Reviews (6)

Hind's First hand
I'm a "Hind-Nut" or a HUGE fan of the MI_24 Helicopter and all it's variants. (old & New) I get every book and read every thing on line I possibly can about this flying battle ship.
PMCs,Diamond Fields & Hinds
The main focus of "War Dog" is on mercenary pilots in Africa around the turn of the millennium. Flying 'outdated' planes and third hand Hind helicopters these pilots ruled the skies above the endless battles to control the diamond mines below. Land battles and treks in BMPs get their due too, but it's the helicopters and airplanes that get the most attention in this book.
Unique insight into military contracting; sobering tutorial on modern Africa
This is a remarkable book. It turns like a thriller, yet the reader also is being educated from a first-hand observer of the sorry state of modern, post-colonial (sometimes proto-colonial) African states. If hiring professional soldiers is what it takes to do something--anything--to ameliorate the "Wretched of the Earth" and the biblical suffering in underdeveloped basketcases, then let's by G-d do it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. History: American    4. Military    5. Military - General    6. Military - Other    7. History / Military / Other    8. Mercenaries   

Reviews (9)

Excellent Civil War reference - Brilliant narrative
Ordeal by Fire is an excellent reference for anyone studying the Civil War. James McPherson has a brilliant narrative style that makes his work a pleasure to read, and easy to comprehend. This is a must-read book for anyone studying the civil war. It is also a good reference for the Reconstruction era.

Excellent Civil War Depiction
Ordeal By Fire has been an excellent source so far of what caused America to enter into a full scale Civil War

Brilliant!
Insightful, and comprehensive. I bought this book in order to study for a DSST exam on the Civil War. I find myself going back to it now just for the joy of reading it. By the way, the book does a super job of getting you ready for the exam. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Causes    2. Civil War, 1861-1865    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. Reconstruction (U.S. history,    8. Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)    9. U.S. History - Civil War And Reconstruction (1860-1877)    10. United States    11. United States - Civil War    12. United States - Reconstruction Period (1865-1877)    13. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    14. USA    15. c 1800 to c 1900   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (7)

Moving
This is a story of ultimate forgiveness told firsthand by Ernest Gordon.The things he and his fellow prisoners of war experienced are near incomprehensible....and out of such despair comes the forever life-changing love they experience through Christ, Who is the example they start to follow in showing similar self-sacrificing love and kindness to their neighbors - even to their enemies.
Not your typical POW story
While Earnest Gordon's story contains enough description of the atrocities inflicted on him and his fellow POW's by the hands of the Japanese in Southeast Asia during WW2, this does not read like your typical POW story. By typical, I mean a blow-by-blow account (literally at times) of the grueling, horrific experience of Allied soldiers during the war. Though there are passages of such description that aptly set the stage for the story, this book is more about the way in which Gordon and his fellow prisoners of war created the Kingdom of God in the hell of mankind.
fantastic story
Ernest Gordon's first-hand account of being a POW in WWII.Gordon, a Scottish soldier and later Presbyterian minister and Chaplain of Princeton University, was captured by a Japanese warship and placed on the crew that built the bridge over the river Kwai.The account is well written and interesting from a historical perspective, but also engaging from a spiritual one as Gordon tells about his own transformation while imprisoned, as well as that of his fellow prisoners.If you are interested in history and biography told through the eyes of faith, then this makes an excellent read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Burma-Siam Railroad    3. Fiction    4. General    5. Gordon, Ernest    6. Japan    7. Military    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Personal narratives, British    10. Prisoners and prisons, Japanes    11. Prisoners and prisons, Japanese    12. Prisoners of war    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. Christian Interest    15. English    16. Inspiration / Motivation / Biography & Autobiography    17. Religion / Christian Life    18. Transportation / Railroads / History    19. True stories: Second World War    20. WORLD WAR, 1939-1945_PERSONAL NARRATIVES, BRITISH    21. WORLD WAR, 1939-1945_PRISONERS AND PRISONS, JAPANESE    22. World history: Second World War   

Reviews (4)

Wow...A Great Coffee Table Book for Any Firearms History Buff
Just the pictures in this huge volume are enough to make it worth thumbing through, but the written information is tremendous and the author manages to cover all connections to Winchesters' Fathers, including John M Browning, my personal hero (other than my Father, Uncle, Grandfather and all other veterans of WWII and Korea).Probably not all the information on Winchester firearms and ammo history but all that I can absorb and still have a social life.

