What Are You Currently Reading? 2011

[Kiwigrunt]

Fire Strike 7/9

Quite an entertaining and easy read.

Seems to confirm a lot of issues discussed here, like body armour, very short range patrols (beyond 500 m or so from base is getting into uncharted bandit country), complete reliance on fire support (largely air) etc.

[Rifleman]

Listening to Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton.

It's been slow lately, not much going on exept a little traffic enforcement, so books on tape are great. I've got 1776 to start on next.

[jcustis]

Gents,

Looking for an assist here, as I need some new nightstand material, and most of what I have is too clinical and dry right now.

I am looking for the book that I think was discussed on SWC some time ago, which detailed American fighter pilots in WWII, and covered IIRC, their training. Does anyone remember the book in question? It came highly recommended because it was a very good and detailed work.

I'd like to pick it up at the same time that I grab Stuka Pilot off of Amazon.

[Bulldog]

It's been a little while since I read it, but Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific fits that description.

[carl]

Gents,

Looking for an assist here, as I need some new nightstand material, and most of what I have is too clinical and dry right now.

I am looking for the book that I think was discussed on SWC some time ago, which detailed American fighter pilots in WWII, and covered IIRC, their training. Does anyone remember the book in question? It came highly recommended because it was a very good and detailed work.

I'd like to pick it up at the same time that I grab Stuka Pilot off of Amazon.

I think the book you are talking about is The First Team by Lundstrom. It is about the Navy fighter pilot community and how they evaluated the Wildcat vs. the Zero and came up with tactics and training to vitiate the Zero's performance superiority before the war started. It was one of the most insightful books on the subject I ever read. The sequel is called the The First Team & Guadalcanal Campaign.

You also might like The Jolly Rogers by Blackburn and Zemke's Wolfpack by Zemke. They are by a Navy squadron commander and USAAF group commander respectively. Both are extremely good works about leadership combined with the problems of flying and using groups of warplanes effectively.

A book that I thought was great about the Pacific war was The Japanese Merchant Marine in WW II by Parillo. It was a completely fascinating work about a seemingly dull subject and its' importance.

[Backwards Observer]

Just started: Wars of Empire by Douglas Porch, a solid read so far;

Every good imperial commander knew that he must deliver success at low cost. History is not about supplying 'lessons' for the future. It tells its own story. But no modern commander in Kosovo or East Timor can ignore the perils of conducting operations, far from home, with a narrow political base of support, any more than could his predecessors in earlier centuries in Africa or Asia. (from the Acknowledgements)

Wars of Empire - Amazon

Douglas Porch - Wikipedia

Also, Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind by Robert Kurzban, not sure what to make of this guy's take on things;

Mod makes a comeback in an entertaining explanation of brain functioning that cuts the two-hemispheres theory down to size and minces the mind into modules. Coming from a background in evolutionary psychology, Kurzban suggests that the human mind is not the unified operator of actions contributing to survival and success, as many claim and even more assume, but rather a multi-faceted system of functioning parts that are not always on the same side-or even aware of the same information. The modules perform different, often separate, functions, which can account for confusing, inconsistent, and apparently contradictory behavior and speech. (from the Amazon editorial blurb)

Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite - Amazon

Robert Kurzban - Wikipedia

[Mike in Hilo]

Just finished reading The Last Valley--Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Indochina by Martin Windrow, and I am impressed. Perhaps the definitive work on the subject. (I confess I haven't read Fall's.) Chronicles in great detail the uncommon leadership and humbling heroism of so many who sacrificed so dearly for a France which, in most cases, could not presume to make any claims on their loyalty--the Foreign Legionaires, the North and West Africans, and the Vietnamese. On the French side, more Vietnamese than Frenchmen died at Dien Bien Phu. A young Lietenant who fought valiantly, Pham van Phu, 5 BPVN (5th Vietnamese Paratroop Batallion), was to survive cruel and debilitating captivity to become, eventually, an ARVN general, comitting suicide on 30 April 1975 rather than face a repeat of the reeducation ordeal.

