Break Out Area Showing 351-400 of 2,602

[Tionne]

:-)

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

LOL - Not!

:)

[[deleted user]]

You mods have become quite intimidating all of the sudden. That big brown bar is scary.;)

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Don't know where that come from Derek but you know we don't bite :)

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

I'd rather be without it Derek it just appeared one day :(

[Manray9]

In the U.S. there has been considerable media attention to the success of the recent live TV broadcast of ‘The Sound of Music.” The broadcast drew over 18 million viewers to the musical version of the later life of Georg von Trapp and his family. Long before the time depicted in the musical, von Trapp was a successful commander of U-boats for the Austro-Hungarian navy in World War I. His personal account of his days as a U-boat commander is well-written and offers a fascinating glimpse into a little-known aspect of the war.

To the Last Salute by Georg von Trapp.

You may be familiar with the first-rate series of historical novels by John Biggins about the fictional Austro-Hungarian naval officer, Otto Prohaska. Biggins relies heavily on von Trapp’s memoirs for those portions of his novels dealing with U-boat ops in the Adriatic and Med. Biggins’ books are captivating and funny.

The Two-Headed Eagle.

The Emperor's Coloured Coat.

A Sailor of Austria.

Tomorrow the World.

I recommend them all.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

I enjoyed Mr Biggins' books some years ago and readily second Manray9's recommendation.

[happy]

I would like to wish a Merry Christmas everyone who frequents this little corner of the internet - may you recieve all the books on your wish list!

[Charles]

Merry Christmas all!

In other news, Mikhail Kalashnikov's died:
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-...

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Best wishes to all members and hopefully you are where you want to be with your friends and relations.

[Manray9]

Geevee wrote: "Best wishes to all members and hopefully you are where you want to be with your friends and relations."

Best wishes to you and yours too. One year ago my son was at FOB Hadrian in Uruzgan, Afghanistan. Now he is safe at Ft. Stewart, Georgia. It has been a good year for us. Maybe next Christmas, all the troops will be home -- making 2014 an even better year for many.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

That is nice you have your son home, and something as a service family that won't be lost on you how precious that time is- sadly a Royal Engineer was killed by enemy fire on Monday :(

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

That's sad news Geevee.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Christmas Day 'down under', just about to wake the family and see what Santa has left :)

Merry Christmas to all the group members, may you all have a lovely day with family & friends.

[Liam]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Christmas Day 'down under', just about to wake the family and see what Santa has left :)

Merry Christmas to all the group members, may you all have a lovely day with family & friends."



Yes, Merry Christmas everyone! Not for the first time, I am in full agreement with Aussie Rick. As many of you are aware, I have been mostly absent from the various discussions here for some time, for reasons which are no doubt fairly obvious. Hopefully, as the new year unfolds, I will again have more time to enjoy our amazing Goodreads community... Until then, best wishes to all of you & yours!

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Liam, I hope you have a great day and your renovations are going well, take care and all the best for 2014!

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Liam wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Christmas Day 'down under', just about to wake the family and see what Santa has left :)

Merry Christmas to all the group members, may you all have a lovely day with family &..."

Good to hear from you Liam and check in again soon.

[Lilo]

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you. -- It is 6:30 p.m. here in Utah, and I'll leave the computer now to celebrate Christmas Eve.

[Boudewijn]

Hi everybody, from the Netherlands, I wish everybody a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[happy]

Liam

Good to hear from you and all the best for the new year!

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Bou, Merry Christmas and all the best for 2014!

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Hi Bou, Merry Christmas and all the best for 2014!"

Merry Christmas to all and may you have wonderful times with the family and friends (and maybe a good book or two under the tree) .

[Manray9]

Another rewarding aspect of Goodreads is better tracking of past reading. Until I joined, I didn't realize I read so much. The book started this evening, Richard Holmes' "Redcoat," won't be finished by Jan. 1st, so my total for 2013 looks like it will be 73 books read.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

That's a good result Manray9 and Redcoat by Richard Holmes is an excellent book to finish the year off with!

[Manray9]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "That's a good result Manray9 and Redcoat by Richard Holmes is an excellent book to finish the year off with!"

I had 71 last year -- my first full year in GR.

I much enjoyed Richard Holmes'--

Riding the Retreat

Sahib: The British Soldier in India

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Read the second book but not the first although I recently acquired a copy :)

[Manray9]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Read the second book but not the first although I recently acquired a copy :)"

Related to "Sahib," did Aussies serve in India other than during WW I or WW II?

