Nice to have some holiday time off to spend with some quality books. Finished both Company Commander and Fighting Through From Dunkirk to Hamburg in the past few weeks and about to re-read an old favourite by Farley Mowat. Thanks to Stolpi for the lead on Company Commander and kudos to Paul Cheall for his excellent WW2 podcast.
This could put the cat amongst the pigeons? Nice prezzie by the way. Just wondering if Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbot ( two left loafers ) or John MuckDonnell have bought this book?
This book will take some time to read when I'm waiting to get loaded, or unloaded! Its a shame that i could not pay (55 Shillings for it!) A most tidy copy of a rare book that is in near mint condition. I will be at it for a while seeing has it has 700 pages. The maps are rather good at about 70 of them. The illustrations are sharp. 30 in total.
BFBSM - same over here fell for these three in the Book Outlet (quite a bargain, soft cover about € 10,00 a piece): Now reading about the battle of Ia Drang (Nov, 14 - 18, 1965), an early battle that took place in the Central Highlands near Pleiku, better known as the battle for LZ X-Ray which also features in Mel Gibson's film "We were Soldiers". For obvious reasons the film doesn't include the ambush of the 2/7th Cavalry at LZ Albany which was a sequel of the LZ X-Ray action. The two battles, which together became known as the Battle of the Ia Drang, killed over 200 of the US forces. It was the first major encounter between the US Forces and the North Vietnamese/Vietcong troops.
stolpi, I am also becoming more interested in the more modern conflicts, I have just finished reading Volume 1 of the The Official History of Australian Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Post-Cold War Operations.
Of course. Jezzer will have read it by lunchtime rather than waiting for the usual 3pm slot. Anyway, enough of politics - actual or implied - back to the serious business of reading books.
I’m living the dream these days, they just keep rolling in. Charlie Company arrived today, and my brother very recently gave me this signed copy for my, ahem, cough, cough, 19th birthday (now, now, stop laughing very loudly at the back! Well, to be fair, it does have a 9 in it):
I was lucky and picked up this proof copy of Charlie Company a good few years ago in a book shop in Glasgow
Thought I’d have a quick flick through “Fifth British Division” today and it was a pleasant surprise to see the foreword has seemingly been personally signed by Major-General Berney-Ficklin himself. Nice touch I think. Or do all the copies have this? I am assuming it is a real signature only as it is in green, but perhaps it’s printed.
Comprehensive study of the development and usage of Northrop's interwar attack plane. Looks at exprt usage so there is coverage of the Iraqi and Dutch use during WW2 as as Canadian and others. All in all a nice little package on an obscure type.
Starting "Typhoon" and finishing Peter Caddick Adams " Parallel Lives" Monty and Rommel. David Stahel writes a very detailed history incorporating all aspects of the invasion and conduct of the German forces as well as the military history of this ill-fated disaster for Germany. PC Adams writes in a very engaging style good solid information that reads cleanly and easily.
Sorry no pics - I finished reading The Forgotten Victor (Baynes), a biography of General Richard O'Connor. Left feeling like he deserved better - we all know that he was captured in Libya, unluckily. I hadn't learned what happened to him in Normandy - he resigned after Montgomery contrived to get sacked the commander of an American division who was in O'Connor's 8 Corps. Now I'm going back to Canada and the Liberation of the Netherlands, May 1945 by Lance Goddard. Stolpi pointed out there is a better book, in Dutch, but since I can't read or speak Dutch, this will have to do. I read part of this before but didn't finish; this time I'm going to read it all the way through.
Very good history of the unit that faced the Japanese during their initial advance in New Guinea. Lots of pictures and first person accounts
I'm seriously enjoying this book, especially when you consider it is 1000 pages in length and I'm a slow reader. It is well researched and written in a way that accentuates the slow build up towards the dramatic removal of Mrs. Thatcher as Prime Minister in November 1990 and those involved in the process.