Cheers,
Mike.

[BushrangerCZ]

"19 with a bullet", after couple of pages looks good, I´m gonna keep it unread for time abroad.

[tequila]

Just finished reading The Last Valley--Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Indochina by Martin Windrow, and I am impressed. Perhaps the definitive work on the subject. (I confess I haven't read Fall's.) Chronicles in great detail the uncommon leadership and humbling heroism of so many who sacrificed so dearly for a France which, in most cases, could not presume to make any claims on their loyalty--the Foreign Legionaires, the North and West Africans, and the Vietnamese. On the French side, more Vietnamese than Frenchmen died at Dien Bien Phu. A young Lietenant who fought valiantly, Pham van Phu, 5 BPVN (5th Vietnamese Paratroop Batallion), was to survive cruel and debilitating captivity to become, eventually, an ARVN general, comitting suicide on 30 April 1975 rather than face a repeat of the reeducation ordeal.

Cheers,
Mike.

Just wanted to second this recommendation. One of the best-written and most captivating works on DBP, but really works as a mini-history of the whole French Indochinese war. Covers the the French Expeditionary forces in depth, but also does a good job covering the Viet Minh force structure as well.

[jcustis]

I think the book you are talking about is The First Team by Lundstrom. It is about the Navy fighter pilot community and how they evaluated the Wildcat vs. the Zero and came up with tactics and training to vitiate the Zero's performance superiority before the war started. It was one of the most insightful books on the subject I ever read. The sequel is called the The First Team & Guadalcanal Campaign.

You also might like The Jolly Rogers by Blackburn and Zemke's Wolfpack by Zemke. They are by a Navy squadron commander and USAAF group commander respectively. Both are extremely good works about leadership combined with the problems of flying and using groups of warplanes effectively.

A book that I thought was great about the Pacific war was The Japanese Merchant Marine in WW II by Parillo. It was a completely fascinating work about a seemingly dull subject and its' importance.

I am only two chapters into the book, but yes, this is precisely what I was looking for. It has reignited my interest in WWII naval history that I sort of drifted out of in my early college years. Despite having the detail of a doctorate thesis, it reads like a good novel.

[Spud]

Found Secret War Against Hanoi by Schultz in the 2nd Hand book store down the road. Got a bit repetitive in the middle but overall not a bad read. Highlights that frustrations we have today with POL-MIL and MIL-CIV interface are nothing new (in some respects they may even be as bade or worse).

Also cracked out My War by Brian Walpole. WW2 Aussie Commando and Z Special member behind the lines in PNG and Borneo. If only 10 per cent of this book is true it is still brilliant (although I know from the community it is well regarded). Really entertaining read with a strong message about the issues between mil and civ agencies conducting clandestine ops.

[jcustis]

Found Secret War Against Hanoi by Schultz in the 2nd Hand book store down the road. Got a bit repetitive in the middle but overall not a bad read. Highlights that frustrations we have today with POL-MIL and MIL-CIV interface are nothing new (in some respects they may even be as bade or worse).

Also cracked out My War by Brian Walpole. WW2 Aussie Commando and Z Special member behind the lines in PNG and Borneo. If only 10 per cent of this book is true it is still brilliant (although I know from the community it is well regarded). Really entertaining read with a strong message about the issues between mil and civ agencies conducting clandestine ops.

You might enjoy Frank Snepp's Decent Interval, which highlights some of the back channel drama surrounding the final years in Vietnam.

[carl]

I am only two chapters into the book, but yes, this is precisely what I was looking for. It has reignited my interest in WWII naval history that I sort of drifted out of in my early college years. Despite having the detail of a doctorate thesis, it reads like a good novel.

I think you would very much like then Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway by Parshall and Tully, and Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Airpower, 1909-1941 by Peattie. They are just as good but view things a little more from the Japanese point of view.