Books We Read/Listen To

[USS Utah]

The Tenth Fleet by Ladislas Farago

In the early spring of 1943, the Battle of the Atlantic shifted from the coastal areas of the United States -- where in the previous year a Pearl Harbor of the east, a disaster few Americans have understood, occurred -- back to the convoy routes to Britain. Everywhere the war had turned against the Axis powers, everywhere, that is, except in the Atlantic, where a new U-boat offensive put victory for the allies once again in doubt. Yet within a matter of months the Battle of the Atlantic would turn irrevocably against the German U-boats. This is the backdrop for a fantastic book about the U.S. Tenth Fleet, a fleet without ships, which was organized to fight U-boats in the Atlantic. Admiral Ernest J. King, COMINCH and CNO, created the Tenth Fleet with four major points dominating all his considerations:

1. Antisubmarine warfare needed a commander of the highest rank whose prestige and influence would be paramount and who could make his decisions prevail. The first commander of the Tenth Fleet would be none other than King himself.
2. The organization King had in mind would have no ships of its own, but would have recourse to every vessel of the U.S. Navy with inherent and explicit power to commandeer whatever forces when and where needed for ASW operations.
3. It had to be a small organization with assured and easy access to any and all agencies of the Navy, and especially to the various existing intelligence services and their resources.
4. It had to have the status of a fleet, partly to simplify its personnel and administrative structure in a headquarters-type organization, partly to function along operational lines, and mainly to be able to use the channels of fleet communications.

Ladislas Farago had a tengential connection to the Tenth Fleet and the Battle of the Atlantic as he worked as a civilian -- recently emigrated from Hungry -- in the Office of Naval Intelligence's propaganda section (OP-16-W). Farago is a master of the subject here and his writing is excellent. Farago would go on to write two books about U.S. Army General George S. Patton, Ordeal and Triumph (which I read a number of years ago and greatly enjoyed) and The Last Days of Patton.

[happyone]

Finished Dog Company - good look at small unit actions ala Band of Brothers. Mr. O'Donnell follows D/2nd Ranger BN from it formation in Tennessee thru to the end of the war. He includes there major battles - Pointe Du Hoc (subject of Pres Reagans speech in 1984), the liberation of Brest, and Hill 400 in the Hurtgen Forest. They took incredible casualties during that stretch of combat. After PDH there were less the 15 men who where not casualties (Killed/Wounded/Missing), Hill 400 was the same. He does not sugar coat these men or make out to be super soldiers.

Mr. O'Donnell has a very readable writing style - almost novelistic (is that a word?)

I highly recommend this

currently reading something a little lighter - Ruth Donwie's newest Medicus mystery set in Roman Britain

http://www.amazon.com/Semper-Fidelis...ds=ruth+downie

[USS Utah]

American Aces by Edward H. Sims

"Of all the tasks assigned to on man in World War II," wrote Sims, "none compare to the job of handling a fighter, in terms of co-ordination, mental alertness, split-second timing, mastery of technical detail, skill, courage, and judgement." In American Aces, Sims writes about the most exciting missions of 12 of the top U.S. Army Air Forces fighter pilots of WWII -- not necessarily their greatest or highest scoring missions, but rather their most memorable. Sims, who was a fighter pilot himself during the war, earning six Air Medals, puts the reader in the cockpit and gives them a wild ride. Fantastic!

There is a companion book for Navy and Marine fighter pilots, Greatest Fighter Missions, which is also fantastic.

[happyone]

Just finished Douglas Waller's biography of William Donovan

http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Bill-Dono...d+bill+donovan

Solid biography, Mr. Waller doesn't whitewash Wild Bill. The Donovan that Mr. Waller presents is a flawed man. He is an indifferent manager/administrator, but a superb leader. His personal life is a mess as is his finances.

It is also a good look at the creation of the OSS and its operations in WW II. He does a good job covering the bureaucratic infighting that accompied the creation of the OSS and throughout its existance. J. Edgar Hoover particularly comes off poorly.

[pangloss]

Just finished Douglas Waller's biography of William Donovan

http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Bill-Dono...d+bill+donovan

Solid biography, Mr. Waller doesn't whitewash Wild Bill. The Donovan that Mr. Waller presents is a flawed man. He is an indifferent manager/administrator, but a superb leader. His personal life is a mess as is his finances.

It is also a good look at the creation of the OSS and its operations in WW II. He does a good job covering the bureaucratic infighting that accompied the creation of the OSS and throughout its existance. J. Edgar Hoover particularly comes off poorly.

