What Are You Reading?

[danfrodo]

22 hours ago, Sublime said:

Thank you.

My best Vietnam books are novels writtwn by vers that are really disguised autobiographies

Matterhorn is my favorite.

Closer Quarters by Heinemann was good

13the Valley by Delvecchio I loved

Fields of Fire by James Webb was great 

Best DBP book I ever read was widrows The Last Valley.

The Good German was a great book IMO.

For time travelling time and again and time and time were my favs also kings 11/22/63

I could go on endlessly

I just started Matterhorn on audio.  Glad to see it was top of your vietnam list. 

[Sublime]

that books a masterpiece

Working Class War by Appy is non fiction but a bunch of anecdotes from Vietnam with lots of stuff Ive never seen anywhere else.  That was really good too. My professor at UMass Boston recommended that.

I also remember when I took my class in UMass Boston on the Vietnam War Professor Hunt (who wrote a pretty dry but exhaustive and good book on the NLF based on Rand Company reports) brought in a former student who had been a Marine at Hue.  The guy didnt go into personal detail much but he did mention being a combat grunt in Hue, and then mentioned when they attacked across the Perfume River they had to cross a bridge and it was covered in blood of dead and wounded grunts, and everyone was slipping and falling as they desperately ran across.  He kind of got a faraway look in his eyes, trailed off with that and changed the subject.  In fact he pretty studiously avoided any more mention of combat at all and went on to purely discuss some political things (like it being revealed the Chinese had a Korean War esque agreement with N Vietnam to intervene on the ground if the US invaded - so the people saying we should have invaded are insane, it would have been another disaster)

Edited March 15, 2019 by Sublime

[Michael Emrys]

3 hours ago, Sublime said:

(like it being revealed the Chinese had a Korean War esque agreement with N Vietnam to intervene on the ground if the US invaded - so the people saying we should have invaded are insane, it would have been another disaster)

As was common knowledge to anyone not committed to the fantasies being spun out by Washington at the time. And don't forget the MACV and all the careerists who were sucking up to them.

Michael

[Sublime]

Well like common sense it may haps have not been that common. I wasnt alive then

Westmoreland DID ask for nukes which is crazy.

[Michael Emrys]

6 hours ago, Sublime said:

Westmoreland DID ask for nukes which is crazy.

Like MacArthur did in Korea. To the generals, nukes were just bigger bangs. They didn't grasp the qualitative difference in their effects. Fortunately the civilians, at least some of them, did.

Michael

[danfrodo]

Ugh, MacArthur.  Creator of the great and deadly nuclear weaponized mess we have today called N Korea.  Such a shame.  NK was done, over, ended.  Until MacArthur provoked the chinese counterattack through his utter stupidity, ego & incompetence.  having said all that, would be run to have CM korean war

[Mord]

On 3/12/2019 at 5:32 PM, Erwin said:

Yeah... That's definitely the norm unfortunately.  However, a few shows manage to be brilliant over many seasons.

See my reply to Emrys.

On 3/12/2019 at 6:30 PM, Michael Emrys said:

Couldn't  agree more. The Brits seem to mostly do well to keep their series short and to the point. And the Aussies have turned out some fine mini-series too. The problem is that the networks and production companies seize upon a show or a theme that has attracted viewers and then try to milk it for all the revenues they can squeeze out of it.

I think the one way a really long series can keep its quality is if they avoid multi-season story arcs. Law and Order was decent for a really long time because each episode was self contained. That seems to stop the idiocy you end up seeing in shows where a character starts to contradict their own values and moral code just to create a gotchya moment in the episode.

 

On 3/12/2019 at 6:24 PM, Michael Emrys said:

Ever try Fritz Leiber's series based on two characters named Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser?

Yep. I have the whole series but have only read the first book though, back in my early twenties I think. Howard, Moorcock and Leiber were the big three when it came to S&S. I can remember Lin Carter mentioning the latter two in my Ace Conan paperbacks. Magical times being a 12 year-old, up late at night, wondering what those two guys might be about while I traveled to Kush and Stygia with the mighty thewed barbarian! 

