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I'm in California for two months, and witps suggested this summer might be a good time to get updated on good books. So here's the first question: Please recommend a summer reading list for Allied players.

The Forgotten Fleet; Winton
The British Pacific Fleet; Hobbs (I haven't started this yet, but it looks good from a quick skim through, and am hoping this will complement the excellent Forgotten Fleet).
The Sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse; Middlebrook/Mahoney
Odd Man Out (The story of the Singapore Traitor); Elphick and Smith
Singapore (The Pregnable Fortress); Elphick

I live in San Diego. [:)]

So- you live in the UK, you're going to California for the summer- and you want to know what books to get?
 
Mail order my good man- and get a good pair of binoculars while you're at it. The beachside beckons [8D]

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

I live in San Diego. [:)]

Warspite1

.....and my recent purchase of the British Pacific Fleet from Amazon came all the way from the US.

The new Pearl Harbor book: Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Combat, Myths and Whatever" by Zimm would seem to be right up your particular alley (judging by many of your posts). It's got spelling errors and the occasional misstated date but the operational analysis aspect puts ordinary perceptions (myths?) in a very different light. I just thought I'd mention it since you've commented previously in the thread on that book but I wasn't sure if you've read it.

herwin,

I live in San Jose if you want to get together.

Mike

Eagle Against The Sun by Ronald Spector is probably the best general history of the war i have read.

Although you might enjoy these three by HP Wilmott that cover allied and Japanese stratergy in the early stages of the war:
Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Strategies, February to June 1942
Empires in the Balance: Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies to April 1942
The War with Japan: The Period of Balance, May 1942-October 1943

Finally I find these interesting, not only because of the Australian perspective, but they also give a good insight into the confusion, miscommunication and misunderstanding that occured during the early stages of the war and are great examples of how politics got in the way of actually winning the war.  Although most people here probably have a low opinion of MacArthur already, Blamey really fares no better and is quite suprising how screwed up things really were during the Kokoda and New Guinea campaigns.

Those Ragged Bloody Heroes: From the Kokoda Trail to Gona Beach 1942 by Peter Brune
A Bastard of a Place: The Australians in Papua by Peter Brune

ORIGINAL: bushpsu

herwin,

I live in San Jose if you want to get together.

Mike

Perhaps for a drink while I'm at IJCNN 2011 (San Jose Doubletree Hotel, July 31-August 5)

If you don't have it yet, herwin, you should get "Black Shoe Carrier Admiral" by John Lundstrom.

You're not coming through Phoenix, Arizona, per chance at any time are you? I'm usually in Southern California on weekends (Orange County, north of San Diego County) but am staying in Phoenix for the next 7 weeks.

ORIGINAL: Pascal

If you don't have it yet, herwin, you should get "Black Shoe Carrier Admiral" by John Lundstrom.

You're not coming through Phoenix, Arizona, per chance at any time are you? I'm usually in Southern California on weekends (Orange County, north of San Diego County) but am staying in Phoenix for the next 7 weeks.

Not close.

Burma, The Longest War by Louis Allen.

I am reading Hugh Ambrose's The Pacific and came across a character Ensign Micheel. Found him in AE Scenario 10 - under VS-6. [:D] Talk about AE being historical to the minute details. [&o][&o][&o]

Combined Fleet Decoded, by John Prados. Excellent information on the intelligence war for players of either side (and a must-read for game designers, IMHO).

I would nominate Warfighting: Maneuver Warfare in the U.S. Marine Corps, edited by Lt. Col. H.T. Hayden. This is a good book to use to make operational plans. Copyright date is 1995 so some aspects may have now been supplanted.

Both of Lundstrom's First Team book are excellent. Particularly liked the first book due to the detailed description of early US CV Operations and the development of doctrine.

ORIGINAL: sprior

Burma, The Longest War by Louis Allen.

Seconded. One of my favorites. Read in parrallel with Slim's Defeat into Victory for two very different perspectives on the Burma campaign.

+1 for _Combined Fleet Decoded_ by Prados. An excellent read, combine it w/ _Battle of Wits_ by Stephen Budiansky, for more code-breaking goodness.

looking forward to exploring the books of Spector, Wilmott & Brune mentioned in this thread.

compelled to add that i thought James Hornfischer's _Neptune's Inferno_ was v. disapointing, great premise for the book was not backed up. Stick w/ Richard Franks for your Guadalcanal-theater reading.

If you're in San Diego you should go see the USS Midway Museum on the harbor and the Aviation Museum in Balboa Park (the Maritime Museum close to the Midway is worth it too). If you're in San Francisco you should go to Alameda (across the Bay) and see the USS Hornet II (Essex class carrier) Museum.

I like the binocular idea. I can read on a plane or at home.

Come on Harry, head for the beach!