Books What Are You Reading?

[Husky_Khan]

Much like the What are you Watching or Playing Threads in their respective forums, this one is for books you're reading and because I don't want to forget the books in my borrowing history.

I had a lot of trouble reading or finishing books until I decided to just read them at work on breaks, since I'm not the type of person to just "read" a book in my more appropriate freetime. With that change I've been burning through books far more rapidly (albeit still probably slowly) compared to many.

So here are some of the books I've read over the past few months. I don't read much fiction, so... it's mostly history stuff.

Judgment at Appomattox by Ralph Peters. It's a historical novel about the American Civil War, the fifth book of his in this vein starting with Cain at Gettysburg and continuing on with books about the Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign, Sheridan's 1864 Valley Campaign, the Siege of Petersburg and finishing off with this book. I LOVE all of these novels and think they are just as good as the more famous works such as The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara and his son Jeff's books of which I've read A Blaze of Glory and A Chain of Thunder which were about Shiloh and the Vicksburg Campaign respectively. Ralph Peters' is an amazing writer and he really brings the characters to life, showing how great leaders and tacticians can still have mortal flaws and personality quirks, the conflicts of ego and personality between individuals and most importantly that stood out to me, how damning the 'fog of war' actually is. I'd recommend all of Ralph Peters' books about the Civil War, they're the best novels I've seen telling the story of the conflict and gives really interesting insight on Commanders like Meade and Sheridan, or Gordon and Pickett etc.

Another good book I read was Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire by Roger Crowley and talks about how through the 15th century, Portugal's explorations down the West African coast eventually led them to the Indian Ocean, Indian and even far beyond to the Spice Islands (such as Malacca) and even China. It's a nonfiction book but does an amazing job shedding light on characters beyond the very famous Vasca Da Gama. It talks about other amazing and just as accomplished explorers, mariners and most importantly conquerors. Pedro Cabral, Francisco de Almeida, and Afonso de Albuquerque. Of how a few hundred men with some exceptional ships managed to contest against the powerful Muslim and Hindu factions they discovered. Their stories are perhaps even more exemplary then that of the Spanish Conquistadors and there's so much random trivia and interesting facts that I learned or was expanded on. Like how resilient Chinese Junks were to Caraval cannons, the Venetians trying to scheme with the Mamluks against the Portuguese, how for years the Portuguese assumed the native Hindus were actually Christians relating to the legend of Prester John and this was only dismissed when they met the actual Christians of India, the deadly poison darts and arrows of Indian forces, and folks like Portuguese who went turncoat and joined the local Muslim forces or how the Portuguese tried to rule their new populations etc etc.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

Well, currently I'm in a few books:

Frank Herbert: Dune

Victor Davis Hanson: The Soul of Battle
I haven't gotten much into this one yet so I'll just hit you with the 'blurb'.

Why do men fight? What motivates an ordinary citizen to burn and kill? What, in the end, motivates an army to win?

Hansen offers three incredible stories-the sagas of history's greatest marches-that coalesce into a single powerful theory of men and war. Each story involves a democratic army pulled together on short notice, which marched deep into enemy territory to overthrow a government whose morality was fundamentally repugnant to its own. Each army stunned the world by covering many miles and capturing huge numbers of its demoralized foes. In all three cases, Hansen argues, conviction (more than firepower) made the difference against long odds. Hanson's conclusion has far-reaching consequences in our convictionless times: right makes might.
...
Hanson's three armies were led by controversial figures: George S. Patton, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Epaminondas, a brilliant general from ancient Greece. Hanson describes all three in stunning detail. With only runners to communicate and his men's feet to carry them, Epaminondas' Thebans marched against the Spartan Empire in columns up to twenty-five miles long. At teh cost of only a few hundred casualties, Epaminondas freed thousands of Messenians from Spartan domination. Sherman's famed march to the sea, Hanson says, was equally successful and has been misinterpreted as a destructive, almost criminal campaign. In fact, Sherman's men killed very few Southerners, instead wreaking enormous psychological damage while liberating thousands of slaves. Last, in Patton's breakneck race to the Rhine, American GIs willingly followed their flamboyant leader to hell itself to purge the world of the evil of the Nazis.
...
The Soul of Battle identifies a universal truth about war. Hanson shows that under the right conditions, democratic soldiers "can make war brutally and lethally beyond the wildest nightmares of the brutal military culture they seek to destroy." The reverse is equally true. Halfhearted wars are rarely won. Men kill best for a good cause-and they are right to do so.

 

[Husky_Khan]

I loved reading Soul of Battle and really enjoyed the story of Epamonidas and how he managed to lead those country bumpkin Thebans to help take apart the radically different society that was Sparta with its yuge helot/slave based economy and secret police and all that jazz.

I think his most iconic book is still Carnage and Culture which I would put right up there with Paul Kennedy's Rise and Fall of the Great Powers in being just amazing 'big' world history style books which explain how the world kind of shaped into what it is today. I'd also include Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel but I wasn't big on it though I can appreciate the scope and scholarship.

