Book Description
Affaire Royale
She'd escaped -- but she'd lost her memory and her kidnappers were still on the loose. Now Princess Gabriella needed a protector fast, and brash American Reeve MacGee was the perfect man for the job. The handsome ex-policeman could handle absolutely anything -- except falling in love with the stunning, vulnerable woman in his care.
Command Performance
Years ago she'd had a momentary schoolgirl crush on Prince Alexander, who was powerful, reserved, compelling, but he'd clearly disapproved of her. Now Eve Hamilton was every inch a woman, and Alex discovered he wanted to show her that he was all she could ever want in a man . . .
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful...........2007-06-26
my first Nora Roberts novels..
Affaire Royale and Command Performance has changed my viewpoint of Romance Novels. I really appreciated Roberts' way of choosing the right words for every little thing, taking the time for readers to appreciate th most important moments in the stories. Personally, the frequent use of words in French shook my heart...
I had checked out these books from the public library at first, and I've placed my order on Affaire Royale, Command Performance, Playboy Prince, and Cordina's Crown Jewel.
Although I found Playboy Prince to be a little bit less attractive to me, I was satisfied with the thrills as well as the love between the playboy prince and mysterious spy, Lady Hannah.
I recommend reading all three. ENJOY!
Despite all of the excitement.......2006-06-13
Despite all of the excitement of kidnappings, royalty, and terroizes it didn't hide the fact the charactors were dull. There was nothing exciting or special or even memerable about any of the charactors.
Eeex-leecitly deelightful. Reminds me o Ireland.......2006-06-10
Well, ma wife lurves Nora Robersta nd beign the inteligent man I am, I thought to my self that I would read some high class mystery. By the end of the book I was proud of maself because it sure ta'int easy, readin' all them hard words like: "heavin" and "tumblin passionately".
wHen i done looked them up in ter dictionar-ee i was appaled. them words were too blasphemous ter be read by me little wifey. and by me too. but i berlieve in freedom o speech so i reads on.
princesss gabie was a mighty fine little duckie. them big tawnie eyes.no wonder reeve -- a farmer likes me self-- could not resist them tiara. armand was a good daddy protecting his daughter, but i guess reeve wanted them hands on his woman. alexander i had no respect for.fightin with the lady eve in fencin'. that tain't princly at all.
Thats why eye lurve reeve. he is a farm boy likes myself and it did me heart proud to see them strong babies he and princess Gina will make ter gether.
buy this book, but remember to whiteout them swear words.
Surprisingly disappointed.......2006-05-17
Ususally I love Nora Roberts involving and realistic literary style. She has a way of making situaiton seem plausible and characters relatable and real. I am particularly fond of her incredibly sense of realistic and witty dialogue. And yet this book left me feeling flat and a little disappointed.
While this was a reprint and combination of two earlier works I felt that a little re-editing to make up for lacking skill wouldn't have been amiss. the second story of Alexander and Eve was the one I though posed the most promise and yet the characters were flat, lack luster and the situation completely unbeleivable. The smoking and the misunderstanding that continue on and on I could handle. It was the poor writing, the plot that wasn't really thought out and the lack of any truely interesting secondary characters. Add to that references to previous works in the series that due more to clutter the work than anything else.
I was just surprisingly disappointed with this work. The lack of imagination and skill shown in Roberts later books left me feeling cheated.
Disappointed........2006-03-22
I've always been a big fan of Nora Roberts, but these two books are really lame. The other reviewers synopsized the plots, so I won't reiterate, but there were several things about these books that really bothered me...first, the time line. Just when in history do these books take place? Eve pecks around on a computer and listens to CD's, so the seven year lapse from the first book to the second must put it sometime more current. However, the next installment which chronicles the affaires d'amour of Prince Bennett must obviously take place far into the future. If one reads the family tree at the beginning of the book, then one knows that Brie and Reeve's children marry and have children of their own...most confusing. The second thing that really bugged me was the fact that the men in this book were ALL smokers and a lot of descriptive narrative revolved around their disgusting smoking habits. Ms. Roberts even went as far as to describe an ashtray full of butts. Was this necessary? Every love scene in the book was ruined for me, as I couldn't forget that both Reeve's and Alex's breath must have been absolutely repulsive. I realize that these books are reprints of older stories, but I really wish Ms. Roberts had edited nicotine addiction out of the personalities of the heroes...the stories would not have suffered.
Book Description
No fiction writer of modern times has captured the world of wooden walls, broadsides, and the press gang as successfully as Patrick O'Brian. The twenty books in the O'Brian canon featuring the lives and adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and his confidant, naval surgeon Stephen Maturin, have been lauded across the world for their blend of classic storytelling, historical accuracy, and inspired characterizations. In this new work respected naval historian Brian Lavery explores the historical framework of the O'Brian novels by examining the facts behind the grand narrative and putting the key episodes in context while detailing naval life in the era of Nelson and Napoleon. With well over a hundred illustrations, the book presents contemporary plans, drawings, engravings, maps, and photographs of museum artifacts that have inspired age-of-sail novelists and moviemakers. Introducing the book is a foreword by Peter Weir, director of the upcoming film of O'Brian's novel Master and Commander. Avid age-of-sail fans will not want to miss this colorfully detailed complement to the O'Brian series.
Customer Reviews:
Nelson's Navy for Dummies.......2006-02-25
This book covers a large area rather thinly. It is saved from "coffee table" status by some penetrating insights into such things at shipbuiding methods, or the composition of the Admiralty administration. It left me with the need to follow up many subjects, and I count that a plus for this type of book.
