finished this just now. It’s a lot better than Luttrell’s book, and fairly or not, Kyle comes across as a lot brighter. It’s unflattering in ways I expect Kyle only partly intended, but it was a good read and the United States is fortunate to have such warriors. He deserved a better end than he got, that’s for sure.
https://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Male-Re.../dp/1590172434
Awesome book, written in 1939.
"The protagonist, an unnamed British big game hunter, sets out in the spring of 1938 to see if he can get an unnamed European dictator in the sights of his rifle. Caught while taking aim by the dictator's secret service guards, he is tortured, thrown over a cliff and left for dead.
He comes to, is aided by a civilian and manages to make his way to a port, where he stows away on a British ship bound for London. Once there, he discovers that agents of the unnamed country know he has survived and are after him..."
An excellent read that has aged, in all, very well and retains its relevance. I particularly appreciated his acknowledgment of the role of women, not only as caregivers, but warriors too. I’ve studied this war pretty extensively over a span of decades, reading a great many books, but had never gotten around to reading this one. I’m glad I rectified the omission.
Bernard fall's work is superb.Originally Posted by Medusa
An excellent read that has aged, in all, very well and retains its relevance. I particularly appreciated his acknowledgment of the role of women, not only as caregivers, but warriors too. I’ve studied this war pretty extensively over a span of decades, reading a great many books, but had never gotten around to reading this one. I’m glad I rectified the omission.
'Hell in a very small place" is worth your while.
" La rose est sans pourquoi, elle fleurit parce qu’elle fleurit ; Elle n’a souci d’elle-même, ne demande pas si on la voit. » Angelus Silesius
"There are problems in this universe for which there are no answers." Paul Muad'dib
I've got a copy of both around here somewhere--good time to dust them off.
For those unfamiliar (not to spoil the "ending"):
The next day Fall spoke into his tape recorder as he walked, sixth in the line of men:
“First in the afternoon about 4:30 — shadows are lengthening..."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/o...w-the-war.html
Not to distract from the literary focus here, but this does make me think of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIe-thE3LXY
Funny you should say that...I just borrowed it. I love my library, seriously.
finishing Gates of Fire by Pressfield in the next day or three.
Sounds like a great library.
I hope you're having fun with Pressfield, his other books are also worthwhile. His only WWII book gives you a sense of the first British Special Forces that is really interesting and "The Afghan Campaign" is a fascinating look at Alexander's campaign from the point of view of a soldier that I think our own veterans would probably recognize.
In both 'hell in a very small place' and 'Gates of Fire', you can't escape the classic Greek tragedy themes; for the latter it's obvious, but for the former it's exceedingly instructive.
ETA: in Falls book about Dien Bien Phu, look hard at Major (later colonel and General) Bigeard. The lessons he took form that battle went straight into practice for the Algerian War. An excellent historical fiction series of books that straddle both wars (and uses a fictional Bigeard) are 'The Centurions' and 'The Praetorians' by Jean Larteguy. It's not easy to find an English translation, but if you do it will be truly worthwhile.
Last edited by Wondering Beard; 04-12-2020 at 06:51 PM.
" La rose est sans pourquoi, elle fleurit parce qu’elle fleurit ; Elle n’a souci d’elle-même, ne demande pas si on la voit. » Angelus Silesius
"There are problems in this universe for which there are no answers." Paul Muad'dib
I believe our own @Giving Back, knew Kyle personally.
finished this just now. It’s a lot better than Luttrell’s book, and fairly or not, Kyle comes across as a lot brighter. It’s unflattering in ways I expect Kyle only partly intended, but it was a good read and the United States is fortunate to have such warriors. He deserved a better end than he got, that’s for sure.
" La rose est sans pourquoi, elle fleurit parce qu’elle fleurit ; Elle n’a souci d’elle-même, ne demande pas si on la voit. » Angelus Silesius
"There are problems in this universe for which there are no answers." Paul Muad'dib
Recommended with some reservations, because I have nothing but contempt for the cause he ultimately served (my own family was fighting it--the wreckage of an uncle's B-17 is spread over the Carpathians), but:
https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Combat...s%2C123&sr=8-1
is a good one. There's a lot of "Ostfront" lit, but this is the best I have read. It is well translated, and the introduction (by an American historian) addresses the revisionist elements. Read the reviews and the "look inside" for yourself.
To tee it up: he started the war as a gunner on a 37mm Pak, was promoted to officer and went on to get a Tank Destruction badge using a Panzerfaust--and survived to surrender to the Russians in the Courland pocket at the end of the war.
it is a great library system. A lot of times it has both audio and ebook. In some cases I buy the audiobook to go with the ebook, as I did with Fall’s Street without Joy. I see The Centurions is an audiobook available on audible, and I spend more than a case worth of ammo annually with them on a frequent reader plan, so I added it to my for later and will get to it soon. Thanks for the suggestion.
ETA Amazon has the translation of The Praetorians for 4.99 as well.
i am on the fence about gates of fire so far. The narrator on the audible version is good but has at times a plaintive quality to his delivery that doesn’t go as well with the text, but it’s relatively early days yet.
Last edited by Medusa; 04-12-2020 at 10:06 PM. Reason: To note amazon availability
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