READ ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY?

[Stanley]

'Tank' is going down well. Getting much more out of it this time round including some interesting insights into the savings tanks like the one on Letcliffe. I can feel an article coming on. Also some good stuff about our main tank guru losing influence because he was an acolyte of Crowley, the Beast 666. Amazing how it affected preparations for WW2.

[Stanley]

Finished Tank. What a good read.... Amazing how much more you get out of a book when you go back to it. I was talking about this to my mate Steve and he says he has the same experience, he reckons that part of the explanation is that you come back to it with a slightly different world view, perhaps because of further research so you get new insights. Whatever the reason, it works!

[Stanley]

Started reading Beevor's 'D Day' again. What an amazing effort!



I found this image on the web. As you know, one of my interests is killing tanks! For two years it was my profession. The British Army was hampered until 1943 by the fact that its standard anti-tank gun, the 6 pounder, was ineffective against the front armour of German tanks. In contrast the Germans had the Krupps 88mm which was the most effective AT gun ever. By 1944 the super velocity APSVDS round had been developed and the 17 pounder could stop even the Tigers and were much welcomed. The gun was too big to be retro-fitted to our existing tanks but some American Shermans were modified to accept the gun and they proved to be very effective in the Normandy campaign after 'D' Day. It was called the 'Firefly' because the tracer moved so fast because of the high velocity that the tracer flickered across the landscape like a firefly. The Americans welcomed the 17 pounder because it was better at tank killing than anything they had and cooperated on the conversion. This pic is of a Firefly in the bocage of Normandy, the fighting ground behind the beaches where visibility was hampered in the narrow lanes by the high hedges. The Germans soon realised they were up against something different whan they started losing their previously impregnable Panthers and Tigers. Needless to say the Tommies were delighted!

[Stanley]

Some good archive footage of Churchill tanks in Dan Snow's war archaeology repeat last night. What they didn't mention was the fact that they were hopelessly under-gunned and were no match for the 88mm or the Panthers and Tigers. It may have been the 'best WW2 British tank' but was way behind the Russian T34s and the German tanks.

[Stanley]

Finished 'D Day' and was confirmed again in my antipathy to Montgomery. Definitely not the best general we had! Keeping to the same theme I have started Beevor's 'Stalingrad'. Another harrowing story but worth re-reading.

[Stanley]

Deep into Stalingrad. Today I go in with Zhukov in the great pincer movement that cut the Germans off and was a smashing blow to operation Barbarossa. I shall read Berlin next!

[Stanley]

General von Paulus has just realised he is cut off, can't be re-supplied by air and it's mid-winter. Reading all this again reminds me of the immense loss of life and the tragedy of Stalingrad. The Sixth Army was completely destroyed and this was the turning point of the war in the East. We forget these days that Russia was the single biggest factor in the WW2 victory. If they hadn't been bleeding Germany dry D Day could never have succeeded. The loss of life and scale of destruction was enormous. At the latest count Russia lost more than 35million in the war. Lest we forget!

[PanBiker]

We forget these days that Russia was the single biggest factor in the WW2 victory. If they hadn't been bleeding Germany dry D Day could never have succeeded. The loss of life and scale of destruction was enormous. At the latest count Russia lost more than 35million in the war. Lest we forget!

Indeed Stanley and in the 1980's we had Thatcher insisting that they were "The Enemy" in order to ensure we kept Trident and continued to use UK soil as a forward launching pad for U.S. missiles that we had no control over. Bloody disgraceful!

[Stanley]

I've started on Beevor's 'Berlin'. Essentially the story of the overwhelming attack by the Red Army from the Vistula start line that started on 12th of January and encircled Berlin by the 25th of April. It's a story of the complete collapse of the Third Reich and even though I know the story well, it's still a fascinating re-read. Much was made after the war about secret agreements that the Red Army should be allowed to get there first but in truth, once they crossed the Vistula it was obvious they were going to get there first, not least because Beria and Stalin had a secret agenda. They knew that the German Atomic Research facility was in Spandau in West Berlin and they wanted to get there first to remove the equipment, the stock of Uranium and the scientists for their own research programme. They succeeded.

[Stanley]

I'm into the Fall of Berlin. Harrowing stuff. The Red Army had no mercy and were spurred on by the hate propaganda used by the NKVD to fire them up. There are some terrible stories but in fairness, no worse than what the Nazis had done. Hitler is dead, the Nazi leaders are deserting Berlin and we near the end of the story. Why read all this again? Simply because we should not forget and the better we understand what happened in the past, the more likely we are to avoid the same mistakes again. Worth remembering that there are millions of people in Europe of my age who went through all this and they haven't forgotten.

[Wendyf]

I'm reading Bob Dylan's autobiography at the moment, it is a fascinating read.

[Stanley]

Finished Berlin. Next for shaving is 'The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek. The man who discovered Britain' by Barry Cunliffe. Another re-read.....

