ALY MORRISON'S "BUTTERFLY" ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF WARGAMES AND TOY SOLDIERS

Thursday 27 January 2022

Books… Really Old… Old… And New.

Greetings…

Here’s a couple of new additions plus an old friend from my ‘Library’…

First up we have the Really Old Book..

I picked up this copy of The Invasion of 1910 recently it’s very battered, quite grubby and was satisfyingly cheap…

I’ve only ever had this as a rather unattractive reprint and a Kindle edition, so it’s nice to have a copy from the early 20th century.

It’s probably not as good a tale as The Great War in England 1896, but it is still suitably bombastic and quite jingoistic… very much up to the usual William Le Queux standards.

There are a lot of maps but sadly none of the dramatic illustrations that are to be found in The Great War in England.

Next up we have the New Book…


Lion Rampant… A Viking in the Sun…
I’ve actually had this for a while…I just kept forgetting to post it on here…
It is what I would expect from a Lion Rampant expansion and I am looking forward to having a decent read through.
Arabs, Byzantines, Normans and Italians are all covered… so lots of temptation.

Lastly we have an old friend…


This is a splendid book…I dug this out after I caught sight of it as I was tidying away some other books…
Every time I put a book back I seem to take one or two back out…
This book is just full of wonderful stuff… If you haven’t got a copy… I would suggest you correct that classic schoolboy error…
Here are some of the lovely and informative illustrations to be found between the covers…







It’s interesting to see how good a book looks without a single photograph between the covers…

All the best.  Aly



36 comments:

  1. Some nice books there Aly - I have the same problem about putting them away and pulling out two more - although if you asked my wife, she would deny I ever actually put books away! I think the first is my favourite of these three....its quite hard to read some of this older prose though, I find. I went through a stage of reading lots of John Buchan about fifteen or twenty years ago and I did find some of the nationalism and jingoism a bit hard to stomach - and I definitely not at all Woke!

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    1. My bookcases are certainly a cause of pleasing distraction…
      The writing style and attitudes of Le Queux are certainly of their time…
      I haven’t read any of his other books but I would guess they all follow a similar theme… bounders, cads, femme fatales, brave loyal chaps and the odd plucky gal….oh! and also a problem at the Admiralty.

      All the best. Aly

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    2. Sounds like perfect inspiration for my Pulp Era plans....!

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  2. We did not know the novel by Le Queux, which a quick online search turns out to have been very popular at the time, and fall into a true genre of "invasion literature". While I imagine it is not a pleasant read for a reader today, it should be an interesting document of the political climate before the First World War. Curious that the novel has never been translated in Italy, as happened for other works by Le Queux between the first and second world wars, not even exploited by the fascist regime for propaganda (with a different ending, of course, as it had already been changed in the German edition ...).
    The other books are also fascinating: libraries, personal and public, always full of surprises that come out when you think of something else ... and fortunately!

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    1. The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century seems to have been a popular time for invasion literature… though only a few seem to shine out.

      The is a book called The Tale of the Next Great War 1871-1910 which contains a collection of stories from this time… it is well worth a read if one wants to get into this subject.

      All the best. Aly

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  3. A nice mix of books there Aly. The Invasion Literature books are good and full of nice ideas for wargames, but I often find the prose rather hard going at times, although I didn't find this with 'The riddle of the Sands', maybe because I had seen the film so broadly knew the plot.

    The Lion Rampant book is on my list to get and the Civil War book I'd not heard of before but looks to be very interesting and is certainly full of wonderful illustrations.

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    1. I think that The Riddle of the Sands is one of the better written examples… The Battle of Dorking is also very good.
      I am looking forward to delving into A Viking in the Sun… I am tempted by the idea of Normans v’s Byzantines.

      All the best. Aly

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  4. And I bet that old book had a smell that was as satisfying as the price. The Coggins work is a wonderful book filled with all sorts of details that wargamers like.

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    1. Yup…
      “Old Book”… Sounds like aftershave for librarians…
      I think if you are interested in the ACW Coggins is a must.

