What are you reading right now? - Page 24

Sockeye · 07-08-08, 11:28 AM

Been doing quite a bit of reading the passed few months, and thought I'd share a few highlights and quick impressions.

Decided to give Tom Clancy a second shot after being disappointed by one of his more recent novels which I won't name. "The Hunt for Red October" was an excellent read, and I was actually surprised how "small" a role Jack Ryan played for the most part--i.e., I thought it was at a more realistic/believable level in comparison to the movie. I'll probably stick to Clancy's earlier works rather than his newer... stuff.

Read "Apollo 13" by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. I think this is a rewrite of "Lost Moon" with a more recognizable title after the movie came out. Not really any surprises about the events if you're familiar with them, but a good read. I wish this one had been a bit more technical, but I guess there's other books for that.

Probably the most interesting in terms of that "human condition" thing people talk about is "The Hunters" by James Salter. Basically, it's about a flight leader in the Korean War who's having a stream of bad luck in the kill department, with others questioning his courage, etc; the implicit responsibilities of being not only a flight lead, a combat pilot, but a man in general. Surprisingly deep stuff for a combat novel I thought, and well written. Usually I shy away from all this emotional stuff when trying to be entertained, so maybe it's simply the setting, but this one's pulled off well in my opinion.

Just finished "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe about the early American space program, which I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. If you've seen the movie, there are some differences in the book, but they both have the same "gung ho" attitude, and I think that's what counts here. "Averages? Those are for people with the average stuff!" This one is a favourite for me now.

Just started "Cross of Iron" by Willi Heinrich, about a German Wermacht platoon on the Eastern Front in WWII. Have only read about a dozen pages, but I like how the author is setting up the platoon dynamics so far. I haven't seen the movie in years, and can only remember a few things from it, so it'll be interesting to compare the two once the last page is turned.

Frame57 · 07-09-08, 10:07 AM

I am with you there Sockeye. I agree, Clancy's earlier stuff was better IMO. I have found the same same with King and Kooztz. I cannot read any of their newer releases, they are just horrible in comparison to their earlier works. Maybe it is like the story of the songwriter, they only have so many songs in them. The same may be true with these Authors.

wireman · 07-15-08, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Subnuts

Well, I was trying to read Theodore Mason's Battleship Sailor... but some library patron had torn pages out of it at random.

Jackass.

What a shame. I've read all 3 of Mason's memoirs: Battleship Sailor, Rendezvous With Destiny, and "We Will Stand by You": Serving in the Pawnee, 1942-1945. They are all very entertaining.

TheBrauerHour · 07-17-08, 09:08 PM

I am reading this book:

"The Depths of Courage: American Submariners at war with Japan, 1941-1945" by Flint Whitlock and Ron Smith.

http://www.amazon.com/Depths-Courage...6347061&sr=8-1

AirborneTD · 07-17-08, 09:22 PM

Bringing the Thunder (The Missions of a WWII B-29 Pilot in the Pacific) by Gordon Bennett Robertson, JR.

mcf1 · 07-18-08, 11:12 AM

Recently I crashed with my motorcycle and now I'am have 6 weeks off to recover, so I have a lot of time now, so I read the GWX 2.1 manual twice, I read a book called "Luciano" and currently I'm reading "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (probably for the fifth time) and I'm thinking about reading the Bible.

TheBrauerHour · 07-19-08, 10:47 AM

Wow, hope you have a speedy recovery. Enjoy the reading though.

By the way, what is Luciano about?

DemonTraitor · 07-19-08, 01:36 PM

Hi peeps

I am reading "The Naked God" By Peter F Hamilton - it is the last book in the "The Night's Dawn" trilogy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night%27s_Dawn_Trilogy

I am also reading: "U-Boat War Patrol - The Hidden Photographic Diary of U-564"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/U-boat-War-P.../dp/185367575X

Also...

I am listening to:

"Thievery Corporation" http://www.thieverycorporation.com/
"Zero 7" http://www.zero7.co.uk/
"Massive Attack" http://www.massiveattack.co.uk/

Also...

I am watching:

"Lost" (currently on series one - I know we are a bit behind but we have not had much time to watch too much TV, and I had to download all the episodes to watch via the PS3)

"Heroes": Which is currently end of season

"Battlestar Galactica": Which is also currently not running due to the writers strike

Demon.

mcf1 · 07-20-08, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBrauerHour

Wow, hope you have a speedy recovery. Enjoy the reading though.