 

On 3/13/2019 at 10:52 AM, danfrodo said:

Mord, I assume that 'grimdark' means you read Joe Abercrombies fine, gritty, hard-bitten tomes?

I read the First Law Trilogy. I have to admit though I didn't love it. It was cool how he subverted everything but I wasn't all that keen on the world it took place in. I think I am just too jaded at this point. It's really hard to find something that ticks all my happy boxes. LOL. When I was a kid we were practically starved for fantasy, now the entire planet is inundated with it, everywhere: board games, RPGs, computer games, books, movies, TV shows. It went from one extreme to the next. Actually, I think his books were the last new fantasy I have read. I have switched over to popular history and historical fiction for my sword play fix the last few years.

On 3/14/2019 at 9:44 AM, General Jack Ripper said:

That's a fair assessment. I'm going to watch because I've placed a wager with myself about how the show will end, and I want to see if the writing has become trite and boring enough to be that predictable. 

My guess is it has. But I think the two guys running it were probably hacks all along they just had a lot of good material to hide behind. The minute they were on their own it all went to crap.

Damn, I am getting cynical in my old age!

Mord.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Mord

[BletchleyGeek]

28 minutes ago, Mord said:

Damn, I am getting cynical in my old age!

I am kind of expecting that in the books, whenever they come out, Cersei comes on top. Because GRRM's worlds are sometimes a lot like our own world and the most ruthless, cold blooded murderers of kin and foe alike are the ones who most often won and got to write History.

Or something similarly messy and vaguely unsatisfying. In GRRM books if the good guys win usually comes at a price.

Edited March 18, 2019 by BletchleyGeek

[General Jack Ripper]

1 hour ago, Mord said:

Damn, I am getting cynical in my old age!

Mord.

It's the privilege you get from living for so long. I can't wait until my 60's, then I can be like Emrys.  

[danfrodo]

2 hours ago, Mord said:

I read the First Law Trilogy. I have to admit though I didn't love it. It was cool how he subverted everything but I wasn't all that keen on the world it took place in. I think I am just too jaded at this point. It's really hard to find something that ticks all my happy boxes. LOL. When I was a kid we were practically starved for fantasy, now the entire planet is inundated with it, everywhere: board games, RPGs, computer games, books, movies, TV shows. It went from one extreme to the next. Actually, I think his books were the last new fantasy I have read. I have switched over to popular history and historical fiction for my sword play fix the last few years.

I still like Abercrombie, but like you I much prefer history & historical fiction nowadays.  Good point on fantasy.  Lots of drivel, so much that I pretty much gave up on the whole genre long ago except for a very few select exceptions. 

[Sublime]

15 hours ago, General Jack Ripper said:

It's the privilege you get from living for so long. I can't wait until my 60's, then I can be like Emrys.  

You mean you cant wait to have enjoyed the 60s like Emrys did

[sburke]

On 3/18/2019 at 10:16 PM, Sublime said:

You mean you cant wait to have enjoyed the 60s like Emrys did

I understand Gilgamesh actually threw Emery’s 60th.  

[Sublime]

By word of mouth?  You can hardly talk

Love ya guys just joking

[StieliAlpha]

Gents, I just finished an updated (German) version of Haldenmann‘s „The forever war“.

I read it first, say, 40 years ago and now again, in a sort of “Director’s Cut” Version. And the style has been adapted to sound a little more modern. I understand it‘s the same for the new English version

I must say: Whow! I loved it then and I love it today.

Especially the first exchange between aliens and mankind: “Why did you start this war? Who, we?”

[Sublime]

Oo I never heard of it. Im going to google it.

[StieliAlpha]

23 minutes ago, Sublime said:

Oo I never heard of it. Im going to google it.

Brilliant 1960’s (or so) Science Fiction. Luckily quite “de-dusted” in the latest version. It’s a bit like Starship Troopers, but much more serious.

You can get the Kindle version for fairly little money. 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Vaguely following on from the above.....Anyone read this:

Or, just because it's my personal favourite, this:

[ncc1701e]

Currently reading this... Just imagine the TacAI learning game after game how to destroy you !!! 

