Fighting Books

I bought this book years ago as a self-help to accelerate my software engineering career. I had tried others and none of them really struck me as being very useful.

The book is actually exciting to read--it gets you energized. Rogers outlines a number of (Samurai) techniques that he uses to be effective in a business environment. It sounds corny but these techniques are easy to apply and work quite well. In my opinion it works well because the book is well-written, interesting and unique.

Sadly the book is out of print. It is the only motivational book I've ever read that really worked and worked quite easily.

This book is amazingly clear and concise. It outlines ways in which every person is continually faced with both inner and outer opponents which act as obstacles that interfere with the individual achieving his or her goals. The book draws on history, using Samurai techniques as well as other pertinent examples to set out a plan of attack to facing and overcoming these opponents. Rogers is an excellent writer, and his ideas were well ahead of their time. This is a motivational self-help book that really works!

If you want a real understanding of US/USSR military cooperation (or lack of) during World War II, read this book. I read this book and the classic John Deane book "The Strange Alliance" and feel I really came away with a much better understanding of relations between the Americans and Soviets during World War II, and also, gained a much better understanding of the coming Cold War between the two countries. Several other books have been written on Operation FRANTIC, but they pale in comparison to this work. Very scholarly research. Only wish in book was a closer examination of the propaganda generated in the United States by the shuttle bombing missions and any effects they may have had on FRANTIC.

Mark J. Conversino, Fighting with the Soviets: The Failure of Operation Frantic, 1944-1945 (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1997). xi + 284 pp.

Conversino's book examines a little-known Soviet-American cooperative effort known as "Operation FRANTIC," which amounted to "the longest sustained contact between members of the United States and Soviet military establishments during World War II." (p. 210). A professor of airpower history at the Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and a major in the U.S. Air Force, Mark Conversino is well-qualified to write this monograph. His overall conclusion is that Operation FRANTIC failed in its mission, but he provides a sophisticated account of its positive contributions as well. The objective of the operation was to set up bases in the Soviet Union from which U.S. bomber fleets could open a new front in the air against Germany, thereby dispersing and weakening the German Luftwaffe. The U.S. pilots had found that daylight bombing over Hitler's Germany was too dangerous; the attrition rate was too high. They reasoned that, if they could stage bombing raids from the USSR, they could cut their casualty rate and air travel time in half. They also hoped to lay the foundation for greater joint endeavors in the Far East. It was not a new idea to collaborate with the Soviets vis-a-vis the use of air forces, and experience in China showed the Army Air Force (AAF) that it was possible to mount and support aerial operations from even the most remote and undeveloped areas. For Averell Harriman, U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, a second purpose of the mission was to demonstrate solidarity between the two countries. A number of problems arose that caused tension among the American GIs and Soviet military officials. The process of establishing bases at Poltava, Mirgorod, and Piryatin were delayed because Stalin and other Soviet leaders were most concerned about relieving German pressure against the USSR's eastern front. Thus, they preferred an Allied second land front in Western Europe to an "air front" from their own territory. Moreover, Stalin apparently did not believe strategic bombing was very important, believing airplanes should be used primarily for tactical support to ground forces. He was also loath to allow such a large foreign military presence within his own country. Once the bases were established, the lack of accurate, timely information irritated American personnel. Soviet officials informed them that they needed at least twenty-four hours' notice for authorities in Moscow to clear flight plans and notify the front line troops and air defense units. Naturally this worried the Americans, who feared their operations would be hampered by such lengthy notification times. (p. 41) Also, since the vast majority of Soviet sorties were flown at or close behind the front itself, Soviet authorities tended to present information relative only to a particular mission and not to the entire theater. These procedures created problems for Eastern Command's intelligence officers during the FRANTIC missions as the aircrews would complain bitterly about the lack of accurate data concerning German fighter and flak defenses (p. 49). Although Soviet officials gave Americans total freedom to communicate with U.S. aircraft over Soviet soil, the Americans had to rely on a rudimentary Soviet teletype service among the three bases. Telephone lines among the three bases simply did not exist. By June 1944, Eastern Command had resorted to courier aircraft for interbase messages because of the technical unreliability of the teletype network (p. 50). Since the bases were extremely bare and isolated (especially Piryatin), maintaining the morale of the American troops became a challenge. U.S. soldiers began to "fraternize" with local Ukrainian women. Angry Soviet officials then forbade such fraternization, and the atmosphere between Soviet and American troops on the bases cooled. On the other hand, the Americans did recognize Soviet efforts to make the bases inhabitable for the Americans. While the U.S. Army Air Force brought most of the equipment it needed (including steel matting for runways, high octane gasoline, special purpose vehicles, most rations, and all housekeeping supplies), the Soviets agreed to provide some vehicles, fresh meat, fruits and vegetables, bedding, and of course, housing. They also provided 250-kilogram bombs and machine gun ammunition, and agreed to unload all shipments at the point of entry and move them by rail or truck convoy to Eastern Command bases. (p. 47). The Americans were impressed by the fact that the Soviets transported the equipment all the way from Murmansk in a relatively short period of time, and that much of the work in laying the steel matting was done by female Red Army soldiers. They also admired the Soviet commander, Major General Perminov, who was "a keen, straightforward flyer and routinely used his authority to cut through the red tape to settle on the spot the myriad problems that arose each day" (p. 41). Two possible weaknesses of the book are the lack of primary Russian-language sources and the excessive detail. On the other hand, Conversino makes excellent use of primary U.S. Army sources, such as unpublished manuscript and oral history collections and interviews with actual participants. World War Two and airpower historians will find this book a useful contribution to the extant literature, and selected portions of the book could also be assigned in undergraduate courses.

Ok, so I have to admit that I am mentioned in this book, but this is not why I gave it 5 stars. When I reviewed this book a number of years back I found it to be a great introduction to younger readers about the fire service. It also shows the diversity of the fire service today as well as where it is heading in the future and where it came from in the past. Even if you don't have a young one, get a copy for your fire library at home, or even at the fire station.

An excellent follow up to Emergency also by Joy Masoff. Tons ofgreat color photos let the average person feel like they are actuallyin a burning building spraying water over a blazing fire. The book also shows a lot of the very high tech equipment used to fight fires today.

I read this book several years ago. This is the best book on the rise of ansar/dervish in the Sudan. Rudolph Slatin was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army that went to serve (ala mercenary capacity) in the Egyptian army. He served in the Sudan at the initial stages of the Mahdi's uprising. Witnessed the slaughter of the Rizighat tribe and was at the 1885 fall of Khartoum. He saw the inside of the Mahdi's terrorist state. His experiences are very telling in light of recent Islamo-fascist activities.

Captive for many years by the savage Mahdi fanatics, Slatin lived through the false conversion to Islam and surrendered his defeated Egyptian military forces to the Mahdi's just prior to the slaughter of Gordon at Khartoom on the Nile. Escaping after years of brutal treatment, the story of Slatin's escaping the death arm of his captors is thrilling.

Our four year old has renewed this book from the library as many times as possible on several occasions. The simple word/picture match gives him the confidence to "read" this book. We bought this for his birthday and he carries it around to show off his succcess.

My 2 year old has this book and LOVES it! He can also "read" it by himself and is very proud of himself for being able to do so. It is a great idea to have a book that has only ONE word per page.

I ordered this book because I wanted to learn to play a 100 Years. And I still do, but after playing around with some of the other pieces I'm convinced that 100 Years will have to wait! I love this book and I can't wait to be able to play each of them like I'm a rock star! I love the Devil in the Wishing Well. I forgot that this was one of their songs!

Okay, okay, I admit it! I'm not a piano expert, but my mom and I bought this so we could learn to play "100 Years". It's a little difficult for us, but the song is purely beautiful. But it does have some great pieces to work on your sigh-reading, in my opinion. Anyone above my level can master it.

The one down-side, which doesn't bother me in this case, is that alot of songbooks typically rely on the melody too much. Frequently, what you see is the melody being used for a majority of the Treble Clef, and that occurs in a few of these songs. It didn't disappoint me too much on the other hand.

Got this book for my son-in-law and could hardly put it down myself. Great pictures and information. Easy reading, easily find information wanted. This was the perfect gift for my Notre Dame fan.

