In lieu of a Tinkering Tuesday today we will have a book review. Funding has been slack for projects as of late. Something about a mortgage and vacation.
So, today I will give y'all an interesting title to pursue. But first, as always, a bit of backstory.
In 2007, after a brief senior trip to CENTCOM, I came home and for lack of anything better to do went to the local community college for a year. Something about my senior year GPA prohibiting me from attending, well, anywhere else.
And I signed up for Western Civ II, MW, 0830-0945. Having somehow earned a college credit for Western Civ I in high school.
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| Pictured above: stock photo recreation |
Dr. House was your typical older academic. Like Stephen Ambrose, but without the plagiarism. That being said, when not hung over, or napping, he was very interesting. And I came to find out that he was also an author.
A very good read. And well researched. Exceedingly so. It is not an exciting read of massed armored formations fighting to determine the fate of Eastern Europe. It is a plodding study of the world's largest tank battle. And you'll be better for reading it. If you're a specialisted and/or history nerd.
To keep it gun related, there is chapter devoted to the employment of Soviet anti-tank rifle formations. Most fascinating.
You can buy it here. I'd read it again. Or, in keeping with today's theme, it would look good on the shelf.
Hey Mack;
ReplyDeleteAnd the biggest tank battle since WWII was 73 Eastings, although I wonder if the Israeli wars were as big or larger. I never really researched that one. And as far as Kursk went, The Soviets had a good spy and the Germans put too much faith in their new untried King Tigers.
The Israeli '73 War had bigger battles in numbers of units involed, I thank.
DeleteGlantz and House are pretty much the definitive experts in Eastern front due to their access to Soviet archives.
ReplyDeleteYes. He actually didn't teach the next semester because he was winging his way to Russian for a month long research trip.
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