forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
The Book Shelf => What's interesting to read => Topic started by: Checkers67 on December 27, 2012, 12:18:00 AM
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I am reading "the Wolf" the first book published just before WWII. Then jump to the 2010 version "the Wolf".
So what are you reading?
Steve
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Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, The German Army on the Somme by Jack Sheldon, Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army by David Isby, and all kinds of stuff on A6M2a Model 11 and A6M2b Model 21 Zeroes for a "batch build" I'm getting started on this week.
I always have at least two books going at once when I can afford the time.
Warren
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Just started Her Privates We by Frederic Manning. It comes highly regarded and so far hasn't disappointed. I've also got Kilduff's book on MvR on the night table. Oh, and Jack Keegan's The First World War is due at the library.
LT
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Osprey's Vanguard Series Sopwith Camel, with the Fokker Eindecker Compendiums next up. Nice artwork and details in the Camel Volume at first glance.
Cheers,
Lance
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Just started Her Privates We by Frederic Manning. It comes highly regarded and so far hasn't disappointed.
Wonderful book. You might also like A Passionate Prodigality by Guy Chapman and Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves.
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I'm almost finished with Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas. I may start William Fry's Air of Battle next, which I picked up last year, as a fellow member and I are interested in him as an aside to another matter.
Cheers,
Chris
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Just started Her Privates We by Frederic Manning. It comes highly regarded and so far hasn't disappointed.
Wonderful book. You might also like A Passionate Prodigality by Guy Chapman and Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves.
Thanks for the tip, Bo. I'll see if the library carries it.
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I'm almost finished with Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas.
Chris, the last couple of issues of Blue & Gray magazine have featured the battlefield of 2nd Manassas on their General's Tour. Great maps and good photos of the various points of action. I thought you might want to pick those issues to go with your current reading.
FWIW,
Warren
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Currently reading:
~ The First of the Few by Denis Winter (courtesy of our very own pepperman42/Steve :) )
~ The First World War by Hew Strachan &
~ totally off topic, An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington.
Got a couple of books for christmas waiting in the wings, I'll post them when I eventually get to them ;)
Andrew
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I just took the delivery of "Through the Maelstrom" by Boris Gorbachevsky, recommended highly so far.
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Currently reading:
~ The First of the Few by Denis Winter (courtesy of our very own pepperman42/Steve :) )
~ The First World War by Hew Strachan &
~ totally off topic, An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington.
Got a couple of books for christmas waiting in the wings, I'll post them when I eventually get to them ;)
Andrew
First of the Few is pretty good, I thought Winter's Death's Men was better
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Used a gift card to a book store the other weekend and picked up Neptune's Inferno. I've read another of Hornfischer's books, and enjoyed it. This one has not disappointed so far.
Warren
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Not had any WWI related books to read, but I have just finished reading Chronicle of the Roman republic given to me as a Christmas gift - ancient Rome is another of my historical periods of interest.
Regards
Dave
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After a general fiction read its - Hillenbrand's Unbroken, Black Fokker Leader, Lost Oasis then some more fiction Furst's Polish Officer or Nesbo.
Steve
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Chris, the last couple of issues of Blue & Gray magazine have featured the battlefield of 2nd Manassas on their General's Tour. Great maps and good photos of the various points of action. I thought you might want to pick those issues to go with your current reading.
Thanks for the tip Warren. Good maps that can easily be referred to while reading a battle study are critical to my way of thinking.
Cheers,
Chris
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Chris, the last couple of issues of Blue & Gray magazine have featured the battlefield of 2nd Manassas on their General's Tour. Great maps and good photos of the various points of action. I thought you might want to pick those issues to go with your current reading.
Thanks for the tip Warren. Good maps that can easily be referred to while reading a battle study are critical to my way of thinking.
Cheers,
Chris
Chris, that's a really big pet peeve of mine when reading a book about a battle or campaign. I get so aggravated when someone writes a wonderful book on an event in which I have interest, but the publisher puts in few or really crappy maps. Arrrgggghhhhh!!!
