The Texan Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Unbroken is the remarkable, true story of Louis Zamperini, a young delinquent who, with the help of his older brother, discovered a gift for running. Louis competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and then, when war broke out, signed up to serve in the Army Air Corps. Trained as a bombadier on the B-24, Louis’s plane crashes while searching for another downed US aircraft. What follows this crash is an incredible story that is gripping and horrifying. Pushed to the absolute limits of what a human can endure, Louis somehow not only survives, but triumphs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mp5g Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Unbroken is the remarkable, true story of Louis Zamperini, a young delinquent who, with the help of his older brother, discovered a gift for running. Louis competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and then, when war broke out, signed up to serve in the Army Air Corps. Trained as a bombadier on the B-24, Louis’s plane crashes while searching for another downed US aircraft. What follows this crash is an incredible story that is gripping and horrifying. Pushed to the absolute limits of what a human can endure, Louis somehow not only survives, but triumphs. Discovery's Shark Week has a biopic of his days at sea after the crash titled "47 Days Adrift with Sharks." Pretty amazing what they went through and still survived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KState_Poke22 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Just finished Fearless. Adam Brown was an amazing guy. Made it into Seal Team 6 after losing an eye and having the fingers on his right had torn off and re-attached. Oh and he was a crack addict too. Need I say more? Read it. http://www.nralifeof...VideoModule/554 http://www.amazon.co...ords=adam+brown I'm reading it right now, I can't believe how ridiculous this guy is. He redefines tough. He accomplished more with one eye, one hand, and with an addiction than most completely healthy normal people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backseatdriver Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Ran across this yesterday: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123314316 You can check out e-copies of books from the AF library (including Kindle versions of some books) for free. Of note, they have all the CSAF reading list books (to include Unbroken) on the site. Looks like a pretty good resource. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent P Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Just finished "Vulcan 607" about the first Vulcan raid in The Falklands War - very good and a detailed look at the entire operation. Amazing that the Brits were able to do it with what they had on hand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2 Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Downloaded Chester Wong's (pen name) first two books for free to my Kindle courtesy of Amazon.com for my trip to Yokota last week... He's a West Point grad Special Forces officer-turned-writer; but it is one of the most entertaining, honest and humble books you will ever read by an Army snake-eater! It's not the superman novel you'd expect (check the byline), this guy actually spends more talking about his failures and shortcomings than anything else . He has a great sense of humor and isn't afraid to tell the truth about his life as a SF officer, warts and all. Highly recommended, I've finished the first and have started on the second, and can't wait for the third edition to come out! More about Wong and his books on his website. Cheers! M2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Downloaded Chester Wong's (pen name) first two books for free to my Kindle courtesy of Amazon.com for my trip to Yokota last week... Plus they're both free if you're an Amazon Prime member. Will have to put Vol. 1 near the top of my list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vno Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) Comes out Oct 2, thinking of picking it up. Edited September 18, 2012 by Vno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Man Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 with all due respect to the LTC, he seems like a huge tool. anyone have any personal interaction to squash my impressions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I come out Oct 2, thinking of picking it him up. FIFY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tac airlifter Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Eh, I'll probably grab a copy just because I read a lot. One thing stood out in the trailer though, the part where the retired flag is talking about how scared people are in the crew bus enroute to a mission. WTF? Does that seem odd to anyone else? If I saw a dude nervously looking at pictures of his wife before we flew in combat I'd have him stay on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herkbum Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Eh, I'll probably grab a copy just because I read a lot. One thing stood out in the trailer though, the part where the retired flag is talking about how scared people are in the crew bus enroute to a mission. WTF? Does that seem odd to anyone else? If I saw a dude nervously looking at pictures of his wife before we flew in combat I'd have him stay on the ground. Thought that was a little odd as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackline Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Well, I just finished the rest of American Sniper, barely. I don't remember who it was that recommended it, but it was on this board. I'm going to have to be more picky about rec's coming from here. That was one of the worst books I've ever read. Not only is he so completely full of himself, but it was horribly written! It was almost as if he hooked Word up to his brain, and it just typed thoughts down in the order they came to him. It was so full of his talk about how SEALs are and should be Silent Professionals, but then two seconds later talking about how awesome he was and how they deserved recognition. Once again, I have enormous respect for SEALs and the work they do, and without fail every one of them I've ever had the pleasure of meeting fell into the Silent Professional category and were very humble. Lone Survivor and American Sniper were not good books. I finished them to give them the benefit of the doubt. Outlaw Platoon, also recommended here, however is very good. The Only Thing Worth Dying For, very good, and Not a Good Day To Die very good. My $.02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royal Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Downloaded Chester Wong's (pen name) first two books for free to my Kindle courtesy of Amazon.com for my trip to Yokota last week... He's a West Point grad Special Forces officer-turned-writer; but it is one of the most entertaining, honest and humble books you will ever read by an Army snake-eater! It's not the superman novel you'd expect (check the byline), this guy actually spends more talking about his failures and shortcomings than anything else . He has a great sense of humor and isn't afraid to tell the truth about his life as a SF officer, warts and all. Highly recommended, I've finished the first and have started on the second, and can't wait for the third edition to come out! More about Wong and