|
#3701086 - 12/17/12 11:25 PM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
|
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,079
WalterNowi
Member
|
Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,079
Arcadia, CA
|
Really enjoying it so far. Massie is really an excellent writer. Totally agree. Dreadnaught and Castles of Steel are very enjoyable. Massie also wrote a few books about the Russians. I found his Peter the Great very enjoyable as well.
|
|
#3702432 - 12/19/12 08:58 PM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 378
FrontierProject
low-spec system simmer
|
low-spec system simmer
Member
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 378
Smalltown Minnesota
|
finishing up Storm of Swords from the Song of Ice and Fire series, I'll read Clancy's Threat Vector before moving on to Feast for Crows
"Burn them all."
--------------
Intel Core2 Duo E8200 @ 2.66GHz
4GB RAM
Sparkle Geforce GTX460
|
|
|
#3704259 - 12/22/12 03:03 AM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,109
TankHunter
Misanthropic Peon
|
Misanthropic Peon
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,109
|
Heights of Courage by Avigdor Kahalani
l'Audace, toujours l'audace
I don’t have pet peeves; I have major, psychotic hatreds. - George Carlin
Even if you have a crown and sit at a throne
In the end you will have nothing
Even if you are destined for great riches
In the end you will return to the dust
|
|
|
#3706478 - 12/26/12 12:42 AM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 26,564
wheelsup_cavu
Lifer
|
Lifer
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 26,564
Corona, California
|
The Last Zero Fighter – Firsthand Accounts from WWII Japanese Naval Pilots By Dan King Pacific Press – 2012 ISBN 978-1468178807  The book is 292 pages long, divided into 5 Chapters (each one devoted to one man) and contains 79 pictures and drawings. The men featured are ( summaries are from Historical Consulting | The Last Zero Figher): 1 - Kaname Harada: Worked his way out of the fleet Navy to become a fighter pilot. He is the last surviving member of the air group that bombed the USS Panay outside of Nanking in December 1937. He flew from the Soryu at the Battle of Wake Island, then at Midway claiming few U.S. Navy torpedo bombers, and was later shot down at Guadalcanal. He ended the war training future Kamikaze pilots who were slated to fly rocket fighters into US warships. 2 - Isamu Miyazaki: Served in the surface fleet where he traveled to Egypt and Paris before the war, later worked on a river boat in China before making it into the Naval Air Service in 1936. He was a wingman of Kanichi "One-Wing" Kashimura in the sky above Yokosuka on April 18, 1942 as the Doolittle Raiders attacked Japan. He fought US fighters in the 252nd Air Group under Lt Suganami and then Lt. Naoshi Kanno at Rabaul; then Guadalcanal; the reverse defense of Wake Island; then fought against B-24 bombers and then the US invasion of Tarawa from his base in the Marshall Islands; he fought as a member of the Hachiman Butai in the skies over Iwo Jima and then assigned to Minoru Genda's air group of Aces, the 343rd Air Group for the defense of the homelands. He witnessed the atomic bombing of Nagasaki 3 - Haruo Yoshino: Joined the Navy as a teenager and was the commander of a torpedo plane from the Kaga that dropped a fish into the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. He was in the initial invasion of Rabaul and the attack on Port Darwin, Australia. He was later in one of the seven infamous search planes that failed to locate the Americans at the Battle of Midway and was aboard the Kaga when it was attacked and sunk. He went through Truk Lagoon, fought at Guadalcanal, Santa Cruz, in the air above Iwo Jima and Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. 4 - Toshimitsu Imaizumi: Joined the Navy's pre-flight academy as a teenager and became a fighter pilot stationed on Hainan Island where he fought against B-24s and P-38s before being sent to Taiwan and with the 254th Air Group to Mabalacat Airfield the Philippines. He witnessed the first official Kamikaze flight taken by Lt. Yukio Seki. He himself flew Kamikaze escort duty, and then eventually was assigned as a Kamikaze pilot himself in the defense of Okinawa. 5 - Tomokazu Kasai: The youngest Japanese Naval ace of the war joined the Navy's pre-flight academy as a teenager and found himself thrust into combat over Iwo Jima, Guam, Saipan, Peleliu, Yap the Philippines as a Kamikaze escort pilot and finally with the squadron of aces, the 301st Fighter Squadron under Minoru Genda, the planner of the Pearl Harbor attack. ---------------------------------------------------------------- From an American perspective it was interesting to read the story from the other side of the war. Imo, The book is a little light on the "getting to know the men" side of the story but can't be beat from a detail "Where were you and when" side of the story. If you don't want to buy a copy I would definitely see if your local library has it. Wheels
|
|
|
#3707217 - 12/27/12 04:42 PM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 15,827
Mace71
Dread pirate Mace
|
Dread pirate Mace
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 15,827
Darlington, UK.
