World War I The African Front by Edward Paice

I was always curious about what happened in Africa during WW I so I picked up Paice's work.  It is very informative and enjoyable.  Let me boil it down for you.  In the early years of the 1900's a bunch of European countries had colonies in Africa.  They all knew each other and got along to a certain extent.  When the war started, they didn't really have anything against each other but they felt they needed to form up and try and kill each other anyway.  So the English brought in a bunch of Indian soldiers, paired them with a bunch of South African soldiers, recruited a shit ton of locals, and commenced chasing the Germans and their locals all over hell's half acre.  The Germans didn't really have the men or equipment to kick the English out of Africa, so they contented themselves with kicking their asses then beatin' feet.  When the war ended, a large English contingent was still trying to wrestle to the ground a very small German contingent that had given them fits for years.

Now here's the kind of idiotic thing about WW I in Africa.  The British Army had a little over 11,000 men killed in all of WW I in Africa.  the Germans had even fewer.  The total Allied and German dead for the battle of the Somme alone, which took place in France over a period of 4 months in 1916, was over 300,000.  More men died in that battle in single days than in the entire war in Africa.  It almost seems like a joke.  I say almost because one group of people paid dearly during the war in Africa.  Of course, it was the locals.  Hundreds of thousands of black African non-combatants gave their lives serving (not always of their own accord) the combatant armies.  The British barely gave a damn and the Germans absolutely did not care at all.  This was the true tragedy of WW I in Africa.

-Nats

Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell

So you think your life sucks.  Got a crappy job, shitty car, bitchy wife.  At least you don't live in the 1400's.  As far as I can tell, there is exactly nothing good about being alive in the 15th century.  Cornwell shows us this is his brilliant work about the English victory over the French (who, shockingly, actually lost as opposed to simply surrendering) outside the small French village of Agincourt.

Henry V's stunning victory over a numerically superior French force is brought to life in Agincourt.  The graphic reality that Cornwell portrays for us is shocking in it's utter brutality.  War is hell now.  War back then was infinitely worse.  Be prepared because this one gets a little tough to stomach at times.  Cornwell's works are always masterfully researched so as to give the reader a crystal clear vision of life in the period being portrayed and Agincourt is no different.  The story is engrossing and the historical accuracy is fascinating.  This piece is so good on so many different levels that you'll have a hard time putting it down.  So go buy Agincourt and enjoy.  Just don't do it right before or after eating....

-Nats

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Let me start by saying God bless Chris Kyle and every other man and woman who dons the uniform to protect our country.  I literally can't imagine having the strength of body and mind to be able to do what he did.  That being said, I wish he hadn't written this book.

I have so much respect for our fighting men, and Kyle saw more combat than most.  His story, while remarkable, comes across very poorly in this piece.  He sounds like the blood thirsty, drunken moron that the liberal elite assume all soldiers, sailors, and Marines to be.  I get where he is coming from, saying that he likes combat and killing our enemies.  Its his job and he's very good at it.  Its that kind of mind set, however, that makes the hippie liberals in this country wet their depends.  To the Prius driving pussies among us, who feel that all of our foreign policy problems can be solved through good faith negotiation with, and massive concessions to, (lunatics who want to kill every last man, woman, and child who doesn't believe in their god) our enemies, however, Kyle is an evil cave dweller who has no place in modern society.  The truth, that he and his brothers play a vital role in our national security, will never get through the chardonnay soaked conscious of these people.  We have always needed men like Kyle to do the dirty work that needs to be done.  There are just far too many vocal liberals out there who will use his words as damning evidence of the evils of America.  Its really a shame.

You know what else this book made me realize?  Kevin Garnett is an insufferable douche bag.  This goes for every athlete who compares his or her sport to combat.  Remember when he went on that post game tirade a few years back about how he and his teammates were 'soldiers' and they were going to show up with AK-47's and rocket launchers and every other weapon that came to his spoiled, self-important mind in their next game?  Guess what, dick head, the opposition that guys like Kyle face really do show up with that shit.  Every time.  All you do is roll out a ball, pretend to be all hard (FTG), and cash big pay checks.  You should get locked in a room with a Team Guy so he can show you what a battle really is.  Asshole.... (In the spirit of full disclosure, I've known for a while now that Kevin Garnett is an insufferable douche bag.  This book simply reminded me of that fact.)

