No comments about Alexander the Great: The Real-life Story of the World's Greatest Warrior.

No comments about Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom 1822-1832.

2 comments about Alfred: Warrior King.

1. This book gives a standard treatment of Alfred the Great's history and the unpleasantness visited upon England by the Danes. It's focus is on the strategy and tactics employed by Alfred in his campaigns, his guerilla war directed from Athelney, organization of a navy, and fortification of the strategically sited burhs.

   It's a fast read and written by a veteran of the Burma campaign in World War II so it is chock full of soldierly insights regarding logistics, terrain, and morale. Although focused on Wessex, the Danes, Franks, Mercians, East Anglians, Northumbrians and the Welsh are not ignored as participants in the various Viking raids and eventual settlements occurring in Northwest Europe. There is a great deal of emphasis on the routes by which various forces moved across England and the trackways, Roman roads, and waterways used are given detailed descriptions.

   I enjoyed it as a sort of Pop military history of Alfred.




2. While serving as an insightful working on the history of Afred, strictly from a military stand point, the depth of those chapters far outstrip the human characteristics of Alfred. A good read, but only for the diehard Alfred fans who want to know everything there is to know, even the dry hard facts, about Alfred's military campaigns.

1 comments about Lone Wolf: The Life and Death of U-Boat Ace Werner Henke.

1. another truly great u-boat book that gives a studied approach to the WW2 submarine conflict and also downgrades Buchheim"s Das Boot as a true picture of a U-Boat crew.Buchheim describes the typical German u-boat sailor as so young that he terms their role in the submarine service as a "childrens crusade" however according to Mulligan's statistics this is not so.Also this book compares the different type of U-Boats-the niners and the sevens and gives their capacities and their shortcomings.The crews of these boats came mainly from cental and northern Germany,the more industrial regions which contradicts what i had previously read that these crews were from rural areas. Also there is an interesting chapter about the U-boat pecking order which makes absurdity of Buchheims,' Das Boot crews","we are one in suffering"mentality.The crews from this books' read seem like they would act as individuals guarding their own turf but can function as a team,indeed that would probably make for a more efficient crew as well as better for morale.You're going to love this book if you're into the Battle of the Atlantic,human interest stories mixed with some good statistics.

5 comments about One Woman's Army: The Commanding General of Abu Ghraib Tells Her Story.

1. She gives a believable insight to the nonchalant attitude of the higher military leaders that continue to this day. Many of us have fell victim to leader's incompetence and quest for promotion and the details she gives are accurate.
   
   Her background is impressive and that alone should have been enough to get her through this deployment without incident. She knew what had to be done but could not get the male commanders to care about the situation. She broke testosterone barriers throughout her career but still took the hit when the male officers bailed after everything hit the fan.
   
   Her book explains her elaborate and extensive background without gloating. Any commander in her position would have a difficult time and she describes in detail the walls and curtains put before her while she maintained her unit the best she could.
   
   Beautiful insight to military leadership during an American occupation.



2. First the book reads smoothly and quickly, providing a sense of the grit, determination, and personal integrity required to move up the chain of command as a woman in the army. Second, Janis reveals a peak behind the curtain of what is really going on on the ground in Iraq, and the decisions that were made which led us into our current intractable position in the Middle East. It's a sad commentary on our current administration that a woman who led with integrity was set up to take the fall for decisions that were made by General Sanchez and Donald Rumsfeld. Several of the men who made the decisions that led to the torture at Abu Ghraib were given medals for their service while she was stripped of her Commission. Janis Karpinski represents exactly the kind of person we want in our Army (I've actually met her in person and found her to be strong, intelligent, and concerned about the direction our country is heading). This book should be required reading for every citizen who cares about the future credibility of the United States on the world stage. The truth doesn't change and eventually we will come to understand how badly we have treated this brave woman who served her country with honor. More importantly we will understand how badly we have fumbled our responsibilites to the world in our mishandling of Iraq and the problems in the Middle east.



3. ONE WOMAN'S ARMY: THE COMMANDING GENERAL OF ABU GHRAIB TELLS HER STORY considers the events of 2004, offering General Karpinski's first-hand account of not only her command of troops in a combat zone, but her experience of being a commanding female leader in the modern army. From how the scandal destroyed her career to her rise in the ranks, ONE WOMAN'S ARMY is a recommended pick for any female who would understand - or enter - the military.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. As far as an entertaining read, it was great! I loved the large font, color photos, and of course, the interesting anecdotes. What everyone is forgetting is that we are reviewing the BOOK, not her, or her message. Though personally, I find her to be extraordinary. If you are looking for a light, interesting read, pick this book up. If you started off hating her, you might be blindsighted by your emotions anyway so no amount of information is going to help you. Just don't bother reading it. If, however, you feel neutral about her role in the scandal, by all means, read it, listen to her message, pay attention that she mentions several times her faults in the scandal, and enjoy the fast paced read.



5. General Janis Karpinski, commander of the U.S. military prison in Iraq, provides her personal account of the corruption and failures in the chain of command that permitted prisoner abuse to occur. She discusses her inexperience in running a prison, lack of disciplined guards, and use of private firms.
   
   Though she spends a bit of the book on the army's preference for male soldiers in combat related arms, the book rings true. You can see how Karpinski and her people had too many responsibilities and too few people. The cover-up lasted for three months and then she contends that the blame was shifted to her. She feels she was the sacrificial lamb because of the fact that she was not regular army and an expendable woman. Yet the army did think she earned a star, so how expandable was she before this incident happened. The book is a fast read.

4 comments about The Sunset War: The 41st Infantry Division in the South Pacific.

1. Written from the authors experiences in the south pacific durring WW2. As the author tells his war adventure he throws in little painless history lessons. well written, quick easy read. I would love to see more war veterans document their experiences.



