Great final volume to a very informative series. [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] This was a super informative and great referrence source for uniforGreat final volume to a very informative series. [image] [image] [image] [image] [image] This was a super informative and great referrence source for uniforms of the SS. Highly recommended for history buffs. Thanks!...more
This first volume (and all six volumes) is great. Each page was loaded with picture plates that explained units, tabs, insignia, collar tabs, arm bandThis first volume (and all six volumes) is great. Each page was loaded with picture plates that explained units, tabs, insignia, collar tabs, arm bands, wrist cuffs, uniform specifications (trouser length, manufacturer tags, material & design), and all the accoutrement seen on SS uniforms. [image] [image] [image] This is a highly recommended visual aid and referrence source for WW2 & Waffen-SS history buffs. Thanks!...more
This is a cleaned up and colorized maps to the first two volumes in the series. The maps are readable and correspond to which chapter and volume they This is a cleaned up and colorized maps to the first two volumes in the series. The maps are readable and correspond to which chapter and volume they came from. Though not necessary it did provide some visual aid reference to the not so clear maps in the previous volumes. Recommended for completists I would suppose! Thanks!!...more
The author described this as the documentary companion to the fist two volumes as the intent to "challenge conventional wisdom" with massive research The author described this as the documentary companion to the fist two volumes as the intent to "challenge conventional wisdom" with massive research and archival materials discovery to restore a significant "forgotten battle". Additional context included ten key documents (directives and krders) prepared by the German High Command of the Armed Forces (OKW), High Command of the Fround Forces (OKH), and the Army Group Center. The companion also supplements the 201 operationally and regional maps included in the narrative volumes with eleven archival maps taken from the collections of documents compiled by the Red Army General Staff.
Overall an extensive and fine-tuned research undertaking. David Glantz delivered a tome of information and detail about the opening campaign of Operation Barbarossa and the Battle of Smolensk. Recommended for readers of the Eastern Front! Thanks!...more
This was a continuation of the first volume that detailed the second half of the German offensives, and the Soviet counteroffensive. David Glantz contThis was a continuation of the first volume that detailed the second half of the German offensives, and the Soviet counteroffensive. David Glantz continued the dense, heavy-handed details & day-to-day maneuvering, combat, and outcomes. As previously reviewed there were extensive tables of organizations and equipment, orders of battle, and some rough maps. These books are relatively expensive but worth a glance-through if you can get your hands on a copy. Recommended for Eastern Front war enthusiasts. Thanks!!...more
This was a dense, super-detailed, and highly informative read into the opening campaign of the Eastern Front of World War II. Honestly, the density anThis was a dense, super-detailed, and highly informative read into the opening campaign of the Eastern Front of World War II. Honestly, the density and information overload made it hard to read. This was a not a narrative but an in-depth (almost forensic analysis) of the Battle of Smolensk. The author loaded detailed daily accounts, listed numerous German & Russian tables of organization & equipment, and offensives & counterstrokes during the time frame of 10 July to 10 September 1941. This was the first major engagement once Operation Barbarossa commenced on 22 June 1941.
My only gripe was the maps were hard to read, almost all of them. But other than that, it was a too detailed and kinda boring. It was definitely tailored as a war studies resource instead of leisurely reading. Recommended if you are able to get your hands on a physical copy. Thanks!...more
This was an epic and great story. The story started with the leak of a weaponized virus from a Department of Defense laboratory in northern CaliforniaThis was an epic and great story. The story started with the leak of a weaponized virus from a Department of Defense laboratory in northern California. One of the security personnel unknowingly became infected and casually sneaks off the Army base with his family before lockdown procedures are activated. Eventually the contagious virus spread throughout the rest of the world and ended in a post-apocalyptic setting.
The story started with this suspenseful opening, moved to various characters, and how the virus spread to devastate the world. There were multiple keys players and backstories. They can seem overwhelming initially and sometimes left me asking 'Where is this going?' but it they all are connected.
