Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend is the second book in the series. I'm feeling a little nostalgic. The book was actually better than I remembered since there was some subtext I hadn't noticed the first time. it continues the story of the dysfunctional Mole family described by their oldest child in diary form. Very funny. Also a very good look at 1980s England.

Recommended.

I've also reviewed the first book in the series The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4.

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend OK its young adult literature I'm feeling nostalgic. Surprisingly the book does still hold up and there's a bunch of rather subtle references I didn't pick up when I first read this thing back in grade 6.

It's the diary of the trials and tribulations of a 13-year-old in a working-class family trying to deal with a feminist mother and a lazy father. The book is an excellent snapshot of 1980s England firmly in the Margaret Thatcher years. It is still quite funny even to this 25-year-old. I came across it while wandering through Abebooks.

Highly Recommended.

I have also reviewed the second book in the series The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole.

Friday, December 29, 2006

Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf

Here are my book reviews on Counterinsurgency/Insurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare. The links take you to my reviews. Don't worry about the posting date I'll put new reviews into the list as I write them. Last updated on January 2, 2008.

The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual

Arnold, James Tet Offensive, 1968: Turning Point in Vietnam

Bahmanyar, Mir Afghanistan Cave Complexes 1979-2004: Mountain strongholds of the Mujahideen, Taliban & Al Qaeda

Beckett, I. F. W. The Encyclopedia of Guerrilla Warfare

Bennett, Richard The Black and Tans

Bidwell, Shelford The Chindit War: Stilwell, Wingate, and the Campaign in Burma, 1944

Chandrasekaran, Rajiv Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

Chapman, F. Spencer The Jungle is Neutral: A Soldier's Two-Year Escape from the Japanese Army

Chattopadhyaya, Rudrapratap Insurgency of Titu Meer: A Brief History of Wahabi Movement Down to the Death of Saiyid Ahmad

Clayton, Anthony Forearmed: History of the Intelligence Corps

Clodfelter, Mark The Limits of Air Power: The American Bombing of North Vietnam

Collins, James Lawton The Development and Training of the South Vietnamese Army, 1950-1972

Condon, Richard W. The Winter War: Russia Against Finland (The Pan/Ballantine Illustrated History of World War II)

Dach, H. Von Total Resistance

Engle, Eloise and Paananen, Lauri The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940

Fall, Bernard B. Hell in a Very Small Place: The Siege of Dien Bien Phu

Griffith, Samuel B. Mao Tse-Tung on Guerrilla Warfare

Hammes, Thomas X. The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century

Haycock, Ronald [editor] Regular Armies and Insurgency

Heaton, Colin D. German Anti-Partisan Warfare in Europe: 1939 1945

Heilbrunn, Otto Warfare in the Enemy's Rear

Herring, George C. The Pentagon Papers

Kuodyte, D. The Unknown War: Armed anti-Soviet Resistance in Lithuania in 1944–1953

Lanning, Michael Lee and Cragg, Dan Inside the VC and the NVA

Leakey, Louis Mau Mau and the Kikuyu

Morgan, Ted My Battle of Algiers: A Memoir

Nicolle, David Lawrence and the Arab Revolts 1914-18

Pearson, Mike Waging War from Canada: Why Canada is the Perfect Base for Organizing, Supporting, and Conducting International Insurgency

Peissel, Michel The Secret War in Tibet

Pustay, John S. Counterinsurgency Warfare

Rosen, Nir In the Belly of the Green Bird: the Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq

Rothstein, Hy S. Afghanistan And the Troubled Future of Unconventional Warfare

Schultheis, Rob Waging Peace: A Special Operations Team's Battle to Rebuild Iraq

Spector, Ronald H. After Tet:The Bloodiest year in Vietnam

Steinberg, Lucien Jews Against Hitler (Not As A Lamb) - The Seminal Work on Jewish Resistance

Tanner, Stephen Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban

Thompson, Sir. Robert Make for the Hills: Memories of Far Eastern Wars

Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm

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Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm

You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.

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It is right!
As anyone who's read this blog for any length of time probably noticed already.



