The History Book Club discussion
MY BOOKS AND I
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I AM LOOKING FOR A BOOK ON.........?
Mod
I am interested in reading a book on Vichy France and I thought I might start with 
by Robert O. PaxtonI am definitely more into books that approach history with a general audience in mind. Is this book like that? Also could someone recommend a book on Edward III. All I usually find is
by Ian MortimerI've read a couple of books by Mortimer and I think he is a good writer, but I'd like to get different takes on the subject from different writers. Thanks.
Hi Nadine,I have heard good things about this book although I have not read it myself: "France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944" by Julian Jackson.
by Julian Jackson"The French call them 'the Dark Years'... This definitive new history of Occupied France explores the myths and realities of four of the most divisive years in French history. Taking in ordinary people's experiences of defeat, collaboration, resistance, and liberation, it uncovers the conflicting memories of occupation which ensure that even today France continues to debate the legacy of the Vichy years."
Another book from a different angle is; "England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-42" by Colin Smith.
by Colin Smith"Most people think that England's last war with France involved point-blank broadsides from sailing ships and breastplated Napoleonic cavalry charging red-coated British infantry. But there was a much more recent conflict than this. Under the terms of its armistice with Nazi Germany, the unoccupied part of France and its substantial colonies were ruled from the spa town of Vichy by the government of Marshal Philip Petain. Between July 1940 and November 1942, while Britain was at war with Germany, Italy and ultimately Japan, it also fought land, sea and air battles with the considerable forces at the disposal of Petain's Vichy French. When the Royal Navy sank the French Fleet at Mers El-Kebir almost 1,300 French sailors died in what was the twentieth century's most one-sided sea battle. British casualties were nil. It is a wound that has still not healed, for undoubtedly these events are better remembered in France than in Britain. An embarrassment at the time, France's maritime massacre and the bitter, hard-fought campaigns that followed rarely make more than footnotes in accounts of Allied operations against Axis forces. Until now."
I am looking for a book on Swedish history. It can be a specific leader, a general history, the reason so many people immigrated to America . . . I know this is a very general request, but I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for yet. I'm wanting to learn more about the land my family came from.
Thanks Aussie Rick. The Dark Years looks really interesting. I will probably check both books out.
Mod
I have provided the link to the Amazon site which may be helpful for you.
http://www.amazon.com/Sweden-Enlarged...
by Franklin D. Scott
Thanks Bentley! I didn't even know where to begin with this - I never hear people talking about Swedish history.I also found
by Vilhelm Moberg. My father also told me about
by the same author. It's the 1st book in a volume of 4 historical fiction novels that is apparently very popular in Sweden & talks about its history. Because Vilhelm Moberg knows so much about Swedish history, the HF books may be very interesting/educational as well.
Nadine wrote: "Thanks Aussie Rick. The Dark Years looks really interesting. I will probably check both books out."Hi Nadine, I hope you enjoy which ever book you decide to read. I have a copy of "England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-42" by Colin Smith which I'm yet to read :)
by Colin Smith
Hmmm - I'll have to think about this some more. Thanks for your input Bentley.
Hello, I'm interested in finding some books (HF or Non-Fiction) about the Caliphate/Ottoman Empire. There are many about its decline or about Crusades, but I'm more interested in something about the culture that existed at the time, the science, law, and various accomplishments.Thank you in advance!
Mod
Are you familiar with it?
Here is the link:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/islam/...
Also, are you familiar with the following classic?
Patricia Crone
Nicole wrote: "Hello, I'm interested in finding some books (HF or Non-Fiction) about the Caliphate/Ottoman Empire. There are many about its decline or about Crusades, but I'm more interested in something about th..."Hi Nicole, you could try "The Court of the Caliphs: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty" by Hugh Kennedy.
by Hugh KennedyReviews:
“a remarkable narrative history of the Abbasids is...a major event and should be required reading for the Washington neocons and their Islamist theocon adversaries...[a] lively and compelling study.” - William Dalrymple (THE TIMES)
”Hugh Kennedy describes the procession of caliphs from the 8th to the 10th century, including a wealth of incidental detail that renders his book both an entertainment and a valuable source work.” - Geoff Simons (MORNING STAR)
”fabulous...[a] highly readable and exciting introduction to the 'glory days of the caliphate'...No fan of history will put this down unfinished.” - GOOD BOOK GUIDE
”This skilful and fascinating history of the regime steers the reader through a contradictory body of evidence: on one hand the professional historian's reticence, on the other, the racy harem stories that accreted to the Abassids...Kennedy guides us through this murky territory with intelligence and wit...This is one of the most rewarding books of history I've read this year.” - SB Kelly (SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY)
”a rewarding and enjoyable read...a commendable, necessary book.” - Hazhir Teimourian (LITERARY REVIEW)
”with the very first line the reader is hooked into this epic roller-coaster of a historical narrative which takes us through the nail-biting adventures of ten deperate generations of Abbasid Caliphs.” - Barnaby Rogerson
Liz-I have a good one, but it's in Swedish. That may not help you. I'm also reading one about Queen Christina,
by Veronica Buckley and it's pretty interesting. I know the University of Minnesota Press has a couple of good titles out about the Nordic countries too.Nicole- have you seen this one?
by John Balfour Kinross A friend of mine studies the Middle East and recommended it to me.
I have moved this post for a member, Fran:"Hi , im searching a very good biography of Otto Von Bismark with good description of the political ,historical and social context , any sugestions welcome ,Thanks a lot
Fran."
I have suggested:
"Bismarck" by Edward Crankshaw and first published in 1981.
Bismarck (no cover) by Edward Crankshaw
Any other suggestions?
I AM LOOKING FOR A BOOK ON.........? a good biography with good description ofsocial ,historical and political context thanks
Fran
Fran wrote: "I AM LOOKING FOR A BOOK ON.........? a good biography with good description ofsocial ,historical and political context thanks Fran"
For a diplomatic historical background, I can recommend
by Peter Alter (no photo).
Mod
Hi,
Thanks for the Welcome,
I'm having trouble with my computer and can't seem to compose a new message, so I'm using a reply to you to get a little help. I need help from the History Club picking a good book that covers just the presidents from Virginia.
A friend is need of a Christmas present and the above is his request.
Where, how , what path do I take to present this to the club? And, is that a fair use of the History Club?
Jim
Bentley wrote: "New member Jim needs some help and is also having trouble with his computer so we are posting this request for help here:Hi,
Thanks for the Welcome,
I'm having trouble with my computer and can'..."
Jim:
I'm unaware of one book on the 8 presidents, so you might need to get a brief book on each. I can help you out if you want to go in that direction.
I'd like to start by saying that if you know of a great Asian book - even if it doesn't fit anything I say below - suggest it anyway! I'm always open to a good book.But I'm here specifically to look for some good pieces covering Japan from WWII until the Korean War (not necessarily all in one book, just some good stuff from that timeframe). I prefer down-home literary to sweeping historical and would most like personal experiences of common people. Ideally, the stories would involve something of life during WWII, life after WWII, thoughts/experiences from/about Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the American Occupation, or foreign troops stationed there post-WWII through the Korean War. (Heck of a list, I know.) Fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't matter, as long as it stays true to the people and places depicted; also doesn't matter whether it's stark or lyrical, so long as it's reasonably honest (no happy endings required).
Also, if anyone has any suggestions about the Japanese in Korea prior to WWII (again, personal; fiction or non-fiction as long as accurate) I would be thrilled to. Thanks!
by Herbert P. Bix doesn't quite fit what you are looking for, but looks like a really good book nonetheless. Several of my friends who did Japanese studies enjoyed it.
Hi Waven,I could recommend two very good books, the first one I read many years ago, the second I haven't read:
by Haruko Taya CookPublishers blurb:
This groundbreaking work of oral history captures for the first time ever the remarkable story of ordinary Japanese people during World War II. In a sweeping panorama, Haruko Taya and Theodore Cook take us from the Japanese attacks on China in the 1930s to the Japanese homefront during the inhuman raids on Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, offering the first glimpses of how this century's most violent conflict affected the lives of the Japanese population. Japan At War is a monumental work of history--one to which Americans and Japanese will turn for decades to come.
