Andrew

I'd be interested in your verdict on the Ted Serong book.

a cartoon character wearing a red hat and goggles ALT: a cartoon character wearing a red hat and goggles

He's well worth reading, just skip the romance bits, they're all very much of a 'Oh darling'/ Brief Encounter type, very hammy. If they were filmed they'd feature trains rushing into tunnels at the moment of.....well, one doesn't like to say unless you're a bounder or a moustache twirling cad.

3/3...as Jerome says, 'It is one of Harris’s fixed ideas that he CAN sing a comic song; the fixed idea, on the contrary, among those of Harris’s friends who have heard him try, is that he CAN’T and never will be able to, and that he ought not to be allowed to try.' As for Harris, so for Reeman.

2/3...Reeman served in the RN during the war and his experiences show in his writing style BUT what he can't (or rather, couldn't) do is write a lovely scene which is not excruciatingly bad. In that respect he reminds me of Jerome's Harris character who thinks he can sing comic songs...

#HistBookChat thoughts....I enjoy reading the books of Douglas Reeman but whenever I do, I'm also reminded of a passage from one of my other favourites, Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome. What could possibly be the link between two such disparate authors? Let me enlighten you...1/3

Wow! Thank you for all the suggestions, Mike, much appreciated.

We've all done that...I know I have (!) Btw, and recommendations for a book on U.S. Riverine Forces, Mike?

These two are quite good in that respect, especially Embers of War.

I think the one thing many in the Allied camp, both military and civilian, forgot (ignored?) was the enemy. At no point prior to the Normandy Campaign had the Germans ever done the expected, militarily sensible thing. It was as if Adolf & Co were expected to fall into step with Allied plans.

It makes a nice change to find a book that describes the French experience in Indochina as a whole, not just as an add-on to be swiftly glossed over.

The media had a definite, and at times, corrosive effect on the campaign and the perception of it not just in the minds of the public but also within SHAEF. An example of this is the report sent to the NYT's, published 25 July '44, 'Cautious Tactics In Normandy Seen' the very day of the US breakout.

It is those media perceptions which have done so much to skew the historical narrative, something which started then and ripples on to this day. I touch on this briefly myself in my Masters and book, if I'd had the time I would probably have expanded on this myself.

Good job, thank you for sharing. Paul is a great host on his YouTube WW2TV channel.

The #HistBookChat page is to blame for today's delivery as I saw it advertised there just the other day. It looks like a very good read so it shouldn't stay on the TBR pile for too long....

Dear Donnie,

Exactly so. Many people ask what more can be learned from events of so long ago, given the legion of books, papers and articles published since the events of 1944/45 (80-81 years ago) but the truth is that there is so very much more to learn and analyse using both primary and secondary sources.

I've spoken to Brad about my own Normandy related work, he's really championed the part played by Canadian forces (and rightly so) he's done some really outstanding research and writing. I look forward to reading yours too.

And to be clear, I'm not trying to reopen old inter-allied wounds, but the old myths we see thriving today were allowed to take seed early on, whilst the fighting was still going on in the ETO and the first Anglo-Canadian/U.S. soldier was still to set foot in Normandy. History ignored=lessons lost.

You're partly right but the pendulum swung too far if you want my opinion. I tried to emphasise in my own work that 21st AG wasn't just a British outfit by also referring to them as Anglo-Canadian forces on a regular basis. Too many still think America bore the brunt of the fighting in the ETO.

Looks like a good read.

3/3b efforts and importance was downplayed, especially during the SWW, when it was plain, then and now, that the part played by the Canadian Army, Navy and AF, not to mention their industry were absolutely vital to the Allied victory. I could go on but I'll leave it there. Thoroughly recommended.

...3/3 the more than partisan media of the time who seemed to regard the various components of the Allied forces as almost as bad as the Germans. I think it fair to say that at times, and for reasons which are difficult to understand, the Canadians themselves seemed to collude in the way their...

...2/3 will be rewarded. I think it's pretty much accepted by any serious student of the two world wars that accepted wisdoms shouldn't be quite so accepted as they once were, especially when it comes to the important (but largely glossed over) part played by Canada and the divisive role played by..

Front and back cover of Second Front by Marc Milner.

#HistBookChat for the moment is Milner's Second Front. It's a bit of a slog at first and I admit to putting it down more than once but I would urge anyone wanting a complete picture of Anglo-American thinking from the Great War to the Normandy Campaign and beyond to persevere, your effort 1/3....

#HistoryBookChat

A bonus #HistBookChat offering today. HMS Montague was a Duncan Class pre-Dreadnaught which ran aground off the Island of Lundy in May 1906. She was found to be more damaged than originally thought so she was salvaged where she lay.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Mon...

Yes, very. Never mind, I turned to the Dark Side and bought it from Amazon just now....

I tried to order a book from the French History section but the site isn't accepting orders from the UK. D'oh!

I had it and lost it during a house move which pleased me not. He really was a good author, able to combine detail with readability - not always a skill widely shared.

Looking for the books mentioned in my previous post I came across this book by René J Francillon, which I reckon stands head and shoulders above many general histories of the Air War in Vietnam. If you're interested in the subject then this is a worthy introduction to it. #HistBookChat