I was a little disappointed that there was so little nexus between the sections of the book, and O'Brian's stories. One of the joys of O'Brian's work is that it seems closely related to fact, and I'd hoped for the little tingle of pleasure when the fact and the fiction are joined together.
on a very minor point, it seems to me that the cover illustration shows a ship whose sails are not properly set...some are on starboard, and some on port tack. If I'm wrong, someone please show me my blunder.
Facts, as Related to the Stories.......2005-05-13
While the sub-title of this book relates it to Jack Aubrey's world, this book is equally at home in understanding the world of C. S. Forester and indeed to the real world of of the Royal Navy of the time.
The book is broken into sections on the major aspects of the Navy including: ships, officers, men, techniques, life at sea, enemies, the Navy in Action, and finally the experience of war.
The book is a delight to read. Each of these sections contains not only information about the actual navy of the time, but also relates many of the details to particular Forester or O'Brian books. For instance the naval blockade is discussed as a tactic. Then there it talks about Hornblower having the Hotspur on blockade duty, and Aubrey being part of the Mediteranean Fleet in the book The Ionian Mission. He even mentions other novels, such as Sharpe's Trafalgar, while normally a soldiers story, Sharpe is put at Trafalgar almost as an accident.
Profusely illustrated by paintings from the time, these include not only the usual outlines of ships, but of the details of the action. These include not only the use of the guns, but also of the less happy parts of the ship, like the surgeon's cockpit.
It's fascinating to read just how accurately life is portrayed in fiction.
Excellent material, mediocre editing . . ........2004-02-02
If you're a fan of nautical adventure, this is definitely a book you want to own. Lavery, a greatly respected naval historian, has written several earlier volumes on the Royal Navy of the Napoleonic period (including the highly regarded _Nelson's Navy_), and he was also one of the principal technical advisors on Peter Weir's film, MASTER AND COMMANDER. (Weir, in fact, provides a glowing Foreword.) This heavily illustrated volume tries to cover all the bases, organizing its topics into chapters like "The World of the Seaman," "The Ships," "Officers," "The Lower Deck," "Techniques," and so on. Technical information is provided but is kept under control so as not to frighten the novice, and he quotes heavily from early Victorian memoires, biographies, and histories -- and also from the works of Marryat, Forester, O'Brian, and even Jane Austen's _Persuasion_. On the other hand, Lavery, unfortunately, was not well served by his editor, copyeditor, or proofreader. (Having worked for them myself in the past, as a freelance editor, I know Naval Institute Press is capable of far better support work.) There often are several typos, omitted words, and confusing references on a single page. There also are a number of incorrect or incomplete source citations and at least one mislabeled diagram (on page 104). Lavery also is prone to frequent and unnecessary repetition in his discourse, especially in explaining points of shiphandling and other technical matters. Finally, the index and the bibliography are rather amateurishly organized. But on the *other* other hand, I finally understand catharpins!
A solid primer on the Royal Navy of Jack Aubrey.......2003-11-02
Brian Lavery is the author of the thoroughly excellent "Nelson's Navy", praised by Patrick O'Brian as the most nearly royal road to knowledge about the Royal Navy of the 1793-18115 period he knew. Lavery's new book, "Jack Aubrey's Commands: A Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian", is quite evidently tied to the release of the film "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World", based upon O'Brian's novels -- the book's foreword, after all, was written by Peter Weir. the director of the movie. But the book is at least as much directed towards the readers of O'Brian's novels as to viewers of the film (and more so, I would argue), and it should be equally enticing for those simply interested in that historical era. To be sure, Lavery's "Nelson's Navy" is an excellent reference book that contains far more detailed information than the present work, but "Jack Aubrey's Commands" is written in a more approachable style for the general reader, with a text that is meant to be read as a continuous whole, rather than as a collection of details and essays. Its particular strength lies in the numerous and lengthy quotes taken from contemporary sources, making the narrative more vivid and easy to relate to a living world long vanished. In this regard, "Jack Aubrey's Commands" serves as a companion to Lavery's own "Nelson's Navy" as well as to the novels of Patrick O'Brian.
Someone recently asked me whether it was better to buy "Jack Aubrey's Commands" or Richard O'Neill's recent "Patrick O'Brian's Navy: Jack Aubrey's World". Putting the obvious answer of "Buy both of them!" aside (and assuming that the reader already has Lavery's "Nelson's Navy" or feels that this earlier work is as yet too formidable to approach), then my recommendation would depend on the reader's personal preferences. Both volumes contain a good detail of information about the Royal Navy of Jack Aubrey's era. O'Neill's book is especially strong in the area of excellent period illustrations, Lavery's in the direction of narrative strength. The first is perhaps best for repeated browsing, the latter for a straightforward read.
Average customer rating:
- A study of corporate paralysis in the crucible of battle
- Phenomenal, unique study on Military culture and its impact
- Unbelievable - Loved this book, a must for learning
- Relevant to Post 9-11 and the Road to War with Iraq
- Should be required reading for all Naval Officers
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The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command
G. A. H. Gordon , and
Andrew Gordon
Manufacturer: Naval Inst Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 155750718X |
Book Description
Foreword by Admiral Sir John Woodward. When published in hardcover in 1997, this book was praised for providing an engrossing education not only in naval strategy and tactics but in Victorian social attitudes and the influence of character on history. In juxtaposing an operational with a cultural theme, the author comes closer than any historian yet to explaining what was behind the often described operations of this famous 1916 battle at Jutland. Although the British fleet was victorious over the Germans, the cost in ships and men was high, and debates have raged within British naval circles ever since about why the Royal Navy was unable to take advantage of the situation. In this book Andrew Gordon focuses on what he calls a fault-line between two incompatible styles of tactical leadership within the Royal Navy and different understandings of the rules of the games.
