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The Utility of Boredom: Baseball Essays
Par Andrew Forbes. 2016
Spitball literary essays on the off-kilter joys, sorrows and wonder of North America’s national pastime. A collection of essays for…
ardent seamheads and casual baseball fans alike, The Utility of Boredom is a book about finding respite and comfort in the order, traditions, and rituals of baseball. It’s a sport that shows us what a human being might be capable of, with extreme dedication—whether we’re eating hot dogs in the stands, waiting out a rain delay in our living rooms, or practising the lost art of catching a stray radio signal from an out-of-market broadcast. From learning about America through ball-diamond visits to the most famous triple play that never happened on Canadian soil, Forbes invites us to witness the adult conversing with the O-Pee-Chee baseball cards of his youth. Tender, insightful, and with the slow heartbreak familiar to anyone who’s cheered on a losing team, The Utility of Boredom tells us a thing or two about the sport, and how a seemingly trivial game might help us make sense of our messy lives.The Poet and the Sailor: The Story of My Friendship with Carl Sandburg
Par Kenneth Dodson. 2006
Two friends, a lifetime of letters, and an intimate look at a literary icon Carl Sandburg first encountered Kenneth Dodson…
through a letter written at sea during World War II. Though Dodson wrote the letter to his wife, Letha, Sandburg read it in tears and told her, "I've got to meet this man." Composed primarily of their correspondence that continued until Sandburg's death in 1967, The Poet and the Sailor is a chronicle of the deep friendship that followed. Ranging over anything they found important, from writing to health and humor, the letters are arranged by Richard Dodson and are accompanied by a foreword from Sandburg's noted biographer, Penelope Niven.The Men Who Gave Us Wings: Britain and the Aeroplane, 1796–1914
Par Peter Reese. 2014
Why did the British, then the leading nation in science and technology, fall far behind in the race to develop…
the aeroplane before the First World War? Despite their initial advantage, they were overtaken by the Wright brothers in America, by the French and the Germans. Peter Reese, in this highly readable and highly illustrated account, delves into the fascinating early history of aviation as he describes what happened and why. He recalls the brilliant theoretical work of Sir George Cayley, the inventions of other pioneers of the nineteenth century and the daring exploits of the next generation of airmen, among them Samuel Cody, A.V. Roe, Bertram Dickson, Charles Rolls and Tommy Sopwith. His narrative is illustrated with a wonderful selection of over 120 archive drawings and photographs which record the men and the primitive flying machines of a century ago.As featured on BBC Radio Surrey and in Essence Magazine.Eagles Over North Africa and the Mediterranean, 1940–1943 (Luftwaffe at War)
Par Jeffrey Ethell. 1997
Although the Luftwaffe achieved a great deal of success in North Africa between 1940 and 1943, it was hampered by…
the constant demand for men and machines elsewhere, logistical problems, such as a crippling lack of fuel, and the harsh desert conditions. An impressive selection of photographs from archives and private collections reveal the German and Italian aircraft used and developed in this theatre as well as the people involved. With insightful captions and supporting text, this offers a fascinating perspective on the Luftwaffe at war.Bill Lancaster: The Life and Death of an Aviation Pioneer
Par Ralph Barker. 2015
Captain William Lancaster was the subject of public attention and controversy during his life as a record-breaking flyer, because of…
his love affair with Jessie Chubbie Miller (dubbed the Australian Aviatrix) and as the defendant in one of the most sensational murder trials of the twentieth century. His disappearance, which occurred during an attempt to break the London to Cape Town record in 1933, less than a year after his acquittal, led to speculation that his ill-prepared last flight had been driven by desperation, perhaps even guilt.Twenty nine years later, a French military patrol in the Sahara stumbled across the wreck of Bills plane and his body, along with his perfectly preserved log book. For eight days he had calmly recorded his thoughts, looking back over his life as he stoically faced death. In Bill Lancaster: the Final Verdict, we are presented with the original story in full (first published in 1969 as Verdict on a Lost Flyer), complete with an additional postscript written by the late author's daughter. Meticulously researched by Ralph Barker and written with the full cooperation of Chubbie Miller and the Lancaster family, it includes a complete transcript and photographs of the moving account contained within Lancaster's final diary a precious record that has since gone missing.Fallen Eagles: Airmen Who Survived The Great War Only to Die in Peacetime
Par Norman Franks. 2017
The 50 pilots featured in Fallen Eagles were all decorated for bravery during The Great War. All survived the conflict…
