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ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: warspite1

So I finally finished Gorbachev.

I'm just curious when the book was written. If post-2010 or so, I'd be suspicious that the old revisionist tendencies of the old (and newer) Soviet...erm...Russian state had reared their heads again.

According to modern Putin-centric narratives, the collapse of the Soviet Union was an utter catastrophe. Boris Yeltsin was a complete stooge and Gorbachev misguided at the best or traitorous at the worst-allowing 'the West' to let the Soviet Union crumble while they enjoyed the show. Putin and Putinism is the modern savior and anything that counters that omniscient / omnipotence needs to be...well...rewritten.

Always the Putin fanboi! [:'(]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: warspite1

So I finally finished Gorbachev.

I'm just curious when the book was written. If post-2010 or so, I'd be suspicious that the old revisionist tendencies of the old (and newer) Soviet...erm...Russian state had reared their heads again.

According to modern Putin-centric narratives, the collapse of the Soviet Union was an utter catastrophe. Boris Yeltsin was a complete stooge and Gorbachev misguided at the best or traitorous at the worst-allowing 'the West' to let the Soviet Union crumble while they enjoyed the show. Putin and Putinism is the modern savior and anything that counters that omniscient / omnipotence needs to be...well...rewritten.

warspite1

The book was written in 2017 I believe. But no, there are no 'revisionist tendencies'. In the final analysis its very much a pro-Gorbachev book but also appears balanced and is not afraid to criticise and question some of his decisions.

Because its a book about him - his life and times - its not a blow by blow account of the USSR 1985-1991, hence my comment about needing to have read more about the background before being able to properly evaluate the man himself and truly understand some of the things being written.

The main takeaways I personally have of this book - and I accept this is based on one book plus whatever I can recall from the papers at the time - is that:

- Gorbachev faced a mammoth task (the USSR was in a total mess)
- He wanted freedoms for the people and a better quality of life but didn't really know how to achieve it - he still believed in Communism (just not the awful version the USSR had cobbled together)
- The job - as was emphatically proven by Yeltsin - was too big and to succeed needed someone far more capable than either Yeltsin or Gorbachev.
- He was genuinely a man of peace who did not think going to war was the way to resolve issues
- The west, and the old Warsaw Pact countries, owe him a debt of gratitude. He could have handled the Eastern European countries and the unification of Germany very differently
- No one seems to have a definitive answer on whether he was responsible for sending troops into Lithuania, but given his previous MO I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.
- His relationship with his wife and family was touching and emphasises his humanity.


As for any commentary on Putin and the current regime, I will say nothing as that is modern day politics.

Next up [:)]

Has anyone tried this? Could be interesting.....

Finished another Colleen McCullough historical novel. This one was The Song of Troy - about the Trojan War.

It covers the entire war, not just the Iliad (which I could never make much sense out of). She makes it much easier to understand. She takes one liberty with the tale: She postulates that the feud between Achilles and Agamemnon was a ploy hatched by Odysseus to get the Trojans out from behind their walls. And she further postulates that, while that ploy worked, it caused such loss and chaos for both sides, that they decided to keep it an eternal secret. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the principles - an interesting plot mechanism.

Midnight in Chernobyl. After watching the excellent series earlier this I wanted to read more.

ORIGINAL: Pvt_Grunt

Midnight in Chernobyl. After watching the excellent series earlier this I wanted to read more.

warspite1

Please let us know what you think - I would be interested in this.

From Arrian to Alexander: Studies in Historical Interpretation by A. B. Bosworth

The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson. First of a new 3-part trilogy on the American Revolution. He is the guy who wrote the Liberation Trilogy on WWII in the West from the invasion of North Africa to the surrender of Germany. I decided to read some history after going through several second-rate but very entertaining sci fi novels.

https://revolutiontrilogy.com/

I wonder if he has anything about the Minutewomen who guarded a bridge and captured some Redcoats.

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Has anyone tried this? Could be interesting.....