Customer Reviews:
A study of corporate paralysis in the crucible of battle.......2004-02-20
I have read many books of military history covering a variety of campaigns, but never have I read one with such breadth and insight as this. The enormity of the drama embodied in the moment the fleets met at Jutland is for the first time matched by an author's ability to depict a context rich enough to help us understand the influences which fed this cataclysmic misfire of naval strength.
Gordon focuses on the tension between doctrine's role as a useful tool for helping a widely flung set of commanders act in concert when distance, smoke, and angst prevent their communication and how a careless search for practical doctrine might invite a stifling dogma in its stead. As Gordon so fluidly writes of the malaise gripping the "fleet that had dozed unchallenged in the long calm lee of Trafalgar", the trust Nelson placed in subordinates had not long survived his death in that battle and its heir was an officious busyness centered on sparkle and conformity.
Particularly delightful in this work and an aspect not to be missed is the benefit to be realized by using two bookmarks when reading it, with the second preserving your spot in the end notes. Its 100+ pages of notes manifest a stringent and complete attribution of his borrowings, but a great many of the notes are not simply citations of others work but illuminating tidbits well worth savoring as you plow along the main text.
A new reader will also find that color has not been sacrificed in the rush to meet the obligations of covering so large a battle. My favorite anecdote was one of an untroubled officer on HMS Lion who, unaware that the Germans had truly been sighted, calmly finished preparing his sandwich as action stations were rung. The mental picture formed of his arriving on the bridge with mouth full and hoagie in hand is not unlike someone doing "the wave" in the audience at Ford's Theatre as Lincoln takes his seat.
I mean the 5 stars. I have given 5 copies of this book to people I know, simply to ensure that they might understand the mania for naval history it has fanned in my heart. If there is any justice in this world, this book will enjoy a massive new print run.
Phenomenal, unique study on Military culture and its impact.......2004-01-21
This is indeed terrific book. It does not only focus on
the battle of Jutland itself, but on the whys and wherefores of how things came to be. By looking back in time to the societal and cultural institutions of Victorian Society, how it influenced thought and conduct within the Royal Navy, we come to
understand how the British failed to destroy the German High Seas Fleet. The author skewers the officers for their blind obedience to the "Signals Book" and the lack
of originality in thought and deeds. There is nothing more insidious to military efficacy than a lengthy peace to promote
complacency and martial decay. Without a challenge to its command of the seas for nearly a century, the peacetime Royal Navy lost its Nelsonian touch and became a Corps of bureaucrats and spit and polish types, forever shuffling papers and scrubbing the decks. It became an absolute fetish and was the main criteria for advancement for career minded officers
to the detriment of actual war fighting capabilities. This and many other details are brought to light in this book. There is so much more to say, but best to grab a copy yourself and READ IT!!!
Unbelievable - Loved this book, a must for learning.......2003-09-12
This was a great book to read. It flowed well and was exciting throughout. I found the relevance in this work not only in how it explains what happens when peacetime complacence takes over the military, but also how it can be applied when examining leadership in business, especially big business. Those management styles that describe Britain's naval commanders from Nelson to Tryon to Culme-Seymour to Jellicoe and Beatty can easily be applied to the management styles of many of America's big corporations. I've always believed that the study of military history is critical in being successful as management within a big corporation. This is a must read for anyone wanting to understand management and command style.
I was glad that this work was not completely one-sided. Andrew Gordon stated how commanders like Sir John Jellicoe and Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas were in many aspects not up to leading a wartime battle command because of their reliance on central control and inflexibility to the fluidity of battle. It also showed how much of Lord Nelson's command style appeared in Sir David Beatty, but he does not hide the fact that Beatty made many big mistakes that led to the loss of two capital ships a few thousand sailors. Beatty at times is shown as reckless (the Battlecruiser Force lacked the targting accuracy when needed most and two battlecruisers were lost) and not a good communicator (he did meet with Evan-Thomas to explain what he expected of them and caused the 5th Battle Force to take much unnecessary damage). But, he was a courageous commander and did his part by leading (as ordered) the German High Seas Fleet to Jellicoe's Grand Fleet of over 35 capital ships. It also shows that despite his shortcomings, Evan-Thomas was a brave man and did his part during the fight with the Germans.
After getting into this book, I was hoping to read more on the German aspect of the battle, especially since Admiral Scheer almost led his High Seas Fleet to annihilation by the Grand Fleet not once, but several times during the battle. But, the fact that Andrew Gordon was a former British Naval officer and that his work concentrated on his organization, I can understand why he explained the British aspect of the battle. Plus, his main focus was not the battle, but how command style wholly influenced the outcome of this engagement.
Relevant to Post 9-11 and the Road to War with Iraq.......2003-07-30
In the aftermath of 9-11 and the concerted efforts by both the policy and intelligence leadership in both America and the United Kingdom to both deny that 9-11 was a failure on their parts, and to "sex up" the dossiers leading to an unjust war in Iraq, I really like and recommend this book to anyone remotely connected to national security decision-making.