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Not that I am aware, never as a contingent as such but maybe a few as individuals within British regiments that were stationed in Australia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial...

We sent some to the Sudan in the 1880's

http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/sudan.asp

[Manray9]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Not that I am aware, never as a contingent as such but maybe a few as individuals within British regiments that were stationed in Australia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial......"

Interesting. I knew about the Boer War (I've seen "Breaker Morant"), but not the Sudan.

I noted your comment from another group about Jomini. He was very influential in American military circles prior to our Civil War. Any formally-trained officer, either Confederate or Federal, would have read Jomini's works.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

We also had troops with the relief forces in the Boxer Rebellion (navy gunners I think).

I have read about Jomini but not read his book as such, if I can find a cheap copy I may grab it for my library.

[Boudewijn]

I know some off you are interested in Napoleon as well, so I would like to share you an interesting discussion on Reddit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Thanks for the link Bou, I will have to take some time to sit back and read all the posts!

[Lilo]

HAPPY NEW YEAR, guys. Don't get too drunk. :-)

[carl]

Define 'too'.

[happy]

Happy New Year to all :)

[Lilo]

carl wrote: "Define 'too'."

As long as you still know your name, recognize your wife, can stand straight, and don't strip naked in public, you should be o.k. "Too" is beyond this. :-)

P.S. You might also want try to avoid telling dirty jokes to your boss's wife.

[Mike, Assisting Moderator US Forces]

Yes, that is a good definition of "too"!

[carl]

ok i managed not to 'too', though
it wasn't as much fun.

[Manray9]

I just watched the PBS Nova program about zeppelins and the terror raids on England in WW I. It was very interesting. In the U.S. it will be broadcast several more times over the next week or so.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Sounds like a interesting documentary, I've read a few good books on the subject and I think I have one more waiting for me in the library :)

[carl]

Manray9 wrote: "I just watched the PBS Nova program about zeppelins and the terror raids on England in WW I. It was very interesting. In the U.S. it will be broadcast several more times over the next week or so."

does look good, got it on the DVR.

[Manray9]

I notice some of our group, like me, have flagged as TBR:

July 1914: Countdown to War by Sean McMeeking

The newest issue of NY Review of Books has a laudatory review (I think you can read this without subscription):

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archi...

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Thanks Manray9.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Thanks Manray9, that's an excellent review of books of which I have these to read: The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 by Margaret MacMillan, July 1914: Countdown to War by Sean McMeekin, and; The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark. I have to read one of these next month but I have no idea which one to start with!

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

I have decided that I will read something like these in August and then one in October/November to coincide with the early Western Front campaign prior to trench warfare setting in. Nominations for the second or people buddying up for either will be very welcome too.

[Gerald]

Geevee wrote: "I have decided that I will read something like these in August and then one in October/November to coincide with the early Western Front campaign prior to trench warfare setting in. Nominations fo..."

I will read Max Hastings's "Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War" and Scott Anderson's "Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East" to commemorate the First World War--or at least its beginning.

[Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces]

Thanks Gerald and that's my plans (to commemorate the start) and we be joined by some other group members and have a break-out theme read perhaps?

Have you read Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda? It has some good reviews and one I've thought of reading.

[Gerald]

Geevee wrote: "Thanks Gerald and that's my plans (to commemorate the start) and we be joined by some other group members and have a break-out theme read perhaps?

Have you read [bookcover:Hero: The Life and Legen..."

I have not read Korda's book, but my friendly neighborhood secondhand bookshop has it.;-)

[Tionne]

I'm down. When is good for everyone? I've got one book that I MUST read, but I can bump Hero up on the list. I've been meaning to read it for ages.

[Manray9]

There has been much media coverage in the U.S. (often misleading) about former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' memoir:

Duty by Robert M. Gates.

Here is an excellent review from today's NY Times by Tom Ricks, author of:

Fiasco

The Generals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/boo...

Ricks' review is the best so-far. I read his "Best Defense" blog almost every day. On the blog, a comment he made about Gates' book rang so true to me: The problem with generals -- "In war, boldness, adaptability, creativity, sometimes ignoring the rules, risk taking, and ruthlessness are essential for success. These are not characteristics that will get an officer very far in peacetime."

I saw this first-hand. Officers who advanced to high rank in the navy were usually those who best navigated a desk around the Pentagon.