 

[Bacle]

'Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict' edited by Max Brooks, John Amble, ML Cavanaugh, Jayme Gates, and Foreword by Stanley McChrystal.

So far I've only gotten to chapter 6, and it's...an interesting read.

It seems to have only considered the visualized Star Wars media, and I do not think the authors did much of a deep dive into either Legends or Disney EU, but it is interesting to see real world military experts take serious looks at how they can use the cultural touchstone of Star Wars to cross cultural and linguistic boundaries/comms issues while also getting future butterbars to actually pay attention in strategy classes.

 

[Bear Ribs]

Castles : a History of Fortified Structures: Ancient, Medieval & Modern by Charles Stephenson
Interesting read on different fortress types, but not as detailed as I hoped. I'm going through it primarily to see if I find something interesting to craft a diorama but it's not of as much utility as I wanted for those purposes. Still informative on many kinds of fortresses and how the terrain and nature of combat at the time shaped them.

The Bible (Read through once a year in daily chunks as part of a basic spiritual routine)

Thunderbolt: an American Tale, vol. 01 by Wilfred Santiago
Comic Book checked out of the library for the weekend for some light reading. I thought it was a western but it's civil war and both poorly written and drawn, I do not recommend it.

The Voyage of the Frog by Richard Jackson
More light reading, a halfway decent adventure/man against nature story of a kid blown out to sea in a poorly provisioned pleasure/day sailing boat and his efforts to survive and find his way back to shore. The boat getting attacked by sharks was a bit stupid in my opinion, sharks really aren't that into trying to bite rounded fiberglass with no blood in the water and no reason for them to think it's food, but the rest of it is decent.

 

[Zyobot]

Well, I've got a monstrous reading list ahead of me, but there are a few books I've read excerpts from and hope to read in full soon:

1. The Cambridge History of the Cold War by too many people to list here.

2. The Soviet Union under Brezhnev by William J. Tompson.

3. World War Two: A Military History by Jeremy Black.

Hopefully, I'll stop dragging my feet and start buckling down.

 

[Lord Sovereign]

I'm currently reading through Wheel of Time Book 1, although I felt it was entirely appropriate to crack open the Hogfather at this time of year.

 

[KilroywasNOTHere]

fanfiction mostly of the Star Wars variety. I'm also writing one.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Over the past few weeks I read:

Daughters of Kobani by Gayle Lemmons. The book is about the Author who visited Syria multiple times and through interviews with dozens of individuals over a period of three years, helped compile a biographical view of the War in Northeastern Syria from its origins up until about 2018, several months after the Syrian Democratic Forces liberated Raqqa, the Islamic State's former Capitol. It's main characters are two different Kurdish women who were basically civilians pre-2012 but joined the YPJ/YPG as the Civil War started to heat up.

It focuses on the leadup to the conflict for these women and the Kurdish minority in general, and the meat of the story then focuses on the Battle for Kobani and how close it came to being overrun by the Islamic State before US and Western airstrikes and aid. But it also focused on the Rescue from Mount Sinjar prior to that, as well as the subsequent campaigns that followed up after the victory at Kobane such as the Battles of Manbig, Taqba and the capture of that important dam etc. It was a good... and surprisingly quick read as well. A real page turner. It also pulled in the perspectives of several Special Operations folks from the United States who assisted in the formation of the Syrian Democratic Forces as well.

---

The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific 1944-45 by the recently passed James D. Hornfischer was the thick and juicy book I read and took a while to digest. It really wasn't a history of the Pacific War in the last two years as I thought but actually an account of the Atomic Bomb, from the military POV. It talked extensively about Paul Tibbetts, the pilot of the fateful B-29 and leader of his own special squadron that would deploy the weapon ultimately, including his prior experience serving in North Africa, working Stateside and how the mission was developed and forming and the mixed reaction it got from the military leaders as they were informed of the impending atomic weapon and its deployment.

It was also a BRILLIANT history of the Battle of Saipan (and to a lesser extent Tinian and Guam etc) since that is ultimately where the Atomic Bomb mission would be stationed out of. It also gave time to cover the Truk Raid at the end of 1943 and the B-29 Raids over Japan. What was unexpected was how brief it panned over everything else, ranging from Iwo Jima to Okinawa which were covered in short and the campaigns in the Southwest Pacific which were barely mentioned.

Some fun facts buried in the story are the formation of the Underwater Demolition Teams formed under a guy named Draper Kauffman who was described as a wiry, bookish guy who started his service in WW2 being denied the honor of serving in the US Navy due to poor eyesight. He did serve in France in 1940 however as a driver for the American Ambulance Corps before being captured by the Germans, released since he was an inconvenience being an American, fled to London, joined the British Royal Navy Reserve and was put to work disarming unexploded German ordinance during 'The Blitz.' THEN he was drawn back into US Navy Service due to his extensive expertise in explosives... apparently finally good enough for them... and for developing the precursor to the Navy Seals with the UDT's.

