May 2017 reading

Finished an excellent but rather technical Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War, 1600-1815 by Brian Lavery.

Just finished Ostfront 1944: The German Defensive Battles on the Russian Front 1944 by Alex Buchner . Very good book with some editing errors, written using mostly German sources.

Besides assorted hardware books there's A Raid too Far (A) and Vercors 1944 (B). In particular, the first book just makes one want to shake one's head over the folly of the invasion of Laos; one picture of the howling wilderness the ARVN was launched into is all you really need to know about why this was a bad idea.

Completed reading a rather in-depth and slow Dunmore's War: The Last Conflict of America's Colonial Era by Glenn F. Williams.

I'm reading Duffy's The Military Experience in the Age of Reason. Interesting book, but the Kobo ebook I bought is very hastily and carelessly done - avoid.

(This not however a general problem with Kobo: other works I've got from there have had few if any format issues.)

Completed an excellent A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy by Robert Moore.

That's on my "TBR" list...worth the investment of time?

>7 Shrike58: The book (A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy by Robert Moore) is very good, lots of technical insight both in the area of submarine operations and also the rescue attempts. There is also a good look at the human side of the tragedy, where the families of the men missing on the Kursk were mislead regarding both initial reports and then the rescue efforts. And there was the almost inevitable political coverup and eventual assigning of blame that is explored as well. The writing isn't flowery or dramatic, it is written in a journalistic style that avoids sensationalism. The author had access to many of the participants so he was able to include many details that didn't make the breaking news stories. I can highly recommend the book.

Completed a short but interesting Artillery (Illustrated History of the Vietnam War, Vol 7) by James Arnold.