[Gloria]

Wendy, may get that on next library visit. I like an autobiography. Have you read Richard Bransons?

[Stanley]

Pytheas is going down well. Barry Cunliffe did a lot of work on the Atlantic facing economies in pre-history and it all makes sense. He has a wonderful knack of explaining very complicated matters in simple terms. At the moment he's discussing trade routes in Europe in the last six centuries BC. Amazing how sophisticated the mechanisms were even then.

[Stanley]

Can't praise Barry too much. He takes the available evidence, constructs a hypothesis and presents it clearly. Very persuasive and informative. The bottom line is that as early as 1000BC the Phoenicians were venturing as far as SW Britain and trading for tin to supply the demand in the Eastern Mediterranean.

[Stanley]

Finished Pytheas and started on an old book on the Stanneries, tin mining in the West country. My current reading interest in tin and of course bronze coincides with a major exhibition in London on bronze and the new programme on the Vikings that started on BBC4 last night. The trade is much older and wider than we hitherto suspected.

[Stanley]

Dropped tin and started 'Getting Better'. My idea of a good local history book is one that keeps reminding a crumbly like me of things long gone. This book hits all the spots! Everything from pink pills for pale and poorly people to the Fever Wagon. I'm on to the section about the doctors and names like Jagoe, Dick, Love, Miller and Morrison crop up. (Nice to see one of my pics of Arthur's retirement popping up and such good reproduction) I could tell stories about all of them, in fact I have done over the years. Dr Love got a good press and in truth many didn't like him because he was so direct. When he retired I told him that I had sussed him out, his sometimes irascible behaviour was a defence against getting too emotionally involved, I told him that I reckoned that anyone who made violins and had Sheppard paintings of Elephants and steam locos on the wall couldn't be all bad! He didn't argue with me. So, in short, loving the book and you should all go out and get a copy!

[Wendyf]

Thanks for the comments Stanley, I shall pass them on to Stephanie. If anyone wants a copy just send me a pm.

[Stanley]

Finished it yesterday. Stephanie has done a good job and there are many dates and facts that are good to have to hand, she researched well. Little items like the report of Asian Flu in Earby in 1957 triggered me off. I was one of the statistics and I can tell you it was a serious matter. I couldn't climb the stairs without help. Arthur Morrison came to see me and played hell with me saying that I thought I was dying but wasn't, all I had was Influenza, keep drinking and taking the aspirin and wait for it to pass! I got my own back years later when he had flu and I sick visited him at the old vicarage. I told him exactly the same thing and he was as mad as a wet hen! Kim thought it was hilarious. I have good memories of Kim, I used to call in to see her after Arthur died and we had some good conversations, I always regret not doing an LTP interview with her, she had plenty to tell. One thing that sticks in the mind is the comments of the parson at Arthur's funeral. He admitted that he didn't know why he was there because Arthur had no time for religion. That's the beauty of this book for anyone who lived through those times. It triggers the memories and I've really enjoyed it.

[Stanley]

After being reminded about the Cornish tin industry by reading Pytheas I decided to go back to the two major books on the industry, Lewis on the Stanneries, the history of the tin industry from medieval times till 1908 when he wrote his book and Barton's History of tin mining which takes the story forward to the present day. After that I think I may go back to the Cornish mine engines and the story of Hale.

[Tardis]

The perfect antidote to 50 Shades of Grey:

50 Sheds of Grey, I am told it has slightly less inuendo than the tweets

In a picture postcard sort of way, simply using language

[Stanley]

Heavily into tin, right up Tizer's street! Am on Barton now, Lewis on the Stanneries is a bit dry, mostly about the legal structure. Funnily enough I have been reminded that tin was only a small part of the Cornish Mining industry. By far the greatest money-earner and driver of the mining economy was copper.

[Stanley]

Must stop buying books..... Two more arrived yesterday, Galloway on The History of Coal Mining in Great Britain (1882 but reprinted by David and Charles in 1969). This will reinforce my Barton on Tin Mining in Cornwall. There was another, 'Men Against Tanks. A History of anti-tank warfare' by John Weeks. This caught my eye while I was reading up Letcliffe tank and so I read it yesterday. A good readable overview that covered the subject well up to 1975 and the inception of laser guided missiles. I learned a lot and met a few old friends. A goody if you like the history of warfare. LINK to Bookfinder, less than £5.

[Tripps]

Not sure if this should go under books or TV? I've watched "My life in books " for the last two days. 1.00pm on BBC2.
Enjoyed it - remarkably no one was plugging their latest book, which is rare for the BBC these days. I don't like Ann Robinson, but found her charming on this programme. I warmed (just a little) to Alaistair Campbell yesterday, and Jeanette Winterson who is a bit too engrossed in herself for my liking. Today I found that I am a fan of the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. Quote "I haven't cooked since the war". Who'd have thought it?

[Stanley]

She must trust her cook David....
Back into Barton on tin mining. I was surprised how many Cornish miners decamped to California for the gold rush.