The Heliograph: December 2011

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Season's Greetings

Well the furnace is fixed, presents are under the tree, figures being painted, scenery readying for the start of my Mafrican Campaign. All that is needed for the first scene is a painted backdrop, coming soon.
MERRY AND SAFE CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.
Don't forget to leave out the cookies and milk, I prefer choclate chip.
Richard

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Furnace kaput

We had the folks who cover our household heating units in to check them out for the season. Seems like our work area heat pump has a bad mother board, what joy. Anyway the house is warm and I'll have to add a small heater to the jumble of stuff in the shop to stay warm enough to paint. Ugh! Hopefully we'll be back up by this weekend.
I really could have used this time to paint but it looks like I'll be helping my wife Christmas up the house. WOW!

BOOKS I AM READING:

May, 2011
The Balkan War 1912-1913, Alexander Vachkov, Angela, 2005.
AND
Armies of the Balkan Wars 1912-13, the priming charge for the Great War, Philip S. Jowett, Osprey, 2011.
Vachkov's book is the better of the two with much more detail, Osprey's has the better illustrations even though they are not as extensive, I think the color is better. Unfortunately, Jowett has no reference material so you have no idea where he got his information. If I were to just buy one it would be Vachkov's book because of the extensive details.

April, 2011
American Guerilla: The Forgotten Heroics of Russell W. Volckmann by Mike Guardia, Casemate, 2010. "The man who escaped from Bataan, raised a filipino army against the Japanese, and became the true 'father' of army special forces." The book reads very well and contains some interesting gaming ideas. Although I got this at a Borders 40% off sale along with several others to be sort of reviewed here soon these have been well worth the money. Overall I give this book a high recommendation.

Another book from Borders sale was Marine! The life of Chesty Puller by Burke Davis, Bantam, 1964. I have no idea when this was reprinted but I believe it is in its' 33rd printing. I first read this just before joining the army in Jan, 1965 (probably not a bright idea at that point in time) and my copy has since fallen apart. What I remembered from my first reading --a great book-- was not a mistaken idea. I am up to his Korean War service and there are so many ideas for skirmish gaming I wouldn't even try to number them. Puller service begins in Haiti, then Nicaragua, China (the horse marines) the Pacific, and Korea. After 37 years in the Marines he retired as the most decorated Marine (probably more decorated than any soldier in the US). Most HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

March, 2011
I have finally finished reading Kim by Kipling (Great Book) followed by two sequels by T.N. Murari The Imperial Agent and The Last Victory, St. Martin's Press 1989 and 1990. What a combination and finish to a great story. The continued story was very enjoyable and I felt totally within Kim's character. I did miss a few characters but you must realize that the last two books occur years after the original. Anyway, Peter Hopkirk (below) recommends these and I highly recommend the colonial enthusiast to read all three books. If anyone is interested I have the two sequels for sale.

I also picked up John Carter of Mars, Warlord of Mars published by Dark Horse Comics from 1977-79 Marvel Comics. Just flipping through it gives me some great scenario ideas.

February, 2011
Quest for Kim, by Peter Hopkirk, University of Michigan, 1999
Hopkirk discusses the adventures of Kim trying to follow in his foot steps to determine where he travelled and who the characters might really have been. Another great Hopkirk book, if this book doesn't make you want to read the original Kim nothing will. This like any Hopkirk book is highly recommended!

January, 2011
Men of Color to Arms! Black Soldiers, Indian Wars, and the quest for equality, by Elizabeth D. Leonard, W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. Save your money, NOT Recommended.

Thuggee: Banditry and the British in Early Nineteenth-Century India, by Kim A. Wagner, Palgrave, 2007.

and

Stranglers & Bandits: A Historical Anthology of Thuggee, by Kim A. Wagner, Oxford, 2009.

These two books contain everything you want to know about thuggees. Highly Recommended!

Shadow Knights: The Secret War against Hitler by Gary Kamiya, Simon and Schuster, 2010. Stories of three British SOE agents. Highly Recommended!

December, 2010
Devil Dog: The amazing true story of the man who saved America by David Talbot, Simon and Schuster, 2010. Biography of Smedley Butler, USMC. Highly Recommended!