      All the best. Aly

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  5. I always wonder where some of these old books have been and who owned them. Somebody bought that 1910 one as new and was presumably thrilled by its chilling narrative etc. As Mr Strachan says above they also have that wonderful old book smell - an intangible thing impossible to replicate on a kindle. Take that technology.

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    1. It would be lovely to be able to track the history/ journey of a book…
      I remember that there was a short lived scheme set up by someone in the Nottingham area where you would get stickers to put in a book saying something like please read this and pass it on…
      The idea was that if you enjoyed a paperback you could make short comment and date it then pass it on by leaving it somewhere…
      I found a John Harvey crime novel… read it commented and left it in the pub where I found it… I never found another book.
      I suspect most books were either kept or thrown in the rubbish…

      All the best. Aly

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  6. Must admit that the 1896 book was a far better book to me than the 1910 one, but it's a very good example of how political attitudes can change in a very short time.

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    1. Yes I prefer the 1896 book as well…
      I suspect that Le Queux saw enemies everywhere…

      All the best. Aly

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  7. I recently read the 1910 book and the Civil War one is an old favourite. Great time to pull a book from the shelves and enjoy it again.

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    1. I really enjoyed thumbing through my history/ military books… you can however lose many hours of ‘tidying up’ time…😁

      All the best. Aly

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  8. I got the Coggins book about 50 years ago (?) and it kickstarted my ACW obsession .

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    1. It has certainly stood the test of time…

      All the best. Aly

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  9. "Every time I put a book back I seem to take one or two back out…" - A sure sign of a good library!(but a bloody nuisance when the original intent gets lost ....)

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    1. Yes it is a library of potential tangents…😁

      All the best. Aly

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  10. Salivating at the thought of those books but why are there so few people these days who read books? At least that's what I have to conclude from the near total lack of interest in books I list on eBay while figures seem to go really quick - ho, hum....

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    1. I do know people that think that books are a waste of time… they’re not wargamers however…
      I also think that older books that have no brightly coloured photos are not as popular these days… sometimes this is unfortunately a case of style over content.

      All the best. Aly

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  11. A fine looking assortment there Aly, I have the Great War in England on Kindle but haven't got around to reading it yet.

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    1. You should give The Great War in England a read…
      Your butterfly might like it…😈😈😈

      All the best. Aly

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  12. Really love the embossed cover of the Lequeux (old books like this have a intrinsic value). I share your appreciation for "old school" texts like Coggins, which were among those that survived my great book cull.

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    1. Yes I love the texture of handling an old book.. there is a history and a life to them.
      You could certainly describe the Coggins book as old school… it was first published in 1962…
      But the information is as good as any modern book.

      All the best. Aly

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  13. Coggins is a fine example of its type, worth a place in any ACW library in my opinion. I'd pass on the others though, not my sphere of interest.

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    1. I guessed you would have liked Coggins David…

      The Invasion of 1910 is a bit like Operation Seelowe… but for The First World War… no armour… just the odd touring car.

      All the best. Aly

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  14. Love old books Aly. These look very nice.

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    1. I think wargaming/history and old books go hand in hand Carlo…

      All the best. Aly

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  15. Very fine literature Aly. And any '1900s invasion lit' goes a long way with me... inspiring! Phil

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    1. Inspiring indeed Phil
      Certainly in the late 19th century you have a chance to use British home service uniforms…
      Although 1910 was a bit of a transitional period for uniforms across Europe… so lots of interesting uniforms there as well…

      All the best. Aly

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  16. Great looking books, to at least some degree wargaming is merely a cover for my book addiction, I really like/want the ACW book,even though it's not my period, there used to be a really good second hand bookshop on the Mansfield Road in Nottingham when I was there in the 1980s and I failed to buy a book on Frederick the Great, regretting it ever since I finally picked it up last year and felt a sense of closure! Obviously I don't wargame that period, I suppose I should say yet?
    Best Iain

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    1. I certainly have a book addiction Iain…places like Hay-on-Wye are a very dangerous/fun places for me…
      Was it Jermy and Westerman… I was thinking about them the other day…sadly there is a rumour that they my be closed… I hope not.

      All the best. Aly

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    2. It was,I just looked it up and unfortunately it closed in June 2019, it was a short walk from where I lived,dangerous,food or books!
      Best Iain

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