What are you reading?

[Pags]

Reminds me of what a B-17 crewman told me once. Aerial attacks on B-17 formations were rarely the continuous action seen in movies and TV. Due to the formidable defenses of a B-17 there was a furious wave of slashing attacks that lasted just a very few minutes (depending on the number of fighters in formation), then an interlude of several minutes while the enemy climbed back to altitude and formed for another attack. It was compressed in movies and TV for dramatic effect and to limit the running time.

My loose understanding is that WWII air combat was a lot more slashing then circles.

 

[hlg6016]

Currently working on A tomb Called Iwo-Jima by Dan King, a perspective to the battle from Japanese eyes.

 

[nittany03]

My loose understanding is that WWII air combat was a lot more slashing then circles.

Not enough thrust for energy-sustaining maneuvers, so everything would inevitably go downhill otherwise.

 

[jmcquate]

Re-reading Stephen Sear's "Gettysburg". The Army of Northern Virginia's command dysfunction hasn't improved since the last time I read it.

 

[Griz882]

Re-reading Stephen Sear's "Gettysburg". The Army of Northern Virginia's command dysfunction hasn't improved since the last time I read it.

 

[Pags]

Re-reading Stephen Sear's "Gettysburg". The Army of Northern Virginia's command dysfunction hasn't improved since the last time I read it.

Spoiler Alert: things do not go well for Gen Pickett.

 

[Max the Mad Russian]

a 2000 ton Fletcher

AFAIR there was a flashdecker in that book. Which means both vomiting stains and body bruises much wider.

Most valued trait of surface ASW warrior coinsides IMO with most valued trait of a man generally: an endurance. And his ship has to be quick just to cope with surfacing (literally) threats. U-Boat then had to be virtually surfaced to properly aim the torpedoes. Torpedo-Kommando-Geraet, a TDC in USN parlance, was of great help but Der Underseepiratten had to properly evaluate the speed and course of the target, and then it was hardly possible through the P-scope at night or in any other Atlantic darkness.

Even Red Storm Rising, while very good, is still ~40yrs old and I doubt representative of how it would be done today.

Just like the Hunt for Red October, the Soviet reality as described is FAR from reality as it was. During 1970-80s Soviet Navy was sticking with special ethos separating itself from the rest of Soviet military by some kind of irony simultaneously maintaining quite strict discipline within. It was impossible to see the enlisted men freely smoking or drinking onboard, as well as taking clumsy civilian clothes on. Look, the Russian naval sense of a discipline stems from old Cartesian picture that military structure is a watch-like mechanism: every cog and every spring has to do its own job for long and there's no such thing as individual mind: the only "mind" that exists is the mind of a commanding officer. You can find something similar in German and Japanese navies, by the way.

 

[BRoll83]

Just finished off Ghost Fleet and The Admirals. Both very highly recommended

 

[Randy Daytona]

“2034” by Admiral James Stavridis and journalist Elliot Ackerman releases next week - has the potential to be really good as the authors stated it is an updated version of one of the best Cold War novels: “The Third World War, August 1985” by General Sir John Hackett.

2034 by Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis, USN: 9781984881274 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

An instant New York Times Bestseller! “Consider this another vaccine against disaster. Fortunately, this dose won't cause a temporary fever—and it happens to be a rippingly good read.”...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

The Third World War

Early in 1977 a retired NATO general called together six of his collegues--including an admiral, an airman, an economist and a diplomat--...

www.goodreads.com

 

[Griz882]

“2034” by Admiral James Stavridis and journalist Elliot Ackerman releases next week - has the potential to be really good as the authors stated it is an updated version of one of the best Cold War novels: “The Third World War, August 1985” by General Sir John Hackett.

2034 by Elliot Ackerman, Admiral James Stavridis, USN: 9781984881274 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

An instant New York Times Bestseller! “Consider this another vaccine against disaster. Fortunately, this dose won't cause a temporary fever—and it happens to be a rippingly good read.”...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

View attachment 30089

The Third World War

Early in 1977 a retired NATO general called together six of his collegues--including an admiral, an airman, an economist and a diplomat--...

www.goodreads.com

View attachment 30090

I loved Hackett’s book. I don’t keep much fiction around the house but I always have that one on the shelf.

 

[Randy Daytona]

I loved Hackett’s book. I don’t keep much fiction around the house but I always have that one on the shelf.

I thought Hackett’s book was absolutely superb as well. I purchased my house a few years ago from a retired Army artillery officer and he had Hackett’s book in his library too - I just texted him and told him about “2034”.

I thought Hackett’s book has held up well as a period piece from the late 1970’s - early 1980’s. Was thinking about going back and re-reading some novels from Allen Drury that I haven’t looked at in decades, starting with “Advise and Consent” which won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Advise and Consent - Kindle edition by Drury, Allen . Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Advise and Consent - Kindle edition by Drury, Allen . Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Advise and Consent.

www.amazon.com

 

[wink]

Read The Third World War just before shipping for AOCS in 1979. Educational and sobering for a young'un fixing to go on active duty through the 1980s. Look forward to 2034.

 

[AllYourBass]

I read way too much required reading for school right now to spend any of my free reading time on more of the same, so I was looking for a little fast-food bedtime reading. I had never read a Star Wars book and decided to start with the Thrawn series based on some recommendations and Google searches.

If you enjoy SW and haven't read the books, they're actually pretty enjoyable. I'm on the second one of this series.

 

[Hair Warrior]

 

[Griz882]

That is perfect!