1 comments about Xenophon and the Art of Command.

1. Using prime sources like Xenophon's Kyropaideia, Agesilaos, The Constitution of Lacedaemonians, Ways and Means, The Cavalry Commander, The Art of Horsemanship, On Hunting, Anabasis, Hellenika, Memorabilia and Oikonomikos and also Plutarch's Agesilaos, Pelopidas, Lysander, Alkibiades and Artaxerxes, Mr Godfrey Hutchinson does an excellent job analysing the ancient art of command, the lessons of hard experience and what they teach us today (the value of innovative thinking is proved at the case of the Thebans who smashed the famous Spartan phalanx at Tegyra, Leuctra and Mantineia). Xenophon was a really gifted person who started the campaign to Persia in the army of Cyrus the Younger, only to turn a general by the vote of his colleagues, when the Greek leadership was massacred by treachery. He not only managed to lead the Ten Thousand back to safety but also revealed a keen eye for tactics and strategy, writing down his experiences for posterity and even describing his ideal commander. Many of his suggestions found their way later in Alexander's operational art, shattering the Persian Empire for centuries. The reader will be surprised to find out how many problems of today's armies were also faced by the ancients and how they chose to solve them. Mr Hutchinson also uses heavily Sun Tzu's writings and compares them (together with modern manuals on operational art) with those of the Greeks. There are some good diagrams on the most important battles which Xenophon describes and also some black and white photos. The book is a real gem and it is certainly worth reading.

5 comments about A Walk on the Sidewalk.

1. A Walk on the Sidewalk opened my eyes to what went on in Vietnam. McCormick's book gave me a feeling as if I had been there with him experiencing what he did, and made me realize even more that those who served were true heroes not only to our country, to eachother as well. I laughed at his jokes and cryed his tears. A family member of mine served almost exactly a year before McCormick, and never speaks of the war or the horrific things he experienced there. While I understand why he feels this way, I give McCormick such a tremendous amount of credit for being able to share his experiences and feelings this way, and would highly recommend this book to anyone, to include those who served in the Vietnam war. Bravo McCormick you are a true hero!



2. McCormick's book is like a wonderful piece of folk art: unaffected, spontaneous, from the heart and compelling. Here is a Vietnam that we haven't seen before, a Vietnam seen from the eyes of a bewildered suburban young man scared by forces beyond his control and struggling with his own sexual identity. For those of us who lived through that horrific period of American history, it is a compelling reminder; for others, it is a very different slant on recent history.



3. I've read many books on the struggles of war. This book is different in its portrayal of the inner struggles of the warrior. Excellent account by a decorated veteran.



4. I Read the book as soon as it hit the shelves. I enjoyed the narrative and the contrast between his past and his future. McCormick had me feel as if I was a part of his infantry with all the attention to detail of the surroundings and his fellow soldiers. The book also had humor and sorrow to keep you interested. I'd love to see this book become a movie or documentary. I would recommend this to all who like, Band ofBrothers, Saving Private Ryan and any other well made War depictions.



5. I bought this book and was hoping it would ease my long flight to Hong Kong last month. At first I wasn't even sure if I would be able to finish it before I got back to the States. But let me tell you, I finished reading it during the first 10 hours of my flight. Mr. McCormick's story in Vietnam is so touching, so well written and it just kept me turning the pages one after another. The experience Mr. McCormick had makes me feel like there is something missing out in my life for not having an experience like what he had. I highly recommend this book to anyone, because Mr. McCormick reminds me of the rules of survival. Sometimes you just have to learn to adapt to different enviroments fast enough in order to survive. He also makes me aware that anyone can become a hero, regardless of his or her gender, race, color, sexual preference, age, and background, etc., as long as one can risk one's own life in order to save or protect others and make this world a better place. Mr. McCormick and our troops who are fighting now are all my heroes and I wish this book can become a movie someday.

No comments about The Life Of Major-General George H. Thomas.

No comments about The Rash Adventurer: A Life of John Pendlebury.

5 comments about Defending Baltimore Against Enemy Attack: A Boyhood Year During World War II.

1. Osgood's wit and rich tribute to his 1940s boyhood results in an enjoyable, worthwhile read, even better if you get the audio version, read by Charles himself. I did find his criticisms of today's children (and their excessively competitive parents) a bit grating. It made me think of a book that could have been written when he was a child, something like, "Radio?! Who needs that! Why when I was a boy we didn't need all those special effects and people shouting at you from a wooden box! We had books, like Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. And they were never spoiled by silly toothpaste or hair tonic commercials."
   
