Sunday Morning Book Thread - 10-01-2023 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

1000th RECOMMENDATION SPOOKTACULAR!

Stand up! Yes, you there, wearing the pants woven from cotton candy and silly string! You stand up, too! And put down that weedwhacker!

Take a bow! Together we've achieved a historic milestone since I've taken over as the custodian of the Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Thanks to all of you, we've compiled over 1000 recommendations of reading material. If I had access to the flaming skull, I'd gladly post that at the top of the page as a signal for this amazing achievement.

As usual, you can find the recommendations at: https://www.libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel/l/1384512

Now, in actuality, far more than 1000 recommendations have been made since I'm only counting those that I've been able to collect since February of 2022. Still, that's just incredible. To put that in perspective, if you were to read just one of those books a week, it would take nearly 20 years to read them all.

In order for me to really grab onto recommendations, I usually look for the following criteria:

Is it a stand-alone comment? Sometimes people recommend more than one book in a comment, or try to recommend all of the works of an author. This is fine, but it's hard to parse out the books so I can put them in the Libib site sometimes.

Does the comment include both the title of the book and its author(s). This makes it easy for me to look up the book's ISBN, which is what I use to add them to the AoSHQ Recommendation library.

Does the commenter have a unique insight into WHY the book is recommended? Saying a book is great is not enough. I'm sure we'd all like to know why a book resonates with you personally. It is just the quality of the writing? If so, what makes is great? Is it the complexity of the narrative? Please give us a *reason* why you are recommending the book.

The best comments are the ones that are featured in the Moron Recommendations below. I look for recommendations that lend themselves to commentary on my part, either because I can connect it to another story or because it speaks to me in some way.

I would also like to share the top recommenders of books so far:

56 recommendations - All Hail Eris

54 recommendations - Zoltan

36 recommendations - Wolfus Aurelius

30 recommendations - JTB

26 recommendations - Thomas Paine; Trimegistus

25 recommendations - Kindltot; dash my lace wigs

21 recommendations - Ace-Approved Author A.H. Lloyd; Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing; Sharkman

20 recommendations - Nacly Dog

18 recommendations - Weak Geek

15 recommendations - sharon (willow's apprentice)

Just for comparison, trailing along near the bottom of the pack:

2 recommendations - "Perfessor" Squirrel

The bottom line is that there are recommendations aplenty for anyone who is looking for something new to read. If you can't find at least ONE Moron-recommended book to read, you ain't tryin'!

Speaking of recommendations, last week I mentioned that I've been reading Tad Williams' epic fantasy series, Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. A few of you mentioned that you've tried to read it--based on recommendations--and just couldn't get into it. That's part of the nature of recommendations, unfortunately. I read the first half of Gene Wolfe's epic science fiction series The Book of the New Sun and while I enjoyed it for the most part, it didn't quite resonate with me as it might for the person who recommended it. I do see how Wolfe's work has been influenced by previous authors and has served to influence later authors, so I can certainly appreciate it on those merits, even if the story itself doesn't quite grip me as much as Tad Williams' story does. I suspect our favorite books speak to us at certain times in our life when we are most receptive to the lessons they have to share, so while WE might enjoy them, someone who is at a different point in life or with different life experiences might not have the same enjoyment. And that's perfectly OK.

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BOOKS BY MORONS + REVIEW

Friend of the blog Bob Zimmerman, who runs the Behind the Black website, a frequently linked website on J.J.'s Morning Report, has asked for a second posting here after having his book favorably reviewed over at American Thinker:

Today my book, Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, got a nice review at American Thinker: Moral Choices and the Colonization of Space
As I am a regular reader of Ace, as well as having my own worked linked there regularly by JJ Sefton, I thought this review allows me to once again shamelessly ask you to plug my book. You've done it before, but that was awhile ago.
I have attached an image of the book's cover if you wish to use it. From today's review :
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What makes Conscious Choice interesting is that it's not just another social history of what happened, and who did what to whom in a horrible time of man's inhumanity to man. It's an effort to draw concrete knowledge from the past, for application to solving predictable problems in the not-too-distant, not altogether impossible future.
Conscious Choice reads easily, flows smoothly, is linguistically elegant, covers an extremely important topic, and asks important questions. Conscious Choice is also well referenced, with two appendices of additional data and sourcing information for the deepest dive. Conscious Choice is well worth reading simply to revel in the technical merits, which are far too rare these days. It would also pair well with a rereading of Robert A. Heinlein's classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, possibly while listening to Jason Aldean's "Rich Men North of Richmond," and sipping a few pints of good New England beer.
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From my original press release (note the italics tags):
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In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
"Zimmerman's ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says." — Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

In historical fiction, classic series of man in a medieval world interacting with technology is The Crosstime Engineer by Leo Frankowski. The title character is accidentally dropped in Poland about 10 years before the Mongols will show up to level the place. So he has to kick start the Industrial Revolution seven centuries early. The author also touches on how his title character must reconcile his socialism and Catholicism.
Posted by: Dread0 at September 24, 2023 09:13 AM (Wzyjq)

Comment: This is a somewhat interesting subgenre of historical fiction, when you drop a man from modern times into the past with only the knowledge they bring with them. Usually it's someone with a verifiable set of skills that will help them survive in the past, such as medical or engineering knowledge. Then they have to overcome challenges of dealing with the local society and culture that may see the character as a threat (e.g., a witch or warlock) if they display knowledge or abilities that would be magical to people in that day and age. One of the most famous versions of this narrative is Mark Twain's classic story, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

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American Falls by John Calvin Batchelor
It's an unusual Civil War novel dealing with the real Confederate plot to burn down New York City. As such it plays more like a spy novel than a battle novel.
You meet historical characters in various levels of society. Very well done. Very Dickensonian in that the reach of the novel is wide.
The only weakness of the novel is that JCB probably likes his characters too much (it happens), and one that in the context of the story that should've died doesn't.
Still, a great read esp only these long cool fall nights.
Posted by: naturalfake at September 24, 2023 09:34 AM (QzZeQ)

Comment: A Civil War spy novel sounds like a pretty cool concept, actually. I can picture Union and Confederate agents attempting to infiltrate the other side to obtain key information for the generals on both sides. One of the dangers of being an author is that it is possible to get too attached to a character, because sometimes killing them off is *necessary* for the story to have a satisfying ending for the reader. Of course, some authors--like George R.R. Martin--seem to enjoy killing off characters just because they can. So it works both ways.

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Combination of topics here this morning, I recently read Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter. You would think the title would make it obvious fiction but the story actually makes sense and there are speech quotes and writings that appear legit to the point where I couldn't tell if the author was actually quoting or making it up. The history feels real, just the back story for events, fiction.
Pretty unique concept for a novel.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at September 24, 2023 10:29 AM (t/2Uw)

Comment: This may belong to an interesting category of storytelling known as "epistolary fiction" where the majority of the story is told through excerpts of documents, such as journal entries, newspaper clippings, letters between characters, etc. I have this book lurking in my shelves somewhere, but it's still in the TBR pile. It can be a fun genre to read, as you only get bits and pieces of a much larger story. I also have a book by Peter Clines that is supposed to be the "true" account of Robinson Crusoe, as told through the eyes of H.P. Lovecraft...

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (1000+ Moron-recommended books!)

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WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

The Last King of Osten Ard Book 1 - The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams -- The immortal Queen of the Norns begins to wage yet anothr war against the troublesome mortals who thwarted the will of her undead son, the Storm King, over thiry years ago. This time it's personal!

The Last King of Osten Ard Book 2 - Empire of Grass by Tad Williams -- Ancient Nabban is on the brink of civil war while an even more ancient enemy threatens all of the lands of Osten Ard in a misguided quest for vengeance.

That's about all I have for this week. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding the Sunday Morning Book Thread. This is a very special place. You are very special people (in all the best ways!). The kindness, generosity, and wisdom of the Moron Horde knows no bounds. Let's keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for improvement, reading recommendations, or discussion topics that you'd like to see on the Sunday Morning Book Thread, you can send them to perfessor dot squirrel at-sign gmail dot com. Your feedback is always appreciated! You can also take a virtual tour of OUR library at libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel. Since I added sections for AoSHQ, I now consider it OUR library, rather than my own personal fiefdom...

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 09-24-23 (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 rst

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 09:00 AM (kEB4M)

2 John Van Stry has a new book out: "Stand Alone" the first book in his new Wolfhounds series.

It's got a Space Navy, an empire of 30+ planets, the assasination of an Emperor and members of the royal family, it's got an empire take-over by a real evil sumbitch and this whole thing feels very much like the Red Revolution that spawned Communist Russia into existence. You're going to love to hate the bad guys in this one.

Did I mention it has kick-ass battlemechs? Well it does, and based on what I've seen in the first book, I can't wait to see what battles he crafts in the next books.

Some very satisfying righteous vengeance as well as justice is present in this book. With the state of how things have been in the world, some of that is a real boost to the outlook on life.

I purchased it as soon as I saw the notification it had been released, and ended up reading till past two in the morning to finish it, knowing the price I'd have to pay the next day, but it was absolutely worth it.

The Amazon ASIN is: B0CJT8JTBP

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 01, 2023 09:00 AM (qPw5n)

3 Tolle Lege

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 09:00 AM (fwDg9)

4 Went searching for the first book in a series through local library. Not one copy available anywhere. If I'm going to read a series, I'd like to start with the first one. I could buy one...for fifty dollars!... but, no.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:02 AM (Angsy)

5 hiya

Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 09:03 AM (T4tVD)

6 I don't think the Pants Guy is a guy.....

Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 09:03 AM (T4tVD)

7 I just love the crushed velvet fedora. Classy.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 01, 2023 09:04 AM (RIvkX)

8 Howdy Perfessor.
*checks pants status*

Glad we're in the honor system here!!

Finished an enjoyable book this past week. Mike Rowe "The Way I Heard It". A bunch of short vignettes that I believe were taken from his podcast of the same name. He writes them in mini mystery style. I highly recommend it!

Posted by: Doof at October 01, 2023 09:04 AM (BiuMW)

9 Should be reading Silmarillion but didn't read at all this week.
Have a strong suspension I will soon have lots of reading time coming.

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 09:05 AM (fwDg9)

10 @4/OrangeEnt: Go back to the library, and ask the librarian at the desk about the possibility of getting the book via inter-library loan and ask her to search for the title for you.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 01, 2023 09:06 AM (qPw5n)

11 Just for comparison, trailing along near the bottom of the pack:

2 recommendations - "Perfessor" Squirrel

Aw, Perfessor. Don't beat yourself up about it. I don't think I've recommended any books. Guess I just don't have what it takes to do it. No reason, I suppose. Just can't describe why I'd like something.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:07 AM (Angsy)

12 Prof, you just made my day!

***********

I've been reading two comics series that have much in common: Both are set in the prewar years, both feature a masked crime fighter, and both were written by Matt Wagner. The series are Sandman Mystery Theatre, put out under DC's Vertigo imprint, and The Shadow: Year One, published by Dynamite Comics.

The Sandman began as a guy in a gas mask who carried a gas gun. (He donned a unitard costume in the '40s and got a kid sidekick, but he returned to his original appearance because of fan demand.) SMT -- named to avoid confusion with a concurrent Neil Gaiman series, titled simply Sandman -- throws him into pulp adventures.

In the first story, "The Tarantula," he investigates the kidnappings and torture killings of young women in New York. (Yes, this is For Mature Readers.) The daughter of the police commissioner assists him.

I liked this enough to order the next two trades from the library, but I wish the art were better. I want young women to look pretty. Sandman? Under the mask, he's a shlub.

(continued)

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 09:08 AM (p/isN)

13 1) I find that NaCl's recommendations tend to be the ones that cost me money.

2) Jason Aldeen?

Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 09:08 AM (nfrXX)

14 Just for comparison, trailing along near the bottom of the pack:

2 recommendations - "Perfessor" Squirrel

Aw, Perfessor. Don't beat yourself up about it. I don't think I've recommended any books. Guess I just don't have what it takes to do it. No reason, I suppose. Just can't describe why I'd like something.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:07 AM (Angsy)
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Not true! You have THREE recommendations to my own two...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 01, 2023 09:08 AM (BpYfr)

15 (continued from comment No. 12)

In contrast, the art in this latest iteration of the Shadow -- do I have to elaborate on him? -- starts off much more to my taste but deteriorates. So does the story: The Shadow hunts an old enemy who uses his mental powers to stir up a gang war. Way too much gunfire and Italian cursing.

I love the concept of the Shadow and his network of agents although I know the characters mostly through comics. I've read only one pulp Shadow story, and it was humdrum. Internet Archive has several issues of The Shadow magazine, so someday I may revisit him in his native habitat.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 09:09 AM (p/isN)

16 Perfessor, you enable the recommendations to reach a fractious, fragrant, and sartorially-appropriate gaggle of Morons. And for that, we are grateful!

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 01, 2023 09:13 AM (PiwSw)

17 As I am recovering from cataract surgery on both eyes done one week apart, I find that reading on the Kindle is easier than reading a book. I just started a biography of St. Paul written by John Pollock titled “The Apostle: The Life of Paul.” I’ll have more to report as I get further into the book.
I know I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, the book thread is my favorite part of AoS as I’m addicted to reading. Not to say that I don’t love all the parts. I find myself laughing out loud as I read all the moron comments throughout the blog. Thanks again Perfessor.

