Quote from: mad lemmey on 04 February 2013, 09:13:01 AM
The Young Hussar: French Cavalryman of the Napoleonic Wars at Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau and Friedland by Baron de Marbot
This is one of three in a series that a friend lent me the series, very enjoyable, once you get over the archaic and naive writing style!!!
Short enough chapters to read in chunks without loosing the long term history (he's besieged in Genoa at the moment and it's going REALLY badly)!   

Marbot appears in the bibliographies of many serious historical works on the Napoleonic Wars. He has to be treated cautiously, however, since the concensus seems to be that he was not above embroidering the facts if it meant his own part appeared more heroic. 

Almost certainly, I wouldn't expect anything more or less of a retired Napoleonic General trying to win favour with the restored monachy.  However, it's a riotous read! 

Vulcan 607 about Black Buck attack on Port Stanley.  Doesn't just cover the raid, but the scramble by the RAF to get SOMETHING in place, including trying to get the Vulcans ready for air to air refuelling, because the tubes had been blocked (They found the bit they needed- on another airfield being used as a ashtray), the compressed training to get the crews ready - the instructor had to compress Night Qualification into one night so he was qualified to teach the Vulcan crews.  Only half way through - its in the kitchen at work, so I read 2-3 pages while waiting for the kettle.

Best bit so far (even better than Vulcan Crews keep spanking USAF at Red Flag etc) was when the Argentinian newspapers were screaming how British SUbs had been detected round the Falklands, and the Argentians had to airlift every thing, rather than go by boat.  This was confusing for our Military Attache at the UN, as he knew the closest 2 were still hundreds of miles away.  He is talking to the French Ambassador, when a Soviet Admiral walks past, and with out stopping says "Our submarines are being helpful to you?"

Now read Nigel 'Sharky' Ward's version of events 'Sea Harrier Over the Falklands: A Maverick at War', no love lost between FAA and the RAF then...

Vulcan 607 is a great book. So is Rowland White's next book Phoenix Squadron about the dash of HMS Ark Royal to Honduras to save the colony from invasion by Guatamalan troops. You wouldn't believe it if it were fiction. It's not. 

Vulcan 607 sounds a fascinating read!

Brilliant book, better than Vulcan I thought, must have read it in about 24 hours, without a break, a few summers back!

I loved the Florida National Guard reaction to events!

On my reading stand:

Through German Eyes:  The British and the Somme 1916 by Christopher Duffy.  German assessment of the British and Empire forces during the period of the Battle of the Somme.  
The Eleven Days of Christmas:  SAC Account of the Linebacker raids in 1972.
One Day in a Long War:  Assessement of the activities on 10 May 1972.
Phoenix Squadron, by Rowland White.
Blood, Steel, Myth: The II.SS-Panzer-Korps and the Road to Prochorowka

Biography of Manstein - we are just approaching Sevastopol and Manstein's soemwhat equivocal handling of the Commissar Order..

Duffy's The '45 - background for planning a 10 mm Culloden campaign

Phil Rickman's latest Dr Dee novel - title escapes me for the moment but a damned good read 

Los sueños de los que está hecha la materia. Don´t know its title in english, sorry. Compendium of original texts of Quantic mechanic, with explanations of S HAwking. Really interesting, but my knowledge of the subject is a bit rusty, so it´s being a bit hard.

The Selfish Gene, Rcihard Dawkins. A relecture, I´m enjoying it even more than the first time ^^

I've just finished The Fort by Bernard Cornwell. It's about the Penobscot Expedition of July & August 1779 during the AWI. The novel is not part of a series and has no single central character like Sharpe. There is plenty of action seen from both sides point of view. Well worth a read.

Yes I enjoyed that oe too.

Just started The Russia House by John le Carre. Good classic stuff so far

Finally finished Zitadelle by Mark Healy. Authoritative, if somewhat hard going - small type and long sentences. And the proof-reading could have been sharper, quite a few typos in the text.

Started reading Lord of the Rings again for the first time in sixteen years. I'd forgotten how good it is.

Once again thanks to WeeWars for recommending me this gem of a book! 

'American Gods' - Neil Gaiman
'Cutter and Bone' - Newton Thornburg

John Grisham - The Summons.

Quote from: J.S. on 03 March 2013, 01:04:49 PM


Once again thanks to WeeWars for recommending me this gem of a book! 

I don't suppose you know how it compares to the 'The Great War in the Middle East' books by W T Massey?

I was on the train to London a month ago and found a book left behind by a commuter, Boy Soldiers of the Great War by Richard van Emden which has been a good read. Two weeks later my Veteran's Association had in a guest speaker and WW1 tour guide Dave Empson who had contributed a story to the book. Our group is planning a 100 Year anniversary excurion to the great battlefields which i am really excited about.

I'm currently reading Soldier against the odds by Lofty Large and his escapades in Korea with the Glorious Glosters, captured at the Batlle fo the Imjin River he spent most of his time in Korea as a POW and was medically discharged unfit for duty only to re-enlist and then get through the gruelling SAS Selection to become a legend within the SAS. The book has some great humour in it as you'd expect and is written in a refreshingly simple way using simple language without any flowery embellishments or exaggerated action man style prose.

Quote from: freddy326 on 04 March 2013, 08:29:23 AM
I don't suppose you know how it compares to the 'The Great War in the Middle East' books by W T Massey?

Unfortunately I can't help you out here..it's my first book on that topic so far.

For bedside reading, an anthology of war stories by various authors. Not military history, but short stories. Maybe not the best choice, because I've only read a few stories, and already there's Japanese and a US serviceman on a small Pacific island, Lawrence and the Arabs blowing up a Turkish train, US marines during the Tet offensive and a US patrol engaging the Jerries in an Italian town. And Pendraken makes figures for all of these! Damn you!