smokie36
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Post by smokie36 on Aug 10, 2016 1:34:55 GMT 7
I'm ripping into the meaty biography of Winston Churchill by Martin Gilbert.
Just getting to towards the end of WW1....gripping it is.
How about you?
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Post by Soutpeel on Aug 10, 2016 11:50:17 GMT 7
The Beano
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Aug 10, 2016 12:27:10 GMT 7
Actually I'm cleaning up my archive which has lots of books in the 'older' formats like .txt, .lit, .pdf, and convert them to .epub Of course have to read to check conversion was properly done. Recently worked my way through a lot of H.P. Lovecraft's stories, a few Geoffrey Jenkin's, some Hammond Innes, etc., etc. Also just stumbled over A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Wodka by Lev Golinkin "ABOUT A BACKPACK, A BEAR, AND EIGHT CRATES OF VODKA “ hilarious and heartbreaking story of a Jewish family’s escape from oppression.”–The New York Times
A compelling story of two intertwined journeys: a Jewish refugee family fleeing persecution and a young man seeking to reclaim a shattered past. In the twilight of the Cold War (the late 1980s), nine-year old Lev Golinkin and his family cross the Soviet border with only ten suitcases, $600, and the vague promise of help awaiting in Vienna. Years later, Lev, now an American adult, sets out to retrace his family’s long trek, locate the strangers who fought for his freedom, and in the process, gain a future by understanding his past."
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/228012/a-backpack-a-bear-and-eight-crates-of-vodka-by-lev-golinkin/9780345806338/ |
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Aug 10, 2016 12:53:50 GMT 7
For Churchill in WWI you might also try
Unsinkable by Richard Freeman
Unsinkable' is the story of a man unjustly vilified: Churchill in the First World War. His enemies - the Tory party - censured him for Antwerp, the Dardanelles and Gallipoli. He could do no right and was regarded as a dangerous maniac. But the true story is quite the opposite. This book tells how, as a brilliant First Sea Lord, Churchill was ousted by his enemies, yet clawed his way back to power against all the odds. As the leading critic of senselessly sending men to march towards machine guns his calls for 'machines not men' went unheeded. After a spell in the trenches he returned to London to clear his name over the Dardanelles. Then he relentlessly fought his way back to power through his brilliant, incisive criticism of the land war. The unsinkable politician finally became Munitions Manager in 1917, where he pushed output to unimagined levels. His weapons delivered the victory that had eluded others for the previous three years.
Also interesting is the story about Britain's Invasion in Russia 1918 - 1920
"Churchill’s Crusade by Clifford Kinvig
The story of Britain's invasion of Russia at the end of the First World War has remained largely untold. Although not its initial architect, its chief advocate, was the passionately anti-Bolshevik, Winston Churchill. Churchill's Crusade is the first complete account of a unique military operation - one which, if it had succeeded, would have changed the history of Russia, Europe and the World."
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Aug 10, 2016 13:00:53 GMT 7
I'm ripping into the meaty biography of Winston Churchill by Martin Gilbert. Just getting to towards the end of WW1....gripping it is. How about you? Martin Gilbert wrote a few books about Churchill . Churchill : The Power of Words - His remarkable life recounted through his life and speeches . Churchill & The Jews . Churchill’s War Leadership . The Will of The People - Winston Churchill & Parliamentary Democracy . Churchill: A Life |
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smokie36
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Post by smokie36 on Aug 10, 2016 13:06:54 GMT 7
For Churchill in WWI you might also try Unsinkable by Richard Freeman Unsinkable' is the story of a man unjustly vilified: Churchill in the First World War. His enemies - the Tory party - censured him for Antwerp, the Dardanelles and Gallipoli. He could do no right and was regarded as a dangerous maniac. But the true story is quite the opposite. This book tells how, as a brilliant First Sea Lord, Churchill was ousted by his enemies, yet clawed his way back to power against all the odds. As the leading critic of senselessly sending men to march towards machine guns his calls for 'machines not men' went unheeded. After a spell in the trenches he returned to London to clear his name over the Dardanelles. Then he relentlessly fought his way back to power through his brilliant, incisive criticism of the land war. The unsinkable politician finally became Munitions Manager in 1917, where he pushed output to unimagined levels. His weapons delivered the victory that had eluded others for the previous three years. Also interesting is the story about Britain's Invasion in Russia 1918 - 1920 "Churchill’s Crusade by Clifford Kinvig The story of Britain's invasion of Russia at the end of the First World War has remained largely untold. Although not its initial architect, its chief advocate, was the passionately anti-Bolshevik, Winston Churchill. Churchill's Crusade is the first complete account of a unique military operation - one which, if it had succeeded, would have changed the history of Russia, Europe and the World." It also shows Asquith in his true light....he was ever a reactionist and never a true leader. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2016 13:20:06 GMT 7
'The Cat in the Hat'. Going through some of my boys' favourite tomes and that is one even though they have outgrown it, brings back such good memories.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2016 15:55:59 GMT 7
I'm actually reading an intriguing book about adhesives. It's a great book, I can't put it down.  |
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pathumseb
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I found you at last!
