T1B

I'm a big history reader. US History, Military History manily. I have tons of books on the Civil War, WWII, and Vietnam. I work my way back and forth. I'm currently working backwards. I just finished a couple books about the Civil War and am now looking for stuff about The US from 1800 - 1840's. I just finished 1812 The War That Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman. Very good read. Highly recommend it.

Right now I have two books going, one at home and the other at work.


Home: Journals of Lewis & Clark

Work:Winfield Scott and the Profession of Arms by Allan Peskin


The Winfield Scott book might sound boring to some, but it's actually pretty damn good and goes well with 1812.


I get a lot of books from http://www.militarybookclub.com , I also hit the local used book stores about every 3 or 4 months, find lots of odd stuff there.

You know,,15 years ago Janet Moncrief must of been one knock out ya think??

Like I said on the other thread, I read alot of theological and middle eastern religious books. I just finished "The Sins of King David" (can't remember the author right off hand though) and am about 3/4 of the way through "Unsettled" by Melvin Konner, which is an anthropology of the Jews.

JCT, have you read Shelby Foote's Three-Volume Masterpiece "The Civil War: A Narrative". I've read that bad boy twice, It's outstanding.

I got them. Read them many times. Big Shelby fan.

Man, I wish I had time like that. I have barely got the time to read "Strip Tease", let alone the history books I got piled up. Mostly Cold war stuff. List later.

I'm huge into 18th century American history.

As a big fan of Jefferson, I loved the six-volume bio by Dumas Malone.

I also dig the Revolutionary War books - I've read most of Ketchum's Revolutionary War stuff ("Decisive Day," "Winter Soldiers," "Divided Loyalties," and the best, "Saratoga). I've also read Leckie's stuff. Worst book by far I've read on the subject was "A Few Bloody Noses," written by a former member of Parliament. The author (Robert Harvey) gets a lot of facts wrong and has the tendency to describe every American leader as overrated, lucky, and just awful as human beings. The guy comes off as a whining loser.

On a different subject, if any of you out there are Lincoln freaks, check out the books by Joe Forneri, especially "Abraham Lincoln's Political Faith." Joe's an old friend of mine (AXP pledge Brothers from Spring of '85), a current professor at the Rochester Institute of technology, and an upcoming Lincoln expert. "Faith" is an examination of Lincoln's politics and his nondenominational Christian beliefs. Good reading.

And to complete the dorkiness, I also am a regular reader of 'Strategy and Tactics' magazine and wargame weekly....

Great book I'm reading right now is "Gates of Fire". It's how 300 Spartan soilders held off an army of over 2 million. I can't put it down.

Killian wrote:Great book I'm reading right now is "Gates of Fire". It's how 300 Spartan soilders held off an army of over 2 million. I can't put it down.

the history channel had something on about that.

the persions got punked for how big their army was

That would be the battle of Thermopylae. 1 million Persians.

All the Way to Berlin... the author, "maggie" Megellas, was the most decorated officer of the 82d Airborne Division, from fond du lac, wi.

also just finished the book Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow... yes that is the broadway musical.

lately i've been reading quite a bit on the holocaust... some include:
hitlers willing executioners by daniel goldhagen
unwilling germans, which was a response to goldhagen's ideas
and also eichmann in jerusalem by hannah arendt.

all very interesting reads indeed

The Spartans also had a tactical advantage with the terran as well. The Persians couldn't just line up and march in to battle because of the sea and the mountains. Only a limited number of troops could be actually committed in battle at any one time. The Greeks had chosen their ground wisely.

mvscal wrote:
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer is one of the best WW2 memoirs I've read. He fought on the East Front from 43 to 45 in the Gross Deutschland division.

Marvellous book!

Just finished 'Stalingrad, memories and re-assessments' by Joachim Weider, a staff officer assigned to 6th army. You'd like it. A stern critique of Manstein and convincing arguements for Paulus and Von Seydlitz. A unique perspective you won't find anywhere else.

mvscal wrote:
A convincing argument for Paulus written by one of his staff officers and critical of von Manstein? Hmmm.

That's what I first thought.

It's a defence against Mansteins accusations in 'Lost victories' regarding Paulus' actions for Thunderclap and the initial contraction of the pocket at the outset of the encirclement by Von Seydlitz.
He also accuses Manstein of hypocracy in not ordering the surrender of the army after the troops in the Caucasus were withdrawn and claims the army ceased to be effective as a festeplatz and deals with the morality of it all.

Wether you agree or not, his description of the battle very readible, much like Sajers. Again, highly recommended.