Rebel Richmond (Five Stars)

Richmond’s role as the capital of the short-lived Confederate States of America has been the subject of many books, not least of which were first-hand accounts of rebels who spent the war in Richmond either as civilians or in the Confederate government. More recently, there has been Sword Over Richmond (which is more about the Peninsula Campaign than the besieged city), Curiosities of the Confederate Capital (which simply highlights a few of the more unusual events that took place in Richmond during the war) and Ashes of Glory. Of these three, Ashes most resembles Rebel Richmond, the new book by Stephen V. Ash, because of its detail and use of vignettes to illustrate certain aspects of life in Richmond during the war. However, it is Ash’s approach to the topic that I think is the better one.

Rebel Richmond concentrates on the human aspects of life in the city. It is one thing to discuss runaway inflation; it is another thing entirely tell the reader what this meant to government clerks and workmen when simply getting food to feed your family seemed impossible. It is one thing to talk about the housing shortage; it is another thing to discuss the horrible options that many newcomers were left with when vainly trying to find a decent place to live. It is one thing to expound on the horrors of war; it is another to describe a loved one’s slow, painful death due to combat injuries. Ash’s writing really makes life in wartime Richmond real to the reader.

It was the unfortunate geography of the Civil War which saw the capitals of the U.S.A. and the C.S.A. a little over a hundred miles of each other. Washington D.C., of course, had straddled the middle line of the country since it was made the capital but the Confederacy made the conscious decision to locate their capital in Virginia (once that state seceded). This doesn’t make much sense at first glance but as explained in Rebel Richmond the city was recognized as a key asset to the successful prosecution of the war: it was a key rail junction (five railways served Richmond, but did not connect to each other), it contained a large percentage of the South’s industrial base (including the only facility able to make cannon or armor plate) and the state itself added “gravitas” to the cause, having been the home of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. In hindsight, military necessity would seem to dictate locating the capital away from the enemy frontier… possibly New Orleans or Atlanta. The selection of Richmond as the capital meant that a huge burden was placed on the city, first as a military base, then later as a frontline fortress.

In effect, the Confederacy recognized that the loss of Richmond would have strategic implications in any case. By doubling down and making the city the capital of the new country the Confederates guaranteed that the member states would provide all the resources they could to protect the primary front of the war. And who is to say they were wrong? As it happened, both New Orleans and Atlanta fell before Richmond did. It is telling too that when Richmond did fall, it’s loss fulfilled the prophecy of doom and ended hopes for a Confederate States of America.

The RCMP began as a military force sent west to enforce Canada's claims on the northern prairie. Although it continued to wear military-style uniforms it adopted civil police titles and would in fact evolve into a federal police force, working closely with provincial and municipal police forces. Mounted troopers were able to patrol in areas of the Canadian west not easily accessed by other means and the RCMP's reputation for always getting their man has become legendary. They've developed some great-looking uniforms along the way too, as illustrated in this book. Well worth checking out!

Vietnam Bao Chi (five stars)

Vietnam Bao Chi (Vietnam Military Journalist) looks at an aspect of the war not often discussed. Most historians of the period know about the civilian reporters, many of whom went on to prominent positions in print and television journalism, but few are familiar with their military counterparts. This book brings this chapter to light.

During the Vietnam Conflict the war became not just a military contest but an increasingly desperate effort to maintain the American people’s support for the war effort. As seems to be the nature of long-term/low-level conflicts, support for the Vietnam War became more and more difficult as the years went by, made worse by civilian news reporting which was able to impact U.S. citizens with network TV broadcasts every evening.

But the U.S. military had a tool of its own meant to give the American people an idea of the courage and determination of their fighting men in Vietnam. By this time the United States’ armed forces had formalized a public relations system, a sophisticated capability which was able to create written news stories, frontline still photos of the action, document military operations and even film of combat. Fighting men and women were provided not just military newspapers and magazines but also radio and even television programming. PA Units and staffs were organized to support ongoing operations and each branch of the service had its own Public Affairs specialists, trained at the Armed Forces Information School at Fort Slocum NY or the Defense Information School at Fort Benjamin Harrison IN, and allowed to go right where the men fighting the war were.
What Mr. Yablonka, himself a Vietnam veteran, military journalist and civilian reporter, has done is take several of these Soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines PAs and tell their stories in their own words.

