M14 Forum

IC2(SS)19Z50C5 · September 13th, 2011, 01:24 PM

Attention All…

Being old school I collect and read, lots of historical first person books/documentary reference books about the “Days of Old”. I.E. operations at sea conducted by the USN and USMC…

F&*K Ah-Bunch-ah- “Kindles”, I love the feel of a Real BOOK!!!, the batteries never go dead!!!!

I’m Just Curious….????... What are your favorite books of U.S. and or foreign
Navy related subjects and Why??? ???... Peacetime, wartime, it matters not..

Your thoughts Please…

nSquid · September 13th, 2011, 03:31 PM

Hunt for Red October - the book, not the movie. It has only 4 technical errors that I knew of, and I was active duty nuke submariner when it was printed. Curious fact is the Navy could not prevent publication, though they tried. So they got the Naval Academy to buy the rights to the book so they could edit out stuff Clancy had figured out that was SECRET and such.

pendennis · September 13th, 2011, 08:31 PM

Clancy's best novel is "Red Storm Rising". He provides a very realistic view of a NATO v. Soviet Union war in Europe. While a lot of it is focused on European action, the Navy and Marine Corps get a lot of attention, especially Destroyer v. Soviet submarines in the Atlantic, and a Marine Corp expeditionary force at Iceland.

You may also want to read the history books by Samuel Eliot Morison. He was one of the great naval historians ever.

There are also a lot of folks out there who enjoy W.E.B. Griffin's novels about the Marine Corps.

"Baa Baa Black Sheep", written by Gregory M. "Pappy" Boyington, Colonel (ret.) USMC. His story is a great one, and a far cry from the dramatic license taken by the television series.

1911M14 · September 14th, 2011, 07:16 AM

for really old school USMC/USN history try Seven Frigates, dont recall the author though

IC2(SS)19Z50C5 · September 14th, 2011, 12:39 PM

Good replies so far. BRAVO ZULU and Many Thanks...

I concur about Clancy’s two early books. I read both of them in this order.

“Hunt for Red October”, I had left Navy active duty as a “Submarineer” back in 73 and this book brought back many vivid and actual operational memories for me.

“Red Storm Rising” was the second book that I read of Clancy’s. I had been in the Army Guard for over ten years when this great book came out, and it painted a picture of just what it would have realistically been like had the Russian Bear ever "rolled" across the LD/LC for real. Having been to the Hof Gap as a Tank Platoon Sergeant just a few years before in the FRG, it was easy to imagine hordes of T-72s, T-64s and BMPs initially rolling through places like the Hof Gap and then onto the Fulda Gap… Sure glad it never happened.

More to follow…

nSquid · September 14th, 2011, 06:40 PM

Kinda sad that Red Storm Rising could never occur now. The Russians were much better enemies than they have turned out as friends. I'm just saying when we had split the world in half between us things were better. Now you got every sh!tpot crackbrain with some money trying to take us down.

IC2(SS)19Z50C5 · September 14th, 2011, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nSquid

Now you got every sh!tpot crackbrain with some money trying to take us down.

No-S$%t My Submarineer Shipmate..!!!!

That is TRUE ENOUGH!!!!!.... It is a very unsafe world we all live in today....

IC2(SS)19Z50C5 · September 23rd, 2011, 10:19 PM

If you are a Submarineer (or sadly a NQP) and want to know how it was riding "Full on Four" back in the day, then this book is for you.. It will crack you up!!!! Along with some very serious moments..

GALLANT LADY, A BIOGRAPHY OF THE U.S.S. ARCHERFISH

Also see my posting thread titled "Favorite Ship's/Boat's Websites"