SUBSIM: The Web's #1 resource for all submarine & naval simulations since 1997 |
02-12-07, 02:43 PM | #136 |
Silent Hunter
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Herefordshire, England
Posts: 3,562
Downloads: 216
Uploads: 0
|
Have just finshed Shadow Divers, Great read have just started Grey Wolf Grey Sea. Am slowly making my way through the 12 odd U-Boat books i got for Xmas.
__________________
|
02-12-07, 03:49 PM | #137 |
Sparky
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 154
Downloads: 156
Uploads: 0
|
I also took a break from Blair's first U-Boat book. But I plan on getting back to it very soon, and will start his second book shortly afterwords. I do agree with Blair's opinion of the U-Boat war. I think Blair may get a little misinterpreted due to the way he presents his opinion from time to time. He clearly does not like the fact that the U-Boat war gets so much attention why the American Sub War gets very little attention. But, if you really look at what Blair is saying, he is really just saying what Donitz was saying during the entire war. Hitler simply did not fund the U-Boat war in a way that made it effective. It isn't that the U-Boats, or their crews, were not effective. It is that the numbers of U-Boats available for operations were never at a level to make them effective as an overall force.
Blair only says the factual truth, and backs it up with actual numbers. Hitler never had enough U-Boats to make his U-Boat war effective, and he misused his U-Boat forces on a regular basis. This is simply fact. Well over 90% of allied shipping made it to their final destination. There were always just a handful of U-Boats chasing down huge convoys, and the lact of U-Boat numbers is why the U-Boat effort never really was that big of a threat. If Hitler would have properly funded the U-Boat war, and built hundreds of U-Boats like he did tanks, I think it could have definitely changed the outcome of the war in the early 1940's. |
02-12-07, 08:16 PM | #138 | |
Grey Wolf
Join Date: May 2006
Location: BA8758, or FN33eh for my fellow hams.
Posts: 833
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0
|
Quote:
Even though there are times in 'Hitlers U-Boat War' where his bias creeps in, so far those two volumes are the gold standard of the history of that campaign (at least in English). I do think that he supports those biases rather well with facts, so I can't argue with him. My personal opinion is that it isn't what he says that puts some people off, but the way he says it. And yes, the books can be somewhat dry, but there is a lot of history there, and a finite amount of space to cover it. My biggest complaint: His repetitive use of the word 'doggo' to describe bottoming the submarine and waiting. Doggo. Doggo. Doggo. Doggo. Doggo. Doggo. When we get another cat, I'm going to name it 'Doggo' in Blair's honor (MHRIP)
__________________
The U-Boat Commander of Love |
|
02-16-07, 06:02 PM | #139 |
Eternal Patrol
|
Well, since my last post here (January 9) I've had fun reading all of the seminal hard-boiled private eye novels; the entire short stories and novels of both Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.
Now back to sea: I've just started reading The Battle Of The Atlantic, by Terry Hughes and John Costello; Wm Collins Sons & Co, Great Britain, 1977. It starts at the beginning and ends at the end, and covers pretty much everything, including the politics and behind-the-scenes machinations. So far it's a lot of fun.
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo |
02-18-07, 05:52 PM | #140 | |
Fleet Admiral
|
Quote:
As for me Subsim Almanac 2007
__________________
|
|
02-18-07, 05:59 PM | #141 | |
Engineer
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 204
Downloads: 23
Uploads: 0
|
Quote:
thanks.
__________________
"You know, you might get surrounded." "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." --Band of Brothers |
|
02-18-07, 06:23 PM | #142 | ||
Eternal Patrol
|
Quote:
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo |
||
02-18-07, 06:34 PM | #143 |
Ace of the Deep
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,177
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0
|
I have a steadily growing list of books on the Pacific Theatre, suggested by a few people at subsim. With the imminent release of SH4, I may have to put Norman Davies' monster down for a while and get acquainted with the contents of the Amazon package arriving next week (hopefully).
|
02-18-07, 08:37 PM | #144 |
Officer
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: On patrol...
Posts: 244
Downloads: 113
Uploads: 0
|
I have approximately 150+ books on WW2 (u-boats and fleet boats) submarine warfare and I am constantly adding to my library. I also have copies of the war patrol reports of 34 US boats...and I am adding to that as well.
Currently reading Stephen L. Moore's Spadefish: On Patrol with a Top Scoring World War II Submarine, an infinitely readable account of US submarine warfare. Moore uses many Spadefish veteran interviews coupled with extensive use of Spadefish's war patrol reports. I have copies of those patrol reports and Moore does a wonderful job with his narrative. This book covers Spadefish's career from launching, fitting out, commissioning, shakedown, five patrols through to her mothballing at the end of the war. Cannot recommend this book enough...easily compares with Dick O'Kane's classics, Wahoo and Clear the Bridge. I just finished Mike Ostlund's Find 'Em Chase 'Em Sink 'Em: The Mysterious Loss of a WWII Submarine Gudgeon. Ostlund had an uncle that was lost on Gudgeon and thus drove his mission to find out about his uncle's sub and attempt to find the location of Gudgeon. Again, extensive interviews with veterans who served on Gudgeon before her final fateful patrol are used to fill-in the details. The book is written in two parts with the first having chapters dealing with all 12 of the sub's war patrols and the second part detailing Ostlund's detective work in locating his uncle's final resting place. Ostlund's detective work rivals that of Sherlock Holmes with elementary reasoning...something that it hindsight seems to have clearly eluded the US Navy. Highly recommended as well. On deck is Kenneth Ruiz's submarine memoir Luck of the Draw. I am looking forward to reading that immensely.
__________________
"Sink 'Em All!"- Uncle Charlie....."Angriff, Ran, Versenken!"- Onkel Karl |
02-22-07, 01:40 AM | #145 |
Grey Wolf
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Studying in Atlanta
Posts: 919
Downloads: 61
Uploads: 0
|
At the moment I'm reading The Winds of War by Herman Wouk, the author of The Caine Mutiny. Its a good read, recounting WWII from the fictional perspective of a Navy family. BTW, anyone who hasn't read The Caine Mutiny (Winner of the 1951 Pulitzer Prize), it's a must read for anyone interested in the workings of the Navy and its role in WWII from a very human and realistic view. Wouk writes at a high level so you have to work at reading his books, but believe me, its worth it!
|
02-24-07, 04:19 PM | #146 | |
Ace of the Deep
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,177
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0
|
Quote:
<image deleted> Cheers. Last edited by flintlock; 02-26-07 at 06:25 PM. |
|
02-26-07, 05:30 PM | #147 |
The Old Man
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 1,658
Downloads: 14
Uploads: 0
|
Right now I'm about 50 pages into Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine by James F Calvert, who was the TDC operator onboard the Jack.
|
02-26-07, 08:35 PM | #148 | |
Ocean Warrior
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Connecticut, USA.
Posts: 2,794
Downloads: 25
Uploads: 0
|
Quote:
Right now I'm reading Retreat Hell the 1st Marine division in Korea. |
|
02-26-07, 08:59 PM | #149 | |
Soaring
|
Quote:
What I read currently: during siesta time after midday, "The Plumed Serpent" by DH Lawrence and "Silk" bei Alessandro Baricco (short book and an artful narration, a most exquisite little surprise), and in bed some easier stuff, a thriller: "Lautlos" (noiseless) by Frank Schätzing. |
|
02-27-07, 12:24 AM | #150 | ||
Grey Wolf
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Studying in Atlanta
Posts: 919
Downloads: 61
Uploads: 0
|
Quote:
|
||
Tags |
books |
|
|