Page 11 of 164
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:07 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus
Maybe when the generation after Dicken's generation realized his books were still alive? Still true in 2012. The books have survived the years, decades and centuries. The readers still see *something*
Maybe you are making the wrong question. Why did many other writers disappear and no one is paying attention to what they wrote (nowadays)? And I am thinking about Dicken's contemporaries? [;)] That's the the whole thing, mate [8D]
Classics are immortals. Literally. All the many others (overwhelming majority): dust to dust. RIP [8D]
Warspite1
So take Flaubert's Madame Bovary - never read it myself, but two - presumably educated people here - have given it a huge thumbs down in terms of readability. But it is considered a masterpiece. By who?
LOL
Madame Bovary! Indeed a classic [:D] "Unreadable" to me though. But just because I don't give a rat's ar** about the sexual phantasms of a XIX century French bourgeoise from the province!
It still attracts many readers though (I guess females), and that's all I need to know.
Warspite1
TulliusDetritus, thou protesteth too much me thinks and know far too much about the book not to have read (and enjoyed) it.
Right I want the whole of the Matrix forum to know that TulliusDetritus likes Madame Bovary.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:10 pm
by TulliusDetritus
ORIGINAL: parusski
ORIGINAL: shunwick
Guys,
Everyone's taste is different. Good job too - it makes the world go round.
Best wishes,
Steve
Mark Twain makes a point:
"I don't believe any of you have ever read PARADISE LOST, and you don't want to. That's something that you just want to take on trust. It's a classic, just as Professor Winchester says, and it meets his definition of a classic -- something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read."
- "The Disappearance of Literature"
Parusski, the only problem is Twain was er... a satirist. Possibly the best American satirist in American literature [:D] In fact, he is a classic. You can be sure of this: his books will still attract readers in 2100... 2300... etc, etc.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:15 pm
by TulliusDetritus
ORIGINAL: warspite1
TulliusDetritus, thou protesteth too much me thinks and know far too much about the book not to have read (and enjoyed) it.
Right I want the whole of the Matrix forum to know that TulliusDetritus likes Madame Bovary.
Sorry to disappoint you, but I managed to escape from this book. I was supposed to read it at school but somehow
I narrowly missed death (because, yes, I more or less knew the story therefore I knew -yes or yes- I had to avoid it)... [:D]
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:15 pm
by GaryChildress
ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
ORIGINAL: Perturabo
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
I disagree. I'm very thankful that my teachers stimulated my thinking by having me read the classics. At the time I wish I could have completed my assignments in class by reading comic books but as I've grown older I've come to appreciate what I was "force fed" as a child.
In most of cases, forcing classics on kids doesn't result in stimulating their thinking but in making them hate reading books.
Also those classics that were written with teenagers in mind can be introduced in high school.
Notice, that since you'd prefer reading comic books, it means that you were already reading for enjoyment, so classics couldn't spoil reading for you. I also started reading from comics. Then I was reading adventure novels, western novels and war books, all before the school started to torture me with its mandatory readings.
Yup. Me too. I started enjoying graphic novel renditions of some classics long before the 'text' versions. "Red Badge of Courage", "Moby Dick", "Crime and Punishment" combined intrigue, violence and suspense aplenty for a new reader. The graphic novel was a great intro. for this genre.
Still hate mandated classics reading. Worst book I ever was made to suffer through was "Madame Bovary" for an expository composition class. What a steaming pile of waste. Just because a book is classic doesn't make it readable.
I read Madame Bovary a while back on my own initiative. Unfortunately I don't remember much about the book and most of it was probably wasted on me but looking at Wiki:
Long established as one of the greatest novels ever written, the book has often been described as a "perfect" work of fiction. Henry James writes: "Madame Bovary has a perfection that not only stamps it, but that makes it stand almost alone; it holds itself with such a supreme unapproachable assurance as both excites and defies judgment."[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Bovary
I think it would be sort of neat to take a class on what made Madame Bovary a great work. I'm sure there must be some reasonable explanation that a literary philistine like me might be ignorant of.
