Military Literature

[ken_2_10_nah]

I confess, without shame, that I am sick and tired of fighting — its glory is all moonshine; even success the most brilliant is over dead and mangled bodies, with the anguish and lamentations of distant families, appealing to me for sons, husbands, and fathers ... it is only those who have never heard a shot, never heard the shriek and groans of the wounded and lacerated ... that cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation.

 

-- General William T. Sherman

[Dr_PepPeR]

@ hex,

 

steven pressfield in his book "gates of fire" described the two ways the crests were worn by the spartans: the transverse way was, if i remember correctly, worn by officers, and the other way by rank and file. all spartans had long hair, which the movie didn't portray, as it was one of the commandments that spartan men had to live by: "nothing makes a handsome man more comely, or an ugly one more terrifying" is the reasoning behind it.

 

i know the painting you're referring to: goya's painting was of an execution of spanish guerillas by napoleon's troops during the franco-spanish war which predates the spanish civil war.

 

one of the most famous of war photographs was taken by robert capa during the spanish civil war and shows the moment of death of a spanish fighter, a republican i believe. it was highly controversial and capa was accused of staging the photo, but subsequent investigations have proven it to be genuine. capa was also in the first wave of troops who landed at omaha beach on d-day during wwII.

 

@ jhp

 

there's a great book on the us navy seals which follows a group of applicants as they go through bud/s. i can't remember the title off hand, but it was the first time ever that the seals allowed outsiders into their training compound. the book is packed full of pictures of what it's like to undergo seal selection.

 

one interesting piece of information in the book: the instructors will happily fail an entire intake, up to 150 men, if they think that they don't meet the right standards. imagine, a fail rate of 100% in some cases...

 

"dispatches" was a great book. if you watch "full metal jacket" you'll find big chunks of dialogue in the movie are taken direct from the book.

 

some very interesting reading can also be found regarding the french experience in indo-china (as vietnam was called then). a really good one is called "hell in a very small space" about the battle of dien bien phu, which the french lost to a determined and brilliant campaign led by general vo nguyen giap.

 

 

i'd also highly recommend reading up on the philippine experience in korea, especially the battle of yultong. this is the best website i've ever come across regarding the philippine expeditionary forces to korea (peftok):

 

http://www.geocities.com/peftok/10thbct3.html

 

it shows what filipino soldiers were like once upon a time...

 

It's sad there is a dearth of literature on the PEFTOK. A lot of the works written by western writers have been critical of the Filipinos' performance. They overlook that Filipinos were never trained to fight in cold weather. The Filipinos really excelled in rounding up the North Koreans who were left behind during their retreat. With their recent experience in the Hukbalahap campaign this is quite understandable. Actually, the only written literature that I've seen with positive comments was a book written by a South Korean.

[eadnsn]

It's sad there is a dearth of literature on the PEFTOK. A lot of the works written by western writers have been critical of the Filipinos' performance. They overlook that Filipinos were never trained to fight in cold weather. The Filipinos really excelled in rounding up the North Koreans who were left behind during their retreat. With their recent experience in the Hukbalahap campaign this is quite understandable. Actually, the only written literature that I've seen with positive comments was a book written by a South Korean.

 

 

 

no comment po

[Hex_Arenas]

I saw in the bookstore a book by John Keegan 'The First World War'..but I didnt buy it. I read a few pages and it's engaging naman, and he goes on to write in detail about the political situation at that time, as well as the general spirit of the times...From what little Ive read, I think it's good reading too, because it not only gives a thorough account of the war and the battles, it also tells about the personalities and general war strategies or lack of it, how warfare was done during those times (for example, he said war plans were usually thought of on the eve of the war itself). I guess Im gonna have to get t some other time if its still there..but I hope theyre gonna have Keegan's The Second World War as well.

[Dr_PepPeR]

I saw in the bookstore a book by John Keegan 'The First World War'..but I didnt buy it. I read a few pages and it's engaging naman, and he goes on to write in detail about the political situation at that time, as well as the general spirit of the times...From what little Ive read, I think it's good reading too, because it not only gives a thorough account of the war and the battles, it also tells about the personalities and general war strategies or lack of it, how warfare was done during those times (for example, he said war plans were usually thought of on the eve of the war itself). I guess Im gonna have to get t some other time if its still there..but I hope theyre gonna have Keegan's The Second World War as well.