Eye Candy
Beautiful to look at. Not heavy in the way of company or technical history, but what a great coffee table book. Costly - if you can find it - but wow!

Another winner from R.L. Wilson
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Subjects:  1. Americana    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Firearms & Weapons    5. Firearms And Gunsmithing    6. General    7. History    8. Shooting    9. Sports & Recreation    10. Winchester rifle    11. Antiques & Collectibles / Firearms & Weapons    12. Militaria, arms & armour    13. USA    14. Weapons & equipment   

Reviews (9)

Well Researched & Written
This is perhaps the best biography of an American ever written.Manchester juxtaposes the good MacArthur (the military genius and patriotic family man) with the bad MacArthur (the megalomaniacal general whose lapse led to his entire air force being destoryed on the ground at Leyte; not even his wife called him "Douglas").MacArthur is still one of the most polarizing figures in American history; I have spoken to WW2 and Korean veterans who either love him or hate him.This book is a study of greatness.No matter your opinion of MacArthur, one cannot deny the fact that he graduated from West Point with one of the highest averages ever, or how his post-war control of Japan shaped that nation's history.An excellent look into the life of an American Hero/Villain.

history or prophecy
I bow to my colleagues who have observed Manchester's acquired taste for the MacArthurian mystique and the apparent failures of historians (not just Willam M.) on getting it right regarding The General's ego and its fallout in combat. Yes this stuff is significant, but all this overlooks one outstanding reality, that Manchester includes but does give the proper emphasis: Doug MacArthur wanted to be president, very, very badly.He truly saw himself as a caesar-like figure in history and positioned himself in returning to the Philipines, administering post-war Japan, and taking the baton in Korea (at the age of 70) for a return to the US in "triumph."Instead he bowed out after being fired by Truman, who had nothing to lose by relieving him.
exceptional
This is a masterful biography of Douglas MacArthur, a pivotal 20C figure. He is outlined in all his complexity (good and bad) with the record of his accomplishments.
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Subjects:  1. 1880-1964    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. General    7. Generals    8. Historical - U.S.    9. MacArthur, Douglas,    10. Military    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / Military    13. Biography: general    14. MacArthur, Douglas   

Reviews (1)

A World War II Classic
With all the books written about World War II and Iwo Jima in particular, it's quite surprising that no one thought of telling this story before. Thank heaven it's been done. James Bradley, son of the corpsman who helped raise the flag along with five Marines writes wonderfully of these young men who in the briefest of moments, in this case, 1/400th of a second, would go on to embody American heroism and triumph in one of this country's most bitter fights.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. Iwo Jima, Battle of, Japan, 1945    5. Marines    6. Military    7. Military - United States    8. Military - World War II    9. Photographs    10. Photography    11. Pictorial works    12. World War II    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. History / Military / World War II   

Reviews (149)

The Truth About War
All the barroom heroes, the bellowing "patriots," and those who are willing to fight to the last drop of someone else's blood...likely wouldn't learn anything from this book.However, for the great majority of humanity, including those who may have been seduced by the "glory" of war, this book would prove most instructive.More than any other book I have read describing personal experiences during war, this one provides a comprehensive, detailed, and compelling picture of its reality.The author spares neither himself nor anyone else, in showing the cruelty, fear, and insanity that both explain and indict battlefield conduct.He describes as "packs of wolves" the groups of starving soldiers walking for days across frozen stretches of land, who desolate whole villages in their search for food.War crimes are commonplace and as understandable as they are deplorable...and mixed in with this are the unexpected mercy, personal misery, and always the desperation of men who expect to die, but don't want to...usually.
MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT
Before reading this controversial book, I did some research into the argument that Sajer's memoir is or is not authentic and came away from it sitting on the fence. I had to read this book and judge it for myself, having read more than a few memoirs from the German side previously. Although it has been claimed that Guy Sajer is a real person who did fight in the Wehrmacht, my sources relate that Sajer did not defend the book as a meticulous eye-witness account of the battles he was in or of the time frame in which they were fought. Essentially, Sajer says that his book is more about feelings than about facts. It is an impression of war and not a history book, so fact and accuracy take a back seat to the author's purpose of creating a mood.
Remarkable
The Forgotten Soldier is an amazing read, one that will invoke a variety of emotions within the reader.The stark and horifying landscape painted by the author places the reader right at the Eastern Front.If one wants to "feel" the experience of a soldier at battle, this is one of the best books ever written to gain that experience.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Europe - Germany    5. Historical - General    6. Military    7. Military - World War II    8. Biography & Autobiography / Military    9. Biography: historical    10. European history: Second World War    11. Germany   

