Just picked up Michael Grant's Atlas of Classical History. 93 pages of nice, clear, utilitarian maps that will serve as a nice reference.

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

Recently finished the following.

A Land So Strange - Resendez
1491 - Mann
Guns, Germs and Steel - Diamond
The Demon in the Freezer - Preston
Storm Before the Storm - Duncan

Currently reading The Silk Roads, A New History of the World. The title is misleading. I thought it was going to be a history of the silk roads but so far it's all about the origins of modern religion.

An Artist in Treason by Andro Linklater

It's about James Wilkinson and the events surrounding his dual masters. I knew a lot of this but I wasn't aware of that he was accused a number of times of being a foreign agent by his contemporaries, especially Gen. Anthony Wayne.

Blood and Thunder, by Hampton Sides

Recently finished

The City State of Boston-Peterson, informative but sometimes a struggle to get through

Signing their Lives Away- Kurnan, what happened to the signers of the Declaration

Masters of the Air- Miller, story of the 8th Air Force during WWll

Rampage-Scott, as recommended here

Shot for the Moon-Donovan, adds a little to the Apollo story

Field of Blood-Freeman, don't bother

Bust Hell Wide Open- Mitchum, entertaining bio of Forrest

Wild Bill-Calvin, good read but Dodge City is better

The House of the Medici-Hibbert

Just started The Pioneers by McCullough. His books are always good. After that, Atkinson's first book on the Revolution, The British are Coming.

Did you read the entire Atkinson trilogy?

I just started 'An Army at Dawn.' Pretty good so far....

Yes, I read the entire trilogy that Atkinson wrote on WWII. All the books were excellent. I am now about 200 pages into "The British are. Coming" which will be the first book of his trilogy on the American Revolution. We are all read multiple books about the Revolution. This book is so good that it has reduced my reading speed to a crawl. Each sentence contains new information or, at the least, a unique way of describing the event. Atkinson is becoming a premier historian, in my opinion.

Captain Jack Golden, AMC '42, cannon commander 16th Infantry Regiment, part of the 1st Division

Excerpt from The Guns at Last Light

"Golden had been overseas for 2 years; he had seen combat in North Africa and in the landings at Gela and Omaha Beach to earn two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart."

On April 15th, 1945 Captain Golden was ambushed by Germans and shot dead in his jeep.

Good to hear! Thanks! Vacation weekend coming up so going to put as big of a dent as possible in the book. Like it enough that I think I will just go ahead and buy the trilogy eBook so I can read on my iPad.

Excited to get through the entire WWII trilogy!

"Bones of My Grandfather; Reclaiming a Lost Hero of World War II" by Clay Bonnyman Evans. Clay's grandfather, Alexander (Sandy) Bonnyman was one of four Marines to receive the MOH for their actions on Tarawa. This is my second reading, lol.

The book covers the life of his grandfather, warts and all, and discusses the search for, and ultimate recovery of, his remains a few years ago.

Any one have a good book to reccomend for the lost texan battalion in ww2?

Days of Defiance. A 1999 book about secession and Ft. Sumter.

Just finished "Lee: The Last Years" by Charles Flood. Great read. It has inspired me to reread Shelby Foote's tome.

Shoot for the Moon - Donovan ( reffed by Aquin ) - History of the U.S. space program thru Apollo 11

which put Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon . Lots of info on Astronauts and their foibles and attributes .

Scientific details made easier to understand . Highly recommend !

The Taking if K129. Just picked it up and just finished O'Reillys Killing the SS.

If you like books about NASA try "This New Ocean" by Burrows. It starts with Sputnik and goes forward.

Finished the following
1. The British are Coming by Atkinson-excellent
2. The Pioneers by McCullough- not his best work and by no small measure.
3. Spying on the South by Horwitz-not good, just a hit job on the South.
4. El Norte by Gibson. Colonization of N. America by Spain. Different prospective.
Currently reading "The Last Sheriff in Texas by McCollom. So good so far.

Rancho Buena Fortuna by Bill King '71.