Some had their “brushes with history,” like Mike Boggs and future President George W. Bush, or found themselves in the middle of firefights, like Chris Jensen at Kham Duc. Others saw events unique to the war, such as the return of American POWs to Clark AFB in the Philippines as witnessed by Striper Tom Lincoln, Marvin Wolf met Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky of South Vietnam before meeting John Wayne at Fort Bragg, and Sonny Craven saw for himself the Tet Offensive of 1968… and the way the event was portrayed in the media.

All of the public affairs specialists dealt with the same issues: equipment which dated from WWII, censorship for questionable reasons, organizations which seemed to make little sense. The way the Navy, Army and Air Force all trained and deployed public affairs personnel is evident from the way the story tellers relate their experiences and the problems of shooting film in the high humidity of Vietnam makes itself known in many of the narratives.

Also, it is important to remember that the job of Public Affairs was not to influence but to inform. Frustration is evident in some of the voices Yablonka chose for Vietnam Bao Chi as they discuss the low caliber of many of the civilian reporters sent to Vietnam by media outlets and their clear bias on arriving in-theater. Much of the reporting done by military journalists was ignored in what came to be known as the mainstream media.

However, not all of the public affairs personnel saw the conflict as necessary. Many were antiwar from the beginning or turned against the war in time. Objectivity was clearly hard to find at this volatile period in U.S. history.

One surprising aspect of the book is a lack of photos (in the case of photographers and cameramen) and excerpts from articles (in the case of writers). No doubt the addition of these products would have made the book more interesting in that it could provide the reader with examples of the important work done by individuals. There are photos of the Public Affairs contributors themselves, however.

The most important element of the book is the way it conveys the danger involved in serving as a Public Affairs specialist in Vietnam. While not every Public Affairs job was dangerous, Soldiers, sailors and Marines who served “in the bush” often came under fire, and occasionally the war came to those who served in relatively safe places, which is what happened during Tet. Like their civilian counterparts, several of them saw their comrades killed in action or were wounded themselves. A few were killed in action. If Vietnam Bao Chi tells us nothing else it tells the cost of getting the truth to the world.

I regret that I have been out of the loop for several weeks. I have not done as thorough a job as I normally do with these most recent reviews, but will keep plugging away!

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.

Peking 1900: The Boxer Rebellion (Four Stars)

When foreigners began to be murdered by a group called the "Boxers" in China the great powers of the time responded with a multinational effort to rescue the diplomats and traders threatened by the group... especially those in Peking. The author does a good job of discussing the events which led up to Chinese hostility to the presence of foreigners and to the actual events (and rumors!) which resulted in intervention. An all-but-forgotten chapter in military history today, but still a neat read. Well-illustrated with photographs, maps and original artwork.

Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet (Five Stars)

The subject of Reeves' book is Akhenaten; a Pharoah who attempted to remake Egyptian society from country where a host of gods and idols were worshipped to a monothiestic society which recognized only one god: the Aten, or sun disc.

Reeves looks further back than most other authors for the origins of the Aten cult, seeing not just the trend of a priesthood that was becoming more and more politically powerful but also in other events during the 17th and 18th Dynasties which might have effected Akenaten's thinking. Reeves also discusses archeological proof as he tells the story (as it is known) and writes about different theories to explain this or that. Reeves does NOT fall into the trap of discussing the Aten cult as predecessor or influence on Judaism, which has become fashionable as of late. Overall, a good book.            

The Gunfighters (Five Stars)

Nothing beats these Time-Life books for the feel and look of the Old West. I really enjoyed re-reading this volume and learning the rugged life of desperados and lawman... who often were the same people at different times in their careers. Very well illustrated and it explains a lot about the handling of firearms in the wild west.