What Book Are You Reading?

Hi All,
Just started ‘Stephen King’s – The Tommy Knockers’ 1988 edition. While walking in the woods near the small town of Haven, Maine, Roberta (Bobbi) Anderson, a writer of Wild West-themed fiction, stumbles upon a metal object that turns out to be a protrusion of a long-buried alien spacecraft. Once exposed, the spacecraft begins to release an invisible gas into the atmosphere that gradually transforms people into beings similar to the aliens who populated the ship. The transformation, or “becoming,” provides them with a limited form of genius which makes them very inventive but does not provide any philosophical or ethical insight into their inventions. The spacecraft also prevents those affected by it from leaving town, provokes psychotic violence in some people, and causes the disappearance of a young boy, David Brown, whose older brother Hilly teleports him to the planet referred to as Altair 4 by the Havenites.

Three books in one but I enjoyed it over 500 pages….:eagerness:

Geoff.

Do you really believe those last eleven words? I would have thought that we are never allowed to forget it from one month to the next.

Hunting Eichmann by Neal Bascome…The story of how the Mosad (with help) found and abducted the infamous Nazi from Argentina in 1961.

It’s a newer book so has previously unknown details.

It also serves as a biography of Eichmann and as such should remind people of how the Jews suffered not that long ago…something that too many are all too willing to forget today.

Paul Cartledge’s Democracy. Dense and heavy going in parts but extremely interesting.

Currently re reading ‘Fifty Two years in the cockpit’ by ‘Jacko’ Jackson – Bk 1 and 2
Halfway through 2nd book and he has progressed from Halton Apprentice to Belslow Captain (via a great many aircraft types)

Jacko was a real Gent,and no where near as scary as he looked in later years 🙂

Hi All,
Two chapters into ‘ Irish Sagas & Folk Tales by Eileen O’Faolain. A collection of classic tales from the folklore of Ireland…….;)

Geoff.

Just been re reading ‘Adventures in Aviation’ by Kimball J Scribner
– He certainly had an unusual career,teaching himself to fly to solo in a cub at 16,became an airshow parachutist at 16 and developing a steerable canopy after breaking a car windscreen with his ribs at an airshow.He became a flying instructor before joining Pan American in 1941 – he eventually became chief pilot !
He was always a keen aerobatic pilot and at one time owned a P38 which he displayed,he was a keen glider pilot and flew large flying boats such as Coronado and Boeing 314 during WW2 🙂

Leave me out of this John. I know which side I am on. No fences for me.

“The Lost Continent”, Gavin Hewitt, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 978-1-444-76479-8. £20. 00

If you don’t know whether you’re IN or OUT or, you are a foot soldier in Bruce’s First Regiment of Fence Sitters, this book is for you. It has a connection with the BBC so, treat it with some scepticism. It describes the financial shenanigans taking place within Germany, France, Greece, Italy and Spain during the Great Euro Crisis – as yet unended.

One thing emerges for sure; Germany did not have to pursue European conquest during WW2. She had only to bide her time !

Definitely a book for everyone on this forum, especially the war film rivet counters

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Watching-War-Films-With-Dad/dp/0099580349

Al Murray, Watching War Films With Me Dad 🙂

Just finished The Comic Postcard in English Life and starting No Empty Chairs: The Short and Heroic Lives of the Young Aviators Who Fought and Died in the First World War.

Hi All,
Wow! my last book (Ref post 750) was a long 820 pages in between falling ill and only reading a couple of chapters a night before sleep took over a month to finish…..:D

Right then back to the next one the 2007 edition Biography of the worlds greatest test pilot ever – Wings On My Sleeve by the man himself Capt Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown RIP SIR.

Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany in 1939, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realizing he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve: and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else. He is the only man alive who has flown every major (and most minor) combat aircraft of the Second World War as well as all the early jets. Speaking perfect German, he went to Germany in 1945 to test the Nazi jets, interviewing (among others) Hermann Goering and Hanna Reitsch. He flew the suicidally dangerous Me 163 rocket plane, and tested the first British jets. He would have been the first man to break the sound barrier, except that the British government cancelled the programme and gave the technology to America. His naval career continues to this day, as he advises on the new aircraft carrier design for the Royal Navy. A living legend among aviation enthusiasts, his amazing life story deserves to be told in full — from crashing in front of Winston Churchill to unmasking a Neo-Nazi ring in the 1950s to his terrifying flights in primitive jets and rockets.

Geoff.

For any unaware that the Britain and the British Commonwealth fought the Japs in the Pacific as well as in Burma this book fills a gap. Slightly lurid title: “The Kamikazi Hunters”, Fighting for the Pacific, 1945, Will Iredale, ISBN 978-0-230-76819-2. £20. MacMillan.

It tells of the machinations of the American top brass to stop the British claiming any of the credit for defeat of the Japs in the Pacific campaign. It recounts the effort to put together a credible Pacific Fleet that would put an additional dent in Japanese confidence then, already at a low ebb as a consequence of the battering handed out by the Americans. Well worth the £20.

Re- reading Russell Remembered by Rupert Crawshay-Williams.

Golden Compass

I prefer books about fairy tales 🙂 like adventure and imaginary things.

I know this one from Hollywood movies, I wish there’s a sequel because the later story is so cool. Back to the point, I find the book and read them in my kindle, used to have kindle to watch dvd to kindle fire of mine till find these books.Next plan is The Graveyard Book from Neil Gaiman.

Neil is a great writer XD

Just finished David Howarth’s “Shetland Bus”, so will stay up there and from fact to fiction read a couple of Anne Cleves’, I think!

Mercedes, a massive two volume book on the marque.
The English-French-German text starts with a brief history and special sections on racing activities.

The majority of the book examines specific models from the 1890s to the late 90s. Again a brief history of the model is provided with several pages of large format photos.
A great book the world’s greatest auto.

“Taking a punt on my Life,” the autobiography of former Snooker player Willie Thorne. Had no idea until recently that gambling debts led him to attempt suicide.

The biography of President (1869 – 1877) and winning Civil War general U.S. Grant …U.S. Grant in War and Peace by Dr. H.W. Brands.

Very much a “non politician” (as opposed to the next general to become President, Eisenhower, who many see as more politician than general) he has suffered for a long time with a reputation as an indifferent President largely because of his less than ideal judgement in selecting cabinet officers and other appointees, I was impressed with his fighting for the civil rights for slaves in the immediate post war and slavery period as well as a very enlightened attitude towards native Americans.

He also had a very dry sense of humor which went largely unappreciated at the time. During his post White House tour of Europe he was asked what he thought about Venice. His reply “It would be a nice place if they could drain it.”

Much as we saw during the Bush administration, opposition papers and many European papers reported the quote as an example of dimness in order to make him look bad.

Hi All,
Just starting ‘The Ascendants Of Estorea Book.1. OF 2. – Cry Of The Newborn’ by James Barclay.

The Estorean Conquord has stood for 850 years. Its Advocate, Herine Del Aglios, knows that she presides over the greatest civilisation in history. But she wants more. And in Estorea’s recently conquered territories dissent is brewing. Forced to fight old friends and neighbours in the cause of the ever-growing Conquord, they face brutal choices and savage demands for money and men to be fed into Estorea’s wars – demands made by Paul Jhered, head of the Gatherers and the iron hand of the Advocate, With Jhered by her side, Herine believes that nothing can go wrong. Until a disastrous and bloody reversal in the war to overrun the Kingdom of Tsard puts Estorea’s armies on the back foot and has Tsardon troops flooding into the Conquord.

As the empire trembles, far from the war four unique children are discovering their powers. They are the first true Ascendants, in touch with the elements, able to shape the world. An empire descending into war is about to discover the wonder and terror of magic …

Geoff.