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Spearhead: A Complete History of Merrill's Marauder Rangers Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an extremely well written, detailed unit history of Merrill's Marauders that I highly recommend. Both the author and the collaborator were members of the unit and bring great authenticity to the book. The author was the battalion surgeon for the 3rd Bn and the collaborator was an intelligence officer. Their sources include first hand accounts, unit records ( what little there were ), and official documents and publications.The book covers the entire time period that the 5307th Composite Unit ( Provisional ) was on active status and encompasses recruitment, training and combat. One of the best sections of the book is the description of the siege of Nphum Ga. The authors descripted, detailed, day by day and unit by unit account of this little known horrific battle is the best I've ever read. The author also gives an excellant record of the medical support ( or lack of ),for the unit, ( which is to be expected considering the source ). He discusses the various health concerns the Marauders had to deal with, such as scrub typhus, malaria, dysentery and of course getting shot at.All in all this is a great book that not only informs but does it in a way that keeps you interested. This book is well worth the read.

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Donald's Story Review

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(More customer reviews)The achievements of the 4th Fighter Group, the Debden Eagles of the Eighth US Army Air Force in World War II England, are genuinely heroic. The men of the 4th led all the other U.S. fighter groups in the European Theatre of Operations in the destruction of Luftwaffe aircraft, having at least 1,010 officially credited. In the likes of John Godfrey, James Goodson, Ralph 'Kidd' Hofer, Don Gentile, Don Blakeslee and others, the 4th generated more top-scoring aces than any other American fighter group of the War.
One relatively unsung hero of the 4th FG is Captain Donald Emerson of Pembina, North Dakota. Captain Emerson died on Christmas Day 1944 when his P-51 Mustang was downed by enemy ground fire. On that day his group was escorting B-24 bombers which were attacking a target near Kassel, Germany.
As a military aviation writer, I have read all of the better books about the air war in World War II...or so I thought...until I discovered Donald's Story by Sandra D. Merri! ll. Sandra Merrill is Captain Emerson's niece and about nine years ago, she began to 'study World War II'-and hated every minute of it. But she was becoming deeply affected by her uncle's wartime letters home which had been saved by her family. She enrolled in a college course about the War and, being a gifted writer, was moved to write Donald's Story, a riveting, bittersweet memorial to a man she knew only as a family legend.
"I was conscious of listening to Donald's Story for nearly 40 years, but I had listened as if it were some homespun fairy tale. It wasn't until I had sons nearing draft age that Donald suddenly became more than a deified storybook figure-a real human being, my own flesh and blook. And then the dormant obligation I had felt to tell Donald's Story began to stir, and I knew that even though he was just one among countless thousands of unknown heroes, he still might speak for many of them-reason enough for his story to be told. I was about to set out! on an odyssey of discovery, and by reading Donald's letter! s, finding his friends and recording old memories, I was going to do my best to remember an uncle that I never really knew."
In a unique approach to her format, Merrill manages to escort the reader through Captain Emerson's brief life, her own rediscovery of him, and almost the entire history of the 4th Fighter Group in World War II England. Emerson's poignant letters home, which he wrote throughout his training and his combat service, are the essence of Donald's Story and, unless you are made of wood, you will be moved by them. Merrill's journey of discovery is the reader's journey, and it is heart-breaking, uplifting and quite unforgettable.

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Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon Review

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(More customer reviews)... but told in a much more stylish and readable manner. I bought this book on the strength of reading about Capt. Herndon's sacrifice in Gary Kinder's "Ship of Gold...". He seemed to epitomise the old-style captain, caring about his passengers, crew and above all his ship, and I was interested to read more about the man.
I was not disappointed; what could have been a dusty tome full of only facts and figures, emerges as a rivetting account of the trials endured during the trip, and vivid descriptions of a land that was as yet virtually unknown to the 'civilised' world, told as a very readable narrative. This easy style is what captured the hearts and minds of the Anmerican (and European) public in a book which went into several reprints of 10,000s (as opposed to the usual Congress print run of 100+!).
It also captured the imagination of a certain Samuel Clemens, who, after reading the book, immediately took steamer from St.Louis to New Orleans to get a boat to the Amazon. Imagine his disappointment when he found no passage ... sitting, bemoaning his ill luck, he hears the cries of the steamers "Mark twain!" - the rest is history.
I have one reservation (hence only ****); during his editing & research for the book, Mr.Kinder deletes a lot of sections that I personally would have found very interesting, such as crops grown, goods & minerals available and costs of trade items. If these had been included as an appendix, I think it would have added to the charm of the book.
Nevertheless, one of the best pieces of historical travel writing I have ever read.

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Beyond Dark Hills: A Personal Story Review

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(More customer reviews)This is such an amazing book. Stuart wrote this book which was more or less his life story up to that point as a young man and naively turned it in as a 320 page (much to the Professors horror!) term paper for a University class. Stuarts books hold a special place for me because for one they are just great, and for another one side of family comes from the part of eastern Kentucky Stuart is from. In Beyond Dark Hills he talks a lot about his love of the hills of eastern Kentucky and the spiritual connection he has to the land. Also many stories about the colorful characters he knew, his love of poetry, his struggles venturing out on his own both in working and in academia. Stuart was a brilliant sensitive man but also tough as they come working in steel mills, doing farm work and often having to take up for himself and physically fight. Stuarts books are a great look into the Appalachian culture of that time and show a side of America you can be proud of. They just don't make them like Jesse Stuart anymore.

