Books for bedtime...

[Lola]

One Hill,

Following your theme, you might like The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sayer. A Franco-German teenager on the Russian front; it is hard to credit that after the years of war he experienced he was still only Al Fowlers age. Really well written and not at all negative - aside from the daily horrors of war in Russia clearly.

[Stolly]

I recently read All Quiet on the Western Front. Cried a bit on the train at one point I seem to have a thing about books set in war times, I am not sure why. I read Birdsong by Sebatian Faulks too, that is one of my faves.

Birdsong is a fabulous book ; the Captain Weir character (posh toff doing his absolute best in a hugely grim job of mining the enemy trenches, totally depressed with nerves shot to pieces) is completely brilliant. I've also read Lola's recommendation (albeit yonks ago), the forgotten soldier, relaying the experiences of a waffen SS soldier in Russia which is excellent; its supposed to be true too!

Continuing the Russian Front WWII theme, I have two non-fiction books about the battle of Stalingrad - Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor and Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad by Wlliam Craig - which are just unbelievable; the William Craig book is easier to read and dips into real soldiers own experiences at the time, telling their (horrific) stories more than anything. The film enemy at the gates was (very loosely) based on this book. It was truly the battle of the 20th century and the turning point of world war II - the casualties were absolutely huge - this extract from wiki sayas it all:

Various scholars have estimated the Axis suffered 850,000 casualties (killed, disabled, captured) among all branches of the German armed forces and its allies, many of them POWs who died in Soviet captivity between 1943 and 1955. 400,000 Germans, 120,000 Romanians, 120,000 Hungarians, and 120,000 Italians were killed, wounded or captured. Of the 91,000 German POWs taken at Stalingrad, 27,000 died within weeks and only 5,000 returned to Germany in 1955. The remainder of the POWs died in Soviet captivity. According to Soviet sources, the Axis lost 1.5 million killed, wounded or captured in the whole Stalingrad area.50,000 ex-Soviets Hiwis (local volunteers incorporated into the German forces in supporting capacities) were killed or captured by the Red Army.

According to archival figures, the Red Army suffered a total of 1,129,619 total casualties; 478,741 men killed or missing and 650,878 wounded. These numbers are for the whole Stalingrad Area; in the city itself 750,000 were killed, captured, or wounded. Red Army penal battalions executed 278 Soviet soldiers for cowardice during the battle.Also, more than 40,000 Soviet civilians died in Stalingrad and its suburbs during a single week of aerial bombing as the German 4th Panzer and 6th armies approached the city; the total number of civilians killed in the regions outside the city is unknown. In all, the battle resulted in an estimated total of 1.7 million to 2 million Axis and Soviet casualties.

[Derby Tup]

Bought from one of those cheapy chain bookshops (Books Warehouse?) this weekend, a book called A Lifetime of Mountains. A collection of the fortnightly Country Diary pieces written for the Guardian by A. Harry Griffin.

Never heard of this chap, nor these articles before, but they're a cracking read. Genteel, but really evocative of the landscapes and people and cover a 50yr period - so really illustrate the changes in his home turf of the Lakes and beyond.

Bargain at £2.99.

Brilliant book. I used to love reading his country diary pieces in the Gruniad

[tinyman]

I recently read All Quiet on the Western Front. Cried a bit on the train at one point I seem to have a thing about books set in war times, I am not sure why.

If you're looking for something that shows that some deeper passions, like a love of the mountains, can be stronger than the horrors of war, then get hold of No Picnic on Mount Kenya by Felice Benuzzi. It's a story of Italian Alpine troops who are prisoners of war in Kenya during WW2. Their camp is within sight of Mount Kenya and they come up with an escape plan that is all about making themselves a full set of mountaineering equipment, climbing the mountain then giving themselves up afterwards.

It's a funny, inspiring book that always reminds me of how a love of the mountains can be a positive force to overcome the obstacles in even the most difficult times.

[ZootHornRollo]

Robert McFarlane's Mountains of the Mind is a good book - weaving in the history of mountaineering with his own experiences and with scholarly digressions on what it is that fascinates us about mountains and high places, and makes us take such risks exploring them.

Also, which I've not read, is WH Murray's Mountaineering in Scotland, which is more than a mountaineering guide apparently and has an interesting history (author wrote it on toilet paper from memory in German POW camp during WWII).

[Alf]

One Hill,

Following your theme, you might like The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sayer. A Franco-German teenager on the Russian front; it is hard to credit that after the years of war he experienced he was still only Al Fowlers age. Really well written and not at all negative - aside from the daily horrors of war in Russia clearly.

I read the Sayer book many years ago and enjoyed it.

Some others I would recommend:

The Washing Of The Spears: The Rise And Fall Of The Zulu Nation by Donald R. Morris

365 Days by Ronald J. Glasser (Vietnam - Brilliant book written by a doctor)

Anything by Lyn Mcdonald on the 1st World War

[Stolly]

The best book I've read on Vietnam is Dispatches by Michael Herr . So good I think Coppola chose to seek out his advice during the making of Apocalypse Now. Certainly that film and Full Metal Jacket, come to that, both borrowed heavily from Dispatches.

[Alf]

The best book I've read on Vietnam is Dispatches by Michael Herr . So good I think Coppola chose to seek out his advice during the making of Apocalypse Now. Certainly that film and Full Metal Jacket, come to that, both borrowed heavily from Dispatches.

I would agree with you on that Stolly. Another little known Vietnam book that is now out of print but I got copy second hand of is "Sand in the Wind" by Robert Roth (predates Dispatches) which I thought was borrowed from as well as Dispatches.

[OneHillWonder]

One Hill,

Following your theme, you might like The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sayer. A Franco-German teenager on the Russian front; it is hard to credit that after the years of war he experienced he was still only Al Fowlers age. Really well written and not at all negative - aside from the daily horrors of war in Russia clearly.

SOunds good lola. I hope it hurts my head I like books that hurt my head!

[OneHillWonder]

I now have too many books on my list and don't know where to start (not a bad place to be).