SUBSIM Radio Room Forums



SUBSIM: The Web's #1 resource for all submarine & naval simulations since 1997

Go Back   SUBSIM Radio Room Forums > General > Sub & Naval Discussions: World Naval News, Books, & Films
Forget password? Reset here

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-09-06, 08:12 PM   #91
bookworm_020
Navy Seal
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sinking ships off the Australian coast
Posts: 5,966
Downloads: 1
Uploads: 0
Default

I just picked up some books from a second hand book seller (it was a antique shop as well so that kept my fiance busy!)

The last voyage of the Scharnhorst - descibes the last sortie of the ship from both points of view

The lone wolf- voyage of the Emden - A history of one of the most successful surface raiders of WW1 and what happened to the crew afterwards (the shore party got away while HMAS Sydney sank the Emden, they made it back to Germany, which was an adventure in itself!)

3 time life books about WW2

Prelude to war

The Italian Campain

Battle of the Adlantic

Plus one other

Lemon! : History of the cars that failed - has cars like the Edsel, Leyland P76 (pretty much any car produced by Leyand in the 60's and 70's), others that should never have been allowed on the road, Lada's Niki
bookworm_020 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-06, 11:43 PM   #92
tedhealy
Grey Wolf
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: St. Louis, MO, USA
Posts: 772
Downloads: 13
Uploads: 0
Default

Can't read about subs all the time.

I'm currently reading Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. After that I'll probably start on re-reading George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series to refresh my memory before A Dance with Dragons comes out.

If you are into fantasy even the slightest bit or even medieval europe, you owe it to yourself to check out Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, it's outstanding.
tedhealy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-06, 12:13 PM   #93
Sailor Steve
Eternal Patrol
 
Sailor Steve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: High in the mountains of Utah
Posts: 50,369
Downloads: 745
Uploads: 249


Default

I've just finished Eyes Of The Fleet, and am starting another history from the age of sail: USS Essex and the Birth of the American Navy, by Frances Diane Robotti and James Vescovi. It has some very entertaining stories about the construction of an early frigate and the people who built and served in her.
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
Sailor Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-06, 02:06 PM   #94
STEED
Lucky Jack
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Down Town UK
Posts: 27,695
Downloads: 89
Uploads: 48


The Battle of Kursk
By Glantz

This has too be the best book on this battle for me, two thirds into it and enjoying it.
__________________
Dr Who rest in peace 1963-2017.

To borrow Davros saying...I NAME YOU CHIBNALL THE DESTROYER OF DR WHO YOU KILLED IT!
STEED is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-06, 03:04 PM   #95
AVGWarhawk
Lucky Jack
 
AVGWarhawk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: In a 1954 Buick.
Posts: 27,339
Downloads: 90
Uploads: 0


Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mr chris
Have started to read Shadow Divers. Cant seem to put it down:hmm:
Good book. Currently I'm reading Twilight of the U-boat. It reads more like a story book with facts interjected. Not bad.
__________________
“You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.”
― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road
AVGWarhawk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-14-06, 09:05 PM   #96
TarJak
Fleet Admiral
 
TarJak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 17,052
Downloads: 150
Uploads: 8


Default

Just started Convoy by Dudley Pope. Not a bad read all up so far. Really strange photo on the cover of one of the US battleships being sunk in Pearl Harbour, considering it is a British book about a RN Leiutenant trying to work out how to stop Uboats attacking from within the middle of convoys!
TarJak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-06, 02:49 PM   #97
Sailor Steve
Eternal Patrol
 
Sailor Steve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: High in the mountains of Utah
Posts: 50,369
Downloads: 745
Uploads: 249


Default

After only two days I finished USS Essex and the Birth of the American Navy. It's a nice little book, telling the complete story from its launch to its capture by the British in 1813. USS Essex was the first American warship to enter the Pacific Ocean, and also participated in actions against the Tripoli pirates. It's a fun little book, and fills in quite a few answers I didn't know about the period before.

I've started another classic, The Caine Mutiny. More to come soon.
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
Sailor Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-06, 05:30 PM   #98
Oberon
Lucky Jack
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 25,976
Downloads: 61
Uploads: 20


Default

I just picked up Das Boot from the library, a bit tattered but otherwise in good nick....not bad for 20p

So...no need to guess what I'm reading now
Oberon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-19-06, 05:49 PM   #99
Sailor Steve
Eternal Patrol
 
Sailor Steve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: High in the mountains of Utah
Posts: 50,369
Downloads: 745
Uploads: 249


Default

The Caine Mutiny, by Herman Wouk: not a review, but a book report.

If anyone is familiar with the movie they'll know the story: in the middle of the Second World War an old WWI 'four piper' destroyer now converted to a mine sweeper is shackled with a captain who is slowly losing his grip on reality. The crew suffers under his strange behaviour as best they can. Then comes a situation so desparate that the XO feels he must sieze control of the ship. The Caine is saved, and the XO finds himself facing a court-martial, and the charge is mutiny. If he is found guilty, he might hang. The trial is the highlight of the story, and it is all seen through the eyes of a young ensign, who is facing possible accessory charges himself.