Thursday, December 28, 2006

new link on the sidebar

I've done the link exchange thing with Maggie Reads. A very interesting librarian's blog. She's trying to convince Mississippians to read which could be difficult as demonstrated by these terrifying statistics on her page.
My work is, as they say, cut out for me. At a reading level of one, an adult will be able to make out important words like “stop” and “sale” but will not be able to read simple sentences. Thirty percent of adults in the state of Mississippi are at level one. Thirty-four percent of adult Mississippians read at level two—equivalent to an eight-grade level.
Makes me wonder what Alberta's statistics are like.

Bush does something right

No that's not a typo. The administration has actually managed to do something right for once. U.S. to Declassify Secrets at Age 25. Sure agencies can still get around released but have to look through the material and not just give a blanket denial.

Has to be some good Vietnam material in there somewhere. Anyone want to go to the National Archives?





Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Salvage King, Ya! by Mark Anthony Jarman

Salvage King, Ya! by Mark Anthony Jarman is one of Amazon.ca's Canadian essentials I'm not sure why. The narrator is a washed up hockey player bouncing around various leagues. The writing style is pretty close to stream of consciousness which makes it very hard to follow.

To bad it sounded interesting.

Not recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

100th book review

Yesterday I posted my 100th book review on the blog. It was The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution: A Reconsideration by Mark Roseman an excellent book on the Holocaust. I'll be writing up a year-end awards post. Hopefully I'll be able to review more material it's one of my New Year's resolutions. Maybe hit the 150th review before May 22nd. Which is the blogs one-year anniversary.

Drop me a comment if you appreciate what I'm doing.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution: A Reconsideration by Mark Roseman

The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution: A Reconsideration by Mark Roseman attempts to explain how exactly the conference should be considered in the wider perspective of the Holocaust. The author suggests that instead of being important for decisions made at the conference it was more a signpost on the way to the final solution.

The conference has received much notoriety because of the Wannsee protocol which was written by Adolf Eichmann. It is included in its entirety and an appendix. The English translation provided in the records of the Nuremberg Tribunal has been cleaned up. The book provides a contextual analysis of the document as well as the events leading up to and following the conference. We also get some discussion of Holocaust historiography.

Extensive endnotes round out this superb book on the Holocaust.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.


For more Holocaust book reviews, take a look at My Holocaust bookshelf.

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde is a humorous mystery about the Nursery Crime Division.

Humpty Dumpty has been murdered and Jack Spratt has to find out who did it. Maybe a little heavier on puns then Fforde's other books but still enjoyable. Perhaps the most interesting part is that detectives who have their exploits published in history magazines gained fame, notoriety and convictions.

This is the first in a series. He deals with some of the same ideas in his Thursday Next series.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.



For more Science Fiction and Fantasy book reviews take a look at My Science Fiction and Fantasy bookshelf.

Every War Must End by Fred Charles Ikle

Every War Must End by Fred Charles discusses the issue of war termination. Basically the author has written a book that shows various examples of the concept of war termination put forward by Clausewitz. The examples range from World War I to the Soviet war in Afghanistan. There is some reference to the First Persian Gulf War in a new introduction and some talk about al-Qaeda. He doesn't believe that negotiation is possible with them.

This book apparently influenced Colin Powell's decision to suggest terminating the First Persian Gulf War prior to invading Iraq proper. The book contains an extensive notes section and a bibliography on war termination. A short highly readable account. This is a third revision published in 2005. The three earlier introductions were included.

Recommended!

Red Meat Cures Cancer by Starbuck O'Dwyer

Red Meat Cures Cancer by Starbuck O'Dwyer is a very funny novel about the narrator's attempts to increase market share for his fast food company.

The narrator has been working at the same place for 19 years and only needs to stick around for one more to get a big fat pension but His civil war reenacting crazy boss tells him he needs to increase the Company's market share from 3% to 5% or he'll be fired. That would be difficult enough seeing as their burgers are not healthy but it's made worse by the threat of a class-action lawsuit brought by the state's to recoup health expenses of meet eaters. He has a feminist daughter who needs thousands of dollars in breast implants and another child who needs money for his Internet startup.

