What Are You Currently Reading?
- Thread starter CDG
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Been reading The Comfort Crisis by Micheal Easter.
Pretty interesting so far. The idea that we feel better if we difficult things to do reminds me of Sebastian Junger's book Tribe and how it mentioned cultural groups that went through shared adversity were closer.
Next up will be one of the three books I picked up at the FSSF museum during AT.
Pretty interesting so far. The idea that we feel better if we difficult things to do reminds me of Sebastian Junger's book Tribe and how it mentioned cultural groups that went through shared adversity were closer.
Next up will be one of the three books I picked up at the FSSF museum during AT.
I have a few transatlantic and transpacific flights coming up for races. While I'll probably catch a movie or two, I'd much prefer to read or listen (audio is preferred as I can continue when home and constantly driving) to some good books.
If anyone has a favorite relating to the Vietnam War or the preceeding years, that would be great. I also wouldn't mind learning more about Europe during the interwar (WWI to WWII) years.
Or if you have a book that you simply feel is underrated, but should definitely be picked up, feel free to point me in that direction.
If anyone has a favorite relating to the Vietnam War or the preceeding years, that would be great. I also wouldn't mind learning more about Europe during the interwar (WWI to WWII) years.
Or if you have a book that you simply feel is underrated, but should definitely be picked up, feel free to point me in that direction.
Devildoc
Verified Military
How academic to you want to get? I don't do audio, but Bernard Fall's Hell In A Very Small Place about the siege at Dien Bien Phu.
Warrior's Creed by PJ Roger Sparks was and is important to me.
Of course, Alone at Dawn.
I'll second Bernard Fall's books. A Bright Shining Lie about John Paul Vann in Vietnam is good (though I haven't read it in years). For Vietnam war porn, that's a huge list. Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden (yes, that one) is really good. The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson about Churchill, London, and the Blitz is excellent. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman gives you a great run-up to WWI. Anything by Max Hastings, though his stuff is during the war, not pre-war. Max Hastings - Wikipedia
I haven't read the following book, but I've read quite a bit by the author. David Halberstam's he Making of a Quagmire is probably good (again, based on his other works I've read).
I have a ton of general WWII books in mind, but that's a bit outside of your scope above.
I've read Alone at Dawn before, but went back to it on one of the plane rides. Always a good, albeit emotional read. I also did The Coldest Winter, as I've had the book for well over a decade. Given the recommendation of Halberstam, figured I should read it.
As for Vietnam, I went and bit of a different route and picked up Devil's Guard by George Robert Elford. Different read than my normal choices, but intriguing and something I'd recommend.
I then went and read Play Nice which I think I saw mentioned in this thread.
Currently blazing through Guns of August.
Thank you for the recommendations!
The Guns of August is a real gem.
Devildoc
Verified Military
In a weird confluence of experiences, I met a man who was in one of my father's units in Vietnam, but one tour apart. He didn't know my father, but they knew a lot of the same people. He sent me a book, "Marines, Medals, and Vietnam." A very kind and generous thing to do. I will start it this weekend.
TLDR20
Verified SOF
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I just read two books by John Higgenbotham, Midnight at Chernobyl, and Challenger. Both are excellent comprehensive accounts of the two disasters: Higgenbotham writes like an investigative journalist, because he is, and is an expert storyteller. These are fantastic books.
Here's a good one for you...Every book Massie's ever written is brilliant. A different take on WW1
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MIkeH92467
Unverified
My main gig these days is narrating audiobooks. Three of my best sellers are "Longstreet at Gettysburg: A Critical Reassessment" and "Righting the Longstreet Record at Gettysburg: Six Matters of Controversy and Confusion." They both rely heavily on primary sources, such as actual war records from both sides and the author Cory Pfarr (a Defense Department worker) explores in depth the reasons why Longstreet's post-war reputation came under a heavy shadow. The current hot seller is "The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine" by EJ Fleming. If the post-holiday bills are cramping your audiobook budget drop me a note via direct message and I'll see if have any free downloads left that I can share.
I’m halfway through Civilization by Niall Ferguson. He asks if China and the Arabs were for quite some time ahead of the West due to their collective inventions and discoveries, how did the West surpass them? The second question he asks is, is the Wests dominance coming to an end?
I can’t put it down as it charts why empires rose and fell and how inventions such as the Spinning Jenny and the Singer sewing machine changed the economic outlook for so many. Well worth it.
I can’t put it down as it charts why empires rose and fell and how inventions such as the Spinning Jenny and the Singer sewing machine changed the economic outlook for so many. Well worth it.
ThunderHorse
Verified Military
Isolation was a conscious decision by the Emperor and the reason China stalled. Japan too until Commodore Perry.