---

The Accursed Tower: The Fall of Acre and the End of the Crusades by Roger Crowley. I think I've read all of Roger Crowley's books, ranging from 1453 which was about the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, as well as his amazing books covering the Naval War in the Mediterranean between the Hapsburg Empire (and other European powers) and Ottoman Turkey between 1522 and 1571 as well as his history of Venice in the Middle Ages and the aforementioned book about the Rise of the Portuguese Empire.

But this book... it was nice and short but consequently also fell short in meat. It covered about thirty years of history between King Louis' failed Egyptian Crusades right up to the Siege and Fall of Acre in 1291 and provided a suitable history of the Mamluk leader Baybars who through brutality and cunning as well as overwhelming military power, destroyed much of the remaining holdings of the still fractured Crusaders before finally crushing Acre itself. And it was an interesting book, well told and whatnot but... it felt so... short and not nearly as in depth as his other comparable works. Would recommend a read but its almost shockingly... light I feel.

 

[Eparkhos]

Currently reading Black Hawk Down, once I'm done with that I have some archaeological books about the Puebloans and Great Basin Archaic people to read.

 

[TheRejectionist]

Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

 

[Husky_Khan]

Just finished Rampage: MacAruthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila by James M. Scott and it was a tough read. It was readily readable and accessible, well written and all of that but the thick meat of the book is of course, about the Battle of Manila and unfortunately for my sensibilities, a majority of it (rightly so) was in regards to the utter suffering that the civilian population endured both at the hands of the Japanese as well as from the war coming to Manila itself.

The descriptions of the suffering and brutality and sheer violence and depravity directed at the Filipinos by the Japanese defenders of Manila actually made me only able to read a few pages at a time, as I read these very personalized accounts of suffering. Of Japanese gang raping women in hotels, of their storming of Red Cross facilities, hospitals, Spanish churches and German clubs, and slaughtering not just Filipino Men, Women and Children, bayoneting, clubbing, burning and torturing them to death, but they were even more indiscriminate. They killed Chinese and Americans, but also Spaniards, Russians, even Germans... some of the most striking tales were of how German Jews managed to escape Nazi Germany and Europe, only to be butchered to death by fanatical Japanese sailors and Marines in a German Club bathroom stall as they begged for their lives.

It wasn't all dreary war crimes though. There were details of the battle. One standout is the tale of how two American Automatic Rifleman, a Latino Texan former street gang member, and a Cherokee Indian who grew up in Oklahoma attacked a train station defended by three hundred Japanese marines during the height of urban combat. Between the two of them over a half an hour, they destroyed several Japanese positions and mutually supporting pillboxes, took out a 20mm cannon and killed over eighty Japanese Marines with their gunfire and hand grenades. Sadly one of them died. Both of them earned the Medal of Honor.

The latter portion of the book also details the surrender, captivity and trial of Japanese Tomoyuki Yamashita in a trial which could basically be seen as a show trial with the standards put in place. However it did illustrate the responsibility of the Commanding General, the so-called 'Yamashita' Standard as the General himself didn't partake or specifically approve of atrocities, but not only didn't act, but chose to ignore those forces put under his command and their depravations and was found to bear responsibility for the conduct of the Japanese defenders in Manila.

Overall it was a pretty intense, but very good read. Beautifully tragic storytelling. Very well reported. Focused on historical reportage with lots of personal stories thrown in from a wide variety of experiences and background but still managed to keep up the broad scope since the meat of the book was basically a 'Battle' history.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Just finished reading Richard Frank's book Tower of Skulls which is a history of the Asia-Pacific War from July 1937 to May of 1942.

Thankfully unlike that book about the Battle of Manila I read prior, the descriptions of massively heinous war crimes here is somewhat more detached and less graphic (likely because he also has a lot of ground to cover). It's basically a history of the War from the Marco Polo Incident straight through to right before the Battle of Coral Sea (which is what Richard Frank ominously refers to as a turning point at the end of the book). It covers the major battles like Shanghai, Pearl Harbor, the Malaya and Philippines Campaign and whatnot but it covers a lot of everything in between as well.

You learn about how the Chinese united against the Japanese and the truly staggering scale of loss that the Chinese had to endure as the War went on and just how outmatched they were against the Japanese. And also just how scrappy, resourceful and dedicated they were in some respects, and how desperate and awful things turned out and the near impossible choices they had to make from campaign to campaign. It covers the choice of fighting in Shanghai and why the Chinese leadership chose to do it, why they chose to flood the Yellow River leading to untold misery and hardship, of how the Communist Chinese were cannily preserving their own power base, and how narrow minded the Japanese were in their policies that left them in this quagmire of a War. One interesting thing is it does touch on Chiang Kai-Shek's personal bravery. He visited several cities mere days or even hours before the cities themselves were directly threatened and visited these places by airplane, often unescorted. This is a big deal since the Japanese basically had air superiority over all of the front areas.

