Some general reading first of all. Best Beloved has poor eyesight, so we often select books that might be of shared interest that I will read aloud to him. I haven’t provided links to purchase any of the books I’ve mentioned. You can, no doubt, find them easily enough from the usual places – though it would be better if you could source them through a local independent book store.
The Importance of Being Interested – Robin Ince
Written during the Covid19 2020 lockdowns, this is an enjoyable wander through scientific curiosity. Ince talks to various experts in numerous fields, trying to explain that science should be for everyone, whatever our level of understanding, as it helps to explain the world around us, as well as ourselves.
Light Rains Sometimes Fall – Lev Parikian
Parikian is a writer, bird watcher and orchestral conductor. Taking the Japanese idea of micro seasons, which comprise 72 subdivisions, and applying it to a year of lockdown life in south London, the result is an enjoyable amble through the natural and urban world.
About Time – David Rooney
In twelve chapters, Rooney explores timekeeping inventions from several thousand years past to the present day. It’s a fascinating journey, as we discover how clocks have helped civilisations grow and develop.
Now, into areas of personal interest. I have a thing about 1940. I may have mentioned it before.
Rearming the RAF for the Second World War – Adrian Phillips
I like to build models, and my current obsession is collecting scale model kits of all the aircraft that were operated by the military during 1940. As part of the obsession, I have spent much of my spare time during 2023 building models of Royal Air Force bomber aircraft. This book, in some depth, scours the archives and explains quite how the RAF ended up with a rag-tag collection of not-quite-good-enough aircraft at the outbreak of the Second World War. To me, it’s fascinating as well as educational. It hasn’t helped with model references, but that’s beside the point!
Building the Gort Line, the BEF and its Defences in France 1939-1940 – Dave Thurlow
I have to admit – and I’m still wading through it – this book is quite hard work. It’s very technical in places, and not an easy read. The author is also a fan of multiple and often detailed footnotes. However, I’m learning a lot about how the British Expeditionary Force prepared for a potential invasion of German forces in 1939 and 1940. Let’s just say, the British Army didn’t rock up en masse to the Franco-Belgian border and erect bell tents while they waited.
I’m always up for reference material to help my modelling hobby. The Tank Museum, down in Dorset, has quite the growing reference library of books published under its heading, mostly about armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs). Why, you may ask, have I listed two books on military vehicles when I’m all about the aircraft? Well, once I’ve built a model, I like to photograph it in a landscape vignette, and add period-correct vehicles and so on to the scene. I am also interested in the British anti-aircraft defences, which has turned from a small rabbit hole of investigation into an entire warren to get lost in! I have made tentative plans to build a 1/72nd scale barrage balloon…
David Fletcher authored British Military Transport 1829-1956 and, with Philip Ventham, Moving the Guns, the mechanisation of the Royal Artillery 1854-1939. Lots of interesting photos, and informative text, but perhaps not quite the information I was looking for when I bought them. They’re still staying in my reference library.
Good photographs are essential to good models, and a small publisher has been founded called Wingleader. The founders have amassed a vast collection of photographs from the first half of the 20th century documenting military aircraft of all kinds. I admit they have had a fair amount of my dosh over 2023, as they keep publishing detailed photographic monographs on specific aircraft types that I am either building or about to build! Highly recommended, if that’s your thing, and if it is your thing, head over to their web site for more information.
I don’t know what books might be on my 2024 reading list. Come back in about twelve months!