The book occasionally turns preachy discussing fame and fortune in America today but it's all done with some incredibly funny one-liners so it's okay.

The action which forces him to take a second look at his life is actually very well done and makes the last third of the book rather poignant. Surprising considering books like this don't usually have much emotional impact. The book does stay funny throughout the introspective section.

Highly recommended! The book was recently remaindered so there are many copies for $1.

Is available through Abebooks.

Monday, December 25, 2006

The Columnist by Jeffrey Frank

The Columnist by Jeffrey Frank is supposedly a humorous fake biography about a columnist in Washington DC.

Unfortunately it's just not funny. We get close to parity occasionally. There is an oversexed version of the McLaughlin Group [as frightening as that sounds] but nothing really funny here. The book is all about sex and how everybody is sleeping around on everybody else. Problem is it's just not funny. The Flashman series by George Macdonald Fraser was able to make sex funny this book did not.

Not recommended! The book was recently remaindered so there are many copies for $1.

Is available through Abebooks.

George Bush, Dark Prince Of Love: A Presidential Romance by Lydia Millet

George Bush, Dark Prince Of Love: A Presidential Romance by Lydia Millet is a hilarious book about a woman's infatuation with the 41st president of the United States.

The narrator recently out of jail falls in love with Bush and attempts to meet him. We also get quite a bit of social commentary about Bush's America. The book is extremely funny with a dark sense of humor. Apparently the author has written other things but they're much darker than this. That being said the book isn't really for the squeamish. There is some violence and sexual material.

Recommended. The book was recently remaindered so there are many copies for $1. An excellent deal.

Is available through Abebooks.

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde is the second book in the Thursday Next series. The plot follows the situations in the first book but you don't have to have read the earlier one for it to make sense.

Basically the main character has to deal with the corporation that is out to ruin her life. The literary adventures are still part of this book. We get to learn all sorts of things about the reality of books and how they can be changed by evildoers. It's hard to summarize without giving away the plot of the first book.

Probably not as funny as the first book but still an excellent break from the military history I usually read.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.


I have reviewed the first book in the series The Eyre Affair

For more Science Fiction and Fantasy book reviews take a look at My Science Fiction and Fantasy bookshelf.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

INS and Homeland security must be informed its Santa!

Now we know why NORAD tracks Santa.

From: no santa for hazleton

This Christmas, a grassroots coalition of concerned citizens and elected officials have come together to conduct a public awareness campaign against the nation's most prominent undocumented worker: Santa Claus.
Terrific web site. Obviously Santa also violates minimum wage and working condition laws. Somebody call Lou Dobbs!





The Graves Are Not Yet Full: Race, Tribe, and Power in the Heart of Africa by Bill Berkeley

The Graves Are Not Yet Full: Race, Tribe, and Power in the Heart of Africa by Bill Berkeley attempts to explain why Africa has so many political problems.

Berkeley an American reporter tries to get past the usual description of African violence, that is being a Hobbesian world of all against all or simply tribal. He makes a convincing case that instead conflicts require "leadership". Much of this our caused by rather unsavory Cold War allies of the West. The behavior of the leaders is more equivalent to how the Sicilian Mafia operates.

There is a very interesting interview with one of Reagan's African adviser's who basically says that they don't care about the Africans just as long as the Soviets stayed out.

Various countries are covered the Wanda, South Africa, Sudan and Liberia. The section on South Africa describes the way government's attempted in the 1980s to foster conflict between different black groups. Something that isn't really known about in the West.

A fascinating and highly recommended book on an important subject.

Is available through Abebooks.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Anything that gets Don Cherry mad has to be a good thing

Well it's nice to know that the NHL doesn't seem to understand the Internet. I'm of course talking about the Internet campaign to get Rory Fitzpatrick in the All-star game First heard about this tonight. The way the CBC suits were going on about it you think the apocalypse was happening. Anything that gets Don Cherry mad has to be a good thing.