Posted by: RetSgtRN at October 01, 2023 09:13 AM (DhOnb)

18 Yay book thread! I'm on the last pages of the mammoth Ford Madox Ford biography and additional books are now taxiing down the apron and onto the runway.

I will say this for Max Saunders - his book is exhaustive. I don't think anyone could possibly outdo him in terms of detail. They could easily beat him on brevity, however. I'd love to see a version that didn't bog the narrative down with lengthy discussions of his work. I finally just began skimming those because some of that stuff is long out of print and/or impossible to find.

Fun fact for aspiring authors: Late in life he was struggling to sell 3,000 copies of his books despite good press and being a featured speaker. At the same time, Margaret Mitchell moved 1.5 million copies of Gone with the Wind.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:13 AM (llXky)

19 Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading. Mine was a bit high-falutin'.

Posted by: JTB at October 01, 2023 09:14 AM (7EjX1)

20 OrangeEnt: Go back to the library, and ask the librarian at the desk about the possibility of getting the book via inter-library loan and ask her to search for the title for you.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 01, 2023 09:06 AM (qPw5n)

I did a book search through the library system. Others of the series are available through Hoopla and places like that, just not the first one. Checked A'zon, Ebay, nothing. Maybe it's not available as an e-book. Hard copies are expensive.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:16 AM (Angsy)

21 The 'these pants' are seasonal. Doesn't keep them from being dumb. (They would be cute on a little kid for Halloween, though.)

Posted by: JTB at October 01, 2023 09:18 AM (7EjX1)

22 I did a book search through the library system. Others of the series are available through Hoopla and places like that, just not the first one. Checked A'zon, Ebay, nothing. Maybe it's not available as an e-book. Hard copies are expensive.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:16 AM (Angsy)
---
yeah, that can be weird sometimes. When I searched for an image of today's "guilty pleasure" (which I already own), I found it listed for several hundred dollars at one site. It's a terrific resources of Cthulhu Mythos-related material, but I don't see how it's worth quite that much.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 01, 2023 09:18 AM (BpYfr)

23 Not true! You have THREE recommendations to my own two...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 01, 2023 09:08 AM (BpYfr)

???

Really? I can't even think of what they are....

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:18 AM (Angsy)

24 I read Riverman: An American Odyssey by Ben McGrath. This is the story of Dick Conant, who over the course of over twenty years, canoed thousands of miles of American rivers.

McGrath had a chance encounter with Conant while he was paddling down the Hudson River on his way to Florida, and several months before his disappearance off the coast of North Carolina. McGrath, a staff writer for The New Yorker, wrote an article about this meeting with this fascinating character, and after his death wanted to tell Conant's story. He does this by interviewing people whose lives Conant touched. Often he tells their life stories too. A wonderful read.

Posted by: Zoltan at October 01, 2023 09:18 AM (7EvEN)

25 Started reading a translation of Xenophon's Anabasis, about the march of the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries after their boss's attempt at overthrowing the Persian emperor failed.

I'm also intermittently reading Anna Comnenus's biography of her father the Byzantine Emperor Alexius.

I don't know if it's a matter of style, or lead in the pipes, or what, but the Byzantine characters seem to be helpless and uncertain all the time, while the ancient Greeks would argue out what to do, then do it.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 01, 2023 09:19 AM (QZxDR)

26 Booken morgen horden!

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 01, 2023 09:20 AM (sz2SP)

27 The Crosstime Engineer by Leo Frankowski had 3 good sequels, and a couple of dreck books after that.

The story arc is amusing and annoying all at the same time.

I really enjoyed the books, even if there was way too much gratuitous sex with stunningly beautiful women. I was OK with the mild sexism, because Poland and the early Middle Ages.

What I liked was his engineering solutions were all reverse Polish notation from today, and his use of the Boy Scout oath to forge a lethal army.

As a person, Leo Frankowski seemed to annoy many in the publishing industry. He had a sad coda to his life, and died unmourned.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:20 AM (u82oZ)

28 Hard copies are expensive.

If you're not picky about condition, that is you're looking for a copy to read rather than collect, try thriftbooks.com.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 09:21 AM (nfrXX)

29 I was thinking you should add a book called The Boys of Summer, which documents the story of the men's rowing team from the University of Washington, 1936. It's a purely American story, culminating in their win over the Nazi rowing team for largest boat in the Olympics. There is far more to the story and it is a well acquainted written book. I give it an A.

Posted by: Sandman arrivrth at October 01, 2023 09:21 AM (YjPGI)

30 Went searching for the first book in a series through local library. Not one copy available anywhere. If I'm going to read a series, I'd like to start with the first one. I could buy one...for fifty dollars!... but, no.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:02 AM (Angsy)
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Years ago I read Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Great book, by the way. It referenced The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz, and I got a copy through inter-library loan. Trippy book, deep allegory, completely lost on me.

I wonder if it would make more sense 30 years later.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:21 AM (llXky)

31 I've been going through family documents.
My Grandmother ran two yearly family reunions (one for each side of her family, Austin and Pfeiffle) every summer from 1949 until her passing at 95 in 2003... as a well run business.
Every attendee and what they brought is documented. Receipts and all sorts of stuff.
Crazy gold mine into the family history.
I haven't even scratched the surface of this stuff yet.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 09:22 AM (4aeJs)

32 Also this week, for those of you who have been following along with the Raconteur Press anthologies, they've released another one this last week:

Space Cowboys 3: Return of the Bookaroo

I can't comment on the specific stories in this one, because I haven't read it yet, but every other one of their anthologies has been fun. I'm in the middle of "Saints of Malta" and should get back to that soon. (I swear my to-be-read list has a mind of its own and it's very demanding and needy.)

As always, there's a call out for new authors to submit stories for their "24 in '24" drive. They're going deep down the anthology rabbit hole in 2024, with an eye to bringing back the idea of the old pulp fiction type of publication - short stories that we can read and enjoy in the midst of our busy stressful lives.

Take a look at thelawdogfiles.com posts from August 29 2023 for some submission how-to type information if you're interested in submitting a story.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 01, 2023 09:22 AM (qPw5n)

33 I don't know if it's a matter of style, or lead in the pipes, or what, but the Byzantine characters seem to be helpless and uncertain all the time, while the ancient Greeks would argue out what to do, then do it.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 01, 2023 09:19 AM (QZxDR)

I liked the Alexiad, mostly because of the third perspective it gives on the Crusades.

Posted by: Whoopi at October 01, 2023 09:23 AM (v27SO)

34 OrangeEnt --

Some book series are better read after the first few come out and the author has had time to get the kinks worked out.

For example, the first book of The Destroyer series, which began in the '60s, is so-so. By the fifth book, the writers knew what they were doing.

Of course, this series consists of individual episodes. For a continuing saga, yes, you'd prefer to start at the beginning.

What is the series?

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 09:23 AM (p/isN)

35 Good Sunday morning, horde!

This week's read was Moon Lake by Joe R. Lansdale. I'm really liking this author. His characters are interesting, and I like that he has "diverse" characters but doesn't preach a woke viewpoint. The characters of color and the gay characters are as likely to do bad as the white guys--he likes to spread it around. I appreciate that.

Anyway, Moon Lake: a kid's dad puts him in the car one winter night, and drives off a bridge into Moon Lake. The kid is saved by a girl fishing with her father, and the rest of the book is a fascinating exploration of local power structures, weird cult behavior, interracial relationships, and murder.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 01, 2023 09:24 AM (OX9vb)

36 I've been reading the essays of Wendell Berry and REALLY enjoying them. Some of the finest essay writing since CS Lewis. (It helps that I agree with much of his stands.) It is persuading and effective without shouting. This isn't too much of a surprise as his poetry in "Sabbath Poems" is subtle, perceptive, and evocative.

I need to try some of his fiction writing.

Posted by: JTB at October 01, 2023 09:24 AM (7EjX1)

37 Off Whoopi sock.

Posted by: Vanya at October 01, 2023 09:25 AM (v27SO)

38 I will say that my earlier project of re-reading the old Bantam War Books was really enlightening. I burrowed into these as a kid, but going through them again, I missed/failed to grasp a ton of what was going on. I'm talking books like Reach for the Sky, Fly for Your Life, Brazen Chariots, etc.

Especially after 21 years in the military, I got a lot more out of them. I suppose one of my projects should be to go through other books I got back then and see what I failed to get out of them. I typically read any book I enjoy at least twice.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:25 AM (llXky)

39 One really fantastic author was Margery Allingham, who created the Albert Campion series of books. Campion is a young man of wealth who chooses to spend his idle time solving mysteries. His background is always hinted at, but never revealed. The character shares a similarity to Peter Wimsey as written by Dorothy Sayers, but the Campion books add a humorous touch and the crime solving is more intuitive than most mysteries. Albert Campion is introduced in The Crime at Black Dudley. At a weekend party at a country house, a house with hidden passages and forgotten rooms, a murder takes place. One of the guests, a man who calls himself Albert Campion, takes the lead in solving the mystery. This is the first in a long list of Campion books by Allingham which present mysteries with a twist, and really hit on the nuances of British regional culture.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 01, 2023 09:26 AM (qoyWV)

40 Finished WW1 by SLA Marshall. Holds up well today. Good analysis, and careful choices to get a big war covered in only 500 pages.

What struck me the most was how bad the leaders were, both military and civilian. And yet, I would trade today's leaders, who have proven more deadly, with the WW1 leaders.

The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was about 40 million, which is less than world-wide figures for COVID-19 Wuhan. More dead in WW1 figures, but not as many injured as with the vaccines.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:27 AM (u82oZ)

41 I was thinking you should add a book called The Boys of Summer, which documents the story of the men's rowing team from the University of Washington, 1936.

I think there is another book about the same thing titled The Boys in the Boat. I happened to see a copy of it yesterday at Half Price.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 09:27 AM (nfrXX)

42 Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 01, 2023 09:00 AM (qPw5n)

You guys always make science fiction sound so interesting.

So much so, that I occasionally read a sci fi recommendation, and sometimes I even like them. I'm not sure why space stories don't appeal to me--I think they tend to be technical and martial, but there's usually a good story inside of that. So I don't really know what my problem is.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 01, 2023 09:27 AM (OX9vb)

43 Also this week, for those of you who have been following along with the Raconteur Press anthologies, they've released another one this last week

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 01, 2023 09:22 AM (qPw5n)

Submitted my once rejected noir story (diff pub) to them last week. They have quite a few running with generous lead times.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:29 AM (Angsy)

44 My Grandmother ran two yearly family reunions (one for each side of her family, Austin and Pfeiffle) every summer from 1949 until her passing at 95 in 2003... as a well run business.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 09:22 AM (4aeJs)
---
My father's sister and her husband do something like this. They have a sprawling old house on a lake in northern Michigan and do a week with each family over the summer. The place is set up almost like a hotel in terms of plates, glasses, spare towels, bedding, etc. I've grafted myself into it because I have no siblings, and my wife's live 1,000 miles away so without it, my kids wouldn't really have extended family or understand how it works.

They love going to it, as so I. Everyone gets along, everyone has fun. Deeply chill.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:30 AM (llXky)

45 @20/OrangeEnt: Go back and talk to the librarian specifically about an inter-library loan. They have library-specific search systems and expertise in using them for exactly this kind of thing, plus they kind of live for this kind of challenge.

Try, it might surprise you.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 01, 2023 09:31 AM (qPw5n)

46 I'm currently working my way through Tad Williams' Last King of Osten Ard series. It's a sequel to Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn.

Weirdly, it seems to be influenced in some way by George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Which was itself influenced by Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn.

So Last King of Osten Ard is part of a feedback loop between Martin and Williams. Kind of an odd feeling.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 01, 2023 09:33 AM (BpYfr)

47 Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Those are all three excellent books. I read them with caution, as many Ballentine war books, including those, strip away context in favor of a clean, uplifting story.

That is especially true for the very inspirational story of Douglas Bader in Reach for the Sky. His advice on Big Wings in the Battle of Britain was fatally flawed, and would have hurt the RAF. Fortunately, his advice was not followed, but the controversy got a good man removed from his command after he saved the UK. They could not tell him why, partially because of the secrets associated with code-breaking.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:33 AM (u82oZ)

48 Been listening to audio books while doing other stuff, and I just finished Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas.
My not entirely accurate elevator pitch for this would be Mexican Gone With the Wind with monsters.
It's first & foremost a historical love story, with the B plot involving war against yanquis and blood-sucking monsters.
I liked that the main characters seemed in-period in their attitudes, rebellious but not modern.
The writing is very historical romance though, flowery and perhaps overwrought. I do like that any sex scenes happen off screen. The monsters are well described and horrifying, but do not get as much screen time as one might expect.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 01, 2023 09:34 AM (sz2SP)

49 I haven't even scratched the surface of this stuff yet.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 09:22 AM (4aeJs)

If you have the time and the inclination, you should go through the material and add context where needed. One problem people have with historical information is why people did something, and what exactly was something mentioned in passing that may have been ubiquitous, but now is unknown. "They ate what?" You can say what it is and how it's made, maybe include a recipe.

My dad's files has things like that in it, diary entries and the like. Someday I'll get around to looking at it and see what I can do with it.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:35 AM (Angsy)

50 "One really fantastic author was Margery Allingham, who created the Albert Campion series of books."

PBS "Mystery" presented a Campion series many years ago. Quite good. Worth looking for.

