Swiss Army Knives (Four Stars)

This book gives a history of the Swiss Army Knife, the two different brands and lists of various knives by type. It was informative and well-illustrated but did not include a detailed list of each knife with their features, something which could have easily be done. Also, while the book had pictures and stories about some the attachments found on SAKs it was by no means a complete list. Finally, it doesn't really talk about things like the short-lived Swiss Flame... was it discontinued because it was impossible to fly with? Was it hard to refuel?

Still, not a bad introduction.

The Red Orchestra (Five Stars)

During WWII the USSR's GRU, in charge of military intelligence, set up clandestine transmitters throughout western Europe for communist agents to beam intelligence to the Soviet Union. The story of how the network was established and how it was unraveled by using the Gestapo, the Abwehr, and the German Army's radio detection equipment to locate the "pianists" who were tapping out coded messages to the Soviets. The story has everything: tragedy, great escapes, close calls, intriguing details, incredible characters and believable villains. If you've never heard of this spy network you should really learn about it and the role it played in WWII.

To Catch a King (Four Stars)

From the author of The Eagle Has Landed, we have story about the former king of England, marooned temporarily in Portugal and the subject of a Nazi plan to use him following the invasion of England. While I was willing to suspend belief, the man portrayed in the book is not the Duke of Windsor I have read about in other books. And his manipulation of the Nazis seems unconvincing. Still, lots of action and intrigue so it winds up being a good book.

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.

Atomic Thunder (Three Stars)

The British were determined to become a nuclear power following the end of WWII but without the cooperation of the United States they had to "go it alone," even though the American success with the atomic bomb was at least partially due to the wartime assistance of the British. Britain created the infrastructure to make bombs but needed someplace to test them. Canada was considered, but then dropped. Australia wound up being the test site for the UK's atomic bomb.

Primarily this book is about the  "atomic colonialism" of Britain towards Australia, although Australia's political leadership seems to have helped the British enthusiastically. The writing in the book gets a bit annoying as the author seems to think that the sole purpose of detonating the bombs was to impress the world, but having watched films related to the tests it was clear that the British were also interested in scientific testing which would lead to better protective gear and civil defense measures. With that being said, there can be no doubt that the British misled the Australians concerning the last series of "non-fission" tests for the purposes of establishing safety measures to prevent accidental detonation of atomic weapons. These tests certainly created unprecedented plutonium contamination, which the British later sought to downplay.

The book is rather redundant in places and for some reason does not include photos of the tests nor of some of the key people involved in the tests.

Boarding Party (Four Stars)

This book tells the true story of the Calcutta Light Horse, an Indian Army reserve unit organized during WWI but only employed in WWII when members who were considered too old for active service were given a chance to work for the SOE and end an Axis scheme that resulted in hundreds of thousands of tons of shipping sunk in the Indian Ocean. It reads like a novel (and no doubt some of the dialogue is "reconstructed") but this makes it a gripping story of espionage, adventure and determination. Includes maps and some photos.