There are four major points in this book that neither the publicity prose nor the earlier reviewers emphasize, and I focus on these because they are the heart of the book and the core of its value:
1) Peacetime breeds officers, systems, and doctrine that are unlikely to stand the empirical test of war. As the author notes, every incompetent in war has previously been promoted to his or her high rank in peacetime. Systems are adopted without serious battle testing or interoperability (and intelligence) supportability being assured, and doctrine takes a back seat to protocol and keeping up appearances.
2) Technologists are especially pernicious and dangerous to future warfighting capability when they are allowed to promulgate new technology under ideal peacetime conditions, and not forced to stand the test of battle-like degradation and the friction of real-world conditions.
3) Doctrine based on the lessons of history rather than the pomp of peacetime is the ultimate insurance policy.
4) Robust--even intrusive and pervasive--communications (signaling) in peacetime is almost certain to denigrate healthy doctrinal development, has multiple pernicious effects on the initiative and development of individual commanders, and can have catastrophic consequences when it is severely degraded in wartime and the necessary doctrinal foundation and command initiative are lacking.
This is a very long book at 708 pages, and I would hasten to note that the book is worth purchasing even if only to read Chapter 25, pages 562-601, in which the author brilliantly sets forth 28 distinct "propositions". The balance of the book is extraordinary in its detail and a pleasure to scan over, but its primary role is to absolutely guarantee the credibility and industry of the author.
Each of the 28 propositions, one sentence in length with varying explanatory summaries, is compelling, relevant, and most critical to how we train both flag officers and field grade officers of all the services. Were the author so inclined, I would encourage him to develop the final chapter as a stand-alone primer for military leaders seeking to learn from history and avoid the dangerous juxtaposition of too much technology and too little thought. While the author draws his propositions from an excruciatingly detailed study of the Battle of Jutland and the British naval cultures in conflict before and after Jutland, this book is not, at root, about a specific battle, but rather about the constantly forgotten "first principles" of training, equipping, and organizing forces for combat. Hard to do in peacetime with the best of leaders, a tragedy in waiting with the more common peacetime pogues in charge. "Ratcatchers", the author's phrase for those who do well in war, are crushed by the peacetime protocols, and this is perhaps the greatest lesson of all: we must nurture our ratcatchers, even place them on independent duty to travel distant lands, but somehow, someway, keep them in play against the day when we need them.
Should be required reading for all Naval Officers.......2002-09-27
The other reviews of "The Rules of the Game" above succinctly summarize this important contribution to naval history. The descriptions of Jutland are worth the price of admission alone, but its real value lies in its disection of the mindset of those Victorian naval officers who shaped the Royal Navy during its period of greatest transition. There are many lessons to be learnt for today's professional officer, and this book should be freely circulating in the Naval Colleges of the world.
Average customer rating:
- A smashing piece
- Great combination of the big picture and significant details
- Extremely technical
- An Outstanding, impartial book on the Nachtjäger in WWII
- A Well Balanced View of the Night War
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Other Battle: Luftwaffe Night Aces vs. Bomber Command
Peter Hinchliffe
Manufacturer: Zenith Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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Fighting the Bombers (World War II German Debriefs)
ASIN: 0760302650 |
Book Description
Disastrous day-time losses in WWII forced Bomber Command to switch to night bombing. When this happened the Germans had neither a night fighter force nor any night-fighter policy. RAF attacks filled that gap rapidly. This book traces these developments and also the strategic, tactical, technical, and personal aspects of these battles.
Customer Reviews:
A smashing piece.......2006-04-24
The Other Battle: Luftwaffe Night Aces Versus Bomber Command by Peter Hinchliffe tells the struggle of the British night raids during WWII. Focus for the book is Bomber Commands raids and the Luftwaffe's response to the raids. Mr. Hinchliffe takes us from the RAF's opening raids against Germany (and the failure of these early daylight raids) into their night raids during the heart of the war (1943 and 1944), concluding with the Gotterdammerung of Germany in 1945. These raids go from minor affairs where a few planes fly blindly thru the night, to hundreds destroying cities. The book can effectively be broken into four parts: The early war (Chapter 1, Back to War thru Chapter 4, The End of the Beginning); the mid war (Chapters 5 thru 10, 10 tells the story of the Nuremberg raid in March of 1944); preparing for the Invasion; and Gotterdammerung.
What is arguably the greatest piece of this book is that Mr. Hinchliffe tells us of the technical war that is being fought by the two sides. The Germans with their increasingly complex defenses and uses of different tactics (Wild Boar vs. Tame Boar) and the British with their increasing forces, ability to drop greater bomb loads, and increasing technology. While many people are quoted in this book, this is not a personal/unit history ala Stephen Ambrose. Instead, this is a history book that provides a good analysis of the combat occurring and good descriptions of what the combatants (from the national level down to the people flying the missions) are doing and how they're reacting.
Since Mr. Hinchliffe was a navigator in Bomber Command during WWII, his book has a little more personal touch than many other books dealing with this subject. There are some excellent maps in the book (a must for a good history book) along with some good pictures and drawings dealing with technical pieces used during the war (the drawing of the radar displays used by the Germans was great). If you're interested in how the night raids were performed in WWII, this book is a 5 star book! The technical details are very good, and some great biographies. As a history book, once more, 5 stars. Overall, 4.5, but since this is Amazon, I'll round up to 5!
Great combination of the big picture and significant details.......2003-03-03
Without taking sides the author tells the story of both sides of the night bombing campaign. Technical details were especially fascinating since I was an air search radar operator in the Navy in my younger days. Great description of progress made by both sides in a short period on things we take for granted today such as air intercept radar and electronic countermeasures. Well compiled with interviews from both British and German aircrew. Highly recommended!!
