Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: muckmaw on May 17, 2004, 11:30:54 AM
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I am taking a long flight later this week, and need a good title to read.
I think I'll pass on the political stuff.
Anyone recommend a good book on WWII or modern history that reads easy?
Example: "At dawn we slept". Great book, difficult to read.
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Originally posted by muckmaw
I am taking a long flight later this week, and need a good title to read.
I think I'll pass on the political stuff.
Anyone recommend a good book on WWII or modern history that reads easy?
Example: "At dawn we slept". Great book, difficult to read.
I reread the Illiad again in anticipation of Troy. Only to be disappointed that the movie is a very poor translation of Homer's original work.
I would recommend the Illiad, one of the best war novels ever written.
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Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon
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Larry Bonds-Vortex Stupid, but a good book for flying.
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Originally posted by FUNKED1
Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon
I heard that was good.
My rec is "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. One of the best books i've read AND considered to be one of the best books written in the 20th century. Forgot where I read that though.....
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Originally posted by FUNKED1
Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon
Just finished that. It was very good. The lizard was dammed funny
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Originally posted by FUNKED1
Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon
Excellent book. I need to read some more of Stephenson.
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An Army At Dawn (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805074481/qid=1084816590/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-3572077-3697553?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). Excellent look at the US Army and the growing pains it and its leaders went through during the Torch Landings.
James Longstreet (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671892878/qid=1084816653/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-3572077-3697553?v=glance&s=books): Also an excellent book. Follows Longstreet from West Point to his death. Very revealing, not only of Longstreet, but of his relationship with Lee and the other Confederate generals. Details his successes and failures while covering those of the other generals around him.
A Bridge Too Far (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684803305/qid=1084816790/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-3572077-3697553?v=glance&s=books): What more needs to be said about this one?
Hell in a Very Small Place: The Sieg of Dein Bein Phu (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/030681157X/qid=1084816835/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-3572077-3697553?v=glance&s=books): Cannot recommend this one enough. One of the finest military histories I've ever read.
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The five people you meet in Heaven
http://www.zooba.com/doc/signup/product_detail.jhtml?id=820348B131
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Cryptonomicon-
An Army At Dawn-
The five people you meet in Heaven-
Can't decide....
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Originally posted by muckmaw
Cryptonomicon-
An Army At Dawn-
The five people you meet in Heaven-
Can't decide....
Cryptonomicon.
An army at dawn is just the history channel in text, and five people you meet in heaven will put you to sleep.
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Originally posted by mosgood
My rec is "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. One of the best books i've read AND considered to be one of the best books written in the 20th century. Forgot where I read that though.....
Fair warning though...Ayn Rand is Russian and therefore has sentances that run longer than a Moscow winter. As I recall, there was one paragraph that was two pages...one paragraph.
Anyway...yes, it is an excellent book and gives good arguments as to why the free market is good and communism doomed.
I just re-read "Catch-22"...and laughed my bellybutton off once again.
One of my other favs is Stephen King's "The Gunslinger".
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"Repair and maintenance Manual--Suzuki 140"
:eek: :D
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I really enjoyed An Army At Dawn
The Supreme Commander: The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ambrose
Also just finished and liked: Given Up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island by Bill Sloan.
Now reading Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice by Alex Kershaw. Interesting so far, about 10% into it.
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I'm currently reading "Master and Commander" by Patrick O'Brian. So far, it's and enjoyable read.
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I'm reading a book about ancient engineers. I like it so far.
It's funny, the guy has proposed a reason to why civilization evolved.
Apparently, people needed to be sedintary for grass seeds to ferment into beer.
So basically, the need for Beer is the reason civilization exists.
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Originally posted by Toad
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Now reading Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice by Alex Kershaw. Interesting so far, about 10% into it. [/B]
Toad
I just finished this book.
It brought tears to my eyes ...
Great book if anyone wants a vivid account of the slaughter we endured at Omaha Beach and the loss suffered by one small Virginia community in particular. The National Guard from their community, which they had joined for the extra $1 a month, was the "suicide wave" of the invasion that morning. It was their first combat experience...I have heard it was the book which inspired Saving Private Ryan.
the Bedford Boys and all their loved ones they left behind
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"one hundred years of solitude" by that communist retard gabriel garcia marquez it is available in english as well. funny stuff.
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" A better war" by Lewis sorely Uplifting and interesting book on the last part of the vietnam war and Abrams strategies....
"unintended Consequences" Great book about taking back freedom in America.
"Molon Labe" another libertarian flavored book about a state being taken over by people who want freedom.
lazs
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Originally posted by lazs2
" "Molon Labe"
the words that king leonaiedes of sparta used to tell xerxes to go pound sand at thermopolae when the retarded persians asked them to surrender their weapons. the statement which I believe is molon lobe roughly translates to come and take them. inspiring stuff.
