What are you reading right now? - Page 38

frau kaleun · 01-28-10, 09:25 PM

I'm about halfway through Michael Hadley's Count Not The Dead - interesting read and especially the early chapters about WWI and the years leading up to WWII. (For me, anyway, since that's something I know far less about.)

Andrew82 · 02-09-10, 02:51 PM

I'm currently reading "Battle of the Atlantic" by Andrew Williams. Good reading!

Anyone got some non-fictional, submarine or WWII related recommendations?

AirborneTD · 02-09-10, 04:55 PM

For an in depth study of the US sub campaign of WWII, my favorite is Blair's Silent Victory. I also like, the Terrible Hours, Red Scorpion, Thunder Below and Operation Drumbeat.

I'm currently reading the Last Gentleman of War (the Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden) by RK Lochner. I've recently gotten into WWI raider operations after playing the card game the Kaiser's Pirates.

sharkbit · 02-09-10, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Just finished "Blood Red Snow: The Memoirs of a German Soldier on the Eastern Front" by Gunther K. Koschorrek.
Good book. Details the horror that was the Eastern Front.

If that wasn't enough for me, I just started:
"Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's War on the Eastern Front 1942-1945" by Boris Gorbachevsky.

After those two books, I think I'm going to need a little lighter reading.

I posted this back in November. I finished "Through the Maelstrom...". A pretty good read and a different perspective on the Eastern front.

I have moved on to my lighter reading.....
The Harry Potter series.

ReFaN · 02-10-10, 05:40 AM

Bill Cosby - fatherhood.

heh, im running out of books.

tater · 02-10-10, 12:26 PM

Right now I'm reading the Hornblower books. No computer games to speak of, no TV. I've read the first 6 in about as many days.

Sockeye · 02-10-10, 07:43 PM

Amazing how fast we can tear through a stack of books sometimes!

For me, right now I'm in a bit of a lull period and need to pick up something new and unread-by-me, so I'm kind of reading bits and pieces of whatever I feel like bringing down from the shelf or out of the boxes.

Right now: SOE in the Low Countries by M.R.D Foot; sabotage and subversion against nazidom from HQ's point-of-view basically. I had been reading A Perfect Spy by le Carre; a Firm man used the historian cover to illicit info out of a few veterans' memories, so I was in the mood to revisit some of Foot's work.

It was either this or MacLean's Where Eagles Dare again, but finding Hidden and Dangerous: Deluxe took care of that

Andrew82 · 02-11-10, 03:41 PM

Thanks for your recommendations, I'm gonna try some of them for sure!

Sailor Steve · 02-15-10, 12:10 PM

I'm currently reading In Search Of Butch Cassidy, by Larry Pointer, 1977. It's part investigation into the possibility that William T. Phillips, who died in Spokane, Washington in 1937, was actually Robert LeRoy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, and part biograph and history, and very well annotated. His research is good, and he presents very good evidence supporting his claims.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReFaN

heh, im running out of books.

From 1994 to 1998 I worked in a warehouse for a book distributor. One of the perks was the availability of damaged books for the employes to take home.

I still have 40 boxes of books I haven't read, because I'm always buying something new that catches my eye.

Kazuaki Shimazaki II · 02-15-10, 09:02 PM

Recently, I've managed to obtain and read Zuyev's Fulcrum. Compared to Belenko's work, which sounds almost like a brat in comparison, it does show some real reasons why he has to leave. But I wonder whether he ever realized that failing to strafe the MiGs was probably the margin that allowed him to successfully defect - if he had managed to shoot them up the Soviet government will have an excellent and undeniable case to call him a saboteur and even the US government will hesitate to protect him...

Sailor Steve · 02-17-10, 12:42 PM

Just started reading Tacitus The Annals. It's the source for most movies and books about the Roman Empire.

Schunken · 02-26-10, 02:19 PM

I read Clay Blair "U-Boot Krieg" Part one "The Hunters"

Andreas

Egan · 02-27-10, 02:15 PM

I've about two pages worth left of 'Wahoo' which I had never read before. I have no explanation for why I never tracked down this wonderful book before now. I love his focus on the actual mechanics of a sub patrol, how Morton set up his attacks and so forth. I also liked the way he portrayed Morton and his account of 'that' incident. Very interesting. I'll have to get 'Clear the Bridge' next.

