To Dad from Dad

[Brian Conyngham]

Guys, I would like to state categorically that I do not know James Bourhill the author of the book “Come back to Portofino” and am not receiving any kickbacks from this punt. But if you get a chance and want to spoil yourself with some great reading matter this festive season, do try and get yourself a copy of this book. Exclusive books have copies, saw some last weekend.

Often history books can literally drown you in facts and waffle and you give up halfway through reading them. However the way he has written this account of the 6th SA Division in Italy, will keep you enthralled. For South Africans and others interested in WW2 and the Italian theatre of the war,this is a must.

Enjoy
Brian

Brian,

Thanks for the recommendation, and I agree that books of this genre can indeed often drain the enthusiasm with dry, unrelenting stats and unnecessary padding.

Without wishing to hi-jack your thread, may I also recommend a book which, similarly, is written with fluidity and vervre, and keeps you turning the pages right to the end. It is Somme Harvest, by Giles E. M. Eyre.

Written in a style that the reader could be forgiven for thinking is fiction, the action is ceaseless and frequently gruesome, the attention to detail empirical, and the moments of nerve-shattering tension transport the reader back to the mud, blood and Bedlam of 1916.

A superb read, and an unforgettable record of a man's experiences during one summer of the 'War to End All Wars'.

Thanks again, Brian.

Peter.

[Brian Conyngham]

Peter

Thanks for the lead on "Somme Harvest", will keep an eye out for a copy.

Likewise "Come back to Portofino" also re-calls soldiers experiences, so it is largely a personal account of the campaign from the begining to end of the allied advance in Italy. Hence it's readability.

Brian

[natal01]

I think that it would be a really good idea to have a section for book crits. Sometimes I am prepared to hang in and finish a badly written military book to extract the facts, but I would rather enjoy the read. My home is littered with half read books, which rather bears testimony to the fact that a lot of military historians are poor writers ( or maybe, I have a short attention span !)
So when I hear about a military history book that is also a good read, I'm interested.
Mike

[johnG]

Digressing from the thread I'm afraid, but if anybody knows of any good military books on audio discs, then I would be glad to know of them.

Many thanks

johnG

[Eddie Parks]

John

The best bet is to move on to a Kindle. The choice of military history books is huge. Of course price may be an issue.
Eddie

[johnG]

Thanks for the recommendation Eddie, but I have to confess to being partially sighted, and do not think I could handle Kindle as I have to use a magnifying glass for any printed matter and am restricted as to how long I can do that for because of eye strain.

I rely heavily on my computer, set in large font, for many things and whilst usually having a book on hand which I slowly grind my way through, I listen to audio books quite a lot. Then again, I am only going by what I have picked up second hand about Kindle - perhaps the font can be adjusted to large size? I don't know about these things.

Regards

johnG

[RobD]

JohnG,

I expect this is "old hat" to you, but the late David Rattray's 5-CD set on SA history and especialy the Anglo Zulu war, called The Day of the Dead Moon, is fantastic.

Rob

[johnG]

Hi Rob,
No, I did not know of that set. I have a number of discs and tapes on the Anglo Zulu War, Rhodes, etc, but that is terrific - thanks for the info, I will chase that up immediately.

Kind regards,

John

[Voltigeur]

Hello John, you might find something in this website called "Librivox"
Jo
http://www.archive.org/details/librivoxaudio

[johnG]

Thanks Jo, will check now.

I am told Kindle can be adjusted to quite large font and hope to have a demonstation of same very soon, so perhaps another channel opens.
Regards,

john