Just finished A Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger and A World Undone by G. Meyer.

Steel was a crazy first person account of ww1. The other was a comprehensive history. Both very good.

Mao: The Unknown Story long, detailed and a good read.

Just finished one of the great Indian captivity accounts from Texas



Well done and fascinating.

Currently on



I'm a bit of a buff on the Manhattan Project, and have read several accounts of the various aspects of it. I've also been to Trinity Site twice. This is so far, not great writing, but decent. It does fill in some gaps that I missed from other sources, so I like that.

Some of the same can be said about this one, also read in the last few months



The book is less about Oppie, and more about Dorothy McKibbin, the Santa Fe resident who ran the nondescript office just off the plaza in Santa Fe, that was the reception point for everyone who was hired at Los Alamos. Not really a book to read for the history of Los Alamos, but a good addition for those who have read quite a bit about the MP already.

1. Creature of Jekyll Island. You would think a book about the creation of the Federal Reserve would be dull. It is not. Every taxpayer should read it.
2. The Burr Conspiracy. You got to like Burr. He was such a rogue. A lot of research went into this book.
3. Sword and Shield. If CIA stands for clowns in America, KGB stands for clowns in Russia. The James Bond movies flattered spies in general.
4. The Republic for Which It Stands. This 941 page effort is the latest edition of the Oxford History of the US series. It covers the Gilded Age. If you know nothing about that era, read this book and you will know everything. You know a book can be too long.
5. In the Presence of Mine Enemies. Another book by Ed Ayers. A comfortable read.
6. Southern Reconstruction. Probably the best book written about Reconstruction. Very readable. Can not recommend it enough.
7. Land of Honey and Bears. A nature history of east Texas. Short and enjoyable.

Glad to see someone resurrected this thread.

It's fiction but I'm enjoying reading the killer angels trilogy right now. I have three kids under 5 so I only have time for about one chapter per night.

Is #6 Phil Leigh's Book?

Good man, he is the one who sent me the video in the thread I started, since we were both bad mouthing the prevailing Confederate, not American approach to Civil War history.

Yes, the book is by Philip Leigh. Sorry I should have included his name. It is excellent.

Reagan: The Life by H.W. Brands.

I'm about 250 pages in and so far he has portrayed Reagan in a fairly positive light. There have been some criticisms but nothing that was over the top or unreasonable. However, I'm waiting for the other shoe to fall. I'm at the point where Reagan was elected to his first term as President so I'm expecting the negativity to jump a couple of notches.

I did skip ahead and read a few pages on the Iran-Contra investigation headed up by Lawrence Walsh. I was mildly surprised to find that he did not release his final report until 1993. I didn't recall it going that long.

Yes, I don't think Brand was in danger of falling in love with his subject like some biographers do (saying that as a good thing). I guess this one completes his sweep of American history via a biography of one person that he started with Benjamin Franklin, Jackson, Grant, TR and FDR.

The Death of Money (Weimar hyperinflation)

a book about the battle of nashville, another on when Montezuma met Cortes that gives the Tlaxcalans the credit they deserve, and volume 10 of Nicolay and Hay's bio of their ex boss Lincoln.

Reading Leonardo di Vinci by Walter Isaacson. Good so far!

Nice thread that is giving me some good suggestions of additions to my reading list.

I have recently started Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller, which is about the US 8th Air Force in WWII. This is supposedly the basis for another Spielberg/Hanks HBO mini-series like The Pacific and Band of Brothers.

PanzerAggie06 said:

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Reagan: The Life by H.W. Brands.

I'm about 250 pages in and so far he has portrayed Reagan in a fairly positive light. There have been some criticisms but nothing that was over the top or unreasonable. However, I'm waiting for the other shoe to fall. I'm at the point where Reagan was elected to his first term as President so I'm expecting the negativity to jump a couple of notches.

I did skip ahead and read a few pages on the Iran-Contra investigation headed up by Lawrence Walsh. I was mildly surprised to find that he did not release his final report until 1993. I didn't recall it going that long.

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Brands never seems to be overtly political in his books. I've nit read the Roosevelt one but I could see that one being the most provocative if he does get political.

Garson Kanin's Hollywood.

Needed something to read and found this in a pile of old discount books I'd picked up somewhere in the past. Hollywood history was never all that interesting to me, but I've been enjoying Kanin's storytelling style.

Aquin said:

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Yes, the book is by Philip Leigh. Sorry I should have included his name. It is excellent.

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Isn't this just a revised Dunning School interpretation?

