What are you currently reading ?

[Raider4]

Live & Let Die by Ian Fleming.

Which is an eye-opener about which language was deemed acceptable in the early fifties, I can tell you.

Suffice to say, I doubt it would be published today . . .

Cheers, Martyn
--

[Hertsblue]

Kursk- the Greatest Battle by Lloyd Clark - told from both points of view, with many first-hand anecdotes (and, yes, German machine-gunners did fire the MG42 from a standing position with the weapon on the number two's shoulder. Necessary to be able to see over the standing wheat.)

The Skinner by Neal Asher - Spatterjay is not a planet I would willingly visit!

Lancaster - the Second World War's Greatest Bomber - Leo McKinstry's follow-up to his Spitfire and Hurricane.

[Gennorm]

The Peninsula War by Charles Esdaile.

[Malbork]

Tannenberg by Denis Showalter - excellent narrative of the opening of the 1914 campaign on the Eastern Front.

Re-reading August 1914 by Solzhenitsyn for another take on the same thing and inspiration to purchase hordes of WWI Pendraken figs.

Traitor's Blood by Michael Arnold - to get me ro finish my ECW armies.

The End by Ian Kershaw - fascinating if unevenly written account of the end of the war from the German perspective.

[Luddite]

Missionary Man
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1990s
John Carter: Warlord of Mars
Kingdom: Call of the Wild

All read.

Missionary Man - not bad
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1990s - excellent as ever
John Carter: Warlord of Mars - um...
Kingdom: Call of the Wild - interesting ideas but felt like a prologue

Also finished all 16 volumes of the Walking Dead (vol 17 on order).  Excellent

Not sure what will be next...

[Techno]

I've been listening to "The Burning Land" by that nice Mr Cornwell, while I've been pushing the putty about.....
I loved it !!
Cheers - Phil.

[OldenBUA]

A bit tough going, but an interesting read: "Einführung in das Kriegsspiel". Subtitled "Wegweiser zur Lösung von Kriegsspielaufgaben für Offiziere des Beurlaubtenstandes aller Dienstgrade sowie für jungere Offiziere des activen Dienststandes".

Basically a 'how to' guide for playing the Kriegsspiel games of the Imperial German Army. How to write your orders, and what is the best method to tackle a given situation (advance/retreat/attack/defense etc). Published in 1913, and therefore much is written with the FPW in mind. The scenarios for example, while talking about a 'blue' and 'red' army all take place in the Alsace-Lorraine area, and a contemporary map is included that shows a part of this.

Reading this really gives you an idea where all the (old-school) wargames rules derive from.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Sounds really cool.
How detailed is the map?

[OldenBUA]

Scale 1:100.000, based on the 'Landesaufnahme' of 1884. Similar to this one:



This might give an idea why it's tough going, the whole book is in old gothic 'Black letter'.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nasty!
What a brilliant find though, do you think you would ever play it 'for real' or is it a research piece?

[Pruneau]

I'm 'reading'the e-book of an old manuscript on medicinal use of herbs and trying to convert it to a herbalist ruleset for RuneQuest.  The tome in question is  the Cruijdeboeck from Dodoens , a herb dictionary from a Belgian doctor finished around 1740. Apart from that, it's mainly flipping through rulebooks looking for better ways to write my WW2 rules.

[OldenBUA]

Nasty!
What a brilliant find though, do you think you would ever play it 'for real' or is it a research piece?

Well, it's more of a 'general interest' piece. Also, you'd need (something like) the original Kriegsspiel rules to actually play a game. This book is more of a guide in participating in those games, not the rules themselves.

I'm 'reading'the e-book of an old manuscript on medicinal use of herbs and trying to convert it to a herbalist ruleset for RuneQuest.

That one looks pretty tough going as well! But fascinating, too.

[Hertsblue]

Well, it's more of a 'general interest' piece. Also, you'd need (something like) the original Kriegsspiel rules to actually play a game. This book is more of a guide in participating in those games, not the rules themselves.

I bought von Reisswitz's Kriegs Spiel of 1824 back in the early eighties. I don't think I've ever read it right through, let alone played the rules.

[Pruneau]

That one looks pretty tough going as well! But fascinating, too.

It's not as hard as it sounds: I'm just on the lookout for authentic ancient looking plant drawings and names, and this book delivers.  From there it's just inventing an effect and pouring it into a rule of some sort.

[Chad]

Courtesy of the birthday present of an Amazon voucher from my son, I have now got to get my teeth into these:

The Northern Crusades - Eric Christiansen
France at Bay 1870-71 - Douglas Fermer
Marlborough's Wars Vols 1 & 2 - Frank Taylor

Should keep me going for a while!

Chad

[mollinary]

Wow Chad!  Great choices and a brilliant present.  Has the Frank Taylor been reprinted?  I have an original, and it's one of my favourite books.  Now you've reminded me I must get the Fermer book, I really liked his Sedan. 

Mollinary

[FierceKitty]

The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. I wish a few more first-language speakers could write English like that Russian. I wish I  could, damn it!

[Chad]

Mollinary

I too enjoyed his Sedan and am looking forward to this.

Had not heard of the Taylor books, but came on them searching Amazon for ways to spend my birthday present. Now in 2 volumes in paperback, about £26 together.

If it's good enough for you then I think I will enjoy them.

Cheers

Chad

[Malbork]

Courtesy of the birthday present of an Amazon voucher from my son, I have now got to get my teeth into these:

The Northern Crusades - Eric Christiansen

That's a good one  

Alan Palmer's Northern Shores is also worth a look if you're interested in that area/period.

[kustenjaeger]

Greetings

Re-reading parts of Gill's 'Thunder on the Danube' and Valeriy Zamulin's 'Destroying the Myth' on Kursk.

Regards

Edward