Reviews:
"One of the essential books about World War II." - Philadelphia Inquirer
"Haunting voices from a dark, disgraceful past, which afford a stunning and revelatory panorama of Japan's WW II experience. Counting its aggressions in Manchuria and China, Japan (whose death toll exceeded three million) was in constant battle from 1931 through V-J Day. Cook and her husband (History/William Paterson College) spent nearly four years gathering reminiscences from dozens of ostensibly ordinary people who survived the lengthy conflict variously called the Pacific, Greater East Asia, or 15-Year War. Adding just enough background and big-picture perspectives to give coherence to first-person narratives, the authors largely allow their sources to speak for themselves. Among those willing to tell their typically grim stories are combat veterans of campaigns from Nanking to Okinawa; builders of the infamous Burma railway;, unrepentant officers; technicians who participated in barbarous medical experiments on POWs; journalists whose dispatches extolling "victories of the spirit" owed more to the military regime's police powers than to reality; cabaret dancers; diplomats; and home-front victims of America's incendiary as well as atom-bomb assaults. Also represented are troops who served with brutal occupation forces; the widow of a kamikaze pilot; conscripts trained as human torpedoes; Koreans dragooned into rear-area labor battalions; and those convicted of war crimes. About the only significant groups not included in the wide-ranging canvas are the industrialists who supplied an overmatched imperial war machine and members of resistance groups. Like its Axis partner, Japan tolerated no dissent and was able to command consensus support from an unquestioningly obedient populace that, notwithstanding the disclosures at hand, still appears capable of collective denial when it comes to assuming even regional responsibility for the horrors of a global conflagration. Oral history of a compellingly high order." - Kirkus Reviews
by John W. DowerReview:
"The writing of history doesn't get much better than this. MIT professor Dower (author of the NBCC Award-winning War Without Mercy) offers a dazzling political and social history of how postwar Japan evolved with stunning speed into a unique hybrid of Western innovation and Japanese tradition. The American occupation of Japan (1945-1952) saw the once fiercely militarist island nation transformed into a democracy constitutionally prohibited from deploying military forces abroad. The occupation was fraught with irony as Americans, motivated by what they saw as their Christian duty to uplift a barbarian race, attempted to impose democracy through autocratic military rule. Dower manages to convey the full extent of both American self-righteousness and visionary idealism. The first years of occupation saw the extension of rights to women, organized labor and other previously excluded groups. Later, the exigencies of the emergent Cold War led to American-backed "anti-Red" purges, pro-business policies and the partial reconstruction of the Japanese military. Dower demonstrates an impressive mastery of voluminous sources, both American and Japanese, and he deftly situates the political story within a rich cultural context. His digressions into Japanese cultureAhigh and low, elite and popularAare revealing and extremely well written. The book is most remarkable, however, for the way Dower judiciously explores the complex moral and political issues raised by America's effort to rebuild and refashion a defeated adversaryAand Japan's ambivalent response to that embrace." - Publishers Weekly
Rick, thank you. Japan At War sounds very interesting and just made my to-be-read list. Thanks again.Still open to other suggestions, as well, if anyone else thinks of anything.
You will find Waven that a lot of 'Aussie Ricks' books will make it on to your to-be- read list :)
Thanks for your vote of confidence Michael, I always worry about giving some one a bum steer :)
I am yet to find one 'Aussie Rick' you are a guru
I thoroughly enjoyed:
by Peter Galison (no photo).As far as great biography irrespective of subject, then you can't go wrong with:
by Edmund Morris.
I have enjoyed everything I've read by either Amir Aczel or David Lindley. Both are very good writers, in my opinion. The Aczel books are shorter, and the Lindley books are less biography and more science, but you may find something that your recipient might enjoy. Here are some of the ones I've read:
and
by
Amir D. Aczel
and
by David Lindley
My Italian grandfather fought in WWI as a soldier for the US somewhere in France. I am not certain of the time period or precise location in France, but I do know he was briefly exposed to mustard gas. He returned to the US and lived a full productive life. But I don't anything about what military action he might have seen. If one of you military/WWI buffs has a recommendation for something that might be relevant, I would be grateful. Thanks!
Hi Alisa, as a non American the one book that I found that really gave me a good overview of America's involvement in WW1 was; "The Last Days of Innocence: America at War, 1917-1918" by Meirion Harries.