Posted by: Tuna at October 01, 2023 09:36 AM (oaGWv)

51 What struck me the most was how bad the leaders were, both military and civilian. And yet, I would trade today's leaders, who have proven more deadly, with the WW1 leaders.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:27 AM (u82oZ)
---
Marshall has a number of biases, not the least of which is his sense that he should have risen higher.

Any analysis of WW I has to include the fact that all of the leaders were in uncharted territory. Participatory democracy was a new thing for most of Europe, and how to handle it in a war was largely unknown.

Similarly, the technology was moving so fast that anyone who claimed that the tactical solutions to it were obvious is either ignorant or dishonest. The truth is that trench warfare continually evolved, and the image of men sitting there month after month, going over the top now and again is false. Troops were regularly rotated in and out of the lines, which were constantly being upgraded and modified. A 1915 trench was not a 1916 one or a 1917 one and certainly not a 1918 one.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:38 AM (llXky)

52 I'm soon to listen to Way of Kings and Read Yumi, both by Brandon Sanderson

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 01, 2023 09:40 AM (sz2SP)

53 They love going to it, as so I. Everyone gets along, everyone has fun. Deeply chill.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:30 AM (llXky)

These were in Brooklyn, MI. On the River Rasin. I want to say Heart-O-Lakes golf course but I may have my courses mixed up.
Huge house with a basement all us kids played in.

I miss those times. We moved west in 76 and I only went to 4 of them after that. Once I stumbled into one on leave from the Army. Just happened to be passing near the area on 80 and decided to take a 100 mile detour and there it was. Extended my leave and stayed for a week.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 09:42 AM (4aeJs)

54 Another classic trope (which I believe Marshall shares) is that peripheral operations were a distraction and a waste of resources. This is false. A lot of the troops and resources used couldn't be applied to the Western Front, so the classical "concentration of force" commandment didn't have sway. Indeed, as Churchill correctly pointed out, concentrating force produced negative returns.

Wargaming the war (a fraught form of measurement, to be sure), one can achieve more decisive results by 'spreading the front' rather than narrowing it. The problem was a lack of understanding of how to do this and do it decisively. All the best commanders wanted to be at the main front, leaving retirees and colonial warfare experts to handle the job.

For example, the British did force Turkey out of the war, they just wanted too long to help Russia. If that buildup started in 1915, the Revolution may never have taken place.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:42 AM (llXky)

55 Similarly, the technology was moving so fast that anyone who claimed that the tactical solutions to it were obvious is either ignorant or dishonest. The truth is that trench warfare continually evolved, and the image of men sitting there month after month, going over the top now and again is false. Troops were regularly rotated in and out of the lines, which were constantly being upgraded and modified. A 1915 trench was not a 1916 one or a 1917 one and certainly not a 1918 one.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:38 AM (llXky)

The book to read, IMO, is Duff Cooper's two volume biography of Douglas Haig. Cooper was very obviously trying to rehabilitate Haig, but huge chunks of the text are excerpts from letters, diaries, reports, etc. from when the events were unfolding, and you are correct. The mustachioed villains with swagger sticks ordering men to their deaths over coffee is largely fake.

Posted by: Vanya at October 01, 2023 09:42 AM (v27SO)

56 If you're not picky about condition, that is you're looking for a copy to read rather than collect, try thriftbooks.com.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 09:21 AM (nfrXX)

$21 for paperback, others not available.

What is the series?

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 09:23 AM (p/isN)

Matt Helm. Want to compare the books to Dino's movies.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:43 AM (Angsy)

57 Currently reading Men against Fire by SLA Marshall. It is the definitive book of what actually occurred in the US Army infantry companies and riflemen in battle zones during WW2. His chapter 4 created much controversy, but it exposed an awkward fact. In WW2, the US infantry was not well trained or led. Even in dire combat situations, most men did not fire their individual weapons, or use them effectively. He has very clear explanations as to why this happened.

We had a very advanced artillery doctrine in WW2, and this caused most of the enemy casualties.

After a number of years, the recommendations from SLA Marshall and others were finally incorporated into infantry and officer training, leading to much better outcomes in Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars.

The Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II by John Ellis is another book that covers this well.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:44 AM (u82oZ)

58 wow. I have two recommendations. One of which I don't remember reading (Keeper Chronicles). I'll have to go back and re-read it.

Speaking of books I've (re) read this week: Phoebe Clayton by Fred Pruitt. It's a story much in the vein of tom hank's movie, That Thing You Do but adds some more stuff. It's about Cindy Lou (who hates her name) and Andy, starting a furniture business, and their friends and relatives. You can say it's a rom-com, and you'd be right, but the "more stuff" makes it better. It's KU, but good enough I'm gonna buy it.

Do I have to say "recommended" for it to be recommended?

Posted by: yara at October 01, 2023 09:44 AM (xr64u)

59 That is especially true for the very inspirational story of Douglas Bader in Reach for the Sky. His advice on Big Wings in the Battle of Britain was fatally flawed, and would have hurt the RAF. Fortunately, his advice was not followed, but the controversy got a good man removed from his command after he saved the UK. They could not tell him why, partially because of the secrets associated with code-breaking.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:33 AM (u82oZ)
---
Robert Stanford Tuck's biography serves as something as a rebuttal, because he disagreed with Bader and did not get along with him at all, regarding him as an uncouth bully. Reading them back to back was fascinating.

Indeed, if you pay close attention, you can tell that Paul Brickhill deliberately soft-pedals some things, and at times is honest enough to admit it.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:46 AM (llXky)

60 World War I is probably best known for three things: trenches, trains, and tanks.

I wonder what tanks would have been called had the cover name not stuck. Self-propelled artillery?

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 09:46 AM (p/isN)

61 Finally finished the Hilary Mantel trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. Well worth the time. I thought the writing style was superb and the tale of Cromwell's life fascinating. So I moved on to a collection of pieces by the Freakonomics guys and Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Posted by: who knew at October 01, 2023 09:47 AM (4I7VG)

62 I wonder what tanks would have been called had the cover name not stuck. Self-propelled artillery?
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 09:46 AM (p/isN)

Well the Germans used 'tank' for a few years and then switched to Panzer.

Posted by: Vanya at October 01, 2023 09:47 AM (v27SO)

63 Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 09:35 AM (Angsy)

My mom and are doing that. Also trying to match up picture, which has become sort of scandalous. I also have about 20, 8mm reels which I think may have been filmed at some of them in the mid 50's.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 09:48 AM (4aeJs)

64 I'm flinging convention to the wind and not wearing pants. ( I am in a dress, though, so some modesty). My kids picked up a stack of "easy reads" at the library for de-stressing in the midst of our sale/move, and one of the titles was "Odd Thomas" by Dean Koontz.

I adored the movie with Anton Yelchin, but had no idea Koontz wrote the book it was based on. I'm not a fan of his, but I started reading the book, and it's (gasp) better than the movie! Richer character details, better background writing, my own imagination filling in the holes -which look surprisingly like the movie, because that's what I'm thinking of as I read - I'm thoroughly enjoying it. And it's a series, so I have more. Always a good thing!

Posted by: Moki at October 01, 2023 09:49 AM (JrN/x)

65 The _other_ book I read this week was a classic: _The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu_, by Sax Rohmer.

This being the Current Year, the Dover reprint has a long introduction by some academic about how very, very naughty Sax Rohmer was to write the book, and Chinese people totally aren't like that at all, and the reader should just pretend that every time Rohmer says "Chinaman" or "Chinese" he means Elves or something.

Bah.

I _wish_ I could say it's a rattling good read despite the PC nonsense, but in fact it's not that great. Rohmer's brilliant detective Nayland Smith is frequently required to be a complete idiot so that he can be fooled by the Devil Doctor's deadly schemes — all of which are ridiculously overcomplicated and rely heavily on poisons and drugs "unknown to science."

I actually do disagree with the people who say it's racist. Fu is practically a superman, after all. What the novel _is_, is _imperialist_. Fu Manchu is bad because he threaten's England's dominion over the East. It's not that Easterners are inferior or anything, it's just that Rohmer (and presumably his readers) want England to be on top.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 01, 2023 09:51 AM (QZxDR)

66 Some recommendations of books that affected me.

The Nuremburg Raid by Martin Middlebrook. The Brit Bomber Command lost 96 heavy bombers in a single night raid. (In contrast, the US Army Air Corps was shaken to its core when it lost 60 bombers on each of the Schweinfurt daylight raids.). The book contains many personal reminiscences and discusses Gwrman evolving tactics to defeat the night bomber offensive.

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. Forget the movies. I see this as a modern; i.e., 1920s - 30s, retelling of the Inferno set in the Louisiana politics and inspired by the career Huey Long. This is one of those books that blend elements of various genres. Caveat: this book may be incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with social mores of the long ago and far far away times of 50 + years ago.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 09:51 AM (FVME7)

67 WW I created the wrist watch.

Posted by: Puddinhead at October 01, 2023 09:51 AM (/UtnQ)

68 I've been reading about calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts, specifically "Medieval Calligraphy: Its History and Techniques". I was surprised by how much styles and techniques changed to make the calligraphy easier and faster to produce. I didn't expect that. It seems such a modern attitude. The difference in speed may be like a tortoise versus a snail in fact.

BTW, my first attempts to copy some of the letters was the stuff of comedy. Classic calligraphy requires serious artistry.

Posted by: JTB at October 01, 2023 09:51 AM (7EjX1)

69 Anyone wanting a good reference book on World War I should grab a copy of the World War One Source Book, by Philip Haythornthwaite. The book is remarkable for the scope of its information and it is what introduced me to The Wipers Times.

It's stunning how much information the author crams into this book, from uniform details to the gas symbols used on various artillery shells. It's not a cover-to-cover read, but something you pick up and read a section on from time to time. It's got a little bit of everything, including compact biographies of the leaders, and overview of the campaigns, tactics, weapons and of course a massive list of references.

If you are in any way interested in the topic, you must own this book.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:52 AM (llXky)

70 OrangeEnt, you don't need "Death of a Citizen" to start with Helm.

And 20 bucks?!

I see it on the shelves occasionally, but not at that price.

And there is nothing to compare with the movies except character names. Even the plots are different.

Look for the next two books in the series: "The Wrecking Crew" and "The Removers." That will get you into Helm's world.

FWIW, I started with No. 12, "The Interlopers."

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 09:54 AM (p/isN)

71 Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Point taken. And yet ...

The Germans in WW1 were the ones who excelled at distant campaigns. For a while. The war on Russia was won, but those troops advanced too far, and were needed on the Western front.

I tried to see if a defensive strategy in 1918 by Germany was superior. American strength was misused, but was enough to win. What would have happened if the US 1st and 2nd Armies, after the St Mihiel Offensive, went for Metz vice the Argonne Forest and Sedan. A lost opportunity.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:55 AM (u82oZ)

72 I wonder what tanks would have been called had the cover name not stuck. Self-propelled artillery?

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 09:46 AM (p/isN)
---
Armored battle wagons? Assault chariot?

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:55 AM (llXky)

73 One important fact about world war I is that weapons technology had dramatically advanced in the decade prior. Aircraft, machine guns, mines, and dreadnoughts were all recent inventions, and exponentially increased the ability to kill hundreds of men in a very short time span. Add this to obsolete battle theory as known by the generals in charge, who were fighting the last war, as always, and it creates a killing ground not seen since the crusades.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 01, 2023 09:56 AM (qoyWV)

74 Speaking of recommendations, I can't believe nobody's recommended any of Elizabeth Moon's books: There's her Paksenarrion books, which are good Sword n Sorcery stuff (I think there's some sorcery in them; it's been a long time). Also her Vatta series (two series, Vatta's War: 5 books, Vatta's Peace: two books) which I've read multiple times. Good space opera.

There's also her Remnant Population about an old woman who stayed behind from a planetary colony withdrawal and contact with an indigenous population. A wonderful exploration of unexpected events.

And her Speed of Dark, about high functioning autistic people and their ability to cope and the dilemma of a cure. Yes? No?

Posted by: yara at October 01, 2023 09:57 AM (xr64u)

75 Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

SLA Marshall was preceptive, but very naive to think that telling truth to power gets anyone advanced in the US military, or any other military. It can happen, but rarely does.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:57 AM (u82oZ)

76 I've been reading "The Book of Kells: An Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College Dublin" by Bernard Meehan. The artistry in the illuminations is wonderful. The level of talent and imagination, especially done with such basic tools, is off the charts. Even though the photos are good quality I still keep a good magnifying glass at hand to see more details.

Posted by: JTB at October 01, 2023 09:58 AM (7EjX1)

77 Started the new Cormoran Strike novel, " The Running Grave" by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling. Strike's partner Robin goes undercover with a dangerous religious cult with the goal of extracting the son of their client. Strike is also starting to come to terms with his romantic feelings for Robin. So far Robin is fighting the mind control efforts by the cult while trying to get the goods on the bad guys. I expect her situation to become much more perilous. The book is keeping me reading far into the night.

