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Guest Hans Engström

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Just got back from a week off and read:

 

1) Dick Winters' Band of Brothers book, a good companion to the book and mini-series

 

2) Wake - Alamo of the Pacific, hadn't read much about the battle so lots of interesting info

 

3) Thunder Run - interesting to read about something I watched on TV as it was happening.

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There are many books I would love to read, but don't know where to get - so that's why I come here. :) Does anybody know a place on the net, or even not on the net, that I could buy what I consider rare books? For example, Pengelley's "A New Era in Tank Main Armament". Thanks.

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There are many books I would love to read, but don't know where to get - so that's why I come here. :)  Does anybody know a place on the net, or even not on the net, that I could buy what I consider rare books? For example, Pengelley's "A New Era in Tank Main Armament". Thanks.

296001[/snapback]

 

I don't think that is a book but an article in Jane's IDR IIRC. It's from the November 1989 issue.

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Can you get access to this through Janes if I had a subscription?

296025[/snapback]

 

I don't know perhaps you can contact them. I acquired the article from the New York Public Library who had the magazine stored in microfilm format. Maybe I can make a photocopy and send it to you?

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I have just finnished Peter F Hamilton's Falen Dragon- Wow I am like a kid with Harry Potter. I would recommend it to anyone who like Sci Fi. I bought the book 7 years ago but was too young then to really get it so I stopped after like page 5 LOL. Now though I really think it's amazing. Deffo Recommmend

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Just finished W.E.B. Griffin's The Lieutenant this morning. Starting The Captains tonight. Got all of Brotherhood of War and The Corps off Ebay recently, having read them years ago. I'm thinking that I'll probably make an effort to acquire all his books.

 

Did a quick search, but any forum mention of Griffin has been purged. I probably missed any talk about him over the years as I forgot who he was between readings.

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So who was he?

 

Wikipedia has a pretty good article on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._E._B._Griffin Of note are his service in the Army starting in '46 and then later during the Korean war.

 

I've only read the first 6 books of the Brotherhood of War series, and the first few books of The Corps. I remember I enjoyed them quite a bit, and my recent re-read of The Lieutenants bears that up.

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  • 4 months later...

Last reply Feb 10 - 2010, this thread is not that old ...

 

Anyway, I was hoping someone could tell me the name or author of a series I am looking for.

 

The premise of the series was that one set of aliens were fighting another set of aliens. The first set were losing because it was made of mostly peaceful non-violent races. The second set was able to indoctornate there subjects so any alien could kill.

 

The mostly peacefull aliens find humanity and use us to fight the war.

 

Am I talking madness or is there any chance someone remembers what author / book series this was?

 

Thank you,

Bluelight

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Last reply Feb 10 - 2010, this thread is not that old ...

 

Anyway, I was hoping someone could tell me the name or author of a series I am looking for.

 

The premise of the series was that one set of aliens were fighting another set of aliens. The first set were losing because it was made of mostly peaceful non-violent races. The second set was able to indoctornate there subjects so any alien could kill.

 

The mostly peacefull aliens find humanity and use us to fight the war.

 

Am I talking madness or is there any chance someone remembers what author / book series this was?

 

Thank you,

Bluelight

Sounds very much like Alan Dean Foster's "The Damned Trilogy".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Damned_Trilogy

 

It seems to be a thread through much of Foster's work that humans as a race are violently insane.

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  • 2 months later...

My latest acquisitions from the bookfair yesterday:

 

Doctor in Bataan: 1941-1942 by Manuel E. De Veyra, MD ISBN 971-10-0460-7

 

Foreword: "This is an unusual book: an account of the War of 1941-1945 from the point of view of a physician. It is all here - the recruitment and training of a medical corps, the hasty retreat to Bataan, the long siege, the dwindling resources, the casualties from Japanese shelling and bombing, the surrender, the Death March through Bataan and Pampanga to the horrible internment camp at Capas, the various 'details' to obtain supplies, the smuggled letters; then the transfer to Bilibid Prison, and the final release. All these are given in a simple unvarnished account, with some details not perhaps known before."