I can't speak for literary classics but I can speak for scientific and philosophical classics to some degree. What marks a philosophical classic is in some part due to how influential a philosopher's view was at the time and how much it has influenced our own culture. Few believe in Plato's perfect forms anymore but for centuries Western thought owed a direct debt to Plato and we still do. Plato did do something very unique and important by asking for the first time through Socrates, what is justice, what is piety, what makes a good life. These are important quesitons and the way they were answered has influenced Western culture down to the present.
Also I think part of the rationale behind making kids read certain things is to find out what a child will respond best to. We are required to study a diversity of different sciences and arts so that we can see for ourselves at an early age what we have an interest in. My own pet beef with my education at a young age is that few American public schools seem to introduce children to much in the way of philosophy. Philosophy is a passion of mine and I always wonder, had I been introduced to it sooner (at least in high school) I might be better off today and more fluent in its works, making it easier for me to understand our own time.
I don't really feel anger toward my childhood teachers for making me read things I didn't want to read. I feel more ashamed that at the time I didn't take more interest in those readings. They are important (again I don't know much about literature) in understanding more about who we are and why we think the way we do.
So for instance what makes "Shattered Sword" so important to some World War II enthusiasts? "Shattered Sword" (if I understand correclty, I haven't read the book myself) sort of shatters the myth of Japanese supremacy early in the war by arguing that their ship designs and tactics were not as "great" as authors had formerly attributed to them. This is an important work to World War II enthusiasts because of its influence on their thinking. I suppose if I were a fiction writer or literary type I would be a little more fluent in what makes a piece of literature "important". But I'm not going to rule that literature is bunk because I don't understand it. Usually there are good reasons for things being as they are. I may just not understand those reasons off the bat as it were.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:21 pm
by GaryChildress
ORIGINAL: TulliusDetritus
ORIGINAL: parusski
ORIGINAL: shunwick
Guys,
Everyone's taste is different. Good job too - it makes the world go round.
Best wishes,
Steve
Mark Twain makes a point:
"I don't believe any of you have ever read PARADISE LOST, and you don't want to. That's something that you just want to take on trust. It's a classic, just as Professor Winchester says, and it meets his definition of a classic -- something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read."
- "The Disappearance of Literature"
Parusski, the only problem is Twain was er... a satirist. Possibly the best American satirist in American literature [:D] In fact, he is a classic. You can be sure of this: his books will still attract readers in 2100... 2300... etc, etc.
+1. Well said.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:28 pm
by warspite1
I don't think fact and fiction can be mixed for the purposes of this discussion - bringing in Shattered Sword, great book that it is, does not add anything to advance this subject of what is a classic and who decides.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:45 pm
by GaryChildress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
I don't think fact and fiction can be mixed for the purposes of this discussion - bringing in Shattered Sword, great book that it is, does not add anything to advance this subject of what is a classic and who decides.
I disagree.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:47 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
I don't think fact and fiction can be mixed for the purposes of this discussion - bringing in Shattered Sword, great book that it is, does not add anything to advance this subject of what is a classic and who decides.
I disagree.
Warspite1
Fair enough - lets agree to disagree...btw - that is not what Shattered Sword was getting at......
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:11 pm
by Chickenboy
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
ORIGINAL: Perturabo
In most of cases, forcing classics on kids doesn't result in stimulating their thinking but in making them hate reading books.
Also those classics that were written with teenagers in mind can be introduced in high school.
Notice, that since you'd prefer reading comic books, it means that you were already reading for enjoyment, so classics couldn't spoil reading for you. I also started reading from comics. Then I was reading adventure novels, western novels and war books, all before the school started to torture me with its mandatory readings.
Yup. Me too. I started enjoying graphic novel renditions of some classics long before the 'text' versions. "Red Badge of Courage", "Moby Dick", "Crime and Punishment" combined intrigue, violence and suspense aplenty for a new reader. The graphic novel was a great intro. for this genre.