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Yep... the book is about libertarians taking over a state and telling the feds to go pound sand.
labe
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Conn Iggulden Emperor Series (http://www.conniggulden.com/)
The series he wrote are "four books of historical fiction based around the life of Julius Caesar." I did not find out about these books until just before Christmas and got the first one for Christmast then finished the third one three weeks later.
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The REDNECK MANIFESTO: HOW HILLBILLIES HICKS AND WHITE TRASH BECAME AMERICAS SCAPEGOATS (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684838648/sr=8-1/qid=1141231661/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5735831-5951007?%5Fencoding=UTF8)
Good book, it is sure to offend just about everyone.
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Sea Wolf : The Daring Exploits of Navy Legend John D. Bulkely (Paperback)
by William Breuer
Great book. Reads almost like a novel.
This is the man who the Movie "They were expendadle" About PT boats in the Philipines at the start of the war was based on.
He was the man who got General MacArthur out of the Philipines.
He went head to head with Castro in cuba, and made a fool of Castro.
Before WW2 started he stole the Japanese ambasadors brief case!
Link on Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0891416633/qid=1141232443/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-8079396-6324714?s=books&v=glance&n=283155)
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Originally posted by Gunslinger
The REDNECK MANIFESTO: HOW HILLBILLIES HICKS AND WHITE TRASH BECAME AMERICAS SCAPEGOATS (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684838648/sr=8-1/qid=1141231661/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5735831-5951007?%5Fencoding=UTF8)
Good book, it is sure to offend just about everyone.
I'm going to have to get a copy of that. :D
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Just finished this one:
100 people that are screwing up America (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060761288/104-6830004-0447968?v=glance&n=283155)
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Just finishing up Given Up For Dead by Bill Sloan.
It is a very interesting account of the Invasion of Wake island.
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I spent most of the year off from AH reading.
I would recommend
Len Deighton's
Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain
Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk
Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II
Bomber
The Bernard Samson Books: [Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match]
[Spy Hook, Spy Line, Spy Sinker] and [ Faith, Hope, Charity]
these are 9 books that all follow the same plot line, really just one huge long story. My dad says you dont necessarily need to read them in this order but in my opinion it better when you read them in the correct order.
also read
The Ipcress File; Horse Under Water; Funeral in Berlin; Billion Dollar Brain
Spy Story; Yesterday's Spy; Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy; SS-GB; and XPD
currently reading Goodbye, Mickey Mouse
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Currently reading Atlas Shrugged.
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Goodbye Mickey mouse was a good read.
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I listened to the end of Neuromancer on the way to Singapore and started on the Puppet Masters on the way back. Got an MP3 player? Get audiobooks, they rock!
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I bought an audio book last week to listen to when I go to bed: Wolves of Calla - Dark Tower V... the last one of the Gunslinger series by Stephen King.
Bad idea. Every night I listen to it when I turn off the light, and every night this week I have fallen asleep before I get out of Chapter one.
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I had a great conversation with a coworker whose big into reading. I havent read a novel in a long long time. Most of my reading has been some sort of electronics or programming guide as of late.
I decided to heed his advice and read Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red Ocktober" and a few of his other books. I loved the movie (well, asides Baldwin being in there...)...I started the book a few days ago during my lunch breaks and already half way thru. Its very much unlike the movie in so many regards.
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Originally posted by lasersailor184
Currently reading Atlas Shrugged.
I really enjoyed that book back in my teenage years. Ian Rand I believe? Fountainhead was good too.
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I read The Unbearable lightness of being last spring. It really messed with my head. I'm better for having read it.
I read Larry McMurtry's "Texasville." I wasn't as good as "The Last picture Show" but I still liked it well enough.
-Sik
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I just finished "Patton: A Genius for War" by Carlo D'Este. Its a biography of George S. Patton, and IMO excellent, I really enjoyed it. Very detailed, extensively footnoted, obviously well researched. I learned a lot I didn't know about Patton and related subjects. Recommended.
culero
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Originally posted by Gunthr
I bought an audio book last week to listen to when I go to bed: Wolves of Calla - Dark Tower V... the last one of the Gunslinger series by Stephen King.
Bad idea. Every night I listen to it when I turn off the light, and every night this week I have fallen asleep before I get out of Chapter one.
Oh yeah, I'm sure I've listened to a couple of entire books in my sleep. But usually I can skip/rewind to the last bit I remember before I nodded off. I used to be an avid reader, but my work in front of screens with networking kit (ie lotta reading of configs/info etc) mean't my eyes were always tired. Then when I switched to audiobooks (MP3s on my treo pdaphone) it was like a reawakening, being able to rest my eyes while listening to a good book is awesome. Even driving listening to a book is awesome.
However, sometimes it does rely on a good narrator, I hate books who use people with irrating voices :)
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A book I keep meaning to get because a ton of people keep recommending it to me is
"1776" by David McCullough - The battles for American independence from Britain form the latest chapter of American history to draw David McCullough's attention.