Next up is 'The Shameful Peace' by Frederic Spotts. It's about the relationship between French artists and intellectuals, and the Germans during the occupation. I've had it for a while but haven't has the time for it so far. It looks like being an interesting companion of sorts to Palmier's 'Weimar in Exile.'

frau kaleun · 02-27-10, 03:25 PM

I'm near the end of Jochen Brenneke's The Hunters And The Hunted: German U-Boats, 1939-1945. This edition of the book contains no information about the author, but Michael Hadley notes in Count Not The Dead that he was a propaganda writer during the war and calls his book "fiction as history, information as infotainment."

Given that and the fact that the book also contains no notes or reference to sources, it's hard to say exactly how big a grain of salt one should take it all with, lol. It's really a collection of anecdotes and vignettes about life in the u-bootwaffe and they're mostly told in the form of recreated conversations and supposedly firsthand accounts of the men involved in each incident as though Brennecke himself was there to witness or record them... which in the vast majority of instances would have been impossible. And it's clear that one of his intentions is to make a case for the u-bootwaffe as a service virtually untainted by the ugliness of the regime for which they fought and died.

Nevertheless, I will say that it's an entertaining read. My favorite bit so far is his telling of an incident that supposedly took place on U-325 somewhere in the North Atlantic, and which he used as a humorous followup to his discussion of how vital it was to have men aboard who excelled at acquiring and storing provisions and equipment for a long patrol.

U-325, he says, was running along the surface with a heavy following sea breaking over the boat; the watch was secured with belts to keep them from being swept overboard, but just as the commander was coming up for a quick looksee a huge wave broke over them and completely submerged the ship before he could get securely positioned on the bridge. When the water receded - no commander! Fortunately they were able to fish him safely out of the drink after a few minutes' effort.

According to Brennecke, the entire incident was noted in the KTB simply as "11:43 to 11:49, commander overboard." The report submitted by the bosun on return to base, however, was another matter.

"One of the entries read as follows," Brennecke continues. "'At 11:43 the commander was washed overboard. In order to facilitate keeping himself afloat, he had divested himself of the following articles: Trousers, leather, pairs, 2; Jackets, leather, 1; Boots, jack, submarine, pairs, 1; Pistols, automatic, 2; binoculars, 2; sextant, 1; gloves, leather, pairs, 4.'" Naturally the bosun then requested replacements for all the items "lost" during the commander's little adventure.

Supposedly the request was passed around HQ for the purposes of general amusement, and eventually came back approved; but there was a handwritten note scribbled at the bottom asking if there was a new type of u-boat in service that HQ was unaware of, one with a conning tower roomy enough for someone to get through with all that gear on.

TarJak · 02-28-10, 06:33 AM

Just picked up two Douglas Reeman books for AU$14.00. The Destroyers and The Iron Pirate. Looking forward to having the time to read them.

02-09-10, 02:51 PM	#557
Andrew82 Torpedoman Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 113 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	I'm currently reading "Battle of the Atlantic" by Andrew Williams. Good reading! Anyone got some non-fictional, submarine or WWII related recommendations? __________________ TMO 2.2

02-09-10, 04:55 PM	#558
AirborneTD Engineer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 204 Downloads: 23 Uploads: 0	For an in depth study of the US sub campaign of WWII, my favorite is Blair's Silent Victory. I also like, the Terrible Hours, Red Scorpion, Thunder Below and Operation Drumbeat. I'm currently reading the Last Gentleman of War (the Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden) by RK Lochner. I've recently gotten into WWI raider operations after playing the card game the Kaiser's Pirates. __________________ "You know, you might get surrounded." "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." --Band of Brothers

02-10-10, 05:40 AM	#560
ReFaN Grey Wolf Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 831 Downloads: 101 Uploads: 0	Bill Cosby - fatherhood. heh, im running out of books. __________________ Liverpool is my relegion, Anfield is my church. True believers never walk alone.

02-11-10, 03:41 PM	#563
Andrew82 Torpedoman Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 113 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Thanks for your recommendations, I'm gonna try some of them for sure! __________________ TMO 2.2

02-17-10, 12:42 PM	#566
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	Just started reading Tacitus The Annals. It's the source for most movies and books about the Roman Empire. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

01-28-10, 09:25 PM	#556
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	I'm about halfway through Michael Hadley's Count Not The Dead - interesting read and especially the early chapters about WWI and the years leading up to WWII. (For me, anyway, since that's something I know far less about.)

02-10-10, 12:26 PM	#561
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	Right now I'm reading the Hornblower books. No computer games to speak of, no TV. I've read the first 6 in about as many days.