 

 

Clark Field and the US Army Air Corps in the Philippines 1919-1942 by Richard B. Meixsel ISBN 971-10-1078-X

 

Blurb at the back: "This well documented piece of history traces the founding and development of the military camp, later to be renamed Clark Field, that would be home to the US Army air service in the Philippines from 1919 up to the outbreak of the Pacific War. While focusing on the garrison life and times of the American fighter pilots and their dependents in time of peace, along with their interactions with Filipino civilians (particularly of servicemen in their forays in nearby red-light districts), the book may be said to lead up to a military controversy that rivals Pearl Harbor. This involves the near-decimation on the ground of the entire American air fleet in Clark Field when the Japanese attacked in December 1941, despite the early enough detection of danger signals by radar."

 

 

Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath by Michael Norman and Elizabeth Norman ISBN-13 978-0-374-27260-9

 

Book review at the back: "Ben Steele, a young cowboy on his home range in Montana had enlisted as a soldier in World War II, was caught up in the battle for Bataan in the Philippines, then in the ensuing death march as a prisoner of the Japanese, which he barely survived. Beginning with harrowing sketches of that experience, and in the course of various adventures and misadventures, he continued to draw and paint, and has since become a truly distinguished artist of the West. Tears in the Darkness is a well-told, well-researched, and moving narrative."

 

 

Hunters: US Snipers in the War on Terror by Milo S. Afong ISBN 978-0-425-23436-5

 

 

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan by Doug Stanton ISBN 978-1-4165-8051-5

 

 

Greetings from Afghanistan - Send More Ammo: Dispatches from Taliban Country by Benjamin Tupper ISBN 978-0-451-23143-7

 

Blurb at the back: "Meet the ETTs (Embedded Training Teams). With little instruction of Afghanistan's language, history, or culture, these American warriors are separated from their units and transplanted into the ramshackle, newly formed Afghan National Army (ANA). Working in pairs and tasked with teaching, training, and leading into combat the green troops of the ANA, ETTs are totally immersed in the daily lives of the Afghan people and culture. Greetings from Afghanistan, Send More Ammo follows the firsthand experiences of an ETT team through a yearlong combat tour, and an equally challenging return home to civilian life.[/i]

 

 

The Tinio Brigade: Anti-American Resistance in the Ilocos Provinces 1899-1901 by Orlino Ochosa ISBN 971-10-0340-6

 

Summary: General Manuel Tinio was one of those well-to-do heroes of our Revolution [Philippine Revolution]. He was no doubt the youngest general in the Revolutionary Army, being a mere lad of twenty when he commanded a citizen army to help destroy a colonialist power and resist the imperialist designs of another. He was a revolutionary not only in the limited sense that he participated in a revolution but, mainly, because he fought in the Revolution during its fiercest, when many of his class were abandoning the cause - and he fought it in a region far from his own. His Tinio Brigade symbolized the democratic character of the anti-American resistance in the Ilocano provinces during the war years of 1899-1901" indio and mestizo, gentry and peasantry, Ilocanos and Tagalogs made up its fighting core; and Tinggians, among other tribes, gave it support. The history of that brigade is the history of that war.

 

 

Germany, the Philippines, and the Spanish-American War: Four Accounts by Officers of the Imperial German Navy edited by Karl-Heinz Wionzek, translated by Thomas Clark ISBN 971-538-140-5

 

Preface excerpt: "Otto von Diederichs' article is of great importance. He wrote in response to reading George Dewey's autobiography, published in New York in 1913, in which the later recollected the events at Manila Bay from memory and, in von Diederichs' opinion, rather imprecesely. The German admiral obtained the files documenting the events from the Naval Ministry in Berlin, and after poring over these documents proceeded to publish his rebuttal in the Marine-Rundschau. Setting aside the interests involved in particular portrayals of American, English, and German relations concerning the Spanish-American War, von Diederichs' account would appear a good deal more reliable in its use of accessible sources. The second article by Captain-Lieutenant Friedrich Pohl, the navigating officer of the 'Irene' in 1898, was originally published in the Marine-Rundschau in July 1902. The third text is comprised of two short reports by Lietenant-Commander Gottlieb Becker of the cruiser 'Arcona' addressed to Rear-Admiral Alfred Tirpitz, then head of the cruiser squadron on Far Eastern station. It was published in the Marine-Rundschau as early as 1897. The fourth article presented here, taken from the same journal's 1898 volume, is a politico-military essay reflecting the German view of the Spanish-American War written by Rear-Admiral Max Pluddemann. The painstakingly detailed enumeration of every occurrence in the Cuban theater in this source has been edited out for this publication."