   The problem with nostalgia is that it can create an abnoral yearning for an irrecoverable past, and is often excessively sentimental. Tempis fugit...



2. This delightful read, one year in the life of a 9-year old boy, may be the most enjoyable book I've read in years. And I read a lot of stuff. The year was 1942 and Charles Osgood describes it magnificently as lived by most of us the same age. I laughed with tears in my eyes on almost very page. This book should be enjoyed by the children and grandchildern of those of us that were children during that incredible year, 1942. Memory lane was never better documented. Enjoy.



3. I was drawn to pick up this book when I saw the cover--the picture of the author as a young boy is irresistible. Although the content was interesting, I found myself quickly becoming annoyed by the author's numerous slurs towards our younger generation. I found his words to be increasingly mean-spirited and I finally put the book down for good when he made light of both children and their parents who are faced with the struggle of bipolar disorder. The author reminds me of many older Americans who can't see that the world has changed greatly since the 1940's and that our younger generation has many redeeming characteristics.



4. I envy Charles Osgood. He saw and experienced a Baltimore I never did. The stork didn't drop me off in B'more until 1955. I had such a good time in seeing things I remembered from a different perspective. If it's possible, I loved my city just a bit more after reading this. Thanks for the memories and insights.



5. I loved this book and I'm sure I smiled all the way through it. Everyone loves nostalgia about the good ole days -- meaning, we ALL have our own good old days. But the times he writes about are especially delightful and innocent. The music was great and something everyone and anyone could sing along with. The movies were dreamy. The radio was great and innovative. And best of all were Mom's final words to the young on summer days: Be home before dark! Yes, we used to go out and play. We didn't have play dates; we just played with whoever was there on that day. Sometimes we played kick the can, or tag, or jump rope, or went on long bike rides, or went to town to the small store to look at magazines and comic books and drool over the candy in the glass counters. We may even have had a nickle in our pockets to buy something.
   
   In any event, I grew up in basically the same circumstances as young Charles describes in this book. The book is short and sweet, something to smile about on each and every page. I wish it was longer -- Both the childhood of the 1940s and this book. Both were great.

2 comments about Hess: The Fuhrer's Disciple.

1. The first casualty in war - truth. Without it there will always be plenty of scope for the Violets, Roses, Gilberts, Manchesters, Irvings et al. A well focused study, difficult to put down once under way. Of course, no satisfactory conclusion, leaving me wondering whether I'll be around in 2017, and will the world then know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I very much doubt it.



2. The standard and obligatory questions about Rudolf Hess are: did he fly to Scotland with Hitler's knowledge? Was he crazy during the Nuremberg trials and afterwards as well, and was he murdered? If you're insane or hopelessly ill-informed, you might also throw in the question whether he ever had a double. Unfortunately, Padfield asks these questions but is too ill-equipped historically to answer them. He is totally out of his depth here and it shows. He relies on Wolf Hess' testimony on many things when he needs to examine the historical record instead. The overwhelming abundance of evidence shows that Hess flew to Scotland in 1941 without the Fuehrer's knowledge, that he was perfectly sane throughout his life (though eccentric) and that the notion of him having a "double" is ludicrous.

   This book is not especially well-written and contains almost nothing new. The autopsy photos of Hess are revealing but hardly show "conclusively" that he was murdered. There is very little material on Hess' long confinement at Spandau, nor about his early life. His relationship with Hitler is not explored adequately with the possible exception of their time in Landsberg prison. In short, a disappointment.

5 comments about Grant: A Biography.

1. This is one seriously irritating book. There may be relatively few factual errors (at least, compared to Geoffrey Perret's work on Grant, a masterpiece of unintentional humor,) but McFeely's work is riddled with what I can only believe are deliberately insulting mischaracterizations and misrepresentations, tiresomely pretentious writing, and amateur psychoanalyzing of the most obnoxious sort. McFeely is particularly fond of quoting the words of Grant or his wife on some matter or another, and then proclaiming that--no matter how clear their meaning may have been to us poor dumb non-historians--what they were REALLY saying and thinking was something else altogether. If there is anything I can't abide, it's a biographer who persists in reading a subject's mind and putting words into his or her mouth and thoughts into his or her head that were never said and never thought. McFeely not only obviously believes he is much smarter than Grant (hah!) but more percipient than his readership, as well.

   If this book is worthy of a Pulitzer, then I trust my next grocery shopping list will earn me a Nobel Prize for Literature.




2. McFeely won the Pulitzer Prize for this book in 1982, but the conclusions he reaches about his subject have drawn fire ever since. Those sympathetic to Grant correctly point to errant assumptions and mistakes in character analysis. Most glaring is McFeely's insistence that Grant gloried in carnage, was insensitive to death and suffering, and was an incompetent chief executive.

