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What book are you reading now?

I've just downloaded Vol 1 of MM. Looking forward to it.

:cheers:
 
tomahawk6 said:
I think its good value at the kindle price. 8)

I publish through Kindle as well and charge USD3.99 for an ebook. Amazon takes a share of that. For a paperback volume of about USD15.00 plus shipping I make about the same royalty because Amazon takes the bulk of the price for printing costs and it's own profits. That's still a lot fairer for the reader than conventional publishers who charge about the same for a print and e edition giving them a massive profit on the download.

:cheers:
 
An interesting account and a reminder that Scientist are humans with good ones and not so good.  https://www.amazon.com/Most-Secret-Wordsworth-Military-Library/dp/185326699X
 
dangerboy said:
For anyone with a Kobo Ebook reader and is interested in Operation Market Garden there is a sale on the book "Arnhem" by Major-General Urquhart on the Kobo store. I have not read the book yet but for $0.99 it is a good blind buy.

Thanks for this;  downloading onto my Clara as I type this...although, unfortunately my reading tonight is CFITES Vol 6.  :boring:
 
Okay. Got a copy of C.P. Champion's Relentless Struggle: Saving the Army Reserve 1995-2019.

It's been a long time since I pulled an all-nighter but I did for this one. It's a good read and should be mandatory reading for all officers who want to see how sausages are made (or unmade) inside NDHQ/CFHQ.

Essentially the story starts with MGen Brian Vernon's ill-fated attempts to reform/transform his reservists/reserve units in Central Militia Area in 1993. The push back (particularly from the Honararies) was severe and mostly ignored leading to the formation of what would be the organization called Reserves 2000.

The book is a detailed recounting of the years that followed and the struggle between R2K and the varies level of command within the Army, the CF and government. Champion does an excellent job in reciting the events and naming names (mostly - some wished to remain anonymous) to show the battle lines that were drawn over the years and the gulf that separated the two camps (in general the supporters of Class A reservists on the one hand and the regular force and, to a large extent, Class B reservists on the other).  There are very clear examples of how often promises were broken, plans went of the rails and mistrust developed. In the midst of all that, taking cover on the armories floor anytime there were sufficient funds to pay them, were the hapless ResF Army units who were struggling to survive. While R2K and South Ontario centric (based on the fact that they commissioned the book and provided the bulk of the reference material) it is, notwithstanding this, as even handed as it can be. Let's face it there's a lot of blame to go around and Champion covers most of it.

The book does end on an optimistic note starting with Harper's last year in office under MND Kenney, Gens Vance and Wynnyk when a degree of stability and potential growth emerge.

Again. Well worth the read.

:cheers:
 
Loving Marius Mules , now on book 10. Its Caesars civil war against Pompey.
 
tomahawk6 said:
Loving Marius Mules , now on book 10. Its Caesars civil war against Pompey.

Got and finished Vol 1 which was good. I'll get a few more.

:cheers:
 
Caesar has the luck to turn disaster into Victory. The series also shows the importance of engineers, cavaly and artillery not to mention supply lines being critical.Caesar's legions are required to move quickly to either close with the enemy or to gain an advantage in position.
 
Barry Mark Eisler (born 1964) is a best-selling American novelist. He is the author of two thriller series, the first featuring anti-hero John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American former soldier turned freelance assassin, and a second featuring black ops soldier Ben Treven. Eisler also writes about politics and language on his blog Heart of the Matter, and at the blogs CHUD, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, MichaelMoore.com, The Smirking Chimp, and Truthout.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Eisler

Got "Fault Line" by Eisler from the library. First book I have read from this author and from the info I am gathering I will be reading the rest of them.
 
Bugles and a Tiger, John Masters, First Edition.

It reads well with a Talisker in direct support ... ;)
 
daftandbarmy said:
Bugles and a Tiger, John Masters, First Edition.

It reads well with a Talisker in direct support ... ;)

Great book, as is The Road Past Mandalay. Read them both in the sixties as a young subaltern.
 
Finally finished Reaper Force by Dr. Peter Lee.  He's an ex-RAF Chaplain turned academic, and if anyone has interest in how modern Remotely Piloted Aircraft operations work as well as some mental/psychological/family challenges crews face, this is a good read.  It really brings into perspective how different RPA operations are and how personal they can be for the crews half a world away.

https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Force-Inside-Story-Britains/dp/1786069644
 
I’m reading Seven Days in Hell “The Rise of the Black Watch Snipers” by David O’Keefe. It’s both a story of the Canadian Black Watch in Normandy and the sniper cell itself.  This fellow has written an excellent book, one that really conveys the small unit story - company by company, platoon, section and rifle team detail. It’s an excellent book that complements the more recent books on Canada in the Normandy campaign- for example, the outstanding “No Holding Back” by Brian Reid.

I will say that the author must have had a tough time when drafting the casualty details- it took 20 years to research and write this book so he probably became very close to the personalities of the soldiers, their families and others.
Have a strong whisky at the ready while reading this book. 
 
Finished Seven Days in Hell. What a terrible, terrible waste of young men, and what loyalty to brothers for all who were there. 😔 🎗🇨🇦
 
The Normandy Privateer is almost done. Britain worried about an invasion by Bonapart established the Sea Fencibles with RN officers and some former RN sailors. The book is bit different than the other period naval books. Its the first book in the series so I lookforward to reading them in order.
 
Cloud Cover said:
Finished Seven Days in Hell. What a terrible, terrible waste of young men, and what loyalty to brothers for all who were there. 😔 🎗🇨🇦

In 1964 HQ 3CIBG in Gagetown did an officers' study session on the operation, which was a mess. Only one battalion, the RHLI took its objective, and its CO, LCol John Rockingham, soon found himself commanding 9 CIB. A goodly part of the session focussed on the RHC, including a short, emotional presentation by WO2 Tommy Larkin of 1RCHA who had been in a FOO party with the Watch. (Larkin had been one of my instructors on officer training.)
 
Reading 'Salem's Lot (Stephen King) right now and I quite like it!

Stephen King has been hit and miss for me:

I picked up Night Shift, a collection of short stories, out of the blue because I like horror.
It was awesome. I'd go far as to say King's short stories are better than his novels.

After Night Shift I was very enthusiastic about reading another one of his books. I gave the Shining a read, and boy was I disappointed.
Predictable and not even scary. I honestly wondered how the heck was this a best seller.

I decided to give 'Salem's Lot a try, the reason being is there's two short stories in Night Shift that kind of touch on 'Salem's Lot, and they were my favorite short stories in the book.
Sure enough, it was a good call. Way better story telling, and it's a lot more thrilling.

I would recommend both Night Shift and Salem's Lot!
 
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