Whatcha reading redux.

Everything cultural, pop or otherwise. Books, movies, music, comics, poetry, random cultural geekery.
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Weetabix
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Weetabix »

JAG2955 wrote:... and while it's an easier read than LOTR and by far easier than the Silmarillion, ...
IIRC, everything's an easier read than the Silmarillion. :lol:
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
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Vonz90
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Vonz90 »

toad wrote: This brings up another German Problem, The Luftwaffe was in charge of anti-aircraft guns and the German army was desperate for anti-tank guns. This lead to some head banging on the Germans part. The flack 88's were used against tanks but they had some problems, they were set up high so that they could be aimed and loaded straight up. You had to be careful on the terrain you set them up on.
That was part of the reason the Wehrmacht developed the Pak 43. It wasn't a huge improvement on the Pak 41, but it gave them an 88 which they owned vice having to share production with another service.

BTW - just in general on the Luftwaffe, at the highest levels they were run by party hacks who were much more interested in controlling their turf than working with the other services. It was especially bad between the German Navy and the Luftwaffe.
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JAG2955
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by JAG2955 »

Weetabix wrote:
JAG2955 wrote:... and while it's an easier read than LOTR and by far easier than the Silmarillion, ...
IIRC, everything's an easier read than the Silmarillion. :lol:
Except maybe a phone book or the tax code.
Greg
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Greg »

JAG2955 wrote:
Weetabix wrote:
JAG2955 wrote:... and while it's an easier read than LOTR and by far easier than the Silmarillion, ...
IIRC, everything's an easier read than the Silmarillion. :lol:
Except maybe a phone book or the tax code.
I've got a Thomas Pynchon novel somewhere I got as a gift a long time ago, that you might appreciate. :lol:
Maybe we're just jaded, but your villainy is not particularly impressive. -Ennesby

If you know what you're doing, you're not learning anything. -Unknown
Sanity is the process by which you continually adjust your beliefs so they are predictively sound. -esr
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Netpackrat
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Netpackrat »

Finished a re-read of Last of the Breed the other night. Now on to Come and Take Them by Kratman, with Ringo's Live Free or Die on deck.
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JAG2955
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by JAG2955 »

I finished Children of Hurin. Very much so a Greek tragedy re writ into Middle Earth. If you're a fan of Tolkien, this is a relatively easy read and really fills in some of the early history of Middle Earth, especially on the man side.
toad
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by toad »

The thread about unusual people in the US military reminded me of the book, "You're stepping on my cloak and dagger"
http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Stepping-Cl ... and+dagger

After WWII ended and the author sought employment at an advertising agency, he was asked what he had learned in the military. Since he had been in the OSS he told them, IIRC, "I learned how to pick locks, break into safes, steal, lie, and be deceptive. Also how to train and lead others in the arts of killing and lying."
Years later when he got high enough in the agency to get a look at his personnel file he found the notation by this stating, "Hire this man. He's one of us!"
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Steamforger
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Steamforger »

toad wrote:I used to have a paper back on German fighter pilots and I think the title was "German Fighter Aces". One of the things that has stuck with me was the hatred of the B-17 bombers that they had. They found out the hard way that the best approach was head on and it was terrifying. The book had pages illustrating what the closing speed was like. You'd have just a dot at a minute out, and the bomber would get bigger and bigger faster and faster. Then there were all of those tracers coming at you. The fighter pilots had an unconscious tendency to slump and duck down in their seats. They felt that some newbies died because the had their eyes closed and collided with a bomber. One pilot said the Ami's cut back on the raids just a bit too soon. Fighter planes they had but they were losing too many pilots. One pilot said air to air combat against other fighters was a challenge, a thrill. Going against the bomber boxes was just hoping your luck didn't run out and trying not to piss yourself.
Interesting. Saburo Sakai noted in his book that climbing up to a B-17 from behind and below and putting 20mm into the bomb bay until the payload detonated was extremely effective and likely a much safer method of attack.
toad
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by toad »

IIRC in Saburo Saki's book he talks about the time he jumped what he thought was a group of Wildcats unfortunately by the time he realized they weren't (accounts differ on whether it was TBF's or SBD's but the US Navy is pretty sure it was a Dauntles Dive bomber) a rear gunner blew off his canopy, creased his skull and left him permanently blind in one eye. He had a hell of a trip back to his base and landing with out depth perception was tricky.
Greg
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Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Greg »

Just finished 'American Gun'. Rather enjoyed it, but I do have one obvious nit to pick. As iconic as the Thompson was, it was most definitely not the first submachine gun.

That would be the MP18, which set the pattern for what an SMG looked like for decades.
Maybe we're just jaded, but your villainy is not particularly impressive. -Ennesby

If you know what you're doing, you're not learning anything. -Unknown
Sanity is the process by which you continually adjust your beliefs so they are predictively sound. -esr
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