Reviews (4)

A Man Greater than the Myths
In this small but valuable volume, Oates explores the reality beyond the two sources of Lincoln myth: the primary myth of a saintly and folkloric Lincoln of Carl Sandburg and a secondary myth of the 'white honky' Lincoln of the 1970's revisionists. Oates emphasizes that Lincoln drew deeply upon the "spirit of his age", which was a profoundly revolutionary time across the world. Oates relates how Lincoln absorbed one of the core lessons of America from the example of Henry Clay: : "in this country one can scarcely be so poor, but that, if he will, he can acquire sufficient education to get through the world respectably".
A Concise, Readable Study of our Greatest President.
If you're interested in understanding what the man Abraham Lincoln was like, this is the book for you. This short, well-documented study of our sixteenth President cuts through the myths and the utter nonsense that have been written about Lincoln to expose the real hero behind these tales. This work shows Lincoln as the driven, courageous yet fallible man who never gave up on his dream of freedom for all men. Highly recommended!

It did not elaborate on the question of Lincoln's parentage.
As an amateur genealogist I discovered that I was a sixth cousin, five times removed to President Abraham Lincoln through the Lincoln and Holmes families. On page 21 ( Abraham Lincoln, The man Behind The Myths )Mr. Oates wrote that there was a mistaken belief that Thomas Lincoln wasnot Abraham's real father rather it was a Senator John C. Calhoun or aHenry Clay. If this was true it would mean that I was not related toPresident Abraham Lincoln. How would such a rumour start ? Is there anydocumented evidence that Nancy Lincoln had an affair with one of these menwhile being married to Thomas Lincoln.At the time I am trying tolocate Stephen B. Oates so I can get this matter cleared up. Sincerely, Mr. Blair E. Bartlett, 87 Shillington Road, Saint John, NewBrunswick, Canada, E2J 4K7 1-506-696-6175 ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1809-1865    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Historical - U.S.    6. Lincoln, Abraham,    7. Presidents    8. Presidents & Heads of State    9. U.S. History - Civil War And Reconstruction (1860-1877)    10. United States    11. United States - Civil War    12. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    13. Biography & Autobiography / General    14. Biography: historical    15. Biography: political    16. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    17. USA    18. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (3)

An excellent history of the III SS-Panzer Korps
This book was an interesting read about the III SS-Panzer-Korps (Germanisches).
Excellent History of the III SS Panzer Korps
Like most of Wilhelm Tieke's books, excellently written blending tremendous historic details along with many engrossing personal accounts. Of the 60 JJ Fedorowicz titles that are in my collection, this book is my favorite. Recommended without hesitation for anyone interested in the Waffen SS or War on the Eastern Front. Also note, this book was selected as one the Top Ten Military Books for the year 2001 as determined from the Stone&Stone.com Military Book Survey.

Triump of the Will!
This book recounts in full details the idealism and ultimate sacrifice of the Germans, ethnic Germans and European volunteers in the Korps which fought to stem the Red Bolshevic hordes from the cradle of civilization. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. Military    3. Military - World War II    4. Military life & institutions    5. Germany    6. Regiments   

Reviews (2)

Great Place to Start
I first bought this book about 15 years ago.It made a huge impression on me then when I didn't know much about uniforms, and it is still a great resource today now that I am a uniform collector.The painted images of soldiers of all the major armies of World War II are vivid and interesting.The text is informative and thorough.Of particular use are charts that detail rank insignia for all the various armies.
Well-organized and beautifully illustrated reference work
This is the DEFINITIVE reference book on the uniforms of WWII.Mollo carefully explains his terms and illustrates them in this handy, well-organized work.Individual illustrations of patches, epaulets andweapons are complemented by contemporary, hand-colored photographs of awide variety of uniforms.Excellent! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Armed Forces    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Insignia    6. Military    7. Military - Uniforms    8. Military uniforms    9. World War, 1939-1945    10. Non-Classifiable    11. Sale Books   

