OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

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mikmykWS
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OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by mikmykWS »

Lot of good books read and re-read this summer.

Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War

Follows the recipe but by far the best new naval war fiction that has come about in awhile.

Team Yankee: A Novel of WWIII.

Its like Flashpoint Campaigns in a book or is it the other way around.. Hmmm..

Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad

They did it. I knew it.

Simulating War

Think.

Great Pacific War: A History of the American-Japanese Campaign of 1931-33

Considering when this was written pretty amazing.

The Big One

Stuart imagine's a world where LeMay invents the cloud and ships take forever to sink.

The Martian

Potatoes


On my Fall List so far:

The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944

This is the follow up to Pacific Crucible which was amazing on in its own right. Looking forward to see who wins[:)]

On Seas Contested: The Seven Great Navies of the Second World War

Mike

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Patmanaut
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Patmanaut »

Nice list. Can we add some more?

Thanks
mikmykWS
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by mikmykWS »

Yeah go ahead.
StellarRat
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by StellarRat »

Mikmyk: Any computer games on your list or is Command enough for you? I have been playing Witcher 3 lately and it is amazingly good.
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by wild_Willie2 »

Already read Ghost fleet and it's not a well written book and you won't miss anything if you drop it.
This book does not accurately portray naval operations and mechanics, my biggest peef was that naval operations only where a very small part of the story and that weapon damage was either way over-or understated. A 120mm rail cannon hit blowing a huge crater in a golf field or blowing over a MBT with a near miss?? At least fact check your physics if you incorporate them into a story...
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Airborne Rifles »

http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Pay-Operation-Downfall-1945-1947/dp/1591143160/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440179942&sr=1-1&keywords=hell+to+pay

Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947

This is an incredibly well written academic study by a naval war college student that compares the Allied plans for invading the home islands with the Japanese plans for their defense. It's not alternate history, but very well researched history that butts right up against that genre. Lots of looks into the weapons and troops available to both sides, logistics, the plans drawn up by both sides (including the plans to use the atom bombs tactically), and analysis of possible outcomes. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Check out our novel, Northern Fury: H-Hour!
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mikmykWS
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by mikmykWS »

ORIGINAL: StellarRat

Mikmyk: Any computer games on your list or is Command enough for you? I have been playing Witcher 3 lately and it is amazingly good.

Command takes up a huge chunk of my free time but still try and play other stuff. This will be more so as pro work spools up and we continue on with some things we want to do on the entertainment side (1.09, project X,Y,Z).

Lately its been some ARMA III on my PC, Ultimate General on IOS and finally replaced my PS3 with PS4. I've got Sins of Solar Empire queued up so I can play m'pler with Kushan, Baloogan and a few others.

In the background I'm working on my own sim which hopefully we'll see light of day in the next century[:)]

Oh and if the FC guys release another game that'll be on the list too. Especially if we get the Persian Gulf war or something modern. I haven't been able to keep up with what they're doing lately though so have no idea what they're working on[:)]

Mike
mikmykWS
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by mikmykWS »

ORIGINAL: wild_Willie2

Already read Ghost fleet and it's not a well written book and you won't miss anything if you drop it.
This book does not accurately portray naval operations and mechanics, my biggest peef was that naval operations only where a very small part of the story and that weapon damage was either way over-or understated. A 120mm rail cannon hit blowing a huge crater in a golf field or blowing over a MBT with a near miss?? At least fact check your physics if you incorporate them into a story...

Yeah some holes in the tech but a lot of interesting things going on as well. My main complaint is more about super weapons solutions but that's kind of a basic ingredient in any story in the genre..well beyond Seal team x etc. Overall though it was a very entertaining read though which is what I was looking for.

I always wonder how many Command scenario people will go on to do this. I think most of them are far more creative and get most of the tech and geopolitics involved.

M
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Primarchx
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Primarchx »

I'll add one I'm reading right now.

Dan Hampton ... The Hunter Killers: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War
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hellfish6
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by hellfish6 »

ORIGINAL: wild_Willie2

Already read Ghost fleet and it's not a well written book and you won't miss anything if you drop it.
This book does not accurately portray naval operations and mechanics, my biggest peef was that naval operations only where a very small part of the story and that weapon damage was either way over-or understated. A 120mm rail cannon hit blowing a huge crater in a golf field or blowing over a MBT with a near miss?? At least fact check your physics if you incorporate them into a story...


Hahaha, yeah. I hated that book. Easily one of the worst technothrillers I've ever read. Larry Bond needs to come back to the genre. Or maybe we can do what he did with Clancy and game out a war with Command.

Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall - really good.

I've also read a couple books on the South African Border War (in Angola) and various Osprey WWII Pacific War books.
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by ltsmash »

I read Ghost Fleet and was disappointed because everybody said it was a modern Red a Storm Rising. It wasn't. I did like the UAV and space bits (until the Pirates showed up).

Funny, I just started reading Team Yankee. Very good so far.
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Airborne Rifles »

Team Yankee is a classic. I need to re-read it.
Check out our novel, Northern Fury: H-Hour!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733838503?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860
And our web site:
http://northernfury.us/
Casinn
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Casinn »

thanks, picked up a few, want to read the 1925 book about the future us/japan conflict soon for sure.
Whats your sim based on if you wish to share? (and I'd love a persian gulf or med conflict Flashpoint game.)
Agiel
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Agiel »

The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal, by David Hoffman, he of "The Dead Hand" fame.
Tashtego
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Tashtego »

Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield by Jeremy Scahill.
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OnFire
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by OnFire »

The Salvation War series by Stuart Slade (The Big One). Its about earth declaring war on heaven and hell and is very well written with many Tech-wanks. Imagine F-15s vs Angels and MLRS vs legions of hell and you get the picture. It is not available in book form but is free to read here: http://www.tboverse.us/HPCAFORUM/phpBB3 ... m.php?f=29
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Coiler12 »

Let's just say that I politely disagree with the Stuart Slade recommendations. [:'(]

Ok, as far as my own fairly recent thriller reading goes:

Hamfist Trilogy. If you don't mind the subpar editing, the fact that the main character is an ultra-Mary Sue, and the sometimes rambling narration, this is a good enough Vietnam story.

Raven One is another good enough modern thriller. Not the absolute best, but still definitely readable.
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by stilesw »

For WWII buffs you might like "The Admirals" by Walter R. Borneman. Little, Brown and Company, 2012. It is a history of the Navy's WWII Five-Star admirals - Leahy, King, Nimitz and Halsey from their commissioning through their leadership during/after the war. It includes their interactions with Roosevelt, MacArthur and Marshall. Well written, historical read.
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Brent119
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by Brent119 »

ORIGINAL: Primarchx

I'll add one I'm reading right now.

Dan Hampton ... The Hunter Killers: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam War

Thanks for the suggestion. I read Dan Hampton's autobiography, Viper Pilot a year or so ago. Great read also. Hampton was himself a decorated Wild Weasel pilot flying F-16s in the 1991 Gulf War and again in the 2003 Iraq War.
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DavidRob0
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RE: OT: MikMyk's Summer Reading List

Post by DavidRob0 »

If you want to read about how the USN actually works, warts and all, try David Poyer's books on Dan Lenson.

Have a look at http://www.poyer.com

There are so far 12 books in that series.
Only the Dead have seen an end to war-
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