Tag Archives: military

Captain Horatio Hornblower

Posted on April 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

Captain Horatio Hornblower© 1937 C.S. Forester504 pages Captain Picard: Just imagine what it was like. No engines, no computers… Just the wind…and the sea… and the stars to guide you. Commander Riker: Bad food, brutal discipline… no women. (Star Trek: … Continue reading →

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Hitler’s War

Posted on March 5, 2010 by smellincoffee

Hitler’s War© 2009 Harry Turtledove496 pages The year is 1938, and war wages in Spain between the Popular Front — a collection of democrats, liberals, socialists, communists, and anarchists —  and the Nationalists, those supporting the attempted military takeover of … Continue reading →

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Storm of Steel

Posted on February 8, 2010 by smellincoffee

Storm of Steel © 1921 Ernst Jünger 319 pages Storm of Steel is the oddest war memoir I have ever read. I’ve read a few of them in hopes of understanding various motivations for young men marching off to war, … Continue reading →

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China Marine

Posted on December 29, 2009 by smellincoffee

China Marine: An Infantryman’s Life after World War 2© Eugene Sledge 2003192 pages Last week I read Eugene Sledge’s With the Old Breed, a memoir of his experiences in the Pacific War. The memoir ranks as one of the most … Continue reading →

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Black Edelweiss

Posted on December 19, 2009 by smellincoffee

Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience By a Soldier of the Waffen-SS© 2002 Johann Voss206 pages As the last coach slid by, it cleared the view of another train, a goods train as it appeared, slowly passing by … Continue reading →

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With the Old Breed

Posted on December 18, 2009 by smellincoffee

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa© 1981 Eugene B. Sledge326 pages The recruiting sergeant asked me lots of questions and filled out numerous official papers. When he asked, “Any scars, birthmarks, or other unusual features?” I described an inch-long … Continue reading →

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No Less than Victory

Posted on December 7, 2009 by smellincoffee

No Less than Victory© 2009 Jeff Shaara449 pages This was released only a month ago, and completes Shaara’s WW2-Europe trilogy, the previous titles being The Rising Tide and The Steel Wave. The books are historical fiction, although most characters — perhaps … Continue reading →

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An Honorable German

Posted on November 11, 2009 by smellincoffee

An Honorable German384 pages© 2009 Charles McCain I saw this book on special display at my university, and decided to read it given my interests in Germany and naval stories. (The latter is not an interest that has surfaced here, … Continue reading →

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Last Seen in Massilia

Posted on October 10, 2009 by smellincoffee

Last Seen in Massilia © 2000 Steven Saylor 277 pages When I last visited Rome under the rose, I followed Gordianus as he experienced Rome at war. Pompey the Great fled Rome and then Italy when Julius Caesar crossed the … Continue reading →

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The Guns of August

Posted on May 14, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Guns of August© 1962 Barbara Tuchman511 pages The Guns of August, like Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, is work I’ve heard much of in my years as a history student. Used in my freshman … Continue reading →

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