So anyway, buy Kyle's book.  Read his story and thank God that we have crazy mother fuckers like him to do that shit so you don't have to....

-Nats

Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith

After his Lincoln vampire hunter book (see below), I thought our boy Seth may be a bit insane.  Clinically so.  Great read, but WOW, he's out there.  Then I read this and thought, 'damn, this guy is a genius!'(unlike yours truly, but I digress).  Unholy Night is absolutely brilliant.  The interweaving of historically accurate (I assume) characters with completely fictional events and personalities was amazing.  It is an edge of your seat thriller with multiple plot twists and enough blood and guts to make you appropriately uncomfortable.  It was really a 'can't put it down' kind of read.

Now, one very important topic to discuss.  If you are a devout Christian (Nats is a follower of the Jewish carpenter himself) please read this book with an open mind.  Don't allow yourself to get all butt hurt about the creative license SGS is taking (and he takes a lot!).  Allow yourself to suspend your disbelief and you have a good chance of really enjoying a wildly entertaining book.  Take it too literally, and all you are going to do is get mad, make an ass of yourself, and contribute to the negative stereotype that believers frequently have to suffer from because of religious zealots like you.  So just chill and enjoy.  Thus endeth the sermon on the chair in my living room.

-Nats

Intercept by Patrick Robinson

This book pisses me off.  Don't get me wrong, I think old Pat wants his book to piss me off.  The premise of his work is that we capture a bunch of terrorists, ship them to Gitmo, get an American (bleeding-heart liberal) president who catches feelings over their 'mistreatment' and insists on them getting their day in court, after which they get released back into society.  Then we have to wait for them to try to blow something up before we get the chance to kill them like we should have done in the first place.  While it sounds far fetched, I could absolutely see this happening.  THAT'S what pisses me off.  That and our boy Pat gets a little loose with his plot towards the end.

Anyway, as far as terrorist hunting novels go, this one is fine.  Go ahead and read it if you don't have anything better to do. 

-Nats

Being George Washington by Glenn Beck

OK, I know what you are thinking, and yes, I'm wearing pants (poorly fitting sweatpants, but pants none the less).  I also know that you probably think Glenn Beck is an ego maniacal douche bag.  While that may or may not be true, this is one book that you don't want to judge by it's (author's name on the) cover.  This is actually quite brilliant.  Beck uses a combination of historically accurate commentary, his own political leanings, and a fair amount of creative license, to take us inside the head of the father of our country.

Now, is the personality prescribed to Washington accurate?  Who knows.  I never personally knew the guy.  Beck paints a remarkable picture, however, of a strong yet very human leader who was willing to sacrifice literally everything he had for the cause of freedom.  Also, Beck plays history professor, teaching you about events that took place in the colonial era that you would be hard pressed to have ever even heard about.  Frankly, this could easily be required reading in American History courses (can you imagine the hissy fit teacher's unions would throw over THAT?).  Unfortunately, most public education no longer teaches American History, as most liberals think that Americans (which they are frequently ashamed to be one of) are greed obsessed war mongerers (No Blood for Oil!) that never actually accomplished anything noble, virtuous, or heroic over the past couple of centuries.  God I hate those people. 

Anyway, before I get too depressed thinking about the revisionist history my grandchildren will be taught some day (middle eastern psychopaths were forced to attack women and children because America is so mean), go out and buy this book.  If you can't stomach the idea of adding to what I assume is Mr. Beck's already impressive fortune, go borrow it from the library.  I guarantee you that you'll learn something.

