Some interesting Reads

[[GG] Lord Ashram]

Well, having just gotten back from a week on vacation with no TV, no computers, and no phones, I got some good reading done! Thought I would share them here:)

First, "The Battle: A New History of Waterloo," by Alessandro Barbero, translated by John Cullen: Very much in the mold of John Keegan, "The Battle" is a VERY readable recount of the battle of Waterloo, broken down into its individual actions. A bit of prehistory, and bit of consequences, and a whole lot of battle detail, including some very nicely woven in first hand accounts. Overall the finest 'battle overview' book I have read of any era; one of the finest history texts I have had the pleasure to come across.

Second, "1776," by the Pulitzer winning David McCullough: From Boston to New York, a recounting of the American Revolution during this important year. Very nice personal bits on Washington, Knox, and Greene, with a TON of first person material, but I didn't think as interesting or as fun a read as "The Battle." But still rather good.

Finally, "The Killer Angels." A real classic, I know everyone else has read it and I am WAY behind the times. Very good account, historical fiction, of the battle of Gettysburg, focusing on some of the top CSA commanders (Lee, Longstreet) and only one Union officer (Chamberlin, commander of the 20th Maine.) Excellent read (albeit a VERY quick read) which nicely emphasizes how totally exhausted each and every soldier was by that point of the war. Good stuff.

So a trio of war books (with some David Sedaris and Nick Hornby in between; skip Hornby's latest, btw, it wasn't very good) to get me motivated!

Ash