Posted by: Tuna at October 01, 2023 09:58 AM (oaGWv)

78 Elizabeth Moon's Vatta series is a fun read. Good space opera.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:59 AM (u82oZ)

79 Posted by: Moki at October 01, 2023 09:49 AM (JrN/x)

I binged through the whole Odd Thomas series after watching the movie. I love the unabashed good vs evil theme.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 01, 2023 09:59 AM (sz2SP)

80 One historian -- I'm afraid I don't recall which one -- pointed out that it wasn't the _defense_ that was so powerful in WWI, but the _counteroffense_. Troops could get across No Man's Land and raid a section of trench, even try to hold it -- but the enemy counteroffensive was almost always irresistable because they had their artillery pre-zeroes, they had working lines of communication and supply, and generally faster decision loops. So your attacks might well succeed, but then get annihilated or thrown back the next day.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 01, 2023 09:59 AM (QZxDR)

81 Armored battle wagons? Assault chariot?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 09:55 AM (llXky)

Cats. After the catapillar tracks.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 10:00 AM (4aeJs)

82 yara, I have a bunch of Moon's books, her Paksenarrion series bring one of my old favorites.
Speed of Dark was wrenching. Very good.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 01, 2023 10:01 AM (sz2SP)

83 74 Speaking of recommendations, I can't believe nobody's recommended any of Elizabeth Moon's books: There's her Paksenarrion books, which are good Sword n Sorcery stuff ...
Posted by: yara at October 01, 2023 09:57 AM (xr64u)

I read those on my husband's recommendation some years back. I really enjoyed them. Paks is a mercenary, so lots of fighting and strategy, if I recall, along with the sword 'n sorcery stuff. I might reread that series when I get into one of these slumps again where nothing strikes my fancy.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 01, 2023 10:01 AM (OX9vb)

84 SLA Marshall was preceptive, but very naive to think that telling truth to power gets anyone advanced in the US military, or any other military. It can happen, but rarely does.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:57 AM (u82oZ)
---
It's also true that everyone is the hero of their own autobiography. My grandmother lived on his street and said he was an angry prick of a man. Very much into yelling at the kids to keep it down because was writing Important Things.

I'm too lazy to get up and root around my shelves (also unwilling disturb the cat sleeping on my feet), but most references I've found to Marshall indicate his research was not replicable or accurate, and the fixation on "every man a rifleman" didn't work as intended.

Military history is littered with persuasive, erudite theorists who are simply wrong.

I mention this because a lot of the things long believed true about WW II were not. The business of four Shermans being needed to kill a Tiger or Panther, for example. Part of the problem is an emphasis on personal recollection without fact-checking it against material results. Every Allied tank crew fought a gazillion Tigers. Just ask them.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 10:03 AM (llXky)

85 Thomas Paine

The US Civil War had trenches. The Franko-Prussian War had automatic fire weapons. The Russo-Japanese war had trenches and naval warfare. The British especially and French had senior observers on both sides of the Civil War.

Details were known, but unapplied as irrelevant and unthinkable.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 10:03 AM (u82oZ)

86 Prefessor Squirrel- do you mean a "recommendation" is a book review? As opposed to as #58 Yara means?

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 10:03 AM (fwDg9)

87 I'm trying to get through American Caesar about Douglas MacArthur, but I think today I'll read my Georgian cookbook from Downside Abbey. Or not! I might just read Harlequins and eat candy.

Posted by: FollyHerself at October 01, 2023 10:03 AM (hVmmR)

88 I dropped off a box of books at the used books store, but did not escape without a book following me home - Steven Pressfield's Virtues of War.
I have a long standing fascination with Alexander.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 01, 2023 10:03 AM (sz2SP)

89 SLA Marshall was preceptive, but very naive to think that telling truth to power gets anyone advanced in the US military, or any other military. It can happen, but rarely does.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:57 AM (u82oZ)

Speaking actual truth to power won't get you advanced in any organization. On the contrary you're far more likely to be targeted, ostracized, and eventually pushed (or kicked) out.

Posted by: Lockstep commitment to the delusion is required at October 01, 2023 10:04 AM (lR6tR)

90 Radical Son by David Horowitz. Another genre blender, the author describes his journey from red diaper baby to giving up on the Marxist utopia.

False Memory by Dean Koontz. A good v. evil horror /adventure novel. Guess which side the feds are on.

Guadalcanal by Richard B. Frank. The story of the six month desperate battle for a small, strategically located island. The book covers the air, sea, and land battles for the island and is balanced between the US and Japanese point of view.

I'm sure there are dozens more but these are a few that spoke to me.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 10:05 AM (FVME7)

91 I should reread Remnant Population now that I'm closer to the MC's age, lol.
I really sympathize with her "move, again? hell no" pov now.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 01, 2023 10:05 AM (sz2SP)

92 Well, as usual, my library doesn't have any of the books recommended.
But I did buy Conscious Choice from eBookit.com. Won't know if it comes with DRM until it download it.

Posted by: John the River at October 01, 2023 10:06 AM (/3goP)

93 Looks like the Donald Hamilton Matt Helm books are available on kindle, if you swing that way. Death of a Citizen is 7.99 -- haven't looked at pricing on the rest.

Should be getting into Bleak House, but I keep putting it off. Have been sampling Barry Malzberg's Lone Wolf series -- okay stuff, but his sf and essays are much better.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 01, 2023 10:06 AM (a/4+U)

94 Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

I get your point.

Part of good leadership is to extract good information and sound theories from unclubable men. Different perspectives can be useful, even when spoken by a jerk. Groupthink can be very strong. It takes experience and humility to get the best of bad people.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 10:07 AM (u82oZ)

95 I find I have inherited a box of pictures and letters from my grandfather when he was in France in WWI. I may have to put them together and write a bit of a pamphlet and description before I give them to the local museum.
He has a sheaf of French postcards memorializing the July 4 1918 review the French threw for the Americans.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 01, 2023 10:07 AM (xhaym)

96 Prefessor Squirrel- do you mean a "recommendation" is a book review? As opposed to as #58 Yara means?
Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 10:03 AM (fwDg9)
----
I tend to think of "recommendations" and "reviews" as related, but different. To me, "recommendations" imply that everyone should read the book because I enjoyed it. A "review" on the other hand, relies more on objectivity in its analysis of the good and bad aspects of storytelling. Then let the reader make up their own mind. So while they are often used interchangeably, I do see them as slightly different rhetorical instruments.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 01, 2023 10:07 AM (BpYfr)

97 Pressfield's a good writer, but IMO Gates of Fire was his biggest, best thing. Tides of War was good too, but he never equaled Gates again.

Posted by: Vanya at October 01, 2023 10:08 AM (v27SO)

98 Speaking of World War I, in the course of a discussion this week about Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder), I learned that the reason why sufferers argue with themselves out loud is that in many cases, this is the only way the personalities can communicate. The split is so profound that there is no innate capacity for internal dialog, that has to be learned.

I mention this because I long figured Smeagol/Gollum arguing out loud was a literary trope or narrative device, but it's apparently authentic. Tolkien probably knew this from being in hospital and witnessing shell-shocked cases, showcasing once again the immense and amazing depth of his writing.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 10:08 AM (llXky)

99
I binged through the whole Odd Thomas series after watching the movie. I love the unabashed good vs evil theme.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 01, 2023 09:59 AM (sz2SP)

I know! There's no moral equivocation about the bad guys, no justifying their actions: they are bad. And the people trying to thwart them aren't painted as "evil" do-gooders. I was shocked this was a Koontz book, since I really didn't like others of his I read.

Posted by: Moki at October 01, 2023 10:09 AM (JrN/x)

100 56 ..."Matt Helm. Want to compare the books to Dino's movies."

Trust me. There is no comparison to make. The books are well-written and satisfying reads. The movies with Dean Martin took a few names of characters and titles and made them a campy farce. The movies are silly fun but have nothing to do with the actual books.

Posted by: JTB at October 01, 2023 10:11 AM (7EjX1)

101 I find I have inherited a box of pictures and letters from my grandfather when he was in France in WWI. I may have to put them together and write a bit of a pamphlet and description before I give them to the local museum.
He has a sheaf of French postcards memorializing the July 4 1918 review the French threw for the Americans.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 01, 2023 10:07 AM (xhaym)
---
After my great-grandfather died, a shoebox was found in the attack containing the letters he and his first wife wrote to each other from their meeting at a church social in 1917 to his return from France in 1919.

My father typed all of them up and had them bound into a small quantity of books, distributed to family members. They are amazing.

As the centennial approached, I asked him to get me an electronic version so that we could publish them. He agreed, but showed absolutely no motivation. After watching him drag his feet for months, he finally admitted that it would be better if I did that after everyone who knew them had passed because they are very intimate. (They actually talk about sex, proving that ours is not the first generation to discover it.)

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 10:13 AM (llXky)

102 Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Enjoyed chatting with you, as always.

Even those of us who know history are being carried along by the leaders who know no actual history.

But we can prevail, in our local op area.

Have a wonderful day, everyone. May you not need to take up arms to stop a raid on your house. But look for good sites for L-shaped ambushes.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 10:13 AM (u82oZ)

103 93 Just Some Guy, Bleak House
Bleak House is wonderful, but it's a grind to get into. At least it was for me when I had a week to get through it in grad school (bad timing on my part). Worth a more leisurely read for sure, but I would give yourself about 100 pages to really get into the rhythm of the book.

Posted by: FollyHerself at October 01, 2023 10:14 AM (hVmmR)

104 I thought I had already recommended this, but don't see it in the list.

Lucky 666 by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin is the story of a group of misfits in the southwest Pacific in WWII. They run across a B17 bomber in the scrap pile, tail number 666. The plane is considered unlucky due to the number, so it is a parts donor. The misfits rebuild the plane, stripping out bomb bays and adding multiple gun emplacements and high res cameras, and volunteer to fly solo reconnaissance missions ahead of the island hopping campaign. When they fly to Bougainville to photograph beaches for the amphibious landings planned, they are spotted by the Japanese, who send up twenty zero fighters. What follows is the longest dogfight in military history, and multiple medals, including two medals of honor. A fantastic read. I cannot fathom why this hasn't been made into a movie, as the truth is more heroic than a lot of fiction.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 01, 2023 10:14 AM (qoyWV)

105 Think I might have read a couple of the Helms eons ago (high school) -- definitely nothing to do with the movies. The movies are fun if you like Dean Martin, but they ain't Hamilton's Matt Helms.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 01, 2023 10:15 AM (a/4+U)

106 Really. I am going to have to step up my recommendations.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 01, 2023 10:16 AM (8sMut)

107 87 I'm trying to get through American Caesar about Douglas MacArthur, but I think today I'll read my Georgian cookbook from Downside Abbey. Or not! I might just read Harlequins and eat candy.
Posted by: FollyHerself at October 01, 2023 10:03 AM (hVmmR)

I need to read that.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 01, 2023 10:18 AM (8sMut)

108 The concept from "The Crosstime Engineer"....Having read a bit too much history, the prospect of having to face a Mongol invasion (or any of the prominent steppe-nomad tribes) is just....horrifying. So many cultures/general/armies tried to fight them, and so many failed. A few generals even came up with tactics to deal with them, but so few armies had the abilities to carry out the tactics....

So, without having read the book....I guess the guy would have to develop guns, and then train a massive peasant army on how to use them, and drill them in Napoleanic-Square tactics, and then hope you can decimate the attaching hordes before they learn to avoid your riflemen. ....Or maybe give some guns to your own cavalry, to take the fight to the hordes. But you're probably not developing multi-fire or re-load-from-the-saddle guns from scratch, so...Hm....Like I said, a horrifying prospect.

Posted by: Castle Guy at October 01, 2023 10:18 AM (Lhaco)

109 103, Folly

Started Bleak House once about a year ago, and yep, it's slow getting into. Got interrupted then, so will start over when I get back to it. The other Dickens I've read I've enjoyed and expect I'll enjoy BH as well. Once spent a nine or ten hour wait in a Greyhound station with Great Expectations and that time just flew by.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 01, 2023 10:19 AM (a/4+U)

110 Lucky 666 by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin is the story of a group of misfits in the southwest Pacific in WWII.

In the cart. Need one more for free shipping. C'mon Morons, you can do it

Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 10:21 AM (nfrXX)

111 40 Finished WW1 by SLA Marshall. Holds up well today. Good analysis, and careful choices to get a big war covered in only 500 pages.

What struck me the most was how bad the leaders were, both military and civilian. And yet, I would trade today's leaders, who have proven more deadly, with the WW1 leaders.

The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was about 40 million, which is less than world-wide figures for COVID-19 Wuhan. More dead in WW1 figures, but not as many injured as with the vaccines.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:27 AM (u82oZ)

I rather liked “A World Undone” by G.J. Meyer.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 01, 2023 10:22 AM (8sMut)

112 Ditto on "Conscious Choice". I endorse your endorsement. Started reading it when first recommended on this site. Eye opening when it comes to a the facts and truth about slavery on this continent. But, because the Left controls our educational institutions, good luck getting these facts in front of students.

Morons - teach your children - because the schools are not.

Posted by: Java Joe at October 01, 2023 10:22 AM (WaLgG)

113 In the cart. Need one more for free shipping. C'mon Morons, you can do it
Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 10:21 AM (nfrXX)

"Tallyrand" by Duff Cooper. Biography of one of the most breathtaking magnificent bastards ever to live. Dude was so crooked he crosses the line well into "I'm not even mad, I'm impressed" territory.

