Folks,

Has any member read a good military book? Or how about the worst military book you have recently read?

For myself I have just finished reading a great book on the Napoleon Wars in Spain and Portugal titled THE SPANISH ULCER by David Gates. It is a reprint but still a great read. The author really researched and knows how to write so you want to read it.

The book is sort of scary with some of what it has in it. The following quotes:

quote:

As he (Napoleon) was later to confess: "I thought the system easier to change than it has proven in that (Spain) country, with its corrupt minister, its feeble king and its shameless dissolute queen." Not only did Napoleon seriously underestimate the difficulties involved in seizing Spain, he was also excessively optimistic in calculating some of the benefits he hoped to gain in that country.

Above all, however, the emperor's estimation of he financial benefits attached to a conquest was excessively high.

Having lost much of his grasp of the finer points of international statesmanship, he was to increasingly resort to seeking military solutions to all his problems -- a trend that was to contribute significantly to his downfall.

King Joseph tried desperately to win over his recalcitrant subjects but apart from gaining a few Afrancesados, who were prime targets for the guerillas and partisan assasination squads, he failed "Spanish public opinion was inexorable", one member of his goverment recalled: "It rejected everything coming from us -- even benefits."

As for bad books this year NOTHING can beat Robin Moore's "THE HUNT FOR BIN LADEN". I mean that book is "horrible."!!!!

Jack E. Hammond

Well, nothing really comes to mind. Keegan's book on Military Intelligence was so-so.
Since we can talk of reprint/out-of-print, happened to find a copy of William McElwee's:Art of War, Waterloo to Mons.
Not a great book, but a good read. Mainly for his reporting on how the Europeans armies of that period tried to understand the changing tactics and weaponry. I find the british cavalry's deathgrip on shock tactics and Napoleonic charges interesting. It so mirrors their attitude after World War I as well.

there is a brand new book out, The Somme, by two authros, Pivin and Kennedy. (I think, at work right now) This could be very good.
They have done new research and are arguing that the traditional view of the infantry advancing in straight lines, is all wrong. Liddell-Hart seems to be in for quite a bashing. They argue that the divisions had a lot of flexibility, and did much more than has been suggested, including some infiltration tactics.
The position of the germans was just too strong for success, no matter what was attempted.

Best Book; "A Glorious Way to Die" The story of the super battleship Yamato. The tragic story of a great ship and crew sacrificed for "face."

Worse Book; "Why the South Lost" Top reasons why The south lost the civil war. Too many historians got together on this one. It lacked focus. Sort of like "Too many cooks ruin the soup."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: scooter_mech,

CARRIER ADMIRAL, the biography of Admiral J.J. "Jocko" Clark.
Clark started the war as a carrier captain and worked up to a task group commander. It is a very personal story of the very tense early days of the Pacific war on up to the time that the strength of the USN became overwhelming. At that point, it became more of a situation where only if we made mistakes could the Japanese hurt us.
He missed Leyte Gulf, so this is not well covered, but the differences he had with Halsey are. Of particular interest are Halsey's Tyhpoons. It is well known that he endangered the Third Fleet by sailing into a typhoon that resulted in damage to a number of ships and the sinking of three destroyers. I did not realise that he repeated the same mistake. Clark's account states that Halsey's staff, especially Adm McCain, ignored constant warnings and did not release the threatened group to steer clear until the storm was over them. Two carriers had their flight decks damaged when the storm snapped the steel girders under the forward overhang.
This is not a great book, but for those interested in the development and growth of carrier aviation and the Pacific war, it has much personal material of a maverick who was in the thick of it.

"Flags of our Fathers" by John Bradley about Iwo Jima and the flagraising that occured was a great book.

Another book by Bradley, "Flyboys" about 9 pilots including Pres. Bush Sr who crash landed on Chichi Jima and what haeppened afterward while not as good as the first is definately an interesting read.

Am currently reading "American Soldier" (2004) by Gen Tommy Franks - excellent, especially insightful re the rebuilding of the US Army post Vietnam, plus more recent developments. WORTH READING.

Best- "Parachute Infantry" by David Kenyon Webster of "Band of Brothers" fame.

Just finished Ambrose's book entitled: "Pegassus Bridge". It was about Major John Howard and the Ox and Bucks Regts. that took and held the Bridge on D-Day Normandy,1944.A good read and good info from Major Howard himself. I posted a question about it on the UK section but no British response.

John Mosier's two books: The Blitzkrieg Myth and The Myth of The Great War. I cannot praise either of them too much especially the latter.

Going back many years is Liddel-Hart's book Stategy of the Indirect Approach (or something along those lines)--I've been trying to find the name and obtain a copy to keep and re-read now for years.

HEART OF A HAWK, One Family's Sacrifice and Journey Toward Healing, by Deborah Tainsh.
A heart rending story of a typical American family dealing with the loss of their son in Iraq. This will get your patriotic juices flowing!!

THE LONGEST WINTER by Alex Kershaw.
The story of the most decorated platoon in WW II, I&R plt, 394th Inf Regt, 99th Inf Div. Includes Patton's botched rescue attempt of his son-in-law from a POW camp where members of the I&R platoon were being held.

'The Soul of Battle' by Victor D Hanson.
Ripples of Battle is good, too.

One of the best, however, is 'We
were Soldiers Once, and Young.'
I liked the movie, but the book
is better. By Hal Moore and Joey
Galloway.

'About Face' is pretty good. Hackworth
became a little too 'activist' (for me) in his latter days, but he really did care for troops.

