Y'all have planted the seed in my head to watch my Blu-ray copy of The Martian.
Gamecock Fanatics
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What book is on your nightstand right now?
- Thread starter Swayin
- Start date
I loaded the Nook reader software on my Samsung tablet and am currently re-reading some of my e-books. It's a lot better than the original Nook Paperwhite because it's clearer and backlit, which is excellent for reading at night with soft light in the room.
You would like this one.
I may go back and read this one again as well. It covers a lot of the Kamikaze attacks on the picket DD/DEs. Very little time for a destroyer skipper to react to keep his ship from being destroyed.
I imagine Hornfischer has dove-tailed a lot of from Tin Can Sailors and his book on the Indianapolis in his latest book.
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Recently finished reading ‘Project Hail Mary’ by Andy Weir. As others have said, this book is excellent, especially for folks into sci-fi.
FurmanCock
Grand Poohbah
Just started 2 massive series series, one on my kindle and one audio book for my time in the car and on the treadmill. The read portion is an 11 book series (750,000+ words) by David Wingrove, Chung Kuo. I started this sometime in the '80's, but only made it through maybe the first 8 volumes, simply because of the time delay between books. In 2011, Wingrove completely rewrote and added material to the entire series, and so I'm finally getting around to picking it up again and hope to complete.
The audio series I have started is The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan -- a 14 volume series that I made through volume 11 interrupted by the death of Robert Jordan. Jordan, knowing he was ill, passed the remaining story arc to be completed to Brandon Sanderson, but somewhere in that time gap, I just never picked the series back up to complete it. So I've started that again and also hope to complete this time.
Subsequent to both of the above series, and also because of George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones, I have made a commitment to myself to never begin another series until the author has completed the series.
The audio series I have started is The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan -- a 14 volume series that I made through volume 11 interrupted by the death of Robert Jordan. Jordan, knowing he was ill, passed the remaining story arc to be completed to Brandon Sanderson, but somewhere in that time gap, I just never picked the series back up to complete it. So I've started that again and also hope to complete this time.
Subsequent to both of the above series, and also because of George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones, I have made a commitment to myself to never begin another series until the author has completed the series.
"Flood Tide" was excellent, and finished it on vacation. First really in-depth account of the fighting on Saipan that I have read. Covering similar ground with the final of Ian Toll's trilogy now:
Twilight of the Gods
David McCullough's 1776 would be a good read/re-read right now as a parallel to Ukraine's struggle for independence.
The Hessians were essentially paid German mercenaries who committed horrible atrocities in New Jersey during the Revolution.
He also covers the conflicts within the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and the reluctance of people to support the Revolution until we had a clear chance of winning the fight. He also points out that George Washington would have been hung by the British had we lost.
The Hessians were essentially paid German mercenaries who committed horrible atrocities in New Jersey during the Revolution.
He also covers the conflicts within the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and the reluctance of people to support the Revolution until we had a clear chance of winning the fight. He also points out that George Washington would have been hung by the British had we lost.
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Six Frigates by Toll is also very good.
Yes, enjoyed it.
Homebrewcock
GCF Top Poster
I have that book in my library, good read.David McCullough's 1776 would be a good read/re-read right now as a parallel to Ukraine's struggle for independence.
The Hessians were essentially paid German mercenaries who committed horrible atrocities in New Jersey during the Revolution.
He also covers the conflicts within the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and the reluctance of people to support the Revolution until we had a clear chance of winning the fight. He also points out that George Washington would have been hung by the British had we lost.
So there's talk that Project Hail Mary is being made into a movie starring Ryan Gosling. I don't when that is going to be done, but I do want to reread it before that happens. So while I wait until we're a little closer to that release, I decided to explore similar titles. That brought me to We are Legion, We are Bob. I'm about halfway through the first book in the 'Bobiverse" series, and it's a worthwhile replacement for Weir's writing.
Just finished re-reading my hardcover version of this one.
Kernan enlisted in the Navy March 1941 fresh out of high school and trained as an Aviation Ordinanceman. He was assigned to Torpedo Six on the USS Enterprise, sometimes flying as an aircrewman in the back of VT-6 Devastators but not at the Battle of Midway. Then he was assigned to the Hornet at the time of her sinking at the Battle of Santa Cruz. His recollection of surviving the attacks and abandoning the Hornet is pretty clear and vivid.
Then he was reassigned back to the Enterprise as part of an Avenger squadron after VT-6 was reformed following the Midway and Guadalcanal naval battles. He tells the story of the World War 2 naval battles through the eyes of a young enlisted man. The volume of death he and his generation witnessed was incredible.
It is a pretty good read even if you're not a naval history buff. A book that I would read and ponder for a bit, then read some more. Lots of life lessons in it.
