Just finished "Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashta, and the Battle of Manila" by James Scott. Very well researched and written. But the Japanese atrocities make for tough reading.

Just finished "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea". Interesting book from a University of Florida professor that won the 2018 Pulitzer for history. Starts off great, with a solid storyline around the native indian tribes and their interactions with European interlopers. But, about 2/3 through the book it becomes an environmental tome that blasts oil companies. If you lean green, give it a try.

Law -

I met James Scott after his Target Tokyo book on the Doolittle Raid was released and subsequently see him once or twice a year and have had several conversations on various subjects. He is a brilliant researcher, writer, speaker, and all around good guy. I particularly like his work because because he deftly weaves in details of the various aspects of the story, from the highest geopolitical level to the smallest details of what took place on the ground (or sea).

As bad as the atrocities are depicted in Rampage, he had to rewrite and tone down the horrific nature of several episodes, and the overall tone of the savagery because his editor, and others became physically ill while reviewing his first draft.

He has a really good book on the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty and a couple of others,

GasAg90 said:

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Law -

I met James Scott after his Target Tokyo book on the Doolittle Raid was released and subsequently see him once or twice a year and have had several conversations on various subjects. He is a brilliant researcher, writer, speaker, and all around good guy. I particularly like his work because because he deftly weaves in details of the various aspects of the story, from the highest geopolitical level to the smallest details of what took place on the ground (or sea).

As bad as the atrocities are depicted in Rampage, he had to rewrite and tone down the horrific nature of several episodes, and the overall tone of the savagery because his editor, and others became physically ill while reviewing his first draft.

He has a really good book on the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty and a couple of others,

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GasAg90,

Small world. I agree completely with your assessment of James Scott. We met when he reached out to me for info on Mush Morton and Dick O'Kane for his book "The War Below". Super nice guy. His commitment to research, and cinematic detail, is my favorite kind of non-fiction.

He told me he deleted two full chapters of atrocity from the manuscript at his editor's recommendation. By the end I had certainly had my fill. Some of the descriptions moved me to tears.

I've not read his Liberty book. I need to pick it up. Wasn't his dad involved in that action?

BTW snagged "Race to the Pole" by Ranulph Fiennes at an estate sale this weekend. That's on my nightstand now.

Law-

James' father, whose 21st birthday was the day of the attack, was an Ensign on the Liberty. Due to casualties of his higher ups, he was the senior person in charge of damage control. Needless to say he performed admirably. The book was excellent as it laid out, in much detail, the case against Israel's 'mistaken identity' explanation for the attack.

If you don't mind me asking, what is your connection with the Wahoo?

Cool website.

Law-

Nice website and thanks for putting the effort to share with others and your overall contribution to history.

I've always been curious about the discrepancies between wartime sinkings and the JANAC reviews performed after the war due to an incident where a B-25 bombed and 'sank' a Japanese sub off the Oregon coast in late 1941. They claim that multiple passes resulted in two direct hits, dropped remaining bombs in debris field. At least two patrol planes flew over the site and observed debris and oil slick. I've seen the medals and letters from higher ups regarding the 'sinking' and personally talked to two men from the follow up planes and they were adamant something was sunk. While Japanese records after the war show a sub in the area, they have no record of it even being damaged. In fact there records state it was sunk in 43 or 44.

Anyway, part of the fun in history, in my opinion, is trying to decipher details while reading tons of conflicting information in various archives and libraries. Some of the stuff is incredible.

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

While I'm not familiar with the incident you reference, GasAg90, there was a similar occasion during Wahoo's second patrol. They fired on a surfaced Japanese sub they identified as I-2, saw hits, watched her sink and heard breaking up noises on sound. The captured report from the closest sub in the area on that date, I-5, reported premature torpedo explosions close aboard which caused no damage. They dove in a hurry. From Wahoo's periscope perspective it looked very much like a sinking. Combat does funny things to human perception.

I've also started "Midget Submarine Commander: The Life of Godfrey Place VC" by Paul Watkins on the Kindle.

1. Marooned, Jamestown, Shipwreck and a New History of America's Origin by Kelly. I thought I knew the Jamestown story....not at all. This is a well researched book that gives Jamestown an entirely new perspective. I assumed that the Brits sailed directly to Va. Nope, they went to the West Indies and then up the coast. During the third resupply one ship became shipwrecked in Bermuda, which was uninhabited at the time. A guy named Stephen Hopkins starts a mutiny and barely escapes with his life. He and all the others finally make it to Va. Later Hopkins returns to England only to become a Pilgrim on the Mayflower. The Brits were a little slow in colonizing the New World. Every decision that they then made was equally as slow. The book will take a good bit of luster off of the British accent.

2. Indianapolis by Vincent and Vladic. Actually three stories in one. There is the sinking, followed by the court martial, then the effort to clear the Captains name. The two ladies that wrote the book took ten years researching it. Very well done.

3. Meadowbrook, the Neighborhood that made me, by Bax. I have mentioned this on the Houston forum. This is a very funny adolescent memoir written by a baby boomer (an Aggie) about growing up in Houston during the 50s and 60s. Great fun, great memories.

