So come on guys what are you reading at the moment?

On my bedside table at the moments is Gary Sheffield's excellent Forgotten Victory. Avery good read.

Ross

I just finished "Sir Arthur Currie: A Biography" by Daniel Dancocks, which was excellent andwell recommended. I am about to start his "Legacy of Valour: The Canadians at Passchendaele". Any of Dancocks books are highly recommended.

In the recent past I read "It made you think of Home" the Journal of Deward Barnes, editied by Bruce Cane. Very highly recommended.

I've also been reading "With the Patricia's in Flanders 1914-1918" by Stephen Newman, which is an excellant reference book.

marc

The Book of War Letters: 100 Years of Private Canadian Correspondence (Ed. Grescoe & Grescoe, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart). The First World War section is full of fascinating letters from the front, the unflinching nature of which belie the misconception that people in homefront Canada had no idea what was going on in the trenches during the war. Worth picking up.

"King Solomon's Mines" by Rider Haggard; following on from "The War of the Worlds" by Wells. I felt a need for Victorian drama as a release from modern times!

Next is the current Wisden Cricketer, followed by "Diary of a Nobody" - the funniest book in the English language. I might get on to the Great War again after the summer break.

Just finished the Burgoyne diaries, excellent read, interesting bloke not very likable though.
Just starting The long Carry by Frank Dunham. Who was a stretcher bearer 1916-1918. Seems a very good read.

Ian.

Somme by Peter Hart & Richard Tommy by Holmes( but I have been reading this for months now!)

Command on The Western Front - Robin Prior & Trevor Wilson
Well written and explained; can't believe how long it took them to take on board the lessons from 1915.

Far from a donkey - can't remember the author.
Only just started this but very readable and the man was some character.

Expecting another consignment of books on WW1 shortly.

At present, I'm reading Mark Leech's Unknown Soldiers and Martin Middlebrook's the Kaiser's Battle. First time for each and both seem to be quite good so far. I just finished Marc Dugain's the Officer's Ward, which had been recommended by another member, which was dead good.

Dan

A bit base, but when on the Lav, Victoria Beckhams 'Learning to Fly' and at my bedside next to the leather gimp mask is Richard Holmes 'Tommy'.

Which much like Burlington I've been tackling for a while now.

Soren

and talking of "dead good", I'm surprised you have not listed The Challenge of the Dead" by Stephen Graham, Dan!!

Kate,

But I'm still waiting for the final installment (or fix)!!! Note "Mr. crazy eyes" next to the post! Oh dear, the tome's influence on my English is rather telling, isn't it?

I had the same difficulty with Tommy, but it was well worth the effort!

Alternating readings: I'm just starting to read Charles Messenger's "A call to arms", eventually stopping to re-read of Hasek's "The adventures of the Good Soldier Schweyck" and Brecht's "Schweick in Second World War"...

"Those filthy flyes! It's all their fault! I shall never forgive them for soiling the Emperor's portrait!"

Gloria

Just read Machine gun to Cambrai by George Coppard and Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks (brilliant, a masterpiece !)

Currently reading Somme - Lyn Macdonald

Happy reading,

Kevin

Hi all

Currently reading "War Trash" by Chinese author Ha Jin. It's about Chinese POW's during the Korean War in which the authors father fought. The title intrigued me!!!!

Gary

I'm reading the history of the 7th (sevice) battalion diary which is complimenting the war diry i downloaded from the NA,

will have to finish it while on holiday tho then its the other reading for me, (detective, forensic science, murder mysteries)

see you when i get back,

Mandy

Have just finished Chris Cleave's "Incendiary," which was fantastic, albeit not Great War related. A thoroughly moving and bitterly comic look at our world since the terror attacks.

Just finished a fantastic WW1 book, "The Unwanted". I've put a review on the site: http://www.1914-1918.net/books/unwanted.htm

Am devouring Antrhony Trollope novels at quite a rate, luckily there are a lot of them. Dickens he aint, but they are most entertaining. For that matter, no one else is Dickens, incomparable.

I've never actually read Trollope, but I agree on Dickens. I recently read Great Expectations for the very first time: what a book. The only one I've never managed to get on with is Chuzzelwit, but I'll do it one day. Somehow, he just takes you away on a journey, but you never get far away from real life...does that sound silly?