What? Flying over an Allied shipping column in a FW-200 Condor? No. Never tried it. You?

ORIGINAL: jwarrenw13

The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson. First of a new 3-part trilogy on the American Revolution. He is the guy who wrote the Liberation Trilogy on WWII in the West from the invasion of North Africa to the surrender of Germany. I decided to read some history after going through several second-rate but very entertaining sci fi novels.

https://revolutiontrilogy.com/

Finished it this summer. Anxiously awaiting the next installment in this series. Really well written work.

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Has anyone tried this? Could be interesting.....

What? Flying over an Allied shipping column in a FW-200 Condor? No. Never tried it. You?

warspite1

Haha! Maybe in another life - but I hope not.

Just finished listening to Jackals Revenge by I Gale. Second book in series. Really enjoyed it. Stephen Thorne is great narrator for WW2 books, though this time he really struggled with Kiwi and Aussie accents.

This was an immensely enjoyable read. The writer has a clear, easy to follow writing style which is always a plus.

The writer takes us through the development of the naval air arm in the thirties, their performance in the Spanish Civil War, as part of the Condor Legion, and the fight between the navy and the air force - and of course Herman Goring - for control of aircraft that it made perfect sense for the navy to have full control of. This was a battle that Raeder was never going to win.

Having been acutely aware of Britain's mistake in allowing the Royal Air Force to control the Fleet Air Arm, its comforting to see Britain wasn't the only country to make this mistake (at least the UK rectified their error - albeit almost too late). The author shows how, had Raeder been listened to, the Kriegsmarine - through a more effective naval air arm - could have inflicted a whole lot more pain on the Royal and Merchant navies. This is particularly true of the co-operation that could have been achieved between the naval air arm and the u-boats.

What does come across loud and clear too is the sense to which, once the Germans had to divert resources to the Mediterranean, they were robbing Peter to pay Paul. When Barbarossa followed shortly after this was magnified and the Luftwaffe was simply too thinly stretched in numbers. Technical advances by the Allies then started to render aircraft obsolete. The escort carrier and the FW-200 being a prime example.

There were a few niggles - typos mainly - but these were small in number and I guess expected nowadays. Slightly more annoying were a few factual inaccuracies when it came to describing ships and naval matters - but again, there was nothing to really affect the overall good feel I got for the book.

I look forward to Part II and will definitely buy this.

The wizard’s first rule by Terry Goodkin, the author’s pretty unknown but a friend of mine recommended them and so i begun to reread (had dropped it years ago) the 13 book long tale of a man who seeks the truth. Maybe you’ve heard of the tv series, “legend of the seeker”, well, it doesen’t compare. The book’s great, but i think a warning is needed here: the author writes about things in his own way, so he won’t skip embarassing moments, sex, torture and whatever you may think of as inappropriate content. I consider this a good point actually, cause most fantasy is for teens and thereforse lacks depth, while terry goodkin doesen’t look away from the events that unfold, telling them in a way that makes you “feel” what the people you’re reading about feel. It’s fantasy, but quite original imo, i have read lots of fantasy sand this is quite fresh under a lot of different aspects. Would highly recommend it, just be warned, it’s not a light read, it’s over 10000 pages.

Ardennes 1944 by Antony Beever just finished his Arnhem The Battle for the Bridges

Anyone into fantasy then Joe Abercrombie books are a must! His style is a breath of fresh air!

Even better buy the Audible versions of his books narrated by Stephen Parcey. He does a fantastic job.

Start with the First Law trilogy. Oh and stick with it, gets better and better and his characters will stay with you always. Not many authors could make me like a bitter torturer but he did, he created a character that should be repellent far from it.

Having got a taste for naval air warfare from reading Eagles over the Sea, I have decided its high time I read this (having previously tried twice and failed).

I finished watching "The Haunting of Hill House" on Netflix. A very satisfying experience that put me in the mood for some Halloween readings: