Good Reading?

[Checkers67]

Hmmm... How hard was it to find Russian Imperial a/c book?
Steve

[Dekenba]

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.

[Checkers67]

"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".

[Dekenba]

"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.

[LindsayT]

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

[Dekenba]

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!

[mike in calif]

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.

[LindsayT]

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

[uncletony]

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.

[Vickers]

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.

[LindsayT]

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." 

[Chris Johnson]

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

[lcarroll]

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

[timpivonka]

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