by Meirion HarriesReview:
"A lively and persuasive history of America's experience in WW I, stressing the impact of that immense struggle on the nation's identity, by a prolific husband-and-wife writing team (Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army, 1992, etc.). America had assumed a crucial role in the war, the authors argue, long before a single American soldier reached the front lines. From 1914 on, America supplied the 'rifles, howitzers, shells' desperately needed by the hard-pressed Allies. American money propped up the depleted treasuries of the French and British; all told, they note, the US spent the staggering sum of $50 billion on the war effort. The swift arrival of hundreds of thousands of American troops blunted and then broke the last German offensive and decided the war's outcome. During their relatively short but ferocious time on the front, American forces, earning a reputation for reckless courage, suffered a quarter million casualties, including 50,000 dead. The authors spend roughly half the book describing the home front, including the long, bitter debate over entering the war, growing labor and social unrest, and a resulting massive growth of government powers. Their descriptions of these matters, and of the experience of American soldiers in battle, are handled with clarity and force. The British and French, determined to impose their terms on Germany, relentlessly downplayed America's contribution to the war, and undercut President Wilson's attempts to insure the peace. Many Americans, feeling that America had been manipulated and misled by her allies, turned away from Europe. At home, unrest had created 'wide rents . . . in the social fabric. . . . Rudely, the war had thrust Americans into the uncertain future of the twentieth century.' A sad, gripping account of one of the defining moments in our history." - Kirkus Reviews
For more about the soldiers themselves I could recommend either of the following titles;
by Gary MeadPublishers blurb:
More than three million American men, many of them volunteers, joined the A.E.F. in the first 20 months of US involvement in the First World War. Of these, over 50,000 were killed on European soil. These were the Doughboys, the young men recruited from the cities and farms of the United Sates, who travelled across the Atlantic to aid the allies in the trenches and on the battlefields. without their courage and determination, the outcome of the war would have been very different. Why did America become involved in the First World War? what was the fighting experience of the A.E.F. in France and Russia? most importantly, why has the vital contribution made by the Americans been largely neglected by historians of the great war? Drawing upon the often harrowing personal accounts of the soldiers of the A.E.F., this book establishes the pivotal role played by the Americans in the defeat of the central powers in November 1918. Gary Mead brings together a selection of archive material in an engaging account that is part military history, part social analysis and memoir. This book records the events of the war exclusively from the perspective of the United States, highlighting the crucial part played by the troops of the A.E.F. and exposing the prickly, often turbulent relationship between the American and the allied forces.
by Byron FarwellReview:
"Although breaking no new ground in research or interpretation, Farwell (Armies of the Raj, etc.) does a workmanlike job of narrating the WWI battles in which U.S. soldiers fought, thus providing a good summary of the relatively brief history of U.S. forces in the Great War. The very worst land battles of the war were fought by the French, British and Russians during the years of American neutrality (1914 through early 1917). In 1916, the French absorbed one million casualties at Verdun. In the same year, the British lost 66,000 men in just the first day of fighting at Passchendaele, Belgium; a million Russian soldiers died during Brusilov's breakthrough on the Eastern Front. In comparison, the total American casualties by the end of war in November 1918 were just 52,947 killed and 202,628 wounded in key fights such as the second battle of the Marne, the turning back of Ludendorff's troops at Soissons and the liberation of the hotly contested Saint-Milhiel salient. Pershing's doughboys also opened the Saint-Quentin Canal complex of the main Hindenburg Line, captured the bastion of Blanc Mont near Rheims and most importantly dove into the hell of the Meuse-Argonne front to forestall German retreat to the Rhine. Farwell's accounts of these engagements are accurate and well written." - Publishers Weekly
Another good book you could try Alisa although it's on a specific campaign that American soldiers fought in 1918 is Edward Lengel's book; "To Conquer Hell".
by Edward G. LengelEdward Lengel is a great author and is also a member of the HBC and he might be able to recommend a good title/s to assist as well.
Thank you SO MUCH. I marked them all, we'll see what I actually get to and when but good to know as I plan to find out more about where my grandfather fought.
Hi Alisa, I hope that at least one of them gives you a good feel for what your Grandfather went through in the service of his country.
Thanks Aussie Rick. Ironically, both of my grandfathers came to the US as young men from European countries (Italy and Germany), and both enlisted to fight in WWI and WWII on behalf of the US. My Italian grandfather fought in WWI in France. My German grandfather was a marine corp pilot and led a WWII squadron. My dad also fought in WWII, he was in the Navy on the USS Corregidor that saw action in the South Pacific.
Hi Alisa, your family has some very strong ties with the American military, you must be very proud!
I was wondering if any of you know of a comprehensive history of Australia or just Oceania in general if Australia isn't possible? I'd be much obliged.Also, I definitely borrowed this idea for the Green Group, so thanks!