 

 

Blockade and Siege of Manila in 1898 by Jose Roca de Togores y Saravia ISBN 971-538-167-7

 

Preface excerpt: "While much has been written about the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay, the American point of view remains dominant in much of the current literature due to the abundance and accessibility of information from American reports and documents. To enlarge our understanding of the battle, the National Historical Institute has published other primary sources that provide different points of view. 'The Diary of a French Officer on the War in the Philippines 1898,' by Lieutenant Ernest Motsch, which was written from April 28 to August 31, 1898, was translated from the original French by Marietta E. de La Haye Jousselin and published in 1994. 'Germany, the Philippines, and the Spanish-American War,' edited by Karl-Heinz Wionzek and translated from the original German by Thomas Clark, was published in 2000. The NHI is pleased to present 'Blockade and Siege of Manila in 1898' by Jose Roca de Togores y Saravia that provides the Spanish viewpoint. Hopefully, we shall complete with cycle with Filipino account."

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  • 3 months later...

Over the past few years, I've been reading after the American Founding Fathers and early American history. My reading is of the formative years, 1760s-1800.

 

A while back I inquired about a biography of Thomas Jefferson which seemed to be scarce, but didn't get any feedback. I read Ellis' American Sphinx, but it was not a biography, ]per se.

 

I came across what seems to be a good one recently. It's titled Thomas Jefferson: America's Paradoxical Patriot by Alf Mapp. So far (I'm in Ch 3, which discusses his early manhood) and so far it seems to be a very readable book. What is of great interest is the attention given to his life prior to his appearance at the Second Congressional Congress.

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I'm currently reading "Last Year of the Kriegsmarine May 1944-May 1945" by VE Tarrant. Great book and a facinating read about the final 12 months of the Kriegsmarine's existance in the face of ever mounting Allied pressure and overwhelming odds on land, on the seas and in the air. I do wish he would have covered more, the actions of the Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen and the last two German Pocketbattleships Scheer and Lutzov during their bombardments of advancing Russian forces in the Baltic Sea region from late 1944-April 1945. Otherwise, the book is spot on in its coverage of this little known part of WW II history.

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Have just finish the spanish edition of John O 'Sullivan's "The President The Pope and the Prime Minister" While i have enjoyed it hugely, was in doubt of posting about it, for i am quite sure it is old news for about everybody else... But as i have not thanked yet Maxx for the esplendid books he recommended me to read (especially Misha Glenny's "The Balkans") and he seems to have fall ill, which is something that can happen to any of us ;), (PRAISE BE GIVEN TO HIS HOLINESS THE MODERATOR) i place it here in hope it may help him getting throught his convalescence..

Post Scriptum To Maxx (when he gets well again) No haste needed , but i would like to know the name of that book about the intteligence debate previous to the Yom Kippur war...

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The Bleed by John Cronin

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008IJ5JF6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008IJ5JF6&linkCode=as2&tag=s0dd5-20

 

http://sofrep.com/13065/book-review-the-bleed-by-john-cronin/

 

One of the best war memoirs I have read in the last few years. John Cronin has seen and done an incredible amount of things including being very seriously wounded early in his first tour in Vietnam. However he seems a rather humble man (except perhaps in relation to his love life!) who is always looking for the next challenge and doesn't take himself too seriously. A very personal story which also includes excellent analysis of what went wrong in Vietnam and Rhodesia. Cronin writes with self-deprecating humour, and praise for some of the great soldiers he served alongside. However he is equally quick with criticism when it is deserved and he is not afraid to name and shame those he felt let him and his comrades down- even some men who were killed in action. Highly recommended.

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'Making a Killing' by James Ashcroft.

 

A very good read on the Iraq war from the perspective of a British PMC in Baghdad. And it's not just about one man's first-hand experiences either, like so much of the war literature of late, but surprisingly analytic and insightful about the overall picture. A very well written!

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  • 3 months later...

I just started Enterprise by Barrett Tillman.

The first sentence of the prologue nearly broke my heart:

"In the tidal flats of the Hackensack River rested a warship waiting to die."

 

To borrow a phrase from Heinlein, my father's blood was in her steel, and his service in her affected him to his dying day.

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