Book Club

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Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Introducing the Goons in Platoons Book Club. I intend for this thread to serve two purposes. The first post I will start and update with books, links, and goon-reviews of books about GIP related things. I�d love to pick a book and all read it at the same time so we have something to discuss, but if this serves as simply a request thread, that�s fine too.

I have been introduced to a number of good books from random threads in GIP, and I realized in the pictures thread that there�s some parts of history that I don�t know much about, and I don�t want to dive into random books blindly, so I hope this thread can also serve as a, �I want to learn about what it was like to shoe horses in the 1600s� and someone else can recommend the best book about being a farrier in the 1600s.

I will attempt to add to this as I get time, and will edit in posts from the thread, but please keep a similar format.

Military

WWI

BlueDiablo posted:

As for World War One sort of stuff, I assign my students selections from the following for Western Civ 2:
Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141186917/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368764621&sr=1-2

Think of this guy as the anti-All Quiet on the Western Front. Rather than your typical "oh god, war is terrible" stuff that came out of that generation, Ernst Junger fully embraced it, and has been variously described as psychotically brave, a pseudo-fascist, and at the same time an anti-nazi that Hitler couldn't just get rid of because he had too much street cred with the Prussian officer corps. It's written largely from an edited diary, just as a heads up.

And for the other end of the spectrum, Under Fire by Henri Barbusse
http://www.amazon.com/Under-Penguin...er+fire+penguin

This is an at-times other-worldly novel, perhaps one of the first "soldiers' stories" published during WWI (I think it came out in 1917) by veteran Henri Barbusse. Much like Junger, he joined up in August 1914 with the whole "shower of roses and blood" atmosphere, but instead is utterly horrified by the war, especially the effects of industrialized warfare on human beings. He becomes a die-hard communist after the war, and actually dies in Moscow in... 1933 I think writing a biography on Stalin, but his writing gives you an idea of the overwhelming nature of industrialized warfare on a level that had never before been seen.

DEVILDOGOOORAH posted:

Guns of August.

It's a great book that spells out a lot of the retarded thinking being done by various european armies of the day. Doesn't touch upon the US much if at all due to it only being maybe the first year of war, but still great if you can stand it not being americacentric

BlueDiablo posted:

Seconding Guns of August, when your tactical thinking consists of "Get over there, stab the boche in the gut with your bayonet and save the Republic!" bad poo poo is about to go down. Grandmaison was a shitlord, and that French troops went into battle in 1914 wearing bright loving red pants gives you an idea as to how much the higher-ups were chugging down Napoleonic dick without actually understanding the implications of fast-firing breech loaded artillery or machine guns that can shoot 600 rounds a minute.

One of my favorite bits to make that last part clear to students to to lay two cartridges down on a table and say "this is the average rate of fire per minute for a member of the British Army in 1814", then I put down a box of fifteen, "this is the average rate of fire per minute of the member of the BEF in 1914" and then I dump 600 rounds of ammo out on the table and say "this is what a complete idiot behind a maxim gun can put out in a minute".

My students basically go all at the realization of all that lead coming at them when they're snagged on a barbed wire fence.

WWII
It Never snows in September: The German View of Market-Garden and the Battle of Arnhem, September 1944. This reads like the Silmarillion (it�s a heavy read, with lots of blandish details), but it�s the best, most comprehensive book on Market-Garden from the German side. It�s hard to find, but if you can, don�t feel bad about skipping over five pages of �regiment X went south two miles, regiment Y went south one point five miles and was commanded to look left...�

The Rat posted:

Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman is probably the most significant book I've ever read. It's a big ol' Russian epic centering mainly around the battle of Stalingrad. The author was a war journalist for the Red Army who was at Stalingrad and one of the first death camps taken over, so it's all very real and vivid.

mackensie posted:

The Third Reich At War by Richard J Evans.

For an excellent overview of the war in Germany, check out Richard J Evans excellent trilogy. The third and final volume, The Third Reich At War, takes the reader on a journey from the height of the Reich's power to its utter and complete defeat and devastation.
Seven Days in January by Wolf T. Zoeph

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Seven Days in January, is probably one of the finest discussion of one unit's actions first against the Soviets in Finland and then the Americans in France. The book is replete with dozens of maps carefully detailing the attacks and retreat from Wingen-sur-Moder in the Lower Vosges. Leave your preconceptions of the Waffen-SS and, for that matter, the untried American divisions.

