Currently reading 'Passage of Power' by Robert Caro. Excellent detailed look at LBJ and his transition to the Presidency after the JFK assassination.

zpustka said:

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Currently reading 'Passage of Power' by Robert Caro. Excellent detailed look at LBJ and his transition to the Presidency after the JFK assassination.

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Next up for me. Master of the Senate was great, but it was an exhausting read so I've been putting off Passage since last winter. I'm finally ready to tackle it though.

Any word on when the last book is due out? What a phenomenal series.

Command and Control - a history of nuclear warhead accidents and the programs to handle nuclear response and weapons.

Pretty good.

Major character is an aggie, don't know what class, but he was in charge of nuke security in the 80s

Tears in the Darkness-The Story of the Bataan Death March and It's Aftermath.

Was Douglas McArthur as negligent as the book makes him out to be in regards to preparing for the defense of the Philippines?

Smokedraw01 said:

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Tears in the Darkness-The Story of the Bataan Death March and It's Aftermath.

Was Douglas McArthur as negligent as the book makes him out to be in regards to preparing for the defense of the Philippines?

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Same question - gotta say that whether it's something I've read or comments associated with the topic General McArthur does not come off sounding good at all.

coupland boy said:

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Smokedraw01 said:

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Tears in the Darkness-The Story of the Bataan Death March and It's Aftermath.

Was Douglas McArthur as negligent as the book makes him out to be in regards to preparing for the defense of the Philippines?

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Same question - gotta say that whether it's something I've read or comments associated with the topic General McArthur does not come off sounding good at all.

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any other time and any other place and ole Dugout Doug would have been court martialed and cashiered out of the Army in utter disgrace. His entire performance up to and including Corregidor was a total disaster. Even after the Pearl Harbor attack and fully warned he allowed the Air assets in the islands to be easily destroyed. BUT we had already punished ( incorrectly as it turns out) a couple of sacrificial admirals in the Hawaiian command and the nation needed a hero not another scapegoat. Largely by default McArthur was elevated to a hero and luckily did turn out to be a most capable and aggressive attack commander.

Thanks. The destruction of the air assets on the ground seemed criminal to me, especially after Pearl Harbor. What little I've read seems to indicate that the Philippines we're going to fall anyways but they could have put up a more effective resistance if they had some air cover.

The Phillipines were attacked 9 hours after Pearl Harbor. Apparently keeping your planes close together was common practice. If that lesson was learned so quickly at Pearl Harbor then why wasn't that communicated to bases around the world? MacArthur was in year 6 of a 10 year plan to build up the defenses of the Philippines at the request of Quezon so I don't think you can call him negligent. In fact that is one reason Japan attacked. They didn't want the Philippines to be at full strength. He was able to hold out until March. He asked for supplies yet was ignored. Had we not had the Europe first policy and given aid to MacArthur then maybe we wouldn't have lost the Philippines to Japan which would have shortened the Pacific war.

Approximately a quarter of the way through "Street Without Joy" by Bernard R. Fall about the French debacle in Viet Nam.

Not bad so far but I have no idea of the reason behind the title...

Anybody??

That is what the French called the section of route 1 between Hue to Qung Tri. The Viet Minh had fortified a string of villages along a line of sand dunes and salt marshes between Route 1 and the South China Sea and used these bases to launch ambushes on convoys passing down Route 1.

Ironically, Bernard Fall was killed observing Marine combat operations on this part of Route 1 in 1967

Thanks ja!!

Roosevelt's Secret War by Persico. I purchased the book to learn something of FDR's program of espionage. I learned that, but surprisingly, the author provided a greater insight to the President's character and personality than any other biography that I have read. Great writing, superb book.

I just finished Passage of Power about five days ago. It was very goodCaro was very effective at showing the different LBJs.

I'm currently reading The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office by Jeremi Suri.

It's about how the presidency has grown to the point where the responsibilities and expectations of the office are so great that no president can actually satisfy the expectations. It starts with George Washington, which is the chapter I just finished.

Anyone read William Daltymple 'Return of the King'

Actually restarting the thread for book gift ideas.

Currently reading "Ice Ghosts" a novel of the Franklin Expedition and subsequent searches. Even though "The Terror" was fiction, it got me interested.

1. Founding Martyr, by DiSpigna. If Joseph Warren had not died at Bunker Hill, you may never have heard of Washington.
2. Last Castle, by Kieran. Story of the Biltmore and the Gilded Age.
3. Living with Hitler, By Dohring et al, interesting but not great
4. The Lost Airman, by Meycrowitz, French resistance returns a downed pilot. Good read.
5. Leonardo Davinci, by Isaacson, good book about a guy 200 years ahead of his time
6. Age of Eisenhower, by Hitchcock, this is turning out to be a very good book. I am about 150 pages into it. Just got through the McCarthy problem. Republicans have never changed. They ate their own by then. I was a kid when Ike was in office. Then we all got caught up in the glamour of the Kennedys. I am learning that there was a lot more substance to Ike than was ever reported. Author is balanced. So far he has no ax to grind. I think this one will be a good one for understanding the early days of the Cold War.


You guys need to read more. I am getting tired of going to Tigerdroppings for recommendations. Mostly those guys read Cajun cook books.

Just picked up a copy of "This Band of Hero's, Granburys Texas Brigade" as I prepare to put together an impression for a Civil War re-enactment in May at Raymond, MS.

Just finished an interesting look into the FDR-Churchill alliance



Currently on



An overview of the naval actions in all theaters of WWII. So far, it's been pretty good, and is filling my gaps in knowledge of the battles at sea.

Wanting to read more about the various Indian wars fought, I know this is a very broad topic with thousands of books written but does anyone have a suggestion for an overarching book?

Just finished Empire of the Summer Moon about the Comanches and Isaac's Storm about the 1900 Galveston Hurricane.

Robert Utley has a pretty good history of the Indian Wars in two volumes. But he has several one volume histories I have not read but if they are as good as the two volume they will be good.

Arthur Butz's book is an eye opener. Not trying to get in trouble but I've been reading it and it's very thought provoking. The research is phenomenal and unmatched. Not sure where I stand.

Received Churchill: Walking with Destiny from my Dad for Christmas and am about 100 pages in.

Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre, the history of the British SAS . Taken from the War Diaries of the men, but access was allowed for the first time to classified portions of the Units War Diaries.
Rogues they were, but operations against the German's changed the nature of War.

TexAgs

Destiny and power
Odyssey of George H.W. Bush by Jon Meachem

I'm about 25% of the way through A Brotherhood of Spies: The U-2 and the CIA's Secret War by Monte Reel.

Picked it up on a whim from the library over the holidays and I have been impressed.

If you haven't read it, try Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed by Ben Rich

Fantastic read, one of my favorites.

On Desperate Ground by Hampton Sides. About the Chosin Reservoir battle during Korean Conflict. Sides is a great narrative historian!

I just received this book and am looking forward to reading it. My grandfather was in the Marines through WWII and Korea and was at the Chosin reservoir. He never talked about it much other than how cold it was.