Just been reading The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome. Whoooey, and I thought there was some dismal punctuation on this forum!
Where do you suppose they get it from?
But - Mr Barker is technically correct, just unreadable with sentences a complete novel long.
IanS
Hence why I could never deal with DBA until WADBAG produced the unofficial guide.
"The Heart & The Rose: The Battle of Linlithgow Bridge 1526" by Jonathan Cooper (Partizan, 2004) has certainly never had a glance from a copy editor. It is painful to read but essential as I am starting a project set in Scotland between 1514 and 1528. I don't know how publishers have the gall to issue this shoddy workmanship.
Have you tried The Great War Explained? It evidently glided straight past the proof reader's office, and it cost £19.95!
Quote from: Dour Puritan on 23 April 2014, 07:11:24 PM
Have you tried The Great War Explained? It evidently glided straight past the proof reader's office, and it cost £19.95!
Thanks for the warning! I'll give it a miss in that case.
E.g. "Japan.......had beaten Russia decisively in the naval war of 1906." And that's only page 4!
Wawro misdates Fontenoy on page one of the APW.
Chris Brown in his introduction to Kohima 1944, one of the Battle Story series, describes Kohima as "a Burmese hill town". It is, of course, in the Assam province of India.
Don't you just love experts. I have a regular opponent who would like to beat Wawro to death with a copy of his book on the Franco-Prussian War (1871-1873??).
Am I your regular (?) opponent, or is there another sentient being in the universe? We should be told!
Mollinary
No, there is another (Alec Guiness). He's a mate of mine who lives on the Wirral and did a fair bit on the FPW as part of his Military History Degree. His views on Wawro caused much consternation among his lecturers. His rejoinder to this was 'this is my war!'
Quote from: Dour Puritan on 24 April 2014, 08:58:04 PM
No, there is another (Alec Guiness). He's a mate of mine who lives on the Wirral ...'
You can tell it is Dour Puritan, by the accuracy of his dice rolling.
Roll a 6 and I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine
Use the errata, Luke.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
QuoteBut - Mr Barker is technically correct, just unreadable with sentences a complete novel long.
Which is actaully a shame because he has done a huge amount for wargaming.
Somewhere in my first edition HoTT there is a sentence which is I believe forty five words long, I actually counted the number of words and highlighted the sentence by entering the word count in the margin of the rule book using an HB pencil produced by a well-known pencil manufacturer; unfortunately I cannot prove this as I have subsequently mislaid that copy of the rules and have not had the courage to buy another, however I am confident that forty five words was the maximum sentence length in that rule set but cannot, with any degree of certainty, express an opinion as to whether or not this number has been exceeded in some other publication authored by the same gentleman; maybe some other member of this forum, more erudite and well versed in matters pertaining to the scholarly output of the Wargames Research Group could enlighten us.
Quote from: DanJ on 06 June 2014, 02:07:16 PM
Which is actaully a shame because he has done a huge amount for wargaming.
Somewhere in my first edition HoTT there is a sentence which is I believe forty five words long, I actually counted the number of words and highlighted the sentence by entering the word count in the margin of the rule book using an HB pencil produced by a well-known pencil manufacturer; unfortunately I cannot prove this as I have subsequently mislaid that copy of the rules and have not had the courage to buy another, however I am confident that forty five words was the maximum sentence length in that rule set but cannot, with any degree of certainty, express an opinion as to whether or not this number has been exceeded in some other publication authored by the same gentleman; maybe some other member of this forum, more erudite and well versed in matters pertaining to the scholarly output of the Wargames Research Group could enlighten us.
After that one - OUT OUT OUT.....
IanS :D
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: ianrs54 on 06 June 2014, 03:03:09 PM
After that one - OUT OUT OUT.....
IanS :D
Why? It was something any educated 8 year old could read ;)
Which is more than anything Barker ever managed... ;)
Quote from: paulr on 07 June 2014, 01:43:29 AM
Why? It was something any educated 8 year old could read ;)
Finding one would be more of a problem.
QuoteAfter that one - OUT OUT OUT.....
I used to get into trouble at school for writing whole paragraphs as single sentences, I never understood the issue but have come to realise of the years how dificult it is to read.
I now spend a large part of my time helping people write business cases for IT projects and that has made me evaluate what constitutes well written prose.
It works well enough in Latin.
Ever read Dickens? Some of his sentences are monumental.
Quote from: Hertsblue on 11 June 2014, 10:28:56 AM
Ever read Dickens? Some of his sentences are monumental.
Monumentally boring, its not even relevant social comment for the era.
IanS
Quote from: ianrs54 on 11 June 2014, 11:31:42 AM
Monumentally boring, its not even relevant social comment for the era.
IanS
Thank God. Social commentary makes really dull literature.
Dickens IS REALLY REALLY DULL LITERATURE.
Anyone disagreeing will be shot. >:( >:( >:(
Except the quote from Oliver Twist, "Do not say you have seen me Dick." That got a laugh in school.
Pass me a blindfold - I don't think Dickens' novels are boring.
You don't deserve a blindfold.
Having read Little Dorrit for A levels, I can confirm that this book is hard work and not fun to read. The tele versions are much more digestable IMHO.
He might have written better had he written less; he's got his weaknesses, as who has not, and if I were a woman I'd certainly want to explain a few things to him over the head with a half-brick in a sock, but at his best he's dazzling. Anyone who disagrees is welcome to shoot at me, since I'm confident he'll shoot his own nose off trying to hit me.
The only thing more boring than Dickens is the Brontes.