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge

Easily one of the best, if not the best, first-person narratives to come out of the war. (ed note: this is one of the two books that The Pacific was based on)

Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War by Paul Fussell

Savage takeout of the glorification of war and gung-ho thinking by the author of a classic WW1 book, The Great War and Modern Memory, this book is a must read on the effects of war on the frontline soldier. I've always had the feeling that a ex-soldier's war nostalgia is directly inverse of how close he was to actual combat.
Operation Drumbeat by Michael Gannon

There are tons of excellent books on the Battle of the Atlantic. Operation Drumbeat, or Operation Paukenschlag, was called many things - the American shooting season, the second Happy Time - but the trivial names belie a battle that nearly took the US out of the war in the North Atlantic. From Jan. 1942 to Aug. 1942, Axis submarines sank 609 ships totaling 3.1 million tons for the loss of only 22 U-boats. This was roughly one quarter of all shipping sunk by U-boats during the entire Second World War. During this time, one U-boat sailed past Coney and the entrance to NY harbor (and by some accounts, sailed right into the harbor. And during this time, Americans did not heed the call for blackouts. Ships would be silhouetted against the city lights and were easy targets. Diners in Florida watched as tankers blew up just off the coast. Here's what it looked like:

Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Huertgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich by Douglas E. Nash

Finally, an account of Germany near and at the end of the war. An excellent narrative of one of the Volks-Grenadier divisions which are often confused with the rag-tag Volksturms which were filled with boys and old men - cannon fodder. The VGD's were elite units loyal to the National Socialist cause. This book, like It Never Snows in September, is German view that is a much easier (and I think more comprehensive) read.

Vietnam
Low Level Hell. I have read every book that I can when it comes to Vietnam FAC or helicopter aviation and this is one of the best rotary books out there. The author was both a scout pilot (aka: fly along, get shot at, call in the gunships) and a gunship pilot so you get a good perspective from both sides.

To The Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam. At one point in this book the pilot is hovering over a body of water doing search and rescue, he can�t see, so he has a crew chief sit on each skid with their boots off, and when their feet touch the water they tell him he�s too low. He does this for several hours looking for a crashed helo. If that doesn�t get you to read this book, nothing will.

Chickenhawk. This was one of the first books written by a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. It�s also very honest, he doesn�t pull punches when he talks about being afraid, or not wanting to kill, whereas some books get kind of gung-ho all the time. Very well written, but maybe not as �action packed� as To The Limit (but no less a good book)

Booblord Zagats posted:

J.M. Moriarty's Ground Attack Vietnam

One of the best books out of Vietnam. Moriarty is realistic about what his job was and has some amazingly intense stories about flying the OV-10 in Vietnam and even a good story about making an rear end out of the Great Santini himself. Dude doesn't see himself as a badass, just a competent pilot who understood the gravity of the situation without letting it define his personality.

iyaayas01 posted:

One Day Too Long. As part of the secret war in Laos, the US government established a radar facility on a mountaintop in far northeastern Laos to control jets bombing North Vietnam, allowing them to bomb effectively in inclement weather. They staffed the site with USAF personnel who were sheep-dipped (temporarily removed from military service and working as Lockheed "contractors.") The North Vietnamese quickly recognized the significance of the facility and began preparations to attack it (including an aerial assault by An-2 biplanes where an Air America Huey got an air to air kill by firing an AK out the door at one of the An-2s). Despite growing indications that an attack was imminent, and the fact that the vast majority of the attacks Heavy Green (code name of the operation) was directing were in defense of Site 85 (kind of a self licking ice cream cone) the US Ambassador in Laos and 7th AF refused to pull out the site. NVA sappers scaled the cliffs where the site was situated and launched a devastating attack, killing 11 of the 17 USAF personnel at the site. Another (Chief Richard Etchberger) was killed during the evacuation the following morning (he was nominated for the Medal of Honor for his actions in defending his men, but this was denied and he was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross in a secret ceremony...this was finally upgraded to a Medal of Honor in 2010).

