# Entertainement reading when the lights go out



## DerBiermeister (Aug 15, 2014)

*Entertainment reading when the lights go out*

Most all of our SHTF events have the grid going down. That is going to be a huge shock to our systems to not have TV or DVD players ready to keep us entertained. Many of us will go through some kind of withdrawal.

The good news is that just as was the case for our grandparents and great grandparents, we will still be able to read good books. On another forum, we started a thread on "suggested reading". I would like to share some of the suggested books and their short "book reviews". Most of what you'll see below comes from me and another fellow. They all pretty much deal with war, especially the Civil War and WWI and WWII, because that is where our interests lie. But this list is just a start for Preppers Reading. Please list some of your favorites and give a bit of a review to build interest.

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This was an entry I made today.

THE CAINE MUTINY

I had always enjoyed the movie The Caine Mutiny. I had never read the book though.

I am deep into it now and really enjoying it. There is a lot of early story about Willis Keith before he becomes a 90-day wonder that I don't remember in the book. In many ways, it reminds me of my youth.

I think I am going to watch the movie soon. Haven't seen it in probably 30 years.

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"The Pacific" by Hugh Ambrose

This was one of three books that the mini-series used for background. I am halfway through it and enjoying it very much. I have learned tons about the Philippines, McArthur, the Bataan Death March, Midway, other carrier battles, and much more info (not covered in the movie or other books) on Basilone and Sledge.

A book review:
*The Pacific, based on the lives of five men and their experiences in the Second World War fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. The Pacific is also an HBO 10-part miniseries. On TV this was a Saving Private Ryan type of experience with a lot of action and graphic detail of death and destruction during the fighting. The TV program is based on the lives of marines Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie, and John Basilone. The book is slightly different in that while it features Sledge and Basilone - it almost totally omits Leckie (for which Ambrose both justifies and apologizes for), but also concentrates on Austin Shofner, Vernon Micheel, and Sidney Phillips. This works quite well in that Ambrose states that it was not just the Marines who won the war in the Pacific, but other parts of the US armed forces as well.

Ambrose's accounts of Sledge and Basilone in the war are very similar to the way they were portrayed in the TV program - these were two extraordinary men, and Ambrose paints a picture of bravery and devotion to duty that is both horrible and astonishing. Their experiences were horrific, Basilone (awarded the Medal of Honor) dies on Iwo Jima, but Sledge survives, having participated in some of the most vicious fighting of the war. It's hard to imagine that Japan and the USA fought such savage battles only a generation ago.

While Sidney Phillips is a minor character in the TV program, he features more in the book. Phillips, Micheel, and Shofner are perhaps more interesting to read about as their story is not covered on TV. All five men are fascinating and brave characters - they are almost hero worshipped by Ambrose who is clearly in awe of the marines and their fight in the Pacific. There is no sympathy for the "japs", who were in a different way just as brave as the marines. *

The Pacific: Hugh Ambrose: 9780451232250: Amazon.com: Books

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I just ordered this hardcover edition of the Battle Of Midway (I want the maps and photos to be readable, so I decided against an e-edition). Lately, I have been doing a lot of research on this event -- which clearly is the greatest naval victory in United States history. (I even watched the old movie yesterday --- starring Henry Fonda, Hal Holbrook, and Robert Mitchum.)

This book is somewhat current (2011) and offers some new insights into the battle.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195397932/ref=s9_simh_co_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=typ-top-left-1&pf_rd_r=0RB91VJA617HR432WBDE&pf_rd_t=3201&pf_rd_p=1827489602&pf_rd_i=typ01

Here are the Editorial Reviews:

"The Battle of Midway was the hinge on which the war in the Pacific turned. Its story deserves retelling, and Symonds' book does a wonderful job of it." --The American Spectator

"Mr. Symonds has marshaled the data of seven decades to produce an account that is clear and readable, benefiting from his easy expertise in naval matters." --The Wall Street Journal