Reviews (15)

Where We Were In Vietnam
I have had Mike's book for some time now and have found it to be of great use to me.I served in Vietnam as an infantryman in the Australian Army and he has covered many of our battle sites as well as our base areas so for that I say well done..I currently live and work in Vietnam so I can use it as a constant reference whenever I travel throughout the country visiting the old battlefields and other sites of interest. With all grid references given in the military grid system and the ready availability of military maps for most areas it is a most usefull piece of work.

Where We Were in Vietnam
I served 3 consecutive tours in Vietnam and I must tell you, as a vietnam Veteran, I find this Book PerticulerlyAluminating. I still am in the process of comeing to terms with many things dealing with Vietnam. This Book puts many of them into perspective.
Simply Outstanding!Resonates with living history!
Michael P. Kelley has exceeded all expectations with this volume. He has put his heart and soul into this resource, one that resonates with the living history of a long series of wars in 20th Century Vietnam. A primary resource for all interested in the conflict in Vietnam. A First Rate effort! Reread all those Vietnam-era works and see if those firebase names jive up to the action described. Is it fact, or else some sorry assed tale passed on down? Now we know. This is a must for any and all public libraries. We simply must have this work in the public record. HATS OFF,Mister Kelley! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - Southeast Asia    2. Dictionaries    3. History    4. History - General History    5. Maps    6. Military    7. Military - Vietnam War    8. Military History - Vietnam Conflict    9. Military Organization And Administration    10. Military Science    11. Military bases, American    12. Vietnam    13. Vietnam War, 1961-1975    14. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975   

Editorial Review

By December 1944, many of the 3 million citizens of Berlin had stopped giving the Nazi salute, and jokes circulated that the most practical Christmas gift of the season was a coffin. And for good reason, military historian Antony Beevor writes in this richly detailed reconstruction of events in the final days of Adolf Hitler's Berlin. Following savage years of campaigns in Russia, the Nazi regime had not only failed to crush Bolshevism, it had brought the Soviet army to the very gates of the capital. That army, ill-fed and hungry for vengeance, unloosed its fury on Berlin just a month later in a long siege that would cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides. But as Beevor recounts, the siege was also marked by remarkable acts of courage and even compassion. Drawing on unexplored Soviet and German archives and dozens of eyewitness accounts, Beevor brings us a harrowing portrait of the battle and its terrible aftermath, which would color world history for years to follow. Read more

Reviews (113)

In War, it's not who's Right.It's who's Left.
As a student of military history and war fighting I was able to fight my way through this volume with little difficuly.I was even reading it at a high altitude and while hospitalized and it only rarely put me to sleep.
Essential Information Finally Coming To Light, Publ 2002, 490 pp, 4-1/2 Stars
First off I recommend reading the review by Sean Judge on June 26, 2002. Really this should be a Spotlight Review, unfortunately Amazon hasn't selected it as such and has been buried by the passage of time.I thought his review briefly encapsulated the book and no other review was needed, but I will attempt one here.
More of a General Campaign review than strictly battle of Berlin
I wish the author would have provided maps of the actual battle situation in Berlin itself. Most of the story is a general coverage of the campaign to capture Berlin. By the time we get to Berlin the book is almost over. On the plus side, this book should be a must read for high school students to de-glamorize war - the author's coverage of the brutality is very straightforward and hard-hitting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Berlin    2. Berlin (Germany)    3. Berlin, Battle of, Berlin, Ger    4. Berlin, Battle of, Berlin, Germany, 1945    5. Destruction and pillage    6. Europe - Germany    7. Germany    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. Military - World War II    12. World War, 1939-1945    13. History / General   

Reviews (4)

Panama Cruising Guide by Eric Bauhaus
The zydler guide was ok in its time. But the new Panama Cruising Guide by Eric Bauhaus is very, very much better than the Zydler. ALL PAGES IN COLOR, beautyful photos and nearly 200 precise charts. Dont dream of cruising panama without it.

