What Are You Reading?

Flipping through the pages of "The Greatest Battle" by Andrew Nagorski once again.

 

Think I'm going to wait for the mini-series on that one.
Ryan

 

Reading "Enemy Coast Ahead" by Guy Gibson and also "With The Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa"

 

I have been given a copy of'Berlin',by beevor,is it a good read?,cheers.

 

I've just started reading 'The Fighting 69th'. Its not a WWII book, but a very interesting 9/11 and Iraq book.

 

Overlord Max Hastings
G.S. Pattons autobiography
The Grand Alliance Sir Winston Churchill
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich William Shirer

All excellent material.

 

Just finished "Parachute Infantry" by David Kenyon Webster.

Now I am reading "Operation Mincemeat" by Ben MacIntyre.

 

How was this book? I remember him from Band of Brothers, he was in a few episodes.

 

There was even an episode devoted to Webster's perspective, I think it was called, "The Last Patrol."

I've read several books about the men of Easy Company and of all of them, Webster's role in the mini-series seems to be the most fictionalized by my reckoning, based on his personal story as presented in this book. If you read, say, Major Winters' or Malarkey's books or the book Heffron and Guarnere wrote, they tell the same basic story but from different viewpoints (which I actually like). Webster's story seemed to be a little different than depicted in the show.

That isn't good or bad, just letting you know that Webster's account is different than the others, although there are some recognizable names, like Spiers, Winters, Luz, Muck and Penkala, etc.

He does have an eye for the absurd, and certainly had a way of describing such events and attitudes in a deadpan way that I found humorous. His book is less about actual battles and fighting, which he points out he avoided when possible, and talks more about the drudgery, waste and ridiculousness of war. And he refers to the seamier side of war a bit more.

It's definitely worth the read for anyone with an interest in WWII or the men of Easy Co./506th PIR.

 

Now I am reading "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand because after months of being on the list for the book at the library it came in at the same time as I got Operation Mincemeat. Good thing I have a three day weekend coming up!

 

Just finished "To Kingdom Come" by Robert Mrazek. Very good read about the 8th Air Force mission to Stuttgart in 1943. Follows the lives of several crew members from different aircraft and squadrons, including some of the bigwigs like Arnold and Eaker, through the mission and the aftermath. I recommend this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Come-...r_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309451337&sr=1-10

 

I'll have to look for that one in the stores. Sounds like a pretty interesting memoir.

 

Slowly getting through Weinberg's World At Arms. Also enjoying Prange's At Dawn We Slept (I bought his whole trilogy) and Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers. Both are much quicker reads.
Ryan

 

I purchased my copy through Amazon, but I noticed the David Kenyon Webster website has a link to purchase the book through Random House - don't know if you order books online.

 

We do, only really if the book has really nice ratings. We usually check that out before buying. We bought The Pacific, and a couple other books online.

 

My newest purchases: ( must admit I bought the German WW2 books from a friend so I did not pay as much as in the net sites mentioned for them )

Duel in the Mist: Kampfgruppe Peiper, Stoumont, December 19th, 1944 v. 1: The Leibstandarte During the Ardennes Offensive Bluejacket Books: Amazon.co.uk: Stefan De Meyer, Timm Haasler, Roddy MacDougall, Simon Vosters, Hans Weber: Books

Villers - Bocage: Amazon.co.uk: Henri Marie: Books

Fahrbahn Lappland:

Nazi Gebirgsjäger Lappland Photo Book

Luftwaffe Over Scotland: A History of German Air Attacks on Scotland, 1939-45: Amazon.co.uk: Les Taylor: Books

Entscheidende Stunden:

1941 Nazi Color Combat Photo Book

 

That Bradley book is a fine read, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It does sort of "downgrade" the T.R. world view, but not without pretty decent logic attached. I'm a big fan of T.R., and while this does make one wonder about his overall motives and such, he was a man of his time, and only reflected that in a more "aggressive" fashion than most.

 

I also just finished the latest (to my knowledge) Max Hastings offereing; Winston's War: Churchill 1940-1945 and am quite impressed with the book. Not because of anything specifically, but because he treats Churchill in a "warts and all" fashion rather than as an icon of British history. In the end, Winston does come off as more good than ill, but all the mis-steps and foibles are explored as well.

I recommend this one without reservation, not because it shows the "feet of clay" of an icon, but because it does so in a fashion which makes logical sense. One can see how Sir Winston came to some decisions, and why he felt it was the only path. You also find him being both willing to compromise, and hold his ground. Sometimes both on the same question and why! Sir Winston's magnanimity in defeat in the polls of 1945 is well documented, and his understanding of how and why he wasn't given the support in the polls as well.