Extremely technical.......1999-11-16
This book gives you a nice all-around view of night fighting in Europe during WW II. It is extremely technical, and I thought it lacks a little bit concerning the human side of the pilots, engineers, etc. But it is the best book ever written about the subject, no doubt about that.
An Outstanding, impartial book on the Nachtjäger in WWII.......1999-10-20
When I say this book is impartial, I mean it is impartial in the fullest sense of the word. The author not only presents a bias-free view, he also writes in a lucid manner. The operations are described in great detail, and with proper analysis. Each stage and battle has significance, and we are brought to appreciate this complex air battle that raged for five years, involving the brave crews of the Allied bomber fleets, and the equally brave and tenacious Nachtjagd crews. We come face to face with the elite of the nightfighters including Schnaufer, Lent, Prinz zu-Sayn Wittgenstein and Becker. I feel this book is a must for understanding night operations over Europe during world war two and for all military buffs.
A Well Balanced View of the Night War.......1999-03-10
The author has written a very balanced view of both sides of the Night War during WWII. His viewpoint is that the pilots and crews of both sides did their duty,full stop. One to bomb, the other to defend. His descriptions of the Luftwaffe Nightfighter aces and the overall strategies of the Luftwaffe High Command are quite accurate. I was quite suprised by his generous comments on Major Prinz Heinrich Sayn zu-Wittgenstein. They were a far cry from authors who while not disputing his courage and charisma, tend to label him as being overly ambitious.This author however dismisses that concept and rightly so. The Night aces, Schnaufer, Lent, Sayn zu-Wittgenstein,Meurer and Streib and many others were concerned with shooting down bombers decimating their civilian population and industrial areas and not with being ambitious. Although it cannot be denied that in this deadly game of cat and mouse they were in friendly rivalries in the mildest sense of the term, at least. A fine book for reference as well.
Book Description
A bad dream causes twelve year old Harry Winslow to spend the night tossing and turning in his bed. Unfortunately, the next day becomes the real nightmare. Harry's friend, Erin, learns her father is missing in action. At the same time, Squadron Leader Captain Dawson is forced to bail out of his Hurricane while fighting the enemy over the English Channel. Sometimes sacrifices must be made in order to help other, especially during a time of war. Harry is willing to help, but what can a young boy do to make a difference? Join Harry on the airfield while he tries his best to help Captain Dawson and Erin's father. Hopefully there is someone who can save his special friends. These are ordinary men who do extraordinary things. The kinds of things that make them heroes.
Book Description
Over the course of 11 days in the summer of 1943, Allied bombers conducted six major air raids on Hamburg. Historians call this sustained period of bombing the Battle of Hamburg; citizens of that city refer to it as "die Katastrophe." How was this notoriously dangerous mission carried out--and how, amazingly, did everything go exactly according to plan for the Allies? Using the perspective of flight crews on both sides, and the citizenry below, the answers come into brilliant focus.
Customer Reviews:
The peak of the Area Bombing war.......2006-12-31
Martin Middlebrook's judicious method of recounting military history works nearly as well in "The Battle of Hamburg" as it did in his first book "First Day on the Somme."
The two most attractive things about the Middlebrook style are the somewhat clinical attitude -- there is no rodomontade or triumphalism in his books -- and the pithy selections from participants.
Middlebrook is also good about paying attention to logistics, the area usually most neglected in popular histories.
For the Battle of Hamburg, the big issues are Area Bombing and the famous firestorm that killed perhaps 40,000 civilians in one night. The image of living people stuck on melted asphalt as the flames approach is one not easy to read.
Everybody has to have an opinion about such events. In a thoughtful summary, however, Middlebrook says he has been unable to decide for himself how to judge.
He lets others present their judgments. It is easy enough, however, to judge the judgments of many (Middlebrook suggests, a majority) of Hamburgers. They remain aggrieved that the British resorted to such uncivilized warfare as terror bombing. We can rightfully judge this a one-way-street morality: Only Germans are entitled to practice uncivilized warfare and it is a crime only when they have to experience it.
As always, the worst thing you can do for a German is to encourage him to speak frankly.
I very much like Middlebrook's approach to military history, but there are a couple of points where "The Battle of Hamburg" is seriously lacking.
Hamburg was the main producer of submarines. The attacks may have cut U-boat deliveries by around two dozen. (The implication has to be that the Germans got more efficient after the raids, as the workforce at the main yards, Blohm & Voss, was still down 20% four months after the raid.) Middlebrook never puts this number (the range is 20 to 26, depending upon whether you accept the British or the American estimate) in context. The raids on Hamburg came in July 1943; May 1943 was the "black month" of the U-boat arm when it went from great success in April to a loss of more than 40 boats in May.
So two dozen boats was a minor victory at the time. At the beginning of the year, it would have been much more consequential.
In his discussion of the strategy of Area Bombing, again, Middlebrook ignores a big piece of context. During the first four years of the war, Britain and (for the latter part) the USA were unable to come to grips with the main might of Germany. From June 1941, most of the fighting was done by the USSR.
Although the USSR defeated Germany at least as early as October 1941 (see my review of Overy's "Russia's War" for a discussion), there was a possibility that Germany could have retrieved the situation, had Britain not kept up the pressure.
Britain's ability to engage Germany was limited. The Battle of the Atlantic was the main arena. There is much talk today about asymmetric warfare. The Battle of the Atlantic was extremely asymmetric: it required a huge effort by the Allies to counter a modest effort by the Germans. (In the whole war, the losses of Germans in U-boats were less than the losses of Hamburgers alone on the Eastern Front, much less.)