-Nats

Locked On by Tom Clancy

Locked On is the latest phone book sized terrorist hunting thriller from Tom Clancy.  Like all his books, it is fast paced, exciting, and wildly technical.  Also as per usual, it portrays the media and far left wing liberals as the American-hating A-Holes that many believe them to be (Nats included to a certain degree).  This one is a little different, however.  Towards the end of the book Clancy throws not one but two plot twists at you that make almost no sense at all.  They were giant reaches that leave you dumbfounded. Hell, one of them even turned into a cliff hanger for God's sake!  I'm going to go ahead and blame it on his co-auther, Mark Greaney, and pretend it didn't happen.

That being said, it is still an enjoyable read.  You always have to respect Clancy's reverence for America's military hero's.  I doubt seriously old Tom needs your money, but go ahead and shell out a few bucks for this one and enjoy....

Nats-

http://www.amazon.com/Locked-On-Tom-Clancy/dp/039915731X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333757093&sr=1-1

How to Archer by Sterling Archer

OK, if you've never seen the ridiculous cartoon spy comedy Archer on FX you have no idea what this is.  Luckily, it's one of Nats' favorite shows (which doesn't exactly cover your boy in glory).  Sterling Archer is the world's greatest spy, highly functional alcoholic, and douche bag womanizing man whore.  All that being said, if you like the show, you'll love the book.  It is juvenile, obscene, and hysterical.  Red the book, watch the show on FX, and get a little dumber every day.  I know I will...

Nats-

http://www.amazon.com/How-Archer-Ultimate-Espionage-Cocktails/dp/0062066315/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333757039&sr=8-1

Kill Shot by Vince Flynn

This book is in that fairly predictable 'super bad ass American spy/assassin hunts down and kills every piece of crap terrorist he can find' genre.  This is fine with me, as I rather like that genre.  Maybe it's because 'ol Nats hasn't gotten in a fight since the 3rd grade, and that was with a girl, and he lost.  Maybe it's because the only thing he can bring himself to kill is time.  Whatever it is, I (he? I've confused my/himself at this point) likes Flynn's work and always buy it as soon as it comes out. 

While I did enjoy this one, it was a little different.  There was a plot twist or two that didn't make a hell of a lot of sense.  Also, he kind of wrapped it up in a hurry, like he was tired of writing it and said 'f it, I'm just gonna jump to the end'.  Anyway, not Flynn's best work, but still entertaining.  Buy it and enjoy.

-Nats

http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Shot-Mitch-Vince-Flynn/dp/1416595201/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332303403&sr=8-2

(By the way, don't be afraid to follow the link above to buy the book.  Maybe the good people at Amazon will notice and send a little cash your boy's way....)

The Storm of War A New History of the Second World War by Andrew Roberts

This turned out to actually be a fresh way of looking at a topic that, while fascinating, has been written about more than any other event since, well, the invention of sex.  Roberts starts basically at the beginning of Hitler's rise to power and gives a relatively thorough overview of the war on both fronts, ending roughly at the Nuremberg Trials.  Considering the amount of information being covered, he manages to do a good job while keeping his work to only 600 pages.  Pretty impressive, really, considering he could have doubled that number and still left some stuff out.

There were two unique parts of this book that I especially liked.  First, he filled it with trivia (and, as Nats' wife always says, Nats is the King of Useless Information).  Por ejemplo, did you know that prior to World War II the United States provided 85% of the world's oil?  Let that sink in for a minute.  Not 85% of their own oil, 85% of the world's!  How different would things look if that was still true today?  How about this little fact: more Frenchmen fought for the Axis than against it.  What the f#ck?!?!?  Of course, the truly shocking part of that statement is that the French fought anybody at all (but I digress).  There are many more gems like these that you can find for yourself.  Second, he dedicated an entire chapter at the end of the book to exactly how the Germans Nazis lost the war, and what they could/should have done differently.  This part is particularly spooky as it shows that the German Wehrmacht, without the hindrance of National Socialism, could very well have won the war in Europe.

All in all, one of my favorite works on World War II.  I highly recommend it.  Now, for those of you who are history buffs, Roberts did get one of his D-Day facts wrong.  See if you can find it.  Enjoy!

Nats