The book covers the big campaigns of Malaya and the Philippines and Pearl Harbor, but also covers the Battle of Hong Kong and how important it was to supporting the Chinese War Effort. I learned a lot of new things as well, like how the Japanese had thoroughly infiltrated Hong Kong to the point the local Triad gangsters were being paid off to offer guides to the Japanese to bypass British Commonwealth defenses and abducted local bureaucrats to cripple the cities civil defense.

I learned about how a British-Indian Battalion in Borneo, the 1/15th Punjab, who marched eight hundred miles across dense jungle terrain in repeated skirmishes from December onward, suffering and inflicting serious casualties during their campaign, before finally surrendering on March 9th. There was also Dutch resistance on the island going on until October of 1942.

You read about how Dutch resistance in the East Indies kept having the absolutely worst luck, including when during an attempted counterattack on Japanese forces on Java, their entire motorized force was caught in the open and Japanese airpower took out the lead and rear vehicles of said column before re-enacting their version of a 'Highway of Death' that crippled Dutch land defenses on that island.

It covers the last horse charges made by the 26th Cavalry, a mixed Filipino-American unit, how Dutch Submarines (and in some cases aircraft) inflicted impressive damage upon Japanese naval forces, and much much more. Other things it details in great detail are the extensive details of the leadup to the United States and Japan eventually going to war, especially right before Pearl Harbor and if your into codebreaking, this book actually goes into a lot of depth into codebreaking and how it worked and the basic mechanics of it which surprised me since it's basically a 'general popular military history book.'

Overall high recommendation. And Richard Frank is legitimately improving as a writer. I think the only other book of his I read before was Downfall which was also really good but I felt a little dry, at least compared to this tome.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Read two books over the past Month or Month and a Half or so.

One was called Battle for Skyline Ridge by former CIA Officer James E. Parker Jr about the War in Laos during the Vietnam War era though more specifically, a region focused around a geographical terrain feature known as 'Skyline Ridge.' Tragically the Author apparently passed away before his book was published but it was a very good, though sometimes very dense and military lingo laden tract that felt kind of dry sometimes, despite being a very personal story at other times.

There's a lot of military and paramilitary officers that served with distinction and had some amazing encounters fighting this 'Covert' War in Laos to prevent the North Vietnamese from puppeting and dominating the country. And it involves not just the CIA and US military and Lao Forces, but also Thai and Cambodian Irregulars Recruited From the Local Tribes and what is most prominently featured are the Hmong Hill Tribespeople who were fighting for their own homes and people led by the somewhat famous leader Vang Pao (who passed away in America recently IIRC). The stories start off in the French phase of the War and carries on right until the Treaty of Paris in the early seventies, with a proper climax showing how Hmong and Thai Irregular Forces number no more then a few thousand lightly armed light infantry (backed by US and even Hmong Airpower) took on several North Vietnamese Regular Army Divisions backed by tanks, artillery, sappers and contested air space in Northern Laos.

Epic stuff and overall... it was a decent read, especially if your interested in the Vietnam War, Paramilitary Conflicts or Hmong/Laotian/Southeast Asian History.

---

The other book I read which was far more readable was titled Africa and Africans: In the Making of the Atlantic World 1400-1680. This Book covered one main topic that the Author, John Thornton, really wanted to make clear, which is that Africans played a significant and transformative part in the development of 'Atlantic' Culture on both sides of the Ocean as opposed to just being passive 'victims' or players in the saga of history. The first half of the book goes into detail of how powerful, diverse and influential African polities were in regards to their dealings with the European powers and how the African Kingdoms couldn't be considered subservient, dependent or significantly weaker then the European powers at this time. Trade and diplomacy occurred on relatively equal footing with both sides bringing advantages and disadvantages to their interaction.

And this was the same in regards to the Slave Trade which existed in Africa since unlike Europe, African Wealth was based much on people as opposed to property (or people tied to property like in Europe). There was also a Slave Trade to North Africa prior to European arrival and at no point in this period of history were Europeans forcing Africans to engage in war and conflict and slavery to the point that the Africans somehow inherently weakened or crippled themselves economically or demographically etc. There were always exceptions to everything said, but it wasn't a rule or indicative of any trend.

The second part of the book which was actually a bit less interesting was the argument that African Culture did survive, evolve and thrive in the New World and that the African Diaspora was actually able to keep their traditions and culture and families together and alive and it was only through the generations that it actually evolved, as opposed to being crushed, dispossessed, stripped or otherwise taken from them. This argument is just as strong and it's hard to not argue that the African Diaspora somehow didn't play a part in the development of culture in the Western Hemisphere (as well as their obvious economic investment into their new homelands).