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Post by pathumseb on Aug 10, 2016 20:46:55 GMT 7
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Aug 10, 2016 21:43:16 GMT 7
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2016 2:18:37 GMT 7
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onionluke
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I escaped from the dark and dingy orlop only to be captured by cattle rustlers and now
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Post by onionluke on Sept 7, 2016 14:50:39 GMT 7
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sl
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Post by sl on Sept 8, 2016 3:31:03 GMT 7
The Heart of Everything That Is
 From Salon: Red Cloud — Sioux chieftain, sometime ally of Sitting Bull and mentor to Crazy Horse — was a brilliant politician and military tactician. Pragmatic as well as daring, he cuts a less romantic figure than those two more famous and more tragic Indian leaders of the same period; he survived to the ripe old age of 88, dying in 1909. But Red Cloud was also the only Native American commander to defeat the United States in a war. His life, and the war that bears his name, are the subject of “The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend” by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. - www.salon.com/2013/11/10/the_heart_of_everything_that_is_the_siouxs_brilliant_unsung_leader/ |
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rubl
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Post by rubl on Sept 8, 2016 8:48:22 GMT 7
Reading many books, but trying to finish this one The Most Dangerous Man in America, the Making of MacArthur - Mark Perry (2014) images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Zg4Yxu90L._SY346_.jpgKIRKUS REVIEW In a study of quiet authority, Perry spotlights the presumptuous commanding general at the moment of his evolving maturity during the Pacific theater and apotheosis in the Philippines. Working by comparison and contrast as he has done in previous works on George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower (Partners in Command, 2007) and Ulysses Grant and Mark Twain (Grant and Twain, 2004), Perry draws Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) in sharp relief against the actions and policies of Franklin Roosevelt, who recognized his rival’s power and perversity and privately called him the most dangerous man in America. Roosevelt admired the war hero and Army chief of staff, inherited from Hoover’s administration, and mistrusted his motives and ambition, but Roosevelt resisted dismissing him, as recommended by his New Dealers. Instead, he shrewdly employed him as a foil to his Republican opponents. While Perry is not blind to MacArthur’s overriding character issues—including arrogance, vanity and paranoia—the author does suggest that the general has been judged overwhelmingly by his strong-arm tactics, his leadership obtuseness after the Pearl Harbor attack and his later confrontation with President Harry S. Truman—and also underappreciated for some of his actions during his wartime command in the Pacific, namely the coordinated land, sea and air assault of Operation Cartwheel. “Exiled” to the Philippines yet providentially situated in 1940 when chaos was unleashed in the Pacific, MacArthur nonetheless underestimated the Japanese threat and overestimated the Philippines’ troops. His “dilatory” response on the morning of Dec. 8, 1941, led to the Clark Field debacle and the “dooming” of the Philippines. Perry impressively moves through each of the seminal arenas of the Pacific war. A majestic overview with an engaging sense of the nuance of character. Thankfully, Perry doesn’t become mired in familiar biographical detail. www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mark-perry/the-most-dangerous-man-in-america/Another review: www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-most-dangerous-man-in-america-the-making-of-douglas-macarthur-by-mark-perry/2014/03/28/74aa68e4-b049-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.htmlAbout the Author: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Perry_(author) |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2016 7:02:26 GMT 7
Just picked up an interesting book called "Get in the Dustbin" by Katie Beachbum
I'm only on the 1st chapter, not wanting to give any spoilers, but it starts with a love story
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