War on the Mind: The Military Uses and Abuses of Psychology, excellent read.Thought provoking & certainly debunked many of the myths I had come to believe in regarding Psyops.

War of the Rats by David L Robbins about the sniper duel in Stalingrad, much better than the derivative film

Bomber by Len Deighton, told from the points of view of the bomber force and the civilians of the little Ruhr town obliterated one night in a targetting error.

Just finishing "A Crowd Is Not Company" by Robert Kee. Very good read. Hampden pilot shot down by flak over the Dutch islands. An account of his years behind the wire, one escape (he made it to Berlin), and the last wlak out.

On the basis of posts above, ordered Silk & Cyanide, but did not arrive before Christmas. B....r

Happy reading.

woptb
Do you have an ISBN for that book please. I have looked on amazon, but that
title did not appear.

Just taken out 'Eighth Air Force' by Donald Miller, from the library. This book may have been mentioned earlier but it's proving to be a very good read. Probably the definitive history of the 'Mighty Eighth' during WWII.

Or if you can get it, the recording from the BBC when they adapted the book into a series of plays which were broadcast through out the day - at the times the parts of the book would have happened.

2 good Canadian books -"A Thousand Shall Fall"by Murray Peden ( Bomber Command )
Terror in the Starboard Seat by ??? ( Mosquito Intruder Ops )

I am not home right now so can not quote better info.

The Corvette Navy by James B Lamb, Blue Skies by Bill Olmstead,In for a Penny, In for a Pound, by Howard Hewer, Black Crosses of my Wingtip, by I F Kennedy, all are Canadians in for the "duration", all were outstanding in their fields and bring a perspective to the war far removed from the official histories. Merry Christmas from this side of the pond!

I picked up "The Junior Officer's Reading Club" by Patrick Hennessey the other day in 'a well-known bookshop chain' store and it's actually really good - it describes the author's experiences of Sandhurst, the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan - all since 2004... someone obviously picked up quite a few air miles!

Thought, I'd re-kindle this great thread by adding one of my favourite aviation books:

Yeager: An autobiography - Chuck Yeager

Must have read this a dozen times and each time it is as thrilling, compelling and mystifying as the last.

Yeager is many things: a hooligan ("buzzing" his house on regular occasions),a redneck and a hero but above all else, a damn good pilot.

Even without his greatest accomplishment of breaking the sound barrier the man would still to this day be a legend and his stories through-out WWII and beyond make for a must have!

Managed to read a few other military books over xmas but I believe they belong in the " A piss poor military read" thread along with the Band of Brothers.

Tongue firmly in cheek,

Scotteo

I've almost finished reading "Having been a Soldier" by Lt Col Colin "Mad Mitch" Mitchell. An excellent insight into the early post-war counter-insurgent operations of the British Army. Liked the bits about his tour at the M.O.D. and his take on his boss in Aden, Major General Philip Tower.

FB:ok:

"Serenade to the Big Bird' by Bert Stiles. Account of a B-17 bomber pilot operating from UK in WW2. Excellent read.

The Ravens by Christopher Robbins, ISBN 0-517-56612-5, is a riveting read about the secret war in Laos, flying around the clock against some of the heaviest anti-aircraft fire in the world.
A good novel about the air war over Vietnam is Cadillac Flight by Marshall Harrison. ISBN 0-89141-401-0 :ok:

Robin Olds
 

It's not yet on sale in the UK, but the latest in the line of books entitled Fighter Pilot promises to be a good read. It was reviewed in the Wall Street Journal like this: Book Review: Fighter Pilot - WSJ.com , which sounds pretty good. But that doesn't mention his time as OC 1(F) Sqn, or what exactly was going on when a supersonic Thud blew out the windows of the chapel of the USAF Academy the day before Robin Olds retired as Commander.

I look forward to reading the book.

Legionnaire: Five Years in the French Foreign Legion by Simon Murray


19 year old kid joins in 1960, serves in Algeria, including through the mutiny. Brutal stuff.

Flying Under Two Flags
 

Has anyone ( inc' self a lot earlier ?! ) mentioned this book ?

By Gordon Levatt, who grew up in very rough circumstances to fly Spitfires for the RAF in WWII, then shortly after helped the initial forming of the Israeli Air Force.

Some very 'interesting' experiences flying clapped out overweight freighters, and any fighter they could get by any means, some highly dubious !

The flight line consisted of Spitfires and ME109's ( for once this is correct as they were late models rather than BF's ) alongside each other, and the RAF became a semi-enemy as Levatt and his chums ran the blockade.

Brilliant, well written and it seems very underestimated.

I don't have the ISBN to hand but could find it in the attic if necessary, do give it a try ! :ok:

I second this recommendation, his early description of the 'peacetime' existence of a junior infantry officer is spot on.

The section on AFG covers the same period as 'Attack State Red' and is a good complement to that book.

EG

I have bought Yeager's autobiography on the strength of Scotteo's post. Half way through and it's a great read. Yeager clearly has a very uncompromising character.

I'm sure he got on the wrong side of many people..but didn't care a jot!

Just read 'Attack State Red' by Colonel Richard Kemp and Chris Hughes - excellent account of the Royal Anglians' time in Afghanistan in 2007.

The 'Friendly Fire' incident that was the subject of the Coroners Inquest in Trowbridge this week is featured :(

I have just trawled through all of the pages of this thread and found that I have read most of the books, as distinct from novels, mentioned. I have always enjoyed military themed books, probably due to the vicarious thrills they offered until I picked up a second-hand book in a shop in Alice Springs, Australia.

It was The Scars Of War by Hugh McManners. His book on the Falklands Island conflict has already been mentioned in this thread. This book, which uses the Falklands and first Gulf war as its models, starts off by describing the differences between the peace and war time military. It describes the differing psyche between the forces and then it describes, in detail the physical and mental impact of war.

It is brutal to say the least. To read what a high-velocity round does to human flesh will totally alter the way you view movies. His description of triage procedures is haunting. The description of PTSD and the higher echelons attempts to ignore the problem is depressing.

It should be read. Firstly, it makes you realise that not all soldiers have glorious campaigns and secondly, it will make you appreciate the more the efforts being made to rehabilitate those who are the unfortunate victims of war.