The Pinstripedline 'Tweenmass' Book & Podcast Recommendations
It is the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas is
over, the relatives have been seen and seen off, and presents have been
provided. All that remains is to sit back, relax and digest the many delightful
meals you’ve enjoyed from trifle at breakfast to plate after plate of ‘beige
food’. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, for time has no meaning. For
the author this is the ideal time of year to unwind, read and catch up on both Lego
assembly and the painting of model soldiers while the weather outside is frightful.
Enjoy this period while it lasts for January is just around the corner…
One way to enjoy this time is to focus on pleasant activities
like reading or listening to podcasts and audiobooks. This short blog is an
attempt to capture some of Humphreys favourite books and podcasts of 2023 and
why they are worth engaging with. The author has finished all of the books
listened, but its important to note not all were published this year, nor are
they listed in any order of merit. All were excellent and thought provoking but
for often very different reasons. A link is provided to the book where
possible, but if you can, do support your local independent bookseller to purchase
the physical versions, for without these stores, the very life blood of our reading
world falls away. Now, without further ado, please enjoy the Pinstripedline
2023 reads of the year!
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| UK MOD © Crown copyright 2023 |
This excellent book helps remind us of the manner in which the British Army of 1918 had become a world leading army, relying on manoeuvre, technology and very capable artillery to attack a competent and capable foe. It then focuses on the way in which this force was comprehensively dismantled and planning for modern war abandoned, to be replaced by Imperial policing on small wars across the globe.
There is something strangely familiar of the tale of an Army that wanted to get back to ‘proper soldiering’ and a government keen to focus on peace intervention and peace enforcement in the colonies and not preparing for modern war against a peer rival. Arguably the British Army has gone through this process 3 times in the last century (1918, 1945 and 1991) and each time failed to learn the lessons of history in the process. This book should be required reading for anyone seeking to understand British military policy in the period.
Battlegroup
– The Lessons of the Unfought Cold War – Jim Storr
This book is a fascinating appraisal of the likely level of
readiness of NATO and, to a lesser extent, the Warsaw Pact to fight WW3 during
the Cold War. It examines in significant detail the planning, capabilities and
support afforded to the major armies during this period. It also relies on the
authors wargaming experiences with his late brother to test assumptions and
model the outcome.
This is a good read if you want to understand the levels of
readiness that existed across NATO and the extent to which as the Cold War
progressed, NATO became ever more capable at being ready to defend itself. We
sometimes assume that any attack on the Central Front would have resulted in a
nuclear conflict very quickly after the Soviets overwhelmed NATO defences –
this book forces a reappraisal of these views. It is definitely worth a read for the top
level understanding, but be warned that as it progresses, it goes into a lot of
tactical detail which may lose some readers. The other note of gentle criticism
would be that many of the footnotes seem to be references to the authors experiences
and recollections rather than formal documentation, which may not please all
readers.
What
Happened to the Battleship – Chris Baker
In the public imagination the story of the Battleship really
draws to a close in 1945 as these leviathans of the ocean were left behind by
naval aviation and nuclear weapons. Other than a short return to glory in the
Cold War for the IOWA class, they were (and are) regarded as dinosaurs. Chris Bakers
excellent book makes a good case for the argument that this was not necessarily
an automatic outcome in 1945 and that many navies still had plans and roles for
battleships. He traces the fate of all the known battleships in existence in
1945 ranging from the well known (IOWA and VANGUARD) through to the more obscure
(the Turkish Yavuz). There were over 100 of these vessels in existence, but
numbers quickly fell and by 1960 all but a handful had gone.
Where this book is helpful is in interpreting what the
battleship could do and how the UK and US felt its role would sit in the early
nuclear world. There is excellent research on discussions around the
practicality of operating these ships, from finding enough crew to outfitting
them with sufficient ammunition for their magazines. There is also a good account
of the surprisingly active lives they led from the mid 1940s until the late
1950s when it became clear that the nature of war had changed, and that the
hydrogen bomb meant any form of reserve fleet was to all intents and purposes
an economic drain and militarily useless for the wars envisaged to be fought. If
you are interested in both policy and history of battleships, you should definitely
read this book to understand how the nature of maritime warfare changed in this
period.
The
Unforgiving Minute – Craig Mullaney
This is a good read about the experiences of a US infantry
officer going through West Point, Oxford and then via service in the US Army to
Afghanistan, where he saw action. It is not a story of special forces selection
or any particularly dramatic battles. It is instead a good account of how a
perfectly normal officer tried to make himself ready for the privilege and
challenge of leading men into battle.