"Important...documenting a role too often overlooked and too little understood: the essential role played by the U.S. Navy in winning the war in the Pacific." - The Dallas Morning News

"[W]holly satisfying . . . a lucid, intensely researched, mildly revisionist account of a significant moment in American military history." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Craig Symonds has delivered yet another outstanding work, a work that will set the standard for studies of the Battle of Midway for years to come. Even if one thinks one knows all there is to know about Midway, Mr. Symonds' plethora of new facts, rationales for what and why each side performed the way it did, human interest stories and more make The Battle of Midway indispensable . . . The story of the battle unfolding and being fought is absolutely outstanding, but the events before and after it are equally well told. In addition, the supporting charts, photographs, references and bibliography are awesome. For anyone at all interested in the Battle of Midway, the Pacific War or the Navy, this is a must read." 
--The Washington Times

Selected as a Best Book of 2011 by Military History Quarterly

"Deeply researched, shrewdly argued, and powerfully narrated, The Battle of Midway is a superb work of the historian's craft. It easily takes its place as the best and most comprehensive account of the pivotal battle from the American perspective." -Richard B. Frank, author of Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle and Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire

"In The Battle of Midway Symonds has effectively synthesized the huge mass of information about the Midway battle into a fast-moving, highly readable account filled with nuggets of fascinating biographical material about many of the principals, both American and Japanese . . . Symonds describes the scenes of the Battle of Midway itself with the knowing eye of a fine historian . . . Craig Symonds has crafted an excellent addition to the pantheon of important literature about the transcendent American naval victory at Midway. The Battle of Midway deserves to be read and enjoyed." --Naval History

"Compulsively readable" --The Week

"Well documented through interviews, official records, and secondary sources, the book will show readers that Midway was, as Wellington would have said, "a close-run thing." General military history enthusiasts will be fascinated, and specialists will revel in the careful dissection of the action. -- Library Journal

"[A] superb narrative, clearly, vividly, and energetically written, with attention to detail that is always relevant to his interpretation . . . this book will be read appreciatively by other non-specialists. Indeed, it demonstrates why military history should not be considered 'merely' a 'niche' subject, but part of the mainstream of the national narrative." --HNN.com

"A fascinating and informative retelling of the most important naval battle of the Pacific War. Symonds once again demonstrates his superb mastery of his craft." -Jonathan Parshall, co-author of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

Chosen as one of Proceedings Notable Books of 2011

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I just finished *The Guns of August* by Barbara W. Tuchman which detailed the outbreak of WWI and it fueled my interest in reading more about Wilson and his taking the US into the conflict. I have read considerably on this in past years, but this is a renewed interest. The Tuchman book is excellent. It has been in print since 1962.

http://www.amazon.com/Guns-August-Outbreak-Tuchmans-Nonfiction-ebook/dp/B002TXZS8A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404744651&sr=1-1&keywords=the+guns+of+august



The other book is *Armageddon* by Max Hastings which details the last year of WWII. This is really interesting reading, covering the move into Germany from the East and the West.

Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945: Max Hastings: 9780375714221: Amazon.com: Books



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*The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty *

by Caroline Alexander - May 25, 2004

The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty: Caroline Alexander: 9780142004692: Amazon.com: Books

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*With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa*
by E.B. Sledge

_*"Eugene Sledge became more than a legend with his memoir, With The Old Breed. He became a chronicler, a historian, a storyteller who turns the extremes of the war in the Pacific-the terror, the camaraderie, the banal and the extraordinary-into terms we mortals can grasp."-Tom Hanks

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In The Wall Street Journal, Victor Davis Hanson named With the Old Breed one of the top five books on epic twentieth-century battles. Studs Terkel interviewed the author for his definitive oral history, The Good War. Now E. B. Sledge's acclaimed first-person account of fighting at Peleliu and Okinawa returns to thrill, edify, and inspire a new generation.