The US government then proceeded to engage in an over a decade long coverup of the incident, both the operation itself as well as the poor decision making that had led to the single largest ground combat loss of USAF personnel in Southeast Asia. USAF personnel as well as govt lawyers repeatedly and knowingly lied, in court and under oath, regarding the events of the day and what was known about the status of the men who were presumed dead. In short the government treated the surviving families like poo poo. The author also has gone to Laos on some JPAC missions, including a couple to Site 85, and the book goes into that in some depth as well. It is a very well written, very readable, but very scholarly book (it's got 75 pages of footnotes). Everyone should read this book.

Okay I lied, here's a few more. The author of One Day Too Long also wrote an excellent book that is more of an overview of the US secret war in Laos, At War in the Shadow of Vietnam. If you are interested in the secret war, this is probably the book I would recommend as an initial primer...it is quite readable but like One Day Too Long is also very scholarly, with extensive footnotes.

Here There Are Tigers is the memoir of a guy who spent a tour flying O-2s on Nail FAC missions over Laos, it's pretty good.

Air Commando One is the biography of Heinie Aderholt, the guy who is basically the father of AFSOC. He flew covert missions during Korea, helped the CIA support Tibetan guerrillas in the late '50s and early '60s, assisted in drawing up the air support plans for the Bay of Pigs, was one of the first US dudes on the ground in Laos and helped set up the Lima sites, stood up the 56th Air Commando Wing at Nakhon Phanom, and finally in 1975 when he was commanding JUSMAGTHAI, basically singlehandedly organized the airlift that got 2,000 Hmong out of Long Tieng before it fell to the Pathet Lao. Dude was a badass.

Also Ed Rasimus's (RIP) books are a couple of the finest aviation memoirs ever written. When Thunder Rolled is about his tour flying Thuds during Rolling Thunder, and Palace Cobra is about his tour flying Phantoms during Linebacker. He also helped author Fighter Pilot, Robin Olds's memoirs, which are very good.

Sailors Till the End is a very readable account of the Forrestal fire:

Finally, going back a few years, Bernard Fall's books are basically required reading on the French experience in Indochina...Street Without Joy is THE definitive history of the First Indochina War, while Hell in a Very Small Place holds the same title for Dien Bien Phu.

BlueDiablo posted:

A Lonely Kind of War http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Kind-War-Forward-Controller/dp/0891416382

It's told by one of those guys who flew ultra-light air craft in Vietnam acting as a forward controller, you get a good amount of the nitty-gritty of how air/artillery support worked. I was surprised at how complicated it was, as I was often under the assumption it was "find bad guy, press button, kill bad guy" or something to that effect.

I just finished reading A Lonely Kind of War, actually, and it�s really good. At one point they land on a random-rear end path with their planes to pickup an LRRP team under fire, it�s pretty crazy.

Cold War

Gunktacular posted:

http://www.amazon.com/Khrushchev-Remembers-Edward-Crankshaw/dp/B000HZVK0W/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

A view from the inside of Stalin's inner circle. Its an amazing read if a bit slow at parts since its a memoir.

Can-O-Raid posted:

In that vein, Archie Brown's Rise and Fall of Communism gives a history of the whole movement. It's a long, book, and skims over some pretty big patches of history, but covers everything from the First International to the present day in China.

ded posted:

Do you want a real look at how subs operate? Stalking the Red Bear is a book written by an ex-CO of a 637 class boat. It is about as close as you will ever get without actually serving on a boat to knowing how things are. It is not the best book ever written but it is still a good read.

Modern
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. Mark Bowden is a master of this kind of journalistic historical writing. He brings perspectives on both sides together and gives a complete and detailed rundown of the events of the Battle of Mogadishu.

WP CURES PALESTINE posted:

Generation Kill If you can only read one account of the Iraq War, this should be it. Wright spent about a month with a squad of recon Marines -- essentially the special forces of the corps -- and his account is nothing short of gripping.

rockamiclikeavandal posted:

Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green by Johnny Rico is the best book about deployed life with no action. The first book I have ever seen that isn't some hooah bullshit or some dark anti war piece. This is just life in the slow lane dealing with dickheads. This guy ain't a hero, he's just some schlub trying to meddle through. Shows what 90% of anyone's time in the military is really like.