1. The Last Sheriff in Texas- good read, 5'-4" tall tea sip screws over a good sheriff.
2. Bones, Brothers,Horses,Cartels by Tone. It goes with Bloodlines by Del Bosque. All about drugs and the quarter horse racing world. Ag folks will recognize the players.
3. Putin's World-Stent, interesting look from the other side.
4. Berlin 1961-Kemp's, May have gotten this one off this board. Great book. Explains how Khrushchev could erect a barrier overnight without the USA ever catching wind of it. Answer...JFK, you can always tell a Harvard man...you just can't tell him very much

You guys need to read more. You are forcing me to go to Tigersroppings for recommendations

Here is the latest:
1. The Fall of Berlin 1945- Beevor. If you are ever having a bad day and really feeling sorry for yourself, pick a chapter, any chapter, and read it. Beevor's research is amazing given that most of it had to do with Russian troop movements.

2. The Stranger in the Woods-Finkel. Wanted something different after Berlin. This book is unique. A twenty year old guy, who was no woodsman, parked his car and wandered into the deep woods of Maine. He remained there, without being seen and without talking to anyone for 27 years. Let that sink in. Short read that is very thought provoking.

3. Prisoners of Geography-Marshall. Admittedly I am not a big fan of geography. The author takes ten maps and explains the whole world, why certain countries do what they do, why certain countries will never be much more than bench warmers. It explains so much. The problems that Putin faces today are the same ones that Ivan the terrible faced a thousand years ago. Does a lot to explain the nightly news.

4. The Guns of August-Tuchman. Only about a hundred pages into it. Know nothing of WWl and this is supposed to be THE book. JFK made his cabinet read it.....given his frequent dalliances, and the writing style of the author, I wonder how he finished the book. I am committed now but it is not going to be an easy read.

Ok who is up next?

Midnight in Chernobyl. The relarive permanent nature of the contamination, nuclear weapons, and power, has always fascinated me.

Latest round of interest triggered by HBO series of which I've seen little snippets. Looks very good though.

All the 50th anniversary attention concerning the apollo missions has stirred my interest again. Any suggestions for a book that covers most of that era. thanks

I really enjoyed This New Ocean by Burrows. Starts with Sputnik and goes forward. Pretty interesting stuff. Hope you like it.

Aquin said:

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I really enjoyed This New Ocean by Burrows. Starts with Sputnik and goes forward. Pretty interesting stuff. Hope you like it.

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Thank you !

1. The Widow Washington-Saxon
2. In the Hurricane's Eye- Philbrick
3. 1920, the Year of the Six Presidents- Pietrusza
4. The Billionaires Vinegar- Wallace
5. A Hanging in Nacogdoches-Borders

Currently reading Upheaval by Diamond

just finished..
And the Whole Mountain Burned: A War Novel by Ray McPadden

he was the Rudders CO in 02-03

just started..
Duty by Robert M. Gates

A hanging in nacogdoches is great. Sherrif spradley sounds like a real bad ass

1. Submarine! - Beach; Still exciting after all these years.

2. Making the Corps - Ricks; Because my son reported to MCRD San Diego two weeks ago.

3. The Big Short - Lewis; Estate sale pickup.

You probably would enjoy "The Last Sheriff in Texas."

I just finished the first three books of Matthew Rozell's Things Our Fathers Saw series and I'm about half way down with "Winston Churchill - The Era and the Man" by Virginia Cowles....enjoying that one that quite a bit.

I have Atkinson's trilogy sitting on my bookcase but I have to read them back-to-back-to-back thanks to my OCD and want to fit some others in before I start down that path.

I've still got a month left of my free KindleUnlimited promo so I'm going to try and burn through some of those options

Any recommendations on the Brittish navy during WW2?

Somewhat recently read:

John Ringo King of the Cowboys by David Johnson- paints a very different picture of Wyatt Earp vs The Cowboys.

The Mason County Hoo Doo War also by Johnson - Interesting look at a long running feud in Mason County.

The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad - Not history per se but I'm a fan of Conrad.

The History of Norway by Yilek- Ok. I may try another book on the subject.

The Sea Wolves by Lars Brownsworth - interesting book about Viking history and their impact across a huge area.

Aquin said:

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You probably would enjoy "The Last Sheriff in Texas."

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Thanks for the rec. If i ever finish Texas I'll read it.

Sorry if inappropriate here or already posted, but Chernow's "Washington: A Life" is currently $2 on Kindle. Figured some might want to know.