I've just started on The Nemesis of Power, The German Army in Politics. Someone had shared a list of the people in the possible government if the July 20 Plot had succeeded, and I just had to get it.
NITITZ by E. B. Potter. Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 1976 This was loaned to me by a friend who is a member of the Institute. Even though the author is a friendly biographer, and making allowances for that, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz was an incredible officer. He started out in the first primitive subs before WWI, became the USN's first expert on Diesel engines, was instrumental in developing at sea replenishment and underway refueling. He and three CPOs built the submarine base at Pearl Harbor with material and machines "cumshawed" from Atlantic Fleet Bases and shipped by dubious means to Pearl Harbor. This included a admiral's staff car that "somehow" got put on board the freighter for Nimitze's use. On the advice of a mentor, he switched from the engineering side to more of a command oriented career. He was very interested in his subordinate's careers and many would show up for meals at his table and were always welcome. After he reached more senior rank he kept a card file on all young officers under his command. He then wrote personal letters to them on their birthdays and when they were promoted. It seems all of his commands and postings were a success because he forced himself to be enthusiastic and work hard no matter what the assignment. When he reached the rank of captain and then flag rank he made sure he had competent subordinates and then only made those decisions that only he could make. That way he gave free reign to his subordinates and didn't micro-manage. For the student of the Pacific War his name is often mentioned but little is said about him. This was his idea. He wasn't a publicity hound but I'm convinced that he was the major architect of our victory in the Pacific. He deserves more recognition than he's gotten this far. First command: gunboat "Panay". Last ship command: Battleship "Arizona".
Something by some Austrian (and not that "Bohemian Corporal" SoB). BTW, Patton's book is just so-so but if you want to learn about the man, Patton: Ordeal and Triumph is much more indepth and had the benefit of being written after other soldiers' memoirs were published.
I finished The Fleet at Flood Tide mentioned above. Overall, it was a good book that would have been more interesting to me 25 years ago, as it is now a repeat and conglomeration of books I have read over the years. It was well written, factual with good notes, and had good maps. The narrative starts with the Marianas Campaign and concludes at war's end. It has good detail and endeavors to tell stories of individual outside of the beaten path, so to speak. It is a good book and well worth reading by the beginner or intermediate reader. I am presently reading: It is proving to be a quick read and enjoyable. It is a first-hand account of divers involved in the salvage at Pearl Harbor. As I prefer first-person accounts of the war, I am finding the book to be engaging and easily keeps my interest. @Half Track I understand. I do the same thing sometimes. I did not read any of The Fleet at Flood Tide for about three weeks over Christmas. EDIT- Finished Descent into Darkness. Excellent. I highly recommend it. It is not a dry discussion of the salvage techniques, etc. Its a "What I did in the War" book. He participated in the salvage of several BBs and in late summer 1942, he joins a salvage and repair group off of Guadalcanal, witnessing the early battles in Ironbottom Sound. The ship he was on at the time (USS Seminole) was lost in combat and he was adrift for a short while. He mentioned that several accounts of the actions of the Seminole are incorrect as well as the repairs he did to the Portland before it made its way to Australia. It is a quick read, I think you would enjoy it.
U.S. CRUISERS by Norman Friedman. Illustrated by A.D. Baker III and Alan Raven. Naval Institute Press. This is quite a read! It takes the concept of the cruiser from the late 1800s into the post-WW2 era. For much of their existence, there was a lot of debate on just what is it that a cruiser should be and do. Therefore you find everything from gunboats to the Alaska's designated as "cruisers". This is even before the Naval treaties of the interwar years are accounted for. Norman Friedman knows his stuff of course, but sometimes his narrative gets a bit confusing. He will start talking about a class of ship and then digress onto ships that are being built or design concepts never adopted. Baker and Raven's illustrations are excellent add much to the book. However, many of the pictures provided are poorly reproduced and it's hard to see the details. I recommend this to anyone really interested in naval designs and warfare-just beware, this book is exhaustive!
O my God! You want to open another one the next day? How many pages? Himmler was from diapers to death a thousand pages.Must admit I read it in some 200 pages intervals.
Reading "Tunisian Tigers," about the Tiger tanks at the peak of the fighting in Tunisia from February to April 1943. I took this one after reading "Tiger 131" in the same series. "Tunisian Tigers" contains the battle of Djebel Djaffa, which was once mistakenly reported as the battle in which Tiger 131 was captured, but was actually where a Tiger was captured that ended up in America. History and Science
I am about 100 pages into “The ship that would not die” by Rear Admiral F. Julian Becton and Joseph Morschauser III. It’s an older book about the second Destroyer named USS Laffey during the war. So far it’s been really enjoyable. Just like listening to an old sailor talk about his war stories over a drink.
Hell From the Heavens by Wukovits deals with the same ship. My God, what they went through. Currently almost done Atkinson's The British are Coming. Ok, but a bit slow. Well researched, though.
I am about finished with It is loaner from another member here. It is good book, mostly a chronological arrangement of memories of the men of the First Special Service Force, aka The Devil's Brigade. They were known to the Germans as the Schwartzer Teufel - Black Devils. While not directly addressing the misinformation promulgated by that movie, it certainly goes a long way to show what an exceptional unit they were and what a good commander Robert Frederick was. It has good maps but, alas, no photos. 258 pages with appendixes. 9/10 Would read again.
Took a break from the other one 3/4 through. Can you read two at one time? This is short and very good! He also wrote, A Night To Remember about the Titanic sinking disaster. They made the 1950’s movie from it.
You can’t go wrong with Walter Lord. I’ve never read this one yet, will have to look for it. He has a few other WWII books. I read “Lonely Vigil” years ago about the coast watchers at Guadalcanal. And he wrote on Pearl Harbor called “Day of Infamy”. That’s still on my “need to read pile”.