Which Book are you currently reading?

[Comtedemeighan]

Well Most Forums seem to have one of these threads so I figured I'd start the Ageod one. I am currently reading "The Prize The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power" by Daniel Yergin Its pretty good a history of the world Oil Industry. Well anyway here's a place for you fellow forumites to post what books you are currently reading

[Franciscus]

Good idea, Comte
Me, I am currently reading "The Desert War" by Alan Moorehead, an account of the WW2 African (and middle east, and a little India also) campaigns.
On the back burner...War and Peace (Lev Tolstoi)...
Regards

[PANGI]

what a coincidence...just now i've finished "War with the Newts" by Karel Čapek.

[gchristie]

"The March" by E.L. Doctorow, "The Words of Abraham Lincoln" edited by Martin Lubin, and "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. The last imagines what the world would look like if we as a species vanished, and how long it would take before nature erased our footprints.

Am considering "Revisioning the Civil War: Historians on Counter-Factual Scenarios", edited by James C. Bresnahan from a recommendation by Heldenkaiser

[Le Ricain]

I am currently reading 'After the Reich' by Giles MacDonogh about the Allied occupation of Germany after WWII. I think that the brutality of the occupation by all of the allies has been largely forgotten apart from the Soviet occupation. The Cold War made sure that the Russian brutality was remembered.

I read 'The Prize' some years ago and considering that I am in that business, I found the account pretty good. I seem to remember that the book was written in the early 90's. Has it been updated?

'The March' by Doctrow is one of my favourite books on the ACW.

[Comtedemeighan]

I am currently reading 'After the Reich' by Giles MacDonogh about the Allied occupation of Germany after WII. I think that the brutality of the occupation by all of the allies has been largely forgotten apart from the Soviet occupation. The Cold War made sure that the Russian brutality was remembered.

I read 'The Prize' some years ago and considering that I am in that business, I found the account pretty good. I seem to remember that the book was written in the early 90's. Has it been updated?

'The March' by Doctrow is one of my favourite books on the ACW.

Yes the Prize was updated last year thats the edition I'm reading.

[TiFlo]

The Road Home, by Jim Harrisson. Nothing of an academic work (although considering the depth and the subject of the story I would challenge that statement), but since you asked for what's currently on the table... Great reading by the way.

[Longhairedlout]

Hi I am currently reading Battle cry of freedom by James M McPherson about the ACW ,and I have just finished a very good book called Nemesis by Max Hastings about the last 2 years of the war in the pacific

[W.Barksdale]

Some great books people are reading. I've just finished Caesar's Legion by Stephen Dando-Collins and, Caesar Life of a Colossus by Andrian Goldsworthy. Awesome reads.

Currently I am reading, Paris Between Empires by Philip Mansel...those crazy revolutionaries Very interesting so far.

[Aurelin]

The Fall of Napoleon by Michael Leggiere.

How Rome Fell by Adrian Goldsworthy.

La Grande Armee by Georges Blond, translated by Marshall May

Chancellorsville by Stephen W. Sears.

and......

The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson.

[Spharv2]

Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865 by Steven E. Woodworth. Not bad, though a bit more generic than I'd prefer from a book dedicated to a single army. And the author seems to be a rather large Grant apologist, maximizing his good attributes while minimizing the contributions of others, which, I suppose is to be expected in a book like this since usually the author was probably drawn into the study by the commander to begin with.

A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918 by G.J. Meyer. Haven't gotten too far into this one yet, mainly because after 162 pages, I haven't really seen much new information that I didn't get out of other books, which I should expect from general histories. Need to get more specific to find more esoteric stuff.

I also have a stack of incredibly dry looking economic history books to refer to as I work on the US recources and economics for VgN...that should be a ton of fun.

[Cat Lord]

"Le secret de l'Occident - Vers une théorie générale du progrès scientifique" de David Cosandey.

Unfortunately, it seems to never have been translated in English !

Cat

[Hobbes]

The Wrench by Primo Levi, a story about one man's life as a Rigger. Sounds tedious but is in fact a wonderful book.

Also Count Frontenac and New France Under Louis XIV by Parkman for the King William's War scenario I am working on for WiA.

Cheers, Chris

[arsan]

Hi! Nice thread!

I’m not reading any history/essay book lately. Just novels.

Back on august I started with Tolstoy War and peace and I’m midways with it (800 page already read, another 800 still to go :blink .
It’s really awesome, with incredibly lively characters. Franciscus, I bet you will love it when you get with it!
But its so bulky and heavy that I can’t carry it around on my commuting (when I do most of my reading) so it’s currently somewhat on the backburner.
So right now I’m mostly reading a lighter (both in weight and tone ) book: Dan Simmons “The Terror”.
Its an strange mix between historical naval book and terror story. It recreates the real Franklin expedition to the North Pole on the 1850’s in search of the Northwest Passage.
The real expedition (two ships, the "Erebus" and the "Terror" with 130 men in all) became trapped on the ice for 3 years and died to the last man of hunger, exposure and scurvy. Rumours talk even about cannibalism too…
As if all this was not enough, Simmons add a mysterious “thing” that picks up and kills the expedition members.

I think I would have preferred a more realist approach that left the monster out, but its pretty intriguing anyhow.

Cheers!