For lack of such things as landing craft, the Allies were unable to transport a large enough army to Europe to engage important elements of the Wehrmacht in 1943. The fighting in Africa and the Mediterranean was a sideshow.
That left the air offensive. We know now that the effort was, again, asymmetric. The damage done to Germany by bombing was less than the effort expended by the Allies to bomb.
It does not follow that the effort was a wrong use of resources. Under the circumstances, it was the only way to keep the war going until decisive force could be raised and employed.
Last, there is one amazing sentence in the book. In his discussion about the morality of Area Bombing, Middlebrook says, "If Area Bombing had toppled Germany before the invasion of France, there would have been a deal less controversy on the subject, just as there has been little argument over the two American atom bombs which knocked Japan out of the war in 1945." I am surprised Middlebrook has not withdrawn that sentence in later editions.
A GRIPPING ACCOUNT WITH INSIGHTFUL ANALYSIS.......2005-05-20
My father was born under the bombs in Hamburg, so this had a personal interest to me. It is a fantastic, balanced book. It captures very well every aspect of the operation, and Middlebrook debunks a lot of myths about it being a "firebombing" raid. It was, as he is at pains to emphasize, a typical raid that was just more successful than most.
As with his other books, Middlebrook uses and includes many personal accounts; in this case, they are sad and gripping for all concerned.
From the narrative and analysis perspectives, this is a very well done book. The first and last chapters alone are a great read, discussing how area bombing and "terror" bombing came about. Middlebrook is balanced, summarizing the opponents and supporters' points of view. He himself remains "above" the debate, claiming, correctly in my point of view, that the era was challenging for all concerned, and difficult decisions had to be made in a compressed period of time without the benefit of a crystal ball.
It may be the best of his bomber series of books, because of the treatment of the Hamburgers.
When Everything Came Together for RAF Bomber Command.......2003-03-06
Martin Middlebrook's series of books is a must for anyone interested in the strategic bombing campaign over Germany in World War II. Although most of his books cover raids that did not go well for the Allies (Nuremberg, Schweinfurt-Regensburg, and the Battle of Berlin), this book covers one of RAF Bomber Commands biggest successes (the US Eigth Air Force also carried out daylight raids as part of the Battle of Hamburg but they were not so successful). Middlebrook explains how "everything came together" for the RAF, most especially the introduction of "Window" which rendered the German defenders' radar useless; and the weather which made the incendiary bombs particularly effective in starting massive fires which lead to the horrific firestorm that caused so many fatalities. Middlebrook not only describes the attacking force, but also the defensive measures taken on the ground by the Germans and the experiences of the civilian population caught up in this nightmarish experience.
The author points out that regarding the bomb-load mix in this raid, the ratio of incendiaries to high-explosive bombs was no different than usual and it was the combination of circumstances that lead to the massive destruction (incidentally-he also points out that the Germans used incendiaries in their bombing raids on London and Coventry in 1940 and 1941 so the RAF can not be blamed for starting this type of warfare)
This book, like his others, is highly recommended.
A Middlebrook Masterpiece.......2002-03-06
In late July and early August 1943 Bomber Command, with the cooperation of the USAAF, launched a series of heavy raids against the German city of Hamburg. The objective was to paralyse the city and demoralize its inhabitatants so that its role in the war effort would be diminished, if not nullified. The Battle is best remembered for the Firestorm that engulfed much of the eastern section of the city (after the second RAF raid) and resulted in the death of approximately 40,000 people, mostly civilians. For hundreds of thousands of survivors, the raids made the true horror of modern war a reality, and the city's industries in many cases were temporarily disrupted. But in the end, the raid was only a partial success in that the will of the German people was not broken and the city did continue (although to a lesser degree) play its vital role in the German war-effort. The Firestorm has since become a controversial subject, but it must be understood that it had not been the intended outcome, as has been suggested. While many of the bombers did drop incindiaries on the city, the proportion in relation to high explosive bombs was not much different from previous raids.
The Battle of Hamburg is what one expects from Middlebrook; extensively researched and relatively objective, it is written in a manner that allows the reader to get a fair sense of what the Battle had been like for the various participants and witnesses. It is a fascinating read and a truly important study of a pivotal phase in the Allied bombing campaign against the Third Reich.
Book Description
The summer of 1940 was supposed to be the beginning of the end of Britain. Europe had fallen to Hitler's storm troops with terrifying speed, and once the Royal Air Force was destroyed, Britain was next. But that was precisely where the Nazis stumbled. For 123 days, while Herman Goering sent wave after wave of Luftwaffe fighters to rain down fire on Britain, three thousand young RAF airmen fought back with a ferocity and agility that stunned the world. Now in this riveting book, military historian and journalist Patrick Bishop presents the first account of this critical campaign told from the perspective of the pilots themselves.
Drawing on interviews with scores of surviving pilots as well as diaries and letters never seen before, Bishop re-creates with astonishing intimacy and clarity this excruciating, exhilarating war of nerves. In their own words, the pilots describe what it felt like when an engine exploded, a parachute failed to open, a swarm of Messerschmitts surrounded their plane, a bomb fell on their home village, a comrade's plane "went in" (their bland term for a high speed crash into the ground). Had the RAF failed, a successful German invasion would have been inevitable-and the pilots knew it. Under unimaginable pressure, these nineteen- and twenty-year-old heroes brought down the world's most powerful air force and saved their nation-and the free world.
