tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post1432084899302897139..comments2024-03-22T10:01:23.989+00:00Comments on Wargaming for Grown-ups: Shouting at BooksTrebianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-24984077664173462932018-10-07T10:22:37.042+01:002018-10-07T10:22:37.042+01:00You'd like to think so, but I'm still cros...You'd like to think so, but I'm still cross about it all.Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-58414812979934129652018-10-07T03:12:01.953+01:002018-10-07T03:12:01.953+01:00This seems a very good therapeutic post
Well done...This seems a very good therapeutic post <br />Well done! Geordie an Exiled FoGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01002743056274635657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-44927989379895180032018-10-04T23:41:42.449+01:002018-10-04T23:41:42.449+01:00It's a stimulating read with lots of interesti...It's a stimulating read with lots of interesting ideas. Not all of them hit the mark, but it is worth looking at, but read another more conventional history as well! Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-8786251818599120682018-10-04T22:01:40.294+01:002018-10-04T22:01:40.294+01:00Interesting to hear your thoughts on Bicheno. I pi...Interesting to hear your thoughts on Bicheno. I picked up his first and enjoyed it, but im no expert on the period. Thought it was accessible but also good on the convoluted intertwined politics.<br /> Recently went looking for the second vokume and was put off by some negative reviews. I'm now more reassured and will go back to it.TWDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09921046811399998400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-35009279452336542822018-10-04T13:19:29.750+01:002018-10-04T13:19:29.750+01:00Oman is a positive menace. His book on Warwick the...Oman is a positive menace. His book on Warwick the Kingmaker has got guesses posing as facts that have got into the accepted narrative. I also think, as I said above, that he set the trend for military historians not referencing properly. Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-81924956271920999772018-10-04T12:16:42.245+01:002018-10-04T12:16:42.245+01:00Oman's ideas of medieval warfare were discredi...Oman's ideas of medieval warfare were discredited even when I was an undergraduate (1980-83) and it's since been discovered that his theories on column v line in Napoleonic warfare (based on the battle of Maida) are equally bogus since both sides fought that action in line.<br /><br />ian druryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14064432130356557977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-58939541118480505182018-10-03T13:44:04.852+01:002018-10-03T13:44:04.852+01:00No. He is writing at the same time as Gardner, Ram...No. He is writing at the same time as Gardner, Ramsay & Firth, all of whom know their way around a footnote and reference. I know that thy have becone even more common in academic history books, but Oman must accept the blame for it being acceptable in military history not to cite your references properly.<br />Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-82703330432158629232018-10-03T12:59:02.597+01:002018-10-03T12:59:02.597+01:00Did Oman write before the age of references and (e...Did Oman write before the age of references and (extensive) footnotes in history books? I know he discusses his sources.JWHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01637785437909299947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-13056651631183577452018-10-03T08:51:00.036+01:002018-10-03T08:51:00.036+01:00I am vastly reassured by this comment. I had a fea...I am vastly reassured by this comment. I had a fear it was just because I don't really get on with the period as a whole that I find some of the books irritating.Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-57307830922093775802018-10-03T08:36:18.051+01:002018-10-03T08:36:18.051+01:00My wife has banned me from watching TV history pro...My wife has banned me from watching TV history programmes for the same reason. I'm also known to test the aerodynamic properties of history books from the 1st floor balcony if they really annoy, and (for some reason) medieval history seems to be the worst for sloppy research and lazy repetition. ian druryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14064432130356557977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-90540342068534323682018-10-02T16:51:57.975+01:002018-10-02T16:51:57.975+01:00I'm glad I wrote this post, as it has proved t...I'm glad I wrote this post, as it has proved to me that I'm not lone either. The other irritating thing is that I've heard a couple of the culprits give evening lectures, and they are very good at that. It's just that you can't publish lecture notes and get away with it.Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-22468692862570939272018-10-02T16:50:14.006+01:002018-10-02T16:50:14.006+01:00Yes, - the evidence for the ancient period is scan...Yes, - the evidence for the ancient period is scanty. I think that's one of the reasons everyone likes Romans, - Polybius has SO much detail on organisation and so on!Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-10272463492393836112018-10-02T16:11:32.026+01:002018-10-02T16:11:32.026+01:00Thank God. I am not alone! You are spot on about t...Thank God. I am not alone! You are spot on about the RIII Soc. I was a member many, many years ago but left when they expelled one academically minded chap for suggesting that they should also study the Lancastrian side of things!Barry Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02958045829293998473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-69425214367441740092018-10-02T15:34:25.691+01:002018-10-02T15:34:25.691+01:00Thanks - an amusing post on a legitimate gripe. I ...Thanks - an amusing post on a legitimate gripe. I enjoyed that, and have a similar reaction, though in my case it's mostly on books to do with the ancient period. <br /><br />I was writing a review for one and discovered that it took whole sections from wikipedia, changing verbs and nouns to throw people off the scent, but using the exact same eclectic range of evidence, the exact same references, the exact same referencing errors, and often the exact same structure.<br /><br />There was some shouting at that book, I can tell you!<br /><br />One of the problems with would-be popular works on the ancient world is that the evidence is so scant people have to clutch at some very flimsy straws indeed to come up with the tasty revisionism they seem to feel is required.<br /><br />Some do still seem to try though...<br /><br />Cheers,<br />AaronPrufrockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17659918463589870423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-75270948317873890832018-10-02T13:26:35.587+01:002018-10-02T13:26:35.587+01:00I do have a history degree. It is good training. I...I do have a history degree. It is good training. It makes you ask constantly, "How do you know that"? Good protection against the fake news culture.<br />Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-74528241865770667522018-10-02T12:57:04.251+01:002018-10-02T12:57:04.251+01:00Perhaps it is because you have a history degree (I...Perhaps it is because you have a history degree (I presume)? I have exactly the same syndrome, possibly for the same reason, although mine was half archaeology so I have a safety valve!Jim Jackamanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00418123950779160903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-55637134342008414882018-10-02T12:04:38.458+01:002018-10-02T12:04:38.458+01:00I think you have hit the nail on the head, particu...I think you have hit the nail on the head, particularly with the second quote. If the most recent annoying book had made me laugh it would have been something. it just made me cross.Trebianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02221916804339000102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7615782020735321095.post-18119165215309099852018-10-02T12:01:56.386+01:002018-10-02T12:01:56.386+01:00No, it isn't just you, although I shout more a...No, it isn't just you, although I shout more at 'history' programs on the TV. I find Groucho Marx most useful: <br /><br />'From the moment I picked you book up to the moment I set it down I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend to read it.'<br /><br />'This is not a book to be set aside lightly. It should be thrown with some force.'<br /><br />I may, of course, be paraphrasing slightly...The Polemarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.com