only to die flying in the postwar years.The causes of their deaths ranged from being casualties of small wars, then as now rife in the Middle East, mechanical failure or pilot error. The 1920s were still pioneering years for aviation and aviators and test flying, air races and displays, record attempts etc were fraught with dangers known and unknown.In addition to the better known names such as Sir John Alcock, Captain W Beauchamp-Proctor VC and Sammy Kincaid there are many that will be unfamiliar to all but the most ardent enthusiasts. But all have courage and love of flying in common and sadly luck ran out for each of these men who made a contribution to the history of flight. Thanks to acclaimed aviation historian Norman Franks, their names are not forgotten.The Dambuster's Squadron: The Dambuster's Squadron (Voices in Flight)
Par Colin Higgs, Bruce Vigar. 2013
They were the Dambusters the pilots and crew of the RAFs elite 617 Squadron. They flew the most difficult missions.…
They breached the Dams! They sank the Tirpitz! They were the only squadron to drop the immense Grand Slam bombs and with them they destroyed bridges, viaducts and even Hitlers impregnable U-boat pens.In this unique book, introduced by Dams raid survivor, George Johnny Johnson, authors Colin Higgs and Bruce Vigar present no less than nine exclusive interviews with men who flew and fought in 617 Squadron during the Second World War. These men took part in virtually every operation the Squadron flew and went on some of the most daring and dangerous missions of the war. The result is one of the most vivid and unforgettable accounts of the RAF at war ever written.Edwardian Ladies' Hat Fashions: Where Did You Get That Hat? (Images Of The Past Ser.)
Par Peter Kimpton. 2017
Based upon the authors large personal collection of beautiful fashion postcards from Edwardian times, this book takes the reader on…
a journey through that era covering the hat fashions and social changes of the day. Delve further into the carnage that took place around the world, in which unscrupulous and money grabbing individuals from the Northumbrian coast in England to the Everglades in America, would callously slaughter whole colonies of birds (leaving their young to die) purely to provide the millinery trade with ornate feathers to decorate fashionable hats during that era.The book also takes the reader into the world of millinery sweatshops of poverty stricken New York and describes the conditions and deprivations under which the poorly paid workers, many of them immigrants, worked. You can even learn about the background, history and amazing life of one of the worlds greatest fashion designers, Coco Chanel, as she set out on her lifetime of fashion in Edwardian Paris.With superb fashion colour plates of the day, together with images of amazingly creative and colourful hat pins from both the UK and America, the author shares the fruits of his 40 years of postcard collecting and the highs and lows of his search for the 'Hats' postcards, as worn by his Edwardian 'girlfriends' from over 100 year ago.Women of the Third Reich: From Camp Guards to Combatants
Par Tim Heath. 2019
“An intriguing, but also shocking insight into the thoughts of those young German women and how they saw their part…
in Hitler’s thousand-year Reich.” —ArmoramaThe women of the Third Reich were a vital part in a complex and vilified system. What was their role within its administration, the concentration camps, and the Luftwaffe and militia units and how did it evolve in the way it did?We hear from women who issued typewritten dictates from above through to those who operated telephones, radar systems, fought fires as the cities burned around them, drove concentration camp inmates to their deaths like cattle, fired Anti-Aircraft guns at Allied aircraft and entered the militias when faced with the impending destruction of what should have been a one thousand-year Reich.Every testimony is unique, each person a victim of circumstance entwined within the thorns of an ideological obligation. In an interview with Traudl Junge, Hitler’s private secretary, she remembers: ‘There was so much hatred within it’s hard to understand how the state functioned . . . I am convinced all this infighting and competition from the males in Hitler’s circle was highly detrimental to its downfall’.Women of the Third Reich provides an intriguing, humorous, brutal, shocking and unrelenting narrative journey into the half lights of the hell of human consciousness—sometimes at its worst.“Tim Heath investigated the experiences of women in Nazi Germany before and during World War II . . . What is special is that women speak candidly about their experiences, which were sometimes violent.” —Traces of War“A fascinating book, chilling at times.” —Books MonthlyRAF Little Rissington: The Central Flying School, 1946–76
Par Alan Pollock, Roy Bagshaw, Malcolm Thomas, Ray Deacon. 2006
In the three decades between 1946 and 1976, the Central Flying School which was based at Little Rissington, produced over…
6000 fledgling Qualified Flying Instructors and continually endeavoured to monitor and improve the wider Royal Air Force's standards of flying, based on its sound, proven instructional methods and a wealth of tradition extending back to Upavon in 1912. With the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the station's role took on a new dimension with the arrival of the Central Flying School (CFS) from RAF Upavon in the following year. The main function of CFS was to fulfil RAF requirements and assist some Commonwealth air force requirements for flying instructors. RAF Little Rissington became CFS's important focal base for the next thirty years. The book covers the 1946 to 1976 period and has been drawn from from the records at the National Archives, the RAF Museum, the Central Flying School Archive, and from published sources. Anecdotes and recollections from over 100 service and civilian personnel, ranging from Air Marshals to AC2s, who were once based at Little Rissington bring these unfolding years to life.Bomber Command: Battles with the Nachtjago 30/31 March–September 1944 (Bomber Command #4)