2. This is a great story of the GIs who served in the 41st "Sunset" Divsion and fought their way from New Guinea to the Philippines. A great personal memoir of a young soldier who, due to his vast resourcefulness, made the most of his overseas experience. My Dad served in the 163rd "Montana" Regiment of the 41st Division, and though the author was in the 162nd Regiment, his telling of what it was like over there must have been similar to what Dad went through. Dad would only occasionally mention in a sentence or two something about the War and New Guinea. Thanks, Paul Wilson, for giving us a detailed account of the experience. This book should appeal greatly to anyone interested in Pacific War, it was a quick read and hard to put down!



3. From an old Navy veteran: The book is rather short and in some cases repetitive, but from my studies of WWII in the Pacific this is an authentic, first-person account of this soldier's memory of the war against a sadistic, evil, brutal, suicidal enemy. I especially agree with his opinion that the U.S. Army was often overlooked when someone wrote about the war in the Pacific with so much press given to the bloody battles of the U.S. Marines. Don't misunderstand, the Marines were in some miserable, bloody, awful campaigns, but so were soldiers and sailors and they seldom get the recognition due them. This book gives some of that recognition to the soldiers.



4. I was particularly interested in reading this book in that my father served in the same Division as Mr. Wilson, the author. I was surprised to discover 1/2 way through that Mr. Wilson and my Dad were likely in the same section (messages), headquaters company, 3rd batallion of the 41st Division. While I have read several books and accounts of the 41st Division's WWII history, this is the first that gave me a sense of what day to day life was actually like for the soldiers that fought in jungles of New Guinea. Mr. Wilson - thank you for writing this account. I would love to get the chance to talk with you some day.

5 comments about Intimate Strategies of the Civil War: Military Commanders and Their Wives.

1. This collection of twelve essays explores the personal lives of prominent Civil War military commanders and their wives. The writers paint vivid pictures of how family life and the war were interwoven. The most striking thing to me is the great variation between the relationships of the various commanders and their wives, all within the Victorian societal structure. I think this book makes great reading for everyone, regardless of a person's interest in history.



2. Carol Bleser and Lesley Gordon did a wonderful job with this book,delving into the personal lives of several famous civil war figures, along with black and white photographs of the couples.Some of the marriages in the book include the Shermans, Grants, Lee's, Custer's , Stonewall Jacksons, and many others. With so many figures from the civil war this book gives a wonderful overview of some of the more famous marriages and there family life. With so many figures to choose from I think the authors did a suberb job with the couples they featured. This is a book not to be missed.



3. Carol Bleser and Lesley Gordon did a wonderful job with this book,delving into the personal lives of several famous civil war figures, along with black and white photographs of the couples.Some of the marriages in the book include the Shermans, Grants, Lee's, Custer's , Stonewall Jacksons, and many others. With so many figures from the civil war this book gives a wonderful overview of some of the more famous marriages and there family life. With so many figures to choose from I think the authors did a suberb job with the couples they featured. This is a book not to be missed.



4. Carol Bleser and Lesley Gordon did a wonderful job with this book,delving into the personal lives of several famous civil war figures, along with black and white photographs of the couples.Some of the marriages in the book include the Shermans, Grants, Lee's, Custer's , Stonewall Jacksons, and many others. With so many figures from the civil war this book gives a wonderful overview of some of the more famous marriages and there family life. With so many figures to choose from I think the authors did a suberb job with the couples they featured. This is a book not to be missed.



5. Carol Bleser and Lesley Gordon did a wonderful job with this book,delving into the personal lives of several famous civil war figures, along with black and white photographs of the couples.Some of the marriages in the book include the Shermans, Grants, Lee's, Custer's , Stonewall Jacksons, and many others. With so many figures from the civil war this book gives a wonderful overview of some of the more famous marriages and there family life. With so many figures to choose from I think the authors did a suberb job with the couples they featured. This is a book not to be missed.

1 comments about My Story Of The War: The Civil War Memoirs Of The Famous Nurse, Relief Organizer, And Suffragette.

1. Suffragette was a deragatory term used by the press, when the correct term was Suffragist.

No comments about Blood and Candles: The Story of a World War II Infantryman.

3 comments about Troubled State: Civil War Journals of Franklin Archibald Dick.

1. Troubled State: Civil War Journals of Franklin Archibald Dick is a collection of private journals written by Franklin Archibald Dick, a St. Louis attorney, Union officer, and provost marshal general. Assiduously assembled by Franklin Dick's great-great-granddaughter Gari Carter, Troubled State offers a firsthand view of historical events such as the early Camp Jackson incident (during which he was Captain Lyon's assistant adjutant general). Dick was concerned about the slow progression and horrendous cost of the civil war; witnessing the divided city of St. Louis broke his heart, and journals reflect his progression from optimism to grave doubts about the future. Thoughtfully annotated and supplemented with brief biographies as well as a family genealogy and bibliography, Troubled State is a welcome addition to Civil War primary source shelves.



2. This book is an authentic, first person account of the Civil War situation in Missouri from 1861 to 1865. It is taken from the hand written journals of Franklin Archibald Dick, and compiled by his great,
   great granddaughter, Gari Carter.
   
   The journals are an amazing, new and primary source of information on the Civil War. They are his personal notes on the War, the U.S. economy and global politics of the era. He was a perceptive attorney and Union officer, and recorded his day-to-day experiences in the Troubled State Journals
   
   If you want a close-up account of the Civil War story in the state of Missouri, directly from a man who was there, read this book.



3. This book gives a first person perspective on what the civil war meant to one union supporter who had a law office in St. Louis, but later left to avoid the conflicts in Missouri. Well done!