What Are You Reading Right Now?

[Nickyjo]

To reply to the OP, I just finished “High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic,” God, we were weird in the 1940s-1950s.

Then just started “The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend,” about that great John Wayne film.

Both books by Glenn Frankel.

 

[Lees]

I enjoy reading American military history. It started quite a while ago when I finally got fed up with reading books with the same plot line/propaganda of good guys won, bad guys lost. Almost everyone listed the same high ranking cast of characters, same units, blah, blah, blah. There was no in depth explanation of everything that went into making a battle or operation a success or a humiliating failure. There was very little written about small unit actions and sacrifices of ordinary soldiers and sailors. The only service which seemed to get all of the accolades was the USMC. For the army it was the 82d and 101st airborne, 1st and 3rd infantry divisions. No one else won WWII. It was unthinkable to publish anything about our opponents other than the usual biased propaganda echo chamber. Finally things started to change within the past 10-15 years with more in depth historical facts and credit given where credit is due to the often overlooked soldiers and sailors which help explain the bigger picture of what was happening at that time in history.
I’m currently reading SUPREMACY AT SEA (Taffy 58 and the central pacific victory), by Evan Mawdsley. In his narrative he discloses the immensity of the Navy’s efforts to support the giant fleets which made the news. It’s a good read especially for the Swabbies who’ve served or anyone interested in reading more than just about a battle.

I recently finished 'Neptuns Inferno' by James D. Hornfischer. It is about the Naval battles surrounding Guadelcanal. And most especially the battle of Iron Bottom Sound. Most don't realize how the American Navy in the Pacific was so outnumbered and outclassed in the first years of WW2, by the Japanese fleet. But they, at Iron Bottom Sound, made it count, though through much losses on both sides.

A couple of other books I also have finished in the past 6 months: 1.) Wounded Tiger. It is the story of the Japanes leader of the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor. He is the one who cried Torah, torah, torah, letting his planes know they had taken the Americans by surprise and to attack. Intertwined in his story is his road to becomeing a born-again Christian later. It is by T. Martin Bennett. 2.) A Higher Call. by Adam Makos. A story of miraculous survival of a B-17 plane that was so shot up, it shouldn't have been in the air. A German fighter pilot spotted it, and could have easily shot it down....but didn't. Instead, he tried his best to see it got to safety. It is a great story.

Lees

 

[Lees]

To reply to the OP, I just finished “High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic,” God, we were weird in the 1940s-1950s.

Then just started “The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend,” about that great John Wayne film.

Both books by Glenn Frankel.

I just finished the book 'Massacre on the Merrimack', by Jay Atkinson. If you like the movie, 'The Searchers', you should like this book. And this is a true story.

Lees

 

[gman]

I recently finished 'Neptuns Inferno' by James D. Hornfischer. It is about the Naval battles surrounding Guadelcanal. And most especially the battle of Iron Bottom Sound. Most don't realize how the American Navy in the Pacific was so outnumbered and outclassed in the first years of WW2, by the Japanese fleet. But they, at Iron Bottom Sound, made it count, though through much losses on both sides.

A couple of other books I also have finished in the past 6 months: 1.) Wounded Tiger. It is the story of the Japanes leader of the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor. He is the one who cried Torah, torah, torah, letting his planes know they had taken the Americans by surprise and to attack. Intertwined in his story is his road to becomeing a born-again Christian later. It is by T. Martin Bennett. 2.) A Higher Call. by Adam Makos. A story of miraculous survival of a B-17 plane that was so shot up, it shouldn't have been in the air. A German fighter pilot spotted it, and could have easily shot it down....but didn't. Instead, he tried his best to see it got to safety. It is a great story.

Lees

I’ve read A Higher Call by Makos. Absolutely one of most amazing stories to come out of WWII.

 

[NewfieMom]

I finished Nightshade by Michael Connelly. It is a "stand alone" book as opposed to one featuring one of his popular protagonists like Mickey Haller, The Lincoln Lawyer, or his half-brother Harry Bosch the retired Los Angeles homicide detective. I may have read all of Connelly's books, including the more edgy stand alone books like The Scarecrow. I definitely follow him and keep up with what he is writing. I have been hoping for more books about the collaboration between Harry Bosch and the fairly new addition of Hollywood detective Renée Ballard.

Nightshade features a Los Angeles homicide detective who has been sent to Catalina to exile him due to some bad political moves he made within the police department. While in Catalina he lives a different lifestyle but still puts his detective skills to work. I found the book mildly enjoyable, but not compelling. I doubt that it can be made into a series.

 

[Decomposed]

I'm reading 'The Coming Wave' by Mustafa Suleyman. He's an important person in the development of Artificial Intelligence - owner of the software that first won a 'Go' tournament that included world champions and current CEO of Microsoft AI. I'm only 75 pages in, but I'm pretty sure that if you want to get a basic understanding of where AI is headed, this is the book you want to read.

 

[southwest88]

I'm reading 'The Coming Wave' by Mustafa Suleyman. He's an important person in the development of Artificial Intelligence - owner of the software that first won a 'Go' tournament that included world champions and current CEO of Microsoft AI. I'm only 75 pages in, but I'm pretty sure that if you want to get a basic understanding of where AI is headed, this is the book you want to read.

Looks interesting, our library has it!