An Alabama boy steeped in American history and enamored of such heroes as George Washington and Daniel Boone, Eugene B. Sledge became part of the war's famous 1st Marine Division-3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. Even after intense training, he was shocked to be thrown into the battle of Peleliu, where "the world was a nightmare of flashes, explosions, and snapping bullets." By the time Sledge hit the hell of Okinawa, he was a combat vet, still filled with fear but no longer with panic.

Based on notes Sledge secretly kept in a copy of the New Testament, With the Old Breed captures with utter simplicity and searing honesty the experience of a soldier in the fierce Pacific Theater. Here is what saved, threatened, and changed his life. Here, too, is the story of how he learned to hate and kill-and came to love-his fellow man.

"In all the literature on the Second World War, there is not a more honest, realistic or moving memoir than Eugene Sledge's. This is the real deal, the real war: unvarnished, brutal, without a shred of sentimentality or false patriotism, a profound primer on what it actually was like to be in that war. It is a classic that will outlive all the armchair generals' safe accounts of-not the 'good war'-but the worst war ever."-Ken Burns*_

Sledgehammer's account of what happened on Peleliu and Okinawa occupies approximately one-third of the mini-series "The Pacific". As you may know, The Pacific was the sequel to "Band Of Brothers". As both mini-series were done by the same production company, you can literally flip a coin to decide which one is better. One thing is for sure though -- together, they represent the finest productions ever done on film, whether it be tv or movies. However no movie can possibly cover anything close what can be written in a good book. Do what I am doing, read say a third into the book, and then break out The Pacific and watch up to that point.

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*A CHAIN OF THUNDER*

I'm part way through Jeff Shaara's 2nd book on the 4-part series dealing with the Civil War in the "west".

Jeff Shaara War Novels

In the past, I've paid very little attention to this theatre of the war. Shiloh and Vicksburg just don't get the fame of a First & Second Manassas, Antietam, or Gettysburg. They should.

I'm learning a lot.

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*Empire of the Summer Moon, Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History* by S. C. Gwynne
This is an incredibly well-written history of the Comanche Tribe, with none of the emotional guilt-trip crap that usually gets thrown up in American Indian histories. This thing reads like a novel.

If you haven't read Larry McMurtry's *Lonesome Dove* and the books he wrote after this concerning the Texas Rangers, you will see the historical parallels in McMurtry's books. I consider *Lonesome Dove* to be The Great American Novel of our time.

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*The River of Doubt, Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey* by Candice Millard.

Amazing book, just finished it. This is an accounting of a exploration of the last uncharted river in the South American Amazon jungle by Roosevelt after his failed bid as an independent candidate for president in the 1912 election.

*Okinawa, The Last Battle of WWII* by Robert Leckie.

I stumbled on this one a few days back. I don't know how I had missed it. Leckie was a Marine who witnessed much of the Pacific Campaign firsthand. I just finished reading this one and it has some very detailed accounting of the battle that claimed thousands of American lives. I did not care much for his editorializing on how the war ended, but it is an excellent book.

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If you want to understand why we got hit on 9/11 instead of thwarting the attack, this book lays it out in detail. If you think the FBI is a smooth operation, you are in for a huge shock.

*In Enemies: A History of the FBI* by Tim Wiener, the author goes into the relationship between President clinton and Louis Freeh, FBI Director. He makes the case that under Freeh the FBI was totally isolated from the White House due to the director's belief that clinton was dirty. Freeh spent a lot of resources and time on investigating clinton and was convinced that clinton was worse than Nixon. This resulted in a dearth of conversation between the WH and FBI, allowing the growth of terrorist activity in the United States and ultimately the 9/11 attack.

clinton, for all his personal weaknesses, was not the worst president we have had. He basically was helpless in the face of this and was not able to fire Freeh from his appointed term without creating another "Saturday Night Massacre", i.e. the second coming of Nixon.

Short story...intramural squabbling between the WH and FBI allowed 9/11.