I second this one, it�s a great story without being hoorah bullshit.

WP CURES PALESTINE posted:

Generation KillIf you can only read one account of the Iraq War, this should be it. Wright spent about a month with a squad of recon Marines -- essentially the special forces of the corps -- and his account is nothing short of gripping.

This is also an amazing HBO miniseries with some of the actual marines playing themselves.

Can-O-Raid posted:

'Afghan Guerrilla Warfare' Gives accounts of Mujaheddin tactics during the Soviet adventure in Afghanistan, including firsthand interviews from the Muj themselves.

Hovermoose posted:

Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan by Sean Parnell. In my opinion one of the best books to have come out of the war in Afghanistan. Parnell is a fairly gifted writer and he tells his story honestly and in an easy to read way. Nothing ground shattering, but absolutely worth picking up.

Civilian
The Grey Seas Under: The Perilous Rescue Mission of a North Atlantic Salvage Tug - Is probably one of the best books I have ever read. The hardships these guys on this salvage tug went through just to rescue other ships reads like fiction but it happened. From laying in the steering gear space and holding their breath every time the transom went under water in huge seas, to shimmying across a tow line to a stricken vessel...these guys had huge balls.

The Serpent's Coil. Read if you can't get enough of The Grey Seas Under. This book focuses on the sister ship to the book from TGSU, and one harrowing search, rescovery, and rescue. Thanks Sharkytm

Riding Rockets. This is a book about being an astronaut. It's not a hoorah USA USA history book, it's a down to earth story about what it takes, and how sex works on the Space Shuttle. It's nice to see the veil stripped away and see that deep down, even the guy who flies the shuttle makes a fart joke here and there. Thanks Sharkytm

PLANES CURE TOWERS posted:

I read Riding Rockets a whileback. It was a good read, the only problem I had with it was having to sit through him bitching about Sally Ride, and bitching about John Glenn flying in 1998. Otherwise it was a good time reading about space boners.

Requests
elendil004-I would like a book about the Falklands War, in black hawk down style, so I can get perspectives from both sides. If there isn�t a book like that, then something comprehensive. I wanna read about the events surrounding it, but I don�t want to have to read a dozen books if I can help it.
Christoff- would like a book about why we hate the communists so much. He said a book that explains �Just why we're supposed to hate it so much as Americans�

Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 17:43 on May 23, 2013

# ¿ May 16, 2013 01:58

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 14:43

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

So are people interested in picking a book for us all to read through in June so we can talk about it? We can pick one nobody's read, or we've all read, or who knows I'm open to suggestions.

Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 17:09 on May 16, 2013

# ¿ May 16, 2013 16:59

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Christoff posted:

Asked in the mil pics thread but it just turned into a discussion.

Request: book about why we hate those god drat communist so much

Do you want like, why we started to be at adds with the USSR? Or why communism in general is "bad"? Like, do you want history or theory?

# ¿ May 16, 2013 20:14

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

I know there's "Bear goes over the mountain", is that it?

# ¿ May 20, 2013 00:04

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

What was the book that was written by the Japanese soldier who holed up on some Pacific island for like, ever? I remember they had to get the guy's old CO to come order him to stop, and when he wrote the book he got some children's book publisher to publish it because he liked them or something? I remember it being quite good.

# ¿ May 20, 2013 21:49

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Updated to this point. Can someone post a better review of House to House? Right now it's kinda disjointed.

Also I realize the cold war/modern is kinda jumbled, but it is what it is.

Christoff, was your request filled to your satisfaction?

# ¿ May 22, 2013 16:32

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

BlueDiablo posted:

I don't mean to be a turd-lord, but "A Lonely Kind of War" belongs in the Vietnam section, my fault for not making that clear when I was listing them.

Whoops. Yeah I just finished that book, it was great. Not the best FAC book, but top 3 I think. I meant to put it in vietnam.

# ¿ May 23, 2013 17:41

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

I am still searching for a Falklands war book as well...any recommendations?