The worst... well, I like history too much.
I probably put the book down if I didn't
like it and then forgot about it. Life is
too short and there are too many good books
to waste time on something that is boring you.

Kevlaur2005

Best- "A Bridge Too Far" by Cornelius Ryan. Just great on all levels. You get grand strategy, squad level actions, intelligence, logisitcs, leadership analysis, etc.

Worst- "American Spartans" by James Warren. Did you know Marines can leap giant buildings in a single bound, find a cure for cancer, run a marathon, discover the meaning of life AND pay the bills....all before lunchtime? Its good they can because the other services (according to Warren) are incompetent. If I didnt pick this garbage up from the library, I would burn it. Shoot, I might burn it anyhow !

My choice for best book of the week is, "Lieutenant Ramsey's War (from Horse Soldier to Guerrilla Commander)" by Edwin Price Ramsey and Stephen Rivele, ISBN 1-57488-052-7. (The publisher failed to place an index in the book! This is the only bad thing I found.)

1942, the Philippines are fallen. (Not in the book: My mom has gone from Manila to Bataan, to Corregidor, to Santo Tomas and my dad has gone to and from Oz, to New Guinea, to Oz ... to OCS in Oz - then to the Admiralties, etc leading up to Luzon - and the Flying Column to Manila, where they meet.)

Imagine history so close and rich that you touch the hands of the people involved just by holding the book’s pages slightly apart and your fingers touch and feel each page’s paper edge while turning it over. Your hand slides down the page ahead of your eyes. You see a Philippine Scout, an American officer named Edwin P. Ramsey who is a lieutenant in America’s once and only almost-colonial army.

Today he is a retired Colonel, but 60+ years ago he was a cavalryman. Mounted atop his horse, he leads the last horse cavalry charge in US history; he refuses to surrender.

The book is filled with historical facts and drama as Lt Ramsey becomes a guerrilla leader and will eventually be near Manila where he has a direct bearing on the 3,700 Allied civilian and POWs interned at Santo Tomas.

The story has all the elements of a good movie, and I recommend reading Lieutenant Ramsey’s War.

One day I will email or phone Col. Ramsey and let him know he is one of my 700 fathers, and a hero whose name will be remembered to my children and grandchildren.

"All Quiet on the Western Front" It's a fiction book but still one of the most gripping and best military books ever written.

Red Army, by Ralph Peters. If you are a Cold War Vet, this one will give you chills.

Also by Ralph, Sword Point, about the U.S. and Russia slugging it out in Iran.

For the thinkers, try "The Next War", by former SecDef , Caspar Weinberger. For being 10 years old, this book is still calling the right shots.

OMG. I'll have to copy and paste my post on this topic from the Military Entertainment: Books section.

"Band of Brothers", "Citizen Soldiers", "D-Day" all by Stephen Ambrose

"The Longest Winter" by Alex Kershaw, the story of WWII's most decorated platoon surrounding events of the Battle of the Bulge

"...and a hard rain fell" by Sgt John Ketwig, a soldiers recollections of the Vietnam war

"Tiger Force" by Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss, the war crimes and investigation of Tiger Force in 1967

Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers - This was an excellent read as an extension to the original Band of Brothers book by Stephen Ambrose. Written by Larry Alexander, he covers the life of Dick Winters from pre-military all the way through the Emmy Awards of the HBO mini-series. The book ends with Winters on Leadership.

Glory Denied: The Saga of Jim Thompson, America's Longest Held Prisoner of War - For those interested in the Vietnam era this is a great read that not only talks about his time as a POW but covers the ups and downs of this mans life in and out of the military and the results of the downfall of his life following his return to society. It is a multifaceted read. You see the hero in Jim Thompson, you see the darkness of him. You see triumph and defeat. You see a loving relationship turn into a nightmare situation. This book really brings home the power of the saga of a POW of the Vietnam war.

"Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic" by Robert J. Laplander
GET IT - READ IT!!!! This is simply the BEST book on the Lost Battalion EVER! And I have read them all!
Availible at www.lulu.com/lostbattalion or go to Amamzon.com, Barnes & Noble, Powells, etc...
You will NOT be sorry!

I just received an advance reading copy of Alex Kershaw's new book to be released in November of 2006. Below is a summary.

THE FEW: THE AMERICAN "KNIGHTS OF THE AIR" WHO RISKED EVERYTHING TO FIGHT IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

By the summer of 1940, World War II had been under way for nearly a year. Buoyed by his successes on the Continent, Hitler was planning an invasion of England to seal Europe's fate.

Though the United States was still a neutral country, a few Americans decided they could not remain on the sidelines. They joined Britain's Royal Air Force to defend the country - with the future of civilization itself hanging in the balance.

The Few tells the dramatic and unforgettable story of these young Americans who defied their country's neutrality laws and risked their very citizenship to fight side-by-side with England's finest pilots. Flying the lethal and elegant Spitfire, they became "knights of the air." With minimal training but plenty of guts, they dueled the skilled pilots of Germany's Luftwaffe in the skies over England, shooting down some of Hitler's most fearsome aces.

By October 1940, these Americans had helped England win the greatest air battle in the history of aviation. At war's end some five years later, just one of them would be alive. Winston Churchill once said famously of all of those who fought in the Battle of Britain, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." These daring Americans were the few among "the few."

And not, withthe narrative drive and human drama that made The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter national bestsellers, Alex Kershaw tells their story for the first time.

Brent Nosworthy's bood "The Bloody Crucible of Courage" about the American Civil War. A fascinating in depth analysis of how the war was actually fought on an operational level. A must read if you like the Civil War.