Warren
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Warren,
I'm glad to read of your interest in the Civil War. Another shared interest.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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I just picked up "Master and Commander", Square riggers, no bad jokes please! Good read so far. :) :)
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A good set of books are the ones done by Peter Hart. "Bloody April" and "Aces Falling." They're relatively easy to get hold of and they're pretty readable and quite informative.
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"Gods and Generals",should be finished by the time " Hornet's Sting" arrives.Derek Robinson has a new one out,"A Splendid Little War",about RAF volunteers,flying Camels in the Russian intervention;that'll be the next one.
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Just got "Development of German Warplanes in WWI" by Jack Herris.
148 pages, tons of period B&W photos, loads of profiles, reproductions in colour photo's and very detailed schedules of types & numbers.
Goes through all German types in chronological and type order, with a good, interesting commentary. Individual chapters on the various fighter competitions and a very detailed chapter on engine types.
Obviously well researched, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in German WWI types - that means most of us!
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That does sound interesting, Dekenba. I've been looking for a good, comprehensive volume on German aircraft as I'm pretty light on the details on that side's equipment. Do you (or anyone else) know of an equivalent for the RFC?
Thanks for the recommendation,
Lindsay
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Closest I've seen is J M Bruce's "British Aeroplanes 1914-1918" - it's a 1957 publication and quite rare these days. If you can pick it up for less than £50 you are doing well!
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A good set of books are the ones done by Peter Hart. "Bloody April" and "Aces Falling." They're relatively easy to get hold of and they're pretty readable and quite informative.
I agree I`m reading Aces Falling and I find a great read. There are plenty of first hand relations of the aviators. Highly recommended! BTW there`s also a docummentary ACES FALLING I`ve seen it on Youtube it`s something worthwile too.
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Just finished Winged victory by V.M.Yeates - i recommend this book to anyone.
One of the best war books i have read
cheers
michael
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I'm 11 pages into Open Cockpit by Arthur Gould Lee. So far so good. I've got Derek Robinson's Goshawk Squadron on order at the library. I'll report back after I've had a look.
LT
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Just received Kagero's Fokker D.VII The Lethal Weapon - part of their Legends of Aviation in 3D range.
Absolutely amazing 3D computer generated drawings in full colour from all angles, a really superb modellers reference.
Engine, cockpit, control surfaces, wiring, guns, wheels, controls & dials - you name it, it's superbly well drawn.
Also contains a potted history and plenty of period photo's.
Very highly recommended indeed, I've ordered the Fokker Dr.1 version of this book on the strength of it.
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I reaaly enjoyed that one. The Dr1 book gives you groovy 3D glasses to look at some of the pictures.
Steve
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Crowood's Fokker Aircraft of World War One is pretty special - very comprehensive indeed. Plenty of photo's, in-depth analysis, technical notes and pilot studies.
Highly recommended.
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I've just got "The Imperial Russian Air Service - Famous Pilots & Aircraft of World War 1".
A staggeringly good book. 550 pages, superb diagrams, brilliant pictures, great stories - the single most comprehensive one subject, one volume book on WW1 aviation I've ever seen.
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Hmmm... How hard was it to find Russian Imperial a/c book?
Steve
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Hmmm... How hard was it to find Russian Imperial a/c book?
Steve
Very hard - found a good copy on Alibris in the end. Cost £60, but these books are rarer than rocking horse pooh.
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"Rocking Horse Poo!" That's great. I have only seen the book once in Oakland, California. Almost as rare as "Tigers in Combat volume I".
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"Schlacht-Flieger! Germany and the Origins of Air/Ground Support 1916-1918"
If you like late war German 2 seater aeroplanes, this book is something else. An in depth analysis of each type, some great photo's that I've not seen anywhere else, details of unit & aircraft marking and an explanation of how the role of close air support was developed by the German as the war progressed.
A great companion to WNW's German 2 seater kits, really adds depth to how these planes were used and how they looked.
Can't recommend it highly enough.