A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, McCullough reports on the reality of life at war in 1776. The author follows George Washington and his army as they fight to end British rule in America.
McCullough reaches beyond oft-told, often mythical notions of the colonies' struggle for independence to glimpse history through the lives of people from all ranks of society.
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From what I hear Flyboys is supposed to be a good book by James Bradley. I have it in my closet but yet to get around to read it as I have all these magazines come in from WW2 and WW2 History and now have a few issues coming from Air & Space.
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Dark Waters
Nuclear research submarine..had a reactor the size of a VW Bug..it had wheels and rolled on ocean floor.....Tapped the russians phone lines
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451207777/qid=1141272493/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-4648415-5119267?v=glance&s=books
FlyBoys..good book .
.About small radio island off japan..Chi Chi Jima old Bush senior..this is where he was shot down...japanese soldiers go canabil the rest of the pows
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I m reading "SIEGE A novel of the eastern front 1942" by Russ Schneider
for the second time.Very dark, but a good and interesting perspective from the german side.
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A short history of nearly everything --- Bill Bryson
Excellent flight reading.
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Cryptonomicon is a great book. I read it last week; that lizard had me roaring.
For those that want a more "kick oscar take names" read, try Secret Commandos. The same guy who wrote SOG wrote this (John Plaster). I'm about a third of the way through; he's had me nervous, laughing, and very intrigued so far. Not a bad read at all! Unlike SOG, this one is about his personal experiences.
For those that don't know, SOG is another great book. It's about a very clandestine group of Group 5 green berets in Vietnam running recon across the border. It covers most of the war; from the first 1965 landings of "agents" in north Vietnam to the end of the war. Some of what you read will make you shudder, some of it will send you to the floor... screaming with laughter. Those who remember "Pigpen" Ambrose's dirty little trick with a poster and a landmine know what I'm talking about.
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Flakbait [Delta6]
(http://www.wa-net.com/~delta6/sig/global.gif)
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Still reading the Aubrey/Maturin series by O'Brian. Currently on "Letter of Marque".
Which brings to mind a book my dad read relatively recently. I forget the name but apparently the plot involves a US President wanting to go to war but Congress not letting him. So he issues a letter of marque and reprisal (which he has the Constitutional power to do), to a US Navy carrier task force.
...**** YEAH!
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First light by Geoffrey Wellum
had it for xmas excellent ww2 read, guy gets thrown into BofB at 19 years of age test pilot by 22 flew out of malta also.
Some accounts are boring but this guy adds an enjoyable narrative.
Bruv
~S~
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Originally posted by LePaul
I had a great conversation with a coworker whose big into reading. I havent read a novel in a long long time. Most of my reading has been some sort of electronics or programming guide as of late.
I decided to heed his advice and read Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red Ocktober" and a few of his other books. I loved the movie (well, asides Baldwin being in there...)...I started the book a few days ago during my lunch breaks and already half way thru. Its very much unlike the movie in so many regards.
try Sum of All Fears .. it blows away the movie...
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Red Storm Rising is another great Clancy book. Its not in the same vein of story line and character creation as his whole Jack Ryan series but its a very way out there portrayal of what if Russia did go over the line and start a war.
In the other series one of my favorites is "Without Remorse".
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Originally posted by crowMAW
I just re-read "Catch-22"...and laughed my bellybutton off once again.
When in doubt, I always go back to Catch-22. Best book ever (and it's "about" WWII).
Both funny and increadibly disturbing at the same time. I find it amazing how actual and relevant it stayed after all these years. This is the mark of a masterpiece.
Bozon
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Originally posted by Eagler
try Sum of All Fears .. it blows away the movie...
Noted...thank you.
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A Thousand Shall Fall
Murray Pedan
A great book about bomber command view though the eyes of a young pilot.
It has been out for a number of years but worth getting even if you have to buy it used on Amazon.
Chickenhawk is of course a classic Vietnam book.
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Originally posted by Eagler
try Sum of All Fears .. it blows away the movie...
The movie bore little resemblance to the book.
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Of the Clancy based movies I have not seen another since Patriot Games.
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Aviation related books (http://www.aeroplanebooks.com/)
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"Disinformation: 22 Media Myths that Undermine the War on Terror" by Richard Miniter
"Parallel Worlds" by Michio Kaku
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I'm just now finishing up Meteorology Today and Financial Accounting. Both are real page turners.
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Originally posted by Sandman
I'm just now finishing up Meteorology Today and Financial Accounting. Both are real page turners.
:huh Surely you mean "finished tearing each sheet out to use for toilet tissue..." :O
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Originally posted by Ripsnort
:huh Surely you mean "finished tearing each sheet out to use for toilet tissue..." :O
I wish text books were that cheap.
I got a new book today... Economics. Woot!