PS: I read and enjoyed a lot Doctorw’s “The March”. A great ACW novel!

[TiFlo]

For all of you ACW freaks, and everyone else too, get a shot at Ambrose Bierce's Civil War Stories. As thrilling, horrible, poetic and dark as war will ever get. And so vividly real and dry it will haunt you long after closing the book.

Bierce's description of the growing tension in an army drown in line of battle waiting for the enemy to appear somewhere in its front blows away Kiegan's excellent The Face of Battle and owes to be one of the most terrifying and well rendered telling of that dreaded time in a soldier's life. And this one isn't even close to the best of the other stories.

[Ian Coote]

ALMOST A MIRACLE : The American Victory In The War Of Independence. Reading it while playing BOA2. I love the way the book is laid out ,makes it very easy to follow the war year by year. Highly recommended.Before that read "Cruciable Of War" on the Seven Years War,another good one.

[gchristie]

Ian,

You might also enjoy "1776" by David McCollough. I covers that year only, but if you've read any of his other work (John Adams is a great read) you might like this one.

[Carnium]

Hi I am currently reading Battle cry of freedom by James M McPherson about the ACW

I finally got the Illustrated edition of this book (super slow shipping but for 47$=32€ :w00t and by reading the first chapters it looks fantastic.
The book is packed with informations, but since is is written for people with good background of US affairs, you need to check some facts elsewhere to enjoy it fully.
A really nice book for all ACW buffs is also Who Was Who in the Civil War. Not really needed now that we have Wikipedia, but really handy if you still like to have all the informations on paper whenever you need it.

During the Summer I was struggling with Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War which is fantastic, but a BIT too long for my taste. The book is currently on hold as I need time and energy to finish it

Another book that I really enjoy right now is The Rise of Hitler's Third Reich by Chris Bishop. A nice book with great maps and easy reading dealing with German victories in 1939-1942 till the fall of Stalingrad.

[tagwyn]

I am reading: [I]To The Gates of Stalingrad[I] by D. Glantz. Very well documented. Heavy reading. t

[McNaughton]

Today I read "Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss.

[Cat Lord]

During the Summer I was struggling with Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War which is fantastic, but a BIT too long for my taste. The book is currently on hold as I need time and energy to finish it

That's one of the best book on the period.

The only regret I have about it, is that it doesn't represent the French court and its strategy (or perhaps lack thereof) in as much details as the British one. It lacks the political context of the French decisions, when the struggles between the different factions inside the British Parliament are brilliantly described, IIRC.

Cat

[Taillebois]

Malakand Field Force - by Winston Churchill covering his own experiences on an expedition to the Swat valley bordering Afghanistan in about 1897.

It's amazing how many of the same issues face US/Nato forces now.

[Omnius]

I'm currently reading the latest Dune saga, The Winds of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. An excellent continuation of the awesome Dune series by Frank Herbert's son!

[Christophe.Barot]

Morsure, a female werewolf story, by Canadian author kelly Armstrong, and
Iran, le choix des armes, by renown (in France at least, co founder of IFRI) geostrategist analyst Francois heisburg

[TiFlo]

That's one of the best book on the period.

The only regret I have about it, is that it doesn't represent the French court and its strategy (or perhaps lack thereof) in as much details as the British one. It lacks the political context of the French decisions, when the struggles between the different factions inside the British Parliament are brilliantly described, IIRC.

Cat

Fred Anderson doesn't speak nor read French. You'll see going through the footnotes that all the French material is taken from translated sources. Therefore what you get is an -excellent- book on the FIW, alas written from an Anglo-saxon perspective, for an Anglo-saxon audience.

PS: Totally OT, but Cat Lord I so love your Lévis quote (here, have an imaginary +rep).

[DarthMath]

"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", by William L. Shirer, and the "Blitzkrieg" Myth ("Blitzkrieg-Legende.Der Westfeldzug 1940"), by Karl-Heinz Frieser.

[Greybriar]

I am currently reading Chris Evans' The Iron Elves series. After finishing those I intend to read A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II by Gerhard L. Weinberg.

[Syt]

The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe by Andrew Wheatcroft.

In 1683, two empires - the Ottoman, based in Constantinople, and the Habsburg dynasty in Vienna - came face to face in the culmination of a 250-year power struggle: the Great Siege of Vienna. Within the city walls the choice of resistance over surrender to the largest army ever assembled by the Turks created an all-or-nothing scenario: every last survivor would be enslaved or ruthlessly slaughtered. Both sides remained resolute, sustained by hatred of their age-old enemy, certain that their victory would be won by the grace of God. Eastern invaders had always threatened the West, but the memory of the Turks, to whom the West's ancient and deep fear of the East is viscerally attached, remains vivid and powerful. Long before their 1453 conquest of Constantinople, the Turks had raised the art of war to heights not seen since the Roman Empire.Although their best recorded and most infamous attack, the 1683 siege was the historical culmination, not the extent, of the Turks' sustained attempt to march westwards and finally obtain the city they had long called 'The Golden Apple'. Their defeat was to mark the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. With Turkey now seeking to re-orient itself towards the west and a new generation of politicians exploiting the residual fear and tensions between East and West, "The Enemy at the Gate" provides a timely and masterful account of this most complex and epic of conflicts.