What Book Are You Reading at the moment?

[wodin]

Not aimed at Keegan

[Chickenboy]

OK. But what's the "Lions and Donkeys" myth?

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

OK. But what's the "Lions and Donkeys" myth?

That the British were an army of lions led by donkeys.

[wodin]

Just so everyone is aware. One of the greatesd German WW2 east front memiors written finally gets a new edition. Moscow Tram Stop

Due out 1st November!!

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

OK. But what's the "Lions and Donkeys" myth?

It started in the 1960s.

There was a surge of interest in capturing the oral histories of those who had fought (Lynn Macdonald's excellent series of books capture this) as by then the youngest were easily into their late 70s. Inevitably this meant that it was the stories of the most junior officers or enlisted men were recorded - at its best this produced some fasinating histories but perhaps distorted the overall view of the war.

Add on, Haig in particular has always been a controversial figure. One narrative is he did his best to cope with the demands of a style of war for which no-one was prepared. The other was he was a callous idiot who was prepared to chuck lives away in futile offensives. By 1917-18 this was probably also the view of the British Govt who were refusing to release reinforcements (one reason was to try and save resources so that when the American troops were deployed and trained up the Allies had a critical mass to try and turn the war - remember in 1917 the Allies were planning for the war to last into 1919).

These strands came together to create a version of the Western Front where the British troops were brilliant but undermined by poor leadership. As ever, I suspect the truth sits somewhere in between.

The British leadership were incredibly cynical - so much so that in WW2 Australia and New Zealand refused to let their units serve under direct British control. There were also incidents like sending the Ulster division (made up of men who had been on the verge of open revolt in 1914) against the strongest part of the German defences on the Somme. But given the problems of armies lacking mobility and heavy firepower locked into strong defensive positions with no flanks that could be turned the simple truth is that in the period 1914-17 its hard to see what options were available (well apart from making peace etc).

[Zorch]

Mapping Naval Warfare: A visual history of conflict at sea by Jeremy Black.

[Anachro]

Currently making my way though Spengler's The Decline of the West

[Capitaine]

ORIGINAL: Anachro

Currently making my way though Spengler's The Decline of the West

Bravo! I hope to get around to that myself soon.

[Zorch]

ORIGINAL: Capitaine

ORIGINAL: Anachro

Currently making my way though Spengler's The Decline of the West

Bravo! I hope to get around to that myself soon.

Me, too. Right after I finish Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich and War & Peace. [;)]

[fodder]

Finishing up "Carrier Strike" (the battle of santa cruz islands october 1942) by Eric Hammel.

The Porter has been sunk. (was it a U.S. torpedo that did it?)

The Hornet is dead in the water.

The Enterprise has just been hit by 3 x 250kg bombs, near hit by another.

Can't wait to see how it ends......

[warspite1]

Marching to the Fault Line: The 1984 Miners' Strike and the Death of Industrial Britain - Beckett and Hencke.

An excellent read, as unbiased as its probably possible to get for this pivotal, and highly controversial moment in British history.

[Kuokkanen]

Not a book really, but a Web novel. Japanese origin, translated to English (or should I say: Engrish). Author is totally trolling America here:

I had considered using an AK47 for the crest, but that might have made everyone think that we were some goddamn Viet Cong organization and drop napalm on us. I chose the revolver in the end, the very image of land of freedom, so that we could sell weapons like hotcakes and invade lands with oil in the name of freedom.

I'll post links if you want it.

[warspite1]

Having finished that excellently written tome about industrial strife in the 1980's, a change of scene for my next read. I've finally got round to starting The Ghost of White Hart Lane. This is the story of Tottenham Hotspur and Scotland footballer John White, a member of the 1961 double-winning side tragically struck down in his prime written by his son.

[Veloz]

reading "the tragedy Iberica" by Gonzalo de reparaz.

[Agathosdaimon]

C.S Foresters Hunting the Bismarck - a nice little read

[skr1107]

Gods War on Terror by Walid Shoebat
:p

[RFalvo69]

Watership down in English. it is one of my favourite books, but I never had the opportunity to read it in its original language.

As an aside: what a book! Many people tell how the animated movie shook them, but the book is much more violent (yup) and the action scenes incredible. To me, is the only book that matches The Lord of The Rings - and if you don't believe me buy it on Kindle (about £5) and enjoy the first horror scene "a la" The Shining around page 7.

[mikkey]

Ed Rasimus: When Thunder Rolled: An F-105 Pilot over North Vietnam

[zakblood]

A Game of Thrones book Box Set, and really enjoyed the first 2, on the 3rd one now, as only went away for a week, so didn't manage to finish them all, much much better than the TV series by a long long way imo, as are almost all books i've read

[fodder]

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