What are we reading?

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

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

Gusington

Now reading Alexander's Successors at War - The Perdiccas Years - 323-320BC by Tristan Hughes.


слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

JasonPratt

^ Sounds like part of a series?
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

A planned series, yes. It's the only one available so far. The author is a writer for the excellent Kings and Generals podcast on The YouTube.


слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

ArizonaTank

#5748
Reading "The Glory of Their Times" by Lawrence Ritter.

This book is a series of interviews of old time baseball players from the "Deadball Era" (1900 - 1920). This was the time just before Babe Ruth and WWI.   

The interviews were recorded in the early 1960s when these players were in their 70s and 80s.

The book is a joy! The thing that comes across the most is that all of these guys just 'light up' when they start talking about baseball. Many of the players interviewed are Hall-of-Famers, but even those that aren't just missed it by hair. The game was very different then. Players made hardly any money, and they didn't get paid if they didn't play. So many of them played through damaging injuries like broken bones and concussions. They didn't have coaches, and were pretty much on their own in terms of improving their skills.

These guys rubbed elbows with greatest players of the era, such as; Ty Cobb, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, "Honus" Wagner, "Wee" Willie Keeler, and a promising pitcher from the Red Sox named "Babe" Ruth. The stories of these greats are all there. Including some mostly forgotten. Such as Rube Waddel, one of the best pitchers of his time, but maybe the strangest man to ever play in the big leagues. Or Fred Snodgrass, NY Giants centerfielder who dropped a key flyball, giving the Boston Red Sox the 1912 World Series. "The Snodgrass Muff" was never forgotten by fans; when Snodgrass died in 1974, at the age of 84, the "Snodgrass Muff" was in the headline of his obituary.

Anyway, thoroughly enjoying this book.

If you get one of the audio versions, you will hear the actual players voices as they tell their stories.

https://www.amazon.com/Glory-Their-Times-Baseball-Perennial/dp/0061994715/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NX3FBVN3YKEM&keywords=the+glory+of+their+times&qid=1687141827&sprefix=the+glory+of+their+times%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1

and if you don't believe me about Rube Waddel, being the strangest player in the Big Leagues, check this out:

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/the-curiosities-of-rube-waddell/#:~:text=Known%20to%20occasionally%20miss%20a%20scheduled%20start%20because,or%20wrestling%20an%20alligator%20in%20a%20nearby%20lagoon.
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

bobarossa

Who here has not run off after a shiny new wargame instead of working?

Gusington

Currently reading Armies of the Hellenistic States 323BC-30AD by Gabrielle Esposito.


слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

ArizonaTank

#5751
Just finished "The Last Zero Fighter: Firsthand Accounts from WWII Japanese Naval Pilots", by Dan King.

If you have any interest in Pacific Air War or Japanese Naval Aviation, this book is a "must read" IMHO.

The book is a rarity in English language histories since it vividly brings to life the tales of Japanese WWII naval aviators. It details the personal stories of these men, as they related their tales to the author when they were in their 80s and 90s. The author also uses contemporary Allied and Japanese records to fill in the gaps of their narratives. 

The men interviewed represent a very broad swath of Japanese naval experience during the era. From combat over the skies of China, to Pearl Harbor, the Panay Incident, the Doolittle Raid, Midway and eventually the end of war, with many of them flying "escort" for Kamikaze aircraft. 

The author is a unique American historian who is also a fluent Japanese speaker / reader, who interviewed the former aviators without translator.

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Zero-Fighter-Firsthand-Accounts/dp/1468178806/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1687962919&sr=8-1

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

GDS_Starfury

Toonces - Don't ask me, I just close my eyes and take it.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.


Toonces

I just finished a fiction book that was pretty spectacular:  Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk.  Same guy that wrote Fight Club.  This guy's writing style just clicks with me; it's brilliant.  And the story was a shocker.

Highly recommended.  It's not a long book - a good beach read.
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Gusington

Just finished 'Empires of the Normans: Conquerors of Europe' by Levi Roach - not so well written. Author does a lot of telling instead of showing  :-[

https://shorturl.at/hjoqy

And just began 'Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood - The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955AD to the First Crusade' by Anthony Kaldellis - so far very dense, stiff and academic, not a lot of breezy fun summer reading so far this year  :-[ :-[

https://shorturl.at/fyCGS


слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

Gusington



слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

SirAndrewD

I'm still digging through Hustlers and MAD magazines from the 80's and largely not comprehending them.
"These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said "happy birthday" to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they'll feel sorry."  - Sgt. Pinback

Gusington

I think my first dirty magazine was High Society circa 1987  :tophat:


слава Україна!

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

-JudgeDredd

Sir Slash

"To The Ends of the Earth: The U.S. Army and The Downfall of Japan 1945". The third and final book by John C. Mc Manus covering the Army's role in the Pacific War. All three are excellent and I highly recommend them if you are at all interested.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

Windigo

Quote from: SirAndrewD on July 30, 2023, 05:11:36 PMI'm still digging through Hustlers and MAD magazines from the 80's and largely not comprehending them.

How can you not understand MAD Magazine?

Some of the jokes were so good I might have laughed so hard I peed a little.
My doctor wrote me a prescription for daily sex.

My wife insists that it says dyslexia but what does she know.