[StieliAlpha]

On 4/11/2019 at 9:13 PM, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Vaguely following on from the above.....Anyone read this:

Or, just because it's my personal favourite, this:

Never heard about it. But the Amazon ratings sound good.

I am tempted to buy a package with the first three books.

Is it as difficult to read as people say?

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Not in my opinion.....But I'm a huge fan. 

'Feersum Endjinn' might be a bit of a handful as about a third of the book is written in phonetic English, but TBH you seem to have an outstanding grasp on the language:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feersum_Endjinn

Maybe give 'Use Of Weapons' or perhaps 'Player Of Games' a look first:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_Weapons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Player_of_Games

The former is about as close to conventional sci-fi as Banks gets, it's a cool plot and you'll just love the Staberinde!  The latter may well appeal because you are one, it examines the psychologies of game-play to quite remarkable depths for a novel.

If you enjoy those, then treat yourself to this one:

It's just like them.....But more so (& you'll also get to meet the good ship 'Killing Time', one possible source for my forum title)! 

PS - I found the (nominal) first Culture novel 'Consider Phlebas' a lot easier to comprehend retrospectively, once I'd read a couple of the others (but that could well just be me). 

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by Sgt.Squarehead

[StieliAlpha]

On 4/13/2019 at 7:03 PM, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Not in my opinion.....But I'm a huge fan. 

'Feersum Endjinn' might be a bit of a handful as about a third of the book is written in phonetic English, but TBH you seem to have an outstanding grasp on the language:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feersum_Endjinn

Maybe give 'Use Of Weapons' or perhaps 'Player Of Games' a look first:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_Weapons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Player_of_Games

The former is about as close to conventional sci-fi as Banks gets, it's a cool plot and you'll just love the Staberinde!  The latter may well appeal because you are one, it examines the psychologies of game-play to quite remarkable depths for a novel.

If you enjoy those, then treat yourself to this one:

It's just like them.....But more so (& you'll also get to meet the good ship 'Killing Time', one possible source for my forum title)! 

PS - I found the (nominal) first Culture novel 'Consider Phlebas' a lot easier to comprehend retrospectively, once I'd read a couple of the others (but that could well just be me). 

 

Ok, my friend. I finally was desperate enough, finished some other stuff and had no books to read for days now, to buy the package of the first three Culture books.

I’ll let you know how it comes out.

[General Jack Ripper]

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 3:00 PM, StieliAlpha said:

Brilliant 1960’s (or so) Science Fiction. Luckily quite “de-dusted” in the latest version. It’s a bit like Starship Troopers, but much more serious.

Comparing Starship Troopers to The Forever War shows quite clearly the pre and post Vietnam attitude.

I'm even fairly certain the character of Sgt. Cortez was a macabre reflection of Sgt. Zim.

[General Jack Ripper]

...and to actually contribute to the topic, I think my next project will be The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece by Victor Davis Hanson.

[sburke]

On chapt. 18 of 23 in this

https://www.amazon.com/U-S-Army-Iraq-War-COMPLETE-ebook/dp/B07MX3JDBY/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=iraq+war+US+military+history&qid=1550012851&s=gateway&sr=8-2

Best review of the war in Iraq I have read.  Extremely deep and frank analysis demonstrating how flawed intelligence estimates led to poor strategic decisions in a worsening situation.  Also a lot of interesting detail for example in reviewing the consequences of escalation of activating National Guard units

Most of these units performed well at the company level and below, such as the troops of the Kentucky-based 617th Military Police Company. When ambushed near Salman Pak on March 20, 2005, the 617th Military Police Company responded so ferociously that it routed its attackers, killing 27 insurgents and wounding or capturing 7 others in intense fighting that required the guardsmen to clear two enemy trenches in close combat. One Soldier, Staff Sergeant Timothy Nein, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and two others were awarded the Silver Star. One of the Silver Stars was awarded to Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, who became the first woman to earn the award since World War II and the first woman to earn the medal for close combat.

US Army, United States Government. The U.S. Army in the Iraq War Volume 1: Invasion Insurgency Civil War 2003 – 2006 (Kindle Locations 16225-16231). Kindle Edition. 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I'm slugging away at that one too.