E: This is one of the few books that I actually had to put down while reading it because it's that intense. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda is the memoir from the UN General who led the task force in Rwanda during the brutal genocide there. I believe he is still the highest ranking office diagnosed with PTSD due to the events there. It's a really gripping book and it will make you angry because there were so many warning signs, so many chances for other players to step in, and really so many people who DID care but couldn't get anyone else to give a poo poo. Him talking about having to drive around dying starving kids in the street because he just couldn't stop and save everyone is particularly gut wrenching.

Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 14:09 on May 27, 2013

# ¿ May 27, 2013 14:06

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Has anyone read this? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Phoenix-Squadron-Britains-Topguns-dramatic/dp/0552152900/ref=pd_sim_b_2/275-8719812-6690232

It popped up, looks interesting, but could also be trash.

# ¿ May 27, 2013 14:56

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

hannibal posted:

Seconding this, I have this book and it is very intense (but very good). There's also a movie version which I thought was pretty good.

What's the movie version? I know Hotel Rwanda draws off the same themes...

DRONES CURE HAJI posted:

...one of the most intense battles of the entire Afghan war.

Lions of Kandahar is one of the most intense fights that I have read about (though I am picking up the one you recommended) for that particular war. One part stuck out, at one point the author thinks he's gotten so shellshocked that he has lost hearing, so he wanders around a bit with no hearing...then he lifts his earpro, and they are full of sweat, so much so that his ears were 100% in "water" and that was affecting his hearing. He just dumped them out, put them back on and kept fighting.

Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 01:26 on May 28, 2013

# ¿ May 28, 2013 01:18

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

I am about a quarter of the way through Matterhorn, a novel about Vietnam and it's really good so far. It gets right down in the trenches with a squad of marines who are getting hosed into all sorts of awful (but believable) scenarios...and I'm making it sound funny but it's (so far) a pretty serious, good novel. Anyone else read it?

# ¿ Jun 2, 2013 14:15

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

zokie posted:

Just wanna pipe in that I bought and read: To the limit. It was flipping awesome. Everyone should read it.

The one I posted about, the vietnam helicopter pilot one? Because yeah it's awesome.

# ¿ Jun 2, 2013 14:49

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Smiling Jack posted:

Matterhorn is loving amazing. Seriously no-poo poo go read this loving book right now amazing.

I just finished...it really keeps you going till the end. I saw Hawke getting fragged in Cassuidy's place coming... but still, just brutal.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2013 05:07

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Looking for a good modern helicopter pilot book. Basically anything newer than Vietnam. I've read a lot about the Night Stalkers so would like something a little different.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2013 04:57

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

All i know about Air America is from the movie, and reading about Lima Site 38...recommend me a good book about Air America's exploits, please.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2013 04:16

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

they're milporn and I love them. I forget which book it is, where the US and Canada basically wage "hyperwar" on china or some asian country. Total wankfest, but fun to read.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2013 19:05

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

I always liked Joe Buff's books about the modern submarine combat. The gist is the germans and south africans band together to gently caress poo poo up, tactical nukes are used on the high seas in huge amounts, and subs are flinging nuclear torpedoes around willy nilly.

What amazon really needs is a "this book is book 2 in a series of 5" because I cant for the life of me tell which of Joe Buff's books comes "first" so gently caress it, maybe it's this one http://www.amazon.com/Straits-Power-Joe-Buff/dp/0060594705/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372102429&sr=8-1&keywords=joe+buff but no promises.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2013 20:34

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

GAS CURES KIKES posted:

His books in order of publishing date:

1) Deep Sound Channel
2) Thunder in the Deep: A Novel of Undersea Military Action and Adventure
3) Crush Depth
4) Tidal Rip
5) Straits of Power
6) Seas of Crisis: A Novel

Would you say starting at #1 is worth it for this guys stuff, or is that second to last one that you link where you recommend beginning?

Start with deep sound channel, im not 100% sure they're all interconnected, but I think so.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2013 22:54

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

The novels in the series are:
Deep Sound Channel, 2000
Thunder in the Deep, 2001
Crush Depth, 2002
Tidal Rip, 2003
Straits of Power, 2004
Seas of Crisis, 2005

So yeah you've got it right.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2013 23:12

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Since it came up earlier in the thread...I'm watching Sea Wolves right now, and it's awesome. A great mix of old guys joking about how old they are, and campy WWII spy/action movie. Plus Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, and David Niven could act in a movie about fungal growth and make it interesting.