The most interesting things that stood out to me in this book was the mythbusting of the "Divide and Conquer" idea in Enslavement. Most slave ships took slaves from only one or two different spots in Africa and furthermore, while in the Americas some slavers tried the divide and conquer concept, most actually preferred bringing Africans from similar backgrounds together and even having them form a bit of community as it was seen as more efficient for the enslaved workers to operate as.

Another thing it detailed in detail was first hand accounts of trade and diplomacy between Africa with Europe this time and how Africa seemed to depend on Europe more for luxury goods as opposed to actual necessities. And how European traders (for the most part) didn't actually go into the hinterlands to grab slaves as much as were forced to work with local kingdoms, merchants and leaders in trading and exchanging for slaves to purchase.

Also interesting is how early on Religious Authorities played a part in suppressing the enslavement of Native American populations thus compelling more African slaves to be imported to the Americas though the pernicious Religious Authorities often got all up into the business of bringing salvation to the Slaves as well as monitoring their Masters for immoral behavior. There's actually a fair bit of analysis of traditional African religions and how Christianity inserted itself into the religious landscape of Africa, especially in regards to things like miracles and revelations and how initially Christianity was having some difficulty making inroads since unlike local African religions, Christian stories were based on events far removed both across time and land. Definitely interesting read for those with an interest in those religious topics.

Towards the end there was even discussion of Slave Rebellions and Independent Slave States like those that existed in Jamaica and Panama, Peru and the depths of Brazil. Many enslaved Africans were after all male prisoners of War and thus... if they got organized, could be extremely difficult to get rid of. There's one brief snippet for example talking of a Slave Rebellion where Spanish Cavalry tried to charge the armed slaves, only for said Slaves to open up their lines to allow the cavalry to pass through and then counter attack them while they were vulnerable!

Overall, this book was an interesting and very readable read and I learned a lot of stuff about a general African Cultural Contribution that isn't covered much in History without being woke/preachy. Oh yeah, this book was published in 1992 apparently.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Finished a book called Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific 1941-42 that basically is a naval military history from Pearl Harbor to the end of the Battle of Midway but the first hundred pages really 'set the stage' of the events that are about to unfold. The book is written by Ian W. Toll who wrote the amazing and readily accessible to read history of the early United States Navy titled Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy. That book was an amazing read.

This ones scope is far greater but not quite as good. But it's still a very good read. Ian W. Toll is a storyteller first and foremost and he has a lot of characters he can examine in depth. And here we don't just learn about Isoruku Yamamoto and Chester Nimitz, but also the rather overlooked figure of Admiral Ernst King, Raymond Spruance and Frank Jack Fletcher. In fact I feel the light shed on Admiral Ernest King, the Chief of Naval Operations and member of the Joints Chiefs during World War Two was some of the most fascinating stuff in the book. It goes into the personal details, behaviors and a fair bit of mythbusting on him and his character and misconceptions held to him over the years and how he can be so overlooked in spite of being such a top level decision maker in the War. But other leaders major and minor ranging from Flight Leaders to Escort Ship Skippers are illuminated as well with the authors storytelling.

Another interesting aspect brought up in this book is the Japanese domestic reaction to the conflict and how it wasn't all roses and sunshine even during the highly successful first six months of the War. Even everyday Japanese were leery of a War with the United States when they heard about Pearl Harbor for example.

Another fascinating part of the story was how detailed the author went into Churchill and his staffs weeks long visit to the White House and how the British and Americans initially got along and cooperated and how chaotic the situation it was in America initially after Pearl Harbor. Also in spite of having read and watched lots on say the Battle of Coral Sea and Midway and the Indian Ocean Raids... it's always impressive to be reminded, refreshed or read a new take on the same information on a battle from a historian who likes to tell stories about HiSTORY. Overall it might not be the best history book, but it's got a lot of history to tell about the conflict and it's super readable.

Some fun quotes btw:

CBS Broadcaster Elmer Davis on America's United Yet Still Fractious Democracy: "There are some patriotic citizens who sincerely hope that America will win the War- but they also hope that Russia will lose it; and there are some who hope that America will win the War, but that England will lose it; and there are some who hope that America will win the War, but that Roosevelt will lose it!"

"Golden Gate in '48. Breadlines in '49." This was apparently a common saying among troops being dispatched into service in 1942. They were already assuming the War, even after Midway, would take twice as long as it did and that said War would exhaust and bankrupt both the Nation and the World. As Ian Toll explains in his conclusion, this sort of spirit showed that the Americans had a gritty and persevering determination and the Japanese fatally misjudged them. They weren't cowed by the prospect of a long war and even a destitute homecoming afterwards.

 

[WolfBear]

I have recently taken a look at parts of the book If the Allies Had Fallen. It contains 60 alternate history scenarios about World War II. It's pretty interesting, to be honest. And I like the fact that it's written by professional academics. More professional academics should write alternate history, to be honest. Even as short articles.

I know that Richard Ned Lebow previously wrote an alternate history book called Franz Ferdinand Lives.

