What are you currently reading ?

[Westmarcher]

For WW2 and tank fans, I recommend Tank Action by David Render (with Stuart Tootal). All about a 19 year old rookie Sherman Troop Commander (David Render) who takes command of a troop of veterans in Normandy in 1944. Just finished it and thoroughly enjoyed it.   

[kipt]

Finished "The Flying tigers: The Untold Story of the American Pilots Who Waged a Secret War Against Japan" by Sam Kleiner.  I bought this book from Costco when I finished the book I had with me.  Turned out to be a good read.

It is essentially the life of Claire Chennault and how he became very partisan for the Chinese.  He recruited American pilots (most of whom were military and who resigned and signed on with Chennault because of the adventure).  This was the American Volunteer Group, which later became known as the Flying Tigers.  The pilots were under contract to the Chinese and were to receive a bounty of $500 for each Japanese plane destroyed - the survivors did eventually receive the money.

The US Army was anxious to bring the group into the service but most of the pilots just wanted to go home when their year contract was up.  Chennault, though he had a troubled history with the army, did eventually give i.  He was first a colonel and then a brigadier general.

One misconception about the group was that they were in combat against the Japanese prior to Pearl Harbor, but actually did not go on their first combat mission until two weeks after.

The combat missions described seem like the airwar fights by bigjacmac.  Not as much detail but still engaging.

[kipt]

Finished "Admiral Togo" by Georges Blond (who also wrote "La Grande Armee" as well as 3 others that I know about).

Good book about Togo's life and goes to Tushima until Togo's death.  A good description of Japan before opening up to the west, the intervention into China, Togo's education and training, the naval combat with the Chinese.

A quick book to read and very interesting.

[kipt]

Finished "Carrier War' by Lieutenant Oliver Jensen, USNR.  This was printed in 1945 so written before the war ended.  Jensen was a Life magazine staff writer and was with Task Force 58.  He was also a destroyer officer in the Caribbean and North Africa before transferring to naval aviation.  He was on the Yorktown.

Because it was done as a wartime book, he does not say that the Third Fleet and the Fifth Fleet were the same, just changing commanders.  Lots of pictures of the ships and pilots, along with descriptions of the various actions against the Japanese held islands.  Jensen does a good job describing the action.

[Terry37]

Just finished Hell Divers III and what a great read! I am switching gears a bit and have decided to read Howard fast's "The Crossing" about the Battle of Trenton in 1776, which I'll start tonight.

Terry

[lowlylowlycook]

I wonder, what is the most expensive part of this forum to read, the new releases section or this thread?

[KTravlos]

Finished "Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I" by Edward J. Erickson. It fills in some of the gaps from "Ordered to Die", and is a nice example of what is called a one and half comparative research design. A very important fact of interest for Greek history is that in 1919 the Ottoman Army was still 61000 strong (41000 field army) with the whole infrastructure remaining at place for rapid mobilization (that could reach at full power 250000 men). Interesting that the Allies let the Ottomans keep their General Staff when they did not let the Germans.

[Leman]

That'll be owing to Russia going communist. Turkey then provided a nice buffer.

[Steve J]

Lobositz to Leuthen. Horace St Paul and the Campaigns of the Austrian Army in the SYW 1756-57.

Basically it's his diary with some notes where appropriate as well as copious maps and illustrations. On the opening moves so far but very intriguing how the Army moved, sending out detachments to secure crossings, observe the enemy etc. Simply loads of ideas already for kleine krieg games or slightly larger engagements using HoW.

[kipt]

Finished a pamphlet taken from ROYAL ENGINEER PROFESSIONAL PAPERS, "Field Engineering Battle of Woerth" by Capt. R Da Costa Porter 1880.  Inside it starts on page 41 and is titled "Paper IV, A Study in Field Engineering: The Battle of Woerth".  What the good captain has done is to have taken the movements of the pioneer companies on the Prussian/Bavarian side and given them tasks.  These tasks are not historical, but what he thinks they could have/should have done.

Tasks considered are repairing bridges, laying bridges using materials on hand when the corps bridging trains were not available, digging gun pits (quite extensive), digging rifle trenches (and using infantry help), making villages/houses defensible and using gun cotton to open up walls into villages.  He follows the Prussian official history as his direction.

All in all very interesting in 22 pages.  I was an engineer officer in the army so also had that interest. Would like to find the other papers since this is titled Paper IV.

[KTravlos]

Finally finished Embree's "Radetzky's Marches". Like his other works this is a very detailed history of the First War of Italian Unification. But for some reason it was a very tough slog. It took me 3 years to finish it, as time and again I had to walk away from it. An excellent source for scenarios at all levels of strategy, but not a friendly introduction/overview of the war.

