What are you reading right now?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

I'm not sure what the 1988 edition was like...

Different format and layout, smaller but thicker. Less paintings and drawings in the old one, and the photos are generally smaller. The basic information is unchanged. The old version has bolder print. I like the original layout a little better, but that's probably because years ago I spent many hours taking notes from the copy at the University of Utah library, and it's an old familiar friend. On the other hand I only bought a copy of the original because the new version wasn't released at the time, and I already planned on getting the second and third volumes.

If I could only have one I would take the new one, partly because it means I have a matched set and partly because to be fair it is bigger, with larger photos and that great artwork in the inside covers.

[Jimbuna]

U-Boat Movements - At almost 2500 pages this is a real treasure trove.

[kranz]

got Beevor's D-Day today.
The pocket edition unfortunately since the classic edition is no more available.

[Sepp von Ch.]

I read now this:

[hunter301]

Let's see:
Run Silent, Run Deep (ebook)
Final Harbor (Old bantam warbook paperback)
Submarine by Edward Beach (Ebook)
Deep Sound Channel Joe Buff (Ebook)
H.M.S. Unseen Patrick Robinson (Ebook)
The Silent Service: Seawolf class (ebook)
Pride Runs Deep (ebook)
Sea of Shadows (ebook) (Formerly Torpedo)
Blind man's Bluff (ebook)
Hunt for Red October (Ebook)

I do a lot of jumping around when I read.
Plus it's a memory exercise. I can pretty much jump from book to book and remember were I was previously.

[Subnuts]

Books I'm currently waiting to arrive from Amazon:
Building the Wooden Fighting Ship by James Dodds
Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting by John Campbell
The Littorio Class: Italy's Last and Largest Battleships by Erminio Bagnasco and Augusto De Toro

I actually bought all three used, and got really good prices on them. I was really excited to find the Jutland book for under $5. I bought a copy years ago, decided it was too heavy for me, and gave it away. I think I'm ready for it now.

[Jimbuna]

[Sailor Steve]

The second volume of Conway's The History Of The Ship series - The Age of the Galley.

The earliest evidence for seafaring in the Mediterranean region are flakes of obsidian from the Aegean island of Melos found in the upper paleolithic and neolithic levels (eleventh-fourth millennia BC) of Francthi Cave in the southern Argolid. As Melos was never connected to the mainland, the obsidian could only have reached Francthi by means of water transport.

From there the book explores all known references, stories, fables and depictions (paintings, pottery etc) of the development of the oared ship in the Mediterranean, from Phonecian to Mycenaean to Roman to Byzantine to Islamic galleys, the ways they were built, manned and sailed, and the way oared naval fleets interacted and fought. Different tactics and onboard weapons are discussed. One whole chapter is devoted to naval architecture of the time, including stability charts for different galley types. Another covers nothing but how oar power worked in ancient galleys. Fighting tactics cover everything from the most ancient writings through the cannon-armed galleas of the fifteenth century.

Again each chapter is written by a leading expert in the field, and each expert openly discusses not only the merits of his own findings and opinions but also those of his opponents in the question of how things were done. At the center of the discussion is the trireme Olympias, built 1985-87, the subject of much controversy over the construction methods used, but considered vital by both proponents and opponents of the ship in showing what an oared warship might actually be capable of accomplishing.

I've only started in-depth reading, but already I'm finding this volume just as interesting, educational and entertaining as the first one.

[Buddahaid]

Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen.
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/73...6d08f245fe.jpg

[Buddahaid]

Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen.

[Aktungbby]

^How do you spell 'lucky' in '40's Texas?

[Buddahaid]

No kidding. I'm still washing myself to get the smell of corpses off.

[Subnuts]

Started working my way through Erminio Bagnasco's book on the Littorio-class battleships. It's one serious piece of work - 356 pages, large format, fold-out plans, detailed operational history, 100 pages devoted to the design and technical details of the ship, a breakdown of all the damage the three ships received during the war, modeler's notes...and that's just from a quick once-over! Also really cool to see a bunch of perspective cut-away views of the ships in "Anatomy of the ship" style. Here's two to give a taste.

[Jimbuna]

Second time of reading, this book is so good.

[TG626]

Sorry if I missed it, but has anyone read this?
http://www.amazon.com/The-Silent-Ser...n+world+war+ii

If so, thoughts? Spotted it for kindle and I considered getting it.