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May 20, 2007
Holiday Reading
After a few weeks of crap at work (for both of us), our week in Hawaii is filled with inactivity: a lot of lying on the beach and reading. Some high (and low) lights of the reading list:
The Punic Wars- by Adrian Goldsworthy is a rare breed in history writing in that it's scholarly and yet written in a readable style. A lot of scholarly history is just too long and dry for my current mental state (as close to adult ADD as I've ever experienced), so presenting those info in readable form is a good thing. On the other hand, it's not "pop" history which tends to dumb down the material for layman. In any case, if you need just one book to get a reasonable understanding of the conflict (i.e. enough to get inspired so you can start your Punic War project in miniatures), this is it. (BTW Prof. Goldsworthy is a wargamer who had been sighted around the Ancient Military History Yahoo group.
Memory- by Lois McMaster Bujold, is part of the Vorkosigan Sci-fi saga. It's stories about the adventure of a young deformed royalty who want to make it in this universe on his own terms. It's time waster fluff, but very good time waster fluff. Two of the books in the series had won Hugo best Novel award is a testament to the writing. The stories tend to he light-hearted adventure so it's perfect for vacation. I read (heard) this one through a book on tape offering which is good, but not as great as the older Vorkosigan Saga which was narrated by both a man and a woman who did all the voices. Those are definitely worth tracking down. (all these are unabridged)
Achtung Schweinehund!- by Harry Pearson is a strange and delightful book. It's only avail from the UK (I got it from a online vendor for about $25US including shipping). It's a very personal account of a boy's facination/obsession with wargaming and toy soldiers. It's filled with auther's boyhood life in the UK, with frequent digression into the funnier aspects of the hobby. There are many delightful tales of eccentrics (I use the term loosely, some have definitely crossed over into the "weird"). The book will appeal to historical wargamers (he hates fantasy BTW) of a certain age (born in the 60's). There are also a lot of stories about aspects of wargaming that I know nothing about (e.g. the french wargaming/toy soldier scene) which are informative. Before I started in on it I suspect that though an interesting tale, the UK-ness might not resonate, buy was I wrong! It looks like growing up in the late 60's in Taiwan isn't that far from growing up English if one is a military history nerd. Airfix kit that comes in a plastic bag and hung on a peg in the hobby store? Check. Little booklet with Battle of Britain rub-on sticker so one can recreate his own 2d "diorama"? Check. With the exception of the availablity of metal none WW2 themed figures, our childhood are remarkably similar.
Posted by msoong at May 20, 2007 03:36 PM
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