What are you reading at the moment?

Also includes info on Italian submarine tactics and Italian Blockade Runners.

 

I started reading "Images of War" which I mentioned here

The art is mostly excellent with some standouts. There were a couple more abstract pictures by a French artist which were certainly not traditional for war art but very effective. Cuneo's painting of the evacuation at Dunkirk was given a two-page spread which was excellent. The part I looked at so far covered from Poland to the fall of France.

The text uses a lot of quotes from various people and generally seems pretty good.

 

Battle Babies was a good read. I have particular interest in it b/c a sniper I wrote about was in that division.

Now on James Goultry's The Second World War Through Soldiers' Eyes: British Army Life 1939-1945. If you enjoy Bell Irvin Wiley's Life of Billy Yank or Life of Johnny Reb, Goultry's work is similar.

 

I know, different conflict, but I now started reading Robert B. Asprey's The German High Command at War. Just finished Edmonds' Military Operations, France and Belgium, 1917 Vol 1 and 2 (Arras and Messines/Passendale).

Got a pristine copy (hardcover) for a real bargain (€ 10,00).

 

Today I finished British Interrogation Techniques of the Second World War. Just started Bill Mauldin's (WW II Joe & Willie cartoon in Stars and Stripes newspaper) auto-biography, The Brass Ring.

 

riter,

If interrogation is your "thing" have a look at the more contemporary work by Dr. Samantha Newbery, from Salford University. I think she has just published a new book, unsure what on though. See: Items where Salford Author is "Newbery, Dr Samantha" - University of Salford Institutional Repository

 

After watching Heroes of Telemark for second time since my childhood, I remembered I had this on the shelf so far an interesting read

 

Last hero of Telemark: The man who helped stop Hitler's A-bomb

 

Most recent in his series on the fighting in 1940. According to the intro, there's one more book to come to complete the series which will look at the 51st Division's actions.

 

Just started this, highly recommended on the GWF:

 

Finished Brass Rings and read online Mauldin's book on the Revolutionary War soldier. It's free and a short read: Mud and Guts: A Look at the Common Soldier of the American Revolution : Mauldin, Bill : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

 

As ever, I have different books in different places:

My 'home' reading is Letter From Compton Deverell by Denys J. Watkins-Pitchford. Perfect for an expat at bedtime.

My 'commute' read is Nostromo by Joseph Conrad—a re-read from a decade or more ago when I took it with a series of bounds instead of in digestible chunks; much, much better this way.

 

M. H. Bill Kunselman's Sketches & Memoirs From WW II"

 

R L CRIMP 'Diary of a Desert Rat'

Vivid description of his war with Rifle Brigade from arrival in Egypt in 1941 to fall of Tunis.

 

Just finished Hans-Georg Neumann's A Man Worth Knowing. Posthumously released (cancer got 'im) memoir of a radio-signal officer who was captured in North Africa (Nov. 1941), was sent first to Egypt, then South Africa and finally to Canada. He liked Canada and he and his wife immigrated and made a life for themselves there.

On to Frances Eugene Liggit's No... Not Yet. Liggit served in the 45th Infantry and was at Stalag 3A when it was liberated by a Soviet tank battalion led by a woman (See the book, Simple Sound of Freedom about a 101 Paratrooper who escaped and joined her battalion). When it becaame apparent that the Soviets were going to use American PoWs as post-war bargaining chips,Liggit walked away and reached American lines on his own.

 

Liggit made an interesting comment about wood bullets. Wood bullets are training ammunition which were, because of their lack of mass short ranged. I've read numerous accounts that the Germans used them in combat which leads me to surmise it was because of supply chain breakdown and the inability to issue normal cartridges. Anyway, Liggit said they killed every German they caught who had them.

Now onto Dirk Chervatin's Eastern Front: 500 Letters from War.

 

Chaps never grow up, they just get older!

Comedic book find of the day (two quid), July 1957 era, and you couldn't make it up.

Nothing new; ever. Reds under the beds, and a chink in our armour up above. But it's fine if we do it, but not if you do it!

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Re: Japanese incendiary balloons. The Negro 555 Parachute Infantry Battalion was never deployed in combat but they were used as smoke jumpers. Later they were briefly attached to the 82nd Airborne and General Gavin ordered that they should wear the division awards when they marched in the victory parade in NYC.

 

From Submariners to Tank Killers

Submariners to Tank-Killers (U-Bootmänner als Panzerjäger)

 

New series started by Claringbould and Ingman.
Looks up to the standards of their previous work.
So excellent!