 

I haven't read Keegan's 'The First World War', but I really liked his other books, 'The Illustrated Face of Battle', 'Six Armies in Normandy', and 'A History of Warfare'.

[istaksamson]

glad to see that i'm not alone in having read pressfield's gates of fire. very interesting read, character development much more compelling than 300, IMO

[istaksamson]

glad to see that i'm not alone in having read pressfield's gates of fire. very interesting read, character development much more compelling than 300, IMO

[Dr_PepPeR]

glad to see that i'm not alone in having read pressfield's gates of fire. very interesting read, character development much more compelling than 300, IMO

 

Pressfield gives a narrative style to the Battle of Thermopylae by telling it through Xeones and is very good at giving a glimpse of what the Spartan society was like and how the phalanx was used tactically. I think 300 was based on a graphic novel and tried to capture the feel of the comics on which it is based.

[ilb4u2nyt]

As of the moment, I could see how the US from Tom Clancy's "The Bear and the Dragon" used its arsenal on Iraqi military personel and quite sorry to hear, their civilian population. It might not be far to see the possibility of both the US and China confronting but then again not because US is the primary economic partner of China where most of its goods are exported to. Economic warfare is what really happening right now. So US is trying to win it out by claiming stakes on the world's oil market by occupying Iraq "democratically" to withstand China's booming economy.

 

We just have to wait and see till the equilibrium of the world's greatest powers are stable or better yet pray that any apocalyptic war would not happen in the very near future.

 

BTW, any of you had by chance saw any books depicting or inscribing in detail the Battle of Midway? I would love to read inspite the few documentaries and a movie that I watched which immortalized it.

[Dr_PepPeR]

As of the moment, I could see how the US from Tom Clancy's "The Bear and the Dragon" used its arsenal on Iraqi military personel and quite sorry to hear, their civilian population. It might not be far to see the possibility of both the US and China confronting but then again not because US is the primary economic partner of China where most of its goods are exported to. Economic warfare is what really happening right now. So US is trying to win it out by claiming stakes on the world's oil market by occupying Iraq "democratically" to withstand China's booming economy.

 

We just have to wait and see till the equilibrium of the world's greatest powers are stable or better yet pray that any apocalyptic war would not happen in the very near future.

 

BTW, any of you had by chance saw any books depicting or inscribing in detail the Battle of Midway? I would love to read inspite the few documentaries and a movie that I watched which immortalized it.

 

There are several interesting books on the Battle of Midway, among those I remember are 'Miracle at Midway' and 'Midway:Turning Point in the Pacific'. One of my friends has highly recommended another book, 'Shattered Sword - The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway' but I haven't been able to find a copy of this.

[JHP]

glad to see that i'm not alone in having read pressfield's gates of fire. very interesting read, character development much more compelling than 300, IMO

 

 

Pressfield gives a narrative style to the Battle of Thermopylae by telling it through Xeones and is very good at giving a glimpse of what the Spartan society was like and how the phalanx was used tactically. I think 300 was based on a graphic novel and tried to capture the feel of the comics on which it is based.

 

 

 

Do you remember where Pressfield's book was available?

 

 

Also, in case you're interested, am reading "What Was Asked Of Us," a compilation by Trish Wood of oral histories of combat experiences in Iraq, compelling first-hand naratives. Got it at Power Books.

[Dr_PepPeR]

Do you remember where Pressfield's book was available?

 

 

Also, in case you're interested, am reading "What Was Asked Of Us," a compilation by Trish Wood of oral histories of combat experiences in Iraq, compelling first-hand naratives. Got it at Power Books.

 

I got mine at Booksale Glorietta. How much is 'What Was Asked of Us?'

[JHP]

I got mine at Booksale Glorietta. How much is 'What Was Asked of Us?'

 

 

Thanks, Dr. Pepper. The book cost Php 495.

[Dr_PepPeR]

Thanks, Dr. Pepper. The book cost Php 495.

 

Thanks for the info too. I guess at that price it's a softcover.

[ganjaman318]

share ko lang...has anybody read "about face" by david hackworth? damn good reading....