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OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 4:31:17 PM   
mikmykWS

 

Posts: 11524
Joined: 3/22/2005
Status: offline 		Lot of good books read and re-read this summer.

Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War

Follows the recipe but by far the best new naval war fiction that has come about in awhile.

Team Yankee: A Novel of WWIII.

Its like Flashpoint Campaigns in a book or is it the other way around.. Hmmm..

Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad

They did it. I knew it.

Simulating War

Think.

Great Pacific War: A History of the American-Japanese Campaign of 1931-33

Considering when this was written pretty amazing.

The Big One

Stuart imagine's a world where LeMay invents the cloud and ships take forever to sink.

The Martian

Potatoes


On my Fall List so far:

The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944

This is the follow up to Pacific Crucible which was amazing on in its own right. Looking forward to see who wins

On Seas Contested: The Seven Great Navies of the Second World War

Mike



< Message edited by mikmyk -- 8/21/2015 5:31:49 PM >

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 4:43:52 PM   
Patmanaut


Posts: 392
Joined: 1/20/2013
Status: offline 		Nice list. Can we add some more?

Thanks

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 4:49:04 PM   
mikmykWS

 

Posts: 11524
Joined: 3/22/2005
Status: offline 		Yeah go ahead.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 4:51:21 PM   
StellarRat

 

Posts: 188
Joined: 9/14/2009
Status: offline 		Mikmyk: Any computer games on your list or is Command enough for you? I have been playing Witcher 3 lately and it is amazingly good.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 5:10:22 PM   
wild_Willie2


Posts: 2934
Joined: 10/8/2004
From: Arnhem (holland) yes a bridge to far...
Status: offline 		Already read Ghost fleet and it's not a well written book and you won't miss anything if you drop it.
This book does not accurately portray naval operations and mechanics, my biggest peef was that naval operations only where a very small part of the story and that weapon damage was either way over-or understated. A 120mm rail cannon hit blowing a huge crater in a golf field or blowing over a MBT with a near miss?? At least fact check your physics if you incorporate them into a story...

< Message edited by wild_Willie2 -- 8/21/2015 6:46:36 PM >

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 6:04:40 PM   
Airborne Rifles

 

Posts: 229
Joined: 2/17/2015
Status: offline 		http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Pay-Operation-Downfall-1945-1947/dp/1591143160/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440179942&sr=1-1&keywords=hell+to+pay

Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947

This is an incredibly well written academic study by a naval war college student that compares the Allied plans for invading the home islands with the Japanese plans for their defense. It's not alternate history, but very well researched history that butts right up against that genre. Lots of looks into the weapons and troops available to both sides, logistics, the plans drawn up by both sides (including the plans to use the atom bombs tactically), and analysis of possible outcomes. I can't recommend it highly enough.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 7:16:19 PM   
mikmykWS

 

Posts: 11524
Joined: 3/22/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: StellarRat

Mikmyk: Any computer games on your list or is Command enough for you? I have been playing Witcher 3 lately and it is amazingly good.


Command takes up a huge chunk of my free time but still try and play other stuff. This will be more so as pro work spools up and we continue on with some things we want to do on the entertainment side (1.09, project X,Y,Z).

Lately its been some ARMA III on my PC, Ultimate General on IOS and finally replaced my PS3 with PS4. I've got Sins of Solar Empire queued up so I can play m'pler with Kushan, Baloogan and a few others.

In the background I'm working on my own sim which hopefully we'll see light of day in the next century

Oh and if the FC guys release another game that'll be on the list too. Especially if we get the Persian Gulf war or something modern. I haven't been able to keep up with what they're doing lately though so have no idea what they're working on

Mike

< Message edited by mikmyk -- 8/21/2015 8:19:28 PM >

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 7:26:07 PM   
mikmykWS

 

Posts: 11524
Joined: 3/22/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: wild_Willie2

Already read Ghost fleet and it's not a well written book and you won't miss anything if you drop it.
This book does not accurately portray naval operations and mechanics, my biggest peef was that naval operations only where a very small part of the story and that weapon damage was either way over-or understated. A 120mm rail cannon hit blowing a huge crater in a golf field or blowing over a MBT with a near miss?? At least fact check your physics if you incorporate them into a story...


