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Disappointing Books

 
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Disappointing Books - 11/12/2012 4:54:50 PM   
John 3rd


Posts: 9063
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
Status: offline 		Just saw the other Thread looking for good books with Christmas coming up.

I wanted to start an opposite Thread of ones to NOT recommend.

Would toss out Islands of Destiny by John Prados. After reading the new work coming out over the last few years (Shattered Sword, The First Team, etc...) I had high expectations and was sorely disappointed. The book had few new details and the perspectives provided weren't that exciting. Got done with it last nihgt and asked myself what I learned and had real issues answering the question...


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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/12/2012 5:05:39 PM   
warspite1


Posts: 10725
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline 		NOT RECOMMENDED:

Neptune's Inferno (buy Guadalcanal by Frank)
Destroyer Down (buy anything but!)


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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/12/2012 5:20:55 PM   
John 3rd


Posts: 9063
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
Status: offline 		Neptune's Inferno had some good chapters but I felt it to be a C-/D+ work as well.


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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/12/2012 5:23:06 PM   
Canoerebel


Posts: 9004
Joined: 12/14/2002
From: Northwestern Georgia, USA
Status: offline 		Yeah, I was very disappointed in Neptune's Inferno. The author didn't know where he was going or how he was going to get there. He had tons of interesting information, and he knew it, but he wasn't quite sure how he should present it. Very poor historical writing.

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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/14/2012 8:07:29 AM   
Commander Cody


Posts: 675
Joined: 7/4/2003
From: Seoul, Korea
Status: offline 		Ah, I recommended "Neptune's Inferno" on the other thread. So far so good, but I'm only to the Battle of Savo Island in the book. I do like his other two related books a lot, though.

Cheers,
CC

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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/14/2012 9:09:08 AM   
Admiral Mitscher


Posts: 122
Joined: 12/10/2011
Status: online 		Sorry but Neptune's Inferno is a terrible book, if you know anything about the Solomons campaign, and I regret buying it. He doesn't seem to know much about the science of naval warfare, seems to dislike the USMC, and calls surface radar contacts 'bogeys'.




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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/14/2012 2:31:08 PM   
Buckrock

 

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Joined: 3/16/2012
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Admiral Mitscher

Sorry but Neptune's Inferno is a terrible book, if you know anything about the Solomons campaign, and I regret buying it. He doesn't seem to know much about the science of naval warfare, seems to dislike the USMC, and calls surface radar contacts 'bogeys'.



To be fair to Hornfischer, the word "bogey" was sometimes used to report an unknown surface contact, particularly if on radar, during the time of the early Solomons Campaign.

If he was paraphrasing from USN action reports of the period, it wouldn't be completely unexpected but I'd be disappointed if a modern naval author also used it in his own descriptions of battle.

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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/14/2012 2:48:05 PM   
AW1Steve


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Joined: 3/10/2007
From: ME-FL-NE ? "Cloud Coo-coo land"
Status: offline 		I liked Neptune"s Inferno. It's problem , like almost every modern book I've read lately is poor editing. It has mistakes. Most things produced these days do. Other than that , I liked it. But then again, I'm an idiot.

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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/14/2012 6:23:58 PM   
John 3rd


Posts: 9063
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
Status: offline 		I will admit that the whole discussion of the 'tech' minded Navy Leaders vs. the old school was pretty interesting. My estimation of Ching Lee went up some.



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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/14/2012 6:49:20 PM   
Nikademus


Posts: 25218
Joined: 5/27/2000
From: Alien spacecraft
Status: offline 		Neptunes Inferno was bad, but i wasn't surprised as his other book (Tin Can Sailors) is written in the same style. The author is not a technically educated writer and has what can best be described as a "love affair" with radar controlled gunfire. He seems to honestly think it's like the Star Wars system of the 1980's and justifies it by printing first hand accounts that describe salvo after salvo launching from electronically guided eyes "buying" targets in water-columns and explosions. Exciting stuff to read......not very accurate or objective. His comments about Japanese losses to AA on the first attack were funny.

I did find his back-story on Bode interesting but much of it really had little to do with the actual battle to which he gained infamy, said battle being very sparse and generalized and written from the USN side of the battle. Frank's work is much superior and will find no threat from this quarter.

Barely managed to finish it. So can't recommend.

< Message edited by Nikademus -- 11/14/2012 6:52:15 PM >

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RE: Disappointing Books - 11/14/2012 6:50:18 PM   
SuluSea


Posts: 1898
Joined: 11/17/2006
From: The Old Line State
Status: offline 		I have Neptune's Inferno but haven't got to it yet but enjoyed Hornfischer's Ship of Ghosts and loved Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. I can understand where some may not be thrilled with his writing style.

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