Customer Reviews:
Informative, though a little unfocused..........2007-01-28
Patrick Bishop's Fighter Boys is the account of the rise of Britain's Royal Air Force, and the struggle it underwent in the first 15 months of WWII, culminating in the Battle of Britain. While Bishop presents plenty of information, the narrative wanders from discussion of the origins, aircraft, pilots, leadership, and tactics of the RAF leading up to the battle, but really doesn't focus on any one aspect enough to be comprehensive, and simply winds up with a scattershot description of various names, units, events, and calendar dates--ultimately presenting an incomplete picture that doesn't seem to convey the attrition and desperation most accounts of the Battle of Britain contain.
The book begins with some discussion on the origin of the RAF, through the aces of WWI and the subsequent evolution of Air Power in Britain in the interwar years. The author does a very good job of explaining the ingenious manner in which RAF Fighter Command chose to develop and maintain its pilot base, through the development of reserve and volunteer flying clubs. As the narrative progresses, we get to see the manner in which RAF set up its training structure and operational model, leading up first to the outbreak of war on the European Continent (and the concerns that Fighter Command would lose too many planes before the defense of England had even begun), followed by Dunkirk and eventually, the desperate struggle that was the Battle of Britain.
The people we meet in the book are really only described in passing, and generally in the odd, abstract way that it seems public-schooled Britons tended to talk about one another. Through quotes from combatants and unit histories, Bishop helps the reader to understand the struggles that the pilots and units went through in their defense of England, from the conditions at many airfields to the frightening attrition suffered by many units. He also does well to mention the attrition and struggles that the Luftwaffe was dealing with in its daily assaults on England; that attrition was taking its toll on both numbers and morale.
Ultimately, the subject matter really is fascinating, and Bishop does cover some interesting points that you generally don't get from many histories, especially the way the RAF was able to maintain a large auxiliary force in peacetime that helped it survive the opening year of the war, as well as the manner in which pilots were selected and trained, bypassing the traditional class structure within England. As informative as this book was, however, I can't help but think that there is more to the story than what I got from Bishop; perhaps he should be commended for being able to avoid writing an emotional narrative about the desperation and "hanging on by a thread" nature of the Battle, but considering that it was thought of as a battle for the survival of England itself, I would hope that those feelings would be conveyed through the writing to a somewhat greater degree.
Close-up views of "The Few".......2005-02-18
It is said that we live in a dangerous time, with terrorists and rogue states threatening our way of life and all that. These are serious things, real threats to be sure, but for most of us, most of the time, it's a rather vague and statistical threat we face, not all that different from a hurricane or a traffic accident. Sure it can happen to me me, but it usually doesn't. Things were different in the summer of 1940, though. Hitler needed to take Britain out of his war picture, and the Germans tried their best to bomb the Brits into submission in preparation for invasion. If they had succeeded, it would have been a different world. The RAF pilots and all the people who supported them kept this from happening, but it was a hard fight, a daily struggle against an all too tangible threat. It was a big story, but it was also a lot of personal stories.
I've read a lot of flying books, many on WWII, and a few on the Battle of Britain, including Len Deighton's excellent "Fighter," my previous favorite. This one is essentially an oral history of the Battle, with close-ups of the participants in their own words, through interviews, letters, and diaries. It mostly ignores the strategy, politics, and hardware, but there is plenty of flying action, from the perspective of the pilots themselves. This is what I really liked about it. I got a sense of what it must have been like to live through those times, and for the enormous efforts involved. These boys loved to fly, and it was glorious at times, but there's the other side too -- the many deaths and the horrible burns and the nightmares and the psychic damage. That's all here too, and it's very moving.
So all in all, very well done and recommended. It also has me fired up to visit the RAF Museum in London when I go there in early April (I love the stories, but I love the hardware too!).
N.B. It looks like I only review books I love, and I give them all five stars. I guess this is just a matter of wanting to share something I enjoyed, though I swear if I manage to get through something I truly loathe, I'll give it a bad review!
Your Own Lawnchair.......2004-12-19
When you think of the Battle of Britain, one of the most common images conjured up is of pilots asleep or reading or some other thing in a lawnchair, easy chair or perhaps an old deckchair moved outside. I think the best thing I can say about Patrick Bishop's "Fighter Boys: The Battle of Britain, 1940" is that he does an amazing job of putting you in one of those chairs. This is not really a military critique or history of the battle, although Bishop does do some of this. What the author seems to want to do is give you the experience of being in the battle with the pilots that were really there.
We meet several pilots and we go with them into the air, into combat and into the pubs of England. We feel what it is like to sit in one of those chairs wondering when the bell would ring and the order to scramble would come. We also feel what it must have been like to sit in one of those Spitfires or Hurricanes and see the formations of bombers in our windscreens. We must deal, as the pilots did, with the daily sameness of waiting, flying, fighting and coming home to pass out from exhaustion. We feel the fear of facing the formations of bombers, facing the dangers to our loved ones at home and facing the knowledge that we can't know if and when the adversary will give up, or if and when we might have to give up.
We see comrades and friends die. We see them die, as must happen in these circumstances, in horrific, violent ways. We see them lost to the enemies fire and we see them lost tragically and yes, sometimes stupidly, in accidents. They also die, most frustratingly of all, because of miscalculations that send them into combat in machines that are not quite up to the tasks. And at the end of each flight, we retire back to the chair on the lawn, exhausted, passing out almost before we are fully seated, waiting again for the bell to ring and for everything to start all over.