I read "Wild Bill..." a couple months ago -- you're right, it's excellent and fascinating. Donovan is one of those heroes who is not known well enough. His contribution to history is less well known than that of Allan Dulles, for example, but should be more highly valued (IMHO).

One of my professors in business school at the U was Dr. James Gardner. His obituary doesn't mention it, but he was in the OSS in China during WWII. He was a wonderful man - brilliant, successful, caring and pleasant.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/Des...78#fbLoggedOut

[LA Ute]

I read "Wild Bill..." a couple months ago -- you're right, it's excellent and fascinating. Donovan is one of those heroes who is not known well enough. His contribution to history is less well known than that of Allan Dulles, for example, but should be more highly valued (IMHO).

One of my professors in business school at the U was Dr. James Gardner. His obituary doesn't mention it, but he was in the OSS in China during WWII. He was a wonderful man - brilliant, successful, caring and pleasant.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/Des...78#fbLoggedOut

Dr. Gardner was a wonderful guy. I interacted with him constantly during my stint in student government and enjoyed every minute of it. Something tells me he'd be happy to pass away while playing golf. Good for him.

[USS Utah]

The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway by John B. Lundstrom

An excellent book about U.S. carrier operations during the first six months of the war. The primary focus is on the fighter squadrons and their actions, but the secondary focus on other facets of carrier operations is good. The author chose to focus on the fighters because he believed the dive and torpedo bombers had been well covered (I have to disagree regarding the torpedo bombers, at least before the Coral Sea and Midway battles).

[LA Ute]

Finished Dog Company - good look at small unit actions ala Band of Brothers. Mr. O'Donnell follows D/2nd Ranger BN from it formation in Tennessee thru to the end of the war. He includes there major battles - Pointe Du Hoc (subject of Pres Reagans speech in 1984), the liberation of Brest, and Hill 400 in the Hurtgen Forest. The took incredible casualties during that stretch of combat. After PDH there were less the 15 men who where not casualties (Killed/Wounded/Missing), Hill 400 was the same. He does not sugar coat these men or make out to be super soldiers.

Mr. O'Donnell has a very readable writing style - almost novelistic (is that a word?)

I highly recommend this

currently reading something a little lighter - Ruth Donwie's newest Medicus mystery set in Roman Britain

http://www.amazon.com/Semper-Fidelis...ds=ruth+downie

This is a different book than the one I thought you were reading. Did the author cover the success of the mission? The movie "The Longest Day" depicted it as a failure, with the men discovering no guns when they finally got to the top. In fact, there were large artillery emplacements there and the Rangers destroyed them. The movie did "the boys of Pointe du Hoc" a great injustice.

[happyone]

This is a different book than the one I thought you were reading. Did the author cover the success of the mission? The movie "The Longest Day" depicted it as a failure, with the men discovering no guns when they finally got to the top. In fact, there were large artillery emplacements there and the Rangers destroyed them. The movie did "the boys of Pointe du Hoc" a great injustice.

Yes he does. The guns were not in the emplacements, but a few hundred yards away. The rangers found them and destroyed them. The story of the capture of the battery at Brest was probably my favorite. The Rangers basically bluffed the German commander to surrendering it.

[USS Utah]

Fallon by Louis L'Amour

Macon Fallon leads some settlers to an abandoned mining town in Nevada with the intent of passing it off as a good prospect for gold. His goal is to raise a good deal of money before leaving for San Francisco, but to his surprise he finds himself becoming attached to the town as a real-life community takes shape. When a band of outlaws threatens the town, Fallon might find himself risking his life to defend it.

Excellent!

[Jarid in Cedar]

Fallon by Louis L'Amour

Macon Fallon leads some settlers to an abandoned mining town in Nevada with the intent of passing it off as a good prospect for gold. His goal is to raise a good deal of money before leaving for San Francisco, but to his surprise he finds himself becoming attached to the town as a real-life community takes shape. When a band of outlaws threatens the town, Fallon might find himself risking his life to defend it.

Excellent!

Heh. I Remember reading this one in 7th grade.

[USS Utah]

Heh. I Remember reading this one in 7th grade.

Yeah, I started reading L'Amour in jr. high, but moved on to military/tecno thrillers as well was WWII nonfiction. I enjoyed the L'Amour books I had read and in recent years wondered why I stopped. So I've read a few in the last couple of years and enjoyed them.

My favorites of the few L'Amour novels I have read are Chancy, Milo Talon, Borden Chantry, Westward the Tide, Conagher and Dark Canyon.