What Are You Reading?

Working on this one now. Just about finished with it. Not terribly exciting, but it's chock full of trivia and other tidbits of info if you are interested or just fascinated in the behind the scenes thing of the great (my all time #1) movie "Casablanca".

 

I'm sorry, "Casablanca" was not a great movie. It was the greatest movie.

 

Oh well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me...

But I do agree with you on that. I was trying to be diplomatic with those who are hung up on "Citizen Kane" and "Gone With the Wind" being #1 and 2 respectively.

 

You are both gentlemen of exemplary taste. FWIW, I'm reading "Fourteen Byzantine Emperors" by Michael Psellus, a contemporary of the same and just finished a study of William Slim's campaigns in the Far East.

 

I've just started on Bomber Offensive by Sir Arthur Harris.

 

I’ve just started “The Franklin Comes Home,” the saga of the most decorated ship in naval history, by A. A. Hoehling.

 

I'm now on "Finland at War: The Continuation and Lapland Wars."

 

Working on this one right now. Definitely a different viewpoint on subject matter that we're all used to reading about. Gritty and realistic descriptions of what went on on the other side of the action.

 

If you get to a newsstand that has this magazine, it is really worth it. Air&Space Smithsonian collectors edition. World War II in 65 Airplanes. Great photos and stories.

 

Here is a link to the website. Homepage | Air & Space Magazine

 

Currently reading War Under the Pacific by Keith Wheeler, part of Time Life's WWII series.

 

I just finished this wonderful book about submarine warfare in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor. One of the best I have ever read, puts you right on the boat. Only 171 pages, hard to put down. This was USS Seawolf (SS-197) From the back cover of the book: Gerold Frank and James Horan were professional authors who wrote down Eckberg’s story after meeting him on a slow train between New York City and New London, Connecticut in August of 1943. This was first published in 1945. The story was told before the tragic end of the Seawolf which occurred later, presumably by friendly fire, with all hands lost.

 

Does it follow the movie?

 

Working on this one now. It's not just one story, rather lots of little stories about how the PT men fought and lived, at close quarters, hence the name.

 

So far it seems to be a unique examination of how and why "green" American battalion commanders performed as well as they did despite the missteps of senior officers.

 

Those are usually the most interesting versions of the stories we've all read.