   Actually Grant was one of the most exquisitiely sensitive men ever born and was nothing like the 'butcher' that McFeely describes. However, the research in the book is quite good and there are very few factual errors to be found, though his chapters on the civil war are relatuvely weak. This contrasts markedly to Geoffrey Perret's 1997 Grant biography, which contained inaccuracies on nearly every page. McFeely is most solid in the period of Reconstruction, though he is usually overly prone to criticize the hapless Grant. Throughout many chapters, it seems the General can't buy a break.

   McFeely's greatest admiration for Grant is contained in two areas of his life: his family relationships, specifically his loving marriage to wife Julia, and his abilities as a writer. McFeely leaves no doubt that he regards Grant's 1885 Memoirs as one of the great books ever written and the best part of this biography is in explaining the processes Grant used to produce such a masterpiece, while dying of throat cancer.

   With its flaws and uneven treatment of Grant, McFeely's book cannot be considered definitive, but it is still the only complete biography of Grant written in the past 30 years. Perret's limping entry isn't even in the same league as this book, in accuracy, writing or research. To sum up: overly critical, but a must read for Civil War buffs.




3. The book covers the important parts of Grant's life. The book has good research on Grant's youth.



4. Any good biographer has to have, if not sympathy, at least some understanding of his or her subject. Unfortunately, although this book is well researched, you get the uneasy feeling that Mr. McFeely is examining Ulysses Grant like a bug under a microscope. This is the classic example of an academic who lacks understanding of real life and as a result cannot grasp the dynamics of a man of action, as Ulysses Grant certainly was.
   
   Mr. McFeely also unquestioningly adopts the prejudices of prior historians without thinking for himself. As a result, an historian who DID think for himself, Frank Scaturro in President Grant Reconsidered, has rendered Mr. McFeely's book obsolete. Every biography since Mr. Scaturro has reviewed the Grant Administration with a fresh and generally favorable eye. As the last civil rights President before Harry Truman, Grant certainly deserves that revised opinion.
   
   Mr. McFeely's book is no longer worth reading, if it ever was.



5. I am currently reading a biography of every President in order. I must say that none of the preceding Presidents (even Lincoln) seem to be as difficult to pin down as Grant as to their "definitive" biography. In addition to McFeely's Pulitzer prize winning effort is Geoffrey Perret's offering, which seems to be universally derided as a scholarly farce, Jean Edward Smith's biography of Grant is clearly meant for a more popular readership (indeed Smith's commitment to scholarly research is somewhat dubious himself given he was able to produce a 1,000 page biography of FDR in less than 5 years after writing his Grant bio), and finally Brooks Simpson's projected two volume biography which when complete will certainly be the most comprehensive modern effort. McFeely's biography was the Pulitzer prize winner and that ultimately swayed me in favor of it, although I was a bit concerned about some of the poor reviews it received.
   
   I will state from the outset that I think most of the criticism of McFeely's biography I have read in other reviews is either unwarranted or overstressed. This is a straightforward "old school" biography that is directed by the research and not by some new spin that the author believes will help sell the book. McFeely won the Pulitzer Prize for this work and rightfully so. This is a comprehensive and balanced biography of Grant that is a highly enjoyable read on top of that.
   
   I'm not sure what the negative reviewers expectations were before reading this book. Obviously most feel that Grant is somehow misrepresented by McFeely, however I definitely did not reach that conclusion. I believe this is the best comprehensive one volume biography of Grant available based on extensive research and solid writing.

1 comments about Lincoln's New Salem.

1. This short but standard account of Lincoln's life in a western pioneer village may have been superceded by later examination of that experience, but Thomas provides a fine read. This book may be considered a supplement to his much-admired one volume biography of Lincoln.

1 comments about Call Out the Guard!: The Story of Lieutenant General John B. Conaway and the Modern Day National Guard..

1. This is the most accurate and complete record of the Air National Guard and the maturity of Total Force Policy. Total Force Policy changed the culture of both the Air Force and Air National Guard and forged these two components of our "Total Air Force" into an effective team. Lt Gen Conaway provides an insight into the modern Air National Guard that will help military planners keep history's military success stories alive. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to what the tradition of the minutemen of 1776 has become in modern times

No comments about RAF TOP GUN: The Story of Battle of Britain Ace and World Air Speed Record Holder Air Cdre E.M. 'Teddy' Donaldson CB, CBE, DSO, AFC*, LoM (USA).