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What book are you reading now?

Based on a tip from a friend, I was able to get a copy of First In Last Out The South African Artillery in Action 1975-1988 by Clive Wilsworth from Amazon.com in the US. Amazon had one other copy, which Petard purchased on my recommendation.

The book gave me some insights into a campaign I knew virtually nothing about, the South African war against national liberation forces in South West Africa and these forces and the Cubans in Angola. Their gunners started off with 25-pounders and 5.5-inch guns organized on British lines and gradually transformed into a modern force with locally developed and produced 155mm howitzers and multi-barreled rocket launchers that outranged the enemy artillery along with Israeli 120mm mortars. (Yes, the long range 155mm rounds were invented in Canada, but we let the technology get away from us.)

Interesting book, but I have some nagging doubts about their gunnery skills, in part because of how they cobbled together troops and batteries to deploy sometimes on as little as a day's notice.

I ordered a couple of books on the campaigns so as to broaden my knowledge. From what little I have dug out so far, their major weakness may have been generals who had a good theoretical base, but tended to try and run battalions, companies and platoons in contact from their offices. We will see. 
 
Just finished reading "Nemesis Games" by James S.A. Corey https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22886612-nemesis-games

This is an other excellent book in the Expanse series. If you have not read the series I suggest you start from book one as it will be more enjoyable that way. This science fiction book continues the adventures of the crew of the Rocinante (their ship) in a universe about ready to go to war.

This time the author split the crew up and they had various solo plot lines that all connected at the end. I liked this as you got to learn more about the other characters other than James Holden. I think my favourite plot line was the one involving Amos.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes either science fiction or just good adventure novels in general. I would also suggest watching the TV based on the books, "The Expanse" it is in my opinion a good adaption of the novels.
 
FJAG said:
"Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah. A very interesting account of his childhood growing up in pre and post apartheid South Africa.

https://www.amazon.com/Born-Crime-Stories-African-Childhood/dp/0399588175

:subbies:
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Received this one for Christmas as well.  Interesting insight into South Africa.  I also happened to see his 2013 comedy stage act on Comedy Central in the last few days, titled Trevor Noah: African American http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3043546/  It is also an interesting take on a new arrival to US soil, taped in New York but he describes his arrival at his first US airport in hilarious fashion.

My recent books include:
Tribe - Sebastian Unger - was recommended by many in the military medical community as new insight into PTSD - although only a small portion of the book is very insightful - I recommend borrow from a library - do buy it!

I am also listening to a book on CD - Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens - recommended for people interested reading/hearing some life lessons in overcoming challenges associated - depression, suicidal ideation, PTSD, OSI and much more.  I enjoy listening it in my car driving to and from Kingston - 1 hour at a time.

"In 2012, Eric Greitens unexpectedly heard from a former SEAL comrade, a brother-in-arms he hadn't seen in a decade. Zach Walker pseudonym) had been one of the toughest of the tough. But ever since he returned home from war to his young family in a small logging town, he d been struggling. Without a sense of purpose, plagued by PTSD, and masking his pain with heavy drinking, he needed help. Zach and Eric started writing and talking nearly every day, as Eric set down his thoughts on what it takes to build resilience in our lives.

Eric's letters drawing on both his own experience and wisdom from ancient and modern thinkers are now gathered and edited into this timeless guidebook. Resilience explains how we can build purpose, confront pain, practice compassion, develop a vocation, find a mentor, create happiness, and much more. Eric s lessons are deep yet practical, and his advice leads to clear solutions."

 
Ready Player One.

Mind you, for a book that's allegedly a tribute to the 1980s/1990s nerd culture, there's a whole lot of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which was a 1975 production... or have I just out-nerded the book?
 
FJAG said:
"Rogue Lawyer" by John Grisham https://www.amazon.com/Rogue-Lawyer-Novel-John-Grisham/dp/0553393480

Weak start, pretty good middle but weak ending.

In fairness there are a lot of good reviews for this book but for me it didn't measure up to some of his other works.

:cheers:
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I was not overly impressed with this book either. Lately I feel that he is just pumping them out without actually caring about the books.
 
Finally finished "Babylon's Ashes", the 6th book of the Expanse series.  Maybe I spread it out too long, but I thought it was pretty meh.  The 1st and 2nd episodes of Season 2 of the show were pretty awesome though.
 