The Caine Mutiny and The Cruel Sea:
Having recently read The Cruel Sea, I couldn't help but notice remarkable similarities between the two books. Both Authors served during the war, Nicholas Monsarrat in Corvettes and Herman Wouk in Destroyer-Minesweepers. Both books were published the same year, 1951. There are similarities in their experiences, and those show up in the books. Both stories start with young officers arriving on board; both feature wonderful descriptions of life at sea in small ships; both feature good men and detestable ones and both have scenes of the men coping with life ashore while their ships are in safe ports for refit. Both authors also put pieces of themselves into more than one character; Keefer, like Wouk, is a budding author; Keith is the new boy on the block and Greenwald, like Wouk, is Jewish, which has a bearing on the story.

Quote:
"Corvettes will roll on wet grass"-The Cruel Sea

"These buckets will roll in drydock. Pretty poor stability. Wind on the beam pushes her right over"-The Caine Mutiny
Both books also partly hinge on the dislike of Regular and Volunteer officers for each other.

The Caine Mutiny-book and movie:
The book is a fantastic read; the old phrase "I couldn't put it down" is apt. It seems overlong at some points; reviewers of the movie complained that it would have been better without the long romance between the ensign and his girl, and the relationship with his mother. This is easier to take in the book, because it sets up his emotional state and frames the main story in seeming real life. In the movie it seems to get in the way, rather than help. There are many more scenes in the book of Commander Queeg's slow breakdown, and it flows more naturally. When it comes to the actual trial, there is a lot more in the book, making the movie seem a little choppy. That said, Queeg is certainly one of Humphrey Bogart's finest roles, and it's well worth seeing. The book also has a lot more on Ensign Keith's training days, leading up to his assignment to the Caine. The movie leaves a lot of this out, as movies must. The book also contains a bit of anti-semitism: The lawyer, Barney Greenwald, is Jewish, and reflects some of Wouk's feelings about his perception of his treatment while in the navy.

The end of the movie is far different from the book. In both, when Keith first comes aboard he is appalled by what he considers to be a slovenly ship run by a slovenly captain, and he is glad when the the very martial Queeg first comes aboard. By the end of the movie Keith is glad to be reunited with Commander de Vriess, realizing that he is a good example of a captain who understands his men and knows how to get the best out of them. In the book this never happens. Instead, Keefer, the unlikable man who started it all, ends up being the Caine's new skipper. He gets a commupance, finding out that he and Queeg are not so different after all. Probably the saddest figure is the XO, Lieutenant Maryk, who decides to make the navy his life, only to have that destroyed after the court-martial; even though he is aquitted he'll never have a real career as an officer.

In spite of some flaws, this is one of the best books I've ever read. I've been a fan of the movie for years; now I have to see it again just so I can make a better comparison.
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
Sailor Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-19-06, 09:22 PM   #100
bookworm_020
Navy Seal
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Sinking ships off the Australian coast
Posts: 5,966
Downloads: 1
Uploads: 0
Default

Just got "Clear the Bridge" by Dick O'Kane - the story of U.S.S Tang's war against Japan. I read it years ago, but only got a copy from ebay, I had bought the book in August but it took a sceinic trip on the way to Australia!
bookworm_020 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-24-06, 07:26 PM   #101
GrayFox
Mate
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 52
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0
Default

Finished "Debot of Honor by" Tom Clancey and now reading the next installment in the line "Executive Orders" Awsome books both.
__________________
Typhoon Flotilla #6
Captain First Rank
CO TK-210 "Ghost"
GrayFox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-24-06, 08:51 PM   #102
HunterICX
Rear Admiral
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Malaga, España
Posts: 10,749
Downloads: 8
Uploads: 0


Default

Kirsten - Fabric of Officers

still reading it , still good
__________________
HunterICX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-26-06, 08:25 PM   #103
Bungo_Pete
Medic
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Santa Barbara,calif
Posts: 159
Downloads: 14
Uploads: 0
Default

Black may by michael gannon,I'm really liking this book.After that clay blairs hitlers u boat war then panzers on the eastern front by gerhars raus.
Bungo_Pete is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-26-06, 09:56 PM   #104
AirborneTD
Engineer
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 204
Downloads: 23
Uploads: 0
Default

Blair bashes Gannon somewhat in his first volume--Hitler's U-Boat War, but I like both authors nonetheless.
__________________
"You know, you might get surrounded." "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." --Band of Brothers
AirborneTD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-27-06, 01:48 PM   #105
Sailor Steve
Eternal Patrol
 
Sailor Steve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: High in the mountains of Utah
Posts: 50,369
Downloads: 745
Uploads: 249


Default

I've just started The Mammoth Book Of Eyewitness Naval Battles, by Richard Russel Lawrence.

It covers pretty much every major naval battle from the first ones, and goes all the way to the first Gulf War. The author isn't the best, and he actually makes quite a few errors (at least compared to others I've read), but reading Herodotus' report on the battle of Salamis, or Cassius Dio giving an eyewitness account of Actium is utterly fascinating.

Right now I'm in the middle of the Anglo-Dutch wars.
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
Sailor Steve is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
books

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:58 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 1995- 2024 Subsim®
"Subsim" is a registered trademark, all rights reserved.