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Uncle Bob’s History Book Club


Utah Bob #35998

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If you want to understand the war against the axis in Africa and Europe, both on a strategic and personal level, I recommend the excellent Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson. Superb writing and research make each volume hard to put down. I began and then ended my day while reading these, sometimes late into the night which is unusual for me. 10 pm is lights out for me usually ;)

 I can’t help but be reminded of another masterpiece; Bruce Catton’s 2 Civil War trilogy’s, the first of which I read as a young boy. No doubt they were mostly responsible for my lifelong love of history.

If you want a better understanding of the titanic struggle that took place after America’s entry into the war and of the personalities involved from the kid in the foxhole to the heads of state, I recommend you immerse yourself into this amazing series.

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I love to read and these sound like excellent material, thank you for sharing.

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2 hours ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

An excellent author and series.

 

His first book of a new series on the Revolutionary War, "The British Are Coming" is now out. Gonna start that tonight.

It’s on my list! 

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7 minutes ago, Chief Rick said:

While I prefer real paper, are these available electronically? 

Yes!

Kindle version on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F1R9AQW/?coliid=IVWKWT31EE1M1&colid=1UX4FJDZ3XBZ4&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

 

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Pretty much all you need to know about the Civil War can be found in Shelby Foote’s million word trilogy. Excellently researched and written by not a historian but a novelist who became one of America’s greatest experts on the war, it’s root causes and aftermath. Interestingly every word was written using an old fashioned quill pen and ink bottle 

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8 minutes ago, LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L said:

Need to get these.  My introduction to the Tunisia campaign was via "Here is Your War" by Ernie Pyle.  Many years ago...

And he’s mentioned repeatedly in the books.

 

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20 minutes ago, Henry T Harrison said:

Pretty much all you need to know about the Civil War can be found in Shelby Foote’s million word trilogy. Excellently researched and written by not a historian but a novelist who became one of America’s greatest experts on the war, it’s root causes and aftermath. Interestingly every word was written using an old fashioned quill pen and ink bottle 

 Atkinson was also not a historian but a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.

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Do you guys realize that in not too many years YOU will be history and someone will read your story.....but only if you write it down.

 

And if you haven't already done so, check out the program that allows you to make a DVD recording of your experiences in your own words.  A copy will be given to you for you to get to your family and friends, and a copy goes to the Library of Congress.

 

Ask your local VA or VFW about it.  I had fun doing it.  I told them I wouldn't tell any gory-glory stories, but I did tell them about a lot of good memories I had. 

 

And if you are veteran, for God's sake, get on Utah Bob's veterans' board.  You were there, you served, you have recognition coming.  Do it...NOW!

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I read Atkinson's An Army at Dawn several years ago when it first was published. Then a year or so back, I read the whole trilogy. It is indeed outstanding. I definitely second Bob's recommendation.

 

As for Max Hastings, mentioned by Major Crimes, his one-volume history of WWII "Inferno" is really good. There are now some very good (thick) one-volume histories of WWII out in the last few years, all of which have the advantage of the availability now of all archives, including huge amounts of Soviet archives. Norman Davies' 'No Simple Victory' is another excellent recent one-volume job.

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Let me add a big recommendation for Ian Toll's recent two books about the war in the Pacific, with the third to be published in 2020. 'Pacific Crucible' is volume 1, Pearl Harbor through Midway, 'The Conquering Tide'  through the Marianas campaign is volume 2.

In many ways Toll's books are the Pacific war equivalent of Atkinson's trilogy about the war in Europe. They are extremely well written. Toll points out that there hasn't been a real overall comprehensive history devoted to the Pacific war in several decades. While of course lots has been written about the Pacific, it still has usually taken something of a back seat to Europe. These books really fill the gap.

As with other contemporary historians of the War, Toll too has the advantage that now 'all of the books are open' as far as archives are concerned.

Toll also makes very heavy use of diaries and memoirs of soldiers and sailors who fought in the campaigns. While there are several first-person accounts that have been republished in recent years, Toll points out that there is an enormous amount of 'memoir' material, much of it by men who wrote very well and deeply which has never before seen publication. He uses a lot of this invaluable material. (This plugs right into what Forty Rod says....)

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26 minutes ago, Chief Rick said:

I just need to make a list - I could go broke ordering the recommended books on this thread...

I spotted a few of them this afternoon in our local library. And it’s not a big library.

I find a lot from used book sellers. Even Amazon has used books. 

I have to do printed books. I just can’t get used to Kindle books.

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27 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I spotted a few of them this afternoon in our local library. And it’s not a big library.

I find a lot from used book sellers. Even Amazon has used books. 

I have to do printed books. I just can’t get used to Kindle books.

I’m out of space for real books. Just in my den there are forty feet of bookshelves mostly holding Civil War books and more stacked on the floor waiting their turn. That doesn’t take into account the hundred cook books that I have collected or my wife’s books 

It took awhile to get used to the Kindle but it travels well and I can sit on my deck and read in the dark 

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42 minutes ago, Henry T Harrison said:

I’m out of space for real books. Just in my den there are forty feet of bookshelves mostly holding Civil War books and more stacked on the floor waiting their turn. That doesn’t take into account the hundred cook books that I have collected or my wife’s books 

It took awhile to get used to the Kindle but it travels well and I can sit on my deck and read in the dark 

I used to be like that but I’ve started donating a lot to the library and school. I figure a core of maybe 50-60 is enough for me.

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4 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I used to be like that but I’ve started donating a lot to the library and school. I figure a core of maybe 50-60 is enough for me.

A lot of my books come from the semi annual library book sales . I can’t resist them 

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18 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I spotted a few of them this afternoon in our local library. And it’s not a big library.

I find a lot from used book sellers. Even Amazon has used books. 

I have to do printed books. I just can’t get used to Kindle books.

I really prefer printed, but a potential new job may have me traveling more. 

 

It's a lot easier carrying a tablet with a whole bunch of books than even two or three paperbacks. Let's not even consider hardbacks...

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I love my Kindle Fire as it is way too easy to order the next book in a series without having to even leave the house, but I've started buying some paperbacks and hardbacks because there is just such a great feeling about holding a "real" book and turning the pages. Kindles were so great when on vacation as the three of us trying to pack enough books for vacation took up way too much space.  I loved the campgrounds that had book exchanges - take a book, leave a book. 

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I guess my eyes just can’t get used to reading a couple hundred pages on a screen.

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