What is your favorite part of history to read/learn about? (2 Viewers)

[Tater]

Enjoy reading about American civil war and the events leading up to the battle of little big horn

 

[porculator]

Gained an appreciation of history through my appreciation of architecture. I love the buildings that capture the spirit of their era, my personal favorites being the art deco movement of the roaring 20's and the "space age" architecture of the 60's. Have always been a visual learner and I think there's no better way to immerse yourself in an era than to be among the structures that were actually a part of it.

New Orleans is one of the best cities in the country for that because there is significant architecture from every era in American history (though sadly there hasn't been much since the Superdome.)

 

[Uk Saint]

1. Paleontology, early humans (Archaeology)
2. French Revolution
3. History of early religion

Anything that's not modern history, I spent 5 years learning nothing but WW1 I hate it!

 

[geoffspins]

If you ever had the good fortune as I did to have a history teacher in high school who wasn't simply focused on dates, names, and places but instead focused on the actual people who made history, then history truly comes alive as it should. He gave anecdotal stories about his characters always prededed by "Did you know..." We said "of course You would know, you were probably there!"

Thanks again Mr. Landes, you instilled in me a lifelong love of history

My first high school history teacher was a Hungarian Jew named Mr Kopane (co-par-knee, probably misspelled) whose family escaped the Nazis and moved to England during WW2. Even though WW2 wasn't part of our syllabus he'd start classes with stories about his personal experiences. Had our undivided attention and without even realizing it we'd be learning about the cotton gin, steam trains, electricity. Hands down the best teacher I ever had from K to post grad. RIP Mr K.

 

[saintmdterps]

My first high school history teacher was a Hungarian Jew named Mr Kopane (co-par-knee, probably misspelled) whose family escaped the Nazis and moved to England during WW2. Even though WW2 wasn't part of our syllabus he'd start classes with stories about his personal experiences. Had our undivided attention and without even realizing it we'd be learning about the cotton gin, steam trains, electricity. Hands down the best teacher I ever had from K to post grad. RIP Mr K.

I had a teacher in the 6th grade who did the same thing with his experiences in the Battle of the Bulge. He was absolutely riveting and I found out later he was awarded a Silver Star for combat valor which was something he never mentioned to us.

 

[Zack Lee]

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I think it will force you to the PBS site at some point but the whole video is available.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/Nazi-Attack-America.html

 

[saintmdterps]

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I think it will force you to the PBS site at some point but the whole video is available.
NOVA | Nazi Attack on America

One of the reasons the U-boats were so successful off the US coast was that we stubbornly refused to black out seaside towns. The U-boats would simply wait offshore and catch the merchantmen silhouetted against the lights of the cities. It was like shooting fish in a barrel--no convoys and precious few ASW capabilities.

 

[boutte]

Read up on the Crusades sometime, especially the first one. It's one of the most incredible true stories you'll ever read.

My favorite book on the subject http://www.amazon.com/The-Dream-Tomb-History-Crusades/dp/0815410867

Robert Payne is one of the most entertaining historians out there. His biography of Hitler is outstanding.

 

[superchuck500]

So this was really cool today over the National Mall in DC. In celebration of V-E day, they flew a bunch of WW2 aircraft over the Mall, in formations that represented different periods and battles of the war. I will post some (crappy, hazy) pics I took when I get on tap-a-talk.

Meet the 19 WWII planes of the D.C. flyover - Washington Post

World War II Victory Capitol Flyover
To honor the heroes who fought in the War and those on the home front who produced the tanks, ships, and aircraft that enabled the United States and its Allies to achieve victory, one of the most diverse arrays of World War II aircraft ever assembled will fly above the skies of Washington, D.C. on Friday, May 8, 2015, the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, as part of the Arsenal of Democracy World War II Victory Capitol Flyover. The flyover will include dozens of World War II aircraft flying in 15 historically sequenced warbird formations overhead. The formations will represent the War’s major battles, from Pearl Harbor through the final air assault on Japan, and concluding with a missing man formation to “Taps.” Never before has such a collection of WWII aircraft been assembled at one location, to honor the large assemblage of veterans gathered at the WWII Memorial for a ceremony.