Yeah some holes in the tech but a lot of interesting things going on as well. My main complaint is more about super weapons solutions but that's kind of a basic ingredient in any story in the genre..well beyond Seal team x etc. Overall though it was a very entertaining read though which is what I was looking for.

I always wonder how many Command scenario people will go on to do this. I think most of them are far more creative and get most of the tech and geopolitics involved.

M


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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/21/2015 9:57:55 PM   
Primarchx


Posts: 3102
Joined: 1/20/2013
Status: offline 		I'll add one I'm reading right now.

Dan Hampton ... The Hunter Killers: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 12:31:17 AM   
hellfish6


Posts: 843
Joined: 6/15/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: wild_Willie2

Already read Ghost fleet and it's not a well written book and you won't miss anything if you drop it.
This book does not accurately portray naval operations and mechanics, my biggest peef was that naval operations only where a very small part of the story and that weapon damage was either way over-or understated. A 120mm rail cannon hit blowing a huge crater in a golf field or blowing over a MBT with a near miss?? At least fact check your physics if you incorporate them into a story...



Hahaha, yeah. I hated that book. Easily one of the worst technothrillers I've ever read. Larry Bond needs to come back to the genre. Or maybe we can do what he did with Clancy and game out a war with Command.

Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall - really good.

I've also read a couple books on the South African Border War (in Angola) and various Osprey WWII Pacific War books.

< Message edited by hellfish6 -- 8/22/2015 1:32:05 AM >

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 12:49:33 AM   
ltsmash

 

Posts: 19
Joined: 8/13/2015
Status: offline 		I read Ghost Fleet and was disappointed because everybody said it was a modern Red a Storm Rising. It wasn't. I did like the UAV and space bits (until the Pirates showed up).

Funny, I just started reading Team Yankee. Very good so far.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 12:59:22 AM   
Airborne Rifles

 

Posts: 229
Joined: 2/17/2015
Status: offline 		Team Yankee is a classic. I need to re-read it.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 1:44:17 AM   
Casinn

 

Posts: 343
Joined: 7/27/2013
Status: offline 		thanks, picked up a few, want to read the 1925 book about the future us/japan conflict soon for sure.
Whats your sim based on if you wish to share? (and I'd love a persian gulf or med conflict Flashpoint game.)

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 3:40:01 AM   
Agiel

 

Posts: 39
Joined: 7/22/2013
Status: offline 		The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal, by David Hoffman, he of "The Dead Hand" fame.

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Post #: 14
RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 12:28:01 PM   
Tashtego

 

Posts: 50
Joined: 12/13/2013
Status: offline 		Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 12:49:56 PM   
OnFire


Posts: 79
Joined: 6/12/2014
Status: offline 		The Salvation War series by Stuart Slade (The Big One). Its about earth declaring war on heaven and hell and is very well written with many Tech-wanks. Imagine F-15s vs Angels and MLRS vs legions of hell and you get the picture. It is not available in book form but is free to read here: http://www.tboverse.us/HPCAFORUM/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=29

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 2:42:39 PM   
Coiler12

 

Posts: 1203
Joined: 10/13/2013
Status: offline 		Let's just say that I politely disagree with the Stuart Slade recommendations.

Ok, as far as my own fairly recent thriller reading goes:

Hamfist Trilogy. If you don't mind the subpar editing, the fact that the main character is an ultra-Mary Sue, and the sometimes rambling narration, this is a good enough Vietnam story.

Raven One is another good enough modern thriller. Not the absolute best, but still definitely readable.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 2:56:15 PM   
stilesw


Posts: 1497
Joined: 6/26/2014
From: Hansville, WA, USA
Status: offline 		For WWII buffs you might like "The Admirals" by Walter R. Borneman. Little, Brown and Company, 2012. It is a history of the Navy's WWII Five-Star admirals - Leahy, King, Nimitz and Halsey from their commissioning through their leadership during/after the war. It includes their interactions with Roosevelt, MacArthur and Marshall. Well written, historical read.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/22/2015 6:57:24 PM   
Brent119

 

Posts: 9
Joined: 7/21/2015
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Primarchx

I'll add one I'm reading right now.

