Books you are reading

[Aycliffe]

woodgreenspur wrote:

Brilliant series of books.
Have you read the Warlord chronicles? His books about King Arthur.Very good

Loved the Sharpe series as well


Not yet but they are on the to do list, I have just done his Saxon stories and Waterloo so far.

[Aycliffe]

tried a couple of his stand alone novels and wasn't really impressed..gave up halfway through the Fort I think it was and another that escapes my memory...

As mentioned the Saxon Chronicles and the Warlord ones...

I did the King Arthur ones (is that where the lad is searching for the lance of St. George and the Holy Grail ?)

loved pretty much all of his stuff........

Sharpe though is my favourite.......his descriptions of all of his battles is quite something else though...

Sean Bean is a dickhead but his portrayal of Sharpe was top notch and the supporting cast was excellent....

Yeah agreed Bean played the part well in Sharpe, as regard the Saxon stories I just hope he keeps Uhtred alive for a few more books though he is certainly getting close to his sell by date for that era!!

[The Old Man of Storr]

Currently reading Max Hastings' new book on Vietnam, so far so good. Gives a balanced view of both sides, from the French reestablishment after the war to the Norths's final victory.


Definatly doesn't sanitise the North as has been common over the years.

Came close to clicking on Vietnam on Amazon the other day but chose not to as money's quite tight just now - will put it on my Christmas list though .

[WHU Independent]

Preacher - Gone to Texas.

Probably my most favourite graphic novel of all time.

Visceral, adult, challenging, worrying, imaginative, irreverent, darkly humorous, thought provoking and a whole host of other superlatives.

If you haven't read the series - and I really recommend that you do - (no spoilers btw) a young American preacher gets hit by something in his church, which kills all his congregation, but leave him with a certain ability. Then it takes off like rocket and goes off at all kinds of tangents.

If you are deeply religious, this series may not be for you.

Later Pilgrim.

[Cuenca 'ammer]

they have made a series haven't they ?

just checked and it's now into it's third series..think I watched one or two episodes but it didn't seem to me worth a continuation

[WHU Independent]

they have made a series haven't they ?

just checked and it's now into it's third series..think I watched one or two episodes but it didn't seem to me worth a continuation

Yes CA they have but I haven't watched it. My mate - who has read the graphic novels - has and he says it is a "sanitised, anodyne, heavily edited and bastardized version of what was a great read as a comic." All the contentious religious stuff has been taken out apparently - surprise surprise!

I can't bring myself to watch it tbh - and I have the first series on a stick.

[billybondsballbag]

Charles Duhigg's "The Power of Habit" is worth a read.

[The Old Man of Storr]

Not reading yet - Milkman by Anna Burns was waiting for me by the time I got back from Skye tonight .
1st ed/4th imp.

Also , popped into Elgin Library last week and got a few local history books out , one on the magnificent 13th Century ruined cathedral here , it must have been some building in its time . Took out David Cesarani's ' Final Solution - The Fate Of The Jews 1933-49 , it's an impressive work , 796 pages .

[kayahammer]

Not for the faint-hearted

[twixy]

I am Pilgrim. Wow - some debut novel, I could not put it down.

[POP POP POP Robson]

I'm looking for recommendations on the best WW1 and WW2 books. I've heard The Second World War by Antony Beevor is good.

[Korea Hammer]

I'm looking for recommendations on the best WW1 and WW2 books

Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy about Siegrfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and W.H.Rivers, the doctor who treated shellshocked patients in WW1 is brilliant. There are other important characters too, and although it starts off based on Rivers/Sassoon, it is largely fictional.

edit: sorry, half asleep when I posted this. These are, of course, novels, which I now realise is not what PPPR was after. Sorry.

[old fart]

I'm looking for recommendations on the best WW1 and WW2 books. I've heard The Second World War by Antony Beevor is good.

David Shirer "the rise and fall of the third Reich"

Fiction John Harris "covenant with death"

[WHU Independent]

David Shirer "the rise and fall of the third Reich"

Seconded - a long but very readable book.

I'm currently reading "Call of Cthulhu and other weird stories." edited and annotated notes by JS Yoshi. Actually I'm re-reading it for the 3rd or 4th time, and I've forgotten a lot of the endings, which is a bonus. I've also forgotten that HP's stuff can be a bit up and down, with some great stories and some mediocre. I love Ypshi's annotated notes - they really explain how the stories come about , what they mean and what HP thought about them , as show through his phenomenal amount of correspondence with other people.

[POP POP POP Robson]

Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy about Siegrfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and W.H.Rivers, the doctor who treated shellshocked patients in WW1 is brilliant. There are other important characters too, and although it starts off based on Rivers/Sassoon, it is largely fictional.

edit: sorry, half asleep when I posted this. These are, of course, novels, which I now realise is not what PPPR was after. Sorry.

That's ok. Sounds interesting.

David Shirer "the rise and fall of the third Reich"
Fiction John Harris "covenant with death"

Thanks guys.

[The Old Man of Storr]

I'm looking for recommendations on the best WW1 and WW2 books. I've heard The Second World War by Antony Beevor is good.

That's a huge subject you've chosen there , Pop .


I have a few books on both wars - Beevor has written about ' Berlin ' , ' Stalingrad ' , ' D-Day ' , ' Arnhem ' , ' Crete ' , ' Ardennes ' , ' The Second World War ' . I have most of them in my collection , As a Historian he's very readable .

Ian Kershaw is another I'd recommend as is AJP Taylor [ he covered both wars ] and I have a beautiful book on WW1 by Hew Strachan . Martin Gilbert is another respected historian I've read and have bought his WW1 and WW2 tomes .

WW2 especially covers a huge spectrum , all the various conflicts and campaigns , The Holocaust , if it's

one huge book on each war you're looking for I'd go with AJP Taylor or Martin Gilbert .

[Stevey]

I'm looking for recommendations on the best WW1 and WW2 books. I've heard The Second World War by Antony Beevor is good.

The Good War - Studs Terkel

[Etonhammer]

If you're looking for a personal memoir from WW2 then George McDonald Fraser's 'Quartered Safe Out Here' gives a fantastic read of his time in Burma.

It also gives an interesting view of the common beliefs and principles of the fighting men, predominantly from the working classes, and their take on world events.

[peter49uk]

I'm looking for recommendations on the best WW1 and WW2 books. I've heard The Second World War by Antony Beevor is good.

Magniicent But Not War by John Dixon; This is a detailed account of the Second Battle of Ypres, April and May 1915. It draws heavily upon personal accounts and war diaries to present a comprehensive study of the battle in which Germany became the first nation to use poisonous gas as a weapon.

[bondsbootlaces]

Preacher - Gone to Texas.

Probably my most favourite graphic novel of all time.

Visceral, adult, challenging, worrying, imaginative, irreverent, darkly humorous, thought provoking and a whole host of other superlatives.

If you haven't read the series - and I really recommend that you do - (no spoilers btw) a young American preacher gets hit by something in his church, which kills all his congregation, but leave him with a certain ability. Then it takes off like rocket and goes off at all kinds of tangents.

If you are deeply religious, this series may not be for you.

Later Pilgrim.

You git! I'm going to need to reread this again now. Such a brilliant bit of writing with matching artwork to boot.