Posted by: Vanya at October 01, 2023 10:23 AM (v27SO)

114 I read the first of Anthony Horowitz' James Bond novels, Trigger Mortis, on a whim. I liked it so well I read another, Forever and a Day, about Bond's first 00 mission and liked it so well I've bought the third, With a Mind To Kill, about Bond being suspected of murdering M. I also reread Ian Fleming's For Your Eyes Only, which I hadn't read since high school, which is a collection of Bond short stories although several have little to nothing to do with spying. For example, I read A Quantum of Solace last night that has nothing to do with spying and everything to do with a doomed marriage. The title refers to the proposition that a marriage cannot survive without a quantum of solace. I understood a lot more of it now that I'm 29.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 10:24 AM (FVME7)

115 I rather liked “A World Undone” by G.J. Meyer.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

My favorite single volume history if WWI.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 10:25 AM (FVME7)

116 * reads description of "Lucky 666" *

* adds title to TBA list *

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 10:26 AM (p/isN)

117 >>Started the new Cormoran Strike novel, " The Running Grave" by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling.

Posted by: Tuna at October 01, 2023 09:58 AM

I like those books, but they are very long and difficult to read while lying down.

Posted by: huerfano at October 01, 2023 10:28 AM (cs21Z)

118 Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 01, 2023 10:14 AM (qoyWV)

Lucky 666. I had never heard of that story. Wikipedia quick glance proves I will order this book when the wife gets out of bed.

Speaking of which I'm sure she loves getting coffee first thing every Sunday and as she sits down I bombard her with book orders.. to add to the stacks of books she insists will someday fall over and kill me.
I don't do internet money stuff, I'm cash only so I leave the crap that involves cards and banks to her.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 10:28 AM (MElkR)

119
Happy Birthday Jimmy Carter, the last democrat to actually write his own book (we think) about his preznitcy.

Sold as many copies as you'd expect.

Posted by: Auspex at October 01, 2023 10:28 AM (dxcsE)

120 In the cart. Need one more for free shipping. C'mon Morons, you can do it
Posted by: Oddbob

Have you gotten Empire of the Summer Moon by S C Gwynne? This is the story of the Commanches and their raids in Texas, focusing on Quanh Parker, the chief whose mother was a captured white settler. He was the last Commanche chief to surrender and move onto a reservation. If you want the unvarnished truth about the Commanche war, this is the book, and it is a compelling read.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 01, 2023 10:30 AM (qoyWV)

121 I cannot fathom why this hasn't been made into a movie, as the truth is more heroic than a lot of fiction.
Posted by: Thomas Paine

I think I've seen a short documentary on this.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 10:30 AM (FVME7)

122 I just got a copy of Raymond Ibrahim's ''Defenders of the West''.
(Yes, I know book titles are supposed to be italicised or underlined, not supposed to be in quotation marks, but I don't know html enough to do that in a comment.)
Anyway, I haven't read it yet, but while breaking in the book I got really distracted by the chapters on Richard the Lionhearted and Vlad the Dragon (an unfairly villianized historical person). I suggest others who have enjoyed chapter books about the conflict between islam and the Christian world may consider it.

Posted by: The Inexplicable Dr. Julious Strangepork at October 01, 2023 10:31 AM (ji5zi)

123 I like those books, but they are very long and difficult to read while lying down.
Posted by: huerfano at October 01, 2023 10:28 AM (cs21Z)

If you like audio, these are great on audio. The narrator is perfect. Of course, the waiting list for audio on this one is months out, as it's a new release.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 01, 2023 10:31 AM (OX9vb)

124 So, without having read the book....I guess the guy would have to develop guns, and then train a massive peasant army on how to use them, and drill them in Napoleanic-Square tactics, and then hope you can decimate the attaching hordes before they learn to avoid your riflemen. ....Or maybe give some guns to your own cavalry, to take the fight to the hordes. But you're probably not developing multi-fire or re-load-from-the-saddle guns from scratch, so...Hm....Like I said, a horrifying prospect.
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 01, 2023 10:18 AM (Lhaco)

Yep. As well as develop roads and steam engines for boats and kick start an industrial and agricultural revolution to feed and arm and army and build walled manufacturing cities.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 01, 2023 10:32 AM (xhaym)

125 I've been reading the essays of Wendell Berry and REALLY enjoying them. Some of the finest essay writing since CS Lewis. (It helps that I agree with much of his stands.) It is persuading and effective without shouting. This isn't too much of a surprise as his poetry in "Sabbath Poems" is subtle, perceptive, and evocative.

I need to try some of his fiction writing.
Posted by: JTB at October 01, 2023 09:24 AM (7EjX1)

Big fan of Wendell Berry. The complete package.

Problem is many "pundits" I find intolerable like him too.

And have the nerve to cite to him.

Posted by: Thesokorus at October 01, 2023 10:33 AM (wOjdB)

126 Have you gotten Empire of the Summer Moon by S C Gwynne? This is the story of the Commanches and their raids in Texas...

No but i do have a copy of Fehrenbach's Comanches. I suppose I should read it some day.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 10:34 AM (nfrXX)

127 Still taking stabs at The Revolutionary Samuel Adams.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 01, 2023 10:34 AM (8sMut)

128 Happy Birthday Jimmy Carter, the last democrat to actually write his own book (we think) about his preznitcy.

Sold as many copies as you'd expect.
Posted by: Auspex at October 01, 2023 10:28 AM (dxcsE)

No Free bag of Peanuts ?

Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 10:34 AM (T4tVD)

129 The first Matt Helm book, Death of a Citizen, is available for borrowing only from the Internet Archive.

Posted by: Pope John 20th at October 01, 2023 10:35 AM (cYrkj)

130 @122 --

Associated Press style is to use quote marks for any publication except newspapers and magazines. That means it's OK for book titles.

Wish AP had set a style for comics. I assume they're magazines, but individual stories are not.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 01, 2023 10:35 AM (p/isN)

131 No but i do have a copy of Fehrenbach's Comanches. I suppose I should read it some day.
Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 10:34 AM (nfrXX)

Fehrenbach is a good writer. When stationed to Korea eons ago, I read “This Kind Of War.” A good book.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 01, 2023 10:36 AM (8sMut)

132 128 Happy Birthday Jimmy Carter, the last democrat to actually write his own book (we think) about his preznitcy.

Sold as many copies as you'd expect.
Posted by: Auspex at October 01, 2023 10:28 AM (dxcsE)

No Free bag of Peanuts ?
Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 10:34 AM (T4tVD)

I found just the premise of “Peace Not Apartheid” to be offensive.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 01, 2023 10:37 AM (8sMut)

133 Well, time to get on with the day. Thanks again, Perfesser! I'll be on a mini vacation next weekend, so you'll have to look elsewhere for the obligatory Evelyn Waugh references.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 10:38 AM (llXky)

134 In contrast, the art in this latest iteration of the Shadow -- do I have to elaborate on him? -- starts off much more to my taste but deteriorates. So does the story: The Shadow hunts an old enemy who uses his mental powers to stir up a gang war. Way too much gunfire and Italian cursing.

Posted by: Weak Geek

I want to like Dynamite Comics, but they are way too hit-and-miss to have any real confidence in them. They'll get great pulp characters/concepts, and then hire writers that hate said concepts/characters. For example, Gail Simone on Red Sonja. Or Greg Pak, who thought that I would want some Evil White Men in my Indian vs Dinosaur comic. (Turok: Dinosaur Hunter) But they did finally release "The Adventures of Red Sonja" omnibus, from the old Marvel writers that liked, and well, created the character. It's nice to see those stories back in print...

Also, if you're into audiobooks, Razorfist has recorded two readings of classic Shadow novels, over on Youtube.

Posted by: Castle Guy at October 01, 2023 10:40 AM (Lhaco)

135 "Tallyrand" by Duff Cooper. Biography of one of the most breathtaking magnificent bastards ever to live. Dude was so crooked he crosses the line well into "I'm not even mad, I'm impressed" territory.
Posted by: Vanya at October 01, 2023 10:23 AM (v27SO

One of the three most bonkers books I have ever read features Talleyrand.

Roberto Callasso's Ruin of Kasch.

I read it in my late 20's and was just like "What?" Hahahah.

It's bonkers and hard even to describe but Callasso is undeniably brilliant and erudite.

I should read that thing again now that I am sufficiently hip to issues of political legitimacy.

And Talleyrand was so outside the box he mystified everyone like Callasso but everyone was like *shrug* "Yeah idk dude's a whacko but seems brilliant".

Posted by: Thesokorus at October 01, 2023 10:41 AM (wOjdB)

136 Mentioned on Hobby thread, yesterday got 2 scrapbooks of at least our pre WWII involvement made by my grandparents. Covers the start of WWII. All newspaper clippings but has to be in the hundreds.

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 10:42 AM (43CNU)

137 There's a book told by the guy who wrote the Josey Wales story, it's from the Indian point of view. Some mysticism involved. Don't recall name. Over 29.

Posted by: Eromero at October 01, 2023 10:43 AM (KiuiP)

138 There's a book told by the guy who wrote the Josey Wales story, it's from the Indian point of view. Some mysticism involved. Don't recall name. Over 29.
Posted by: Eromero at October 01, 2023 10:43 AM (KiuiP

Buckaroo Banzai?

Posted by: Thesokorus at October 01, 2023 10:45 AM (wOjdB)

139 Speaking of World War I, in the course of a discussion this week about Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder), I learned that the reason why sufferers argue with themselves out loud is that in many cases, this is the only way the personalities can communicate. The split is so profound that there is no innate capacity for internal dialog, that has to be learned.

They often write to one another as well.

Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here at October 01, 2023 10:48 AM (45fpk)

140 Woohoooooo!

I'm the Number One Book Pimp!

Get off my corner, bitchez!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 01, 2023 10:49 AM (8qu4N)

141 "I'm too lazy to get up and root around my shelves (also unwilling disturb the cat sleeping on my feet), but most references I've found to Marshall indicate his research was not replicable or accurate, and the fixation on "every man a rifleman" didn't work as intended."

"Military history is littered with persuasive, erudite theorists who are simply wrong."

"Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 01, 2023 10:03 AM (llXky)"

There have been several articles debunking Marshall's "Men Against Fire" over the years.

Probably the most authoritative, "S. L. A. Marshall’s Men Against Fire: New Evidence Regarding Fire Ratios" was published in The US Army War College Quarterly publication Parameters for Autumn 2003.

cont. below

Posted by: Pope John 20th at October 01, 2023 10:50 AM (cYrkj)

142 Thanks for the Book Thread Perfesser !

Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 10:50 AM (T4tVD)

143 Robert Zimmerman mentions the song Rich Men North of Richmond; this is a quibble, but it's Oliver Anthony's song, not Jason Aldean. I have a book recommendation, which is North Woods by Daniel Mason. New, available on Amazon, great book!

Posted by: AgathaPagatha at October 01, 2023 10:51 AM (xDMjB)

144 SLA Marshall cont.

The article cited above ended:

"Unquestionably, Marshall’s claims that many soldiers were not firing their rifles brought the attention of the public and the Army to this issue. Those claims contributed to analysis and improvements in infantry training designed to increase rates of fire. As Roger J. Spiller of the Army’s Combat Studies Institute has written, the variables in when and why troops fire or do not fire their weapons in certain combat situations involve the kind of terrain, the nature of particular circumstances, the types of weapons, and the trajectory of a soldier’s time in combat. But without further corroboration, the source of Marshall’s conten-
tions about shockingly low fire ratios at least in some US Army divisions in World War II appears to have been based at best on chance rather than scientific sampling, and at worst on sheer speculation."

cont. below

Posted by: Pope John 20th at October 01, 2023 10:51 AM (cYrkj)

145 Robert Zimmerman mentions the song Rich Men North of Richmond

That song is quite the phenomenon.

Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here at October 01, 2023 10:51 AM (45fpk)

146 OK, I think I just hit the free shipping threshold. Nothing like deciding to spend another $15 to save $1.75 -- it's The Moron Way. I know I own a copy of Lanny Bassham's With Winning in Mind but I couldn't find it the other day. Thought I might just buy another one but instead found another book by him called Freedom Flight that looks interesting.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 10:52 AM (nfrXX)

147 I DNFed two fantasy series this week.

(1) Kurland's romance-fantasy Star of the Morning (Nine Kingdoms series, which has reached *twelve* books) is the first. By the 2-1/2th book, I couldn't take the Mary Sue and the Marty Stu any more.

(2) Goodkind's adventure-fantasy Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth series, reaching *eleven*) is the first. The mighty wizard temporarily gives the Sword of Truth to the female protagonist, she chops down a tree with one swipe, thus proving to the real Seeker of Truth that the Sword of Truth does indeed have magical mojo. :^[

Several inches of shelf reclaimed FTW!

Posted by: sinmi at October 01, 2023 10:52 AM (rnRoW)

148 SLA Marshall cont.

"It seems most probable that Marshall, writing as a journalist rather than as a historian, exaggerated the problem and arbitrarily decided on the one-quarter figure because he believed that he needed a dramatic statistic to give added weight to his argument. The controversial figure was probably a guess. If First Lieutenant Frank Brennan’s experience accompanying Marshall on after-action, group interviews in Korea in 1953 is typical, however, even if more of Marshall’s field notebooks are found, they probably will not contain the kind of data necessary to substantiate the controversial assertions of Men Against Fire."

footnotes omitted.

Posted by: Pope John 20th at October 01, 2023 10:53 AM (cYrkj)

149
Back from my White Supremacist meeting.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 10:54 AM (MoZTd)

150 Back from my White Supremacist meeting.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 10:54 AM (MoZTd)

Mine had good hymns today.

Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here at October 01, 2023 10:55 AM (45fpk)

151

Pretty good piece on Callassi. Kind of an Italian R A Lafferty or Gene Wolfe.

Bonkers in a cool way.

Tablet Mag link

https://tinyurl.com/43ray62c

Posted by: Thesokorus at October 01, 2023 10:55 AM (wOjdB)

152 BTW, if anyone wants to read the original, "Men Against Fire" is available on the Internet Archive.

Posted by: Pope John 20th at October 01, 2023 10:56 AM (cYrkj)

153 Mentioned on Hobby thread, yesterday got 2 scrapbooks of at least our pre WWII involvement made by my grandparents. Covers the start of WWII. All newspaper clippings but has to be in the hundreds.
Posted by: Skip

My grandmother did this as well for WW2. She was an army brat at Ft. Kamahamaha(sp) on Dec 7, 1941.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 01, 2023 10:56 AM (iupH6)

154 Two related stories.

Dianne Feinstein’s Legacy: Crap and Crime

-
I would say no shit but, well . . .

-
San Francisco Mayor London Breed Faces Several Early Challengers

-
"I want to go down with the ship!" "No! I want to go down with the ship!"

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 10:58 AM (FVME7)

155 Alright, off to carpe me some diem. See y'all on the Gun Thread. Thanks, Perfessor.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 10:58 AM (nfrXX)

156 Bob Zimmerman has a blog that I frequent. Lots of cool and puzzling pictures of Mars which is my main attraction there but he's a bit of a jerk. He just suspended a long time commenter and contributor for using the term "SpaceX fanboy" because he felt it was derisive.

Dude is a bit of a prig.

Posted by: pawn at October 01, 2023 10:58 AM (5g9YU)

157 Pence Calls Trump's Comments About Gen. Milley Committing Treason "Inexcusable"

-
Pence is a man of few words but all of them are stupid.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:00 AM (FVME7)

158 Prig is an impossibly woody word.

It's like an Ent among the other woody words.

Posted by: Thesokorus at October 01, 2023 11:00 AM (wOjdB)

159 James Cameron Reveals Near Death Experience While Filming “The Abyss”

https://tinyurl.com/2s37r537

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:01 AM (FVME7)

160 Cher likely won’t face charges after being accused of kidnapping son in divorce docs: legal expert

https://tinyurl.com/ypz4tt8d

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:02 AM (FVME7)

161 Finished the second book in James Rollins' ' "Moonfall" series (feels like it will be a trilogy). I enjoyed it for the characters and worldbuilding, but it should come with a Fantasy Trope punchcard:

1. The magical savior child
2. Who is more powerful than she can imagine
3. Quest to retrieve artifacts that can save the world -- OR DOOM IT
4. Flying critter Deus Ex Machina
5. Royals switched at birth

Fun, but at 700 pages it needed some severe pruning.

I appreciate the detailed maps. You can never have enough maps.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 01, 2023 11:03 AM (8qu4N)

162 I am a total sucker for epistolary fiction. Recently reread Dracula, which I had forgotten was epistolary. It's one of those books I read as a kid and COMPLETELY missed all the nuances of. I'd recommend a reread if, like me, you haven't read it as an adult. (I'll note, while there definitely are sexual undertones that went way over my head as a kid, it's nowhere near as much as modern readers make it out to be. There is also quite a lot of Christian imagery that I can tell goes over the head of modern readers.)

(Side note, there's a couple of bits where a Yorkshire dialect is rendered phonetically, complete with all the Yorkshire-unique terms and slang...and I didn't need the translations in the book's endnotes. You know you've read too many old English novels when...?)

Posted by: Mrs. Peel at October 01, 2023 11:04 AM (Y+AMd)

163 146 OK, I think I just hit the free shipping threshold. Nothing like deciding to spend another $15 to save $1.75 -- it's The Moron Way.
.....
Posted by: Oddbob at October 01, 2023 10:52 AM (nfrXX)

I think we all understand. It's the principle of the thing! One shouldn't pay for shipping when there is the option of getting it free! I actually keep a list in the back of my mind of items I kind-of want, for when an order needs to be added to for just that reason.

Posted by: Castle Guy at October 01, 2023 11:05 AM (Lhaco)

164 >>> 27 The Crosstime Engineer by Leo Frankowski had 3 good sequels, and a couple of dreck books after that.

The story arc is amusing and annoying all at the same time.

I really enjoyed the books, even if there was way too much gratuitous sex with stunningly beautiful women. I was OK with the mild sexism, because Poland and the early Middle Ages.

What I liked was his engineering solutions were all reverse Polish notation from today, and his use of the Boy Scout oath to forge a lethal army.

As a person, Leo Frankowski seemed to annoy many in the publishing industry. He had a sad coda to his life, and died unmourned.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:20 AM (u82oZ)

Sarah Hoyt has shared quite a bit of history about traditional publishing... this guy having annoyed them doesn't necessarily make *him* an asshole.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at October 01, 2023 11:05 AM (llON8)

165 Et tu, Bono?

U2 Frontman Bono Says America at a “Low Ebb” Under Joe Biden

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:05 AM (FVME7)

166 Bono can go eat shit.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 01, 2023 11:06 AM (iupH6)

167 I'm rereading The Queens and the Hive, by Dame Edith Sitwell. It's part of what I call my Sick Stack, books I only read when I'm bed-ridden, which used to happen every autumn. But during covid, somebody published a combination of vitamins which for my body, at least, has been a magic elixir--I haven't been sick since. Which means my Sick Stack has gone unread, and I miss them. So I'm re-reading The Queens and the Hive even though I'm not ill!

Posted by: Wenda Morrone at October 01, 2023 11:07 AM (5bUjq)

168 I overslept this morning because I absolutely had to finish a book only to find I'd made the top recommenders list. Fittingly, as Willow's apprentice, the end of the list.
The book was Resolution by Robert Parker, the follow up to Appaloosa, his Wild West series.
When we last saw our Gunslinger Hitch he is leaving Appaloosa after killing the guy who was doing Virgil Cole's girlfriend so Cole didn't have to do it. Cole was the Sheriff and it would have broken his code.
He winds up in Resolution, a small town without a lawman,being run by two greedy saloon owners
who both crave being the sole owners of the town.
Hitch gets hired to keep peace just in the saloon but soon evolves into more.
The characters and settings are vivid. It is no wonder they made Appaloosa into a movie. It didn't even need a screenplay as most of the dialog came straight from the book. The book feels like a 90 minute movie. A very very good 90 minute movie.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 11:08 AM (t/2Uw)

169 Since Leo Frankowski's series got mentioned (and it had it's good and meh moments), I thought I'd mention Wm Forstchen again.

I know last week we mentioned his "After" series, but he also has a really good alternate history/world change series called "The Lost Regiment".

A Civil War era regiment (the fictional 35th Maine) get transported to a different world and have to basically conquer an alien race. Beilieve he patterned his hero after Joshua Chamberlain. Eight books in the series and really good read if you can suspend belief a little (but that's what books are for).

-SLV

Posted by: Shy Lurking Voter at October 01, 2023 11:08 AM (e/Osv)

170 U.S. Detects Large Serbian Military Buildup on Border With Kosovo

-
Oh, good! I was afraid things were going to get boring.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:11 AM (FVME7)

171 When Bono can actually criticize Biden in public, that suggests even lefties have noticed Joe's a senile corrupt old pervert.

I deduce this means the party bosses have decided to replace him before the next election, which in turn suggests Trump's poll numbers must be off the charts.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 01, 2023 11:12 AM (QZxDR)

172 125 ... "Big fan of Wendell Berry. The complete package.
Problem is many "pundits" I find intolerable like him too."

I'm surprised any 'pundits' cite Berry. I can imagine some genius like Thomas Sowell might but most wouldn't be able to tolerate Berry's viewpoint or even understand what he is saying. I can imagine they hear some pithy phrase of his and take it out of context to bolster their account in a way they can't match.

Berry is not vitriolic but he doesn't suffer fools or stupidity either. His response to the critics of his essay about why he doesn't have a computer takes the critics apart, bit by bit. It is delicious reading. If his fiction is half as good as his poetry and essays it will be excellent reading.

BTW, I splurged on the Library of America two volume collection of his essays. Wasn't cheap but beautifully bound on acid free paper and the print is very crisp which makes reading easier.

Posted by: JTB at October 01, 2023 11:13 AM (7EjX1)

173 I have to recommend William Rose Benet's READER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. It contains the treasures of classic liberal arts education and Western civilization in one volume.

You will look up one artist or scientist or a great writer and your eye will fall on the page and you will see so many other things you've always been curious about, or forgotten since college.

Fantastic reference for your bookshelf.

Posted by: Beverly at October 01, 2023 11:13 AM (Epeb0)

174 My major reading project at the moment is finally going through my MASSIVE collection of ebooks (accumulated through the years in various ebook giveaways and 99 cent deals, plus a book club I was in for a while, etc.), reading every single friggin one of them, and writing up notes about them. I finally found a good Zettelkasten software that does what I want - Obsidian. So I'm slowly porting my hundreds of handwritten note cards over to Obsidian notes, and I'm adding all the ebooks to Calibre as well.

The last five books I read for this project were an alternate history where Vikings settled permanently in the US, a YA dimensional travel romance/thriller, a nonfiction summary of the history of the world in which Climate Change (TM) caused literally everything, Dracula, and a biography of Alfred the Great. So, plenty of variety in my collection.

Posted by: Mrs. Peel at October 01, 2023 11:17 AM (Y+AMd)

175 Howdy, book folk! I'm back from my errands and ready to join in. I'm flattered, Perfessor, that I'm on your list of top recommenders.

Finishing up Joe r. Lansdale's Moon Lake -- not one of his Hap & Leonard stories (which I recently discovered and like a lot), but a standalone crime novel set in the East Texas of 1968 and 1978.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:18 AM (omVj0)

176
Mine had good hymns today.
Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here

________

We had
- White White Supremacists
- Black White Supremacists
- Asian White Supremacists
- Hispanic White Supremacists

A whole rainbow coalition of White Supremacists!

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 11:19 AM (MoZTd)

177 Tuna, you lucky dog. I am waiting for my copy of the Galbraith book from the library and like 72nd in the queue. I put both the copy and the paper copy on reserve hoping to get one or the other.
I still have to read the 3rd Sanderson book from the kickstarter and got word today that the 4th is ready to download.
A good problem to have is too many books in one's queue.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 11:22 AM (t/2Uw)

178
We had
- White White Supremacists
- Black White Supremacists
- Asian White Supremacists
- Hispanic White Supremacists

A whole rainbow coalition of White Supremacists!
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 11:19 AM (MoZTd)

Were they bitter and clinging to guns too?

Posted by: Authenticity is important at October 01, 2023 11:22 AM (lR6tR)

179 The last five books I read for this project were an alternate history where Vikings settled permanently in the US, a YA dimensional travel romance/thriller, a nonfiction summary of the history of the world in which Climate Change (TM) caused literally everything, Dracula, and a biography of Alfred the Great. So, plenty of variety in my collection.

Aaaah, low-brow fiction and the silly justifications they come up with...Related to that climate-change-causes-everything concept, I remember watching some terrible 70s movie ("Day of the Animal, RiffTrax edition) where the hole in the ozone layer somehow caused all the forest-creatures to suddenly want to murder people. Pretty silly, even for a B-movie.

Posted by: Castle Guy at October 01, 2023 11:23 AM (Lhaco)

180
I enjoyed it for the characters and worldbuilding, but it should come with a Fantasy Trope punchcard

__________

Military fiction punchcard

- Trouble brewing
- The storm breaks
- US forces pushed back
- Unorthodox brilliant countermeasure
- American forces prevail
- Epilogue

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 11:23 AM (MoZTd)

181 The other day I was trying to remember a short story I'd read in one of the Alfred Hitchcock anthologies when I was a kid. All I could recall was something about a character gets a phone call and encourages his caller to commit a murder. It turned out to be "A Nice Touch" from 1958, adapted to the AH TV show a few years later, by one Mann Rubin. Rubin wrote a slew of TV shows, a couple of Mission: Impossibles and Mannix episodes among others. Good stuff.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:23 AM (omVj0)

182 >>> 176
Mine had good hymns today.
Posted by: grammie winger - I don't belong here

________

We had
- White White Supremacists
- Black White Supremacists
- Asian White Supremacists
- Hispanic White Supremacists

A whole rainbow coalition of White Supremacists!
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 11:19 AM (MoZTd)

And you say you wouldn't fit in at a MoMee.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at October 01, 2023 11:23 AM (llON8)

183 >>> 179
==
Aaaah, low-brow fiction and the silly justifications they come up with...Related to that climate-change-causes-everything concept, I remember watching some terrible 70s movie ("Day of the Animal, RiffTrax edition) where the hole in the ozone layer somehow caused all the forest-creatures to suddenly want to murder people. Pretty silly, even for a B-movie.
Posted by: Castle Guy at October 01, 2023 11:23 AM (Lhaco)

That's silly.

It's the plants you have to worry about.

Posted by: M. Night Shamalama at October 01, 2023 11:25 AM (llON8)

184 It's the plants you have to worry about.
Posted by: M. Night Shamalama at October 01, 2023 11:25 AM (llON

"FEED ME SEYMOUR!"

