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Post by macbeth on Mar 12, 2024 1:07:26 GMT
Over the long weekend here in Canberra I took the eldest of the (not so) little warbands to Sydney for the Ramses exhibition and to see the musical "& Juliet"
That gave me plenty of reading time on the trains - to say nothing of said daughter is also keen on finding somewhere to sit with a cold drink and read for an hour or so. (We've been doing 'book dates' since she first learnt to read).
I polished off "50 Weapons That Changed Warfare" before leaving Canberra and read much of Simon Scarrow's "The Honour of Rome" on the way up to Sydney, finishing it the following day. I then picked up his next offer in that series "Death to the Emperor", which I finished somewhere between Sydney and Mittagong. These books were quite good, but since they are dealing with the lead up to the Boudican revolt and the main characters are in the thick of it, we all know that it will end in tears (however he's strung this out so I'll need to get the next book {No. 22 in the overall series} to see it all play out).
In Sydney I purchased "A Nasty Little War" by Anna Reid - a narrative account of the Western Intervention in the Russian Civil Wars. Starting that on the train now sees me just over 1/3 through and it is an excellent read.
Cheers
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Post by gregorius on Mar 12, 2024 22:13:43 GMT
Over the long weekend here in Canberra I took the eldest of the (not so) little warbands to Sydney for the Ramses exhibition and to see the musical "& Juliet" That gave me plenty of reading time on the trains - to say nothing of said daughter is also keen on finding somewhere to sit with a cold drink and read for an hour or so. (We've been doing 'book dates' since she first learnt to read). I polished off "50 Weapons That Changed Warfare" before leaving Canberra and read much of Simon Scarrow's "The Honour of Rome" on the way up to Sydney, finishing it the following day. I then picked up his next offer in that series "Death to the Emperor", which I finished somewhere between Sydney and Mittagong. These books were quite good, but since they are dealing with the lead up to the Boudican revolt and the main characters are in the thick of it, we all know that it will end in tears (however he's strung this out so I'll need to get the next book {No. 22 in the overall series} to see it all play out). In Sydney I purchased "A Nasty Little War" by Anna Reid - a narrative account of the Western Intervention in the Russian Civil Wars. Starting that on the train now sees me just over 1/3 through and it is an excellent read. Cheers David, have you been to see the Ramses exhibition yet, or is it still to come?
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Post by macbeth on Mar 17, 2024 23:30:00 GMT
Over the long weekend here in Canberra I took the eldest of the (not so) little warbands to Sydney for the Ramses exhibition and to see the musical "& Juliet" That gave me plenty of reading time on the trains - to say nothing of said daughter is also keen on finding somewhere to sit with a cold drink and read for an hour or so. (We've been doing 'book dates' since she first learnt to read). I polished off "50 Weapons That Changed Warfare" before leaving Canberra and read much of Simon Scarrow's "The Honour of Rome" on the way up to Sydney, finishing it the following day. I then picked up his next offer in that series "Death to the Emperor", which I finished somewhere between Sydney and Mittagong. These books were quite good, but since they are dealing with the lead up to the Boudican revolt and the main characters are in the thick of it, we all know that it will end in tears (however he's strung this out so I'll need to get the next book {No. 22 in the overall series} to see it all play out). In Sydney I purchased "A Nasty Little War" by Anna Reid - a narrative account of the Western Intervention in the Russian Civil Wars. Starting that on the train now sees me just over 1/3 through and it is an excellent read. Cheers David, have you been to see the Ramses exhibition yet, or is it still to come? Saw the Ramses Exhibition Greg - and bought the T Shirt Cheers
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Post by macbeth on Mar 18, 2024 1:11:35 GMT
I polished off "A Nasty Little War" twixt the Monday train trip back from Sydney and the following Friday morning - when I was due for another lightning dash to Sydney. This time I took along "Fallen Dragons" a long standalone Military Science Fiction novel.
I like the setting and the characterisation, plus the storyline is quite good.
However I am having trouble with the concept that Interstellar trade is unviable because of the cost, so the various corporations are performing "Asset Realisation" operations - effectively landing on a colony and taking all the industrial output and resources that they can. If that is the case, why is there still Interstellar Tourism, to say nothing of the cost of the military personnel and their sophisticated weaponry.
This is a bit of disbelief I can suspend while reading.
Cheers
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Post by Brian Ború on Mar 20, 2024 13:58:41 GMT
A nice little work for in between:
Robert Harvey's 'Mavericks' – somehow an entertaining compilation of his other works about the Napoleonic Wars, AWI and others.
He features charismatic military (and often disobedient) leaders like Clive, Wolfe, Washington, Nelson, Wellington, Rommel etc.
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Post by macbeth on Mar 25, 2024 1:59:27 GMT
On Friday I finished 'Fallen Dragons', it's ending was quite disappointing
I am now reading "The Life and Death of Ancient Cities" a study of (primarily) Mediterranean Urbanisation - when I picked it up I was concerned that it would be a heavy read but thus far it flows quite well.
Cheers
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Post by errico on Mar 28, 2024 18:06:48 GMT
I'm Reading "la guerra dei 20 anni" (the war of 20 years) or the war of the Vesper.
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Post by macbeth on Apr 2, 2024 1:20:13 GMT
I finished 'Life and Death of Ancient Cities' over Easter and am now about 30 pages into "The Norman Achievement" by David C. Douglas - a quaint late 60s history of the Normans in the 11th Century.
Back when I first started gobbling up history books whenever I could find them at secondhand shops I picked up his second volume - 'The Norman Fate' and read that - then spent a lot of time hunting this one down but never sat down to read it until now
Cheers
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Post by macbeth on Apr 15, 2024 0:05:56 GMT
After finishing 'The Norman Fate' on Thursday I started "The First and Second Italian Wars 1494-1504" by Julian Romane
This is a good read
Cheers
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Post by ammianus on Apr 20, 2024 22:25:36 GMT
Rereading: The Landmark Julius Caesar: The Complete Works. (whew!)
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Post by goragrad on Apr 28, 2024 3:11:11 GMT
My niece was given a couple bags of used paperbacks from a friend who was moving a while back.
Among them were 'The Pendragon Cycle' by Stephen Lawhead (now apparently coming to television) and The first four books of 'The Merlin Chronicles' by Mary Stewart.
Rather interesting interpretations of the Arthurian Cycle. I presume the fact that both series referred to Saxon 'axes' as their primary weapons is a misreading of 'saxes.'
Recently picked up and read 'Black Horses for the King' by Anne MaCaffrey a young adult novel dealing, obviously, with obtaining mounts more suitable for heavy cavalry.
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Post by snowcat on Apr 28, 2024 4:46:25 GMT
'The Battle of Hastings' by Jim Bradbury.
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