Book Recommendations

[Bergeron]

I recently finished the three-volume set of J.F.C. Fuller's A Military History of the Western World, and I simply cannot recommend it enough.

Vol 1:
Earliest Times til Lepanto

Vol 2:
Spanish Armada til Waterloo

Vol 3:
American Civil War til the End of World War Two.

Vol 2 was perhaps the least engaging of the three for me, given its understable English focus. It's all great, though. The End of World War Two Analysis is not something you'll be likely to read from any other Western source. I love Greco-Roman military history, and Vol 1 is a tour de force in the topic.

[gtae07]

It's a podcast but it might as well be an audiobook... Dan Carlin's Hardcore History series on World War I is excellent. It's called Blueprint for Armageddon, and it's six partsof about four hours each. I'm halfway through Part 5 right now.

[Medusa]

Just finished this. It’s superb. Thanks for the recommendation.

Also finished the second of the Dent Miller books by the site’s own Lester Polfus; enjoyed it and will read the final book of the trilogy.

Started The Devil’s Guard, what is widely regarded as a heavily fictionalized account of former Waffen-SS soldiers serving in the French Foreign Legion post ww2, in Vietnam. Not sure how I feel about it yet; I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of some soldiers managing to survive ww2 on a losing side and then continue using to fight on after, but I may end up despising the narrator sufficiently to abandon the book. We will see.

Spearhead by Adam Makos

https://www.amazon.com/Spearhead-Ame...2202905&sr=8-1

At first, Clarence and his fellow crews in the legendary 3rd Armored Division—“Spearhead”—thought their tanks were invincible. Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: The lead tank always gets hit.

After Clarence sees his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, he and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art “super tank,” one of twenty in the European theater.

But with it comes a harrowing new responsibility: Now they will spearhead every attack. That’s how Clarence, the corporal from coal country, finds himself leading the U.S. Army into its largest urban battle of the European war, the fight for Cologne, the “Fortress City” of Germany.

——————

This was an awesome read. If you like WWII military history and armor you’ll like this book. I read three quarters of it in one sitting.



The fight between the Pershing and the Panther in Cologne was filmed. It’s in the video.

[Coyotesfan97]

On the Use of Shape Shifters in Warfare by Marko Kloos. It’s a short story and it’s 99 cents on Kindle. I read it after watching Love, Death, and Robots.

[Coyotesfan97]

Just finished this. It’s superb. Thanks for the recommendation.

Also finished the second of the Dent Miller books by the site’s own Lester Polfus; enjoyed it and will read the final book of the trilogy.

Started The Devil’s Guard, what is widely regarded as a heavily fictionalized account of former Waffen-SS soldiers serving in the French Foreign Legion post ww2, in Vietnam. Not sure how I feel about it yet; I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of some soldiers managing to survive ww2 on a losing side and then continue using to fight on after, but I may end up despising the narrator sufficiently to abandon the book. We will see.

I haven’t read that in a long time. The narrator is a Waffen SS Officer who was a partisan hunter on the Eastern Front. He does not like Communists and is very brutal when he fights them. It’s an interesting read.

[Medusa]

he's also a complete nazi apologist, many times over. Also, his men are superhuman, mixed race units are a failure, etc. etc. it's rough going. I may cry uncle and get my audible credit back.

I haven’t read that in a long time. The narrator is a Waffen SS Officer who was a partisan hunter on the Eastern Front. He does not like Communists and is very brutal when he fights them. It’s an interesting read.

[Coyotesfan97]

he's also a complete nazi apologist, many times over. Also, his men are superhuman, mixed race units are a failure, etc. etc. it's rough going. I may cry uncle and get my audible credit back.

Yes he is

[rayrevolver]

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington

I heard about this from a shock jock radio guy here in DC. The author also makes great kids books, my 5 year old likes “I am George Washington” and “...Amelia Earhart.” Brad Meltzer is the author.

Overall the story is fascinating and I got a good dose of American Revolutionary history included, free of charge! I did not like how some chapters were summarized at the end... I just read the damn chapter, what the hell???

Also made me think of how people want to destroy historical statues etc they don’t agree with while in NY today there are streets and parks, and towns in other states related to the British antagonists at the time.

[Stephanie B]

Long Shot by Azad Cudi. It's about the Kurdish fight against ISIS. Cudi was a refugee who was granted asylum in England. He returned to help in the fight.

It's an interesting read. You'll learn a bit about how their snipers worked.

[BehindBlueI's]

I may have already mentioned this but the "Iron Druid" series is a fun bit of light reading. It's another take on mythology meets modern world, and while not as well done as Neil Gaiman (IMO) it's in good enough territory for the cost of admittance. The real short version is the main character is the last remaining druid on the planet, and he's largely survived because he figured out a way to bind his aura to cold iron in a way that lets him still use his druid magic but makes other magic not touch him...and by lots of hiding. The old Irish pantheon plays in heavily, of course, but all the major pantheons and religions get some cameos. Pretty standard tropes for the genre, but the occasionally insightful look into the human condition, interesting characters with decent character development, and a lot of fast paced action make them worth the read.