-SLV

Posted by: Shy Lurking Voter at October 01, 2023 11:26 AM (e/Osv)

185
And you say you wouldn't fit in at a MoMee.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket

__________

There are two and only two scenarios

- I'm hopelessly tongue tied and morbidly shy and have a miserable time.

- I relax, enter the spirit of the occasion and make a total fool of myself, such that I'm forever defined by it.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 11:27 AM (MoZTd)

186 There's a lot of rich women north of Richmond, too, by the way.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 01, 2023 11:28 AM (NBVIP)

187 There's a lot of rich women north of Richmond, too, by the way.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 01, 2023 11:28 AM (NBVIP)

One less as of a couple of days ago

Posted by: Vanya at October 01, 2023 11:29 AM (v27SO)

188
Take a look at thelawdogfiles.com posts from August 29 2023 for some submission how-to type information if you're interested in submitting a story.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 01, 2023

***
I've submitted one, and will send them another this week; they have a open submissions period starting today for an anthology called "And It Will Burn."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:29 AM (omVj0)

189 Vmom, The Way of Kings and Yumi are two completely different genres IMO. I loved Way of Kings and I have yet to get into Yumi even though I own it. It is the first book of his that I didn't love right off the bat. I'd go with Tress of the Emerald Sea as a different book of his but I can't imagine reading The Way of Kings and not wanting to read the second book in that series.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 11:30 AM (t/2Uw)

190 Military fiction punchcard

- Trouble brewing
- The storm breaks
- US forces pushed back
- Unorthodox brilliant countermeasure
- American forces prevail
- Epilogue
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 11:23 AM (MoZTd)

Tom Clancy's
TOM CLANCY TOM CLANCY

by Bob Smith

Posted by: Vanya at October 01, 2023 11:30 AM (v27SO)

191 The North American Man Boy Lincoln Association speaks!

The Lincoln Project
@ProjectLincoln
Joe Biden is the only 2024 candidate who will bring decency and a profound respect for democracy to the White House. To vote otherwise is a dangerous mistake.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:30 AM (FVME7)

192 If memory serves, Mann Rubin also did a nifty tv movie called See the Man Run. Robert Culp and Angie Dickinson. Culp's a down on his luck actor with a recently-changed phone number -- gets a call from someone who's kidnapped a doctor's kid but who's unaware that the doc no longer has that phone number. So why not go for the money, ask the real doc for twice the ransom demand, pay off the kidnapper...

Things go bad, of course. Some of the dialog between Culp and Dickinson grates a little, but it's a fun watch. May still be on youtube -- been a while since I've seen it.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 01, 2023 11:31 AM (a/4+U)

193 There are two and only two scenarios

- I'm hopelessly tongue tied and morbidly shy and have a miserable time.

- I relax, enter the spirit of the occasion and make a total fool of myself, such that I'm forever defined by it.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023

***
Hadrian, most of my life can be described by your two scenarios. I've quit worrying about what other people think, at least 95% of the time.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:31 AM (omVj0)

194 If memory serves, Mann Rubin also did a nifty tv movie called See the Man Run. Robert Culp and Angie Dickinson. Culp's a down on his luck actor with a recently-changed phone number -- gets a call from someone who's kidnapped a doctor's kid but who's unaware that the doc no longer has that phone number. So why not go for the money, ask the real doc for twice the ransom demand, pay off the kidnapper...

Things go bad, of course. Some of the dialog between Culp and Dickinson grates a little, but it's a fun watch. May still be on youtube -- been a while since I've seen it.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 01, 2023

***
I don't recall that one, and I'm a big fan of Angie and of Bob Culp too. Have to look for it!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:32 AM (omVj0)

195 Hadrian, relax. There's alcohol.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 01, 2023 11:32 AM (NBVIP)

196 >>> 185
==
There are two and only two scenarios

- I'm hopelessly tongue tied and morbidly shy and have a miserable time.

- I relax, enter the spirit of the occasion and make a total fool of myself, such that I'm forever defined by it.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 11:27 AM (MoZTd)

- There are dogs at the TX MoMee who are horribly deprived and neglected - they will assure you of this - and require much petting.

- While *you* may feel that you have defined yourself if that happens, it ... may not stand out amongst the actions of several dozen other Morons.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at October 01, 2023 11:33 AM (llON8)

197 Those two scenarios sound just a tad like me too.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 01, 2023 11:34 AM (a/4+U)

198 Hadrian, relax. There's alcohol.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty

What happens in Texas, stays in Texas.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 11:35 AM (t/2Uw)

199 Hadrian, relax. There's alcohol.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty
++++
Alcohol is what always leads me to Hadrian's option 2.

Posted by: Florida Peasant at October 01, 2023 11:36 AM (dr4Q1)

200 MoMe like nobody's watching.

Posted by: I've been to a few at October 01, 2023 11:36 AM (NBVIP)

201 What happens in Texas, stays in Texas.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)

Illegal aliens excepted.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:37 AM (FVME7)

202 Few more countries in Europe going to war and next thing you know it will really amount to something

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 11:37 AM (fwDg9)

203 Anyway, Moon Lake: a kid's dad puts him in the car one winter night, and drives off a bridge into Moon Lake. The kid is saved by a girl fishing with her father, and the rest of the book is a fascinating exploration of local power structures, weird cult behavior, interracial relationships, and murder.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at October 01, 2023

***
A capsule recommendation, and a model for anyone to follow in writing a rec!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:37 AM (omVj0)

204
Few more countries in Europe going to war and next thing you know it will really amount to something
Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 11:37 AM (fwDg9)

__________

I doubt it would involve intricate military strategy. Instead it'll be the usual low-tech slaughter.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 11:40 AM (MoZTd)

205 Worse than Lizzo!

Liz Cheney
@Liz_Cheney
Members of the House and Senate who are voting to deny Ukraine assistance on the 85th anniversary of Neville Chamberlain’s 1938 “peace in our time” speech should read some history: Appeasement didn’t work then. It won’t work now.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:42 AM (FVME7)

206 Going to the MoMe is like going to a family reunion with family you never knew you had. And even better, it's family that you actually like.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 01, 2023 11:43 AM (i9ffA)

207 By the way, Cher didn't actually kidnap her son. More like rescuing him. It was sort of what we should be doing for a lot of homeless people defecating in the street and overdosing on drugs. There was a reason we used to lock people up to keep them from doing harm to themselves and others.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 11:45 AM (t/2Uw)

208 A capsule recommendation, and a model for anyone to follow in writing a rec!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:37 AM (omVj0)

A good start for a "book description!" As discussed in A Literary Horde!!!!!! (shameless plug)

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 11:45 AM (Angsy)

209 I've never read Herman Wouk's The Winds of War, but heard talk of the 1983 miniseries recently here on The Illustrious AoSHQ Sunday Morning Book Thread. Well, surprise, surprise, surprise (thanks, Gomer) it's available on the UToobz. Imma bout halfway through. Really enjoying it.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 01, 2023 11:45 AM (NBVIP)

210 Slightl off topic: Grit just ran The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, a TV-movie from 1991 with Kenny Rogers as The Gambler. What made this entry in that series stand out was the appearance, as their original characters, of many of the Western TV stars of the '50s and '60s: Gene Barry as Bat Masterson, Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford as Lucas and Mark McCain, etc. The climactic poker game is held at the Hotel Carlton in San Francisco, Paladin's home in Have Gun -- Will Travel. And the dealer/game runner is an Asian woman who states the game's rules are Paladin's. I don't know if it was the same actress, but during HGWT's run an Asian girl named "Hey Girl" was a featured character.

The point is, the teleplay writers knew their Western TV history.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:50 AM (omVj0)

211

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:50 AM (omVj0)

212 The point is, the teleplay writers knew their Western TV history.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:50 AM (omVj0)

At least they had the good sense to say Paladin had passed and not tried to shoehorn someone else into the role.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 11:52 AM (Angsy)

213 Members of the House and Senate who are voting to deny Ukraine assistance on the 85th anniversary of Neville Chamberlain’s 1938 “peace in our time” speech should read some history: Appeasement didn’t work then. It won’t work now.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 11:42 AM (FVME7)

This is how you know she’s a liberal. The inability to make logical comparisons.

Posted by: Drive By at October 01, 2023 11:52 AM (MNhXM)

214 Good morning Hordemates!

Posted by: Diogenes at October 01, 2023 11:53 AM (uSHSS)

215 So-called real life beckons...

Thanks for the thread, Perfessor.

Have a good one, gang.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 01, 2023 11:55 AM (a/4+U)

216 I tried to see if a defensive strategy in 1918 by Germany was superior. American strength was misused, but was enough to win. What would have happened if the US 1st and 2nd Armies, after the St Mihiel Offensive, went for Metz vice the Argonne Forest and Sedan. A lost opportunity.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 01, 2023 09:55 AM (u82oZ)

Reasons, I suppose. Metz is in the historic Alsace-Lorraine region.

Posted by: mrp at October 01, 2023 11:55 AM (rj6Yv)

217 I've never read Herman Wouk's The Winds of War, but heard talk of the 1983 miniseries recently here on The Illustrious AoSHQ Sunday Morning Book Thread. Well, surprise, surprise, surprise (thanks, Gomer) it's available on the UToobz. Imma bout halfway through. Really enjoying it.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at October 01, 2023 11:45 AM (NBVIP)

I always tear up when I read the Midway chapter.

Posted by: mrp at October 01, 2023 11:56 AM (rj6Yv)

218 Good morning hordlings.

I'm reading "Treasure Island" and "Rains All the Time." It's a history of the weather in the PNW I picked up at our MoMe up here.

Also still reading "Empire of the Summer Moon."

Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan, she's still free! at October 01, 2023 11:56 AM (cDxgU)

219 Just got the line edits for book 2 of my own series, "Foul Brood", so I'm reading that. (Book 1 available for pre-order: https://tinyurl.com/2sr8v2yy .)

I've been doing a lot of reciprocal reading for authors (which is a mixed bag, though I've had more luck lately than in the past) and this one, "The Vortex" ( https://tinyurl.com/429jdb2x ) is really good.

It's an apocalyptic story with a flood hitting Los Angeles, which is all fine, but the main character is a homeless vet who is protecting a mentally disabled woman, and it recalls (favorably) "Of Mice and Men".

Not my genre but very compelling reading.

Posted by: moviegique at October 01, 2023 11:56 AM (asXVI)

220 At least they had the good sense to say Paladin had passed and not tried to shoehorn someone else into the role.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023

***
It's hard to imagine anybody else, then (1957-1963 and 1991) or now, who could play Paladin with the same authority and style. Amazing, of course, since Richard Boone was one of the ugliest leading men ever (and he played villains with the same vividness). I've heard that character actor John Dehner was in the running to be cast as Paladin, and in fact played him on the CBS radio series. But I wonder if he could have come even close to what Boone established.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:57 AM (omVj0)

221 I also just turned the heat on for the first time since April.

Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan, she's still free! at October 01, 2023 11:58 AM (cDxgU)

222 I've heard that character actor John Dehner was in the running to be cast as Paladin, and in fact played him on the CBS radio series. But I wonder if he could have come even close to what Boone established.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 11:57 AM (omVj0)

I don't think Dehner looked tough enough. He had a great voice, but the looks didn't go along with it for real tough guy roles.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 11:59 AM (Angsy)

223 I also just turned the heat on for the first time since April.
Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan, she's still free! at October 01, 2023

***
Nurse, I'll echo that . . . in December. If I'm lucky.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 12:00 PM (omVj0)

224
In 1918, had the Germans gone for Amiens or the Americans for Metz, the results would have catastrophic for the defenders. But in both cases, the armies pushed instead of sliced.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 01, 2023 12:02 PM (MoZTd)

225 The saddest part of Sunday morning, again. The end of the Book Thread. Thanks, Perfessor.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 12:04 PM (Angsy)

226 I get the impression watching Have Gun Will Travel that Boone was not nearly as good with a gun as his charactor is supposed to be.
I do quick draw as sort of a half ass hobbie at a neighbors house occasionally and Boones style is just wrong. I don't think he could hit shit. And he's slow.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 12:04 PM (B705c)

227 I don't think Dehner looked tough enough. He had a great voice, but the looks didn't go along with it for real tough guy roles.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023

***
His Paladin would have been very different. However, Dehner had quite a range. On The Rebel w/ Nick Adams, he twice played a "relative" of Johnny Yuma's, a black-clad, grizzled scalp hunter -- very different from his often polished characters.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 12:05 PM (omVj0)

228 Good morning horde...TRex and I are spent this week covering a huge Porsche event in Monterey CA at Laguna Seca, so no books to recommend or review this week. This afternoon we leave for Tahoe (NV side) where we hook up with fellow CA defectors...again, no books, but lots of good food and drink (practicing for TX!)
Thanks for the thread Professer, once again I added to my reading list....

Posted by: Grateful at October 01, 2023 12:06 PM (PrSzd)

229 I get the impression watching Have Gun Will Travel that Boone was not nearly as good with a gun as his charactor is supposed to be.
I do quick draw as sort of a half ass hobbie at a neighbors house occasionally and Boones style is just wrong. I don't think he could hit shit. And he's slow.
Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023

***
Good enough for Fifties TV, I guess. He seemed to be good at riding a horse, though I'm no expert at that either.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 12:06 PM (omVj0)

230 His Paladin would have been very different. However, Dehner had quite a range. On The Rebel w/ Nick Adams, he twice played a "relative" of Johnny Yuma's, a black-clad, grizzled scalp hunter -- very different from his often polished characters.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 01, 2023 12:05 PM (omVj0)

Always a fun thought experiment: What if so and so played, instead of....

