others not so much.

Also short book reviews.

Ithoriel

Just finished "Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia" by Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat. Started it on the 21st February this year and it's 307 pages long so I've averaged just over 1 page a day!

Whatever happened to the teenager who blitzed through 120 page sci-fi novels in 24 to 48 hours? :)
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kipt

Finished "The Russo-Japanese War" by Christopher Martin, 1967.

A very good description of the ground and naval combats.  Good maps and interesting pictures.

Perhaps a period to get into, but what rules?  Col Bill has the Fire and Fury adaptation which I haven't seen yet, but maybe...

KTravlos

There is a BBB player that is slowly writing scenarios for BBB. Two are freely available at the Yahoo BBB page.

Steve J

Katanga 1960 -1963 by Christopher Othen. Half way through the book and an excellent, if very, very grim read. I saw some pretty grim things when I lived in Nigeria, especially during the riots, but the inter-tribal fighting covered so far is way in excess of what I encountered :(. Also the mercenaries were, by and large, a pretty useless and rum bunch.