Whatcha reading redux.

Everything cultural, pop or otherwise. Books, movies, music, comics, poetry, random cultural geekery.
Post Reply
User avatar
Netpackrat
Posts: 13983
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:04 pm

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Netpackrat »

Man-Kzin Wars XI
Cognosce teipsum et disce pati

"People come and go in our lives, especially the online ones. Some leave a fond memory, and some a bad taste." -Aesop
User avatar
HTRN
Posts: 12397
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:05 am

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by HTRN »

Netpackrat wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2020 12:06 pm Man-Kzin Wars XI
I wish they'd rerelease them as sets..
HTRN, I would tell you that you are an evil fucker, but you probably get that a lot ~ Netpackrat

Describing what HTRN does as "antics" is like describing the wreck of the Titanic as "a minor boating incident" ~ First Shirt
John_in_Longview
Posts: 499
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:30 pm

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by John_in_Longview »

Two books about the Vietnam War: Rice Patty Grunt by John M.G. Brown and The Raid by Benjamin Schemmer.

Rice Patty Grunt is the pretty standard this-is-what-my-combat-tours-were-like book.

The Raid concerns the raid on the Son Tay prisoner of war camp located 23 miles from Hanoi. The majority of the book is about the planning phases of the raid. There are about 10 pages on the actual raid, with the remainder of the book dealing witht the aftermath.
User avatar
randy
Posts: 8334
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:33 pm
Location: EM79VQ

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by randy »

I got The Raid in college. My buddy was ex-SF, but came in around 75. Trained under and knew several of the Son Tay Raiders. Pointed them out in the pictures of my copy. Schemmer apparently got it right, but the book does not have some details which were not for public distribution (in the early 80s. Some more information may have been released since then).
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
TheArmsman
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:59 pm

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by TheArmsman »

randy wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 5:25 am I got The Raid in college. My buddy was ex-SF, but came in around 75. Trained under and knew several of the Son Tay Raiders. Pointed them out in the pictures of my copy. Schemmer apparently got it right, but the book does not have some details which were not for public distribution (in the early 80s. Some more information may have been released since then).
Was Son-Tay burned, or just a series of extremely unfortunate events. Keep seeing reports of yes it was, and not it was not. :(
When death is inevitable, style counts.

Survival trumps programming.
User avatar
randy
Posts: 8334
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:33 pm
Location: EM79VQ

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by randy »

I've never seen credible evidence it was burned. And given the damage the raiders did to a couple of facilities, and stacking the bodies of many foreign "advisors" at the "school" next door, I tend to no.

If it had been compromised the NVA would have done more than just move the prisoners. They would have gotten the advisors out there as well and set up a fire trap for the raiders. As it is, they went in, kicked ass, and got out without any serious casualties and only leaving behind the helicopter which was designated to be crashed into the compound,

No one I've ever talked to, nor any credible source I have read, has ever expressed any doubts they would have brought the POWs home if they had been there.

I've seen speculation it was compromised that seems based primarily on the fact the POWs weren't there. I don't think those folks understand that in the real world Murphy has an input to every operation, and you can do everything right and still not succeed. Sometimes shit happens.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
TheArmsman
Posts: 545
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:59 pm

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by TheArmsman »

Thank you.
When death is inevitable, style counts.

Survival trumps programming.
User avatar
Weetabix
Posts: 6106
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:04 pm

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by Weetabix »

Rereading Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
User avatar
MiddleAgedKen
Posts: 2871
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:11 pm
Location: Flyover Country

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by MiddleAgedKen »

Almost finished with C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce and most of the way through E.E. "Doc" Smith's Triplanetary. Amazon has high-quality Kindle editions of the Lensman books for 99 cents a throw right now -- I grabbed the first three and will probably get the others this weekend.
Shop at Traitor Joe's: Just 10% to the Big Guy gets you the whole store and everything in it!
John_in_Longview
Posts: 499
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 6:30 pm

Re: Whatcha reading redux.

Post by John_in_Longview »

I had just started The Sea-Wolf, when it was stolen out of my truck along with the backpack which contained it. There was a Bible in there a well, so hopefully one the thieves reads it.....
Post Reply