What Book Are You Reading?

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Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 2,536

"The Princess Diarist", by Carrie Fisher.
A book of random mutterings mostly about her and Harrison Ford.
Rantings of a mad women. Utter drivel.

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

"Engineers of Victory," Paul Kennedy, Penguin, ISBN 978-0-141-03609-0 £9. 99.

This is an account of how WW2 was organised and administered by the Allies and the Axis powers. Mr. Kennedy describes how important component parts that made up the whole were 'engineered' eg. facilitated or enabled by outstanding contributors.

Examples would be the initial rejection by the Americans of the P-51, the convoy system and the B29 Superfortress. Successes would number the Construction Battalions (SeaBees) the cavity magnetron and the Central Pacific campaign. Mr. Kennedy writes with an American slant that does not detract from the necessary appeal of his theme.

An excellent read.

Member for

20 years 7 months

Posts: 18,353

Dunkirk - by Joshua Levine

Reading this before I go see the film.

Amazingly, I've never read much about Dunkirk previously!

Member for

6 years 8 months

Posts: 110

I was recommended to try Peter James' Roy Grace books and have found they are "unputdownable"!!

Member for

15 years 10 months

Posts: 1,311

Superb, highly recommended .

http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1394334472l/2216342.jpg

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

Dunkirk, Sean Longden, Constable Press, ISBN 978-1-84529-520-5

Topically, this book is about Dunkirk, particularly its aftermath and what happened to the 40,000 or so British PoWs marched by the Germans into slavery and extreme hardship. This book is grim in detail and lacerating of the behaviour of the British Govt. towards the PoWs on their return to Blighty.

If there is a lesson to be drawn from the matters described in these books, it is never ever let yourself be taken prisoner.

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Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 3,650

Hi All,
Well I have my reading head back on it took eight months to finally complete 'Don Quixote - complete and unabridged version' just stalled more or less
halfway through but now back on track.:rolleyes:

Anyway 18 chapters into 'Standing The Final Watch' book 1, then on to the Bonus Chapter plus online bonus material, by William Alan Webb and loving
every bit of it....:cool:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91DpXqhRaoL.__BG0,0,0,0_FMpng_AC_UL320_SR214,320_.jpghttps://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71hL5w%2BWtpL.__BG0,0,0,0_FMpng_AC_UL320_SR214,320_.jpg

Geoff.

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

"Surviving the Sword " Brian MacArthur, Abacus publishers, ISBN 978-0-349-11937-3, £9.99

This book was first published in 2005 and received first class reviews all, well deserved. It is an account of the treatment meted out to the Australian, American and British personnel who were taken into captivity by the Japanese.

Much of that will be familiar to the reader. What is different is the scrutiny applied to every detail of the PoWs existence in what passed for PoW camps. The cruel and murderous bestiality of the Japs is beyond belief. They delighted in their savagely merciless treatment of the unfortunates in their captivity.

Read and weep.

Member for

7 years 3 months

Posts: 216

https://goo.gl/images/g6YwfS
I just read Not Much an Engineer, great read and I re learnt some additional things from when I was an apprentice studying engines.

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Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 3,650

Hi All,
Just started (George Gamow-Mr Tompkins in paperback)....:cool:

Since his first appearance over sixty years ago, Mr Tompkins has become known and loved by many thousands of readers as the bank clerk whose fantastic dreams and adventures lead him into a world inside the atom. George Gamow's classic provides a delightful explanation of the central concepts in modern physics, from atomic structure to relativity, and quantum theory to fusion and fission. Roger Penrose's foreword introduces Mr Tompkins to a new generation of readers, and reviews his adventures in light of recent developments in physics.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41EtIefUPyL._SX316_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Geoff.

Member for

19 years 5 months

Posts: 9,821

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Ultimate Look from drawing board to V-J Day...by Wolfe
The anorak's guide to the WWII super bomber..
Everything you need to know about the aircraft. Need to know the type of magneto or radio receiver? It's here.
With such inside tech data, it's not exactly a page turner, but it's presented in a logical and well illustrated format. Not a book for modelers since there are no color profiles, but there are several color interior shots of the example at Pima.

Several nit picks: the editing could be improved (a frequent complaint lately) with seven errors in the Boeing history introductory chapter. Other errors include placing Guam northwest of Tokyo instead of the correct south, southeast.
Also, a least one (update: three) technical drawings of sub-assemblies are up side down. Other interior photos are printed on their sides.

The author has a similar volume on the B-25, so that might be of more interest to UK readers.

However, as the title suggests, it just covers the initial and WWII use, so interesting post-war operations by the USAF and RAF are not covered.
But if you're interested in the "nuts and bolts" of the basic Washington airframe (I'm guessing there were some electronics changes) you'll be covered. At around 350 pages, it is thorough, burn the last 80-odd pages are on combat operations in the Pacific, so may not be of interest to UK readers interested in just the aircraft.

I know many forum members can't get enough deep technical information on British warplanes, well here's your chance to immerse yourself in an aircraft that served Bomber Command for sever years Leningrad delivery if jet bombers.