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Beyond Dark Hills was originally written by Jesse Stuartas a graduate school assignment at Vanderbilt University. Assigned towrite an 18 page personal narrative, he turned in 322 pages about aseemingly simple farm boy and his family. His professor said, "I havebeen teaching for forty years and I have never read anythingso...beautiful, tremendous and powerful..."Stuart shares with the reader all his youthful anxieties as heprepares for life and then ventures forth on his own. He freelyshares his frustrations and successes, as he examines the forces thatmold and shape him into a worldfamous author and educator.

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The Curse of Satan's Collar Review

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(More customer reviews)The Curse of Satan's Collar
This is a wonderful book written in mountian delect when you open it and start reading it you are imediately impressed with the story .
The story starts with the Revolutionary war and a family member getting hung for stealing King Gold.
It talks about a young man going off to war and coming back with a drinking problem .
This mother loved her son a lot to do this she tied him to a tree to sober him up it worked what a story what a book .
The neighbors thought she was wierd but he got he's life back this book is wonderful entertaining in places and funny in others sad .

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Fort Robinson and the American Century, 1900-1948 Review

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(More customer reviews)The book was bought as a gift for my friend who lived at Fort Robinson at a young age. His father's position at the fort was to purchase horses and mules for training. The details in the book gives great insight as to the function of the fort and the people involved. There was a great buildup of calvary officers prior to WWI and WWII and the horses and mules who were an integral part of warfare of that time period. My friend was thrilled by receiving the book and actually recognized some of names of men who were mentioned. As a civilian who loves history, I found the book interesting. The book covers little known facts regarding the history of the clavary and training done at the fort.

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Forgotten Voices of Burma: The Second World War's Forgotten Conflict Review

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(More customer reviews)This history of "the forgotten army" in Burma is a side we've heard little about, and the info about Generalissimy and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek alone is an eye-opener, to say the least. Joe Stilwell deserves more appreciation, while Claire Chennault and others are not goig to look so model-perfect to those who read this history. Treachery enough to go around, with political moves by superior officers leaving more men to die in several armies. Grim reading that will help set the record straight. Wish this book were in-print, but glad it's on Kindle.

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From the end of 1941 to 1945, a pivotal but often overlooked conflict was being fought in the South-East Asian Theater of World War II-the Burma Campaign. In 1941, the Allies fought in a disastrous retreat across Burma against the Japanese-an enemy more prepared, better organized, and more powerful than anyone had imagined. Yet in 1944, following key battles at Kohima and Imphal, and daring operations behind enemy lines by the Chindits, the Commonwealth army were back, retaking lost ground one bloody battle at a time. Fighting in dense jungle and open paddy field, this brutal campaign was the longest fought by the British Commonwealth in the Second World War. But the troops taking part were a forgotten army, and the story of their remarkable feats and their courage remains largely untold to this day. The Fourteenth Army in Burma became one of the largest and most diverse armies of the Second World War. British, West African, Ghurkha, and Indian regiments fought alongside one another and became comrades. In Forgotten Voices of Burma-a remarkable new oral history taken from Imperial War Museum's Sound Archive-soldiers from both sides tell their stories of this epic conflict.

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The Broken Blade Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a teacher and a parent who is always looking for books which are appropriate and interesting to middle grade students. THE BROKEN BLADE is one of those rare titles that I enjoyed just as much as my students did. The 2,400 mile canoe journey of the main character, Pierre, is described in such a way that the reader actually feels he/she is paddling along with the crew. The landscape, the river, the interaction with the Lake Superior Ojibwe, and Pierre's fellow voyageurs, who are a rowdy and a very real bunch, are vividly depicted, and they all help bring this nineteenth century story to life. My students and I have decided that we want to read more about the voyageur period, and the first book on our list is WINTERING, the companion to this story.

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Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong Review

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(More customer reviews)Chungking Mansions is an infamous building in Hong Kong. It is a labyrinth of exotica, adventure , and otherness. In many ways it is a shadowy unknown place to many who live in Hong Kong and the countless travellers it attracts yearly. What is for sure is that we want to know more about it. Specifically more about the eclectic array of people that walk and work in its corridors each day. This fine work by Gordon Matthews satiates this curiosity quite fully.
Exploring the history of the building, its many personalities, the goods and businesses that pass through, and the new transformations, Gordon Matthews produces a landmark text. This work is particularly compelling because it addresses some misconceptions about Chungking Mansions, namely its safety and criminality and redresses these issues. It shows us that the building is intricately placed in what Matthews terms `low end globalization'. Millions of phones sold in this building sold by Pakistani tradesmen can be traced to the streets of Lagos. Illegal workers support their families in Calcutta by washing dishes or handing out flyers for the many restaurants in the building. Sex workers save money to start businesses back in their home countries. The most contemporary feature of the building is the rise in African traders passing through, this phenomenon is explored in detail and provides context for the transformations visible in the streets around Chungking Mansions.
Another important contribution this text offers is that of acknowledging asylum seekers in Hong Kong and showing their particular struggles in the territory. Many of these asylum seekers who have fled torture or the threat of political assassination frequent Chungking Mansions and contribute to an understanding of the place as a bourgeois location. The truth being that whilst the building is populated with people from disparate parts of the world, they are often the middle class entrepreneurs of their countries, and many of the businesses in Chungking Mansions themselves can be comfortably profitable.
Matthews is astute in pointing out that the fortunes and future of Chunking Mansions are tied to global caprices. Changes in visa regulations, the Olympics, and even 9/11 have changed the people and business practices that occupy Chungking Mansions. These factors reconfirm another important point that the author makes, whilst Chungking Mansions is in Hong Kong, it is not `of' Hong Kong. As such this book will tell you much about the building, much about trade with China, and much about low end globalization, it will tell you less however about Hong Kong. After all Chungking Mansions is an island of otherness in this city, a ghetto at the centre of the world.

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