What Are You Reading?

Agree, a great book.

Follow up that one with The Men of the Gambier Bay, by Edwin P. Hoyt. It is outstanding.

It and the Last Stand... are 10/10 with me.

 

Has anyone read The Battle of Leyte Gulf: The Death Knell of the Japanese Fleet by Edwin P Hoyt (1972)?

I found it in the bibliography of The Last Epic Naval Battle and thought it might be worth purchasing, given some of the reviews I found.

 

I finished this book yesterday.


The Last Epic Naval Battle: Voices from Leyte Gulf, David Sears, 2007, New American Library, 248 pages, photos, one map, end notes, index.

I hate to say, especially after suggesting this book to Lou, that I am underwhelmed. Its not that is was a poor book, it just wasn't as interesting as I was hoping it would be.
I anticipated a stronger narrative from the men who participated in the fighting. There were lot of quotes from and references to, and about, the the sailors and airmen, but it seemed to me to be a retelling of the battle, leaving out the Battle of Cape Engano. If I didn't already have a good grasp of the battle, I could have come way from reading it without fully understanding what was going on.

The author had quotes from a large number of the men, and that could have been part of the problem, as sometimes I felt some of the words of the men were left out that could have added a bit more the narrative.

Overall, it is an acceptable addition to my bookshelf

7/10

 

I just finished:


Bailout Over Normandy, Ted Fahrenwald, 2012, Casemate, 286 pages, photos. ISBN 978-1-61200-474-7

This one of the best books I have read lately.

Lt Theodore "Ted" Fahrenwald was a Mustang pilot who bailed out of his crippled fighter-bomber after taking heavy damage from an exploding ground target east of Caen a few days after Overlord. He was ably assisted by French locals, including members of the Maquis until he tried to make his way to British lines on the Orne. He was detained by German forces and eventually discovered by them not be a local Frenchman and was sent further inland, to wait on transport to a proper PoW camp. He managed to escape and was hidden by a French farmer and his wife until the area was liberated in mid-August by French and US forces.

Fahrenwald wrote a manuscript of his adventures in 1946, but left it on the shelf. After his death, his daughter worked to have the manuscript published without editing, other that to correct some spelling and punctuation.

Fahrenwald apparently was quite a character and this work well represents his exuberant, comical outlook on life. While the book is not dismissive of the perils he and others faced during the two months he was lost, evaded, was captured, escaped, evaded again, and then was recovered, his telling of his adventures is comical at times and easily held my interest. His description of his bailout was hilarious to me, but still described the dangers and closeness of death for him

I highly recommend this book for its sheer entertainment value alone. The historical record is a close second and well worth the read for that. His writing style is just additional cream.

10/10 Why have I not read this before? Furthermore, why aren't getting yourself a copy and reading now?

 

I just ordered this book and it should be here in a couple of days. After I read it I'll let you know my thoughts.

 

I finished this last night.



Building the Bridges to Victory, Tom Muller, 2007,2011, Holtz Creative Enterprises, 138 pages, photographs, Bibliography.

Judging the photo of the cover I found on Amazon and comments made on the back of my copy, I think this book was originally just a pamphlet of sorts intended for a small audience, maybe just the men and families of the 286th Combat Engineer Battalion.

I was hoping it would be as engrossing as The GI Journal of Sergeant Giles (also an engineer) I had read earlier, but alas, it wasn't.

I think this was just a labor of love for the author late in his life, so I won't tear it apart. It lacked a great deal of polish and was somewhat hard to read, but does reflect well upon the actions a small unit that probably would have gone unnoticed otherwise.

5/10

 

Halfway through The Prince, Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Sterling. This is a collection of stories, some previously unpublished that follows the formation of the Empire of Man. Lysander I (before he was crowned) and John Christian Falkenberg. This is background for The Mote in God's Eye (Heinlein called this "the best first contact book I've ever read.) 800+ pages, so a book holder is needed. (Or maybe I'm just getting lazy.)

 

I started this today


Outpost of Occupation, How the Channel Islands Survived Nazi Rule 1940-45, Barry Turner, Aurum Press 2010.