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Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 3,650

Hi All,
Six chapters into the second book in his series Standing The Storm by William Allen Webb, if the first was anything to go by I will really enjoy the
reading....:cool:

Standing the final Watch (Book 1)
America might be dead, but Nick Angriff will kick your ass to resurrect her. Lt. General Nick Angriff has spent his adult life protecting family and
country from a world of terrorism spinning out of control. On the battlefield, off the grid, in clandestine special task forces and outright black ops,
Angriff never wavers from duty. But when a terror attack on Lake Tahoe kills his family, he's left with only the corrosive acid of revenge... that is,
until a hated superior officer reveals the deepest of all secret operations.

Against the day of national collapse, a heavily-armed military unit rests in cryogenic storage, to be awakened when needed, and Angriff is named
its commander. Fifty years later he wakes to find the USA destroyed and predatory warlords roaming the ruins. Stalked by assassins bent on seizing
his command for their own purposes, Angriff has to prepare for war while avoiding murder. Because the only wall still shielding survivors from slavery
and death are the men and women of The Last Brigade.

(Book 2) below.
When the Last Brigade begins its mission of rebuilding America, they find enemies on all sides. In nearby Prescott, Arizona, a maniacal warlord proclaims
himself the legitimate successor to the USA. To the east lurks the strange religious cult named the Caliphate of the Seven Prayers of the New Prophet,
which kills anyone who doesn’t convert. And why is a Chinese military vehicle found to the north? In a tornado of exploding metal, Nick Angriff risks
everyone and everything to save the innocents he has sworn to protect. Outnumbered and outgunned, the 7th Cavalry will not be outfought. They must
either stand in the storm or see their beloved country die a final death.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51eJIdYR5bL._SY346_.jpg

Geoff.

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

"Bomber" Harris, Dudley Saward, Cassell. ISBN 0 907675 33 6

This book should be on the shelf of all aviation buffs. It is a comprehensive biography of the great man. From the book comes a description of a simple man with but one goal; the destruction of Britain's enemies. The book is a rich source of detailed information relating to aircraft capabilities, bomb capacity, aircraft production and the logic behind the combined strategic air offensive of WW2.

I'm very pleased that he was on our side !

Member for

20 years 7 months

Posts: 18,353

Squadron Airborne - Elleston Trevor

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The experiences of a Battle of Britain Spitfire squadron, seen through the eyes of some of its members. Not bad so far.

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Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 3,650

Hi All,
Five chapters into The Guv'nor.
A bare-knuckle fighter turned moviestar, Lenny Mclean had powerful friends and terrible enemies. In this biography, he tells stories about his life,
including how he knocked out the Mafia's greatest boxer in three minutes, and how he was brought in to intimidate the IRA.....:eek::eagerness:
https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328101261l/4882545.jpg

Geoff.

Member for

19 years 5 months

Posts: 9,821

George Washington, Gentleman Warrior by Brumwell.
Excellent recent book on how George, a middle son of a medium-rich landowner, became a lauded Virginia/British commander in the French and Indian war and used the lessons he learned there to successfully command rebel forces in the American War for Independence, and several years after the war's conclusion, became the first national president.

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Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 3,650

Hi All,
Worms To Catch "I was never going to sleep in and take it easy, there were worms to catch."

Breaking records on the world’s biggest Wall of Death, cycling 2,745 miles across the length of the United States (while sleeping rough), attempting
to be the fastest person ever on two wheels and travelling to Latvia to investigate his family’s roots, it's been a busy year for Guy Martin. There’s been
some thrilling racing too, including wild Harley choppers on dirt and turbo-charged Transit vans through the Nevada desert. And don't forget there’s
the day job to get back to in North Lincolnshire – the truck yard and the butty van.

Guy has done more in one year than most people do in a lifetime, and with his gift for story-telling, he takes you with him to the outer limits of
human endurance, and on a dizzying adrenalin high, all in a day’s work.

https://cdn.penguin.com.au/covers/original/9780753545317.jpg

Geoff.

Member for

12 years 11 months

Posts: 6,535

Many will know the story of the sinking of the Bismarck. This most beautiful and effective warship of the WW2 German Navy, sunk by the British Navy after a prolonged chase across the North Atlantic.

"Pursuit", The Sinking of the Bismarck. Ludovic Kennedy, Collins. Published 1974.

I found this book in a shop specialising in naval militaria. It is a superbly written and immensely exciting tale told by a master craftsman. A truly riveting piece of history.

It is so good that if anyone wishes to borrow it, I'll post it to you.

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Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 3,650

Hi All,
The Matter Myth
In this sweeping survey, acclaimed science writers Paul Davies and John Gribbin provide a complete overview of advances in the study of physics that have revolutionized modern science. From the weird world of quarks and the theory of relativity to the latest ideas about the birth of the cosmos, the authors find evidence for a massive paradigm shift. Developments in the studies of black holes, cosmic strings, solitons, and chaos theory challenge common-sense concepts of space, time, and matter, and demand a radically altered and more fully unified view of the universe.
https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780140134261-uk-300.jpg

Geoff.

Member for

18 years 11 months

Posts: 8,847

Shooting Script by Gavin Lyall

My favourite read by the late Gavin Lyall, a pilot who can write an aviation novel with feeling. The story includes a D.H. Dove, D.H. Vampires and a B-25. Read this book more times than I can count, not a complicated technical read but very enjoyable none the less.

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