Still hate mandated classics reading. Worst book I ever was made to suffer through was "Madame Bovary" for an expository composition class. What a steaming pile of waste. Just because a book is classic doesn't make it readable.
I read Madame Bovary a while back on my own initiative. Unfortunately I don't remember much about the book and most of it was probably wasted on me but looking at Wiki:
Long established as one of the greatest novels ever written, the book has often been described as a "perfect" work of fiction. Henry James writes: "Madame Bovary has a perfection that not only stamps it, but that makes it stand almost alone; it holds itself with such a supreme unapproachable assurance as both excites and defies judgment."[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Bovary
I think it would be sort of neat to take a class on what made Madame Bovary a great work. I'm sure there must be some reasonable explanation that a literary philistine like me might be ignorant of.
I can't speak for literary classics but I can speak for scientific and philosophical classics to some degree. What marks a philosophical classic is in some part due to how influential a philosopher's view was at the time and how much it has influenced our own culture. Few believe in Plato's perfect forms anymore but for centuries Western thought owed a direct debt to Plato and we still do. Plato did do something very unique and important by asking for the first time through Socrates, what is justice, what is piety, what makes a good life. These are important quesitons and the way they were answered has influenced Western culture down to the present.
Also I think part of the rationale behind making kids read certain things is to find out what a child will respond best to. We are required to study a diversity of different sciences and arts so that we can see for ourselves at an early age what we have an interest in. My own pet beef with my education at a young age is that few American public schools seem to introduce children to much in the way of philosophy. Philosophy is a passion of mine and I always wonder, had I been introduced to it sooner (at least in high school) I might be better off today and more fluent in its works, making it easier for me to understand our own time.
I don't really feel anger toward my childhood teachers for making me read things I didn't want to read. I feel more ashamed that at the time I didn't take more interest in those readings. They are important (again I don't know much about literature) in understanding more about who we are and why we think the way we do.
So for instance what makes "Shattered Sword" so important to some World War II enthusiasts? "Shattered Sword" (if I understand correclty, I haven't read the book myself) sort of shatters the myth of Japanese supremacy early in the war by arguing that their ship designs and tactics were not as "great" as authors had formerly attributed to them. This is an important work to World War II enthusiasts because of its influence on their thinking. I suppose if I were a fiction writer or literary type I would be a little more fluent in what makes a piece of literature "important". But I'm not going to rule that literature is bunk because I don't understand it. Usually there are good reasons for things being as they are. I may just not understand those reasons off the bat as it were.
LOL! So Wikipedia will be the arbiter of classic literature, will it? [:D]
Sure, there are novels and other literature that is impenetrable to my perspective, that I just 'don't get'. If I want to be lost in old books that I don't understand, I can read up on initial works by Pythagoras, Euclideas or some of Einstein's scientific publications. I won't claim they're bunk because I can't understand them or find them interesting, I promise.
"Classic" literature is supposed to be different. Not necessarily written for the masses, but it should elicit thought, enjoyment and appreciation for the medium amongst many, if not most, of its readers. Not a popularity contest mind you, but a classic cannot be a classic if very few think it a useful or worthwhile read.
I won't argue that the philosophers you cited are classical philosophers and worthwhile for most people to have at least a passing familiarity with their works. I cannot say the same for Flaubert's POS fictional novel. It "ate" about two weeks of my life, I sure as **** am not going to take a class explaining why I 'should' like it, if only I were more intellectually sophisticated.
What is a 'classic' and a 'must-read' is not exclusively personal choice, but it is mostly personal opinion, IMO.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:36 pm
by JWW
ORIGINAL: parusski
ORIGINAL: JW
Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. At 58 I finally think I am old enough to appreciate it. A wonderful book. I'm 36% through it.
Yes, you are old enough. I did not appreciate it till I re-read it recently.
By the way, what mathematical formula did you use to arrive at that 36% figure(unless you're reading on an eReader)???