his books on his website. Cheers! M2 The third book just came out, and it looks like you don't have to be an Amazon Prime member to get the whole series for free on the Kindle. Not sure how that deal got worked, but I downloaded all of them without paying a cent. Thanks for the recommendation, M2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocialD Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 http://www.amazon.co...m/dp/080783551X Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam Has anyone read this? Pretty steep price, just wondering if it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreeA10 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Just finished To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian by Stephen Ambrose. It contains his personal stories and opinions about the people he met or studied as he wrote their histories. Some were chance meetings. He was leading a tour of the Normandy beaches and happened to come across an elderly British gentleman. Turns out, this guy was the lead glider pilot flying the troops assigned to take the bridge at Caen. Most of the book is about people he was involved with very heavily. So, lots of stuff about Eisenhower, T. Roosevelt, E Company, Nixon, the Vietnam War, the decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, and the WWII Museum in New Orleans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceman Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I just finished My Secret War the other night... What a great book! I've been reading a lot of Vietnam books lately, but I don't think any were nearly as immersive or personal as Drury's. Everything from the demoralizing bad leadership he dealt with, to the excitement and suspense of the rescue missions near the end of the book; everything came accross as an honest account from a guy who loves flying and loves the A-1, with no ego or bullshit to distract the reader. Just a totally excellent book. The only bad part was that the copy I got is pretty ancient and all the pages are falling out of the binding. I'm going to have to see if I can get it re-bound or something because I'm sure I'll want to read it again eventually. Now I'm starting on Bob Hoover's book. Pretty good so far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OL Patch Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 The third book just came out Currently on Vol III. Very funny style and neat perspective especially on SEALs. Highly recommend. OL Patch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy pilgrim Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Just finished Blind Man's Bluff - about US Submarine intelligence operations during the cold war. Recovering missiles off the bottom of the ocean, recording soviet communication lines etc... Worthwhile read. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KState_Poke22 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Just finished Blind Man's Bluff - about US Submarine intelligence operations during the cold war. Recovering missiles off the bottom of the ocean, recording soviet communication lines etc... Worthwhile read. 2 on that. There's some crazy stories in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 The third book just came out, and it looks like you don't have to be an Amazon Prime member to get the whole series for free on the Kindle. Not sure how that deal got worked, but I downloaded all of them without paying a cent. Thanks for the recommendation, M2. I read them all as well. Awesome books. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O Face Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 (edited) Just finished "Bury Us Upside Down" and "Low Level Hell" excellent books, couldn't stop reading them. Thanks for the recommendations. Edited November 28, 2012 by O Face Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2 Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Currently on Vol III. Very funny style and neat perspective especially on SEALs. Highly recommend.OL Patch I started Vol III but have stalled on it simply because I am in a lull from my usual travel schedule. Once I finish it I plan to go back and re-read the series as they provide some of the best and honest insight into the US SOF community that I've read in a long time! Plus, the first time around reading them I was usually tired, drunk, or a combination of the two. Cheers! M2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royal Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Very funny style and neat perspective especially on SEALs. Highly recommend. OL Patch The SEAL part threw me for a loop. I didn't know there was that much animosity within the SOF community. I loved all the stories from West Point too. It's way better to read about the antics and misfortunes of life at a military academy while I'm in the comfort of my king size bed. I found it interesting to read his perspective and thought process when they were performing that attack on the Philippines, particularly with regard to the informant that was imbedded with the terrorists. Great and super easy read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJDRVR Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I just finished My Secret War the other night... What a great book! I've been reading a lot of Vietnam books lately, but I don't think any were nearly as immersive or personal as Drury's. Everything from the demoralizing bad leadership he dealt with, to the excitement and suspense of the rescue missions near the end of the book; everything came accross as an honest account from a guy who loves flying and loves the A-1, with no ego or bullshit to distract the reader. Just a totally excellent book. The only bad part was that the copy I got is pretty ancient and all the pages are falling out of the binding. I'm going to have to see if I can get it re-bound or something because I'm sure I'll want to read it again eventually. Now I'm starting on Bob Hoover's book. Pretty good so far. Rick is pretty amazing. I read his column for years in airways and have his book. Totally humble guy who's just had a lifelong love affair with airplanes. He retired a few years back from FedEx and lives up in Friday Harbor Washington. When he was in new-hire class at Tigers, they were doing the around the table meet and greet. Rick had commented on how he had just returned from Laos, having flown there as a civilian. One of Rick's classmates commented that he had spent a night there once. "Where would that be?" Asked Rick "Tchepone." Replied the man. "Are you sure?" Rick asked. (Pathet Lao, artillery, not a place to visit.) "Yes, that was the place. You see, I was shot down there." "We were both smiling at that point. Everybody else was silent, listening intently. "When was that, do you remember the date?" "Sure." he said, and told me. Something strange rang a bell. A loud one. This was rapidly becoming one of those strange, rare, haunting moments when when you have the feeling of having been there before, when some cosmic forces align to turn our lives around , that special meaning is taking place, when what me might call a coincidence becomes significant and special. Some call it synchronicity: a lovely perhaps spiritual phenomenon. "You callsign wasn't perhaps Playboy, was it?" "YES" How did you know?" Because I was flying the Skyraider on your rescue." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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