What are we reading?

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

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Gusington

Just started Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. It takes place in Normandy during the plague and the Hundred Years War and has a large dose of demons and angels, very well written so far. Buehlman also wrote Those Across the River, a southern gothic werewolf story, that I read last year and loved.


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

-JudgeDredd

Airborne Rifles

Just finished The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses S. Grant in War and Peace.  Grant is one of my favorite historical persons.  I've read two biographies of him in the past year and it seems he has been much maligned by historians until relatively recently.  One of the best men to have served as general or president in our country's history, IMHO.

spelk

Currently reading through this, to give me a better sense of how all my conflict interests fit into the overall scene of British History..

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/british-history-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Gusington

AR you'll have to elaborate on Grant, the main characteristic that is generally focused on is his drinking habit and I have seen him appear on many Top 10 Worst US Presidents lists, usually right behind Millard Fillmore or Franklin Pierce. Now you've gone and turned the tables!


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

-JudgeDredd

Airborne Rifles

Quote from: Gusington on April 23, 2013, 07:38:21 AM
AR you'll have to elaborate on Grant, the main characteristic that is generally focused on is his drinking habit and I have seen him appear on many Top 10 Worst US Presidents lists, usually right behind Millard Fillmore or Franklin Pierce. Now you've gone and turned the tables!

Well, keep in mind this is just from my reading two biographies (biographies can tend to be partisans for their subjects) and his memoirs, but here goes.  I think I remember you have a master's in history, am I right?

His reputation as a drunk was earned in California under rather unfair circumstances and magnified later by rivals and people who he fired when he was general-in-chief.  Not to say that he didn't have a problem, but he dealt with it effectively so that it didn't interfere with his duties.

He never demonstrated the 'Peter principle' of being promoted to his level of incompetence.  He was effective at every level from lieutenant to lieutenant general.  As a commander he understood his tools.  His campaigns in the west, particularly Fts. Henry and Donelson, Vicksburg, and Chatenooga, were examples of brilliant maneuver.  In the east he understood that the Army of the Potomac was a large blunt instrument and he used it as such, though even here he demonstrated a great deal of daring in his crossing of the James river.  He also won not just the respect but the admiration of such strong personalities as Sherman, Meade, and Sheridan.

As far as a president, I don't know how he ranks, but it seems from what I've read that he was a genuinely good man, maybe one of the best to have held the office.  After the war he used his prestige to ensure that the Johnson administration would not prosecute Confederates including most notably Robert E. Lee.  He was probably the only president who made an effort to honor treaties with the indians and also the only president in the 1800's who actually cared about the civil rights of the freedmen enough to use federal power to ensure them.

Anyway, I'm rambling at this point.  I'm a northerner so my bias is probably showing.  Suffice it to say I'm a great admirer of Grant after reading these books.

Gusington

Hey I'm a Yankee too. I should qualify my questions above by saying that I have read of Grant being both a great commander and terrible at everything else he ever tried. Also read that he was a decent human being which could have translated into him being a bad politician too.


слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

spelk

Even though I'm just a limey, I'd like to stand up and declare myself a Yankee too! Maine(ly) down to my unhealthy fascination and obsession with Joshua L. Chamberlain. :)

Gusington

^You're a Brit too?? Gah they're everywhere :)


слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

mirth

Quote from: Airborne Rifles on April 23, 2013, 01:58:51 AM
Just finished The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses S. Grant in War and Peace.  Grant is one of my favorite historical persons.  I've read two biographies of him in the past year and it seems he has been much maligned by historians until relatively recently.  One of the best men to have served as general or president in our country's history, IMHO.

Thanks for the heads up on this, AR. Grant is one of my favorites too. Much maligned, unjustly so. It's nice to see him given more his due in newer historical works.
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

Mr. Bigglesworth

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; "
- Shakespeare's Henry V, Act III, 1598

Martok

Argh.  Having just finished rereading the Honorverse novel Field of Dishonor (which is always painful for me, given what Harrington suffers through), am now beginning Flag in Exile.  Must stop rereading HH books after this one! 




Quote from: Gusington on April 24, 2013, 02:11:36 PM
Also read that he was a decent human being which could have translated into him being a bad politician too.
This has long been my understanding of Grant as well -- that he was indeed a good man, but a terrible President (a little like Carter in that respect). 


He oversaw one of the most corrupt Administrations (if not *the* most corrupt) our country has ever seen.  He himself was honest enough, but he was apparently unwilling or unable to prevent his underlings from robbing the public blind (possibly because he wasn't really aware of what they're doing). 

I've always wondered if he didn't suffer from a certain degree of willful blindness where that issue was concerned.  To be fair, though, he also seemed to want to believe the best about people -- and disbelieve the worst -- so that could be a factor as well. 


However, I agree his drinking problem was indeed exaggerated.  And he maybe wasn't a brilliant military commander per se, but he was (for the most part) extremely competent.  While I think Lee was the better tactician, Grant was the better strategist IMO -- and he was willing to use his advantage in men & material ruthlessly. 

"Like we need an excuse to drink to anything..." - Banzai_Cat
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Airborne Rifles

The reputation of Grant's presidency has certainly suffered over the years, though the corruption there too seems to have been exaggerated, at least according to what I've read.  It's interesting to note that had he stood for a third term as many wanted him to he would have won in a landslide, that he was almost drafted to run for president again four years later despite not wanting the nomination, and that at his death he was considered the greatest American since Washington.

bob48

I found Grant's autobiography to be a very interesting book. It does seem that he was less than successful in all his  endeavours, other than the Civil War.

On a different note; I have just ordered three more Stackpole books from amazon to add to my growing collection of their publications;

Battle of the Bulge: Losheim Gap / Holding the Line.
The Black Bull: From Normandy to the Baltic with the 11th Armoured Division.
The Battle of France: Six Weeks That Changed the World.

The 3 cost me £1.27 for the books and £8.40 postage - from the USA!
'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'

'Clip those corners'

Recombobulate the discombobulators!

Gusington

^HA now you sound like me...I get books for .01 and pay 3.99 shipping from the UK :/


слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

bob48

OK. So how do we work this to our advantage?

I buy the books that you like from the UK, and you buy the books I like from the US, then we......erm, post 'em to each other.....

Um, I think my plan has a flaw in it somewhere   ???
'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'

'Clip those corners'

Recombobulate the discombobulators!