By the way, what is Luciano about?

Thanks
Luciano is about a mafia boss called "Lucky" Luciano, who helped the allies for the invasion in Italy. I read it in German and it's title is "Luciano", but I think the original
English title is "Luciano's luck"

trojer · 07-22-08, 12:48 PM

I am reading The rules of the game :Jutland and British naval command by Andrew Gordon. Excellent book but long at over 600 pages.

Sailor Steve · 07-22-08, 01:23 PM

Just finished taking notes an constructing a timeline from Morison's The European Discovery of America. Now starting volume 2: The Southern Voyages - 1492-1616.

Kaleun · 07-22-08, 02:57 PM

Hi,

Just finished "Submarine : An Anthology of Firsthand Accounts of the War Under the Sea, 1939-45"

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Submarine-An...6756809&sr=1-4

Very personal, no bias - just stories told by those who were there! whether you be american, german, british, polish, russian, italian or french - there are diary entries from all the major sub nations of ww2.

Bloody excellent and i paid full price, not what the link above is offering.

Kaleun

Captain Strangelove · 07-22-08, 03:23 PM

Hi All.

I am currently reading 'Red Scorpion - The War Patrols Of The USS Rasher' by Peter T. Sasgen and published by the Naval Institute Press.
It is written by the son of one serving aboard and is nicely told (despite the slightly silly title).
But those Bluejacket books by the NIP are always a good read.

Cheers

Kai

LobsterBoy · 07-25-08, 11:31 PM

I'm currently reading Silent Victory by Blair, which I bought at the Bowfin museum in Hawaii on my honeymoon. Next it will be Thunder Below by Fluckey.

Finally, if someone is looking for a book on the current Iraq war, House to House by Sgt. Bellavia is an excellent memoir.

IotaSigma · 07-28-08, 02:12 PM

The Boats of Cherbourg, by Abraham Rabinovich. It tells the story of the development of Israel's missile boat program and the sea battles fought with Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur War.

07-17-08, 09:22 PM	#350
AirborneTD Engineer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 204 Downloads: 23 Uploads: 0	Bringing the Thunder (The Missions of a WWII B-29 Pilot in the Pacific) by Gordon Bennett Robertson, JR. __________________ "You know, you might get surrounded." "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." --Band of Brothers

07-19-08, 01:36 PM	#353
DemonTraitor Loader Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 87 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Hi peeps I am reading "The Naked God" By Peter F Hamilton - it is the last book in the "The Night's Dawn" trilogy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night%27s_Dawn_Trilogy I am also reading: "U-Boat War Patrol - The Hidden Photographic Diary of U-564" http://www.amazon.co.uk/U-boat-War-P.../dp/185367575X Also... I am listening to: "Thievery Corporation" http://www.thieverycorporation.com/ "Zero 7" http://www.zero7.co.uk/ "Massive Attack" http://www.massiveattack.co.uk/ Also... I am watching: "Lost" (currently on series one - I know we are a bit behind but we have not had much time to watch too much TV, and I had to download all the episodes to watch via the PS3) "Heroes": Which is currently end of season "Battlestar Galactica": Which is also currently not running due to the writers strike Demon. __________________ a l i e n m o o n s d i g i t a l s t u d i o s "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain. Time to die"

07-22-08, 01:23 PM	#356
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	Just finished taking notes an constructing a timeline from Morison's The European Discovery of America. Now starting volume 2: The Southern Voyages - 1492-1616. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