Read the first two chapters of Graeber and Sahlin "On Kings". Very dense but oh my are they interesting.  Sahlin's "The Original Political Society" had some  provocative stuff. Gives me a new way to consider our political world.

In the introduction the two postulate that a main conflict in the history of the development of human politics was that between divine kingship and scared kingship. The difference between the two was that in divine kingship, the king elevated himself to the powers of a god and acted as a god in every-day life, while sacred kingship the king was an avatar of the gods, in theory all powerful but in practice curtailed by ritual, taboo etc.

In one the king is sovereign at will. In the other the king is a locus of sovereignty which he/she cannot directly practice. In one he/she is a person. In the other a meta-person.

Fast forward. If there is one archetypal meta-person in human politics, it is "The People". Beyond some very small minorities (for example the writers of the Jacobite), and few political societies (Oman), almost all political societies and political movements claim to serve or represent this meta-person "The People". The debates on democracy thus could be constituted as a clash between the idea of Divine Kingship of "The People" vs. Sacred Kingship of "The People".

Essentially any democratic politics that seek to give as much unfettered sovereignty to the "The People" is politics of Divine Kingship. This is done by calls for the democratization of everything , democratic immidiency, illiberal democracy, direct democracy, and opposition to liberalism. Anything that seeks to restrict the sovereign power of "The People" via representation, liberalism, checks and balances etc.

Once you see things this way, a lot makes better sense.

Reading, "Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy" by Daniel Ziblatt. A book I strongly recommend you read if you want to make some sense of what is going on in Turkey and the US.

"In Weimar-era Germany, the party stature of the loosely structured successor party that encompassed the heterogeneous strands of German Conservatism (German National People's Party) granted local or grass-roots regional associations, and not the national party leaders or national members of parliament, a majority of votes within the party congress to select the national party chairman. As a result, in 1928, an insurgent media magnate and industrialist, Alfred Hugenberg, could leverage his immense financial resources and access to outside pressure groups to capture the majority of local party associations to catapult himself into the position of party chairman, paving the way for the radicalization of Germany's right. "

[Leman]

The Roman Ring by Mark Richards. This is a book on a walking path that explores the country around Hadrian's Wall, consequently it covers pre-Roman, Medieval and modern history as well as the Roman period, eg it takes in castles, industrial heritage, and even a German prisoner of war camp. Preparation for next Spring's Northumbrian walking holiday.

[steve_holmes_11]

Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent.

Early days yet, but I get the feeling there's a secret agent involved.

[FierceKitty]

Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent.

Early days yet, but I get the feeling there's a secret agent involved.

One of his better books, for my money. James Bond it isn't.

[fsn]

I just read "Forever and a Day" by Anthony Horowitz in which 007 becomes 007.

I dunno.

I love the originals. John Gardener's were OK in a modernised sort of way. Hated the Raymond Benson books - so obviously written by an American who didn't really understand Britain.

Normally I like Anthony Horowitz. "Trigger Mortis" was so full of modern social mores that it became almost unreadable. in "Forever and a Day" Horowitz seems to have gone back to the traditional Bond with all his faults and his 1950s sensitivities. The plot is standard, the twists somewhat predictable, and the fight that I wanted to read didn't happen. The female lead is older than Bond, and not a shrinking violet - which I liked, and the ending was satisfactory.

6.5/10

[kipt]

Finished "Angels of Vengeance" by John Birmingham, an author I read before and liked (scenario was a UN battlegroup in the year 20xx was transported back to the Battle of Midway.  This book, however, is deceiving.  It looks like a picture of a Warthog attack plane on the cover, but has nothing to do with the story.

This story has to do with 3 different women in the aftermath of some sort of devastation of the US (a wave hit of some sort and dissolved everyone.  The women are an Endeavor (kind of like a multinational set of Seals), a smuggler and a young Mexican girl.  All the stories are intertwined (naturally) and as Birmingham tells a good story, I did finish the book.

Entertaining but not what I usually read - this book was a gift.

[Leman]

Just started reading for King and Parliament rules. Also having another look at the old  Virtue 'against Fury rules. I had forgotten that a) they are in fact a complete campaign and also include all sorts of elements like religion, recruitment and supply; b) for some odd reason there is a comprehensive English army list, but no Scots. I say odd because what did the English army achieve in France compared to Northumberland?

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Just finished Neul Gaimen's Anerican Gods, now stolen Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve from my daughter to read!

[Ithoriel]

Just finished Neul Gaimen's Anerican Gods, now stolen Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve from my daughter to read!

Looking forward to ..

[pierre the shy]

I just read "Forever and a Day" by Anthony Horowitz in which 007 becomes 007.

I dunno.

6.5/10

I picked this up and read the back cover in the bookshop at Auckland airport recently while I was waiting for a delayed flight.....seemed interesting but they wanted nearly $40 for the trade paperback version back so didn't get it - one to look out for in the local library though.