|
Aces Falling by Peter Hart.
Antec 902 | Intel i7 920 2.66Ghz OC'd to 3.40GHz | MSI GeForce GTX 660 Black Knight 2048MB GDDR5 | Corsair 6GB DDR3 | Coolermaster V8 CPU Cooler | W7 64
"There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing and be nothing." Aristotle
|
|
|
#3707490 - 12/28/12 01:47 AM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 9,710
Legend
Legsie is such a
|
Legsie is such a
Hotshot
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 9,710
Zutphen, NL / ShangHai, China
|
Finally finished Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy. Next up is Derek Robinson's War Story. The end of the Night's Dawn trilogy felt a bit rushed, and although announced in book one the Naked God itself was too much a Deus ex machina. He was found, provided a perfect solution, almost everyone lives happily ever after, the end IMHO not Mr Hamilton's strongest book, but still an enjoyable read.
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the universe is for it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
|
|
|
#3707737 - 12/28/12 04:16 PM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 948
JonnyD
Member
|
Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 948
The Fens, UK
|
I'm reading Chieftans, for the second time, by Bob Forrest-Webb. It was popular in the '80's (his father was a tankie himself so the writing is pretty much first hand stuff) when I first read it, but went out of print many years ago. A big push by loads of enthusiasts (including myself) on the ARRSE forums got him persuaded to get it republished. In the end, the small publishing house he used turned out to be an awkward place to buy, so a Kindle version was written - which is what I am reading (on Kindle for PC). There are some mistakes and typos but it's well worth the few bob it costs from Amazon. When it was out of print, prices went up to around £300! ($484) - but now it is available again, they have come down some: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chieftains-Bob-Forrest-Webb/dp/0708821502read the customer reviews - most are good, some are just idiots, but then there is always at least one... £3.30 for Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chieftains-ebook/dp/B006ISI2DK/ref=kinw_dp_ke/277-4739616-2502820Product Description
During the late 1970s and early 80s tension in Europe, between east and west, had grown until it appeared that war was virtually unavoidable. Soviet armies massed behind the 'Iron Curtain' that stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
In the west, Allied forces, British, American, and armies from virtually all the western countries, raised the levels of their training and readiness. A senior British army officer, General Sir John Hackett, had written a book of the likely strategies of the Allied forces if a war actually took place and, shortly after its publication, he suggested to his publisher Futura that it might be interesting to produce a novel based on the Third World War but from the point of view of the soldier on the ground.
Bob Forrest-Webb, an author and ex-serviceman who had written several best-selling novels, one of which became a Disney film, was commissioned to write the book. As modern warfare tends to be extremely mobile, and as a worldwide event would surely include the threat of atomic weapons, it was decided that the book would mainly feature the armoured divisions already stationed in Germany facing the growing number of Soviet tanks and armoured artillery.
With the assistance of the Ministry of Defence, Forrest-Webb undertook extensive research that included visits to various armoured regiments in the UK and Germany, and a large number of interviews with veteran members of the Armoured Corps, men who had experienced actual battle conditions in their vehicles from mined D-Day beaches under heavy fire, to warfare in more recent conflicts.
It helped that Forrest-Webb's father-in-law, Bill Waterson, was an ex-Armoured Corps man with thirty years of service; including six years of war combat experience in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and finally Austria. He's still remembered at Bovington, Dorset, which is still an Armoured Corps base, and also home to the best tank museum in the world.