My Kindle tell me the percentage complete.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:20 pm
by GaryChildress
ORIGINAL: Chickenboy
Sure, there are novels and other literature that is impenetrable to my perspective, that I just 'don't get'. If I want to be lost in old books that I don't understand, I can read up on initial works by Pythagoras, Euclideas or some of Einstein's scientific publications. I won't claim they're bunk because I can't understand them or find them interesting, I promise.
"Classic" literature is supposed to be different. Not necessarily written for the masses, but it should elicit thought, enjoyment and appreciation for the medium amongst many, if not most, of its readers. Not a popularity contest mind you, but a classic cannot be a classic if very few think it a useful or worthwhile read.
I won't argue that the philosophers you cited are classical philosophers and worthwhile for most people to have at least a passing familiarity with their works. I cannot say the same for Flaubert's POS fictional novel. It "ate" about two weeks of my life, I sure as **** am not going to take a class explaining why I 'should' like it, if only I were more intellectually sophisticated.
What is a 'classic' and a 'must-read' is not exclusively personal choice, but it is mostly personal opinion, IMO.
Literature and fiction are sort of studies of their own and there are people whose expertise is interpreting the history of literature and discerning the merrit of various styles of an author's writing and to them Madame Bovary may be a great novel for reasons most of us may not understand. I don't understand why Madame Bovary is so great either. But isn't it likely that there may be good reason? And before dismissing the novel as junk, might it not be a worthwhile endeavor to try to learn why it may not be junk?
The fact of the matter is that many literary experts seem to think Madame Bovary is great stuff. Do we dismiss them as simply having nothing more than opinions? As experts on literature isn't it likely that their opinions about literature are better formed than those of novices? To someone who's never read a lick of philosophy Plato may seem like a bunch of nonsense. And they may be equally put off by having to read him. It doesn't make sense to that person because the person has no idea of how it fits into anything else. Do we therefore say great works of philosophy are mostly someone's opinion? Does that therefore put Plato on the same level with Jerry Springer?
I'm simply suggesting that there may be good reasons for a piece of literature being considered a classic that we just aren't aware of. This whole thing started with the idea that teachers are doing a disservice to kids by making them read things they don't want to. If that is so, then should they start conferring college degrees to people for sitting around and reading Harlequin romances? Or should college literary courses require reading of the classics? And if college literary courses should require reading of the classics, then shouldn't pre-college education prepare people for what they will encounter in college by requiring them to read the classics as well.
Of course these are just my speculations as a literary philistine. Maybe there isn't anything great about Madam Bovary, but the fact that it is so highly praised leads me to suspect otherwise.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:44 pm
by GaryChildress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
I don't think fact and fiction can be mixed for the purposes of this discussion - bringing in Shattered Sword, great book that it is, does not add anything to advance this subject of what is a classic and who decides.
I disagree.
Warspite1
Fair enough - lets agree to disagree...btw - that is not what Shattered Sword was getting at......
Fair enough as well. Didn't Shattered Sword, though, make a radical change to the way the battle of Midway has been interpreted? If some complete novice picked up Shattered Sword and read it might that novice just think it was "just another book about World War II" and perhaps even a "boring" one? Don't you as a military enthusiast know better--that Shattered Sword is an "important" work of noteworthyness? Or is Shattered Sword just like any other book and not all that recommendable?
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:51 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
I disagree.
Warspite1
Fair enough - lets agree to disagree...btw - that is not what Shattered Sword was getting at......
Fair enough as well. Didn't Shattered Sword, though, make a radical change to the way the battle of Midway has been interpreted? If some complete novice picked up Shattered Sword and read it might that novice just think it was "just another book about World War II" and perhaps even a "boring" one? Don't you as a military enthusiast know better--that Shattered Sword is an "important" work of noteworthyness? Or is Shattered Sword just like any other book and not all that recommendable?
Warspite1
No, Shattered Sword is, as I have said numerous times - and am happy to continue saying, a fantastic book. Why? Because it is written from the IJN perspective (but is objective and not biased), it details how the KB went about its business (fascinating - and written in a way that is not boring) and it de-bunks a lot of myths about the battle.