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I finished Open Cockpit by Arthur Gould Lee, and really enjoyed it. One of those non-fiction biography books that you have to remind yourself now and then that it's not fiction. He has (had) a great narrative style. Highly recommended, and looking forward to No Parachute when I'm finished...
No Empty Chairs by Ian Mackersey. Another really entertaining read. I'm just at the point of Bloody April, so still a ways to go.
Finished Somme Success by Peter Hart a while back, too. Pretty good. Same Hart style of leaning heavily on the full quotations, but that's where a lot of the insight comes from. I actually e-mailed Hart when I finished to tell him I enjoyed his books. He in turn recommended books by Ralph Barker and Michael Molkentin. I'll assign that for your next book report.
I wish more of these books were available as audio books. Now that would make me a happy boy! If anyone knows of anything (anything!) related to WWI on audio book, please do enlighten us.
LT
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It's worth noting that most books bought for a Kindle are able to be read to you by the Kindle via headphones.
It's a bit robotic sounding, but you get used to it especially if you follow the text at the same time. It's not bad if your eyes are just too tired!
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I just finished "one second after" about life after an EMP detonation, and "A higher calling" by Franz Stigler. And the usual Cusslers and such as filling in reading.
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Just finished No Empty Chairs by Ian Mackersey. A really good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. For the most part. The virulence and obvious dislike the author has for Billy Bishop was more than a bit off-putting. No one ever likes having their heroes torn down, which may be especially true for Canadians and Bishop. I actually stopped reading it for a while (in favour of Antony Beevor's The Second World War, another gem as we'd expect from Beevor) and had to hold my nose when there was any subsequent mention of Bishop. You could almost see Mackersey trying to keep the bile down any time he typed out the name. This was all the more incongruous with the way other aces were celebrated. The lionizing of Elliott Springs almost went a bit too far. It was almost to the point where the nerd at school worshipped the jock because he drank lots, got into fights, and bagged chicks. He's sooo cool!
Aside from that I really did enjoy the book and would highly recommend it. I learned a lot and its very well written. You just might want to be careful when you get to the chapter titled, "The Raid That Never Was." ;)
Lindsay
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Just finished No Empty Chairs by Ian Mackersey...
Lindsay
Nice book review, Lindsay. Sounds like an interesting read for sure; I will have to hunt it down.
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Just started Her Privates We by Frederic Manning. It comes highly regarded and so far hasn't disappointed. I've also got Kilduff's book on MvR on the night table. Oh, and Jack Keegan's The First World War is due at the library.
LT
LT, Keegan's book was an amazing read and enjoys a special place in my collection. I thought I knew something about the Great War before I read this book and words alone can't describe what Keegan achieved with it. A book hasn't been affected me like that since I read "In Flanders Fields" while in high school.
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Agreed, Vickers. Keegan's account of the origins of the war is the most in depth I've read. Apparently there's a few more moving parts than just, "the Germans did it."
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Just finished No Empty Chairs by Ian Mackersey. A really good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. For the most part. The virulence and obvious dislike the author has for Billy Bishop was more than a bit off-putting.
It's pretty much the flavour of the day Lindsay.
Cheers,
Chris
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Chris and Gary (Trackpad) have been the innocent victims of my verbal tyrades concerning the "Bishop-Bashers", it's rather a popular past time for certain. I'll go no further then to say it's a shame that many assess his outstanding war record in a negative, and insulting manner. One wonders who is next? I've seen some nasty innuendo concerning several of the great French aces over the years as well.......... and then there's the buffoons who go on about MVR and their "opinion" that he only took the stragglers and and easy kills!
I was actually looking for a good price on "No Empty Chairs", now I'll perhaps take my time.
Cheers nevertheless!
Lance
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A recent $4.99 addition to my reading pile is called "The Remains of Company D", by James Carl Nelson. It's about the life and deaths of me of Company D, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Lots of research from letters, archives, regimental histories of why, young men joined, their lifes before and after the war. Very interesting reading.
Tim Pivonka