What are you reading right now?

[Red October1984]

Finished Thunderball Monday night...

Got all but four of the rest (two of which are bundled together in one book with two short stories) of the Ian Fleming James Bond novels yesterday and today...

Total cost (Thunderball included): $17

[Paulebaer1979]

Patrick Robinson - Barracuda 945

Nice book about how to change from SAS to Hamas and fight against USA
I hope nobody decides to make it real.

[Subnuts]

I just bought the Kindle edition of Norman Friedman's Naval Weapons of World War One on Amazon for $9.99. Amazon wanted $55 for the physical edition, so I'm pretty pleased at the moment. Looks like Seaforth Publishing has been slowly making electronic editions of their books available this last year, and considering how much I spend on naval reference books, that can only be a good thing.

Still, you can't beat a big hardcover book when it comes to detailed diagrams and schematics...

[Subnuts]

Received a copy of this book the previous week.


It's pretty interesting so far. Nicely but not overwhelmingly detailed, interesting photos, and plenty of crisp, detailed maps and diagrams. Kind of surprised that this is apparently the only book out there on these ships. I remember seeing these ships in Janes Fighting Ships of World War One and thinking they were really cool, if a little limited in what they were actually capable of. I spent $25 for a second-hand copy of the paperback on Amazon, which is a heck of a lot better than the $68 they want for a new hardcover!

[tmccarthy]

A well written and fascinating account by a destroyer sonarman

[Subnuts]

Currently going through a Norman Friedman phase, and I'm slowly working my way through his US Submarine Since 1945. It's good stuff, but damn, is it heavy. Cold War Submarines is a lot more readable, but it doesn't go into even half the detail Friedman does with post-war sonar, asw tactics, submarine design, fire control, and so on.

I paid a lot for it, but if you're seriously into the nitty-gritty stuff, it's worth it.

[Sailor Steve]

The U-Boat War: 1914-1918, by Edwyn A. Gray. I've had it for awhile, and finally decided it was time to read it.

[Arnold]

I just started reading a paperback book titled "Murphy's War", by Max Catto (1968). I searched Amazon and found a seller.
The late Peter O'Toole played the part of Murphy in a 1971 movie version of the book.

[STEED]

Just finished this one I got real cheap in a sale and a not bad read.

Osprey Combat Aircraft 72
Vulcan Units of the Cold War

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Arnold

I just started reading a paperback book titled "Murphy's War", by Max Catto (1968). I searched Amazon and found a seller.
The late Peter O'Toole played the part of Murphy in a 1971 movie version of the book.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067458/

[STEED]

Just started this one....

Hitler's Last Days - AN Eye Witness Account
By Gerhardt Boldt

In the last months of the Second World War, Gerhardt Boldt, a young cavalry officer serving on the Russian Front, found himself seconded to Gehlen's military intelligence staff in Berlin. Summoned to daily briefing session with the Fuhrer, his Generals and closest associates - in particular Bormann, Goering and Goebbels - Boldt has a unique opportunity of observing at close quarters the leading members of the Nazi hierarchy. His description of the atmosphere, first in the semi-ruined Chancellery and then in the claustrophobic surroundings of the Fuhrerbunker, conveys a chilling impression of destruction - of the collapse of the entire Nazi system no less than the disintegration of its creator's personality. This book was written immediately after the war and expanded for this edition.

[kranz]

I'm reading Himmler by P.Longerich but yesterday got my order:
Goebbels - P. Longerich
Magda Goebbels - A.Klabunde
Hitler's Vienna - B.Hamman

non-historical:
Bridge For Dummies (I can play but this is a sorta more advanced handbook)

[banryu79]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

The U-Boat War: 1914-1918, by Edwyn A. Gray. I've had it for awhile, and finally decided it was time to read it.

Hey Sailor Steve, have you finished reading the book? How it is? I'm very intrested in reading some stuff about German submarines and their operations in the Great War... but I do not want to pick up bad quality stuff.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by banryu79

Hey Sailor Steve, have you finished reading the book? How it is? I'm very intrested in reading some stuff about German submarines and their operations in the Great War... but I do not want to pick up bad quality stuff.

Yep. Finished it and now I'm using it as a reference. The bad news is that it isn't a compendium and doesn't include details or even listings of every u-boat operation. The good news is that it reads like a good novel and gives details of some great stories.

One of the things I learned was that the fabled story of Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere only expending four torpedoes in his entire career is a myth. Von Arnauld fired many torpedoes during his career. What he did do, and this is almost as remarkable, was to fire only four torpedoes during his most effective patrol, from July 26 to August 20, 1916, during which he sank 54 Allied ships for 91,150 tons. On the other hand he fired more than 900 shells from his 10cm deck gun, which means he must have been picking up new shells from somewhere. It also tells the story of von Arnauld's boat being trapped under a sinking merchant and barely surviving.

Overall it is a fascinating book, and I recommend it highly.

[ikalugin]

Could anyone suggest a good book/blog/forum whatever to read about mid-late cold war and modern subs?