Funny considering Cherry himself was essentially a write-in candidate for a stupid CBC greatest Canadian special. I certainly don't remember him taking himself out of the running for that.

So as they say in Chicago "vote early, vote often". Go to http://www.voteforrory.com/




Friday, December 22, 2006

Anticipating Surprise: Analysis for Strategic Warning by Cynthia M. Grabo

Anticipating Surprise: Analysis for Strategic Warning by Cynthia M. Grabo describes the skills needed by intelligence analysts to avoid a military surprise. Grabo one of the few female intelligence analysts during the Cold War has written an interesting work.

This book started out as a 3 volume classified US government textbook but after September 11 it was condensed, updated and declassified. Anyone expecting an explanation of the intelligence failure around September 11 will be disappointed. There is only an oblique reference to the terrorist attacks in the introduction.

Most of the book discusses some of the reasons why the correct analysis does not always get through to policymakers. There are lots of negative examples where this did not take place. Pearl Harbor, the Chinese intervention in Korea, the Soviets in Czechoslovakia etc. Interestingly enough order of battle material is usually considered by outsiders to be accurate. The author explains that this is not the case and can be just as wildly inaccurate as other analysis.

Recommended for anyone who wants a look at the inner workings of threat analysis.

Is available through Abebooks.

Questia Online Library

I'm happy to announce that I have a new affiliate on my blog. It is Questia Online Library. This is a very interesting web site if you're interested in research material or just reading. They have over 1.5 million articles and 65,000 books. Much of the material is from academic presses which is usually very expensive to purchase on the market. New it can range anywhere from $20 a paperback to $150! so being able to get access to much the same material for $19.95/one month or $99/year is an excellent deal.

For researchers there are a bunch of tools that are provided including the ability to highlight passages produce citations and save bookmarks. Unlike most services the text is actual text that can be manipulated most services simply take apart the book and scan the individual pages and just post image files.

They have a free trial so you can test things out. Even before committing to the free trial you can start reading.

From now on I'll occasionally review books listed on the service as well as still providing links to Abebooks when appropriate.

For people who love to read




Thursday, December 21, 2006

John Lennon,enemy of the state

The Lennon Files: The FBI and the Beatle. So the FBI in their infinite wisdom took over 25 years to release some truly innocuous files on John Lennon.... and somehow were supposed to be surprised by this?

Apparently much of intelligence work is looking at open-source data in other words things that even you or I can see. Apparently you can end up with some weird nonsense when you do this is demonstrated by the mistakes in the file. The most interesting section is on the "foreign government" which could have made release of the files much quicker but didn't.
That embarrassment also extends very specifically to the Blair government. According to FBI records, the unnamed "foreign government" was asked for permission to release its documents on Lennon back in September 1997, just a few months after Mr Blair first took office. The foreign government said no, saying that secrecy remained necessary to avoid "serious and demonstrable harm to its sources, which remain sensitive".
What happened to you Tony? You used to be cool.






Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Mau Mau and the Kikuyu by Louis Leakey

Mau Mau and the Kikuyu by Louis Leakey is a short anthropological study of the African tribe. The Kikuyu of Kenya are perhaps most famous for their membership in the Mau Mau insurgency against the British. This was responsible for the emergency in Kenya during the 1950s. The author was a member of the Kikuyu.

The book is quite short the first half dealing with the Customs of the tribe particularly those around land, marriage and oaths. These were the three major problems with fighting against the guerrilla campaign particularly the oaths that people were forced to participate in. The author explains the often confusing social system and how it can be countered by the government. He suggests a hearts and minds approach to deal with the guerrillas.

Recommended not only for those interested in the emergency but for those interested in the impact of colonialism on indigenous groups. The not always positive influence of Christianity is described.

For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Bush to increase size of Army and Marine Corps, now let's all wave goodbye to the RMA

With the news that President Bush wants to increase the size of the military, this leads to some interesting questions.

