What book are you reading now?

[The Bread Guy]

Fuzzy Nation made a pretty good present for mom, which I carried out careful quality control for. It also makes a nice intro to H. Beam Piper's work, which Scalzi riffed it from.

Have you read the Piper work it's based on?  Looking forward to it now.

 

[Brasidas]

Have you read the Piper work it's based on?  Looking forward to it now.

I did, and enjoyed it: "Little Fuzzy". Been a few years and the memory's too fuzzy to contrast it -short story, as was much of the writer's stuff. Solid writer, some of it was along the lines of De Camp's. If you've ever read (and liked) "Lest Darkness Fall", "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" would probably work for you too.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I did, and enjoyed it: "Little Fuzzy". Been a few years and the memory's too fuzzy to contrast it -short story, as was much of the writer's stuff. Solid writer, some of it was along the lines of De Camp's. If you've ever read (and liked) "Lest Darkness Fall", "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" would probably work for you too.

Thanks for the other recommendations as well.

 

[dimsum]

Just finished The Peripheral by William Gibson of Neuromancer fame.  Overall an interesting story, but the first half is a bit of a slog since he (intentionally) throws the reader into the story without any background.

Now slowly going through the companion book to HBO's The Pacific.  For anyone who's seen the series, it also adds a bit of backstory and follows other characters (notably, Hugh Ambrose decides to completely cut a main character from the TV series out except for one line in the book).

 

[FJAG]

And now for something completely different:

The White Company and also Sir Nigel, bot written by Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame). The books take place during the Hundred's Year War between England and France and are written in a quaint old style full of imagery and daring deeds of chivalry by knights of old.

Written at the end of the 1800's, the copyright has long since expired and they are available in electronic format in several forms from Gutenberg.org for free.

:gottree:

 

[FJAG]

Have now put a presence onto Google+ (I've discontinued posting to Facebook)

My new site is here:

https://plus.google.com/100683112500627401489/posts

Cheers

 

[dangerboy]

So after years of watching the movie Das Boot in different versions and almost every video format I finally got around to reading the book that it was based on: The Boat by Lothar-Güther Buchheim.  http://www.amazon.ca/The-boat/dp/039449105X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419079273&sr=1-4&keywords=The+Boat.

If you are interested in what life would have been like aboard a submarine during WWII (I think that it would have been very similar for both the Allied and the Axis navies) I recommend this book and of course the movie also.

 

[SMG III]

Tim Cook: The Madman and the Butcher

 

[blackberet17]

Tim Cook: The Madman and the Butcher

Great book.

I just started Margaret MacMillan's "The War that Ended Peace". After reading dozens and dozens of books on specific battles in the First and Second World Wars, plus Tim Cook's two on the First and all of Zhuelke's covering the Second...I finally decided to start at the beginning of it all  ;D

 

[The Bread Guy]

"Legion of the Damned" by Sven Hassel - read some of his books loooooooooooooong ago, and am about 3/4 of the way through this one.  Cracking good read.

 

[dimsum]

Just finished "Unbroken" - yes, the inspiration for the Angelina Jolie movie.  It's pretty crazy what he has lived through, and still managed to forgive his captors.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Gerard de Villiers "Chaos in Kabul."

 

[FJAG]

Eye of the Storm: Twenty Five Years in Action with the SAS by Peter Radcliffe.

The title says it all. Covers the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s. Very well written.

http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Storm-Twenty-five-Years-Action/dp/1843170523

:cheers:

 

[dangerboy]

Eye of the Storm: Twenty Five Years in Action with the SAS by Peter Radcliffe.

The title says it all. Covers the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s. Very well written.

http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Storm-Twenty-five-Years-Action/dp/1843170523

:cheers:

I enjoyed that book. It also came with a CD with the audio of a battle, unfortunately after moving around several times I have lost the CD.

 

[Danjanou]

Eye of the Storm: Twenty Five Years in Action with the SAS by Peter Radcliffe.

The title says it all. Covers the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s. Very well written.

http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Storm-Twenty-five-Years-Action/dp/1843170523

:cheers:

Thoroughly enjoyed this, including the first published account of what really happened to Braveo Two Zero and the Sgt's Mess Meeting behine enemy lines in GW1.

Finished this off over the weekened, not too bad. The coming of age and ealry experiences in uniform are almost universal
Soldier Blue, Paul Williams
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/086486714X?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Now as for Sven, someone it doesn't impress me as much these days as it did when I was 13-14, but I still have my copy on the book shelf. 8)

 

[dimsum]

Just finished The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan.  Amazing novel (2014 winner of the Man Booker Prize) that devotes large parts to POW life in the Japanese camps on Australian soldiers in WWII and its effects post-war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Narrow_Road_to_the_Deep_North_%28novel%29

Somewhat fittingly, part of the novel is set in Hobart, Tasmania and I had just returned from visiting there (and drinking in a pub mentioned in the book).

 

[Pat in Halifax]

Just finished "The Taliban don't wave"

I would like some insight not so much on Capt Semreau himself but the method he uses for telling the stories from some who were there and may be willing to comment.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Just started "They Flew Hurricanes" ....

.... a bit of the story of the Hawker Hurricane.

 

[Dissident]

Leadership in the Shadows.

I've read lots of books on PD and leadership over the years. Leadership in the Shadows is the first which really reasonates with me. As a section leader I felt this book was perfectly tailored to my level.

http://www.vikingtactics.com/product-p/vtac-lits.htm

I was told Paul Howe's book, Leadership and training for the Fight is equaly as good. it is next on my list.

 

[FJAG]

Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell with John R Bruning - William Morrow Paperbacks 2013

Well written non-fiction narrative by a platoon leader of 3/B/2-87th Infantry in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan during 2006, early 2007.

Parnell had a very good co-writer and together they keep the focus on the the important and interesting parts of the story of the platoon as it makes its way through a major tour in eastern Afghanistan. The story is a well balanced study of the soldiers in the platoon, their makeup, motivation and rise to the challenge.

I was slow to get to this one because of the term "Outlaw" in the title. That just happens to be 3 platoon's actual nickname.

One of the best accounts of small team warfare I've read in quite some time.

It's available here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062066404

And possibly in ePub format from your local library.

:cheers: