U.S. Army in the Plans Indian Wars 1865-1891 (Five Stars)

Between the Civil War and the Spanish-American War the U.S. Army found itself primarily in the west, fighting the occasional Indian uprising. This book looks at the Army and how it was equipped, trained, armed and deployed for battle. For a small book it is an excellent resource, providing maps of Division of Missouri and the districts which came under it, tables showing the strengths of various U.S. Army regiments and many excellent photographs. It even discusses the doctrinal changes which saw the Army finally adjust to the realities of increased and accurate firepower of the individual trooper and soldier. Definitely earns a permanent spot in my library.

Intercept 1961: The Birth of Soviet Missile Defense (Four Stars)

In 1961 the USSR, after many tries, successfully intercepted a ballistic missile with an anti-ballistic missile. As the author points out, this was a significant success for the Soviets, not just for the achievement itself but for what their scientists learned from the problem: headway was made in communications, computing, radar, rocketry, warhead design, etc.








The only flaw I find in the book is its redundancy. I have no doubt after reading Intercept that Mr. Gruntman is an expert, maybe even THE expert in the west, on the topic of Soviet ABM design. However, he goes back and forth in several chapters about the exact same topic in the exact same way. He also goes into excrutiating detail about how design bureaus worked in the USSR when I believe there must have been a simpler way to discuss these topics. And he also discusses individuals involved in ABM design which at first seemed to be too much detail but when the reader gets into the internal politics of the Soviet defense budget it makes it clear that petty feuds and disagreements steered Soviet defense thinking.








This book is well illustrated, provides links to online sources and explains a lot about the Moscow defense system. An important addition to anyone's library who is interested in antiaircraft and air defense.

Fabulous Las Vegas in the 50s (Five Stars)

If you want a fun pop-culture book on Vegas this is probably the one with you. Great pictures of the old casinos, the shows, and other aspects of Las Vegas in the 1950s. Well worth spending time on.

Arcade Fever (Five Stars)

A fun book on the early video games. Absolutely loved it! Very well illustrated with color photos and artwork. I even loved Sellers' descriptions of the games. A great pop culture book.

America's First Great Eclipse (Five Stars)

This is a great book about the 1878 eclipse. This major astronomical event saw the area of totality (total eclipse) move across the American West, placing parts of Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana in total darkness. This was an interesting time of contrasts: the astronomers who wanted to observe the eclipse primarily went to Colorado in part due to its accessibility by railroad. Montana, in contrast, had no astronomical expeditions because not only had the iron rails not reached the territory but the destruction of Custer's command at the Little Big Horn had taken place there in 1876.




Ruskin does an excellent job of describing some of the quirks of this event and descrobes many of the personalities involved, including an all-female expedition and inventor Thomas Edison's attempt to use one of his inventions to study the eclipse. Ruskin discusses the changes then taking place in the field of astronomy and how the Great Eclipse helped to firmly establish America's place in the field. Well-illustrated.

I review almost exclusively history books (with rare exceptions). I will eagerly review any book having to do with antiaircraft or air defense. I am also interested in books on Africa, but again, mostly the history of the continent, especially in the 20th Century. Get in touch with me for more information. Most of my book reviews are also on Goodreads and Amazon.

The Passport Book (Three Stars)

This book is all right... it has beautiful covers of passports in full color but I believe the book should have been done a little better. Instead of the almanac/encyclopedia info on each country's GNP, pax per mile, etc. I would have preferred more information related to each country's passport system and the use of their passport. For instance, the fact that several country's not only do not recognize Israel's passport but will ban third parties who have an Israeli visa in THEIR passport. There must be several different factoids that could be incorporated in this book... whose country produces the passport LEAST LIKELY to be seen outside of their territory (I'm thinking DPRK)? Which was the first country to produce printed passports? The first country to include photos for identification? What additional information or artwork is included in the passport? And while we're on the topic, what does that country's visa look like for visitors from foreign country's? And illustration could be provided of that as well.




Perhaps the book might even include a section on defunct passports, such as those for Rhodesia, the USSR, and Manchukuo. In my opinion, that is what it would take to make this a five-star book.

Flak: German Antiaircraft Defenses, 1914-1945 (Five Stars)

Flak played an integral part of Germany's air defenses during World War I and II and this well-researched and well-written volume looks at the development of the antiaircraft artillery, its doctrine, organization, employment and manning. No other book I have ever come across has done as good a job as this one in discussing the ground-based air defenses of the Luftwaffe and the German Army.




Mr. Westermann goes beyond simply looking at developments... he puts them in perspective for the reader, employing charts and numbers which provide snapshots of Germany's ground-based air defenses. More importantly, Westermann explains the driving force of technology on German doctrine, the importance of deception and the German theorists on both sides of the "measurement of success" debate within the military community (whether the destruction of enemy aircraft should be the sole yardstick of effectiveness for antiaircraft or should the minimalization of enemy accuracy be the measurement). The production of the excellent "88," the wartime development of radar and other aspects are just some of the topics presented in this volume.

Republic of Korea Army: ROKA (Five Stars)

Excellent book featuring ROKA weapon systems such as the K30 "Flying Tiger" antiaircraft gun, the K1 tank, the K9 "Thunder" self-propelled gun, the K2 "Black Panther" tank prototype and a host of other truck and utility vehicles employed by the ROKA. Mr. Arthur has included a thumbnail sketch of the history and current state of South Korea's army. Certainly  a valuable reference for anyone who will be stationed in the ROK or is interested in Asian military matters. The photography is excellent!

Raytheon Company: The First Sixty Years (Four Stars)

This book provides a visual history of Raytheon, a company which has produced several notable weapons systems, air traffic control radars and many other products. A pioneer in certain types of tubes, Raytheon did notable work on early tactical surface-to-air missile systems and has a large presence in the corporate landscape. My only disappointment was in the selection of photos (far better photos of Patriot and HAWK missile systems exist). A good book but it's a topic you're already going to have to be interested in to get anything out of it.