Above all, it is written in an enjoyable, easy to read, yet forensic stylee, that I wish more authors could copy. If you haven't read this and you are interested in World War II and / or the Pacific War and / or naval warfare then you need to do so.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:56 pm
by shunwick
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
Warspite1
Fair enough - lets agree to disagree...btw - that is not what Shattered Sword was getting at......
Fair enough as well. Didn't Shattered Sword, though, make a radical change to the way the battle of Midway has been interpreted? If some complete novice picked up Shattered Sword and read it might that novice just think it was "just another book about World War II" and perhaps even a "boring" one? Don't you as a military enthusiast know better--that Shattered Sword is an "important" work of noteworthyness? Or is Shattered Sword just like any other book and not all that recommendable?
Warspite1
No, Shattered Sword is, as I have said numerous times - and am happy to continue saying, a fantastic book. Why? Because it is written from the IJN perspective (but is objective and not biased), it details how the KB went about its business (fascinating - and written in a way that is not boring) and it de-bunks a lot of myths about the battle.
Above all, it is written in an enjoyable, easy to read, yet forensic stylee, that I wish more authors could copy. If you haven't read this and you are interested in World War II and / or the Pacific War and / or naval warfare then you need to do so.
I shall have to order that one from the library as well by the looks of it. Thanks.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:04 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: shunwick
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
Fair enough as well. Didn't Shattered Sword, though, make a radical change to the way the battle of Midway has been interpreted? If some complete novice picked up Shattered Sword and read it might that novice just think it was "just another book about World War II" and perhaps even a "boring" one? Don't you as a military enthusiast know better--that Shattered Sword is an "important" work of noteworthyness? Or is Shattered Sword just like any other book and not all that recommendable?
Warspite1
No, Shattered Sword is, as I have said numerous times - and am happy to continue saying, a fantastic book. Why? Because it is written from the IJN perspective (but is objective and not biased), it details how the KB went about its business (fascinating - and written in a way that is not boring) and it de-bunks a lot of myths about the battle.
Above all, it is written in an enjoyable, easy to read, yet forensic stylee, that I wish more authors could copy. If you haven't read this and you are interested in World War II and / or the Pacific War and / or naval warfare then you need to do so.
I shall have to order that one from the library as well by the looks of it. Thanks.
Warspite1
Defo - I can't praise it highly enough.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:09 pm
by GaryChildress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
Warspite1
Fair enough - lets agree to disagree...btw - that is not what Shattered Sword was getting at......
Fair enough as well. Didn't Shattered Sword, though, make a radical change to the way the battle of Midway has been interpreted? If some complete novice picked up Shattered Sword and read it might that novice just think it was "just another book about World War II" and perhaps even a "boring" one? Don't you as a military enthusiast know better--that Shattered Sword is an "important" work of noteworthyness? Or is Shattered Sword just like any other book and not all that recommendable?
Warspite1
No, Shattered Sword is, as I have said numerous times - and am happy to continue saying, a fantastic book. Why? Because it is written from the IJN perspective (but is objective and not biased), it details how the KB went about its business (fascinating - and written in a way that is not boring) and it de-bunks a lot of myths about the battle.
Above all, it is written in an enjoyable, easy to read, yet forensic stylee, that I wish more authors could copy. If you haven't read this and you are interested in World War II and / or the Pacific War and / or naval warfare then you need to do so.
Exaclty and doesn't its context with other books and ideas also make it important for someone interested in WW2 (and most particularly Midway) to read? There are easily dozens of other books about Midway, why should I read Shattered Sword at all and not some other book about the battle? Isn't it just my opinion what is a good book about Midway? And is it really so easily understandable? What the heck is a "Dauntless Dive Bomber"? What's so great about them. Sounds like a lot of boring stuff to me. I'd rather read about alien invasions and cool sci-fi stuff, not silly stuff about dive bombers. And BTW I don't recall Madame Bovary being all that difficult to read either. Maybe it was boring to me because it didn't seem all that important but it wasn't that difficult to understand what was going on in it.
