What are we reading?

Started by Martok, March 05, 2012, 01:13:59 PM

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al_infierno

^ Looks quite interesting, thanks for posting!  And only a dollar on Kindle.

Wild West is my favorite way to game on tabletop for sure.  I would recommend checking out Six Gun Sound if you're interested in miniatures gaming: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/327617/six-gun-sound-devils-elbow
A War of a Madman's Making - a text-based war planning and political survival RPG

It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge.  War endures.  As well ask men what they think of stone.  War was always here.  Before man was, war waited for him.  The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.  That is the way it was and will be.  That way and not some other way.
- Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian


If they made nothing but WWII games, I'd be perfectly content.  Hypothetical matchups from alternate history 1980s, asymmetrical US-bashes-some-3rd world guerillas, or minor wars between Upper Bumblescum and outer Kaboomistan hold no appeal for me.
- Silent Disapproval Robot


I guess it's sort of nice that the word "tactical" seems to refer to some kind of seriousness during your moments of mental clarity.
- MengJiao

ArizonaTank

I have started re-reading "With Their Bare Hands: General Pershing, the 79th Division, and the battle for Montfaucon" by Gene Fax.

https://www.amazon.com/Their-Bare-Hands-Pershing-Montfaucon/dp/1472829794/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1EU73YPZH255A&keywords=with+their+bare+hands&qid=1668445161&sprefix=with+their+%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1

This is a very good book about an almost forgotten battle during the American portion of the Argonne offensive in September, 1918. The very green US 79th Division with conscripts mostly from Baltimore, Philadelphia and D.C., was thrown hard against the German "little Gibraltar" fortress at Montfaucon.

The book is well-written, and it provides plenty of background for the general reader.

Several years back I provided a synopsis of the fight here on grogs:

http://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=22976.msg631833#msg631833
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

Gusington

Now reading Surrender by Bono.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Gusington

Now reading Game of Thrones and the Medieval Art of War by Ken Mondschein.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

JasonPratt

Ever since I finished reading my compilation of Suvorov's Icebreaker Thesis to Mom (which she found fascinating), I've been reading her Shirer's Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich plus following along that plot (as closely as possible) with Speer's memoir (skipping a lot of his focus on his architectural interests where those don't really apply to his topic of being Inside the 3rd Reich. ;) ) She's been enjoying that, too! Bro and I get a lot of our history interests from her.  :smitten:

I've also been reading her all of Haggard's Quatermain series novels, novellas, and short stories, in plot-chronology order; I may do a separate post about that later.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Gusington

My grandmother (of all people) loved Rise and Fall of the Third Reich along with Albert Speer's book and I inherited her copies from her some 40-odd years ago. She was very much a 'know your enemy' type.

Anyway, they are now in my older daughter's bookcase in her bedroom and one of the first things people see when they walk in there is the swastika on the spine of one of those books.

Slightly jarring.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

JasonPratt

Quote from: Gusington on December 07, 2022, 10:58:09 AM
My grandmother (of all people) loved Rise and Fall of the Third Reich along with Albert Speer's book and I inherited her copies from her some 40-odd years ago. She was very much a 'know your enemy' type.

Same (albeit not for the same genocidal threat reason)! -- though in this case she inherited both books from a cousin who taught history at a high school or college somewhere. That was a ludicrously good haul I unboxed and sorted out several summers ago, although I had to hunt around to fill out some series.

In the timeline, we're at Shirer's chapter on the Nazification years of 33 to 37. Speer tends to bounce around a bit in chronology during this period, too.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Gusington

I'm sure for Speer 33-37 were probably the best years of his life.

Our chat here is quite ironic/timely as coup news is dribbling out of Germany as I type.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

nelmsm

I've gotten enthralled with the writing of CJ Box and his Joe Pickett series of mysteries.  Think I've started the 5th one in the series this week. 

JasonPratt

Quote from: Gusington on December 07, 2022, 12:08:34 PM
I'm sure for Speer 33-37 were probably the best years of his life.

Not really! -- by his own account, those years came close to destroying his family life (as he says they definitely destroyed the family lives of many Nazi officials) due to party demands overwhelming every other part of his life.

Of course, he appreciated getting to do his architectural work with license for artistic innovation (within limits) and the challenges of problem-solving. And he appreciated being able to hang out with Hitler, whom he admired at first, and serving as.... not exactly what we'd call a morality anchor in story tropes, but kind of a sanity anchor, being a work-friend that Hitler appreciated being able to hang out with who wasn't constantly sucking up to him and/or trying to conspire against and use him.

This involved being called away at any odd hour of the day or night to travel along with Hitler for who knew how long, criss-crossing around Germany (mostly around Berlin and Munich), sometime on architectural business, but other times just for social purposes (even if Speer was supposed to be working on architectural business). It was interesting, but corrosively exhausting and chaotic.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Gusington

Who needs a regular traditional family when you have Papa Hitler?


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Gusington

Now reading 'Vienna 1683: Christian Europe Repels the Ottomans' by Simon Millar (Osprey Campaign Series).


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

ArizonaTank

#5697
Just finished "SPQR" by Mary Beard.

https://www.amazon.com/SPQR-History-Ancient-Mary-Beard/dp/0871404230/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1671682080&sr=8-1

If you have watched any recent BBC documentaries on Rome, you have probably seen Mary Beard. She is pretty much the resident Rome specialist there.

The book is a very good social, political and cultural history of Rome from the beginning until about 200 AD. My reading on Rome has mostly been military, so SPQR filled in many gaps. 

I enjoyed SPQR and recommend it. It is an enjoyable read.

A few minor warts...or maybe better to say features. SPQR takes a very broad brush when it comes to military matters. Also, the author follows more of a subject based organization, than timeline based. So there is a one chapter discussion of transition from one emperor to another that covers a broad swath of time for example. The result is that sometimes SPQR jumps around time-line wise.

To make up for SPQR's lack of military content, and I found myself re-reading

"In the Name of Rome" by Adrian Goldsworthy

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0297846663/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A1QWS0M2H4O2M0&psc=1

I am about a 1/3 of the way through. Just finished the section on Quintus Sertorius (a rebel Roman general) who fought a kind of guerrilla war against Pompei in Spain. Sertorius regularly beat the snot out of Pompei, but lost in the end. Now the book is moving to Pompei himself.

I have discussed this book before. So all I will say is that it is an excellent survey of the military history of Rome through the exploits of 16 of its generals. Highly recommend it.



Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

fran

Thanks for heads up on Mary Beard's SPQR. As you come across her on BBC and enjoyed her programs.

Definitely add it to my reading list


Gusington

SPQR has been on my to read list forever. I have read many of Goldsworthy's books, both fiction and history, and he is a fantastic writer.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd