July 2016 - Reading
ConversazioniMilitary History
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1Shrike58
First up with with Betrayal at Little Gibraltar (B+), a study of the U.S. 79th Division in the Meuse-Argonne offensive and how command malfeasance by Gen. Robert Bullard (in pursuit of three stars and a field-army command) left the 79th in the lurch the first day of the operation, and, arguably, squandered a great operational opportunity. That this particular command debacle remained covered-up Walker attributes to Pershing's post-war spin machine. Walker is also none-to-fond of Pershing either. Having never read Allan Millett's 1975 biography of Bullard I don't know how much of this is old news, but though I suspect that Walker is exaggerating the opportunity lost this is also a good popular examination of command turbulence in the AEF, besides being a good divisional-level examination of the war.
2AndreasJ
I don't recall if I mentioned Krieg und Krieger im chinesischen Mittelalter last month, but I'm still at it. It's not long, but I've been easily distracted lately.
3Ammianus
The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss.
5Jestak
I am reading Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45 by Peter Caddick-Adams.
6Ammianus
FINALLY! Got around to buying a copy.....The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714
If this is your period I'm sure you have a copy.
If this is your period I'm sure you have a copy.
7AndreasJ
>6 Ammianus:
I wouldn't characterize it as my period, but I've got a copy. It's a good book, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
I wouldn't characterize it as my period, but I've got a copy. It's a good book, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
8Ammianus
#7, I read his "Bayonets of the Republic" long ago. I'm enjoying this one.
When stationed in Germany, I visited the battlefield of Blenheim (Blindheim). Nothing there to remind one except for a small plague on the village church!
When stationed in Germany, I visited the battlefield of Blenheim (Blindheim). Nothing there to remind one except for a small plague on the village church!
9Jestak
>6 Ammianus: Lynn's book tends to be pricey, but it's worth it.
12AndreasJ
>11 Ammianus:
Weird title - acc'd the logic behind the "Third Reich"label, the German empire founded during that war was the second Reich, the first having been the Holy Roman Empire.
Weird title - acc'd the logic behind the "Third Reich"label, the German empire founded during that war was the second Reich, the first having been the Holy Roman Empire.
13jztemple
Finished a short but interesting The Seabees of World War II by Edmund L. Castillo.
15Shrike58
Apart from some nuts-and-bolts military aviation books I've finished up Prelude to the Final Solution (B) and The Cambodian Wars (A). The former is a matter-of-fact examination of forced Germanization in Poland c. 1939-41 whereas the latter is particularly excellent when dealing with the fall of Royal Cambodia and the Vietnamese invasion of Red Kampuchea.
16Ammianus
Frederick the Great: A Military History, another good read by Showalter.
17rocketjk
Although it's August, already, I'll just add these to the end of the July thread, since I started both earlier in the week.
I've started two books that I'll be reading gradually rather than straight through.
The first book is Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. I'm reading this book a chapter at a time around other books I read because I find that if you read a letters collection straight through from start to finish, the letters tend to lose their individuality and blend together. These letters are too powerful for me to risk having them drained of their meaning through blurring.
The second book is Washington and His Generals by Joel Tyler Headley. Written in 1875, this book is basically a collection of thumbnail biographies of the generals of the Revolutionary Army and their roles in the war. Again, I find that reading this sort of book straight through makes the different lives and stories tend to run together in my memory. Reading this particular book will be an interesting reading experience for me in that my copy is a first edition. I bought it more than 10 years ago at an antiquarian bookseller in San Francisco. The inscription on the inside blank page reads, "E.F. Test. Omaha, Nebraska. February 28, 1876." At the top of the first page of text, in the same handwriting, is written, "Please handle with care, and do not strain or soil the book." I will do my best, sir! I do love the idea of reading a book about Washington's generals written closer to the actual time of the revolution than to today. Just in general, reading a book actually printed 140 years ago strikes my fancy immensely. That's another reason I won't be reading this straight through: it won't be leaving the house.
I've started two books that I'll be reading gradually rather than straight through.
The first book is Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. I'm reading this book a chapter at a time around other books I read because I find that if you read a letters collection straight through from start to finish, the letters tend to lose their individuality and blend together. These letters are too powerful for me to risk having them drained of their meaning through blurring.
The second book is Washington and His Generals by Joel Tyler Headley. Written in 1875, this book is basically a collection of thumbnail biographies of the generals of the Revolutionary Army and their roles in the war. Again, I find that reading this sort of book straight through makes the different lives and stories tend to run together in my memory. Reading this particular book will be an interesting reading experience for me in that my copy is a first edition. I bought it more than 10 years ago at an antiquarian bookseller in San Francisco. The inscription on the inside blank page reads, "E.F. Test. Omaha, Nebraska. February 28, 1876." At the top of the first page of text, in the same handwriting, is written, "Please handle with care, and do not strain or soil the book." I will do my best, sir! I do love the idea of reading a book about Washington's generals written closer to the actual time of the revolution than to today. Just in general, reading a book actually printed 140 years ago strikes my fancy immensely. That's another reason I won't be reading this straight through: it won't be leaving the house.