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Ethan wrote: "I'm going to read A Bridge At Arnhem, about Operation MARKET GARDEN and the Battle of Arnhem, for my themed read. I've actually already start..."

Perfect month for it since it will be the 70th anniversary in September! Glad to hear you are enjoying the book so far.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Ethan wrote: "I'm going to read A Bridge At Arnhem, about Operation MARKET GARDEN and the Battle of Arnhem, for my themed read. I've actually..."

70th anniversary! Amazing! I had no idea. Seems like a timely read then.

I am going to start my September theme read today, a day early, sorry :)

I am going to start off with Martin Middlebrook's last book which he published in 1994 on the Battle of Arnhem:

by Martin Middlebrook

The discussion thread for the group read is now open:

/topic/show/...

I am starting my Sept theme book a little early too --

Desperate Venture: The Story of Operation Torch, the Allied Invasion of North Africa by Norman Gelb

Good book to start off with as well :)

Ok, gave up on Taierzhuang. I've borrowed this book from the library: Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze. It doesn't look like a difficult book to read and is not very long. A good follow up to the Chiang Kai-shek biography that I just finished.

Chin Joo wrote: "Ok, gave up on Taierzhuang. I've borrowed this book from the library: Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze. It does..."

It's on my TBR list.

Same :)

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Same :)"

I have read "Shanghai 1937," and I liked it.

Oh Chin Joo, I am ready to send your book as soon as I get your address.
I smile anxious to get a review from you.

Everybody got their books picked up for the November theme read?

I'm starting off with this one:

by Andy Saunders

I'll start with:

Little Ship, Big War: The Saga of DE343 by Edward Stafford

about the Pacific War aboard USS ABERCROMBIE (DE-343), a JOHN C. BUTLER-class destroyer escort. The USN completed 87 ships of the class during WW II. ABERCROMBIE displaced 1,400 tons fully loaded and boasted two 5"/38 gun mounts, four 40mm AAA guns, ten 20mm AAA guns, three 21" torpedo tubes, a depth charge rack,and a hedgehog. She fought at Leyte Gulf, Okinawa and as a convoy escort. ABERCROMBIE was a sister ship to USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DE-413), a ship, part of Taffy 3, that went down with all guns blazing in battle off Samar in October, 1944 -- arguably the most valiant action in the storied history of the U.S. Navy.

Sounds like an excellent selection for the theme read Manray9 - should be interesting to hear your snippets from the book.

I will go with Vice Admiral B.B. Schofield's Stringbags in Action: The Attack on Taranto 1940 & the Loss of the Bismarck 1941.

Gerald wrote: "I will go with Vice Admiral B.B. Schofield's Stringbags in Action: The Attack on Taranto 1940 & the Loss of the Bismarck 1941."

That looks like a good one -- just added it to my TBR list.

I'm still undecided...too much choice.

I would have participated but I don't have a book that matches the themed read. :-( Oh well, maybe I'll have a good one January.

By the way, I'm reading Vanished: The Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War II. It's really good.

I'll read this one.

Buffaloes Over Singapore: RAF, Raaf, Rnzaf and Dutch Brester Fighters in Action Over Malaya and the East Indies 1941-1942.

I saw this book on the shelf of a library a while ago. I've flipped through it once and know it's probably not a book on anyone's priority list. But well, it fits this month's theme.

Chin Joo wrote: "I'll read this one.

[book:Buffaloes Over Singapore: RA..."

That looks of interest to me too, Chin Joo. I know the Finns had great success with Buffalos against the Soviets. It is on my TBR list.

Chin Joo wrote: "I'll read this one.

[book:Buffaloes Over Singapore: RA..."

i find the early war in the pacific interesting, full of resilience, quirks, and making do!

Chin Joo wrote: "I'll read this one.

[book:Buffaloes Over Singapore: RA..."

Wikipedia reports the Finns flew Buffalos from 1940-45 and claimed a total of 936 Soviet aircraft destroyed versus losses of just 34. That's a 28:1 kill ratio, which sounds unbelievable, but is supported by documentation. These numbers were for the Winter War and the Continuation War combined.

Manray9 wrote: "Chin Joo wrote: "I'll read this one.

