What are we reading?

[BanzaiCat]

I started reading The Miraculous Torpedo Squadron by Jūzõ Mori on my Kindle. Despite my insane schedule lately I always try to take 10-20 minutes to read before sleeping (sorta) for the night, and this one has kept me going for a good 30 or so minutes, or more, at times. It's a fascinating account of a Japanese torpedo bomber pilot, whom not only served in China before the war began with America, he also dropped a torpedo that hit the California and helped defeat our Wake Island defenses when the Soryu and another carrier altered course to help support that failing invasion. I'm halfway through it but it's still early 1942, before the Coral Sea battle, so there's a lot more to read through. He went into great detail of what life was like on the carrier as they crossed the Pacific, aiming for Hawaii. Before that, he talked a lot about his upbringing, how he joined the IJN and became a pilot candidate, all about his training, and the fighting in China. From the forward, I want to say the original memoirs were written not too long after the end of the war, because Mori managed to survive it all. It's a great read if you're interested in this kind of thing.

[Boggit]

It sounds good. O0 I remember reading Letters from Iwo Jima a few years back, after I'd seen the film. It was very different to the film, but very insightful as to what was going on in the minds of the defenders.

[BanzaiCat]

You know, Boggit, it somewhat troubled me, actually. Here I was reading with rapt attention the account of a man that piloted a B5N Kate torpedo bomber across Pearl Harbor, and maneuvered to put his fish into the side of the California. If I read her after-action report correctly, she took several torpedoes, but from Mori's account it sounds as if he was the first one to do it. There was a total of 53 dead, 64 wounded, and 45 missing. Considering she had a compliment of nearly 1,100 officers and men, it seems the old battleship got off lightly. But the fact was, I was basically reading the account of a man that was part of a heinous and devious sneak attack and was party to the murder of several thousand Americans.

I rarely have moments like that in the histories I read, or the games I play. Hell, I think this was the first time it really got to me.

In any case, I continued reading it, as like you said, so many accounts from the front-line soldier's/pilot's/sailor's point of view are heavily on the Allied side, and there's so few memoirs of Japanese doing something similar.

Last night I just got to the part where he participated in the Battle of Midway. He talked about how they hardly slept, got up while it was still pitch black, flew off the Soryu, and bombed Midway. Then, how they returned, went to their ready room while their planes were made ready again in the decks below, had a snack, and then BOOM, the Soryu was nailed.

He described their ordeal as there was a mad scramble to get out on the deck, how they were saved at the last minute from a rushing wall of fire by a strong wind, how the great carrier was under power for some time but then went dead in the water when one of her boilers blew, and how he jumped 60' into water to get away. The destroyer Makigumo picked Mori and many other survivors up.

The book mentions, too (interestingly enough) that the Makigumo also picked up Ensign Frank W. O'Flaherty and his radioman/gunner, AMM 1/c Bruno P. Gaido. The author shows a picture of the Makigumo, and as an aside, mentions how these two U.S. airmen were picked up, interrogated, then marched up on deck, where the crew tied fuel drums around their ankles and dropped them into the water.

Now, I've read plenty of things on Japanese atrocities in World War II, and it's all stunningly terrible, but this particular mention (which I'd heard of briefly before) is absolutely terrifying. I can't imagine what went through those poor guys' minds when that destroyer crew did that to them. Mori doesn't mention anything about witnessing it - I think this may have happened long after Mori and his fellow Soryu crew members were transfered off. While sickening to even contemplate, it made me realize just how brutally honest Mori was being in even describing something like that, not trying to brush it off. "Oh, by the way, here's something really f*cking awful that happened on that same destroyer..."

In any event, this is a very stirring read so far. I'm still not sure I'm entirely comfortable, but my comfort doesn't change the facts of what happened of course. And, admittedly, it's a fascinating glimpse into their lives at the time, and mindset.

[Gusington]

It's easy to forget that a lot of the events we read about deal with an overwhelming amount of death. It becomes abstracted after a while, especially if you've been reading military history for decades.

[Greybriar]

I just started reading Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt.

Be interested in your impressions when done, Greybriar.

Martok put it quite well when he posted:

If you enjoy it even half as much as I did, Greybriar, it'll have been time well-spent.  The book has lot of fascinating information on the history of D&D, as well as being a love-letter to the game (along with RPG's and wargaming in general).

I read Of Dice and Men because the game that got me started on PC gaming was Pool of Radiance, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game and I wanted to know more about Dungeons & Dragons. Of Dice and Men was very informative. I learned all about D & D, how it was played, its history, and the people behind it. I recommend Of Dice and Men to all gamers who are--like me--curious about the subject.

I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that Dungeons & Dragons originated in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. I've even been there, but the next time I am there I will see the town through a gamer's eyes instead of just a tourist's.

[mirth]

Just started Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World by Roger Crowley.

Also, The Lost World by Michael Crichton.

[Gusington]

Roger Crowley is one my favorite writers! I am just about to start Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire. Good summer reading for types like us.

[mirth]

This is the first of his books I've read. I suspect it will not be the last.

[Gusington]

I've read most of them, except 1453. That's probably his best selling of all his titles. I'll get to it eventually. I really enjoyed the one you're about to start and his work on Venice.

[mirth]

My gaming group is planning to do some Renaissance era naval gaming, so I am looking to read up on the period. Crowley's name came up at our last session. I'll likely read his Venice book next.

[Gusington]

If you like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain and galleys with 200 sets of oars...Crowley is your man.

[mirth]

If you like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain and galleys with 200 sets of oars...Crowley is your man.

You know I like all those things.

[Gusington]

Stop wasting time, take Crowley to bed or lose me forever.

[Airborne Rifles]

Just started Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World by Roger Crowley.

Empires of the Sea is one of my favorite read, but I listened to it by audiobook so maybe that made a difference. Loved 1453 as well and also enjoyed City of Fortune, though not as much.

Roger Crowley is one my favorite writers! I am just about to start Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire. Good summer reading for types like us.

Going to need to pick this one up.

[bbmike]

Just finished The Rising Sun by John Toland. Excellent book. Now I'm about to start Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution Through British Eyes by Christopher Hibbert.