Kernan enlisted in the Navy March 1941 fresh out of high school and trained as an Aviation Ordinanceman. He was assigned to Torpedo Six on the USS Enterprise, sometimes flying as an aircrewman in the back of VT-6 Devastators but not at the Battle of Midway. Then he was assigned to the Hornet at the time of her sinking at the Battle of Santa Cruz. His recollection of surviving the attacks and abandoning the Hornet is pretty clear and vivid.
Then he was reassigned back to the Enterprise as part of an Avenger squadron after VT-6 was reformed following the Midway and Guadalcanal naval battles. He tells the story of the World War 2 naval battles through the eyes of a young enlisted man. The volume of death he and his generation witnessed was incredible.
It is a pretty good read even if you're not a naval history buff. A book that I would read and ponder for a bit, then read some more. Lots of life lessons in it.
Downloaded this one on my Nook tablet yesterday and dove into it.
It focuses on mainly the Navy fighter squadron development going into the early years of WW2.
VF-2 was formed on the carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) in 1927 as an experimental enlisted pilot-only squadron. VF-2 was the first Navy squadron to win the distinguished "E" award. Most of the enlisted pilots were transferred to other squadrons at the outbreak of the war right before the first major naval battles took place and many distinguished themselves in combat with VF-3 and VF-6 in those battles.
The reasoning behind splitting up VF-2 was most likely to add depth to newly-forming squadrons as the war was ramping up. Most of the senior enlisted pilots were fleeted-up to junior officers and the rest to warrant officer rank. Enlisted pilots had a higher survival rate in the early naval battles because many were enlisted mechanics that knew how to conserve fuel better, among other things.
Right now I am at the part that describes the plight of the USS Enterprise's air group that was unknowingly sent to Pearl Harbor by Admiral Halsey as the attack was playing out. Lundstrom's account is clear, concise, and draws the reader in pretty easily. The book was first published in 1984 and is quite good.
It focuses on mainly the Navy fighter squadron development going into the early years of WW2.
VF-2 was formed on the carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) in 1927 as an experimental enlisted pilot-only squadron. VF-2 was the first Navy squadron to win the distinguished "E" award. Most of the enlisted pilots were transferred to other squadrons at the outbreak of the war right before the first major naval battles took place and many distinguished themselves in combat with VF-3 and VF-6 in those battles.
The reasoning behind splitting up VF-2 was most likely to add depth to newly-forming squadrons as the war was ramping up. Most of the senior enlisted pilots were fleeted-up to junior officers and the rest to warrant officer rank. Enlisted pilots had a higher survival rate in the early naval battles because many were enlisted mechanics that knew how to conserve fuel better, among other things.
Right now I am at the part that describes the plight of the USS Enterprise's air group that was unknowingly sent to Pearl Harbor by Admiral Halsey as the attack was playing out. Lundstrom's account is clear, concise, and draws the reader in pretty easily. The book was first published in 1984 and is quite good.
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Finally finished The First Team; a great read.
Picked up a hard-copy of this one up at the 2nd & Charles second-hand store over by Columbiana Mall the other week.
A group of veteran Japanese fighter pilots decided they were not going to surrender and savagely attacked a group of Hellcat fighters from VF-88 off the USS Yorktown (CV-10) on the last day of the war. They cut the Hellcats to pieces, shooting down and killing 4 of the pilots. It was the last major dogfight of WW2 in the Pacific.
The book was published in 2019, so it's fairly recent.
Picked up a hard-copy of this one up at the 2nd & Charles second-hand store over by Columbiana Mall the other week.
A group of veteran Japanese fighter pilots decided they were not going to surrender and savagely attacked a group of Hellcat fighters from VF-88 off the USS Yorktown (CV-10) on the last day of the war. They cut the Hellcats to pieces, shooting down and killing 4 of the pilots. It was the last major dogfight of WW2 in the Pacific.
The book was published in 2019, so it's fairly recent.
FurmanCock
Grand Poohbah
So were the planes depicted in the TV show, Baa Baa Blacksheep, Hellcats?
Those were F4U Corsairs.
They initially were rejected by the Navy because their long noses made it difficult to land on an aircraft carrier, so they were given to Marine squadrons like that of Greg Boyington's Black Sheep. Then they had to be put back on carriers because their high-performance capabilities made them the best choice to intercept the Japanese Kamikaze suicide planes.
The recent movie Devotion did a good job of covering both the good and bad points of the old Corsairs.
Present day VMA-214 "Black Sheep" in their AV-8 Harriers.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y80Cd08BvKI
Very much like the old school carrier flight ops in many ways. Carrier is the USS Wasp (LHD-2). Old school name. Gator Freighter.
Very much like the old school carrier flight ops in many ways. Carrier is the USS Wasp (LHD-2). Old school name. Gator Freighter.