What are you reading?

[bobjester]

I'm reading a preview copy of "New Paladin's Song", a book of classic poetry & sonnets about, wine, women & song (and Venus, Scheherazade, and the Blues) written over the course of 73 days of a hot Nebraska summer by fellow Rabbitteer writer & performer, Pyotr Miley; friend and roommate.

Pyotr doesn't think its very good, but since he wrote it for his muses, and since I know one of his muses very well, I can say that, as a non-poetry reader, I am blown away at the musical depth and layered philosophical meaning of each poem. I have to give the preview copy back to Pyotr soon, but he has assured me that I am getting a numbered copy for Christmas, which is good, because these are poems that I will come back and read over & over again and every time I do, I'll pick up on a new element of it that I had not perceived in previous readings.

[plug]It will go on sale at "Blurb.com" soon, electronically for Kindle, soft cover & hardback. Its only about 120 pages or so and slightly larger than a paperback sized book, but the poetry is good, if not superior than a lot of 'modern' poetry.[/plug]

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about this, and I didn't even write it! WTF?

[Philotomy Jurament]

Reading Victor Hanson's The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece.

[Matthew]

Excellent book! I have been reading Helen Nicholson's Medieval Warfare recently; not happy with it, disappointing.

[Flight Commander Solitude]

The Road. Reminds me of Aftermath.

[Philotomy Jurament]

Excellent book!

Yes, I agree; it's very interesting and readable.

Have you read Kendrick Pritchett's The Greek State at War?

I have been reading Helen Nicholson's Medieval Warfare recently; not happy with it, disappointing.

Sorry to hear that. Do you have a favorite book on warfare in the medieval period? What about the crusades?

[Welleran]

Currently reading Rogue's Honor, a book by one of my oldest friends based loosely on our primary D&D characters from the 80's. Great stuff!

[Matthew]

Yes, I agree; it's very interesting and readable.

Have you read Kendrick Pritchett's The Greek State at War?

Sadly not. My interest in the ancient Greeks has often trailed behind my study of Roman and medieval warfare. It is definitely one to read, though.

Sorry to hear that. Do you have a favorite book on warfare in the medieval period? What about the crusades?

Well, the classic texts are War in the Middle Ages, by Phillipe Contamine (translated from French), and Crusading Warfare 1097-1193, by R. C Smail. Those are both good books, excellent even, but at the moment I am mostly interested in the work John France is doing, pretty much any book he has written is probably worth reading. David Nicolle is another scholar worth looking to, though I am more familiar with his Osprey work than then heavier duty studies he has completed. In fact, I have his Crusader Warfare lined up to read, so I will be better able to tell you after reading that.

[Philotomy Jurament]

Well, the classic texts are War in the Middle Ages, by Phillipe Contamine (translated from French), and Crusading Warfare 1097-1193, by R. C Smail. Those are both good books, excellent even, but at the moment I am mostly interested in the work John France is doing, pretty much any book he has written is probably worth reading. David Nicolle is another scholar worth looking to, though I am more familiar with his Osprey work than then heavier duty studies he has completed. In fact, I have his Crusader Warfare lined up to read, so I will be better able to tell you after reading that.

Okay, thanks. I have Contamine's War in the Middle Ages on my shelf, but haven't read it, yet.* I'll have to check out R.C. Smail and John France; I don't think I've read anything by them. Actually the last couple of crusades books I read were off the beaten path: Thomas Madden's A Concise History of the Crusades and Hilaire Belloc's The Crusades: The World's Debate. And both of those were read several years ago.


* I picked it up at Half-Price Books, which is also where I picked up Chandler's Campaigns of Napoleon, my copy of The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War, and others. Amazon is nice, but I sure like finding stuff like this at Half-Price Books.

[bobjester]

My good friend has decided he wants some of his books back that I saved from his last house-move that turned into a disaster, thanks to some shitty roommates.

Among the titles he wants back, are some about the Medieval period. Instead of replacing the books themselves, I'd like to get a Kindle App for Linux/Ubuntu & read them on my computer. Barring this (or availability in Kindle format) I guess I'll have to search Amazon & all the used books stores I find from now on.

Here is the partial list of books:
- Siege Warfare: The Fortress in the Early Modern World 1494 - 1660 by Christopher Duffy
- English Castles by Adrian Pettifer
- European Arms & Armor by Charles Henry Ashdown
- Encyclopædia of Celtic Wisdom by Caitlin & John Matthews
- Medieval History by Norman F. Cantor
- Periods in Highland History by I.F. Grant High Cheape
- An Illustrated Cultural History of England by F.E. Halliday

[Geoffrey]

I've been re-reading some Clark Ashton Smith stories. I just finished "Xeethra", and the next one will be "The Last Hieroglyph".

[Kellri]

Just got a gift of a hefty bag of books from an Aussie friend. Reading Desmond Young's Rommel: The Desert Fox before diving into the Raymond Chandler Omnibus like an oasis.

[Chainsaw]

Nothing highbrow here - just barbarians, carnage, evil serpent queens, invading hordes and the like.

[grodog]

- Medieval History by Norman F. Cantor

I recommend Cantor, for sure: he's an excellent scholar.

[bobjester]

- Medieval History by Norman F. Cantor

I recommend Cantor, for sure: he's an excellent scholar.

I like it so far, but I'm only about 100 pages into it right now. I hope to get this book and "Siege Warfare" read before my friend wants them back.

[TRP]

Just picked up at a library book sale:

Starship; Brian Aldiss
Wine of Satan; Laverne Gay
Great Weird Tales; edited S.T. Joshi; Lovecraft, Blackwood, Machen, Bierce, Dunsany, more.

Oh, and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 Bible, but didn't figure that'd be as interesting for this thread.