What have I been reading during the Pandemic

 

Hard Boiled Detective Stories:

Nothing better here, in my opinion then Robert Parker's Spenser series.  They take place in the Boston area and feature Spencer a private detective in the Philip Marlowe cast.  He is a ex boxer and ex policeman who is now a private detective.  He has a code of honour which he adhears to and an incredible cast of extras.  Love the wisecracks dialogue.  Spenser is a great cook, so you will get hungry reading the books. And he loves beer so i recommend keeping a glass of your favorite brew nearby.  They are a fun read and great description of the Boston area.  If you saw the TV series or movies forget it.  They are nothing like the books and pale imitations to be avoided.   He also wrote nine novels based on the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer fighting alcaholism who moves to a small New England town, and six novels based on the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator.  Parker wrote four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.  They are all great and highly recommend.

For the Spenser series I recommend reading the books in order.  The earlier books are much more meatier and better written.  And you grow to learn more about the characters.  Avoid the books written after Parker's death as they are poor substitute for the original.

King Philip's War 1675 - 1676:  America's Deadliest Colonial Conflict. 

This new Osprey book by Gabriele Esposito is a great history of a forgotten conflict.  The war between the New England colonies and the Native Peoples was the single most destructive war in our countries short history.  Nearly half of all European settlements were destroyed.  The Narragansett, Wampanoag and many smaller tribes were destroyed.  Yet for all its harshness and destruction its a fascinating topic and part of the history of the area where I live.  And its causing me to reconsider starting yet another new period for gaming.

US Regular vs British Regular War of 1812

I received the Kindle edition of this Osprey series book.  There is not much out there on the North American War of 1812 in wargame circles. So when something comes out it is met with great rejoicing.  I saw this originally on the Osprey publishing website and pre ordered it right away.  I then spent the morning reading, and rereading it.  As someone who has limited dollars to spend on his hobby I have to say I was most happy with the book and think it well worth adding it to your library.

First off, what the book is not.  It is not a uniform guide.  It is not a history of the war.  There are other better books for those subjects.  Nor is it about the various Militia, Volunteer or Fencibels regiments.   

What it is is a comparison if the United States Regular soldier and his British counterpart.  It details their training, organization and background.  It goes into the drill manuals and how regiments formed up for battle.  There is some information about uniforms but just basics.  And there are three workman like accounts comparing the two armies at three major actions:  Queenstown Heights 1812, Chrysler's Farm 1813 and Chippewa 1814.  

The heart of the book is how the US regular army grew and developed during the war.  At the start the regular army was often the poor step child compared to the state militia.  Officers were often political appointed and ignorant of their duties.  There was no solid non commissioned ranks to train and maintain discipline and to be an example like in the British army.  Drill manuals?  Take your pick! Because there was no standard it was each regiment on its own.  As the war progress the incompetents are weeded out and a solid officer and non commissioned officer corp evolves.  A group of talented and dedicated officers rose to command positions.  The difference between the army at Queenstown and Chippewa was as light is to darkness.  

The book is not biased or one sided.  The British regular was a professional who maintained that reputation throughout the war.  The US regular evolved and developed throughout the war.  So yes, there is much more about him in the text and how this development came about.  Again the book is a comparison of the two regular soldiers from the start of the war to the end.  I think it is important to understand this before you buy the book.    I enjoyed it very much and found lots of good food for thought and lessons for my wargames armies.  

John Buchanan "Road" series:

"The Road to Charleston" and "The Road to Valley Forge. ". I am a great fan of Buchanan's " Road " books.  These are great, popular histories of varioys theaters of the American Revolution.  They are very well researched and well written.  His first book, "The Road to Guilford Courthouse" tells the take if the British southern theater from before the siege of Charleston to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.  "The Road to Charleston"  takes up the tale of Nathaniel Greene's recapture of South Carolina to the British evacuation if the South.  His "Road to Valley Forge" follows Washington's learning curve as commander in chief through the New York and New Jersey operations.  Both are great reads and great history.

Nathaniel Philbrick:

Just finished his books "Mayflower" and "Heart of the Sea."  

I found the Mayflower to be dived into thirds as far as story telling and contents go.  The first third of the book is a history of not only the first fifty years of the Pilgrims settlement in Massachusetts.  The first third of the book is about who they were and why they cane to America.  The next third is how they settled and adjusted to life in the wilderness.  It alsogoes into their inter actions with the Native peoples and how both sides looked to the other to establish dominance over the area and the other people living there.  Finally the last third is a brief history of King Philips War 1675-76.  Possibly one if the most destructive wars in our history and one if the only times the Native peoples could have pushed back the invasion of Europeans.

"The Heart of the Seas" described the tragedy of the Whale ship Essex which was rammed by a sperm whale and sunk. It was thus actually story which influenced Me level in writing Moby Dick. The crew was adrift for a long time and barely survived.  The book is an excellent history of the whaling industry as it actually was and not its romantic story as its cone down to us.  

Just starting Valiant Ambition about George Washington and Benidct Arnold.  I cannot understand why authors continue to over state Arnold's ability and actions.  But that is just me.  I feel a close look at his record showed him to be as careless with men's lives as he was with money.