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Jul. 1st, 2017 08:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mycroftcaWhat with one thing or another last weekend I didn't have time to post, so here's two weeks' worth:
First one was Osprey Warrior #31: Union Infantryman 1861 – 65. Now I have mentioned before my antipathy to deeply studying the US Civil War, though I do still dabble with books on it occasionally, and this one does a solid job of helping a person visualize what it was like fighting for the Union in that war.
Next was Osprey Campaign #45: Majuba 1881: The Hill of Destiny, the major campaign of the Boer War. Not as engaging a read as I might have hoped for, but pretty good.
I followed that with Osprey Elite #13: US Army Rangers and LRRP Units 1942 - 87; this one I found especially interesting because when I was in osteopathic school, one of my family practice instructors had served in a LRRP unit during the Vietnam War. I learned a fair amount reading this book.
Then, Osprey Fortress #68: American Civil War Fortifications (3): The Mississippi and River Forts. Here we go again with the Civil War. Control of the flow of trade on the Mississippi River was critical for both sides, but in the end it was the Union who held it. Spoiler.
Next book then was Osprey Men-At-Arms #66: Montgomery's Desert Army. I've been a student of the history of WWII for much of my life, and so because over the years I've read so much about the North African campaigns that the data in this book didn't teach me all that much, still it was a pretty good overview of the many nations involved on the Allied side.
Following that was Osprey New Vanguard #35: M26/M46 Pershing Tank 1943 – 53. This is the tank that you see in many of the movies of the post-war period. Truly too late to be a major player in WWII, but had its place in Korea and thereafter. Pretty much gone by Vietnam.
Osprey Vanguard #27: Armour of the Korean War 1950 - 53 came next, showcasing the same Pershing tank with a few others. The whole Vanguard series is out-of-print having been superseded by the New Vanguard series, and in a way this book isn't as good as the one just above, but it does look at the topic more specifically (i.e. just the one war) and then again more generally (i.e. everybody's tanks that were involved). A different way of looking at it.
Next one was Osprey Warrior #52: US Naval Aviator 1941 – 45, the details about these key and critical warriors of the Pacific War in specific. A good one.
Then, and finally in this post, was Osprey Warrior #73: Tito's Partisans 1941 – 45. In my readings in the past, Tito's effect on the war was usually acknowledged; this book details what it was like for the men who followed him. Very good.
Yes, it's a lot of Ospreys. I know. I'm slogging through several novels and other non-fiction works at the same time, but the Ospreys are relatively short, and easy to get through. I suspect next post will cover some other genres entirely.
First one was Osprey Warrior #31: Union Infantryman 1861 – 65. Now I have mentioned before my antipathy to deeply studying the US Civil War, though I do still dabble with books on it occasionally, and this one does a solid job of helping a person visualize what it was like fighting for the Union in that war.
Next was Osprey Campaign #45: Majuba 1881: The Hill of Destiny, the major campaign of the Boer War. Not as engaging a read as I might have hoped for, but pretty good.
I followed that with Osprey Elite #13: US Army Rangers and LRRP Units 1942 - 87; this one I found especially interesting because when I was in osteopathic school, one of my family practice instructors had served in a LRRP unit during the Vietnam War. I learned a fair amount reading this book.
Then, Osprey Fortress #68: American Civil War Fortifications (3): The Mississippi and River Forts. Here we go again with the Civil War. Control of the flow of trade on the Mississippi River was critical for both sides, but in the end it was the Union who held it. Spoiler.
Next book then was Osprey Men-At-Arms #66: Montgomery's Desert Army. I've been a student of the history of WWII for much of my life, and so because over the years I've read so much about the North African campaigns that the data in this book didn't teach me all that much, still it was a pretty good overview of the many nations involved on the Allied side.
Following that was Osprey New Vanguard #35: M26/M46 Pershing Tank 1943 – 53. This is the tank that you see in many of the movies of the post-war period. Truly too late to be a major player in WWII, but had its place in Korea and thereafter. Pretty much gone by Vietnam.
Osprey Vanguard #27: Armour of the Korean War 1950 - 53 came next, showcasing the same Pershing tank with a few others. The whole Vanguard series is out-of-print having been superseded by the New Vanguard series, and in a way this book isn't as good as the one just above, but it does look at the topic more specifically (i.e. just the one war) and then again more generally (i.e. everybody's tanks that were involved). A different way of looking at it.
Next one was Osprey Warrior #52: US Naval Aviator 1941 – 45, the details about these key and critical warriors of the Pacific War in specific. A good one.
Then, and finally in this post, was Osprey Warrior #73: Tito's Partisans 1941 – 45. In my readings in the past, Tito's effect on the war was usually acknowledged; this book details what it was like for the men who followed him. Very good.
Yes, it's a lot of Ospreys. I know. I'm slogging through several novels and other non-fiction works at the same time, but the Ospreys are relatively short, and easy to get through. I suspect next post will cover some other genres entirely.