Hi Kirsten,Strangely enough I don't read a lot of history on my own country but one book that I always recommend to anyone who wants to get an understanding of this country and its early history is "Fatal Shore" by Robert Hughes.
by Robert HughesPublishers blurb:
In 1787, the twenty-eighth year of the reign of King George III, the British Government sent a fleet to colonize Australia-An epic description of the brutal transportation of men, women and children out of Georgian Britain into a horrific penal system which was to be the precursor to the Gulag and was the origin of Australia. The Fatal Shore is the prize-winning, scholarly, brilliantly entertaining narrative that has given its true history to Australia.
Reviews:
“Popular history in the best sense…its attention to human detail and its commanding prose call to mind the best work of Barbara Tuchman.” - Washington Post
“With its mood and stature…The Fatal Shore is well on its way to becoming the standard opus on the convict years.” - Sydney Sunday Herald
“The Fatal Shore is a great achievement.” - Susan Sontag
“...an extraordinary and compelling book to read, one of fantastic scope and imagination; truly a tour de force.” - William Shawcross
“An extraordinary vivid yet authentic account of the birthpangs of a nation. A work of real distinction.” - Philip Ziegler
“Riveting.” - The Book Magazine
Another book on our early history is; "The Commonwealth of Thieves: The Story of the Founding of Australia" by Thomas Keneally.
by Thomas KeneallyFor a fun read you could also try; "Down Under" by Bill Bryson.
by Bill Bryson
Also a good book on early Australian history is 1788 by David Hill
by David HillProduct Description
Set against the backdrop of Georgian England with its peculiar mix of elegance, prosperity, progress, and squalor, the story of the First Fleet is one of courage, shortsightedness, tragedy, but above all, extraordinary resilience. Separated from loved ones and traveling in cramped conditions for the months-long journey to Botany Bay, the first European Australians suffered the most unbearable hardship upon arrival on Australian land, where a near famine dictated that rations be cut to the bone. Questions such as Why was the settlement of New South Wales proposed in the first place? and Who were the main players in a story that changed the world and ultimately forged the Australian nation? are answered using diaries, letters, and official records. Artfully reconstructing the experiences of these famous and infamous men and women of history, this book combines narrative skill with an eye for detail and an exceptional empathy with the people of the past.
Who can suggest to me books on the Vichy government in France during the war? Would much appreciate it.
Hi Nancy,I have heard good things about the following books although I have not read any of them myself to offer an opinion:
by Julian JacksonPublisher blurb:
"The French call them 'the Dark Years'... This definitive new history of Occupied France explores the myths and realities of four of the most divisive years in French history. Taking in ordinary people's experiences of defeat, collaboration, resistance, and liberation, it uncovers the conflicting memories of occupation which ensure that even today France continues to debate the legacy of the Vichy years."
by Robert GildeaReview:
"If there is one book on Vichy which people should read then this is surely it.' Michael Burleigh 'Excellent... a peculiarly rich book, enlightening about conscription, forced labour, the role of the Catholic Church, sex between German soldiers and French women ('horizontal collaboration') and much else' Frank McLynn, New Statesman 'Gildea's revisionist account is the most convincing and lucid that I have read. Rather as his Oxford colleague Roy Foster did for Irish history (when he rubbished the "400 years of national suffering" version that has had such disastrous consequences), Gildea has succeeded in giving us a startlingly original view of what we thought was a familiar period." - Patrick Marnham, (Sunday Telegraph)
by Ian OusbyPublishers blurb:
Defeat in 1940 left the French so chastened and demoralized that they readily supported the Vichy regime, committed not just to pragmatic collaberation but to finding scapegoats for the nation's disgrace. Jews, Communists, pre-war politicians from the Third Republic, school teachers and Freemasons all fell victim to a witch-hunt which left plenty of scope for private grudges as well. Resistance came late: de Gaulle's appeal in 1940 for France to continue to fight went largely unheard, and the Occupation was fourteen months old before the first German soldier was killed by resistants. The public mood changed only as the Reicht's original correctness gave way to brutality and as events outside France prefigured possible German defeat. Even as Liberation approached, resistance was still local, small-scale and divided, never the mass army of later myth. Different visions of who should inherit France complicated the persuit of collaberators and foreshadowed the chaos of post-war politics.
Review:
"A brilliantly written book, the first history - social and cultural as well as political and military - of the Occupation to be published in English for the general reader." - INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY.
Thanks so much. A good place to start.