On topic, I've just finished 'The Last Valley', by Martin Windrow - on the debacle at Dien Bien Phu. Absolutely brilliant.

If I had to pick a Dickens, and I've read them multiple times, it would be Pickwick Papers, just hilarious! All are wonderful though, what characters. Chuzzlwit is great, BBC made a terrific screen play of it. THere is a 50 page or so section set in USA, sorry to day it's terrible, bad enough to skip.
Give Trollope a try, Barchester Chronicle is good as any.

I just finished "With my face to the Enemy" Edited by Robert Cowley I've yet to read a book edited by him I didn't throughly enjoy. Now I'm back in the trenches Reading " "There's a Devil in the Drum" By JF Lucy ..... Tag

The Imperial War Museum Book of The War at Sea 1914-1918, by Julian Thompson.
It's a side of the Great War I'm not too well read about, so I thought I'd try to start and make up for that.
Good so far, opened my eyes to another side of the conflict.

I'm reading "Forgotten Lunatics of the Great War" by Peter Barham. Very nice and interesting, on the shell-shocked British soldier, a dramatic tragedy of the Great War.

Beneath Flanders Fields, The Tunnelers' War 1914-18 by Peter Barton, Peter Doyle and Johan Vandewalle.

An excellent book to read if you want to know more about this often forgotten part of WWI.

Steve Smith

Haig's Letters & Diaries ( Sheffield & Bourne), Liason 1914 (Edwd. Spears ) and Finnegans Wake (Joyce).

Intellectual type!

[quote=Steven Broomfield,Aug 12 2005, 08:45 PM]
I've never actually read Trollope, but I agree on Dickens. I recently read Great Expectations for the very first time: what a book. The only one I've never managed to get on with is Chuzzelwit, but I'll do it one day. Somehow, he just takes you away on a journey, but you never get far away from real life...does that sound silly?


Little Dorrit is my second favourite Dickens after Great Expectations. His characterisation of Miss Haversham is unsurpassed.

Trollope is OK, too, but Dickens is by far the better writer of these two.

Robbie

Rising '44 'The Battle For Warsaw', by Norman Davies

about the Warsaw uprising against the Krauts...... on page 2 sofar......

hello Robbie,

I have not seen you on the Forum for a while, were doing time something?

im reading slim, master of war, a good read but lots of different divisions and corps to remember. I would recommend it for background on the war in Burma.
dave

I am reading "Battle of the Otranto Straits" by Halpurn. This is the first full account of the battle that I have seen so it is very interesting, though haven't tried to validate any of the info yet.

Best wishes
David

Dave'59

One of Slim's best quotes "All battles are fought uphill, at night, in the rain, at the junction of two, or more, map sheets."

Haig's War Diaries and Letters (Sheffield & Bourne)/

Is it good? I've been thinking about investing, but haven't yet.

Just finished "My Mystery Ships", by Rear-Admiral Gordon Campbell VC DSO**.
Bought this book very second hand; the inscription in the front has the date 1928. Mystery Ships were the original name for Q-ships. The action accounts in the book only take a few pages, because action for a Q-ship was half an hour of terror after months of boredom, even more so than for ground troops. But Campbell fills the rest of the book with fascinating detail and interesting anecdotes. And he has the reader's nerves jangling with his descriptions of lying hidden aboard a torpedoed, sinking ship waiting for the U-boat to surface before opening fire. Given that his men all volunteered to sail with him again after two such actions, his ability to inspire loyalty must have been phenomenal.
Adrian

Definately worth a read as it gives an incite into his thoughts and obsticles. Unlike you might expect it does do a white wash of him it does show how his mind worked and thus why somethings went wrong!

regards
Arm

I'm enjoying it. It's good to read many of the familiar quotes in full and in context; it really gives an insight into what the C-in-C knew, and when, allowing us to compare it with what we now know happened at the time. One gets a good impression of where he went, who he met, what information he received and how he formed his opinions.

I recommend it!

Cheers,

Ste

Thanks (and Arm). I have some book tokens left from a recent birthday (the rest have gone on Jack Sheldon's book), and they've been burning a bit of a hole, to be honest

Over the Top With the Third Australian Division

Gutenburg have this book online for you to download.
Go to http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16588.

