Stack of Books Read

• Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall
  
• An Atlas of Extinct Countries by Gideon Dafoe
  
• Island Infernos: The US Army's Pacific War Odyssey, 1944 by John C. McManus
  
• Revolutionary War Soldier 1775 - 1783 by Keith Wilbur
  
• Dutch Oven Camp Cooking by Vernon Winteroni
  
• Abandoned Southern California by Joanna Kalafatis
  
• The Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War by Mark Stille
  

Winter Books

 Been a while since I posted a books list...

• Imperfect Union: How Jesse and John Fremont Mapped the West, Invented Celebrity and Helped Cause the Civil War by Steve Inskeep
  
• West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 by Claudio Saunt
  
• Alone in the Fortress of the Bears: 70 Days Surviving Alaska Wilderness Foraging, Fishing Hunting by Bruce Nelson
  
• Mammoth Gold
• Tales Along Camino Sierra by Dale and Gayle Woodruff
  
• Experiencing Medieval Europe by Kenneth Bartlett
  
• Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War by Eliot Cohen and John Gooch
  
• Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer
  
• The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands 1942 - 1944 by Ian Toll
• History of Hitler's Empire by Thomas Childers
  

Pacific War Books

• Combined FleetDecoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy during World War II by John Prados - extremely detailed account of US intelligence in the Pacific War but overly detailed on operations and tactics
  
• USN Carriers v IJN Carriers1942: The Pacific 1942 by Mark Stile
  
• World War II US Fast Carrier TaskForce Tactics: 1942 - 1945 by Brian Lane Herder
  
• Carrier Warfare in the Pacific: An Oral History by E. T. Woolridge
  

Winter Book Reading

• My Twenty Five Years in Provence by Peter Mayle
• American Revolution by Alan Guelzo
• Man-made Wonders ofthe World
• Socialism Sucks by Robert Lawson and Benjamin Powell
• Sixty Meters to Anywhere by Brendan Leonard
• Refighting thePacific War: An Alternative History of World War II edited by Jim Bresnahan
• Carrier! Life Aboard a WWII Aircraft Carrier by LCDR Max Miller

Books

* San Diego Noir (Akashic Noir) by Maryelizabeth Hart - a nice collection of dark short stories centered around San Diego
* Building Wealth One House at a Time: Making it Big on Little Deals by John Schaub - a good introduction to single family real estate investing; better advice than most books and seminars
* The Best Damn Sales Book Ever: 16 Rock-Solid Rules for Achieving Sales Success! by Warren Greshes - not sure why I bought this but it does have some OK tips on salesmanship and self-motivation
* Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific by Robert Lecke - a fabulous first person account of the First Marine division in WWII; a must-read for Pacific War aficionados

Books

• End the Fed by Ron Paul - great treatise on the moral, economic and constitutional cases for ending the Federal Reserve



• Building Real Estate Wealth in a Changing Market: Reap Large Profits from Bargain Purchases in Any Economy by John Schaub - a good beginning book on investing in single family homes, a bit light on details though



• Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 by Ian W. Toll - a dramatically written account of the people and events from Pearl Harbor through Midway; light on military and tactical details and heavy on personalities; enjoyed the Japanese perspective

Latest Books Read

* Men's Health Big Book of Exercises by Adam Campbell - a wonderful catalog of exercises; using it to design new workouts
* The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene - a Machiavellian tome on power; some useful tips on how to deal with others
* The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen - ever wonder why big companies miss out on innovation?
* Iwo Jima - World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific by Larry Smith - a great collection of first hand accounts about Iwo Jima
* New Business Road Test by John W. Mullins - a great way to test out business plans; read the 2nd edition and just bought the new 3rd edition

The Pacific Book

After watching the mini-series (most episodes, at least) I read the companion book to "The Pacific". I prefer the book. The show is great, with good acting and chilling action scenes. But the scope is narrow: marine enlisted infantry. The book covers aviators, officers, et. al. Not meant to be a definitive narrative (which it isn't) it gives a great feel for the war and the different emotions swirling around during that period.

Books

More Books:

• Geek Dad by Ken Denmead - has some interesting projects but not as good as Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction.