The aftermath brings about themes of good vs evil in the people and their interactions. These opposing forces collide throughout the book and make for a pretty cool story. Stephen King did a good job of weaving human character and emotion, horror, suspense, all kinds of violence, tragedy, and dark fantasy. I would recommend it but you have to be patient with it. Thanks!...more
Overall this was epic strorytelling layered with richly colorful & detailed descritpive imagery within all the novels. Cooper's use to paint a pictureOverall this was epic strorytelling layered with richly colorful & detailed descritpive imagery within all the novels. Cooper's use to paint a picture of nature was fun to read. My favorite story from the boxset was The Deerslayer and my second was The Last of the Mohicans. The writing is unique to the time and took some adjusting compared to modern writing. I would recommend either one of these to enthusiasts of early American literature and the remaining novels to completists. Thanks! ...more
Overall this was a fun and fast read. The entire story had a dark, twisted, and ominous feel to it. Coupled with the darker and green-hued artwork it Overall this was a fun and fast read. The entire story had a dark, twisted, and ominous feel to it. Coupled with the darker and green-hued artwork it provided a decent yet demented & psychological story. [image] [image] The paralleled story with the flashbacks on the origins of The Riddler was fun to see and read. I recently discovered this One Bad Day series and I plan to read the rest. Cool story and recommended for DC-Batman fans and graphic novel/comic book fans. Thanks!...more
This was a clearly laid out presentation on human stalking and tracking in a military or tactical setting. John Hurth explained and organized the bookThis was a clearly laid out presentation on human stalking and tracking in a military or tactical setting. John Hurth explained and organized the book that started with basic skills and progressed into to advanced operational tracking tactics. The basics included learning how to develop your visual and observational skills (tracks, using natural light, indicators of movement, human gait and walking mechanics, foot/footwear print, and more). Hurth explained how to become a skilled combat tracker in application and in the mental aspect
• Interpret the sign and track picture, the most important capability of the tracker. Anyone can learn how to track by following sign. A first-rate tracker, however, has the ability to interpret what he sees and form a picture of what the quarry did, is doing, or might attempt to do. From the start point, the tracker will study the sign and commit it to memory. The tracker must be able to recognize the same sign repeatedly as well as notice discrepancies in the sign and track picture.
• Formulate a profile of the quarry by interpreting the signs he leaves behind. The tracker is always looking to answer the question such as: Is the quarry tired and lazy or alert and confident? He recognizes indicators of the morale and discipline of the quarry. By observing all sign, the tracker develops a "track picture" that allows him to determine and anticipate the quarry's actions. pg 2
...the most important factor in learning to become track aware by detecting each sign, no matter how small. A good way to do this is by practicing the step-by-step method--detecting and studying a single step, followed by every successive step, focusing on the disturbances made in the natural environment. pg 37
The book went on to explain a great deal with combat tracking in teams, setting up ambushes, tracking across waterways, countertracking, boobytraps & mines, tracking in low lighting, communication and hand signals, and multiple references including boot prints, tire & tank tread, rifle butt stock imprints, and a lot more.
Overall this was a really informative and clearly presented read on the fundamentals of combat tracking. I would recommend this to anyone interested in military education at the tactical level. Thanks!!...more
The only Chechen language resources I own are Chechen-English English-Chechen Dictionary and Phrasebook by Nicholas Awde and Muhammad Galaev and a colThe only Chechen language resources I own are Chechen-English English-Chechen Dictionary and Phrasebook by Nicholas Awde and Muhammad Galaev and a collection of online resources I've gathered over the years. Having said that...this book is absolutely OUTSTANDING. [image] [image] I learned more in just the first two chapters than I have in my collective independent study since 2008. I gained a solid understanding of the alphabet reinforced with the online audio files provided. Each chapter is realistic dialogue (written in Chechen Cyrillic, transliterated, and with the audio), grammar lessons, building vocabulary culture notes, and exercises (with answer key in the back) to boost my comprehension.
Kheda Garchakhanova has a @chechen_courses Instagram account that I stumbled across that advertised this book and I bought it off Amazon. This book IS THE CHECHEN language book to own! Highly recommended! Thank you!...more
This was an honest and admirable first-person narrative about growing up in the Northeast, United States; notably in Newark, New Jersey. The author paThis was an honest and admirable first-person narrative about growing up in the Northeast, United States; notably in Newark, New Jersey. The author painted are large scale picture of how he experienced growing up in Newark. The social and economic dynamics from within as well as the changing make up of his neighborhood and city, the racial and ethnic demographic. Along with that, he told about other events, places, and people involved in the social perception called white flight.
In a nutshell, Jack Cashill counter-argued the rhetoric of Michelle Obama, Amiri Baraka, and Na-Tehisi Coates that argue ethnic white people are racist and leave neighborhoods & cities as black people move into them. Instead he alluded the point that it has nothing to do with race but with the increase in crime. He didn't say minorities are criminals and violent people but that low-income, lack of education, and single-parent homes result in elevated crime regardless of race or ethnic group.