Photo is Brother Colin Campbell Lorimer RA. Died 1979. Carlisle

Just finished First day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook, and just started A Subaltern on the Somme by Mark VII.
Rory

"MEN OF THE HIGH PEAK",
A History of the 1/6th Battalion , The Sherwood Foresters 1914-18 edited Cliff Housley.
(ISBN 0 9529648 6 4)

The Somme Prior and Wilson. Their WW1 credentials are impeccable. I have never expressed an opinion on Haig on this forum but have a couple of observations after reading this.
It made no difference what tactics attacking infantry used July 1. According to myth nearly all marched slowly and straight up. Of 80 battalions only 12 can be shown to have done this, 50 can be shown to have not. The artillery preparation was so inadequate it mattered not how they advanced. Haig, Rawlinson gave no thought to how expanding objectives lessened the amount of fire to be directed at critical enemy points.
Throughout the rest of the campaign there was only rare coordination between attacking units which attacked on narrow fronts which Germans could concentrate enormous fire power on from several directions. Even when adjoining units were not attacking their artillery was not used in support.
When tanks were used large holes were left in the barrage for a path for them even though they could withstand shrapnel, so unproven tanks which could not advance as fast as infantry when they did function took the place at critical points of the creeping barrage the most effective protection for infantry which existed.
The hope well into the battle that a collapse would take place on a large front much bigger than the line of Somme attack was nothing less than delusional.
For this period at least Haig was just terrible. His pattern seems to be til last 100 days when he should be credited with foresight, too large an objective carried on far far too long.

Have just finished re-reading Undertones of War by Blunden and have just started The Gunpowder Plot by Antonia Fraser.

Currently reading The Hazy Red Hell compiled by Tom Donovan. It is a collection of first person accounts of fighting on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918. The book is made up of diary entries, letters and excerpts from previously published works and I am finding it to be an outstanding read.

Regards,
~Dan

Reading two at the moment:

The Fight for Gallipoli, by Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes
Very useful, so far accurate in detail, especially interesting to see his loyalty to Admiral Carden. Generous to the French naval effort which is not always the case.

What Fools We Were, by Brig-Gen. Sir George Cockerill
According to Cockerill, it's a good thing he was available or the First World War couldn't ever have been won by the Allies. He was in charge of M.O.5 (later M.I.5), the Special Intelligence Section of the General Staff at the War Office from "just after the war began" and headed the Postal Censorship project and, later, takes credit for the Economic War and the Propaganda War against the Axis powers. It is a great read, especially when he lets rip against Lord Northcliffe who is credited with some of the Propaganda successes, and HG Wells, who spoke out against re-armament in the 1920's. He puts aside all dissent about the war as unfortunate misunderstandings and is equally dismissive of "the Irish Problem". It must have been interesting working with him, both during his undoubtedly valuable war work and later when he was MP for Reigate 1918-1931.

Both are good reading, especially Cockerill's rants.

Does anyone know of any critical reviews of either book? Or hasve an opinion?

Regards to all,

Bruce

This is a posting of a Dutchie, currently reading Dutch books. Hope you don't mind too much ...

I am reading two books:
- Evelyn Roodt, Immortal Fronts (free translation from the Dutch). A book with portraits of 8 German writers at the front. She tries to paint a picture of these writers' development up to WW1, of their work during war and what happened with their work after the war (how was it received over the years, how influential have the works been).
- Paul Moeyes, Out of fire (Buiten schot), a history of the Netherlands 1914-1918.

The War the Infantry Knew ... cool stuff ... a little dispassionate, but a wonderful read for all those who've worn green/kachi/whatever, you know what I mean ...

Interesting post Mr. Guthrie - you really think it was that bad?

The Advance From Mons 1914 Walter Bloem.

Excellent read and interesting to see the German point of view.

Assuming you mean Haig-Rawlinson-Gough performance at the Somme, it was Godawful, the learninig curve sure started at a very low point.

Paul,

have to agree with your comment. More control by Haigh would have been useful; Rawlinson and Gough seem to have forgotten what they should have learned in 14 and 15.
Shame that nobody appears to have asked the Brigade and Battalion commanders how things should be done.