What are you currently reading ?

[FierceKitty]

Santa was kind to me. I have just finished reading two very different books.

"Frederick the Great", by Nancy Mitford (1970)

Straying off my usual C19-C20 turf but I am currently interested in FtG's wars. This was a great complement to more conventional military histories, being about FtG as a person - and what an extraordinary character he was. Imagine an aristocratic English lady airily dispensing amusing anecdotes in a manner both informative and entertaining and you will get the idea. A great read.

What struck me about Mitford's biography was the way she tried to turn that nightmare of a father into a sort of Uncle Matthew figure, and how unsatisfying a biography of Fritz will be if the writer isn't deeply interested in military history.

[Stewart.gibson]

Hi,

I have my nose buried in Gill's three volume set on the 1809 campaign in Austria.  Great day to day operational narrative of the entire campaign.

I am mainly focussed on the small unit tactics of the campaign.

Stu

[kipt]

Finished "Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal" by Vice admiral Homer Wallin USN (Retired).  The author was a Captain at the time of the attack in the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) of the Navy and became the OIC of the salvage.  Printed by the Naval History Division, 1968.  Picked it up at a used book store just for the heck of it, but it turned out to be a very good read.

As an aside, my grandfather was also ion the CEC and he and the author joined in 1917, so they may have known each other.  My grandfather retired as a Rear Admiral.

The author gives a recap of the trend towards war and the setup of the fleet at Pearl.  Then he describes the attack and the aftermath.  There are a lot of eye witness accounts of the attack and then goes into the salvage of the BB's and other ships.  Good descriptions of how to refloat/repair the sunken and damaged ships.  How to skim the oil out of submerged spaces so when the water is removed the oil will not leave a file on the bulkheads.  How to test for hydrogen sulfide (there were 2 fatalities in the beginning - evidently in high enough concentrations it "kills" the nose receptors and cannot be smelled; sewer gas smell).  The use of the civilian services as well as navy units for divers and fabricating cofferdams.

All in all I found it very interesting (but I like this sort of stuff - I'm an engineer...).

[kipt]

Finished "Floating Gold: A Natural (&Unnatural) History of AMBERGRIS" by Christopher Kemp. The author is a molecular biologist who wondered about this material, "Preternaturally hardened whale dung".

Last year in June there was a story by the BBC of Yemen fishermen finding $1.5 million of ambergris in a whales belly.  Piqued my interest about the material so I bought this book.  It is a history, a travel adventure (all true), scientific discourse, quotes from the past and generally a delightful read.

The author goes to several places in the world in his search for ambergris, meetings with knowledgeable people (museum curators, collectors, sellers, searchers - and he does his own) and wrote this book.  He was also a columnist for Cincinnati CityBeat and science writings in Salon.

Ambergris is expelled from sperm whales (either naturally or causing their death because it is an obstruction in the kidneys) and can drift for years in the ocean.  It can be black and sticky, grey with stripes or white and is used in perfume, as it causes the scent to linger.

The author visited perfumeries in Paris, Cape Cod and islands south of New Zealand for the story.  Something different from my normal military reading but thoroughly enjoyable.

[kipt]

Finished "The Navy's Air War: A Mission Completed" by The Aviation History Unit, no date but after WWII.

Talks about aviation history in the US and Naval history in the buildup to the war.  Sections on the Atlantic and the Pacific and then The Forces Behind The Navy's Air War.  This part discusses the training, Production, shore establishments, Naval Air Transports Service (NATS - which my dad was in and stationed in Hawaii - not tough duty) and the science.

Well done history and better than I thought it would be.  Makes me want to continue with the WWI and II fleets I have.

[kipt]

Finished "Napoleon Recaptures Paris" by Claude Manceron, the author that wrote "Austerlitz", a book I read so long ago.

This book discusses Napoleon's return from Elba, from the 14th of March to the 20th, in day by day narrative.  Many writings from both the Royalist side and the Bonapartist side.  Very well don, Manceron has a very engaging writing style which the translator has captured.

[Steve J]

Battle Tactics of the Civil War by Paddy Griffiths. An interesting read so far with little nuggets of info in there, helped by the fact that I read some very good books on some of the major battles last year, so I can understand most of the context.

[T13A]

Hi

Just finished (for the second time) 'War without Garlands: Operation Barbarrosa 1941-42' by Robert Kershaw. Excellent account (and harrowing) of just why Barbarrosa failed.

Cheers Paul

[kipt]

Finished "The Stonewall Brigade" by James I. Robertson, Jr.  As it indicates a history of the brigade with many inclusions of letters and reports.  Actually not much about the various combats but observations by the soldiers that were there.  It was an "elite" unit because the regiments and soldiers that were part of it considered themselves so.  They did perform.

[Big Insect]

Started re-reading War with Russia - by General Sir Richard Shirreff. (ISBN: 978-1-473-63225-7)
It was very good the first time around, but with what is going on in Ukraine I am now reading it with a more thorough eye for the detail.
Thoroughly recommended & very accessible

[Sean Clark]

Picked up on your recommendation Mark. It's both chilling and eye opening.

[kipt]

Finished "the Attack and Defense of Little Round Top: Gettysburg, July 2, 1863" by Oliver Wilcox Norton.  The author was from the 83rd PA and detached to the third brigade HQ (3/1/V) as brigade bugler and guidon bearer of the HQ flag.  He had enlisted in the 83rd and eventual became a first lieutenant with the 8th USCT.

In this book the author uses information from historians, the Official Records, both from Federals and Confederates, and letters from General Warren and others to establish what had happened at Little Round Top.  Up until he wrote and published (1913) there were several different views of the sequence of the action, particularly regarding Gen. Warren's role.  What he established is what is currently seen as correct.  This is a reprint of 1992 by Stan Clarke Military Books, Gettysburg (evidently still in business).

[Sean Clark]

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, by Laurie Lee.

A beautifully written account of his journey through Spain in the run upto the civil War. Highly recommended.

[T13A]

Hi

Just finished 'The Road to Dunkirk: The British Expeditionary Force and the Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal, 1940' by Charles More. Some excellent material for scenarios for BEF v Germans but not if you want panzers! Good book.

Cheers Paul

[Big Insect]

Just finished reading The Anarchy by William Dalrymple (who I have to admit is one of my most favorite authors about anything to do with India).

It is all about the rise of the East India Company (EIC) and the creation of the worlds first 'too big to fail" joint stock company and the dangers of letting a corporation control the lives of millions of people in an unfettered and unregulated manner (hmmm ... an C18th version of Facebook ... but with an army!).

Some really interesting insights into the declining Mughal Empire, Tipu Sultan and his army and the Maratha and Carnatic Wars. Also, just how quickly the Indians adapted to European warfare and just how close they came, on a number of occasions to destroying the EIC and changing the history of India.
All written in a really engaging style.

I'm now very tempted by the idea of armies of early Sepoys - in their European style jackets, huge turbans and cycling shorts!!! Along with very colourful massed Indian cavalry, elephants and a lot of artillery (including camel mounted rockets and massed camel swivel guns). What is not to like 

A great read. I'd thoroughly recommend it.

Mark