07-08-08, 11:28 AM	#346
Sockeye Machinist's Mate Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 127 Downloads: 46 Uploads: 0	Been doing quite a bit of reading the passed few months, and thought I'd share a few highlights and quick impressions. Decided to give Tom Clancy a second shot after being disappointed by one of his more recent novels which I won't name. "The Hunt for Red October" was an excellent read, and I was actually surprised how "small" a role Jack Ryan played for the most part--i.e., I thought it was at a more realistic/believable level in comparison to the movie. I'll probably stick to Clancy's earlier works rather than his newer... stuff. Read "Apollo 13" by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. I think this is a rewrite of "Lost Moon" with a more recognizable title after the movie came out. Not really any surprises about the events if you're familiar with them, but a good read. I wish this one had been a bit more technical, but I guess there's other books for that. Probably the most interesting in terms of that "human condition" thing people talk about is "The Hunters" by James Salter. Basically, it's about a flight leader in the Korean War who's having a stream of bad luck in the kill department, with others questioning his courage, etc; the implicit responsibilities of being not only a flight lead, a combat pilot, but a man in general. Surprisingly deep stuff for a combat novel I thought, and well written. Usually I shy away from all this emotional stuff when trying to be entertained, so maybe it's simply the setting, but this one's pulled off well in my opinion. Just finished "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe about the early American space program, which I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. If you've seen the movie, there are some differences in the book, but they both have the same "gung ho" attitude, and I think that's what counts here. "Averages? Those are for people with the average stuff!" This one is a favourite for me now. Just started "Cross of Iron" by Willi Heinrich, about a German Wermacht platoon on the Eastern Front in WWII. Have only read about a dozen pages, but I like how the author is setting up the platoon dynamics so far. I haven't seen the movie in years, and can only remember a few things from it, so it'll be interesting to compare the two once the last page is turned.

07-09-08, 10:07 AM	#347
Frame57 Sea Lord Join Date: May 2008 Location: 1300 feet on the crapper Posts: 1,860 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	I am with you there Sockeye. I agree, Clancy's earlier stuff was better IMO. I have found the same same with King and Kooztz. I cannot read any of their newer releases, they are just horrible in comparison to their earlier works. Maybe it is like the story of the songwriter, they only have so many songs in them. The same may be true with these Authors.

07-17-08, 09:08 PM	#349
TheBrauerHour Mr. Eastwood Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 364 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	I am reading this book: "The Depths of Courage: American Submariners at war with Japan, 1941-1945" by Flint Whitlock and Ron Smith. http://www.amazon.com/Depths-Courage...6347061&sr=8-1

07-18-08, 11:12 AM	#351
mcf1 Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Greece, Volos Posts: 710 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Recently I crashed with my motorcycle and now I'am have 6 weeks off to recover, so I have a lot of time now, so I read the GWX 2.1 manual twice, I read a book called "Luciano" and currently I'm reading "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (probably for the fifth time) and I'm thinking about reading the Bible.

07-19-08, 10:47 AM	#352
TheBrauerHour Mr. Eastwood Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 364 Downloads: 18 Uploads: 0	Wow, hope you have a speedy recovery. Enjoy the reading though. By the way, what is Luciano about?

07-22-08, 12:48 PM	#355
trojer Swabbie Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: London , UK Posts: 9 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	I am reading The rules of the game :Jutland and British naval command by Andrew Gordon. Excellent book but long at over 600 pages.

07-22-08, 02:57 PM	#357
Kaleun Chief Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 329 Downloads: 266 Uploads: 0	Hi, Just finished "Submarine : An Anthology of Firsthand Accounts of the War Under the Sea, 1939-45" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Submarine-An...6756809&sr=1-4 Very personal, no bias - just stories told by those who were there! whether you be american, german, british, polish, russian, italian or french - there are diary entries from all the major sub nations of ww2. Bloody excellent and i paid full price, not what the link above is offering. Kaleun

07-22-08, 03:23 PM	#358
Captain Strangelove Mate Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Landsberg am Lech, Germany Posts: 53 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Hi All. I am currently reading 'Red Scorpion - The War Patrols Of The USS Rasher' by Peter T. Sasgen and published by the Naval Institute Press. It is written by the son of one serving aboard and is nicely told (despite the slightly silly title). But those Bluejacket books by the NIP are always a good read. Cheers Kai

07-25-08, 11:31 PM	#359
LobsterBoy Machinist's Mate Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 127 Downloads: 44 Uploads: 0	I'm currently reading Silent Victory by Blair, which I bought at the Bowfin museum in Hawaii on my honeymoon. Next it will be Thunder Below by Fluckey. Finally, if someone is looking for a book on the current Iraq war, House to House by Sgt. Bellavia is an excellent memoir.

07-28-08, 02:12 PM	#360
IotaSigma Nub Join Date: May 2006 Location: Utah, USA Posts: 3 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	The Boats of Cherbourg, by Abraham Rabinovich. It tells the story of the development of Israel's missile boat program and the sea battles fought with Egypt and Syria during the Yom Kippur War.