OT - Book (Non Fiction) Review/Recommendations Thread

[Raellus]

Just finished Annie Jacobsen's, Nuclear War: A Scenario. It's probably the most terrifying thing that I've ever read, any genre. I've read reviews claiming that the scenario presented is far-fetched and unrealistic- I'm not sure that I agree with that, but I think, even if fair, that criticism misses the point of the book. The scenario serves mostly as a means to examine US- and, to a lesser extent, Russian and North Korean- nuclear weapons technology, strategy, operational use, and, scariest of all, effects (short and long-term). In that, the scenario is very successful. Nuclear War is remarkably informative. Once I started reading (yesterday), I had a really hard time putting it down.

My only gripe is the author's writing style can be a little breathless at times. Overwrought. Lots of short, choppy sentences. Repetitive. Mostly for emphasis. (Like the way this paragraph is written.)

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[ToughOmbres]

I just finished First Clash: Close-up Combat in World War Three by Kenneth Macksey. Originally commissioned by HM Canadian Government and then released as a training aid for officers. Fictional scenario of the 4th Canadian Mechanized Battle Group/Brigade confronting and slowing Soviet forces.

Quite good, probably better than Duffer's Drift as a training aid for officers. Pretty slim character development, nice look from a Canadian lens (OC, Officer Commanding instead of CO for the US Army). It is a quick read with summaries and points/lessons to remember at the end of each chapter. I would recommend it.

Macksey's Kesselring: The Making of the Luftwaffe is quite good as well although now a bit dated. It suffers slightly from being in the post-war awe of the Wehrmacht but Macksey presents a balanced view of Kesselring not just as Luftwaffe officer but on the ground in Italy and North Africa.
He tackles Saint Rommel and takes Erwin Rommel down a notch as well. There was always more than just a whiff of jealousy among post-war German memoirs (and Rommel wasn't around to defend himself if fairness). Kesselring took Rommel to task for being "aggressive and overbearing to the point of boorishness when dealing with subordinates" as well as "crass" when dealing with the Italian military who "required a more diplomatic touch."
Perhaps the most excoriating appraisal comes at the end of the North African campaign when Macksey noted "when there were no more laurels to be had, Rommel pleaded illness and retired to hospital in Germany." Ouch. No one is more hated than honest man-Plato?