Par Martin W. Bowman. 2013
This, the fourth volume of a five part work that provides a comprehensive insight into all aspects of RAF Bomber…
Command in World War Two, begins in the spring of 1944 with a completely new insight on the catastrophic raid on Nuremburg on the night of 30/31 March and follows with the disastrous attack on Mailly-le-Camp in May. Gradually, the Allied Bomber Offensive began to bear fruit and in June 1944 the invasion of Normandy took place under an umbrella of almost total Allied air superiority. RAF Bomber Command was to play a huge part in what proved to be the final steps to ultimate victory, returning to the mass raids on German cities by night and even mounting raids on the Reich by day. The authors well-tried formula of using background information interspersed with the crews personal narrative takes you raid by raid through each tour of ops while carrying full bomb loads in sub-zero temperatures, blighted by atrocious weather conditions and dogged by fear of fire, death or serious injury or having to endure months if not years of miserable existence and near starvation behind the wire in notorious PoW camps. The path to peace was paved with the unmitigated slow ebbing of courage with an ever-present possibility of death unannounced from a prowling night fighter, nondescript and unseen, as night after incessant night, shattered and ailing bombers could run out of luck to crash in some foreign field while other crews, almost home almost empty - ran out of fuel and died horrible tortuous deaths in twisted and tangled wreckage. Not for them the glory that was accorded The Few but as Winston Churchill said: Fighters are our salvation, but the bombers alone provide the means of victory.Essex Class Aircraft Carriers of the Second World War (ShipCraft)
Par Steve Backer. 2009
A stern-to-bow look at the most powerful aircraft carrier design of World War Two from the author of Bismarck and…
Tirpitz in the ShipCraft series. The latest volume covers the hugely important American carrier of the Second World War. Built in larger numbers than any fleet carrier before or since, the Essex class can claim to be the US Navy&’s most significant weapon in the defeat of Japan. Carrying up to 100 aircraft and capable of absorbing enormous punishment (not one was sunk), they spearheaded the Fast Carrier Task Forces for most of the Pacific War. The heavily illustrated work contains everything a modeller needs to know about this prolific class. &“This book is well written and the text is supported by good sharp photos and illustrations. If your interest is World War II warships or ship modelling, this book should be in your library.&”—PowerShipsMalta Besieged, 1940–1942: Second World War (Campaign Chronicles)
Par David G. Williamson. 2007
This WWII military study sheds new light on the legendary Siege of Malta, combining a detailed narrative with provocative strategic…
analysis. The heroic defense of Malta against the Axis powers is one of the most famous episodes of the Second World War. For more than two years this tiny island was the critical to maintaining control of the Mediterranean and essential to the outcome of the North African campaign. David Williamson, in this thought-provoking reassessment, examines the strategy underpinning British determination to hold on to the island. Expertly researched and vividly detailed, Malta Besieged sheds new light on the motives for persisting with such a costly defense against huge odds. he also explores the question of the islanders&’ loyalty to the British crown. His incisive analysis takes account of the tactics employed by both sides, the political thinking and decision-making at the highest levels and the grim reality of the destruction and suffering on the ground.Queen Elizabeth and the Revolt of the Netherlands
Par Charles Wilson. 2023
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out…
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1970.The Greek State at War, Part V
Par W. Kendrick Pritchett. 2023
The volumes of The Greek State at War are an essential reference for the classical scholar. Professor Pritchett has systematically…
canvassed ancient texts and secondary literature for references to specific topics; each volume explores a unique aspect of Greek military practice. In Part V he takes up stone throwers, slingers, and booty.Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army
Par Donald W. Engels. 2023
"The most important work on Alexander the Great to appear in a long time. Neither scholarship nor semi-fictional biography will…
ever be the same again. . . .Engels at last uses all the archaeological work done in Asia in the past generation and makes it accessible. . . . Careful analyses of terrain, climate, and supply requirements are throughout combined in a masterly fashion to help account for Alexander's strategic decision in the light of the options open to him...The chief merit of this splendid book is perhaps the way in which it brings an ancient army to life, as it really was and moved: the hours it took for simple operations of washing and cooking and feeding animals; the train of noncombatants moving with the army. . . . this is a book that will set the reader thinking. There are not many books on Alexander the Great that do."—New York Review of BooksImperatores Victi: Military Defeat and Aristocractic Competition in the Middle and Late Republic