New Panama Cruising Guide by Eric Bauhaus is way better
We just finished (July 2006) cruising the Pacific side of Panama and through the canal and found the Zydler guide to not be as useful as the newer Bauhaus guide. The major difference is in the charts & chartlets - the Bauhaus guide is all color charts that look like real charts - the Zydler guide is all B&W hand drawn sketches that are extremely hard to read - virtually useless. The Zydler guide has more words but less useful information as it's quite a bit older and some information isway out of date - eg. the Western Panama Islands like Coiba.

the panama guide
excelent book Tom and Nancy,proffesional piece of art.Finally i found you Tom,im your old buddy from naval academy in Gdynia,contact me pls.Chris kowalski E-mail-kowal17@hotmail.com ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Panama    2. Pilot guides    3. Reference - General    4. Ships & Shipbuilding - Engineering    5. Transportation    6. Travel    7. Yachting   

Reviews (2)

American History, Volume I (Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History)
Good Book

An in-depth look at issues from both sides.
Taking Sides is a great way to find out more about contraversial issues from the period of Reconstructin to the Present.It dives into issues suchas whether or not women of the nineteenth-century overcame the hardships ofthe west; if Booker T. Washington's philosophy and actions betray theinterests of Afican-Americans; if the 1950's were America's "happydays", and much more.This great book reveals both sides to theissues.Your stand is not suede, but you are able to make your owndecision. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: American    5. United States - Civil War    6. United States - Colonial Period    7. United States - General    8. United States History (General)    9. History / United States / General   

Editorial Review

It's an unlikely beginning to what became a momentous, history-changinghistory fair project. Eleven-year-old Hunter Scott was watching Read more

Reviews (20)

Interesting Read. Enjoyable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
From start to finish I enjoyed much of this novel. THere were times when i didn't understand all of the fancy language of the navy and ships, but it was a great read.
Book Review
Ben Olejniczak
I couldn't put the book down
This book was recommended to me by a friend as a must read.After buying the book from Amazon, I couldn't put it down.The stories of the men who were left at sea and the struggle by the young man so many years later to restore the honor of the caption falsely accused is well written in this short book and should be on everyone's must read list. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. History - Military & Wars    4. History - United States/20th Century    5. Indianapolis (Cruiser)    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. McVay, Charles Butler,    9. Naval operations, American    10. Trials (Naval offenses)    11. Trials, litigation, etc    12. United States    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. d. 1968    15. Juvenile Nonfiction / History / Other   

Reviews (1)

The Cost of Ethnic Cleansing
This is the best book I have read on the tragic Greek-Turkish "population exchange" of the 1920s. I found the book remarkable for several reasons: One is its organization. Chapters alternate between diplomatic history and human suffering stories, many of them based on interviews with survivors of that era. This has a powerful effect on the reader who sees how people were dying while "diplomats talked." Another is its fairness in discussing the responsibilities of each side. (The official Greek and Turkish positions place all the blame on the other side.) And finally the coverage of the suffering of the Muslims that were sent from Greece to Turkey as part of the "exchange." As the books states on p. 161 "In most cases, the fate of these migrants was not as terrible as that of the Anatolian Christians who fled either in the heat of war, or as a result of forced marches followed by forced embarkations on ships riddled with disease; but the Muslim exodus was bad enough."
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Subjects:  1. Emigration & Immigration    2. Europe - Greece    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Middle East - Turkey    7. Military - World War I    8. Modern - 20th Century    9. History / Modern / 20th Century   

Reviews (59)

A few translation suggestions
A few years ago, I translated the crucial first chapter of On War's first book from German into Portuguese. The results were then discussed vis-à-vis the Paret/Howard English version in our post-graduate program. Back then, I wrote a few additional comments in English about nuances of the Paret/Howard text [otherwise, very good], which - so I believed - seemed to dilute the depth of Clausewitz' exposition at key spots. These brief comments follow below, as I still believe they can be of some interest, particularly to those who meditate the relation between war and politics, and as they touch the very heart of Clausewitz unsurpassed insight into the nature of armed conflict.
Would-Be-Commanders Should Buy Other Books
If you are going into politics this book is for you. It is very abstract and rambles on for thousands of words in order to get to a single point.