Fighter Boys is really the pilot's stories. There are many wonderful books that analyze the military aspects of the Battle of Britain. This book takes more of a look at the human aspects of the same battle. If you've ever wondered what it might have been like to sit with the pilots of the Battle of Britain and fly alongside them, this book is probably your best opportunity.
Disappointing.......2004-11-22
I read the whole book, but felt that I was rereading the same chapter over again I didn't think the author has much of a feel for flying or the action involved. In a word, disappointing.
perceptive.......2004-04-27
hard as it is for loyal americans to accept we must accept we have a lot to learn from the british. as this book neatly shows the british raf outwitted the nazis using a deft combination of bravery and technical innovation. as mr bishop says in his foreword might does not always guarantee victory and this is the lesson we, as americans, must learn and digest. as a veteran myself it gives me little joy to say we have a lot to learn from the british. in iraq our brave young men and women are battling under the stars and stripes with pride. are they being properly led? i ask as i do not think their bravery is being rewarded by strategy. we americans have the technology and the raw courage. do we have the guile of the british? that is the point mr bishop makes eloquently. turning to the book itself it struck me reading it how fighting men and women over the eras have changed. mr bishop's heroes - no heroines in those days!- were dashing and carefree. our young warriors of both sexes are more cautious as they know more. they still demand our unstinting admiration and gratitude. this is a great book about the horrors of war.
Customer Reviews:
Surviver Royal addition.......2006-09-15
Lauren Porter goes to the tiny village of Sant'Rosa to look into a factory that her sister-in-law started. Sant'Rosa unfortunitly is a very volital place however and Guy Bagotten helps her to get from the place that she was staying to a village to make a phone call.
Unfortunitly while on their way back to the resort the locals from the neighboring village decide to invade Sant'Rosa. Guy and Lauren make it to the airport so that Lauren can get a flight out. Only theres one problem-she has no passport.
Guy comes up with a plan. Lauren will marry him and thanks to the marriage she will be able to get into the country they are flying to. Lauren goes along with this, and finally she and Guy are reunited in the other country where they explore the sparks that fly between the two.
Later Guy comes to the house of Lauren's brother in Austrailia saying the marriage might be valid. Several days later flying back to Londonn there is a worldwhen of action at the airport. Guy then tells Lauren they are going to Dacia where her parents are and Guy and Lauren will be married for real.
Only one problem Guy is not just Guy he is Prince Guy of Dacia which Lauren finds strange. What happens next? Read By Royal Command
Average customer rating:
- Companion Product.
- Impressive
- A very detailled historical research
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A SEPARATE LITTLE WAR: The Banff Coastal Command Strike Wing Versus the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe 1944-1945
Andrew Bird
Manufacturer: Grub Street
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1904010431 |
Book Description
Every day for nine months from September 1944 to the end of the war, young British, Commonwealth and Norwegian airmen flew from Banff aerodrome in northern Scotland in their Mosquitoes and Beaufighters to target the German U-Boats, merchantmen and freighters plying along the coast and in the fjords and leads of southwest Norway, encountering the Luftwaffe and flakships every step of the way.
This Scottish strike wing fought in some of the bitterest and bloodiest attacks of the war, all at very low level and at close quarters. Their contribution to winning the war was crucial and while the cost in precious lives and equipment was in the same proportion as Bomber Command, they inflicted far greater damage to the enemy in relation to their losses.
With Group Captain The Hon. Max Aitken, DSO DFC as station commander, Banff was eventually to become the base for a total of six Mosquito squadrons (including 235, 248 and 143), together with B Flight of the elite 333 Norwegian Squadron, and would team up on missions with the nearby Dallachy Beaufighter strike wing (404 RCAF, 455 RAAF, 489 RNZAF and 144 Squadrons).
A Separate Little War, then, is a well researched and detailed history of a microcosm of Coastal Command. Supported by many photographs, maps and charts, the vast majority never published before, the author has drawn on the personal accounts of, amongst others, British and Norwegian pilots, ground crew and civilians which augment the official sources, to give a compelling, accurate and fascinating depiction of an aerodrome at war.
It is a subject which will be of great interest and value to the general reader and to those students of the Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, RAF and former Commonwealth Air Forces, the Polish Air Force and of maritime air operations during World War Two.?
Customer Reviews:
Companion Product........2004-09-23
A video produced by the Royal Air Force Museum "The Mosquito" may be of interest to readers of "A Separate Little War". The final 8 or so minutes of the film features a shipping strike by one or more units from a northern base attacking targets obviously in the fijords of Norway.
The entire video is 45 minutes long and in black and white.
Check this site for availability; I got mine from a supplier in Canada (where over 1,000 Mossies were made).
Impressive.......2004-03-08
This book is the culmination of a great deal of research by the author and the results of his work are very evident.
Another reviewer has suggested that the narrative is not very exciting and I am inclined to agree but the purpose of the book is not necessarily to entertain but rather to present a record of an important adjunct to the main and much more widely documented military activity towards the end of the war.
Presenting the amount of material contained within these pages in the concise manner adopted by the author does exclude much of the literary "padding" which might otherwise have been used to make a more engaging read but I found the book at once interesting, compelling and poignant with the contributions from survivors of both sides of the conflict to be very human.
I enjoyed it and recommend it.
A very detailled historical research.......2003-11-15
The book is an excellent and very detailled history of the operations flown by the Banff and Dallachy wings from 09/44 to the end of WWII.
The amount of research made is quite impressive, with a lot of first hand accounts.
But the way its written doesn't make it very exciting.
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