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MC Prussian

What are you reading at the moment?

By MC Prussian, in General Chat

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ozleicester

ozleicester

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Posted (edited)

If you ever wonder about the differnece in England / America.... reading the book above, followed by this one just spells it out.

Berserker! by Adrian Edmondson - Pan Macmillan


Edit, no thats not fair. but it is an interesting comparison

Edited by ozleicester
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The Fox Covert

The Fox Covert

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Crimea by Orlando Figes. Written before the present conflict in Ukraine, it is a detailed study of the Crimean war in the 1850s, where the British and the French collaborated to prop up the decaying Ottoman Empire against Russian aggression. Crimea became the epicentre of the conflict, because both Western nations feared Russia annexing the area which became modern Turkey and Romania, and moving on to dominate the Middle East and the Balkans. 

Some things never change, in particular the brutality of the Russian army which pillaged the countryside and indiscriminately murdered innocent civilians, and also treated its own armed forces as disposable cannon-fodder. Thousands of injured soldiers were abandoned and left for dead on the battlefield or even killed by their own unit. Many were picked up by the Allied armed forces and treated in their own field hospitals.

There was however a Russian counterpart to Florence Nightingale, Daria Mikhailova, who treated injured Russian soldiers in the hospitals in Sevastopol. The men called her Dasha Sevastopolskaia and she became the only Russian woman of non-noble origin to be awarded the Gold Medal for Zeal by the Tsar.

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SkidsFox

SkidsFox

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4 hours ago, The Fox Covert said:

Crimea by Orlando Figes. Written before the present conflict in Ukraine, it is a detailed study of the Crimean war in the 1850s, where the British and the French collaborated to prop up the decaying Ottoman Empire against Russian aggression. Crimea became the epicentre of the conflict, because both Western nations feared Russia annexing the area which became modern Turkey and Romania, and moving on to dominate the Middle East and the Balkans. 

Some things never change, in particular the brutality of the Russian army which pillaged the countryside and indiscriminately murdered innocent civilians, and also treated its own armed forces as disposable cannon-fodder. Thousands of injured soldiers were abandoned and left for dead on the battlefield or even killed by their own unit. Many were picked up by the Allied armed forces and treated in their own field hospitals.

There was however a Russian counterpart to Florence Nightingale, Daria Mikhailova, who treated injured Russian soldiers in the hospitals in Sevastopol. The men called her Dasha Sevastopolskaia and she became the only Russian woman of non-noble origin to be awarded the Gold Medal for Zeal by the Tsar.

Interesting. I'm currently into "Russia against Napoleon" by Dominic Lieven, and so far I've found it fascinating. At that time nearly all transport was horse-driven, and Russia was the major power in that field. It meant their cavalry units were second to none. Their infantry were rarely top-class (mainly because of a shortage of experienced officers) but they compensated by being brave beyond belief. In fact a major failing was Russian lines going straight into attack (and getting slaughtered) when they needed to hold fast or even withdraw. A lot of logistics and artillery staff came from other countries (mainly Prussia) and that led sometimes to tension. And the Poles were treated particularly badly - at that time they were not even permitted their own country. When prisoners were taken the French (sometimes) were treated fairly but Poles were killed without hesitation. Oh, and although Britain was seen as a necessary ally against Napoleon, we were also distrusted because we could expand our empire overseas with our naval power, whereas Russia (and others) were limited in their empire expansion plans.

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Bellend Sebastian

Bellend Sebastian

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Just finished the audiobook of Alan Partridge Big Beacon.

 

Fantastic. It must have been a joy to write, and I imagine writes itself after a while, the character being so fully formed that you would know how he would act in pretty much any situation you could come up with.

 

I'm not especially into audiobooks, but hearing it in Alan's voice just makes it perfect 

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Trav Le Bleu

Trav Le Bleu

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I'm currently reading Unruly by David Mitchell (the comedian, not the Cloud Atlas author), which is a history of the English monarchy.

 

It has the best chapter ever in it. The title for the chapter about King Cnut is called...

 

See Next You Tuesday lol

 

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bovril

bovril

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This is so good, and I know we have a few history enthusiasts and Italophiles on this forum. Detailed but very accessible. Anybody interested in the end of the Western Roman Empire and/or early medieval Europe will enjoy. 

Enjoy also a picture of my crotch which I'm also giving to you for free.

 

May be an image of ‎text that says "‎الاسا JUDD BOOYG "A SWEEPING AND ENGROSSING HISTORY." WALL STREET JOURNAL JUDITH HERRIN RAVENNA CAPITAL OF OF EMPIRE, CRUCIBLE EUROPE‎"‎

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Tielemans63

Tielemans63

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download.jpeg-52.jpg.54f5a4bc64b27cdd66000631606c811d.jpg

 

Just finished reading this. Absolutely loved it. A first hand account of how fame, pressure and drugs affect musicians' mental health. The writer also writes about his career as a music journalist and his own struggles when he gets a bit too involved in the lifestyle. Would recommend 👌 

Edited by Tielemans63
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