I am going through a Paul Brickhill phase; just finished reading The Dam Busters. It is the story of the RAF Squadron 617 during WWII, of course focusing on Operation Chastise, the blowing up of German dams in the Rhur. It also follows their subsequent missions in the war and talked briefly about "the bouncing bomb" and it's inventor Sir Barnes Wallis.

The one complaint I have with the book is that it was published in 1951 when parts of the operation and the bomb were still classified, so the author could not go into a lot of detail (and I read that some parts were purposely false to preserve secrecy). So I am going to check out the library and see if I can find any other books on the operation.  Plus this gives me an excuse to watch the film again. 
 
Eisenhower: A soldier's Life, Carlo d'Este, 2002 848 p.  This tome flatters no one, including Eisenhower. While the biography describes his life up to the end of World War Two, it gives very little insight as to the 'how' or 'why'.  It is not a source for 'lessons learned' with one exception. The workings of personalities in command headquarters will be familiar to those who have served in them. The book depicts that how well connected one was and who was who's friend was a determining factor of who commanded, whether competent or not. The arguments are well supported and up to date providing a deep historical perspective. This history provides an excellent view of high military command at the boundary of government policy of World War Two.
 
Sandyson said:
Eisenhower: A soldier's Life, Carlo d'Este, 2002 848 p.  This tome flatters no one, including Eisenhower. While the biography describes his life up to the end of World War Two, it gives very little insight as to the 'how' or 'why'.  It is not a source for 'lessons learned' with one exception. The workings of personalities in command headquarters will be familiar to those who have served in them. The book depicts that how well connected one was and who was who's friend was a determining factor of who commanded, whether competent or not. The arguments are well supported and up to date providing a deep historical perspective. This history provides an excellent view of high military command at the boundary of government policy of World War Two.
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Bomber Harris wrote that in all his time at Bomber Command - in which many Canadians served - "I recall only one period of calm sailing when all went well, when we all pulled together... and that was during the all too short period when Eisenhower was Admiral."
 
SS-GB by Len Deighton. In anticipation of watching the miniseries.
 
The Silent Corner: A Novel of Suspense Hardcover  – June 20, 2017

by Dean Koontz

https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Corner-Novel-Suspense/dp/0345545990

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A dazzling new series, a pure adrenaline rush, debuts with Jane Hawk, a remarkable heroine certain to become an icon of suspense

"I very much need to be dead.”

"These are the chilling words left behind by a man who had everything to live for—but took his own life. In the aftermath, his widow, Jane Hawk, does what all her grief, fear, and fury demand: find the truth, no matter what."

Highly recommended. Don't want to give away the heart of the story line but think hacking into the brain. !



 
The Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our War in Afghanistan by Graeme Smith. 

"The Dogs Are Eating Them Now is a raw, uncensored account of the war in Afghanistan from a brilliant young reporter who for several years was the only Western journalist brave enough to live full-time in the dangerous southern region.

The Dogs are Eating Them Now is a highly personal narrative of our war in Afghanistan and how it went dangerously wrong. Written by a respected and fearless former foreign correspondent who has won multiple awards for his journalism (including an Emmy for the video series "Talking with the Taliban") this is a gripping account of modern warfare that takes you into back alleys, cockpits and prisons--telling stories that would have endangered his life had he published this book while still working as a journalist.

From the corruption of law enforcement agents and the tribal nature of the local power structure to the economics of the drug trade and the frequent blunders of foreign troops, this is the no-holds-barred story from a leading expert on the insurgency. Smith draws on his unmatched compassion and a rare ability to cut through the noise and see the broader truths to give us a bold and candid look at the Taliban's continued influence--and at the mistakes, catastrophes and ultimate failure of the West's best intentions."
https://www.amazon.ca/Dogs-Are-Eating-Them-Now/dp/0307397807
 
That was an excellent book.  And the thought of the title brought a smile to my face.
 
Simian Turner said:
The Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our War in Afghanistan by Graeme Smith. 
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Have ordered it up in my library.

Currently reading "Saturn Run" by John Sandford and Ctein.

https://www.amazon.ca/Saturn-Run-John-Sandford/dp/0399176950

Sandford has authored a large number of police/mystery books including the Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers series.

This is his first run in the science fiction genre and he has done a superb job. Highly recommended.

:cheers:
 
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