Here is a description of the book from the publisher (Zenith Press):

One of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, Operation Stalemate, as Peleliu was called, was overshadowed by the Normandy landings.  It was also, in time, judged by most historians to have been unnecessary; though it had been conceived to protect MacArthur’s flank in the Philippines, the U.S. fleet’s carrier raids had eliminated Japanese airpower, rendering Peleliu irrelevant.  Nevertheless, the horrifying number of casualties sustained there (71% in one battalion) foreshadowed for the rest of the war: rather than fight to the death on the beach, the Japanese would now defend in depth and bleed the Americans white.

The book provides a good description of the 1st Marine Regiment’s actions on Peleliu.  The book is mainly narrative with many excerpts from Marines who fought in the battle.  For example, Camp describes the initial landings and how the Japanese guns knocked out many of the landing craft.  He sprinkles in amongst this text the first-hand accounts of how the men got off the landing craft as quickly as possible because many the landing craft were blown to pieces with bodies and equipment thrown high into the air.  Camp gives a good balance of the narrative and the first-hand accounts.

I think the true strength of the book is in the analysis of the Marine leadership during the battle.  Camp is particularly critical of the 1st Marine Division’s commander General William Rupertus and Marine legend Colonel Lewis “Chesty” Puller.  Camp is critical of Rupertus for putting the pride of the Marine Corps before the lives of his men – Rupertus refused to allow an Army division to come and relieve part of his division even though the Marine units were decimated.  In addition, Camp is critical of Puller of being out of touch with the battle – he continuously ordered his units to attack across open ground with horrendous consequences.  His battalions were reduced to the size of reinforced companies.  Camp quotes several of Puller’s contemporaries that Puller was a fine battalion commander, but was not a suitable regimental commander – he did not have a “grasp of the use of naval gunfire, artillery, and supporting arms in general.”

Although the book has plenty of photographs (100 black and white), many of the photographs are too dark to see the detail in them.  I don’t know if this was just the case with paperbacks or if it was for the hardback as well, but it was a little bit of an annoyance.  The maps and diagrams were very helpful.  I particularly like the diagram of the various types of caves the Japanese defenders built.  The diagram helps you to visualize why these caves were so difficult to destroy.

I normally do not like oral histories because many times they are choppy – the first-hand accounts are not normally interwoven with the narrative very well.  However, this book is the rare exception.  Springer provides an excellent framework of the ship’s history in the narrative.  He then fills in the personal details with the oral history.  Springer’s writing style is light and easy to read.

The most gripping parts of the book are the accounts of the crew’s fight for the Franklin’s survival in one instance (the ship was hit by a kamikaze on October 30, 1944 that caused enough damage to require repairs in the mainland U.S.)  and fighting to contain damage in another (it was hit again on March 18, 1945 by one bomb that caused cataclysmic damage).  The stories are interesting and engaging.  For example, many of the survivors describe  where they were when the bomb hit the ship and how they either left the ship or fought to control the fires raging below the decks.

In addition to the survivors’ stories from the March 18 attack, Springer includes the accounts of other sailors on neighboring ships.  These accounts include the heroic efforts of several ship captains (particularly that of Captain Fritz of the USS Santa Fe) to help the stricken Franklin and the hundreds of Franklin sailors that were in the water.  Fritz’s seamanship allowed hundreds of sailors to transfer from the Franklin to the Santa Fe without touching the water (thus avoiding the perils of floating in freezing water).

Springer also discusses a black episode after the March 18 disaster – Captain Gehres’ (captain of the Franklin) claims of dereliction of duty against the hundreds of officers and sailors who abandoned ship during the fire that raged in the ship.  Many of these men had no other choice but to abandon ship or be killed.  Others, in the confusion, thought they were ordered to abandon ship.  Springer describes how this accusation from Gehres scarred the consciences of hundreds of brave men who fought for their country, but were ostracized for their “supposed” cowardly act.

Finally, Springer’s descriptions and first-hand accounts of the daily operations on a World War II aircraft carrier are fascinating.  The little details of how an aircraft carrier operated are fascinating.  For example, Springer talks about how the pilots landed on the carrier.  Many times their arresting hooks did not catch a wire and a barrier net was needed to catch the aircraft.  Although this saved the pilot and the plane, it also cost a lot of aircraft engines because they were ruined when the props hit the net.