There really is something magical about Notre Dame Football. Eve growing up as a Michigan Football fan I realized this. Part of it came from growing up in a Catholic family. We'd often visit my grandparents on Saturday afternoons and my grandmother always had the Notre Dame football game on on her radio. The fact that Notre Dame is not in a conference has provided them with the kind of national appeal that other programs don't have. Game Day Notre Dame Football is one of Triumph Books' Game Day series featuring the greatest players, games, and moments in Notre Dame Football history.

The numbers are staggering: 7 Heisman Trophy winners, 21 national championships, 179 first team All-Americans. With those stats it's no wonder that Notre Dame has been a football powerhouse since the beginning of the 20th century and the days of the legendary coach, Knute Rockne. It was Rockne who was responsible for developing the modern passing game where previously the pass had been a novelty.

Most people are aware of two of the most famous campus landmarks at Notre Dame. First the Golden Dome which was built after a fire destroyed the main building in 1879 and the 132 foot tall Touchdown Jesus. But there are other great landmarks including "We're No. 1 Moses" and "Fair Catch Corby" that are detailed in this great book. It's no wonder the Notre Dame campus is considered one of the most beautiful in the nation.

Great players abound in Notre Dame's history. Heisman winners Leon Hart, Johnny Lujack. Paul Hornung, and Tim Brown stand side-by-side with other legends like George Gipp, The Four Horsemen, Joe Montana, Alan Page, and Joe Theismann. Gipp, of course, has become the stuff of folklore. Gipp led the team in rushing and passing in 1918, 1919, and 1920 but died from complications of strep throat in 1920. Eight years later in 1928 Rockne, the story goes, gave his famous "win won for the Gipper" speech just before the team was set to play the powerful Army team. Notre Dame's team was weak that year, coming in to that game with only a 4 - 4 record, but inspired by Rockne's speech, the team went out and pulled the upset.

Other great games are highlighted as well including the win over Oklahoma in 1957 which ended the Sooners record-breaking 47 game winning streak, the "game of the century" 10 - 10 tie with Michigan State in 1966, the 1978 dismantling of Texas in the Cotton Bowl, and the 1993 upset of #1 ranked Florida State.

As with all the fantastic Game Day books from Triumph it is a beautiful, heavy, hardcover book with fantastic photography and comments from former Notre Dame players and coaches. A great book about a great football program!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

This book is worth six books! It tells you the crucial facts on how to maintain and enhance your health within the context of our increasingly polluted Earth. This bookis NOT "Thin Thighs in THirty Days". It is nitty gritty. Medical research tells usthat all degenerative disease states are related to EXCESS free radical production. How to counter this is the KEY to survival. And what causes these excess free radicals? The soup of toxins we are nowrom pesticides in your food to radioactivity in your air. Finally, to be trulyh healthy we MUST have a healthy Earth, and this book also makes this point clear. And this is the point most authors do not want to touch. Here you get the bare truth. Forthose who care and those who are willing to make an effort. sarasara

This book is worth six books! It tells you the crucial facts on how to maintain and enhance your health within the context of our increasingly polluted Earth. This bookis NOT "Thin Thighs in THirty Days". It is nitty gritty. Medical research tells usthat all degenerative disease states are related to EXCESS free radical production. How to counter this is the KEY to survival. And what causes these excess free radicals? The soup of toxins we are nowrom pesticides in your food to radioactivity in your air. Finally, to be trulyh healthy we MUST have a healthy Earth, and this book also makes this point clear. And this is the point most authors do not want to touch. Here you get the bare truth. Forthose who care and those who are willing to make an effort. sarasara

The Hand-Fighting Manual by Fred Neff is a work that explores various uses of the hand for self-defense. Hand blows from Karate, kempo, kung-fu and western boxing are included in this book with clear easy to understand directions and matching pictures. The book is very well organized. Its content includes basic hand positions, stances, body movement,blocks,punches and strikes. This is a book you can read and then come back to again and again while practicing to perfect your execution, so it earns my high recommendation.

