10 Desert Island Books

[Essex Boy]

Book Two - 1815: The Armies at Waterloo, Ugo Pericoli. A truly awesome book.

The first ‘Wargames book’ I acquired when I started all this 32 years ago. It’s been read so many times that sadly it is falling apart. It is indeed excellent.

My original copy is in bits. A kind soul bought me a replacement from a bargain bin, but that's not much better.

[Essex Boy]

This thread would suggest that pretty much everything that's worth reading was written before about 1990. Is that a statement about how crap all subsequent books have been, or perhaps a hint that wargamers are a very nostalgic bunch!?

Some of my books are what I consider to be good reads, some are pretty, but most are pure nostalgia.

[Ilkley Old School]

Book 10 Actung Schweinehund by Harry Pearson.

My final selection is a spot of light reading that will resonate with gamers of a certain age.

[Vintage Wargaming]

I’m in that book. I’m one of the Wargaming Daves in it, from when I first met Harry in Cafe Nerd in Durham to pick up or hand over some vintage 20mm figures, and apparently told him you can never have too much of something you never needed in the first place.

Good to see something else from this century in someone’s list

[Vintage Wargaming]

How about Fire and Stone: The Science of Fortress Warfare 1660-1860 by Christopher Duffy, much borrowed from the library (I have two copies now). Cracking read and the appendix with photos of the Sandhurst siege game using Airfix Washington’s Army, along with Ron Miles’s Siege of Dendermonde series in Battle magazine 1976-7 sparked my abiding interest in the subject.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

Has anyone got George Gush's Introduction to Wargaming or his rules for Renaissance periods? Tempted to get hold of them, some cheap copies going on faceybee.

I have a spare copy (well, two to be strictly accurate) of the Renaissance rules, Tim. You can have one of them for free if you PM me your address. There's some writing on a couple of pages (nothing obscene), but it still has the green QRS sheet and the 2nd Edition amendments sheet. All nicely laminated, which - trust me - will come in handy as your sprog grows up.

[Essex Boy]

Book One - Charge. The best book ever written. And it still smells great.
Book Two - 1815: The Armies at Waterloo, Ugo Pericoli. A truly awesome book.
Book Three - European Weapons & Warfare 1618 - 1648, Eduard Wagner. Wonderful illustrations.
Book Four - Firepower (with a crafty friend), Major General B P Hughes. Proved to be a bit of an eye-opener.
Book Five - Uniforms of the Seven Years War, Greenwood & Ball. Couldn't believe my luck when these came out.
Book Six - Military Uniforms of the World, Blandford. I could only dream of having armies in these uniforms. Now I can.
Book Seven - The Face of Battle, Keegan. Another eye-opener.
Book Eight - The Smoke and the Fire, John Terraine. Thought provoking.
Book Nine - Forward into Battle, Paddy Griffith. Love it because it continues to piss off quite a few people.

[Essex Boy]

Book One - Charge. The best book ever written. And it still smells great.
Book Two - 1815: The Armies at Waterloo, Ugo Pericoli. A truly awesome book.
Book Three - European Weapons & Warfare 1618 - 1648, Eduard Wagner. Wonderful illustrations.
Book Four - Firepower (with a crafty friend), Major General B P Hughes. Proved to be a bit of an eye-opener.
Book Five - Uniforms of the Seven Years War, Greenwood & Ball. Couldn't believe my luck when these came out.
Book Six - Military Uniforms of the World, Blandford. I could only dream of having armies in these uniforms. Now I can.
Book Seven - The Face of Battle, Keegan. Another eye-opener.
Book Eight - The Smoke and the Fire, John Terraine. Thought provoking.
Book Nine - Forward into Battle, Paddy Griffith. Love it because it continues to piss off quite a few people.
Book Ten - The Wargames Compendium, Henry Hyde. Because it's stuffed full of inspiration.

[tim.w]

Has anyone got George Gush's Introduction to Wargaming or his rules for Renaissance periods? Tempted to get hold of them, some cheap copies going on faceybee.

I have a spare copy (well, two to be strictly accurate) of the Renaissance rules, Tim. You can have one of them for free if you PM me your address. There's some writing on a couple of pages (nothing obscene), but it still has the green QRS sheet and the 2nd Edition amendments sheet. All nicely laminated, which - trust me - will come in handy as your sprog grows up.

Ohh, very kind thank you. PM on the way, no rush as I'm not likey to be home for some weeks.

[goat major]

Well there's been some wonderful entries here esp. by IOS and EB. I'd pick a number of them myself. But since I'm bored I'll add another (different) ten for my own island.

First is this one. First wargaming book I ever read. A really enjoyable read. The rules haven't dated too badly and there are some good ideas in there. Plus its got a dust jacket cover thats straight out of 1960s accountancy training manual. Whats not to love ?

(1) Practical Wargaming - Wesencraft