This book is an excellent oral history describing one of the U.S. Navy’s finest hours in saving one of its ships.

Many people in their late thirties or older know of Omar Bradley from Karl Malden’s portrayal of him in the movie Patton.  He was portrayed as a bland, risk-averse character who was overshadowed by the flamboyant Patton (played by George C. Scott).  Jim DeFelice tries to dispel this image of Bradley in Omar Bradley: General at War.

DeFelice discusses Bradley’s rise in rank before World War II.  Although never serving in combat, he gained valuable leadership experience in various postings, such as two stints at West Point and one at the Infantry School.  According to DeFelice, this leadership experience served him well when Bradley did first see combat in North Africa in World War II.

I have read more than a few books on the European Theater in World War II and most of them either ignore Bradley (focusing more on the common soldier or Patton) or paint him in a less than flattering light.  For instance, many of the books blame Bradley for ignoring the warning signs prior to the German attack in the Ardennes.  The arguments supporting this viewpoint are quite convincing and DeFelice does begrudgingly admit that Bradley was slow on the uptake in discerning Germany’s actions in the Ardennes.

However, DeFelice convincingly argues that once the initial shock wore off, Bradley quickly adapted to the new reality and ordered Patton to shift the direction of his attack.  He ordered Patton to slice into the base of the German bulge.  This action helped to put pressure on the German rear, which slowed the advance on the front lines.

DeFelice’s description and analysis of Bradley’s experiences in North Africa and Sicily are good, but I think his writing on Bradley in Normandyis excellent.  Particularly, I like DeFelice’s analysis of Operation Cobra.  Rightfully so, DeFelice claims that Bradley has never been given enough credit for the innovative use of bombers on a tactical level.  The use of the bombers blew a hole in the German lines and Bradley’s aggressiveness pushed more than five divisions into the gap to start the break out of Normandy and the race across France.

I have one point of criticism – DeFelice puts all of the maps at the back of the book.  There are plenty of them, but they should have been put in amongst the text so that the reader can better understand the context of the situation that is being discussed.

This book is well-written and a great tribute to one of America’s unsung heroes in World War II.

In the beginning of the book, Bizony briefly discusses the theoretical roots of the shuttle that began as far back as the 1930s.  He then describes the two space-plane concepts that predated the shuttle and how these concepts influenced the shuttle design.  Bizony also touches on how NASA engineers balanced the needs of space travel with the political realities of the late 1960s and early 1970s when the shuttle took its final form.

The book is divided into seven chapters (entitled stages in the book) that describe the different phases of the shuttle missions.  In each chapter, Bizony includes a brief synopsis of what occurred with the shuttle program in the time period discussed.  Two of the most interesting discussions center on the investigations behind the Challenger and Columbia disasters.

The bulk of the book revolves around the space shuttle missions.  Bizony provides a brief paragraph on each mission.  These descriptions pack a lot of information in a small space.  For instance, in 1993 an Endeavor crew (mission STS-61) repaired the Hubble Space Telescope in five space walks.  Bizony claims this was the mission that single-handedly rebuilt NASA’s damaged reputation after the Challenger disaster.  He makes this claim because the images sent back to Earth from the repaired Telescope wowed the world.

Alongside the mission synopses are some astounding photographs.  Bizony incorporates 900 color photographs in the book’s 300 pages.  These photos include ones from inside the various space shuttles during missions, astronauts on space walks, astounding images of Earth, and astronauts and cosmonauts in the International Space Station.

In short, this book is visually inspiring and a  tribute to the thirty years of the space shuttle program.

The book is a little slower paced than the first two books, but it is full of  a lot more detail on the time period than the previous two books.  This detail gives the reader a richer understanding of medieval Swedish life.  For instance, Guillou describes the relationship between thralls (slaves owned by the Swedish landed aristocracy) and their masters.  Similar to slaves throughout time, the thralls were poorly treated.  Their miserable life is vividly portrayed by Guillou.

The action does not start until maybe the last 75 pages of the book’s 480 pages.  This action surrounds the clash between the Folkung and Erik Clans against the Sverker clan (and their Danish allies).  Through Arn’s leadership, the Folkung and Erik clans are able to defeat the Sverkers and found modern-day Sweden.

Although I am more interested in books that are full of action and despite the fact that this book is not so action-packed, I enjoyed reading it.  It was full of intrigue and mystery.  I had a sense that Arn would succeed, but I was not sure how he would fulfill his desires.  Guillou is a master in keeping the reader guessing.

