What are you reading?

[Recovering LSO]

WOW. Just finished Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by Hornfisher. Incredible book. I'm a bit embarrassed that it took me as long as it did to pick it up. At the expense of hyperbole - it was one of the best books I've ever read. At times it is was difficult to remember that it was non-fiction and not just a thrilling and tragic piece of literature.

Onto McCullough's bio of the Wrights next.


Also, just picked up this book. The first few chapters are very well written and it reads quickly. It might supplant Orville and Wilbur for a few weeks.

 

[Pags]

Why "last stand" hasn't been made in to a movie or a miniseries is beyond me.

 

[Recovering LSO]

Why "last stand" hasn't been made in to a movie or a miniseries is beyond me.

It has, at least in documentary format:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068999/

http://www.navyhistory.org/2011/12/battle-off-samar-film/

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8149447

but good luck finding those.

While I was reading it I did keep thinking about how good of a movie it would be, but then got very very worried that Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett might show up again and ruin it.

 

[wink]

^^^ Longitude, Last stand..., and Six Frigates.

I liked Power Faith and Fantasy, America in the Middle East from 1776 to the Present (2007) by Michael B. Oren. Very thorough but read very well.

Lincoln and his Admirals by Craig L Symonds gives a little studied and presented side of the Civil War. Also more insight on Lincoln as Commander in Chief.

Cochrane, The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain, Robert Harvey. If you like the fiction of O'Brian and similar you will love this story of a real life 19th century Royal Navy officer whose actual life was like fictional Capt Jack Aubrey.

Pepys' Later Diaries, Samuel Pepys. Pepys was a top level administrator of the 19th century Royal Navy. He is responsible for the modernization of the RN from abandoning the lash to centralized pay and veterans benefits. Sounds dry, but not. Pepys was very influential. He was a prolific diarist and recorded many major events of his time from the perspective of the royal court to include the great fire, war, and intrigue, and maneuver by career navy officers invested in the old ways and resistant to his modernization of the navy. By extention he shaped our navy.

 

[Fallonflyr]

For some military fiction try the books by Dalton Fury. He is a former DELTA guy so has a real perspective. Nothing heavy duty, just entertainment.

 

[SynixMan]

On the topic of miniseries that would be good: I'd really love to see Red Storm Rising as a TV Miniseries. I know the Clancy estate is in a bit of turmoil at the moment, but that would be pretty awesome. I read it last year again, and it was even better with my limited Navy knowledge now.

 

[Pags]

On the topic of miniseries that would be good: I'd really love to see Red Storm Rising as a TV Miniseries. I know the Clancy estate is in a bit of turmoil at the moment, but that would be pretty awesome. I read it last year again, and it was even better with my limited Navy knowledge now.

Red Storm Rising is a good read. Pretty funny to read about them taking out the experimental SH-60F.

Of note, The Hunt for Red October makes mention of a British ASW Harrier. A bit of a reach...

 

[Flash]

Red Storm Rising is a good read. Pretty funny to read about them taking out the experimental SH-60F.

I thought it was a prototype/test SH-2, guess I'll have to look at my copy tonight!

Of note, The Hunt for Red October makes mention of a British ASW Harrier. A bit of a reach...

Are you sure? I don't remember a reference to that, do you know where in the book that is?

 

[Gatordev]

I thought it was a prototype/test SH-2, guess I'll have to look at my copy tonight!

It was all kinds of a mish-mash of helicopter, but it was definitely a -60. I read the book for the second time on my first deployment while on a FFG and it was interesting to read all of the things that were errors when you actually know something about the material he was writing about. Still an entertaining story, though.

 

[jmcquate]

I read it in college. The only mistake I remember was that the VF-41 call sign was "Spade".

 

[Pags]

I thought it was a prototype/test SH-2, guess I'll have to look at my copy tonight!



Are you sure? I don't remember a reference to that, do you know where in the book that is?

I think they started out in an H-2 and then switched to an H-60 (I think they even call it an Ocean Hawk) after the first escort gets her bow blown off.

As for the ASW Harrier, google books doesn't have page numbers, but they make mention of a British ASW Harrier.
<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border:0px" src="https://books.google.com/books?id=xz2LhK79I3gC&lpg=PT144&ots=TSNaxlHWP6&dq=red october asw harrier&pg=PT121&output=embed" width=500 height=500></iframe>

 

[SynixMan]

I specifically remember a 60 Foxtrot in the second half of the book. The use of "stealth" for a decapitating preemptive strike was quit predictive given the 86 publishing date and the 87 public reveal of the F-117.

Either way, compelling story given the resurgent Russians lately.

 

[jmcquate]

I specifically remember a 60 Foxtrot in the second half of the book. The use of "stealth" for a decapitating preemptive strike was quit predictive given the 86 publishing date and the 87 public reveal of the F-117.

Either way, compelling story given the resurgent Russians lately.

Wasn't the stealth platform the infamous "F-19"? I remember that Testors even kitted a model of it.

 

[Recovering LSO]

Wasn't the stealth platform the infamous "F-19"? I remember that Testors even kitted a model of it.

This little guy?


http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/TESTORS F-19 STEALTH PAGE.htm

 

[Recovering LSO]

Here a couple of book reviews for titles recently published by USNI. If you're not familiar with their wheel book series, some of them look interesting - others not so much.

USNI on Naval Tactics
USNI on Naval Command