First of all this would seem to suggest that the Rumsfeld/Revolution in Military Affairs doctrine is dead at least for the moment. At least until the knee-jerk "we need to get back to real fighting" argument takes place internally after Iraq and possibly Afghanistan failles.

It will be very difficult to do any sort of meaningful expansion while engaged in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Canadian Forces are considering how to do an expansion and apparently has been very blunt when discussing it with the Prime Ministers Office that this will be impossible in the short-term [one to three years] without first stopping the Afghan assignment.

Now I'm sure someone out there is going to mention the American buildup after Pearl Harbor however this was done without any real reference to a budget or civilian economy. Basically if they wanted something odds are they received it. Considering the American political climate at the moment it is unlikely that the same sort of leeway would be given for a crash program. This is probably another example of what could have been done after September 11 by the Bush administration but wasn't. Many commentators have pointed out that if the administration wanted they could have asked the impossible mainly increased taxes.

It will be very interesting.









The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wibberley

The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wibberley is a satire about the Cold War. This was originally published 50 years ago and is now been recently republished. It tells the story of the only English-speaking territory within Europe the Duchy of Grand Fenwick. Which is enraged after an American winery start selling wine using their name [sounds like the EU today].

They figure by declaring war on the Americans they will be quickly defeated and rebuilt with their own version of the Marshall plan. Through a series of improbable events they end up defeating the Americans.

An excellent satire that is still funny today. Particularly if you know some of the Cold War history but even if not still an amusing book.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.


I also reviewed the second book in the series The Mouse on the Moon.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Losing Iraq: Inside the Postwar Reconstruction Fiasco by David L. Phillips

Losing Iraq: Inside the Postwar Reconstruction Fiasco by David L. Phillips describes the attempt to rebuild the political structure of Iraq after the invasion. It's a misperception that there was no thought done to reconstruction of Iraq prior to the invasion. Instead the author suggests that what was done was ignored by those in the Bush administration. The author currently an adviser for NBC worked for the State Department to help foster a consensus from the exiled Iraqi community. This was done through the Future of Iraq Project. The emigrés had difficulties, this was exasperated by the attempted hijacking of the process by Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress. Chalabi does not come off well in this book. He's portrayed as being power-hungry and manipulative.

The book also deals with the time from the invasion through the handing over of authority to the Iraqi government. Throughout the mistakes that were made by the Americans are described. The book concludes with a summary of best practices for political reconstruction.

The book includes endnotes, a list of important people and a chronology.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.



For more Iraq book reviews take a look at My Iraq bookshelf.

Iraq bookshelf

Here are my current book reviews on Iraq. The links take you to my reviews. Don't worry about the posting date I'll put new reviews into the list as I write them. Last updated on January 11, 2008.

Bodansky, Yossef The Secret History of the Iraq War

Chandrasekaran, Rajiv Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

Hammes, Thomas X. The sling and the stone : on war in the 21st century

Nasr, Vali The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future

Phillips, David L. Losing Iraq: Inside the Postwar Reconstruction Fiasco

Rosen, Nir In The Belly of the Green Bird : The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq

Roux, Georges Ancient Iraq

Schultheis, Rob Waging Peace: a special operations team's battle to rebuild Iraq

Stothard, Peter Thirty Days: An Inside Account of Tony Blair at War

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Beam Me Up, Scotty: Star Trek's "Scotty" In His Own Words by James Doohan

Beam Me Up, Scotty: Star Trek's "Scotty" In His Own Words by James Doohan is the autobiography of the Star Trek star. Most of the book describes his experiences prior to the TV series. From his abusive childhood in Canada through his World War II service. He was at D-day at Juno Beach where he was wounded in the right hand eventually losing a finger.

The book does talk about Star Trek giving his comments on various episodes as well as some of the behind-the-scenes going on. The disdain for William Shatner is quite clear. There's also discussion of the lousy third season of the original series. He was quite unhappy for being typecast not only for the role but with the Scottish accent. There's the material about fans and some stories about his career after the TV series.

He passed away in 2005.

Recommended even if you're not a Star Trek fan the part about his experiences in the Canadian army is interesting.