Secondly suppose something is difficult to read. I understand some literary styles are very difficult but the fact that they are difficult is sometimes an object of appreciation and greatness about a book. Literature is also a study of HOW one writes, not only of WHAT one writes.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:15 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: Gary Childress
Fair enough as well. Didn't Shattered Sword, though, make a radical change to the way the battle of Midway has been interpreted? If some complete novice picked up Shattered Sword and read it might that novice just think it was "just another book about World War II" and perhaps even a "boring" one? Don't you as a military enthusiast know better--that Shattered Sword is an "important" work of noteworthyness? Or is Shattered Sword just like any other book and not all that recommendable?
Warspite1
No, Shattered Sword is, as I have said numerous times - and am happy to continue saying, a fantastic book. Why? Because it is written from the IJN perspective (but is objective and not biased), it details how the KB went about its business (fascinating - and written in a way that is not boring) and it de-bunks a lot of myths about the battle.
Above all, it is written in an enjoyable, easy to read, yet forensic stylee, that I wish more authors could copy. If you haven't read this and you are interested in World War II and / or the Pacific War and / or naval warfare then you need to do so.
Exaclty and doesn't its context with other books and ideas also make it important for someone interested in WW2 (and most particularly Midway) to read? There are easily dozens of other books about Midway, why should I read Shattered Sword at all and not some other book about the battle? Isn't it just my opinion what is a good book about Midway? And is it really so easily understandable? What the heck is a "Dauntless Dive Bomber"? What's so great about them. Sounds like a lot of boring stuff to me. I'd rather read about alien invasions and cool sci-fi stuff, not silly stuff about dive bombers. And BTW I don't recall Madame Bovary being all that difficult to read either. Maybe it was boring to me because it didn't seem all that important but it wasn't that difficult to understand what was going on in it.
Secondly suppose something is difficult to read. I understand some literary styles are very difficult but the fact that they are difficult is sometimes an object of appreciation and greatness about a book. Literature is also a study of HOW one writes, not only of WHAT one writes.
Warspite1
As we agreed, lets agree to disagree.
I thought the thread discussion developed from the idea that being forced to read "classics" as a youngster can put children off reading for life.
I just don't think a work of fact and a work of fiction can be looked at in the same way.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:22 pm
by british exil
The Shattered Sword was the book that really opened my eyes, as to how the IJN went about it's day to day work.
I had never really read a book in such depth about the Pacific Warfare. Oh I'd seen the films about Midway and Pearl but never thought about about the Japanese as the people they were.
Shattered Sword is a book well worth reading and "The Lost ships of Guadalcanal" brings out the ways the Allied navies fought in the beginning of WWII. The mistakes that were made.
Mat
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:24 pm
by warspite1
ORIGINAL: british exil
The Shattered Sword was the book that really opened my eyes, as to how the IJN went about it's day to day work.
I had never really read a book in such depth about the Pacific Warfare. Oh I'd seen the films about Midway and Pearl but never thought about about the Japanese as the people they were.
Shattered Sword is a book well worth reading and "The Lost ships of Guadalcanal" brings out the ways the Allied navies fought in the beginning of WWII. The mistakes that were made.
Mat
Warspite1
Mat, have you read Guadalcanal by Frank? Another quality piece of writing on what is perhaps the most interesting area of the Pacific War.
RE: What Book Are You Reading at the moment?
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:31 pm
by parusski
ORIGINAL: JW
ORIGINAL: parusski
ORIGINAL: JW
Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. At 58 I finally think I am old enough to appreciate it. A wonderful book. I'm 36% through it.
Yes, you are old enough. I did not appreciate it till I re-read it recently.
By the way, what mathematical formula did you use to arrive at that 36% figure(unless you're reading on an eReader)???
My Kindle tell me the percentage complete.
I was just joking.