Monty did quite a bit of it himself at the time of the Bulge.

BTW Charles Whiting is also Leo Kessler, and served in the Reconnaisance Regiment in NWE. You can spot the same cliches in Whiting's and 'Kessler's' books.

And I read Flamethrower in the library in Carmarthen. Never actually seen a copy in a second hand bookshop.

Yes, there is that... I try to put that to the back of my mind and treat the Whiting books as history, but every now and then some of his more- shall we say, 'un-PC' tendencies come to the fore.
I read loads of Leo Kessler books as a teenager (funnily enough at the same time as I was into German AFVs... hmm) and remember them as being on the whole rather unpleasant, though at the time I must have enjoyed them- there again 12 years old, loads of swearing, sex and tanks!


MC

Im reading the Da Vinci Code and Im throughly hooked.

John, That is a great book. Did you watch the Real Da Vinci Code last thursday on C4? There is an interesting theological debate around what is supposed.

Ross

ummmmmmmm.... well today.....uuummmmmm.... Feb 2005 Playboy

Ross, yes i watched that show, facinating I like books like this that throw a spanner in the works.

I've been reading "B-17's Over Berlin" by Ian Hawkins.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=R18WRFc9Wk&isbn=0028811291&itm=1

It's an excellent collection of anecdotes from the 95th Bomb Group during their service in Europe. Not only do the anecdotes cover actual missions, but also shuttle missions to Russia and attempts (both successes and failures) to rejoin the Allies after bail-outs.

It's an easy and enjoyable read with many stories that stick with you long afterwards.

Just finished two modern armor novels, definite must reads for anyone who is into modern armor. The first in the series is called Tin Soldiers and the second is called Iron Tigers by Michael Farmer.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451209052/qid=1107962478/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/103-9017814-6949450

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451212622/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/103-9017814-6949450?v=glance&s=books

This guy's good, writes very similar to Clancy and Coyle but unique and with his own style. Characters are great, fleshes them out well and you get attached to them and he carries them through each novel and adds new ones. One of the things I like is his stories pretty much start the ground running and he fills in the backstory as he goes along. He has a mix of everything, armor battles and the tactics employed in the field, personal conflicts amongst troops and even some espionage and spook stuff thrown in the mix. Fast reading.

Right now I'm into the second book in the Brotherhood of War series by Griffin, The Captains and Calvert's Silent Running : My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine which is a great read!

The Administrator guide to Windows server 2003 Ent.

I've just read Eighth Airforce Bomber Stories by Ian McLachlan and Russell Zorn.
It's basically a catalogue of disasters befalling the crews (and British civillians) as a result of enemy damage, engine failures on take-off and collisions.
It's highly readable, though it's a bit like looking at a car crash.
The narrative is illustrated throughout by Zorn's crash-site pictures as well as pics of the planes/ people involved. The tales are frequently moving, and often amazing- tales of fliers who've escaped from what seem impossible situations.
This book puts the human side to those incredible pictures of B17 and B24 'losses'.
Recommended.
MC

Ola People

Right now I`m reading Ghosts of the ETO by Jonathan Gawne. Brilliant book. It`s about the American Tactical Deception Units in the European Theater 1944 to 1945. Everything from Dummy tanks to the Sonic boys are in this book. Lot`s of good pics and interesting reading material. Most of it was unknown and classified for a long time. Very interesting

Sahara by Cussler another Dirk Pitt novel
also a movie??
Ron

Now reading 'Monty's Ironsides' by Patrick Delaforce. Jolly good.
MC

Im reading "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer. Its his autobiography about his time in the Wehrmacht throughout WWII. Good read.

I'm reading part 2 of the Emperor series, The Death of Kings by Conn Iggulden. Em-peror is a 4 part series which tales the tale of Julius Ceaser. I've been told it’s not entirely historically accurate, but the writer gives a short synopsis at the end on what is generally known to have happened. It's a good read and very well written, and I am looking forward to receive part 3 in the mail any time now.

To say the least, history gets a good kicking in these books. I've just finished part 3, and the map in the end-papers manages to put Alesia on the wrong side of the Rhine. I'm sure that it was in central France when I went there. They're good books on the whole, but sometimes truth is just as interesting as fiction.

For a much more accurate version of the late republic, try Tom Holland's 'Rubicon' - history without being boring.

I also just picked up two books: Heavy Metal: A Tank Company's Battle for Baghdad. It is about CAPT. Conroy and his C Co, TF 1-64, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. In reading this, having a bit of background from Thunder Run by David Zucchino really helps, but isn't required.

The other is Not On My Watch. It is about a combat medic from a local town. Among other things that has happened to him, he was on the second of two Chinook's, the first of which was shot down last year.

Jeff

Best to think of these books as fiction and adventure set in a defined historical context.

I'm finishing up "The Battle of the Atlantic" Andrew Williams. Starting "Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the USS Tang" Richard O'Kane and have the "Bedford Boys" and "Order of the Death's Head" waiting in the wings.

Just finished "Masters of Chaos" by Linda Robinson. Good read, especially the Afghanistan and Iraq sections. A bit dry...sort of a recitation of facts without enough "color" to make it come alive. Still a very good read.

Just started "Generation Kill" by Evan Wright. VERY engaging so far. At the risk of being cliche...it is gritty! Reads quick and makes you want to read more! Great so far.

And ya...I'm not at the cutting edge of new releases.

Jim

... just started on a book called 'the forgotten soldier'. it tells a true story of a half-french german 18-year soldier named Guy Sajer on the eastern front... from poland 1942 right up to his surrender in berlin 1945...

what is most intersting is that it is told from the normal soldier's viewpoint... highly recommended... one of the best i've read.

Latest on my table is Evgeni Bessonov 'Tank Rider: Into the Reich with the Red Army' A memoir of a Soviet officer during the Great Patriotic War.

MoJimbo - There has been a lot of debate whether Sajer's book is a true story. See this link for more:

Forgotten Soldier

I read this recently as well,a great read, which without any frills or embellishment gives a real sense of an ordinary man caught up in events beyond his control.

Cheers October

Hi, Have been working on two books over the last week or so that I've had in the 'library' for a while.

1. "Military Memoirs of a Confederate", by Gen E.P Alexander., the head of artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia. A very good book about the battles this man fought in and his outlook on the events, and the people, as they happened, and with his feelings about them in retrospect.

2. "Looking for Alaska" by Peter Jenkins. Have read this one before from the public library and happened to find it at at real good price at the local book store and am re-reading it again. Tells about a year that this author spent in Alaska with his family interviewing all kinds of common ordinary people who live there. Very, very good. I recommmend it quite highly for anyone wanting to get a better understanding of what it takes to live on and in the 'last frontier.'

Take care, Sgirty