Just what were the exam boards thinking, were they trying to put people off reading books for life?
I had to read 'Wuthering Heights' for my GCE 'O' level English Literature exam...all I can say is thank god for Asimov and Heinlein!
I read most of his books in my twenties and enjoyed them. Considering he was writing "part works" he kept it together brilliantly. And no, I didn't know him personally...
I notice, with utter incredulity, Govey's latest plan to put kids off reading with a diet of Bronte, Dickens, Hardy, Shakespeare et al. Is this all part of a cunning plan by the Tories to actually increase the number of illiterate people in this country so that there will be fewer who have the wherewithall to challenge them for power?
Funny you should say that, I was thinking the same thing. :-\ Dumb them down and they won't question too much.
In Zambia, several years ago, the ruling party decided on the symbols to be used for each party in the elections, strangely enough in parts of the country they were represented by a Lion or an Elephant on the ballot paper while the opposition were a Chameleon ( a very bad sign to rural Africans) or Baboon.
In South Africa a party called the Soccer party got 5% of the total votes cast in the Eastern Cape (and due to Proportional representation a couple of seats) because their symbol was a football! ;D They had no policies or ideas, just wanted the fat cheque for winning a seat.
Democracy at its best ;)
Quote from: Hussargeneral on 12 June 2014, 02:13:36 PM
Funny you should say that, I was thinking the same thing. :-\ Dumb them down and they won't question too much.
Dickens, Shakespeare et al is dumbing down? :o :o :o I don't think so.
No it isn't if you have had a relatively privileged upbringing with parents who understand how to support and nurture a child's education. If, like me , you were lucky enough to get into a grammar school, and the complete works of Shakespeare was on the family bookshelf, then A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth (quite keen on Scottish independence) and Twelfth Night were quite good fun. I then went on to teach in comprehensive schools where the majority of pupils did not enjoy the background advantages that I had. It was the likes of Kes and The Lord of the Flies that got these children interested in reading. Dickens came alive thanks to the likes of Alec Guinness on film, but reading it left them cold. I have great faith in English teachers who will find ways of gripping the children with literature despite Gove's best (worst?) efforts.
Quote from: Dour Puritan on 12 June 2014, 11:48:02 AM
I notice, with utter incredulity, Govey's latest plan to put kids off reading with a diet of Bronte, Dickens, Hardy, Shakespeare et al. Is this all part of a cunning plan by the Tories to actually increase the number of illiterate people in this country so that there will be fewer who have the wherewithall to challenge them for power?
Hertsblue it was in response to the above.
One mans classic etc etc.
Quote from: Hussargeneral on 12 June 2014, 02:13:36 PM
Funny you should say that, I was thinking the same thing. :-\ Dumb them down and they won't question too much.
In Zambia, several years ago, the ruling party decided on the symbols to be used for each party in the elections, strangely enough in parts of the country they were represented by a Lion or an Elephant on the ballot paper while the opposition were a Chameleon ( a very bad sign to rural Africans) or Baboon.
In South Africa a party called the Soccer party got 5% of the total votes cast in the Eastern Cape (and due to Proportional representation a couple of seats) because their symbol was a football! ;D They had no policies or ideas, just wanted the fat cheque for winning a seat.
Democracy at its best ;)
Remember la Cicciolina in Italian politics? I'd have cast my vote for her myself.
;D Oh Yeah !! I'd vote twice!!
Quote from: Hussargeneral on 13 June 2014, 03:04:16 PM
;D Oh Yeah !! I'd vote twice!!
You will go far in life until you get caught, youngster.
QuoteYou will go far in life until you get caught, youngster
Many years ago a couple of chaps I knew decided to 'have a laugh' and voted either twice or using each others names ( can't remember which) but they were caught and got into a lot of trouble, a large fine and I think they were disenfranchised for a while.
When all the carpers have written a classic novel like 'A Tale of Two Cities', or a set of wargame rules which have influenced gamers on a world-wide basis for years I may give the criticisms voiced some credence.
I hope the previous sentence wasn't too long for any of you to understand. :o :P ;) :D
Just ordered 'Moon over Malaya', account of Col Stewart's superb 2nd Batt A&SH and their fighting retreat to Singapore. I've read the official history - which is very good - but for some reason I missed this.
I had a grammar school education but fortunately there were no 'classics' to be seen -or read for that matter. I have never read or even wanted to read anything by Dickens, the Brontes or any other of their ilk and the TV adaptations just bore the a**se off me.
Shakespeare is wasted on the young unless you can see a film that goes with it to put the language in some perspective...or...you have a half decent English teacher who is passionate about his or her subject. Our reading material for 'O' Level (remember them back in the day when a Pass meant something), was Julius Caesar for the 'mocks' (can't remember the others -I've been to sleep since then), but for the actual exam we read Macbeth, Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner and Brighton Rock. Macbeth had not long been made into a film by Polanski -excellent- so that was okay; Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner; I don't do poetry but suffered it during lessons and Brighton Rock...I have never read, never even been interested in reading and neither have I seen the film with Attenborough.
I still managed to Pass Eng. Lit., Eng. Lang., and Eng. Oral.
Now that I am older, I can appreciate the words of Shakepeare but when you are teaching hormonal children one language and then try and teach them several others -because Shakepeare uses what children would classify as an old language therefore not interesting- at the same time you really are on a hiding to nothing. One version of English is bad enough.
I even quite enjoy watching some of Shakepeare's stuff; still can't read it though.
Ilk needs to get together with plaid and bring some kind of lawsuit.
Haarlem. Verskoon my!