[Jesse Lee] Peterson traces White Flight not to paranoid anxiety about the"other," but to a legitimate fear of bad actors. There were some scary guys in Gary [Indiana] back then, and their bad behavior forced us kids to adapt, writes Peterson. I began to wonder how white people must have felt. They saw what I saw, and they has options...I had never lived among black kids that were so violent...I had not grown up like that. pg 186-7
The book was worth a read was the man's experiences and opinions on the matter. I would recommend this to anyone interested in racial views on American from post-World War 2 to the present. Thanks!...more
This was a clearly written narrative organized from lots of time and research. Jean Edward Smith presented Dwight Eisenhower in both the professional This was a clearly written narrative organized from lots of time and research. Jean Edward Smith presented Dwight Eisenhower in both the professional and the personal in his entirety. Eisenhower was an ambitious man in all the stages in his life: West Point, his perceptions of not being involved in WWI, his climb through the Army in the 1920s and 1930s, WWII (North Africa, Italy, D-Day, Battle of Bulge), Korea, and eventually entering into politics. One thing I never knew that was threaded throughout his military career in Europe was the emotional affair he had with his younger female assistant, Kay Summersby. I never knew!
Eisenhower had many challenges and obstacles throughout his life and Smith showed how they molded Eisenhower's thinking and his decision-making as both a professional soldier and civic politician. One thing that affected him was him missing the First World War: this would affect his confidence as a military leader and would create some speculations of self-doubt.
Yet he always held himself accountable, especially as military officer and president (not intervening in French Indochina, the U-2 plane ordeals, and keeping the peace with Khrushchev and the Soviet Union). But beneath all of that he was a person who could form personal relationships (General Patton, Charles De Gaulle, President Truman) yet separate them to effectively lead the nation.
Overall this was well-written and well-organized to tell Eisenhower's story clearly and logically. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in American history and politics. Thanks!...more
"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord', and the authorities of the United States are, we believe, the chosen instrument to execute that ven"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord', and the authorities of the United States are, we believe, the chosen instrument to execute that vengeance...The Indian's nature can be no more trusted than the wolf's. Tame him, cultivate him, strive to Christianize him, as you will, and the sight of blood will in an instant call out the savage, wolfish, devilish instincts of the race." pg 258
This was a brutal account of the most violent ethnic uprising in American history. Seeded from the roots corruption, greed, and contempt the Sioux Uprising in western Minnesota in thr summer and fall of 1862. The result of violence sparked by Little Crow against the white settlers stemmed from broken treaties, the routine cheating by the traders, the near-starvation conditions—"let them eat grass" (pg 28), and the missed annuity payment. The Sioux warriors carried out a war of extermination against men, women, pregnant women, old people, and small children: scalpings, shootings, dismemberment, mutilations, rape warfare, eviserations, and being burned alive in homes
Kill them all and reclaim the land. Kill them all and the Dakotas would recapture the ways of their fathers, the ways in which the Great Spirit intended them to live. Kill them all and the Dakotas would never again be lied to or cheated or see their wives become prostitutes for food and their braves become drunkards. Kill them all and the Dakotas will roam free again. pg 44-5
Over the earth I come, Over the earth I come, A soldier I come. Over the earth I am a ghost. pg 143
The ensuing violence led to federal troop intervention to supress the violence, investigation and military commission, and the trial of 303 Sioux warriors. On Monday, December 22, 1862, President Lincoln issued the executive order of the public hanging of thirty-nine Sioux men "guilty of individual murders and atrocious abuse of their female captives" in Mankato, Minnesota.
The remaining prisoners were imprisoned in Camp McClellan military barracks in Iowa. In 1864, Congress passed a bill nullifying all previous treaties with the Sioux and had all Sioux, Chippewa, and Winnebago (47,000 total Indians) removed from Minnesota into the Dakota Territory.
From this, a young Teton Sioux warrior from the northern free roaming Sioux was appalled by the pitiful condition of his people, and he listened in silence to to their stories of the coming of the whites had brought sorrow and misery and death. He gazed sadly and with mounting anger at the remnants of a once proud and noble people. The warrior's name was Tatanka Yontanka. The Whites would come to know him as Sitting Bull pg 284
Overall this was an engrossing read the entire way through. It was a hardcore war fought over principles that both side back for their best interests. I would recommend this to anyone interested in a conflict overshadowed by the American Civil War. Thanks!...more
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