Dan Hampton ... The Hunter Killers: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War


Thanks for the suggestion. I read Dan Hampton's autobiography, Viper Pilot a year or so ago. Great read also. Hampton was himself a decorated Wild Weasel pilot flying F-16s in the 1991 Gulf War and again in the 2003 Iraq War.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/23/2015 9:24:17 AM   
DavidRob0


Posts: 289
Joined: 4/5/2008
Status: offline 		If you want to read about how the USN actually works, warts and all, try David Poyer's books on Dan Lenson.

Have a look at http://www.poyer.com

There are so far 12 books in that series.


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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/23/2015 11:54:51 AM   
Zaslon

 

Posts: 283
Joined: 6/14/2015
Status: offline 		Charlie wilson's war of George Criyle. The book is much better than the film.
Another good book is The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World of Daniel Yergin.

< Message edited by Zaslon -- 8/23/2015 12:56:24 PM >

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/23/2015 2:32:52 PM   
mikmykWS

 

Posts: 11524
Joined: 3/22/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: DavidRob

If you want to read about how the USN actually works, warts and all, try David Poyer's books on Dan Lenson.

Have a look at http://www.poyer.com

There are so far 12 books in that series.



I read China Sea some years ago and enjoyed it. Will definitely add these to my list.

Mike

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/24/2015 1:24:25 PM   
mikkey


Posts: 3142
Joined: 2/10/2008
From: Slovakia
Status: offline 		My summer (and autumn) reading list:

Dan Hampton - The Hunter Killers: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War

Dan Hampton - Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, from the Red Baron to the F-16

Lee Allen Zatarain - Tanker War: America's First Conflict with Iran, 1987-1988

Frederick Forsyth - The Kill List

Tom Clancy - The Cardinal of the Kremlin

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/24/2015 1:45:16 PM   
Coiler12

 

Posts: 1203
Joined: 10/13/2013
Status: offline 		I have to second Zatarain's Tanker War. Really good book on an overlooked war.

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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/25/2015 9:41:56 AM   
LuckyJim1010

 

Posts: 260
Joined: 7/6/2010
Status: offline 		Team Yankee was good but it uses Hackett's book as a backdrop.
So basically they have a defensive engagement, meeting engagement, and then go on the offensive into East Germany.
I can recommend Chieftans by Bob Forrest-Webb Chieftans
It is told from a US and UK perspective but mainly deals with the Brits.
It does feel a bit unfinished in that some story lines just disappear.
But given the ending it is probably the most accurate depiction of WW3 in mid 80's Europe.
The Hackett books themselves are good reads.
He wrote 2:
The Third World War: August 1985
The Third World War: Untold Story
Amazon has a few copies and there are PDF's knocking about.
They are a bit British "What Oh chaps, balloons gone up and we're off to give Ivan a bloody nose " if you know what I mean but there are some really good Naval bits, especially in the Untold Story book.


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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List - 8/26/2015 3:06:44 AM   
MR_BURNS2


Posts: 974
Joined: 7/18/2013
From: Austria
Status: offline 		You guys may have heard about the following books already, but maybe not, the first is only from 2013:

Hunter Killers: The Dramatic Untold Story of the Royal Navy's Most Secret Service

Basically the British version of "A Blind Mans Bluff", lots of details about certain "icebergs", Bears, Primeval Ooze and much much more.


The Eyes of Orion: Five Tank Lieutenants in the Persian Gulf War

Priceless real stories from Desert Storm. A bit like Team Yankee if you will, but much better.


Tip of the Spear: U.S. Marine Light Armor in the Gulf War

Started reading yesterday and love it so far. Very much like The eyes of Orion, but from a USMC NCO LAV-Commander´s point of view.


The Trident Deception


Similar to Hunt for Red October, written by a former USN submarine skipper. Great read, maybe better then HfRO, maybe...


Under Pressure: The Final Voyage of Submarine S-Five

Very well written and hard to put down story of the rescue of S-5´s crew in 1920.

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