Par Nathan S. Rosenstein. 2023
Given the intense competition among aristocrats seeking public office in the middle and late Roman Republic, one would expect that…
their persistent struggles for honor, glory, and power could have seriously undermined the state or damaged the cohesiveness of the ruling class. Rome in fact depended on aristocratic competition, since no professional bureaucracy directed public affairs and no salary was attached to any public office. But as Rosenstein adeptly shows, competition appears to have been surprisingly limited, in ways that curtailed the possible destructive effects of all-out contests between individuals.Imperatores Victi examines one particularly striking case of such checks on competition. Military success at all times represented an abundant source of prestige and political strength at Rome. Generals who led armies to victory enjoyed a better-than-average chance of securing higher office upon their return from the field. Yet this study demonstrates that defeated generals were not barred from public office and in fact went on to win the Republic's most highly coveted and hotly contested offices in numbers virtually identical with those of their undefeated peers. Rosenstein explores how this unexpected limit to competition functions, reviewing beliefs about the religious origins of defeat, assumptions about common soldiers' duties in battle, and definitions of honorable behavior of an aristocrat during a crisis. These perspectives were instrumental in shifting the onus of failure away from a general's person and in offering positive strategies a general might use to win glory and respect even in defeat and to silence potential critics among a failed general's peers. Such limits to competition had an impact on the larger problems of stability and coherence in the Republic and its political elite; these larger problems are discussed in the concluding chapter. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.Winners in Peace: MacArthur, Yoshida, and Postwar Japan
Par Richard B. Finn. 2023
Singular for its breadth and balance, Winners in Peace chronicles the American Occupation of Japan, an episode that profoundly shaped…
the postwar world. Richard B. Finn, who participated in the Occupation as a young naval officer and diplomat, tells the full story of the activities from 1945 to 1952. He focuses on the two main actors, General Douglas MacArthur and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, and details the era's major events, programs, and personalities, both American and Japanese. Finn draws on an impressive range of sources—American, Japanese, British, and Australian—including interviews with nearly one hundred participants in the Occupation. He describes the war crimes trials, constitutional reforms, and American efforts to rebuild Japan. The work of George Kennan in making political stability and economic recovery the top goals of the United States became critical in the face of the developing Cold War.Winners in Peace will aid our understanding of Japan today—its economic growth, its style of government, and the strong pacifist spirit of its people. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1992.On the Wings of War and Peace: The RCAF during the Early Cold War
Par William March, Randall Wakelam, Peter Rayls. 2023
Bringing together leading researchers on Canadian air power, On the Wings of War and Peace captures the history of the…
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the first decades of the Cold War – a period which marked the zenith of air force accomplishments in peacetime Canada. The volume covers topics that go beyond straightforward flying operations, examining policies that drove operational needs and capabilities and the personnel, technical, and logistical functions that made those operations possible. With contributions written by former RCAF members who have both expert and personal knowledge of their topics, On the Wings of War and Peace brings new perspectives to the RCAF’s role in shaping the modern Canadian nation.Kosovo: How Myths and Truths Started a War
Par Julie A. Mertus. 1999
Julie Mertus provides one of the first comprehensive looks at the explosive situation in Kosovo, where years of simmering tensions…
between Serbs and Albanians erupted in armed conflict in 1998. In a profound and detailed study of national identity and ethnic conflict, Mertus demonstrates how myths and truths can start a war. She shows how our identity as individuals and as members of groups is defined through the telling and remembering of stories. Real or imagined, these stories shape our understanding of ourselves as heroes, martyrs, conquerors, or victims. Once we see ourselves as victims, Mertus claims, we feel morally justified to become perpetrators.Based on a series of interviews conducted in Kosovo, Serbia proper, and Macedonia, this book is one of the first extended treatments of the years leading to war in Kosovo. Mertus examines the formation of Serbian national identity, and closely scrutinizes the hostilities of the region. She shows how myth and experience inform the political ideologies of Kosovo, and explores how these competing beliefs are created and perpetuated. This sobering overview of the region provides a window into a complex struggle whose repercussions reach far into the international community.