RE: New Book Please (Full Version)

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John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 8:37:35 PM)

I didn't like Sunburst because I didn't learn that much from it.  My problem was one of expectation.  Kaigun was a magnificent and breath-taking work while Sunburst seemd to be somewhat of a rehash from the earlier book.  Now the author admitted to that in the Forward but I was completely disappointed.

Writing this got me to thinking about how Shattered Sword achieved the same feeling and impression on me as Kaigun.  Does anyone know if the author of Shattered plans on doing any more books and applying his work on Japanese carrier aviation to any of the other CV battles?  Coral Sea might be great...



Nikademus -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 9:03:35 PM)

Well yes, Sunburst does build on what was already written in "Kaigun" but being devoted entirely to IJNAF vs. the Navy as a whole, he could elaborate in places + go into the development history of the org as a whole. I figured that would turn away some readers, esp given the actual "in the war" section is only in the last chapter. Still...I found the book a worthwhile companion to Kaigun.



thegreatwent -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 9:26:01 PM)

I've enjoyed Silent Victory by Clay Blair. I got a great deal of info about the U.S. Sub campaign in the Pacific, plus it can be found at the library.



bradfordkay -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 10:16:40 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Tiornu

Which "new" War Plan Orange book is there?
By the way, the new Big Gun Monitor book is not merely a reprint, but a much enlarged treatment (more text, more photos).



Tiornu... I didn't catch the "new" part. I am assuming that he means Edward Miller's War Plan Orange, published by the Naval Institute Press published back in '91. If I'm wrong, my apologies...



Don Bowen -> RE: New Book Please (6/14/2008 10:21:59 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Nikademus

what didn't you like about it?




I guess it's more that I did not find what I wanted. TOE, Order of Battle data, combat usage and results. It's been a while since I had that copy. I have limited shelf space and a constant need to buy new books, so competition for space (and therefore retention) is fierce.






JWE -> RE: New Book Please (6/15/2008 4:32:09 PM)

How about:

William L. McGee, “Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in World War II”, BMC Publications, Santa Barbara CA, 2002

Vol 1: “The Amphibians are Coming! Emergence of the Gator Navy and it’s Landing Craft.

Vol 2: “The Solomons Campaigns 1942-1943, From Guadalcanal to Bouganville”

Vol 3: “Pacific Express-America’s World War II Military Supply System”

Vol 2 covers the Southern, Central, and Northern Solomons Campaigns, (land, sea and air) base development, Seabees, Airsols, & other stuff.



juliet7bravo -> RE: New Book Please (6/15/2008 4:39:48 PM)

I just bought the "Impact" 8 book pictorial series...used, $50.  Well worth it.  Good period articles on weapons, aircraft, bombing results, tactics, and German/Japanese industry as well.



Procrustes -> RE: New Book Please (6/16/2008 7:04:33 PM)


I'm half-way through "Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941-1945" by Christopher Bayly & Tim Harper, and I'm really enjoying it. I wouldn't really call it a military history, but it's a fascinating account of the fall of the British empire in SE Asia. I also have bought the follow-up book by the same authors, "Forgotten Wars: Freedom and Revolution in Southeast Asia", which covers what happened after the end of WW2.

Both books are available online, the first is out in paperback now.

(Just a plug - my favorite book on the Pacific war is still "The Rising Sun" by John Toland.)



SuluSea -> RE: New Book Please (6/17/2008 12:58:44 AM)

Halsey's Typhoon
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
Pacific Alamo
Cactus Air Force
Blue Skies and Blood

are all fivery good reads....



Canoerebel -> RE: New Book Please (6/18/2008 6:48:27 PM)

John, if you can detour from non-fiction for a couple of days, try Alistair MacLean's HMS Ulysses, a spectacular work of historical-fiction about an early convoy to Murmansk.  It's been on my list of top ten books I've read since highschool and I've re-read it about eight times, including last week.



JWE -> RE: New Book Please (6/18/2008 9:10:15 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

John, if you can detour from non-fiction for a couple of days, try Alistair MacLean's HMS Ulysses, a spectacular work of historical-fiction about an early convoy to Murmansk.  It's been on my list of top ten books I've read since highschool and I've re-read it about eight times, including last week.

I read it many, many years ago, so long ago I have forgotten. Have no excuse for why I haven't read it since. Love MacLean. I will read it again.

Thank you Reb, for putting my head straight. Sometimes I get too tangled up in my shorts and forget that a good author can show show the real dimension, the human one. I will definitely detour. Thanks pal.

Ciao. John



Charbroiled -> RE: New Book Please (6/18/2008 10:49:07 PM)

I know you said you were interested in the Pacific, but if you are looking for an excellent book (IMO):

We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway

Much better then the movie.



Canoerebel -> RE: New Book Please (6/18/2008 11:18:39 PM)

Charbroiled, I agree with you wholeheartedly and actually recommended We were Soldiers to John quite some time ago.  We were Soldiers is the best non-fiction history I've ever read (followed by This Terrible Sound, a history of the Battle of Chickamauga).



Procrustes -> RE: New Book Please (6/19/2008 12:18:25 AM)

Two must-read memoirs of US marines are "Goodbye Darkness" by William Manchester and "With The Old Bread" by E.B. Sledge.

I read a good memoir by a British soldier that served in Burma, though I can't remember the name of it now and I loaned it to my dad months ago. The guy was a journalist later in life.

EDIT: It was "Quartered Safe Out Here: A Recollection of the War in Burma" by George MacDonald Fraser



Hornblower -> RE: New Book Please (6/19/2008 5:30:17 AM)

so John 3rd, what did you end up getting?  I'm sure the posters would like to know..



John 3rd -> RE: New Book Please (6/19/2008 5:57:04 AM)

Thanks Guys.  I hadn't noticed the amount of posting over the last two days!  My mistake...

Let me touch on a couple of the postings:
1.  SuluSea I have read every book but one on your list.
2.  Dan--I forgot to tell you that I bought and read We Were Soldiers--magnificent!
3.  I love Alistar MacLean's work.  I used to have a bunch of his books in paperback.  They were fantastic.
4.  I had forgotten about This Terrible Sound!  I want to read that and will order it next time Dan.
5.  The 3 Volume Amphib history sounds highly interesting...

For the record I ordered five books total but only 3 were appropriate for here.  I got War Plan Orange--this is an area that I don't know a lot about and both of the Bergerud books.

Thanks for all the input you guys.  I love posting onto the Forum for this sort of thing.  It is so friendly and--dare I say--scholarly that I really appreciate it and feel enriched by the experiences!






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