 

[WolfBear]

I also previously read some books whose contents I briefly discussed in another forum. Please allow me to repost the relevant material here:

I don't really know to what extent these free online books are actually going to benefit anyone here, but I have previously taken a look at all of them and enjoyed them; so, here goes:

Arnold J. Toynbee's Nationality and the War (Dent 1915):

Nationality And The War : Toynbee, Arnold J. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Book Source: Digital Library of India Item 2015.514079dc.contributor.author: Toynbee, Arnold J.dc.date.accessioned: 2015-09-30T13:09:28Zdc.date.available:...

archive.org

This book is about the various ethnic/nationality problems that are going on in Europe and various other parts of the world (the Middle East, et cetera) at that point in time--exacerbated by World War I, which was ongoing at that point in time--and also discusses various solutions to these ethnic/nationality problems, such as autonomy and border redrawing--on which this book provides a lot of extensive details and information. This book also tries to make political predictions and prognostications for the future.

Charles Ernest Fayle's The Great Settlement (1915):

The Great Settlement : Charles Ernest Fayle : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Book digitized by Google from the library of the New York Public Library and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

archive.org

This book discusses what the post-World War I settlement should look like. Like the previous book (above), it discusses the various ethnic issues and problems in Europe and tries to figure out what an ideal long-term lasting solution to these problems should be once World War I will be over--whenever that might be.

Charles Sarolea's Letters on Polish Affairs (1922):

Letters on Polish affairs : Sarolea, Charles, 1870-1953 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

31

archive.org

This book discusses various issues that the newly independent Poland is facing after the end of World War I, from economics to its territorial disputes with its neighbors to appeasing its minority populations. Sarolea is a Belgian who lived in Scotland, so he's an external observer to all of this who doesn't actually appear to have a direct personal stake in this.

Isaiah Bowman's The New World: Problems in Political Geography (1921):

The new world : problems in political geography / by Isaiah Bowman, Ph.D., Director of the American Geographical Society of New York : Bowman, Isaiah, 1878-1950, author : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

archive.org

This book takes a geographical look at the post-World War I peace settlement and also at other parts of the world and tries teaching its readers a lot of information about various parts of the world. This book could be viewed as being a mini-encyclopedia of the world, I suppose.

Isaiah Bowman's Supplement to The New World: Problems in Political Geography (1924):

Supplement to The New World, Problems in Political Geography

www.google.com

A supplement to the previous book, but this time focusing on the United States as well as on the Americas in general.

Charles Homer Haskins's and Robert Howard Lord's Some Problems of the Peace Conference (1922):

Some problems of the Peace conference : Haskins, Charles Homer, 1870-1937 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Lectures ... printed substantially as delivered at Lowell institute last January [1920] with only incidental revision ... The first four chapters were...

archive.org

This book discusses various problems that the Paris Peace Conference had to deal with as well as how exactly it solved these problems.

John Wheeler Bennett's Brest-Litovsk: The Forgotten Peace: March 1918 (1938):

Brest Litovsk The Forgotten Peace March 1918 : Wheeler_bennett : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Book Source: Digital Library of India Item 2015.163949dc.contributor.author: Wheeler_bennettdc.contributor.other: Ccldc.date.accessioned:...

archive.org

This book was written shortly before the start of World War II and discusses the run-up to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the Bolshevik Revolution itself, the negotiations leading up to the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, the aftermath of this treaty, the Bolsheviks' first year of power in Russia, and the Central Powers' subsequent defeat in World War I. It really is quite interesting.

Alfred Cobban's National Self-Determination (1947):

National self-determination.: Issued under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs : Cobban, Alfred : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

http://uf.catalog.fcla.edu/uf.jsp?st=UF001078026&ix=nu&I=0&V=D

archive.org

An excellent book about the issue of national self-determination throughout the entire world that is written with extremely great detail and clarity and is full of information about this topic in a global scope. This book was written in the aftermath of World War II, when both World War I and World War II as well as the effects and aftermath of both of these wars (which were highly relevant to national self-determination) were still fresh in everyone's minds.

Bernard Newman's Danger Spots of Europe (1939):

Danger Spots Of Europe : Newman, Bernard : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Book Source: Digital Library of India Item 2015.136797dc.contributor.author: Newman, Bernarddc.date.accessioned: 2015-07-04T01:26:38Zdc.date.available:...

archive.org

A book about Europe's "danger spots" on the eve of World War II--or, in other words, about the European territories that are most likely to cause/generate new wars over them. Extremely interesting and very informative!

Stephen Roberts's The House that Hitler Built (1938):

The House That Hitler Built : Roberts, Stephen : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

This book is written primarily for the man-in-the-street who wishes to have some idea of the German experiment. It may best be explained by a personal note....

archive.org

A book about Nazi Germany from before the start of World War II that discusses what Adolf Hitler has accomplished so far as well as speculates on what Hitler's future plans are likely to be--especially in regards to his foreign policy. Quite interesting and insightful!

