What Are You Reading?

I always enjoy these threads so I thought I'd give a shot at starting one here. Currently I'm re-reading Eisenhower's So Far From God on the Mexican War, previewing a manuscript that I'm thoroughly enjoying, and catching up on some magazines. As for Rev War I've got A Leap In the Dark in the qeue and currently pulling chapters from various sources on Princeton for a project I'm working on. What's on everyone else's nightstand?
Regards,
Keith

 

Ummm, hello? (knock knock) Hello, anyone there? (knock knock) ;D
Regards,
Keith

 

I'm about 100 pages into John Ferling's Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence. So far, I'm quite impressed with it, and think it's quite good. I'm currently reading Ferling's treatment of Arnold's Quebec expedition.

More as I get further into it.

Eric

 

Recently read Washington's Last Cantonment, by Dempsey. It's organized by month and week from the fall of 1782 to summer 1783. It's about half excerpts from correspondence and orders and half original writing. It's a full-length book I bought at the New York State Fort Montgomery site last fall for about $28. Of course, they also have it at the New Windsor Cantonment site.

The scope is broad, from local to regional to state to Continental to international affairs, all filtered through the prism of camp correspondence.

 

I recently enjoyed Matthew H. Spring's With Zeal and with Bayonets Only. It has much to say about tactics, weaponry, logistics, and performance of units in battle.

 

I just ordered that one. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Eric

 

I noticed alot of weight to the opinions and writing of Archibald Campbell. I was inspired to read order and read his Journal of the GA campaign. Introduced me to a good but little known British officer.

 

A short while ago, I finished Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82. It looks at how illness, specifically smallpox, changed the face of the war, and affected the political and military outlook of the Colonial era.

 

I'm currently 500 pages into Fred Anderson's The Crucible of War and find it to be an incredible book... definitely glad I decided to finally step backward on the timeline, so to speak, and look into some pre-Revolutionary stuff.

I also have Ferling's Almost a Miracle, which I surprisingly never got to in the past few years, lined up and ready to go.

 

Since my main interests have shifted toward the 17th century, it's been awhile since I've read anything on the AWI. But recently I picked up Urban's "Fusiliers," which is a nice light read.

 

Received "The Enterprise in Contemplation: The Midnight Assault on Stoney Point" by Don Loprieno for Christmas. Have skimmed the book from cover to cover and I am about twenty pages in. The publishing quality is not high -- the text is in the space and a half term paper format. But so far, the narrative is engaging and informative, and Loprieno critically analyzes the historical sources. Of note, the transcript of Lt. Col. Henry Johnson's court martial is included with annotations, which makes the book valuable in and of itself.

 

I'm currently reading "1776" by David McCullough (for the 2nd time). I've also just picked up "One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863" by Eric Wittenberg...I've heard great things about this author

 

I hope that you enjoy it. Between JD and me, we have close to thirty years' worth of accumulated research, and I hope it shows.

Eric

 

1776 and all that:


http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/18th.asp

 

I am reading Pauline Maier's From Resistance to Revolution. I've read both Ferling books you mentioned as well in addition to quite a few others. I have found Maier's works quite interesting and am trying to go through the Bailyn/Wood Republican Synthesis works to see how they developed that historiography from newspapers and pamphlets of the time period.

 

Another take on Did FDR Know?:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Lia...id=1392913132&sr=8-1&keywords=the great liars

 

Gordon Wood's The Creation of the American Republic.

 

Staff Rides Bull Run 1 and 2 -Gettysburg etc :


http://www.history.army.mil/srides.html

Also Combat Studies Institute.

 

I'm currently working on rereading Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. I'm tying that into the geography class I teach. My students have really responded to this book and it ties in very well with the overall content of the course. I will be showing the PBS documentary that was developed from the book after spring break for them.

 

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. I'm using the PBS series developed from it in my geography course. The concepts in the book generated a lot of interest from my students and really got them interested. They went from dozing off to rapt attention immediately.