Gotta go, back later.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 12:07 PM (Angsy)

231 Anyone know what is happening on Twitter/X ? Seems all the tweets are old posts slamming the left, Biden, FBI, DOJ, etc.
I thought maybe they are posts that were censored at the time?

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:09 PM (t/2Uw)

232 I'm not seeing that, Sharon.

I am seeing it's Night of the Living Dead's 55th anniversary.

Posted by: moviegique at October 01, 2023 12:13 PM (asXVI)

233 This afternoon we leave for Tahoe (NV side) where we hook up with fellow CA defectors...

Kind of where I live. Carson City. Weather is kind of crappy right now.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 12:13 PM (B705c)

234 We can just have the book thread all day.

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 12:13 PM (fwDg9)

235 The only weakness of the novel is that JCB probably likes his characters too much (it happens)...
------

This is about me, isn't it?

Posted by: Vladimir Nabokov at October 01, 2023 12:14 PM (XeU6L)

236 am seeing it's Night of the Living Dead's 55th anniversary.
Posted by: moviegique at October 01, 2023
ISWYDT

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:15 PM (t/2Uw)

237 John Dehner played a cop who was Not Amused by Kolchak in The Night Stalker.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 01, 2023 12:16 PM (i9ffA)

238 Other gems from my younger years that came back
Frederick Forsythe Dogs of War
John Toland Battle of the Bulge
William Henry I Tom Horn
Pappy Boyington Baa Baa Black Sheep

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 12:17 PM (43CNU)

239 ||ISWYDT

lol, no, seriously! It's NOTLD's 55th...oh...ISWIDT. :-|

Posted by: moviegique at October 01, 2023 12:17 PM (asXVI)

240 At least have a pile of books if it happens I get layer up for awhile

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 12:18 PM (43CNU)

241 We can just have the book thread all day.
Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 12:13 PM (fwDg9)

Wherever CBD is, you can bet the locals are reading the content.

Whether they want to or not !

Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 12:19 PM (T4tVD)

242 Forrest Tucker F Troop

Posted by: Way back when at October 01, 2023 12:19 PM (NBVIP)

243 Always a fun thought experiment: What if so and so played, instead of....

Gotta go, back later.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 12:07 PM (Angsy)

what if Pat Boone played Paladin instead of Richard Boone.
And he sang.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 01, 2023 12:22 PM (i9ffA)

244 It is bizarre. Every X feed has anti regime posts from 2019-2022. There is no common timeline, posts are random, some personal some political. But all sort of controversial old posts.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:22 PM (t/2Uw)

245 Wasn't a Roy Rodgers fan, like my Westerns without singing

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 12:23 PM (fwDg9)

246 Ernest Borgnine McHale's Navy

Posted by: Way back when at October 01, 2023 12:23 PM (NBVIP)

247 I get the impression watching Have Gun Will Travel that Boone was not nearly as good with a gun as his charactor is supposed to be.
I do quick draw as sort of a half ass hobbie at a neighbors house occasionally and Boones style is just wrong. I don't think he could hit shit. And he's slow.
Posted by: Reforger
------

Watching old western series, I have been occasionally impressed by how well some of them became at gun-handling. That is particullarly the case with James Arness. I wonder how many times he drew his pistol? Hundreds of times is my guess.

Those guys also had some expert training. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvo_Ojala

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 01, 2023 12:24 PM (XeU6L)

248 *...I have been occasionally impressed by how well some of them became at gun-handling.*

This is about me, isn't it?

Posted by: Alec Baldwin at October 01, 2023 12:26 PM (NBVIP)

249 Weird. I'm not seeing that at all, Sharon.

This is why algorithms are a bad idea.

Posted by: moviegique at October 01, 2023 12:27 PM (asXVI)

250 Forrest Tucker F Troop
Posted by: Way back when at October 01, 2023 12:19 PM (NBVIP)

The guy that played Uncle Leo was in a war picture .

Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 12:28 PM (T4tVD)

251 Would think in western actors gun pulling was in thousands

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 12:29 PM (fwDg9)

252 Good enough for Fifties TV, I guess. He seemed to be good at riding a horse, though I'm no expert at that either.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius
-------
I have noticed that also. Actually, it seems to be true for a lot of the western actors. Goes with the territory, I suppose.

Having mentioned James Arness, I have noticed that he *never* demonstrated the slightest affection for his horse.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 01, 2023 12:30 PM (XeU6L)

253 At least have a pile of books if it happens I get layer up for awhile
Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 12:18 PM (43CNU)

I always thought you were a much younger man.

I pictured you swinging from the rafters like the daring you man on the flying trapezoid.

Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 12:30 PM (T4tVD)

254 Check out Sean Davis or Elon or Kurt Schlichter. I don't post on X, just read certain feeds. So far every single one I've logged onto today has old posts. They all go in one direction. I'm thinking the firing of the the election integrity group released stuff that was censored or shadow banned.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:31 PM (t/2Uw)

255 Sorry for posting this here but there is no new thread and I am genuinely curious about what is happening.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:32 PM (t/2Uw)

256 Those guys also had some expert training. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvo_Ojala
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 01, 2023 12:24 PM (XeU6L)

I think one of the best out there was Sammy Davis JR.

Posted by: Reforger at October 01, 2023 12:32 PM (B705c)

257 My relationship with Flicka was strictly platonic.

Posted by: Roddy McDowall at October 01, 2023 12:33 PM (NBVIP)

258 Sorry for posting this here but there is no new thread and I am genuinely curious about what is happening.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:32 PM (t/2Uw)

Nothing.

Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 12:33 PM (T4tVD)

259 Sharon I don't do Twitter or X, but wouldn't put it past sabotage by employees

Posted by: Skip at October 01, 2023 12:34 PM (fwDg9)

260 OrangeEnt, try Z-Library for Death of a Citizen. It's available in a 2011 and 2012 e-book. https://z-lib.is/ (requires free registration).

Posted by: jayhawkone at October 01, 2023 12:35 PM (9rPx3)

261 So, you're not logged in at all, Sharon? Or are you just logged into an account you don't post from? (I've logged into accounts I don't post from and just see the people's posts in order.)

Posted by: moviegique at October 01, 2023 12:36 PM (asXVI)

262 Skip, ah but it is in our favor. Sean Davis especially laying out all the reasons Biden should be impeached for example dating back two years. It looks like they reversed the algorithm that was shadow banning conservatives.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:37 PM (t/2Uw)

263 I'll immanentize a new thread by posting.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 01, 2023 12:38 PM (8qu4N)

264 263 I'll immanentize a new thread by posting.
Posted by: All Hail Eris

I already tried that.

Are you going to grace us with your presence in Corsicana?

Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan, she's still free! at October 01, 2023 12:39 PM (N7OEF)

265 At the beginning of Gunsmoke they show Dillon in a street showdown with a gunman. In the early ones, the gunman was played by Arvo Ojala, a rather famous holster maker and a quick draw champion in the fifties. IIRC he was first with a steel lined holster for the quick draw crowd. His holsters are very collectible.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at October 01, 2023 12:39 PM (0EOe9)

266 I'm logged in but I have certain personalities on my favorites and I go to their feeds only. Usually I see their daily posts and their reposts in order. Now I'm only seeing old posts, no special order missing posts from 2019 to present but all anti left posts. I'm choosing who I look at, not getting a selection from X.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:40 PM (t/2Uw)

267 When OregonMuse (super sky finger) was late to post, I pictured him waking up in an ice-filled bathtub in a dingy Tijuana motel, missing a kidney and his passport.

CBD I see in a back alley fishmonger's shop, paying cash for lobster tails and monkfish.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 01, 2023 12:41 PM (8qu4N)

268 39
This is the first in a long list of Campion books by Allingham which present mysteries with a twist, and really hit on the nuances of British regional culture.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 01, 2023 09:26 AM (qoyWV)
----
The British equivalent of Jessica Fletcher? Wherever he goes murders happen .....!

Posted by: Ciampino - I am logged in, therefore I am.. at October 01, 2023 12:41 PM (qfLjt)

269 250 The Guy That Played Uncle Leo appears in "The Outlaw Josie Wales". Tried to take in Josie for the bounty and got killed deader than shit for his troubles.

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at October 01, 2023 12:42 PM (0EOe9)

270 Are you going to grace us with your presence in Corsicana?
Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan, she's still free! at October 01, 2023 12:39 PM (N7OEF)
---

Not this year, Nurse. I'll miss our 'Ette covens!

Next year, NoVa/TexMomees for sure.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 01, 2023 12:43 PM (8qu4N)

271 Try going here:
https://twitter.com/seanmdav

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:43 PM (t/2Uw)

272 At the beginning of Gunsmoke they show Dillon in a street showdown with a gunman. In the early ones, the gunman was played by Arvo Ojala, a rather famous holster maker and a quick draw champion in the fifties. IIRC he was first with a steel lined holster for the quick draw crowd. His holsters are very collectible.
Posted by: bill
------

I note also in the early episode sign-on, Dillon does not have his holster tied down.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 01, 2023 12:43 PM (XeU6L)

273 I will miss seeing you, Eris.

Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 superfan, she's still free! at October 01, 2023 12:44 PM (N7OEF)

274 NOOD... DieFi and her support for the AR-15

Posted by: Martini Farmer at October 01, 2023 12:44 PM (Q4IgG)

275 Sure is a lot of low-flying aircraft activity. Are we at war with EastAsia for reals?

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 01, 2023 12:45 PM (8qu4N)

276 Wasn't a Roy Rodgers fan, like my Westerns without singing
Posted by: Skip

I listen to old time radio shows as I sleep. One I like is Richard Diamond, Private Eye starring Dick Powell. In addition to cracking wise, fighting the bad guys, and solving murders, he always sings.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks Now With Pumpkin Spice! at October 01, 2023 12:45 PM (FVME7)

277 Sure is a lot of low-flying aircraft activity. Are we at war with EastAsia for reals?
Posted by: All Hail Eris
----------

Pilotless F-35's?

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 01, 2023 12:46 PM (XeU6L)

278 CBD up.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 12:46 PM (t/2Uw)

279 For the going back in time theme, I'd recommend the "Tom" series by Stephen Matthews. ASIN: ‎ B075J2D46L

A middle-aged widower on hike through Europe ends up in the prehistoric era.

For most of these type of books, it ends up with our main character immediately establishing himself as the leader because he's smart with magical tools. In Tom, he joins an existing tribe, but works to slowly improve their lives by introducing things like salting and smoking meat, basic animal husbandry and bow and arrows.

I've read the series a couple times now when I want to remember not everything requires massive explosions or apocalypse level events. There's actually 9 books in the series, but book 8 isn't included on the Amazon series list.

Posted by: Darury at October 01, 2023 12:49 PM (nmeKc)

280 I've fixed my X feed by reupping my sign in. Apparently if you don't sign in all you get are old posts.
Sigh...

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 01, 2023 01:02 PM (t/2Uw)

281 Please ignore my willowed post at 260. I recommend Z-Library for e-books, but the link I inadvertantly gave is a scam seeking payment for a "premium" membership using ApplePay or GooglePay. Please don't use that link.

The real link is a mouthful that goes to a Tor page. If you still want to try Z-Library, the link is https://tinyurl.com/yux5v7tu. This the link to the true free registration.

Hopefully, my post was sufficiently willowed that no one got scammed.

Posted by: jayhawkone at October 01, 2023 01:21 PM (9rPx3)

282 Mention how to get quoted for book reccs and now it’s like a goodreads thread. I guess this is me being sour.

Posted by: 13times at October 01, 2023 02:18 PM (ljAqb)

283 Hopefully, my post was sufficiently willowed that no one got scammed.

Posted by: jayhawkone at October 01, 2023 01:21 PM (9rPx3)

Gol durn ding dangit! I.....saw the post five hours later. Didn't click. I'll just search for z library.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 01, 2023 04:24 PM (Angsy)

284 "Started the new Cormoran Strike novel, " The Running Grave" by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling. Strike's partner Robin goes undercover with a dangerous religious cult with the goal of extracting the son of their client. Strike is also starting to come to terms with his romantic feelings for Robin. So far Robin is fighting the mind control efforts by the cult while trying to get the goods on the bad guys. I expect her situation to become much more perilous. The book is keeping me reading far into the night."

Hogwarts Professor on Substack has a fairly long review of it. I haven't read any of the books, but I do sometimes read the pieces there, and happened across that about an hour ago. It sounds really interesting!

Posted by: Katja at October 01, 2023 04:56 PM (GDvjU)

285 The Crosstime Engineer is quite expensive for old paperbacks.
Kindle with 3 books (apparently) on Kindle.
Buying it now. Have some long flights ahead and escaping into a book is a great way to travel, literally and figuratively.

Posted by: jimmymcnulty at October 01, 2023 06:27 PM (BJgzI)

286 The guy that played Uncle Leo was in a war picture .
Posted by: JT at October 01, 2023 12:28 PM (T4tVD)

He was in "Kelly's Heroes", I believe.

Posted by: mrp at October 02, 2023 01:26 AM (rj6Yv)

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