02-10-10, 07:43 PM	#562
Sockeye Machinist's Mate Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 127 Downloads: 46 Uploads: 0	Amazing how fast we can tear through a stack of books sometimes! For me, right now I'm in a bit of a lull period and need to pick up something new and unread-by-me, so I'm kind of reading bits and pieces of whatever I feel like bringing down from the shelf or out of the boxes. Right now: SOE in the Low Countries by M.R.D Foot; sabotage and subversion against nazidom from HQ's point-of-view basically. I had been reading A Perfect Spy by le Carre; a Firm man used the historian cover to illicit info out of a few veterans' memories, so I was in the mood to revisit some of Foot's work. It was either this or MacLean's Where Eagles Dare again, but finding Hidden and Dangerous: Deluxe took care of that

02-15-10, 09:02 PM	#565
Kazuaki Shimazaki II Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,140 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Recently, I've managed to obtain and read Zuyev's Fulcrum. Compared to Belenko's work, which sounds almost like a brat in comparison, it does show some real reasons why he has to leave. But I wonder whether he ever realized that failing to strafe the MiGs was probably the margin that allowed him to successfully defect - if he had managed to shoot them up the Soviet government will have an excellent and undeniable case to call him a saboteur and even the US government will hesitate to protect him...

02-26-10, 02:19 PM	#567
Schunken Medic Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 168 Downloads: 20 Uploads: 0	I read Clay Blair "U-Boot Krieg" Part one "The Hunters" Andreas

02-27-10, 02:15 PM	#568
Egan Admiral Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 2,019 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	I've about two pages worth left of 'Wahoo' which I had never read before. I have no explanation for why I never tracked down this wonderful book before now. I love his focus on the actual mechanics of a sub patrol, how Morton set up his attacks and so forth. I also liked the way he portrayed Morton and his account of 'that' incident. Very interesting. I'll have to get 'Clear the Bridge' next. Next up is 'The Shameful Peace' by Frederic Spotts. It's about the relationship between French artists and intellectuals, and the Germans during the occupation. I've had it for a while but haven't has the time for it so far. It looks like being an interesting companion of sorts to Palmier's 'Weimar in Exile.'

02-27-10, 03:25 PM	#569
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	I'm near the end of Jochen Brenneke's The Hunters And The Hunted: German U-Boats, 1939-1945. This edition of the book contains no information about the author, but Michael Hadley notes in Count Not The Dead that he was a propaganda writer during the war and calls his book "fiction as history, information as infotainment." Given that and the fact that the book also contains no notes or reference to sources, it's hard to say exactly how big a grain of salt one should take it all with, lol. It's really a collection of anecdotes and vignettes about life in the u-bootwaffe and they're mostly told in the form of recreated conversations and supposedly firsthand accounts of the men involved in each incident as though Brennecke himself was there to witness or record them... which in the vast majority of instances would have been impossible. And it's clear that one of his intentions is to make a case for the u-bootwaffe as a service virtually untainted by the ugliness of the regime for which they fought and died. Nevertheless, I will say that it's an entertaining read. My favorite bit so far is his telling of an incident that supposedly took place on U-325 somewhere in the North Atlantic, and which he used as a humorous followup to his discussion of how vital it was to have men aboard who excelled at acquiring and storing provisions and equipment for a long patrol. U-325, he says, was running along the surface with a heavy following sea breaking over the boat; the watch was secured with belts to keep them from being swept overboard, but just as the commander was coming up for a quick looksee a huge wave broke over them and completely submerged the ship before he could get securely positioned on the bridge. When the water receded - no commander! Fortunately they were able to fish him safely out of the drink after a few minutes' effort. According to Brennecke, the entire incident was noted in the KTB simply as "11:43 to 11:49, commander overboard." The report submitted by the bosun on return to base, however, was another matter. "One of the entries read as follows," Brennecke continues. "'At 11:43 the commander was washed overboard. In order to facilitate keeping himself afloat, he had divested himself of the following articles: Trousers, leather, pairs, 2; Jackets, leather, 1; Boots, jack, submarine, pairs, 1; Pistols, automatic, 2; binoculars, 2; sextant, 1; gloves, leather, pairs, 4.'" Naturally the bosun then requested replacements for all the items "lost" during the commander's little adventure. Supposedly the request was passed around HQ for the purposes of general amusement, and eventually came back approved; but there was a handwritten note scribbled at the bottom asking if there was a new type of u-boat in service that HQ was unaware of, one with a conning tower roomy enough for someone to get through with all that gear on.

02-28-10, 06:33 AM	#570
TarJak Fleet Admiral Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 17,052 Downloads: 150 Uploads: 8	Just picked up two Douglas Reeman books for AU$14.00. The Destroyers and The Iron Pirate. Looking forward to having the time to read them.