The book brings to a close a wonderful story about a man and his faith and his love for a woman.

Here is an excerpt of a summary of the book from the publisher’s website:

In her essay on Jacquetta, Philippa Gregory uses original documents, archaeology, and histories of myth and witchcraft to create the first-ever biography of the young duchess who survived two reigns and two wars to become the first lady at two rival courts. David Baldwin, established authority on the Wars of the Roses, tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to marry a king of England for love; and Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes of Margaret Beaufort, the almost-unknown matriarch of the House of Tudor.

In the introduction, Gregory writes revealingly about the differences between history and historical fiction. How much of a role does speculation play in writing each? How much fiction and how much fact should there be in a historical novel? How are female historians changing our view of women in history?

The book is divided into three parts – each part about a different woman by one of the authors.   Nearly half of the book is devoted to Jacquetta and is written by Gregory.  Baldwin writes about Elizabeth Woodville in the second part of the book and Jones finishes the book with writing about Margaret Beaufort.  I believe all three parts are well-written and contain more information than I ever knew about the role these women played in shaping English history.

Gregory’s part on Jacquetta is longer because I think there is more primary source material on her.  However, as Gregory so adeptly mentions in the introduction to the book, there is not much primary source material on women in general from this period.  Writers and historians from the Wars of the Roses period do not give much attention to women because they were considered unimportant.  Military and political men dominated the writings of this time period.

As mentioned in the summary above, Gregory has a fairly extensive discussion of the role of historical fiction compared to history.  I found this part of the book the most interesting.  She brings forth the many challenges and benefits of writing historical fiction.  The one challenge is to write in a way that is creative, but accurate.  It is good to humanize historical figures in historical fiction, but the author must stay within the historical record (if the record is known).

Here is a brief summary of the book from the publisher’s website:

When American and British forces invaded Iraq in March 2003, select teams of special forces and intelligence operatives got to work looking for the WMD their governments had promised were there.  They quickly realized no such weapons existed.  Instead they faced an insurgency—a soaring spiral of extremism and violence that was almost impossible to understand, let alone reverse.

Facing defeat, the Coalition waged a hidden war within a war.  Major-General Stan McChrystal devised a campaign fusing special forces, aircraft, and the latest surveillance technology with the aim of taking down the enemy faster than it could regenerate.  Guided by intelligence, British and American special forces conducted a relentless onslaught, night after night targeting al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups.

Urban provides a solid chronological history of the British special forces in Iraq.  Many people may see this book  as a dry history, but I would counter that it is not because Urban includes many details of the war that I thought would be top-secret.  For example, he describes how the American tracking of cell phones in Iraq helped the American and British special forces to find targets for their operations.  These operations eliminated or captured leaders in the insurgency.

Urban also explores the tension between the leadership of British regular and special forces.  The special forces wanted to work more closely with the Americans and be very aggressive in their operations whereas the regular forces commanders wanted to be more cautious (in fact, they were accused of just biding their time for the order to withdraw from Iraq).  This tension often led to open arguments between the two branches.

It is fascinating to read about the individual operations run by the special forces.  These operations evolved throughout the war.  Initially, there were not as many operations because of an emphasis on over-planning.  However, this changed when British special forces commanders made an effort to coordinate their operations with the Americans under General Stanley McChrystal (commander of Joint Special Operations Command in Iraq).  McCrystal revolutionized black operations in Iraq.  His demand for continuous operations against the insurgency’s leadership put so much pressure on al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Shia insurgents that they cracked.

Finally, Urban writes in an easy-to-read prose that keeps the reader engaged throughout.  The book is 320 pages with two eight-page color photograph inserts.

This is an excellent book if you want to learn about some of the inner workings of the special forces war in Iraq.

The German Tiger I—officially known as the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I Auks. E (Skiffs 181)—was probably the most feared battle tank of World War II. Its invincibility lay in its main gun and heavy defensive armor. The Tiger’s primary armament was the deadly 88mm Kiwi 36 L/56 gun that was the most powerful antitank gun then in use by any army, capable of penetrating 112mm of armor plate from a range of 1400 meters. The Tiger I also had the toughest armor of any German tank—its frontal armor plate measured 100mm thick. Using the successful approach and format adopted for the Spitfire and Lancaster manuals, Tiger Tank Manual gives an insight into acquiring, owning, and operating one of these awesome fighting vehicles. It also gives an idea through personal recollections of what it was like to command a Tiger in war and what it felt like to be on the receiving end of its 88mm gun.

