What are you currently reading ?

[steve_holmes_11]

I've been picking my way back though the Chain of Command rules.

[kipt]

Finished "One Hundred and Seventy-Five Battles By Land, sea and Air: From Marathon to the Marne and After" by Roger Shaw,1937.

About one page per battle and gets into the Spanish Civil War.  Lots of references to Hannibal's victory at Cannae (what the Germans wanted and others).  Sort of interesting but obviously no depth.

[cameronian]

Soon ... August hopefully (COVID permitting) Helion & Co.

[kipt]

Finished the Osprey Campaign "Java Sea 1942: Japan's Conquest of the Netherlands East Indies" by Mark Stiles.

Typical Osprey but a very good history.  A condensed version of a previous book on this topic.  If you do naval combat, this has some good options.

[kipt]

Finished "Italian Naval Camouflage of World War II" by Marco Ghiglino.

All you wanted to know about each ship from BB's to MAS boats as well as auxiliaries.  Each ship shows the design and colors, typically of both sides.

Not so much history other than the orders regarding the designs to use.  Many pictures and drawings of each ship.  Amazing.

[Steve J]

The Art of War of Revolutionary France by Paddy Griffith. Just started but enjoyable and part of attempt to improve my knowledge of this period.

[holdfast]

Dear old Paddy. 10 years in May since we lost him.

[Shedman]

A History of Violence in the Early Algerian Colony 1830–1847 by William Gallois

[GordonY]

The Witcher series (8 books) a rattling good read.

Gordon

[kipt]

Finished a most interesting book, "An Instinct for War: Scenes from the Battlefields of History" by Roger Spiller who is the George C Marshall Professor, Emeritus, of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

One of the recommendations on the back cover says "'An Instinct for War' is a book of war stories like no other I've read - a cultural history of the world's war-making, from ancient China and Greece to the Apocalypse that's just ahead of us.  Spiller's skills include ventriloquism: he makes every war speak in a voice of its own, sometimes historical, sometimes not" (by Samuel Hynes, author iof Flights of Passage and The Soldiers' Tale).

The book has 13 chapters, really each is a story of its own, from Ancient China through the New World, the ACW, the Russo-Japanese war and more.

Very entertaining and thought provoking.  Recommended.

[kipt]

Finished an Osprey Air Campaign booklet, "Guadalcanal 1942-43: Japan's bid to Knockout Henderson Field and the Cactus Air Force" by Mark Stile.  Reads like BigJackMac's air combats (and recommended for him).

Lots of pictures and statistics of number and type of planes in the different combats.  Makes me want to try it (but later; working on ACW at the moment).

[Orcs]

Just finished reading "The Nazi Hunters" about an SAS mission in the Vosges region in France  Operation Loyton , and the subsequent hunt for War Criminals

[DaveH]

Gordon Rottman - US Marine v IJA Infantryman Guadalcanal 1942 - Osprey Combat series as a freebie from their offer.

Peter Cozzens - Shenandoah 1862

[hammurabi70]

Gordon Rottman - US Marine v IJA Infantryman Guadalcanal 1942 - Osprey Combat series as a freebie from their offer.

Peter Cozzens - Shenandoah 1862

Good if you can get it; would not let me process them at checkout.  I gather it can be a general problem that affects many.

[Scorpio_Rocks]

Good if you can get it; would not let me process them at checkout.  I gather it can be a general problem that affects many.

They sorted the issue - if you are still getting it: clear your cookies for Osprey

P.S. They have a 45% sale on ebooks atm!

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Now I've finished my reports, 'The Human' by Neal Asher.

[kipt]

Finished "the Twenty-fourth Michigan" by Donald L. Smith.  This is the story of a Union regiment that joined the Iron brigade after Antietam and was first in action at Fredericksburg.  Here they were accepted by the rest of the Iron Brigade as worthy companions.

They further proved their worth at Gettysburg in the first days fighting.  They lost 80% of their men, "the largest number of casualties of the over 400 Union Regiments which participated in the battle".

When they mustered out, after the war had ended, they had been in service for two years, 10 months and 15 days.  There were only 180 men left out of the 1030 that originally left to join the army.

Good book.

[FierceKitty]

If there's one thing military history really teaches, it's the sheer suicidal stupidity of humanity.

[steve_holmes_11]

Dull computer manuals - Thaasans of em!

[kipt]

Finished "A Glimpse Of Hell: The Explosion On The USS Iowa And Its Cover-up" by Charles C. Thompson II.

Middle gun of turret two exploded and killed 47 sailors in the turret.  Bad investigation by the Navy tried to say two of the sailors had a homosexual relationship, broke up and the one killed himself by the way of an explosion.  even after this was disproven, the Navy brass kept it up.  Stupid investigations, leaks to the press, and a lot of coverups.  Admirals in peacetime are politicians and they forgot honor and integrity.

Kind of like firing the captain of the USS Teddy Roosevelt.

Very interesting book.