Some more free online books that I enjoyed taking a look at:

Robert Lansing's The Peace Negotiations: A Personal Narrative (1921):

The peace negotiations; a personal narrative : Lansing, Robert, 1864-1928 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

26

archive.org

This book is an autobiography by United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing (served 1915 to 1920), with a special focus on the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and its negotiations and results. It really is quite interesting since it allows us to take a look at this from the perspective of one of the big players in this--even if he personally didn't actually attend this conference.

Count Ottokar Czernin's In the World War (1920):

In the world war : Czernin von und zu Chudenitz, Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria, graf, 1872-1932 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

5 p. l., 387 p. 22 cm

archive.org

This book is an autobiography by Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Ottokar Czernin (served 1916 to 1918), with a special focus on World War I and its aftermath and specifically his and Austria-Hungary's role in all of this. It's an excellent book to read about World War I from the perspective of a very senior Austro-Hungarian government official.

Friederich Naumann's Mitteleuropa (Central Europe), in English (1915):

Central Europe : Naumann, Friedrich, 1860-1919 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Bibliography: p. 324-342

archive.org

This book discusses Central Europe, the ties that bind it together, and what the future of Central Europe might look like after the end of World War I. This article contains more information about this book as well as about the Mitteleuropa concept in general:

Concept of Mitteleuropa | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1)

Friedrich Naumann’s ''Mitteleuropa'' (1915) was a liberal voice in the largely illiberal German discussion on the future of East Central and South East Europe. His reasoning, based on principles of free trade and voluntary cooperation, did not dominate this debate, which, in consequence...

encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net

Ray Stannard Baker's Woodrow Wilson and World Settlement Volumes 1-3 (1922):

Woodrow Wilson and world settlement. Written from his unpublished and personal material : Baker, Ray Stannard, 1870-1946 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

26

archive.org

Woodrow Wilson and world settlement : Baker, Ray Stannard, 1870-1946 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

archive.org

Woodrow Wilson and world settlement : Baker, Ray Stannard, 1870-1946 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

archive.org

This three-volume book series was written by Ray Stannard Baker, an American journalist, historian, biographer, and author and also a close friend and confidant of US President Woodrow Wilson. In this three-volume book series, Baker discusses President Wilson's role in shaping the post-World War I peace settlement at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Quite an excellent, extremely detailed, and very informative read!

Sir Robert Donald's The Polish Corridor and the Consequences (in or before 1933; not sure about the exact year):

The Polish corridor and the consequences : Donald, Robert, 1861-1933 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

26

archive.org

This book discusses the post-World War I situation in Danzig and the various territories that were given from Germany to Poland after the end of World War I, including the Polish Corridor, Posen Province, and eastern Upper Silesia. It's written by a British observer who tries to be relatively imperial (even though he nevertheless appears to have a bit of a German bias) and is quite interesting to read.

Andre Tardieu's The Truth About the Treaty (1921):

André Tardieu. The Truth about the Treaty. 1921. Foreword. Contents.

net.lib.byu.edu

This book is written by French diplomat Andre Tardieu and discusses his role in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and the post-World War I settlement in the West that this peace conference resulted in. While Tardieu obviously has a bit of a French bias (highly unsurprising for a Frenchman!), this book is nevertheless quite interesting and shows the 1919 Paris Peace Conference from a French perspective.

Ian F. D. Morrow's The Peace Settlement in the German-Polish Borderlands (1936):

The Peace Settlement in the German Polish Borderlands

books.google.com

This book is written by a relatively impartial Brit and, as per its title, discusses the post-World War I settlement and situation in the German-Polish borderlands in the 1920s and 1930s. It really is quite interesting, detailed, and insightful.

Adam Tooze's The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy (2006):

Tooze, Adam The Wages Of Destruction The Making And Breaking Of The Nazi Economy : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Economy

archive.org

This book is written by British historian Adam Tooze and provides an extremely detailed and insightful look at the economy and economics of Nazi Germany and Nazi-controlled Europe in general. Basically, this book looks at World War II from a largely economic perspective and does an excellent job at doing this. At around 800 pages, this award-winning book is highly recommended!

Corliss Lamont's The Peoples of the Soviet Union (1944):

The Peoples of the Soviet Union : Lamont, Corliss, 1902- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

A 1946 work. Scanned by Leif Giering.

archive.org

This book discusses the various peoples (as in, ethnic groups) of the Soviet Union in great detail and is thus an enjoyment to read for anyone who wants to learn more about this topic. This book is easy, fun, and interesting to read.

Charles Lowe's Alexander III of Russia (1895):

Alexander III of Russia

www.google.com

This book is a very interesting biography of Russian Tsar Alexander III written shortly after his death by an English-speaker Westerner, possibly either a Brit or an American. Basically, this book discusses the life of Alexander III in its entirety and the various decisions that he has made throughout his life as well as the consequences of these decisions.