GAS CURES KIKES posted:

Thanks man. Deep Sound Channel is legit war porn, it's solid so far.

Did you finish? Move onto the next? Thoughts?

# ¿ Jul 2, 2013 19:00

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

I don't know if you still care about this Elendil but I'd definitely recommend Phoenix Squadron. The operation described in it is an excellent illustration of why aircraft carriers matter for geostrategy and deterrence.

The goal of this thread is an ongoing book recommendation/discussion/bitchfest/etc. What are the chances of a kindle version? Since it appears out of print...

VVVV: There's not even a link to the book how can I even buy it?

Elendil004 fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Jul 2, 2013

# ¿ Jul 2, 2013 19:20

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

I feel like Matterhorn would make a great movie if they did it similar to Platoon.

# ¿ Jul 3, 2013 15:44

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Well, all this talk has got me back into the Ryanverse...I'm up to Debt of Honor.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2013 21:52

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Book club sitrep...what's everybody reading?

# ¿ Sep 24, 2013 05:57

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

ghost bones posted:

im really plowing through this tome full of hard truths and sick wisdom but im sure its nothing you havent already read

You'd think that if they were trying to look operator as gently caress, they wouldn't take such an awful picture for the cover...but then again that's pretty good for the airsoft community.

Anyways, I'm currently plodding through Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, on recommendations from this thread. Very interesting, but very dry account of what went right/wrong on the Japanese end of things to make the WWII Battle of Midway go down the way it did. Really cool insights into the minds of the Japanese high command too, and you can really see how the culture they had really hosed them, tactically.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2013 13:01

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Dispatches was a great read.

# ¿ Sep 27, 2013 18:12

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

suboptimal posted:

I just finished Matterhorn. Holy gently caress, what a great read that was. One of the best novels about Vietnam for sure.

Yeah I don't even know why I picked it up, I think as a random amazon "you might also like" but it's so well done.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2013 16:17

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

If you have it on Kindle you can loan it too, so if anyone would like to take that offer lemme know I can lend it.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2013 03:07

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

In the spirit of Christmas, I can lend the following kindle books, just leave me or PM me your e-mail address (the one that's linked to your kindle):

Bloodstained Sea: The U.S.Coast Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1941-1944 - Pretty interesting book about the CG's role as convoy escorts during WWII.

Bering Storms - Novel about a CGI guy who runs into some trouble in Alaska, takes place on crab boats, a little campy but if you like Cussler you'll probably like this. Keeps the CG/Maritime stuff pretty realistic.

Angles of Attack, An A-6 Intruder Pilot's War - bog standard account of the first Gulf War by an A-6 driver.

A Lonely Kind of War: Forward Air Controller - I have read a ton of books about FACs, and they kind of blur together. I believe this is the one where the guy literally lands on a dirt road and shoves some commandos into the luggage compartment on his plane in order to extract them. Balls of steel.

Easy Target: The Long Strange Trip of a Scout Pilot in Vietnam - A little tongue in cheek, but still a solid book about a scout helo pilot in vietnam.

Inside the President's Helicopter: Reflections of a White House Senior Pilot - Really interesting account of the guy who flew the President's helicopter around the Nixon administration. Neat to learn about the infighting between the Marine and Army pilots as well.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2013 19:23

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

As I said, it's good if you like that type of book, Cussler, DuBrul's style of writing, etc.

# ¿ Dec 28, 2013 14:14

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Can anyone recommend a good book about the Rampart Division of the LAPD which The Shield was based on?

# ¿ Jan 27, 2014 21:42

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

Matterhorn was fantastic, I'd love to see it as a movie.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2015 19:54

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 14:43

Elendil004: Mar 22, 2003; The prognosis
is not good.

ded posted:

jesus christ the ending to matterhorn. gently caress.

Wouldn't it just make a great miniseries?

# ¿ Feb 17, 2015 05:45

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