Here is a brief description of the author from the publisher:

David Fletcher is the Tank Museum librarian, prolific author, and a world expert on tanks. He will write the historical part of the manual. Other museum volunteers who have been closely involved in the Tiger 131’s restoration to running order will write the technical element of the manual.

The second book, Aerosmith: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Boston Bad Boys by Richard Bienstock, provides insight into one of the most popular and enduring rock and roll bands in America (published by Voyageur Press). See below for a description of the book from Voyageur’s website:

Aerosmith is one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all-time. After their 1970s success was derailed by band strife and Dionysian excess, Boston’s Bad Boys received a career jump-start in 1986 via their collaboration with hip-hop legends Run-DMC and producer Rick Rubin. This first complete illustrated history of one of the world’s most successful and popular bands features a band history by music journalist Richard Bienstock and sidebar album reviews from a host of well-known music journalists, including Greg Kot, Jaan Uhelszki, Chuck Eddy, Bill Holdship, Martin Popoff, Daniel Bukszpan, and more. Illustrated throughout with hundreds of stunning performance and backstage photographs, as well as rare memorabilia, including gig posters, backstage passes, 7-inch picture sleeves, ticket stubs, and more.

About the author:

Richard Bienstock is a senior editor with Guitar World magazine and the executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He is also a musician and journalist whose writings have appeared in numerous U.S. and international publications. He lives in New York City.

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• AEROSMITH – The Ultimate Illustrated History Of The Boston Bad Boys Book Out Now (bravewords.com)

Periodically, I receive a book from a publisher that gets my attention. That recently occurred with Manskills: How to Avoid Embarrassing Yourself and Impress Everyone Else  by Chris Peterson. It is a quick and easy read at 224 pages (includes 100 illustrations).

The book is full of useful and unusual tips for any male to evolve to the ultimate in “manhood.”  These tips include how to remove a stripped screw, sew on a button, survive a skid in a car, move an injured person, and make the perfect omelette.  As one can tell from the examples used above, the book covers a great deal of topics.  The book is divided into seven chapters: Shelter Savvy; Wild Ways; Social Graces; Vehicular Savvy; Emergency!; Epicurean Expertise; and Romantic Prowess.

I think a majority of the information is very helpful for most people.  There is some information that very few people will find helpful – mainly because most people will not be put into the situations addressed. For example, Peterson writes how to snare small game.  It is nice to know how to do it, but highly unlikely that I will ever need to use it.

This book is well-worth the read because of the useful information you will learn.

Full Disclosure:  I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.  This does not influence my review.

The Battle of Ball’s Bluff (more action took place there than at Edwards Ferry) grew out of an order for Union General Charles P. Stone to make a “demonstration” in front of Confederate positions near Ball’s Bluff. This demonstration turned into a twelve-hour battle where hundreds of men were killed and wounded, a prominent friend of President Lincoln’s (Col. Edward D. Baker) was killed, and the promising career of Stone was ruined (Morgan succinctly and clearly explains how Stone was pointed out as a scapegoat by his detractors). As Morgan shows, if anyone was to blame, it was Baker for his lack of leadership and control of the battle.

Although Ball’s Bluff did not seem to have any tactical or strategic consequences, but it did have political repercussions way beyond the Battle. As a result of the Union’s bungling of this battle and the First Battle of Bull Run, Congress created the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War – which proved to be a major hindrance for Lincoln throughout the war.

Morgan clearly lays out how the battle progressed and the different units that participated on both sides. He equally criticizes and praises both sides. The Confederates were generally better led (overall command was under Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Evans) and organized than the Union – there was total confusion prior to Baker’s entrance on the battlefield. Morgan supports most of his arguments with diaries and official reports. However, when his opinion is not based on either source, he bases it on sound reason.

Scattered throughout the text, Morgan includes numerous maps and photographs of the participants. The maps are helpful in following the action depicted in the text. The reader gets a better understanding of the tactical situation as well.

Finally, Morgan includes seven appendices on various aspects surrounding the battles. The topics covered include the details surrounding Baker’s death and an interesting discussion on why the Battle of Ball’s Bluff even occurred.

This book is an excellent short, concise history of the Battle of Ball’s Bluff.