Hi Nancy, I hope you find a decent book on Vichy France, another title which I have but am yet to read that covers a somewhat different aspect than the books above is; "England's Last War Against France: Fighting Vichy 1940-42" by Colin Smith.
by Colin SmithPublishers blurb:
Most people think that England's last war with France involved point-blank broadsides from sailing ships and breastplated Napoleonic cavalry charging red-coated British infantry. But there was a much more recent conflict than this. Under the terms of its armistice with Nazi Germany, the unoccupied part of France and its substantial colonies were ruled from the spa town of Vichy by the government of Marshal Philip Petain. Between July 1940 and November 1942, while Britain was at war with Germany, Italy and ultimately Japan, it also fought land, sea and air battles with the considerable forces at the disposal of Petain's Vichy French. When the Royal Navy sank the French Fleet at Mers El-Kebir almost 1,300 French sailors died in what was the twentieth century's most one-sided sea battle. British casualties were nil. It is a wound that has still not healed, for undoubtedly these events are better remembered in France than in Britain. An embarrassment at the time, France's maritime massacre and the bitter, hard-fought campaigns that followed rarely make more than footnotes in accounts of Allied operations against Axis forces. Until now.
Reviews:
“Smith describes unfamiliar battles with notable fluency and skill. “ Max Hastings (SUNDAY TIMES)
”Riveting.” - Robert Fisk (INDEPENDENT)
"his descriptions of these obscure battlefield encounters are thrilling and his narrative is spruce and peppery." - Christopher Silvester (DAILY TELEGRAPH)
"a narrative of war that has much of Patrick O'Brian about it." - Carmen Callil (GUARDIAN)
"excellent account of a woefully understudied 'war within a war'...Astonishingly, this is the first book" - Andrew Roberts (LITERARY REVIEW)
"Smith's considerable achievement is to unmask the reality and make us understand this painful period far better than ever before." - (CATHOLIC HERALD)
"a classic on the conflict with Hitlers Vichy allies... a superb book on an astonishing array of long-buried incidents." - (OXFORD TIMES)
"Colin Smith's light yet detailed touch superbly outlines a wasteful and depressing story... A quality read with many political and military twists and turns." - (SOLDIER MAGAZINE)
Can anyone recommend a good biography of George Marshall?Don't know when I would have time - but I will want to get to one
Vince wrote: "Can anyone recommend a good biography of George Marshall?Don't know when I would have time - but I will want to get to one"
Hi Vince,
Although he is a most interesting man I have not read anything on George Marshall but I have heard good things about these two books:
by Mark A. Stoler
by Ed CrayReview:
"This is the first one-volume portrait of Marshall (1880-1959), FDR's wartime chief of staff, who raised an army of nearly seven million, was the principal architect of Allied victory, and did much to shape the postwar world as secretary of state and secretary of defense under Truman. Cray's stirring narrative traces Marshall's apparently selfless career under 10 presidents, and shows that during the 1940s he was the most powerful figure in government after the president. An austere and forbidding man, he had a tender side as well,, which Cray, history professor at the University of Southern California, brings into focus. In this well-balanced biography Marshall emerges as a person of integrity, nobility and greatness, both of vision and of character." - Publishers Weekly
Thanks much Aussie RickI have noted them - I have to see how I cope with my other reading ambitions too.
I have been watching a Teaching Company course on video of WW II and he keeps being "revered" by FDR- and that is just up to and during the war.
I learned that during the 30's the military experienced pay cuts - I am sometimes amazed that they/we kept men like Patton, Eisenhower, Marshall in the service.
The course is the 30 lecture course by Thomas Childers and pretty good. - 4.5 stars in Goodreads terms
Vince wrote: "Can anyone recommend a good biography of George Marshall?Don't know when I would have time - but I will want to get to one"
The standard biography on Marshall is the multi-volume work by Forrest C. Pogue:
George C Marshall: Ordeal and Hope, 1939-1943: 2
Georg C Marshall: Organizer of Victory, 1943-1945: 3
George C. Marshall: Statesman 1945-1959
I picked them up at the Marshall museum in Lexington, VA. I read the first one and it was good.
The History Book Club
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No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (other topics)
Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady (other topics)
Churchill's gentlemen gangsters (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Giles Milton (other topics)
Susan Quinn (other topics)
Max Hastings (other topics)
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Bentley, belated thanks to you, 'Aussie Rick', and Alisa for the lengthy list of recommendations!
PS: I wasn't looking for something for me to read. Rather, for an aviation buff's birthday gift (and there'll be plenty for a Christmas gift and NEXT birthday, and on and on, judging from the size of the list!). Thanks!