Is available through Abebooks.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide to Guerilla Warfare And Underground Operations by H. Von Dach

Total Resistance: Swiss Army Guide to Guerilla Warfare And Underground Operations by H. Von Dach is an unofficial manual on guerrilla warfare produced originally by the Swiss veterans Association back in the 1970s. The book contains a massive material everything from basic organizational structure through the nuts and bolts of sabotage techniques [including homemade explosives]. There isn't just material on guerrillas but on the general resistance and what average members of the population who aren't willing to pick up a gun can do. Basically waste time and money for the occupier.

Funny to go through an entire book on insurgency without hearing Mao mentioned once but this is clearly aimed at the threat of Soviet invasion. There are multiple references to the KGB and MKVD.

There's also material on how to counteract the counterinsurgency strategy of the opposition. Basically maintain group solidarity as much as possible. Breakout of sweep operations as late in the game as possible when soldiers are getting tired and sloppy and at night.

I cannot recommend this more highly. Even looking at it from the perspective of a counterinsurgency policy there's so much food for thought here.

For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Dynamic Defense by B. H.. Liddell-Hart

Dynamic Defense by B. H. Liddell-Hart describes the armored theorists perspective on the first year of the second world war. Liddell-Hart was a very good self-promoter this talent is demonstrated throughout this 60 page booklet. He does give other British writers some credit. In many respects this is a example of "I told you so" after-the-fact since much of what he wrote about armored warfare came true in the attack on Poland and France. Many of the stock concepts in describing Blitzkrieg [lightning war] are here. Interesting that they would have been developed so quickly. There is criticism of the guarantee to Poland as well as other parts of government strategy in their attempt to fight Nazi Germany. Interesting considering that during wartime such things are usually frowned upon.

He does have some definite ideas about what should be done which are in line with his other writings of the twenties and thirties. You won't really learn anything new here but it is an interesting historical curiosity.

Is available through Abebooks.



For more WWII book reviews take a look at My World War II bookshelf.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

The Unknown War: Armed Anti-Soviet Resistance in Lithuania in 1944–1953 by D. Kuodyte and R. R.Tracevskis

The Unknown War: Armed Anti-Soviet Resistance in Lithuania in 1944–1953 by D. Kuodyte and R. R.Tracevskis describes an insurgency against the Soviets. I think this publication started it's life as a handout for a museum exhibit.

It's very short with pictures on basically every page. There is just enough information here to get a general idea of the Forest Brothers and their attacks on the Soviets. They seem to make it into stage two of guerrilla warfare at least for a little while. Luckily in the same order I picked up a larger book on Balkan resistance to the Soviets hopefully that will have more info.

Is available through Abebooks.



For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Because We Are Canadians: A Battlefield Memoir by Charles D. Kipp

Because We Are Canadians: A Battlefield Memoir by Charles D. Kipp is an often very graphic account of the authors experiences as an infantryman in the Canadian army in northwest Europe in 1944 and 45. The book starts out with his joining and going through training. Most of the book discusses the operations to close the Falaise pocket and the campaign to liberate the Netherlands. The accounts of combat is very vivid and graphic not for the squeamish. The violence of battle is often not described in war memoirs but is here.

Kipp has some strong views on the recruitment process as well as relating stories of officers who couldn't cut it. There is often a thread of bitterness throughout, he was certainly no friend to the REMFs. He passed away in 2000.

Highly recommended, an antidote to the often sterilized view of combat which is unfortunately prevalent in today's society.

For more WWII book reviews take a look at My World War II bookshelf.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

The Long Year, A.D. 69 by Kenneth Wellesley

The Long Year, A.D. 69 by Kenneth Wellesley describes the year of the 4 Emperors in Rome. This took place after Nero's suicide [68 AD]. The 4 Emperors were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. The reasons Why they achieved their status and how they were eventually overthrown except of course for Vespasian. The author uses primary source material as well as some inscriptions. The book is excellent at explaining the machinations of Roman politics particularly the involvement of the Senate and military. A classic in the field of Roman history.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.