• Throwing the Elephant: The Art of Managing Up by Stanley Bing - a goofy book about managing executives; only common sense advice; more satire than real advice.


• Victory and Deceit: Dirty Tricks at War by James F. Dunnigan and Albert A. Nofi - An ok book on deception tactics over the years. The most interesting items were the late 20th century deceptions like Bosnia and the Gulf War.


• Iwo Jima: Portrait of a Battle by Eric Hammel - A truly outstanding book. The pictures should be mandatory viewing. The narrative is well written but a bit tough on the brass.

More Books

• Hell Is Upon Us: D-Day in the Pacific--Saipan to Guam, June-August 1944 by Victor Brooks - There aren't many books on the Marianas Campaign (except for the naval Battle of the Phillipine Sea) so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately this is one of the most poorly-edited books I have read. The author has some good material and you do get a good feel for the invasions of Saipan, Tinian and Guam, but the errors and never-ending references to the Civil War are bothersome in the least.


• Persian Gulf War (America At War Series) by Rodney P. Carlisle and John Stewart Bowman - A decent basic history of the 1991 Gulf War.

Book Potpourri

Knocked out a few more books:
* Kingmakers: The Inventions of the Modern Middle East by Shareen Blair Brysac and Karl Meyer - a very rich inspection of the history of middle east beginning at the end of the 19th century through the middle of the Iraq War. Very well done, but a bit British-centric (it helps to know English titles and government).
* The Vietnam War: A History of US Involvement by John Dunn - read this basic narrative in preparation for more detailed books on the Vietnam War.
* The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle - a somewhat interesting book on how talent can be cultivated using different methods of practice; it could have been condensed into 5 pages.
* One Square Mile of Hell: The Battle for Tarawa by John Wukovits - a ground level view of the harrowing battle of Tarawa, one of the Marine Corps' finest moments.

Okinawa Books

Continuing my look into the Pacific War, I picked up a few books on Okinawa, one of history's most interesting battles.

"The Ultimate Battle: Okinawa 1945: The Last Epic Struggle of World War II" by Bill Sloan - A gripping narrative told at the level of individual soldiers and units. Some of the names will be familiar to views of the HBO series "The Pacific." Suffers from lack of maps.

"The Battle of Okinawa" by Hiromichi Yahara - The battle as told by the senior most Japanese officer to survive the battle. Very insightful as to the Japanese mindset and their method of warfare.

"The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima" edited by Daniel Marston - Not the picture and map book that the title suggests, but a wonderful collection of scholarly essays covering major aspects of the Pacific War. My favorites include the chapters on atomic bomb v. invasion decision (which makes the case for using the bombs) and the ANZAC involvement (which is often overlooked in Pacific War books).

Pacific War Books

Last year I made a couple trips to Pearl Harbor for business. On one occasion I had the great fortune to visit the COMPAFLT's (ADM Willard at the time) office. I found out this is the same office that Admiral Nimitz used during World War II. That piqued my interest in the Pacific War and I started reading up on it.

• "Return To Midway by Robert Ballard" - A fasciniting description of Ballard's search for the Yorktown. Has a decent history of the battle as well.
  


• "Clash of the Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot" by Barrett Tillman - The Battle of the Phillipines Sea is often overlooked but was a key battle in destroying Japanese carrier capabilities. This book is good narrative of the battle but does have quite a bit of Naval jargon that might need interpretation.
  


• "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour" by James D. Hornfischer - A thrilling account of Taffy 3's fight for its life during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
  


• "Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign, 1941 - 1945" by Evan Thomas - An interesting account of four naval commanders during their careers through WWII culminating in the pivital Leyte Gulf battle.
  


• "U.S. Submarines in World War II: A Illustrated History" by Larry Kimmett and Margaret Regis - A highly detailed account of submarines actions in the Pacific during WWII.
  


• "How They Won the War in the Pacific: Nimitz and His Admirals" by Edwin P. Hoyt - This book covers Nimitz and his genius in handling his Admirals, his boss (Ernest King) and the Army (in the form of Gen. Douglas MacArthur).