The Dunning school was thought to have been almost a part of the Jim Crow movement. Leigh has an engineers background. He uses a keen analysis of the numbers to prove his point. Some of his conclusions are favorable to the South but that does not make them incorrect. He is light years ahead of Foner. I think you would be impressed by his work. I found it refreshing to see a more objective approach removed from academia who surrendered their heart and soul to Foner years ago.

Aquin said:

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The Dunning school was thought to have been almost a part of the Jim Crow movement. Leigh has an engineers background. He uses a keen analysis of the numbers to prove his point. Some of his conclusions are favorable to the South but that does not make them incorrect. He is light years ahead of Foner. I think you would be impressed by his work. I found it refreshing to see a more objective approach removed from academia who surrendered their heart and soul to Foner years ago.

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I've read his work. He's not even close to Foner, sorry. His reading of Reconstruction historiography is very weak and seems limited to Foner and he assumes the worst, most base interests of the radical Republicans without actually grasping them or their beliefs. It comes across as a less racist Dunning interpretation.

I will just have to disagree.

Not a big reader but just finished Killers of the Flower Moon. It chronicles the Murders of the Osage Indians in northern Oklahoma in the 20s. It's a fascinating story about something I knew absolutely nothing about and my family has roots in that part of the country.

300+ page book that I finished in 3 days. Great read.

The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance

Great book so far. Between the author's light prose that pulls you along and the fascinating subject, this one reads like a novel. And what a story he has to tell. Not only were the Medici a family/clan of ultra rich bankers, they were up to their eyeballs in schemes in the heyday of Italian city-state political intrigue. The Medici played rivals off of each other, bankrolled wars, and even helped turn a former pirate into a pope. If that's not enough, their patronage and vision helped kick off and then drive the Renaissance, which is one of the great intellectual movements in human history.

Alright, need some help on what i should read next about ww1.

In the last couple of months ive read:
All quiet on the western front
Storm of steel
A world undone- the story of the great war
Devil dogs- fighting marines of ww1


What should i read next?

I'm listening to the audiobook of "Castles of Steel," which is about the naval aspect of the war. I'm enjoying it.

who?mikejones said:

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Alright, need some help on what i should read next about ww1.

In the last couple of months ive read:
All quiet on the western front
Storm of steel
A world undone- the story of the great war
Devil dogs- fighting marines of ww1


What should i read next?

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Guns of August

JFK liked Guns of August so much that he requested his cabinet to read it.

Presley OBannons Sword said:

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who?mikejones said:

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Alright, need some help on what i should read next about ww1.

In the last couple of months ive read:
All quiet on the western front
Storm of steel
A world undone- the story of the great war
Devil dogs- fighting marines of ww1


What should i read next?

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Guns of August

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Thanks. Added it to the kindle.

Any suggestions on the plight of the common ww1 soldier? Looking for a few good memoirs or diaries to add to the list.

The Emperor's Codes: The Breaking of Japan's Secret Ciphers

One thing that I thought very interesting is that after the Battle of Midway, the Chicago Tribune published a story that indicated that the Japanese Codes had been broken. The reporter, Stanley Johnston, reported that the "US Navy knew in advance all about the Jap fleet." He had seen Nimitz's operations order for the Battle of Midway which had been picked up by radio operators on the Lexington.

It was showing to him by Commander Morton T Seligman, executive officer of the Lexington. Seligman was barred from ever being promoted in the future.

Just started this yesterday

spud1910, my uncle was a sonarman on the Gudgeon. He has some interesting stories to tell. He wrote this for Newsweek after the Kursk Reliving the past. I think this is a brief summary of the story in Blind Man's Bluff.

I've just about finished MacArthur's Reminiscences. Really enjoyed it.

spud1910 said:

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Blind Man's Bluff

Submarine espionage during the cold war.

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this is a great read.

Wow. I know a couple of guys that were submariners, but not well enough to hear stories like your uncle's.

I just finished 2 excellent Naval histories:
1. Indianapolis by Lynn Vaughn & Sara Vladic
2. The Ice Diaries by Captain William R. Anderson

The first is the story of the USS Indianapolis & the fight to exonerate the captain who was scapegoated by the Navy. The second is about the USS Nautilus, the Navy's first nuclear sub, & their underice missions.

Just finished Pegasus Bridge, which was mentioned way back on Page 1. Good, quick read. Was disappointed to find out the movie based on the action will not be out until at least 2019.

Turned the last page on "Railroaders - Jack Delano's Homefront Photography" last night. Got it as I have a fairly strong interest in steam powered railroad locomotives and the railroads & people that ran them in the past.