Forrest-Webb believes in realism; realism in speech, and in action. The characters in his book behave as the men in actual tanks and in actual combat behave. You can smell the oil fumes and the sweat and gun-smoke in his writing. Armour is the spearhead of the army; like its men it has to be hard, and sharp. The book is reputed to be the best novel ever written about tank warfare and is being re-published because that's what the guys in the tanks today have requested. When first published, the colonel of one of the armoured regiments stationed in Germany gave a copy to Princess Anne when she visited their base. When read by General Sir John Hackett, he stated: "A dramatic and authentic account", and that's what 'Chieftains' is.
I say it as I see it
|
|
|
#3708453 - 12/29/12 10:01 PM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: Legend]
|
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 1,943
Nate
Member
|
Member
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 1,943
Dublin, Ireland
|
Finally finished Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy. Next up is Derek Robinson's War Story. The end of the Night's Dawn trilogy felt a bit rushed, and although announced in book one the Naked God itself was too much a Deus ex machina. He was found, provided a perfect solution, almost everyone lives happily ever after, the end IMHO not Mr Hamilton's strongest book, but still an enjoyable read. Pandora's Star and it's sequel are better than the Night's dawn trilogy IMO. Nate
|
|
|
#3708693 - 12/30/12 08:50 AM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 5,534
Alicatt
Hotshot
|
Hotshot
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 5,534
Ice Cold in Alex or Eating in ...
|
Just started a new novel about a squadron operating the Westland Whirlwind, a gripping story about a mission done by some members of 137 Squadron. The book is filled with detais on how the aircraft was operated during WW2 including it's short comings. I started it at midnight last night and didn/t come up for air until 4am.  This is the email I got about the book last night
A brand new book on the Whirlwind is now available on Kindle.
It is called Night of the Whirlwind previously it was available in another format but there where issues with the publisher.
It has been taken up by Kindle and is available to download from their library.
For every member who purchases a copy the project will receive a £1 donation just drop us a mail confirming you have bought a copy we submit your name for confirmation then we get the £1. Simples !!!!!!!
Manythanks for the Author David Eadsforth
Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil
Sons of the hound come here and get flesh
Clan Cameron
|
|
|
#3709421 - 12/31/12 03:57 PM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 5,600
Recluse
Mediocrity Above All!
|
Mediocrity Above All!
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 5,600
Randolph, NJ
|
Last edited by Recluse; 12/31/12 04:00 PM.
Long system spec sig follows:
PowerSpec G436
Lian Li ATX 205
MSI Z490 Plus Motherboard
Intel Core i7 10700K 3.8 GHz
32 GB RAM DDR4 1600
Nvidia RTX3070
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit
Flight Gear:
Cougar Hotas S/N 26453
Thrustmaster RCS Rudder Pedals
|
|
|
#3709720 - 01/01/13 01:55 AM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 15,827
Mace71
Dread pirate Mace
|
Dread pirate Mace
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 15,827
Darlington, UK.
|
I've got Viper Pilot on order from Amazon, should be here Monday.
Antec 902 | Intel i7 920 2.66Ghz OC'd to 3.40GHz | MSI GeForce GTX 660 Black Knight 2048MB GDDR5 | Corsair 6GB DDR3 | Coolermaster V8 CPU Cooler | W7 64
"There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing and be nothing." Aristotle
|
|
|
#3711213 - 01/03/13 05:42 PM
Re: What are we reading in December?
[Re: letterboy1]
|
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,109
TankHunter
Misanthropic Peon
|
Misanthropic Peon
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 3,109
|
"The Sword And The Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive And The Secret History Of The KGB" by Christopher Andrew
l'Audace, toujours l'audace
I don’t have pet peeves; I have major, psychotic hatreds. - George Carlin
Even if you have a crown and sit at a throne
In the end you will have nothing
Even if you are destined for great riches
In the end you will return to the dust
|
|
|
|
|
Exodus
by RedOneAlpha. 04/18/24 05:46 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
