Book Year 2008 In Review

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I always have a book (or five), that I'm reading. I read almost 100% nonfiction with history, mostly of the military variety, predominating. In 2008 I read 79 books which is down from 83 in 2007 and well below the 163 books read in 2004. There were a couple of really long books in 2008 which kept the total down somewhat. It has to be a really good or important book for me to read something that is more than, say, 200 pages. I find that most really long books are books that could be cut down by a few hundred pages and not lose any value. However, in 2008 there were a number of really good long books.

Here are favorite books of 2008

Reviews for these books are posted on my Virtual Bookshelf in Facebook or Myspace or at Livingsocial.com under spqr2755:

Book of Five Rings, A
Caesar's Gallic Campaigns (Military Classics)
Decisive Warfare: A Study in Military Theory
Evolution of a Revolt, The
Japan's Battle of Okinawa, April - June 1945
On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War
Sun Tzu: Manual for War
Warfighting: The Marine Corps Book of Strategy
Caesar: Life of a Colossus
Fred Janes Naval Wargame, The (1906)
Imperial Russian Navy, The
Richard S Ewell: A Soldier's Life
Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend
Great Triumvirate, The

And here's the full list:

Military Strategy and Tactics

100 Unorthodox Strategies
33 Strategies of War, The
Art of Strategy, The
Art of War, The
Art of War, The: Complete Texts and Commentaries
Book of Five Rings, A
Caesar's Gallic Campaigns (Military Classics)
Decisive Warfare: A Study in Military Theory
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Defending the Driniumor: Covering Force Operations in New Guinea, 1944
Dynamics of Doctrine, The: The Changes in German Tactical Doctrine During the First World War
Essence Of War: Leadership And Strategy From The Chinese Military Classics, The
Evolution of a Revolt, The
Evolution of US Army Tactical Doctrine, 1946 - 76
Japanese Art of War, The
Japan's Battle of Okinawa, April - June 1945
Lost Art of War, The
Military Methods of the Art of War
More Than 36 Stratagems: A Systematic Classification Based on Basic Behaviors
Napoleon and Modern War, His Military Maxims
On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War
Polyaenus: Stratagems of War Volume I (Books I - V)
Polyaenus: Stratagems of War Volume II (Books VI - VIII, Excerpts and Leo the Emperor)
Principles And Maxims Of The Art Of War: Outpost Service General Instructions For Battles Reviews
Samurai Strategies: 42 Martial Arts Secrets from Musashai's Book of Five Rings
Seven Military Classics of Ancient China
Soviet Night Operations in World War II
Sun Tzu: Manual for War
Sun Tzu's Art of War: The Modern Chinese Interpretation
Tao of War, The
Understanding the "Victory Disease", From the Little Bighorn to Mogadishu and Beyond
Warfighting: The Marine Corps Book of Strategy
What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business
Ancient History
Caesar Completely Parsed: Completely Parsed Caesar's Gallic War Book I
Caesar: Life of a Colossus
Life of Belisarius, The: The Last Great General of Rome
Naval Warfare
Fred Janes Naval Wargame, The (1906)
Guide to the Soviet Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy, The
Imperial Russian Navy, The
20th Century Military History
9th Australian Division Versus the Africa Corps: An Infantry Division Against Tanks - Tobruk, Libya, 1941
Busting the Bocage: American Combined Arms Operations in France, 6 June - 31 July 1944
Desert Warfare: German Experiences in World War II
Nomonham: Japan Against Russia, 1939
Pastel: Deception in the Invasion of Japan
Soviet Operational Deception: The Red Cloak
Staff Ride Handbook for the Attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941: A Study in Defending America
Unconditional Surrender, Demobilization, and the Atomic Bomb
Military Biography
Apostle of Liberty: The World Changing Leadership of George Washington
Generals of Gettysburg, The
For God's Sake, Forward! Gen. John F Reynolds, USA
Jefferson Davis; The Essential Writings
Richard S Ewell: A Soldier's Life
Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend
War Between the States
1862 Army Officer's Pocket Companion, The
Army of the Confederate States Army Regulations
Battle of Chancellorsville, The
Battle of Fredericksburg, The
Battle of Shiloh, The
Battles of Wilderness & Spotsylvania, The
Campaign For Pea Ridge, The
Civil War in the Western Territories, The
Confederacy as a Revolutionary Experience, The
Confederate Cherokees: John Drew's Regiment of Mounted Rifles
Confederate Regular Army, The
First Battle of Manassas, The
Flags of Civil War South Carolina, The
In the Footsteps of J.E.B. Stuart
Second Battle of Manassas, The
Stonewall Brigade, The
They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Cvil War
General American History
Great Triumvirate, The
Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different
What's So Great About America?
Political and Governmental Theory
Redeeming American Democracy
Disquisition on Government, A
Confederate Constitution of 1861, The: An Inquiry into American Constitutionalism
Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration
What the Anti-Federalists Were FOR

More from the Virginia Trip: Fredericksburg

I finally had time on this Sunday evening to continue my blog of my trip to Virginia back awhile ago. I was there on business but Virginia is full of Civil War sites which are way more interesting than pictures of office buildings and insurance brokers!

Fredericksburg is located on the south bank of the Rappahannock river about 50 miles south of Washington DC and 50 miles north of Richmond VA.

In December 1861 the Union Army of the Potomac under its latest commander, General Ambrose Burnside was looking for some way to get through or past Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and capture the Confederate capital of Richmond Virginia. General Burnside decided to suddenly move his army south and east from it positions facing Lee and slip across and around behind the Confederates by attacking across the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg. Burnside actually caught Lee somewhat by surprise when he moved his army but unfortunately the pontoon bridges that the Federals needed didn’t show up on time (actually for more than a week). Rather than risk a crossing without the bridges Burnside waited for them which allowed Lee to move his army into very strong positions in and behind Fredericksburg. At this point Burnside should have come up with another plan rather than try to frontally attack Lee’s dug in army but he didn’t’ The Union government and press were demanding decisive action and action they would get. On December 11 1861 the Army of the Potomac forced the river and occupied the town and on December 13^th they attacked Lee's army which was on the heights behind the town. It was the worst one sided slaughter of the war.

The most memorable portion of the battle is the attack on Marye’s Heights across a half mile of open ground. The Confederate defensive line was centered on a low stone wall half way up the hill backed up by massed cannons which covered the whole field.

This is the stone wall right after the battle.

Here is the stone wall from about the same spot in 2008:

It wasn’t a very tall wall:

There were a number of houses on the hillside when the battle was fought and amazingly one of them survived nearly intact:

There were a lot of holes of course but the ones on the outside were patched up. These on the inside weren’t:

Confederate General Thomas Cobb had his HQ set up behind the house next door to this one. Unfortunately a Union cannon hit the house and the splinters killed the general:

The Federal troops came on wave after wave and they were cut down wave after wave. Even the famed Irish Brigade could get no closer than 30 yards from the wall. The Confederates marveled at the extreme bravery of the Union troops who did all that human flesh and courage could do to carry out a pointless suicide attack. All told the Union lost more than 12,000 men in these futile assaults. As he looked on at the carnage his men were visiting on Federal troops General Lee said “It is well that war is so terrible otherwise we should grow too fond of it”.

Currier and Ives print of the Battle of Fredericksburg

The movie Gods and Generals does a very good reenactment of the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Now I'm on Twitter too....

Not sure how much use I will make of Twitter but I'll give it a whirl. If you want to check me out on Twitter go here: http://twitter.com/spqr2755