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"Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler And Stalin" (2010) Timothy Snyder

George Will calls this book STUNNING, which is a good enough endorsement for me. I am going to try to link his column from my phone, but if unsuccessful l will get it attached when I get home. In his column he gives an overview of what is discussed in the book. Focus is on the Ukraine and this just might be THE most horrific "man's brutality against man" ever documented.

Short story on this is that the countries between Germany and the Soviet Union were divided up by hitler and stalin prior to the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Then these areas became battlegrounds as the two monsters waged war. Nobody knows how many people died.

Update:

Here is the George Will column that gives you a flavor of Snyder's book.

George Will: Russia and Ukraine share a brutal history - The Washington Post

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Every single one of Jeff Shaara's books

Jeff Shaara Bestselling Author of War Novels

Start with Rise To Rebellion (the first of two dealing with the Revolutionary War)

When you get to the Civil War, make sure you read his father's (Michael Shaara) book "The Killer Angels" after you read "Gods And Generals".

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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Shaara books are great. Both father and son.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

The Guns of August is a GREAT book - one of my all time favorites.

I do not watch TV, even when I travel. I would miss the intertubes. But even that I do not miss for more than a day or two when we go on vacation and I do not log in for several days.

Wife is right about Jeff Shaara. He writes historical fiction and there is not a bad one in the bunch. All of his books should be required reading for high school History and Civics classes.


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## BagLady (Feb 3, 2014)

I've always been a reader. But, I don't read a book more than once. Mostly fiction. There are 2 books that impressed me so much I kept them.
"When I was a Slave" (memoirs) Edited by Norman R. Yetman
(This book is self explanetory)

"Because They Hate" By Brigitte Gabriel
A survivor of Islamic Terror.


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## Mish (Nov 5, 2013)

50 Shades of Grey


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Now that NASCAR is over for the year, we are seriously thinking about cutting Direct TV off. I'll read more and maybe start doing some more pushups. 

Damn, I really hate TV about 75% of the time. Good book suggestions and review Sir.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

I am an avid reader. You have some great titles. Today I picked up The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a real eye opener of what it meant to be in trouble with the communists. 

Is Davis a Traitor? by Albert Taylor Bledsoe. Bledsoe went to West Point, was an Episcopalian minister, chair of mathematics at the University of Virginia, practiced law in Springfield Illinois and knew Lincoln (trained him to use a broad sword for a duel), confidant to Jefferson Davis, friend of Robert E Lee and was a colonel in the Confederacy.

Patrick Henry American Statesman by Moses Coit Tyler. A biography that covers Henry's life and early American politics.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Something to read when the power goes out? One second after.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

This is another "must read" for anybody that is into American history:

Civil War Volumes 1-3 Box Set: Shelby Foote: 9780394749136: Amazon.com: Books

And this:

The South Was Right!: James Ronald Kennedy, Walter Donald Kennedy: 9781565540248: Amazon.com: Books


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Mish said:


> 50 Shades of Grey


I knew you would say that! LMAO!


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## Dinah (Sep 22, 2014)

Family of avid readers... if we did not get another book we have quite a few. We like library booksales. Good selections of books for lots less $$$


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## thepeartree (Aug 25, 2014)

For anybody who is concerned about US / Russian relations and possible scenarios, there is no better way to go than the books by Tom Clancy. For preppers, there are two books that aren't new, but have a lot to say: Farnham's Freehold by Robert Heinlein and Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Both deal directly with prepping and both are good stories. Another book by Heinlein that reveals some solid ways of thinking about bug out situations is Time Enough For Love. The main character is bugging out to the frontier via wagon, drawn by mules. This takes place on a far planet in the future, but it covers the character's thoughts on what to pack and what to leave, his struggles with various animals he's taking along, and how he deals with adversity on the trek. Another book by the same author covers something I have never seen even mentioned in prepper circles: group dynamics and social organization in the aftermath of a shtf situation. The people involved are high school senior/ freshman college age kids, but the struggle they face to build a 'survival machine' out of a random bunch of people who start out with what we would consider bob's and deal with personality issues and a lack of survival equipment is well worth reading.


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