It’s a good read if you want to recall the mindset of the
late 1990s and early 2000s as the US (and UK) society and military moved from post-cold
war peace to war on terrorism deployments.
If you enjoy seeing the evolution of a junior officer on their journey, along
with the burdens they faced, then this is a great read.
The
Accidental Detectorist – Nigel Richardson
A non-military book, but a beautiful wander through history
to understand the world of detectorists. It is well written, encompassing
history and the simple joy of discovering treasures (or rather ring pulls) unseen for years, if not centuries. The author
writes of both the people and hobby in an affectionate respectful way and in
doing so helps shed a fair light on a fascinating area that can be very misunderstood.
The
Bone Chests – Cat Jarman
This is a fantastic account of the chests in Winchester Cathedral
containing the many different remains of Kings (and at least one Queen) from many
different centuries. Written in a style that explores both the individual and
their reign, coupled with the work undertaken to determine the skeletons identity,
this is a great read about English history in a complex period of time. It sheds
light on dark ages and messy politics and is well worth reading to understand
how complex this period was.
Spies
– Calder Walton
This magisterial account focuses on the complex and ceaseless
conflict between East and West via their intelligence services. It is a great way
of looking in an integrated manner at the way that Russian interference in the
West is not new, and how the 5-Eyes community had to be ready to defend against
highly aggressive intelligence operations from the Soviet Union. It focuses too
on the rise of China as a threat and asks about whether China is being handled
correctly or if we need to think again about the intelligence approach in this
space.
If you are interested in espionage and covert operations as
well as the policy underpinning this complex space, then this book really
should be on your ‘must read’ list.
Who
Can Hold the Sea – James Hornfischer
This is an excellent account of the policy and activities of
the postwar US Navy and how it degenerated from a global navy capable of conducting
massed carrier strikes on Japan to a barely seagoing force in a matter of
years, and then in turn its rapid regrowth into the worlds largest seapower.
Straddling policy, operations and human stories, this book is,
sadly, the final one written by the author who passed away while writing it. It
is a well written and very informative story around a period of naval history
often poorly understood, but in which we saw rapid change. Encompassing the end
of WW2, the early nuclear tests, Korea and the arrival of SSBNs, this book will
significantly increase your understanding of the US Navy and wider US national security
policy in the early Cold War.
The
Napoleonic Wars – A Global History – Alexander Mikaberdiz
With interest in the Napoleonic period on the rise following
the release of Ridley Scotts film, which may or may not be accurate as none of
us were there to confirm the details, this book helps remind us of the global
nature of these wars.
Looking at both European operations as well as lesser known conflicts like the littoral raiding campaign by Denmark against the British, the plans by the British Army to invade the Philippines (en route to Mexico!), the lengthy and bloody fighting in the Middle East between France and Russia and the wider collapse of Spanish rule in South America, this book helps us rethink of the period not as a regional conflict, but as, arguably, a second world war (the first being the Seven Years War). Long and at times hard going, it is still an excellent read if you enjoy learning of history that challenges your pre-existing conception.
Cold War Conversations
– Podcast
This is my favourite podcast of all time. It is a series of
interviews with participants from the Cold War ranging from Vulcan bomber
pilots to nuclear submarine commanders and to intelligence officers. Many
different nationalities feature, providing perspectives on the Cold War from
East and West and how they experienced the conflict.
What makes it so good is that the interviewer Ian makes the
interview about the subject and not his ego. With a gentle but probing style, he
captures the memories of participants in a way that records oral history for
the ages. I cannot recommend this highly enough if you like Cold War history,
and with the episodes being an hour to 90 minutes long, it’s the perfect
companion for a commute or long run.
This is a relatively new podcast launched by Dr Garry
Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones focusing on understanding military history. Of particular
note is its excellent three part short series on the historiography of WW1
history, which really captures the complexity of telling the narrative of the
war and the wars fought by historians to produce their narrative. Highly
listenable and very informative, this should definitely be a ‘must follow’ for
anyone interested in military history.
This is the last PSL blog for 2023 – it has now been running
for 0ver 12 years, with 650 articles and well over 4 million page ‘hits’ the
blog continues to plod quietly away. It remains an amateur labour of love, done
in my spare time and using only ‘google derived’ information for context. As
always if you have questions, comments or queries, please contact me via pinstripedline@gmail.com or @pinstripedline
on Twitter. I do try to respond to every message I get, although some end up in
spam filters and go unseen for many months!
Thank you for reading and engaging in 2023 and best wishes
for 2024!
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