Just taken delivery of "Dirty, trifling piece of business (volume 1)" by Gavin Watt, about the frontier raids in upper NY during 1781. A follow-up to his previous bokk "The burning of the valleys", which covered the 1779-80 period.

This month I have mostly been going all WW2... Roanoke, by Lee Miller - Not wargames related or military history as such, but included here as a warning. This is the worst book I've read in a long time. Avoid. Arnhem, by Lloyd Clark - Not bad. Didn't think it was a good as his Anzio book though, probably because my knowledge of Anzio was a lot sketchier than Arnhem. D-Day: Battle for Normandy, by Antony Beevor - Up to his usual standards. Very good. Armoured Guardsmen, by Robert Boscawen - Diary of a Coldstream tank officer from Normandy and up into Germany. Particularly interesting for me because grandad Peewee was in the same unit. Fascinating. Roads to Falaise, by Ken Tout - A bit idiosyncratic and messily structured, but still not bad. Full of interesting little vignettes that would make good scenarios. The Battle of Berlin, by Tony Le Tissier - Packed full of operational level detail. Good maps too. Rather good. Also the obligatory shitload of Osprey publication too numerous to list...

I'm about to start "Italy's Sorrow- A Year of War, 1944-45" to feed my Italian campaign interest, and am re-reading several of the Panzer Tracts books on paper panzers to ensure my next project works out right. Olaf

Currently, I am reading The Services of Lieut.-Colonel Francis Downman in France, North America and the West Indies between the Years 1758 and 1784. It's a very easy read; the language lacks the ornate literary flourishes that encumber so many other contemporary documents.

Italy's Sorrow is in my to do pile. Let me know what you think of it Olaf...

Just to switch periods to - I managed to get hold of a not-too-expensive copy of John Warwicker's "With Britain in Mortal Danger" about the Auxilliary Units in World War II. Supposed to be the definitive history of them as far as the information about them has been released into the public domain. Also mentions the Museum of the British Resistance Organisation in Parham Suffolk, and I wondered if any of WD3s East Anglian based members have been there? If so is it any good??

Finished Beevor's "D-Day", which is about the Normandy campaign to the liberation of Paris rather than D-Day per se. I enjoyed it a great deal, probably because it's been a while since I last read about Totalise, Epsom etc and had forgotten most of the details. Beevor has a good eye for vignettes and nuggets of personal information which convey the essence of what must have been a horrific experience for all involved (all war is hell, obviously, but for non-WW2 specialists such as I it's perhaps easy to think that the Eastern Front had a monopoly on suffering). He's harsh on Monty, pokes fun at the Free French ( :clap: ), and has lots of interesting stuff on the German commanders. Recommended. Moving on now to a biography of de Gaulle.

As I've mentioned elsewhere Glenn Foard's Naseby. For me having read lots of ECW history during 80' and early 90's but only dribs and drabs since this is revealing so I feel as if I'm playing catch up. This text has the benefit of knowledge gained from the plots of musket shot over the battlefield that in itself is a very interesting method of detective history. The up shot is I can see myself hunting down more recent ECW texts and wanting those Lardy rules!!!

Len Deightons Blitzkreig

Ive got his 'Fighter' and 'Bomber' in the pile next i think may be a Terry Pratchett im bored with military for a while ;)

Osprey's Armies of the Napoleonic Wars..

I am reading Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Not bad so far.

For a little light reading just read 'The Hornet's Nest'. By The Jimmy Carter. Second time of reading and I really enjoyed it albeit the end was a little rushed. Today started, A dirty, trifling, piece of business. By Gavin K Watt. Canada in during 1781. John

"The Line upon a wind" by Noel mostert - billed as 'the greatest war fought at sea under sail 1793-1815" very good so far :clap: :clap: :clap: