What are you reading right now

I thoroughly enjoyed all three of the Raven One books.

I started Silver Waterfall and have to admit I lost interest. Probably more of a me problem than the author’s fault.

The audio books on Audible are really really well done.

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Yes, excellent campaign. I actually read the first book concurrently with the campaign (there’s suggested reading in the briefings IIRC) and had a blast, they really complement each other.

Just finished Red Storm Rising… whoa… what a power trip.

Smartly written, plenty of nice educated guesses.
A pleasant read indeed.

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I’m now on the 4th Jack Tanner book (Hellfire). Didn’t think I’d bother again, but so far I’m liking it a bit more than I did the first time.

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I’m halfway through this:

https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/g/11h1hr2rwj&hl=en-FR&q=The+Eighth+Life:+(for+Brilka)+The+International+Bestseller&kgs=4cd16ef4c85e1aa4&shndl=17&source=sh/x/kp/osrp/m5/2

There’s no way I would find the rest and headspace to fit this huge tapestry of stories and slav pathos, but that what the boring family vacation is for :slight_smile:

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Fabulous Finn.
Had me in tears. Totally gripping start to the book, that never lets up throughout the half of it I have read so far. I think the link will let you read the opening chapters that effected me. More tear jerking later for me because I knew RPD Finn had passed on my birthday last month. 14 years old, the same as my oldest GSD.

UK law for service animals was changed to give them added protection as a result of the incident described. Finns law.

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First one, yes.

Second one… Not so much. I had to force myself to finish it.

Third was better, but didn’t feel as realistic as the first one.

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Corrected: First links were wrong!

My Amazon Prime gives me all the free books I can handle! Quite engrossed in this one right now. Its up to ten books: I also like the conceit of battleships as miles long, nearly indestructable Nickel-iron asteriods with engines, and more than 2 million nuclear missiles. And there were twelve of them! (Just to get the party started)

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Hunter-J-N-Chaney-ebook/dp/B09NH7FWQ3/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Two centuries after the Confederation staved off an invasion by the robotic Locusts, Captain Jack Romanoff faces mandatory retirement from an ever-shrinking Navy. Actions speak louder than words. The Confederation doesn’t think the Locusts are coming back.

But what if the politicians are wrong?

Snared in a scheme he doesn’t fully understand or trust, Jack gets his promotion, but it comes with a catch. With a crew of rejects, he must restore the most powerful warship humanity has ever built, after centuries of neglect and decay, before time runs out.

If he fails, humanity might not need to worry about history repeating itself ever again.

B09TL7M8Q2.01.SCLZZZZZZZ_SX500

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Don’t miss Fight Fight though, IMHO the best of the series. Red Storm Rising of the South China Sea.

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I would say it’s definitely as good as R1. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I couldn’t finish it. I know first hand how much of a ‘force multiplier’ they are but I am torn on the subject of MWD’s. I could never be a handler…

But my wife is now drying her eyes and ordering a copy.

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F-105 was mentioned in DCS thread. here some first hand account for read

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Thud Ridge is a great book.

Although I am not sure if Jack Broughton isn’t maybe a bit too much of a fan of himself. Not quite as bad as Chuck Yeager or Dan Hampton but it feels that way at times when you read the book.

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Here’s my funny Chuck Yeager story. In around 2005 I went to one of those summits in Georgia, where attendees pay a fee to listen to famous fighter pilots tell war stories, then have them autograph books and art. The one I attended was especially good, Check Yeager, Bud Anderson, Gunther Rall, and Robin Olds. At the time I was flying a lot of WW2 sims and was thrilled to be in the same room as these men. And since dad had flown Voodoos with Olds in England, was eager to share news from the family.

Rall and Anderson were especially interesting to chat with, both enthusiastic and very much had twinkles in their eyes. Yeager displayed the most bravado and assumed the role of cocky leader of the bunch. Except for one item - a large bandage in the middle of his forehead. When pressed by Olds, he admitted getting bitten by what he called the “gun site” when he taxied his T-6 into a ditch upon arrival earlier that day. That brought huge laughter from both his fellow fighter pilots and the audience.

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There is a YT video of 80+ years old Yeager flying in the backseat of an F-15 (taking him supersonic to commemorate his achievement). In it we see something that IMO captures nicely what he stands for.

They strap him in and he points at an instrument and asks what it is. He is getting told that it is the AoA indexer. He comments “if you don’t know what your AoA is you shouldn’t be flying”.

Well… let’s be respectful and say that in the world that he is from that was (mostly) true. He was a “by the seat of your pants” flyer. That tends to kill you in modern fighters. They have those instruments for a reason, and can fly at ridiculous angles of attack that you cannot just “feel”.
He was a good pilot, but today’s fighter pilots are not (his words not mine) “uneducated hillbillies with good eyes, fast reflexes and good instincts”. They know their way around computers, have a fairly good grasp of flight physics, and can quickly process all those different instrument outputs. A completely different skill set than in his time. I am not sure he understood that.

There are several interviews of his in which he says similar things, and his book also contains a few parts in which he comes across as dismissive toward highly educated people as well as science and advanced echnology.

Edit for typos/structure.

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Was that in 2003?

People get old, even our idols. Heck, it may even happen to me one day, so I have a little grace. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I want to say that it was '05 or '06 since Gen. Olds passed in '07 and I remember thinking that I was lucky to have met him as an adult. Will look for some photos. Col. Anderson is the only one left.

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I am ok to allowe him that pleasure :slight_smile:

… because his book is full of great detail about the way they fought in the Thuds up there.

didnt have the pleasure yet to read on the same subject from Ed Rasimus but looking forward to it.

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I like both Broughton and Rasimus, but overall I found the latter’s two books more enjoyable overall. Definitely recommended!