A World Undone GJ Meyer
Lincoln's Last Trial Dan Abrams

No End Save Victory: Perspectives of WWII

The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective
(I'm 3-7-8)

The Guns at Last Light: Rick Atkinson

Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914-1918

Louis Barthas

Just started all the presidents men

Fascinating book an far.

dgrogers88 said:

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A World Undone GJ Meyer
Lincoln's Last Trial Dan Abrams

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A World Undone is a fantastic single volume of WW1. I recommend anyone interested in WW1 read Guns of August followed by A World Undone.

A lot of textbooks for my grad history classes.

As far as actual books, The Panic of 1857 and the Coming of the Civil War by James L. Huston.

It was a part of my class, but still reading it even though I no longer need to. Enjoying the depth in which it goes through something mostly ignored in American History.

Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World - Joan Druett

About two shipwrecks that occurred on the Auckland Islands. Each were stranded on different parts and were never aware of each other. One group bands together and the other is chaos. Very interesting story.

Just finished Rick Atkinson's trilogy on WWII...great recommendation. Now to find my next book...

Just finished Waterloo by Bernard Cornwall. Would recommend. If you go with Audible, it is read in part by the author.

Just got done with Blind Man's Bluff due to this thread.

Great one, very entertaining and I'm not usually into Navy stuff.

Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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Just finished Waterloo by Bernard Cornwall. Would recommend. If you go with Audible, it is read in part by the author.

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I love the Richard Sharpe series. Make sure you read them all of you haven't

Good conversation y'all.

As for sub "kills" it was standard practice at least among the U-Boats to discharge oil and even debris to simulate a hit and throw the attackers off. I wonder if that wasn't what happened with those Japanese subs.

By the way, Law-5L, Howdy from a former Law-3A and 8A.

As for books I'm reading now, it's mostly related to my research, so I'm reading a biography of Gen. James Wilkinson called "Tarnished Warrior." It's an older one. I think the better book on Wilkinson is "An Artist in Treason" which is much more modern. But for my purposes, I want to read everything I can on him.

Also listening to "The Road to Serfdom" by Friedrich Hayek, which is more economics/politics but is a hugely important and influential book in history. If you think socialism works, read it, and you'll find good arguments against it. If you believe that the socialism in the National Socialist party was just semantics, then read it. Hayek, a German exile, makes the point that all totalitarian regimes of his era had one thing in common: government planning of the economy, and at that point, whether it's "right" or "left" becomes meaningless because planning necessitates a destruction of freedom, even if it's planning for "good" purposes.

Erebus, One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time, by Michael Palin.

Quote:

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As for sub "kills" it was standard practice at least among the U-Boats to discharge oil and even debris to simulate a hit and throw the attackers off. I wonder if that wasn't what happened with those Japanese subs.

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I saw that on a lot of WWII movies, I had no idea if it actually happened.

Given the time of year, reading Walter Lord's Alamo book "A Time To Stand". What's everyone's favorite book on the Alamo?

Howdy, aalan94. Always good to meet a Law resident.

Blood of noble men
By Allan huffines

Mostly because i know him and he's a heck of a guy

who?mikejones said:

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Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914-1918

Louis Barthas

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Just finished this (finally) and it was one of the more interesting diaries ive read. In summary, its the opposite of ernst junger's storm of steel.

Picking up again with T.G. Webb's, battle of the Brazos. A Texas football football rivalry, a riot and a murder.

Interesting book about the murder of the A&M cadet in Waco.

Walter Prescott Webb's The Great Frontier

McNamara's "In Retrospect"

A. Solzhenitsyn said:

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dgrogers88 said:

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A World Undone GJ Meyer
Lincoln's Last Trial Dan Abrams

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A World Undone is a fantastic single volume of WW1. I recommend anyone interested in WW1 read Guns of August followed by A World Undone.

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I read those in that order. Definitely recommend.

Just finished up two short books, d day through the german eyes volumes 1 and 2, (more of a collection of interviews made into two volumes) about the german perspective of dday. It was a very interesting read as I haven't read any accounts of that day from the german side. These interviews were done in 1954 so it was still a relatively fresh event for the participants.

A couple of interesting common threads i observed:

1. Germany was way underprepared to handle a coastal invasion force.
2. The german soldiers on the beach were stunned by the size of the allied forces. Multiple interviewees commented on the lack of horses, floating tanks, number of ships and crafts on the water. The phosphorus missiles also caused massive physical and mental damage.
3. The german forces were made up of soliders from russia or those unfit to serve in regular German forces
4. The germans were surprised at the physical sizes and the intensity of the American (and canadian) soldiers.
5. The allied forces were unequal to anything every assembled before.

Another common theme among the German solider was the idea of protecting a united europe. They didnt understand why the english and Americans were attacking them and thought they were doing europe a favor. Somewhat ironic that today, the eu exists, is controlled by Germany and the UK is causing major stress by attempting to leave the union. Sounds like the propaganda was, in a weird way, confimed.

Hirohito's War by Francis Pike
Dune
And a couple of AWS Solution Architect certification guides