[book:Buffaloes O..."

The Finns were outstanding pilots. They might have been the best fighter pilots in the war outside of Germany.

You know what, the book I'm reading is a lot about the B-24 bombers, so I guess it sort matches the themed read! Yay, I guess I actually AM participating.

The November theme page is now open for business and discussion :)

Manray9 wrote: "Wikipedia reports the Finns flew Buffalos from 1940-45 and claimed a total of 936 Soviet aircraft destroyed versus losses of just 34...."

Phew... I almost put a wise-ass remark about the Buffaloes in my earlier post but thought better of it. It was triggered by another book

Hurricanes Over Singapore: RAF, Rnzaf and Nei Fighters in Action Against the Japanese Over the Island and the Netherlands East Indies, 1942.

I have just bought The Bombing War by Richard Overy. If it is half as good as his previous books and why the Allies won WW2 it should be an excellent addition.

But just finishing a Biography on Trosky which fascinating - did not realise the degree to which he differed from lenin on most issues consistently. Always interesting tot hink how would the soviets have stood up to the Germans in 1941 if not for stalin - his industrialisation during the 30s (damn costs) and then stubborness in 41

alex

I got a copy of that book as well, when I actually get to read it who knows! If you read it soon then I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the book Alex.

maybe a beach read at xmas Rick !!

cheers

alex

I was just thinking that since it will be the 70th anniversary of the "Battle of the Bulge" would anyone be interested in a theme read on any book or books on the subject for December 2014?

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I was just thinking that since it will be the 70th anniversary of the "Battle of the Bulge" would anyone be interested in a theme read on any book or books on the subject for December 2014?"

Yes.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I was just thinking that since it will be the 70th anniversary of the "Battle of the Bulge" would anyone be interested in a theme read on any book or books on the subject for December 2014?"

Why not?

That enough for me :)

I'll open up a thread in the group read section and post the details.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I was just thinking that since it will be the 70th anniversary of the "Battle of the Bulge" would anyone be interested in a theme read on any book or books on the subject for December 2014?"

Read a book on the Battle of the Bulge...I supposed I could be convinced of doing that.

Go on, you know you want to :)

Dj wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I was just thinking that since it will be the 70th anniversary of the "Battle of the Bulge" would anyone be interested in a theme read on any book or books on the subject for ..."

OK

All these books sound so interesting. Yet, I am limping behind with all my reading.

OK, theme reads for 2015, every second month starting in February. I have not set anything up yet and I'm open to suggestions.

If you would like to suggest a theme read please do but they will need to be general in nature so we don't make it too restrictive, e.g.: WW2 partisan or special forces operations, combat on the Eastern Front, etc.

So what WW2 topic would you like to read about as part of a group theme read for 2015?

Thanks Rick - I'll suggest three that might be runners if members think so and also to help get other people's ideas going:

Merchant Navies

Submarines

Amphibious landings

Hey Rick! I have a few suggestions:

- Escape & Evasion

- Novels

- The Third Reich (Books written about or from the POV of Germany)

Hope these help! ;-)

All good suggestions, any more folks?

POW experiences?

A good suggestion Colin.

My CO once was Special Forces Col. James Nicholas Rowe. His book Five Years to Freedom is required reading. He escaped Viet Cong captivity after more than 5 years, the only successful escape with exception to Dieter Dengler in Laos. As a result Rowe created SERE school.

Geevee wrote: "Thanks Rick - I'll suggest three that might be runners if members think so and also to help get other people's ideas going:

Merchant Navies

Submarines

Amphibious landings"

Geevee: I like those recs. I want to read --

Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings by Craig Symonds

So far I think we can go with these 'general' theme reads:


Escape/Evasion & POW's

Warfare on the Russian Front

Merchant Navies & Submarine warfare

WW2 Amphibious landings

Aspects of the 3rd Reich

Warfare in the Pacific (Land, air or sea)

How do they sound?

Good for me thank you.

Ditto

Sounds great, Rick!

They sound good!

OK, I'll get the set up in the new year, the first theme read month will be February. I think we will have a fun time discussing various books and aspects of these themes in 2015 :)