What Are You Reading?

Just got a good but cheap (1p + £2.80 postage) ex Library hard cover copy from Amazon of

And We Shall Shock Them 'The British Army in the Second World War' by General Sir David Fraser, GCB, OBE, DL
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It seems to be following how a poorly equipped and trained British Army in 1939 changed over the period of the war. The decisions that led to the type of force Britain had its failures and the reasoning for them starting in 1919.

 

Reading one of the Osprey Campaign series that caught my eye and got it dirt cheap.

Campaign 235

Walcheren 1944
Storming Hitler's island fortress
By Richard Brooks

 

This book has been in my 'to read' pile since last Christmas. Your recommendation has prompted me to move it closer to the top

 

About to start...."A history of the 90th Infantry Division" WWI by Major George Wythe.....Kind of excited,scored it at an antique store!

 

The Gathering Storm Winston Churchill

Codebreaker's Victory Hervie Haufler

In the last couple of months also finished: Unbroken Laura Hildenbrand (Excellent!); Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot Starr Smith

 

Next:

Night of Intruders - USAAF Mission 311
By Ian McLachlan,Patrick Stephens Ltd 1994

Endgame-The U-boat inshore campaign
By John White, The history Press 2008

 

Currently a few chapters into Untold Valor by Rob Morris. So far very impressive stories. Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crews Over Europe in World War Two

 

I read the Metaxas bio of Dieterich Bonhoeffer a few weeks ago so I followed it up with his Letters and Papers from Prison (compiled and edited by his friend Eberhard Bethge) and Love Letters from Cell 92 (letters and diary entries by Bonhoeffer and his fiancee, Maria von Wedemeyer, edited by Ruth-Alice von Bismarck and Ulirich Kabitz). I was a bit squeamish about reading the "love letters" but while they, of course, contained personal sentiment, they were not uncomfortable to read (I was afraid I'd feel like an interloper just reading them). I am glad I read all three not just for the information it provided on Bonhoeffer, his theology and his work in the resistance, but it also provided a much different perspective of WWII, the German perspective, than I am used to, for obvious reasons. I was particularly interested in the dilemma so many of Bonhoeffer's ordinands, family and friends faced when faced with fighting for the country they loved and the implied support of the Nazi regime, which they did not all support. A valid reminder that things are not usually black and white.

Now - I am going to finish Citizen Soldier. I swear I am....

(Although for you classic movie fans, I am going to deviate a bit from WWII and I am on the look-out for a Buster Keaton bio. He's always been a favorite, but I am truly enamored after the October retrospective of his films on Turner Classic Movies. Suggestions welcome!)

 

I could use a little help. I'm sure it was on here that someone said there was a book that was very good titled The Man Who Refused to Die. Who is the author? I'm putting in a Amazon order and they have many by that title, but not sure which is the correct one. Thanks so much

 

Just finished Larry Correia's "Spellbound". Very interesting alternate-history (and magic!), great characters, good plot, and some interesting twists on historical figures. Sometimes its nice to take a break from all the learning and just get away to a different place.

Currently reading Amazon.com: Devil Dogs Fighting Marines of World War I (9780891417262): George B. Clark: Books ("Devil Dogs: Fighting Marines of WW1" by George B. Clark). I'm about two chapters in, and while its interesting (usually, the preliminary footwork that leads up to a battle, such as how the divisions/battalions/etc were formed, who was appointed as commander, etc has a tendency to put me to sleep...this one is interspersed with first-person accounts of boot camp experiences, which kept me focused...and awake), there is one annoying thing about the book. Usually an author will put a footnote at the bottom of a page to add some related fact or other...Mr. Clark does this as well, but numbers his footnotes and adds them in at the end of each chapter. So I'm finding myself having to hold two places open in the book, which is difficult due to tight binding and the fact that I usually read while eating lunch (one hand is, obviously, occupied with that endeavor). Still, so far, I'm not at all displeased with the book.

 

Now reading..

Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II
By Chris Wilbeck

 

Now Reading Four Stars of Valor "The Combat History of The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II by Phil Nordyke. A great book to read.

 

Pillboxes by Henry Wills...study of UK defences 1940. Dated and missing lots and certainly not exhaustive. But some great illustrations and plans.

 

A little dated it may be, but still a fascinating book. The late Henry Wills was something of a pioneer in the field, when pillboxes were all considered to be 'eyesores' ripe for demolition......

 

I've just discovered its up for a tidy sum on Amazon in used good condition...Got it for a quid...But its going on bookcase...I don't sell I sometimes give away to good homes but can't sell books...not right...

 

Next:

Brendan A. Maher: Passage to Sword beach ( Mine sweeping in the RN ), Naval Institute Press 1996

Gilberto Villahermosa: Hitler's Paratrooper - Rudolf Witzig , Frontline Books 2010

 

Read Battleship Sailor by Ted Mason awhile back, and am now in possession of We Will Stand By You and Rendezvous With Destiny, the other two books of his trilogy. These are, IMHO, the best memoirs of the Pacific naval war as told by the average guy. Fantastic reading.