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Permalink Reply by Chuang Shyue Chou on September 27, 2010 at 10:15pm

I'm reading 'A war like no other' by Victor Davis Hanson and also the 'Landmark Thucydides'.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Smith on October 18, 2010 at 6:40pm

I'll be anxious to hear how you like it. Hanson is a first rate classics man, but a third rate political commentator... It good to see he's returning to his roots.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Marshall on June 15, 2012 at 4:36pm

Really Mr. Smith? Third rate? Have you read Professor Hanson's commentary this past year? What do you think now that it is June of 2012?

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Permalink Reply by Joseph on October 4, 2010 at 5:06pm

Read: "Dresden: Tuesday, February 13, 1945" by Frederick Taylor. A excellent read on the fire bombing of Dresden and the controversy on it as a military target. The author's case is" it was a legitimate target". It was. Recommended.

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Permalink Reply by Chuang Shyue Chou on October 4, 2010 at 9:07pm

I'm reading 'Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War' by Peter H. Wilson.

I got the American edition which has a different cover from the British one. And also a different cover from the softcover edition. Anyway, the American edition is a lot less expensive though if I had to choose a cover, this would have been my preferred cover.

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Permalink Reply by Kai Jensen on October 18, 2010 at 2:40pm

Started reading Corregidor: From Paradise to Hell! by Ben Waldron. I'm only a few chapters in, but I'm thinking this will be a quick read. Partly because it's well written and partly because I have a hard time putting it down. :0)

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Permalink Reply by Nadir Elfarra on October 21, 2010 at 8:53am

Just finished Rescue of Streetcar 304: A Navy Pilot's Forty Hours on the Run in Laos by the shot-down pilot - Kenny Wayne Fields. His research included interviews over the years with nearly every other pilot involved so it's not just his side of the story, and this makes for rich reading.

It was interesting to learn how complex these SAR operations are - they turn into some of the largest air operations of the war (186 sorties if memory serves). The amount of ordnance used is also surprising, but less so than the fact that the NVA / Pathet Lao were able to keep the planes at bay for two days. It would appear that this is because, contrary to what the rescue pilots requested, much of the ordnance sent was in form of GP bombs rather than CBU's, the latter being far more effective against infantry in trenches (where the AAA gunners would retreat when the attacking planes released their loads).

This touches on something I'd read elsewhere about studies showing much of the *real* effect of pre-laser-guided weaponry against ground troops is psychological rather than physical (the study was from WW2, IIRC).

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Permalink Reply by Joseph on October 21, 2010 at 9:38am

Read: "Wellington's Rifles: Six Years to Waterloo with England's Legendary Sharpshooters" by Mark Urban. A history of the 95th Rifles(Green Jackets) from 1809-1815 and the battles they had and the evolution of their tactics and how it effected the British Army as a whole. Very Good and recommended.

"Wellington Invades France: The final Phase of the Peninsula War 1813-1814" by Ian C. Robertson. Very dry read and recommended for the Napoleonic Fan.

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Permalink Reply by Chuang Shyue Chou on October 21, 2010 at 9:53pm

I have the Urban tome lying around for years but I haven't found the time to read it.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph on October 22, 2010 at 8:42am

I found Urban's book at my Library by chance. Usually, my library is not to good for History. I was browsing while waiting for the wife and was pleasantly surprised at the History books they now had. The book is based on memoirs of individual soldiers and filled in with other records. A very good book and fills in Cornwell's Sharpe series I've been reading. Sharpe was in the 95th Rifles. Give it a go.

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Permalink Reply by Chuck McAllister on October 22, 2010 at 8:44am

I am reading"My Awakening" by David Duke. Sort of a thick book, but a good read.

Chas. Q. M.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Walters on October 22, 2010 at 9:26am

Finishing two recent books on the Battle of Marathon: MARATHON: THE BATTLE THAT CHANGED WESTERN CIVILIZATION by Richard A. Billows and THE BATTLE OF MARATHON by Peter Krentz. The former is the best overall work. What's interesting is how both books look at the controversial issue of the Athenians running towards the Persian line to avoid the arrow fire; they have two very different takes on it. Won't spoil it for you, you'll just have to read them both!

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