Also, this isn't a book but could nevertheless be of value--specifically these publications from the Strategic Studies Institute:

https://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/author/ssi-publications/

They have some good publications in there, but you might have to actually find them. Here is an example of a good publication by them:

https://publications.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/1737.pdf

This specific publication talks about how the Germans were great at tactics in the World Wars but bad at strategy--thus ultimately being capable of winning a lot of battles in both World Wars but ultimately losing both of these wars.

 

[Rocinante]

Right now I'm on book 14 of Expeditionary Force, which is also the inspiration for my avatar.

I just finished The Lost Fleet series, which is a six book series, a good space opera with somewhat realistic physics.

The Bridge sequence series before that. Think Ancient Aliens meets Indiana Jones.

The "Bobiverse" was a really good series by Dennis E Taylor, about turning a dead guy into an AI and exploring the universe with no FTL.

Currently also readying Andy Weir's Artemis after reading Project Hail Mary (can't recommend this enough,) and The Martian.

I have to mention how good The Three Body Problem was. Damn that was a good one.

If you can't tell I read a lot of Sci Fi...

 

[Husky_Khan]

Read Nomonhan, 1939 by Stuart Goldman. I started it thinking it'd be a Battle History but the actual component of the Battle of Nomonhan was actually a mere fraction of the book. About half of the book was dealing with Soviet-Japanese relations leading up to the moment including a quip about how Soviet-Japanese Relations prior to 1937 were good but Japanese-Soviet Relations were terrible in that the Soviets, realizing their vulnerability in the East, were friendly and accommodating to Japan but not vice versa in many cases. It was also, quite interestingly, a good and concise history of international diplomacy and relations leading up to World War Two. Not only are Soviet-Japanese tensions explored, but also the rise of Nazi Germany and things like the Munich Crisis.

This is because the main thrust of this book is to examine what the Author feels is an important part of World War Two history overlooked, which is that the tensions that led to Nomonhan and its after effects have been ignored or overlooked in general both at the time and ever since. It was a diplomatic crisis that had large effects, perhaps not as influential as Munich or the Spanish Civil War for example but serious ramifications never the less. The Author points out that Soviet fears of a German-Japanese (and Italian) Alliance against the Soviet Union was a great concern of Stalin. It also goes into detail of the Soviets plans and counterplans to prevent themselves from being outmaneuvered, both supporting and denouncing Western powers like Britain and France, and points out how the Soviet Union was courting the Western Allies even as Nomonhan was going on, and as they were negotiating with Nazi Germany as well. He also points out how the Battle of Nomonhan ended right before the Soviet Invasion of Poland and apparently occurred later then the Germans expected.

With all that said, the Battle histories were rather detailed as well, not just of Nomonhan, but also earlier border incidents including Lake Khasan and the Amur River Skirmishes. One interesting anecdote from the book was how in March 1939, the Japanese engaged in an exceptional bit of military deception.

Tsuji conducted a number of additional reconnaissance trips to the area that winter. On his last such mission in March 1939, he led a detachment of forty men to the foot on Changkufeng Hill where thousands had bled and died seven months earlier. Tsuji had his men sling their rifles across their backs to show nonbelligerent intent and matched them conspicuously up to the hill to within two hundred yards of the Soviet Defense lines. There he formed them into a single line abreast, whereupon they all undid their trousers and urinated in unison, to the surprised laughter of the Soviet troops. They then moved off a few yards and forming a circle, sat down to enjoy obentos (a kind of Japanese box lunch) and sake. Later, after singing some rousing Japanese army songs, Tsuji and his men departed, leaving behind cans of meat, chocolates and whiskey for the bemused Soviet onlookers. This burlesque performance was an elaborate diversion staged by Tsuji to mask clandestine photography of enemy positions, showing Soviet fortifications incontrovertibly in Manchukuoan territory,
​

Good stuff. Even got into a bit of 'What If' stylle historical conjecture in the end as well as well as pointing out the eventual fate of the Kwangtung Army based in Manchuria and how the Soviets smashed its hollowed out formations in the last month of the War. Over six hundred thousand Japanese soldiers were surrendered into Soviet custody and apparently around seventy thousand were killed in Soviet captivity with the final Japanese POW's finally repatriated around 1956.

 

[WolfBear]

Yitzhak Arad's 2009 book The Holocaust in the Soviet Union is both a fascinating and an extremely tragic read:

The Holocaust in the Soviet Union

The Holocaust in the Soviet Union is the most complete account to date of the Soviet Jews during the World War II and the Holocaust (1941?45). Reports, records, documents, and research previously unavailable in English enable Yitzhak Arad to trace the Holocaust in the German-occupied territories...

books.google.com

It's fascinating because it provides a lot of extremely detailed data about Holocaust victims and Holocaust survivors for different parts of the Soviet Union and even different parts of each SSR. But it's also tragic because it describes the extreme butchery, brutality, and inhumanity of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union under Nazi rule/occupation in extremely massive detail.

You can find this book for free in its entirety on LibGen. I highly recommend it.