Arsenal of Democracy Flyover | WWII Victory Capitol Flyover

But in watching it, I correctly identified most of the aircraft - at least the combat aircraft. The trainers and recons were hard (except the PBY, which was one of the coolest of the whole show). I guess being a WW2 aviation buff as a kid stays with you for life.

 

[superchuck500]

These arent great - its an iPhone 5 on a hazy day. I think this was the P-40 formation;



The PBY Catalina:



P-38:



And the B-24 with P-51 escort:

 

[nolaspe]

So this was really cool today over the National Mall in DC. In celebration of V-E day, they flew a bunch of WW2 aircraft over the Mall, in formations that represented different periods and battles of the war. I will post some (crappy, hazy) pics I took when I get on tap-a-talk.

Meet the 19 WWII planes of the D.C. flyover - Washington Post



Arsenal of Democracy Flyover | WWII Victory Capitol Flyover

But in watching it, I correctly identified most of the aircraft - at least the combat aircraft. The trainers and recons were hard (except the PBY, which was one of the coolest of the whole show). I guess being a WW2 aviation buff as a kid stays with you for life.

They fly the F4F but not the F6F Hellcat in this celebration? I'm sorry but the Wildcat was a piece of work until the Hellcat was introduced. No P-47's either? The original Thunderbolt, 8 .50 cals and could take punishment like no one's business. 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' about Pappy Boyington is a great read. I love WW2 history too, after that, it's probably Viet Nam. I've read some excellent books like 'We Were Soldiers', 2 books on Carlos Hathcock, some books on fighter pilots, some on choppers like 'Chickenhawk' and 'Maverick' (which has some controversy associated with it, but the writing was brilliant/hilarious/tragic).

 

[superchuck500]

They fly the F4F but not the F6F Hellcat in this celebration? I'm sorry but the Wildcat was a piece of work until the Hellcat was introduced. I love WW2 history too, after that, it's probably Viet Nam. I've read some excellent books like 'We Were Soldiers', 2 books on Carlos Hathcock, some books on fighter pilots, some on choppers like 'Chickenhawk' and 'Maverick' (which has some controversy associated with it, but the writing was brilliant/hilarious/tragic).

They may not have had a Hellcat for this. But don't discount the value of the Wildcat. It was painfully outclassed by the Zero in every category except armor (which was big, actually) - and we had a lot of them. Those guys fought their ***** off in that plane and held their own.

My grandfather-in-law flew both planes. He's still alive at 92. And he surfs the Internet and drives at night.

 

[porculator]

These arent great - its an iPhone 5 on a hazy day. I think this was the P-40 formation;



The PBY Catalina:



P-38:



And the B-24 with P-51 escort:

We watched that too. Gave me goosebumps.

One of my Grandpas flew B-24s in the Pacific and will talk your ear off about it. The other parachuted into Normandy before D-day and didn't like to talk about it much, but there was one thing he said that always stuck with me. He said no one knew exactly when the invasion was going to happen, until one day when they looked up and "the sky was black with planes". Thousands of planes in the sky at once. The scale of some of those missions is completely unfathomable today.

 

[porculator]

They may not have had a Hellcat for this. But don't discount the value of the Wildcat. It was painfully outclassed by the Zero in every category except armor (which was big, actually) - and we had a lot of them. Those guys fought their ***** off in that plane and held their own.

My grandfather-in-law flew both planes. He's still alive at 92. And he surfs the Internet and drives at night.

This is the list of what they flew

Know your WWII airplanes - The Washington Post

 

[nolaspe]

They may not have had a Hellcat for this. But don't discount the value of the Wildcat. It was painfully outclassed by the Zero in every category except armor (which was big, actually) - and we had a lot of them. Those guys fought their ***** off in that plane and held their own.

My grandfather-in-law flew both planes. He's still alive at 92. And he surfs the Internet and drives at night.

Please tell your grandfather in law thank you for his service for me. I know it was a numbers game w/ the Wildcat and I'm not discounting what those pilots had to do to fight, my comment was more about the quality of the aircraft.