Being a martial arts book junkie, I appreciate the distinctive simplicity and effectiveness for use of Fred Neff's Hand-Fighting Manual. The Hand-Fighting Manual provides a very readable explanation for using the hand and arms in fighting. The text breaks down each blow into component parts along with supplying matching pictures. This is not only useful for learning blows, but perfecting form and power in the techniques you already know how to do. Anyone interested in the martial arts should enjoy this outstanding book.

Clearly, a lot of research went into this effor. This is an exciting and interesting book. A recommend to anyone interested in native american or american military history.

A Hero to His Fighting Men. Nelson A. Miles, 1839 - 1925 is a biography of an American hero whose good name has been unfairly tarnished. Miles compiled a flawless record of military feats after he began his army service as a volunteer officer in the Civil War. Following the Civil War, in which he fought in every major battle of the army of the Potomac except Gettysburg, and won the Congressional Medal of Honor for "distinguished gallantry at the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 3, 1863," he earned fleeting fame on the frontier. Today, few realize that, in turn, he defeated dissident bands of Kiowa-Comanches, Sioux, Nez Perces, and renegade Apaches led by Geronimo, and then skillfully managed the Messiah outbreak f 1890. The climax of his career came in 1895 with his appointment as commanding general of the army. The driving ambition, courage, and self-confidence that were responsible for his military successes and advancement also made him a controversial officer who begot a legion of enemies. Because the judgments of his critics have influenced the way history has viewed Miles it is necessary to reassess the career of the officer who was appreciated in his day as "the idol of the Indian fighters."

One can readily understand why some of his contemporaries did not wish Miles well. For instance, supporters of Jefferson Davis found it difficult to forgive Miles, when, as jailer of the fallen President of the Confederate States of America, he had his prisoner temporarily placed in chains. Equally apparent is how, in the post Civil War army, at a time when there were few opportunities for advancement, jealousies naturally sprang up between Miles and his rivals for promotion. It is also evident why officials in Washington would resent his outspoken criticism of mismanaged bureaus and campaigns. For example, in his 1886 annual report Miles complained about the shoes manufactured at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth and worn by his men on the Geronimo campaign. The Adjutant General had earlier praised the prison for its products. Miles faultfinding partially explains why the government made little effort to honor him for his victory over the Apaches.

A painstaking search that took over fifteen years, of both manuscript collections and nineteenth century newspapers, unearthed information that justifies reexamination of Miles' career. For instance the Adjutant General's bruised feelings concerning the shoes made at Fort Leavenworth does not completely explain Miles' difficulties following the Geronimo campaign. Miles also had to contend with bureaucratic intrigues emanating from the headquarters of his superior officer at the time, Major General Oliver O. Howard. For example, Howard muddied the details of what actually happened when Geronimo surrendered to Miles. As a result, Miles fell into official disfavor. Miles did not publicly air his exasperation at this disservice, but he reacted after he read the published correspondence of the surrender and realized what had happened. In a letter found in Howard's papers, which has not been fully appreciated by some students of the campaign, it is clear that Miles was aware of how the mischief damaged his reputation.

Seething at what he read in the government document, Miles accused Howard of keeping his report "pigeon-holed at Division Headquarters for nearly a month notwithstanding that I was being denounced, meanwhile, from one end of the country to the other for not reporting the fact of the surrender."

In some bewilderment, Miles continued: "You not only failed to set me right when it was within your power so to do, but you seem to have gone out of your way in the opposite direction."

Another instance in which history has misjudged Miles resulted from strained relations between Miles and the Commanding General of the Army, William T. Sherman. Most Indian War historians have been negatively influenced by an impulsive letter written by Sherman, which Miles probably never knew existed. Greater insight into their feud, however, would be gained by considering an interview of General Sherman by a New York Herald reporter that has not been commented upon in other studies of this period.

Miles, who President Theodore Roosevelt dismissed as a "brave peacock" because of his vanity and love of pomp deserves a more accurate epitaph. A Hero to His Fighting Men reminds its readers that in 1910 a balladeer honored Miles, asserting that the general, who was "solid with the ranks," might be a Little partial to the medals on his chest. He's got a darned right to be; He earned `em in the West.

Note: Great care was taken to insure that although A Hero to His Fighting Men, Nelson A. Miles, 1839 - 1925 was a scholarly study of the General's career, it was also a very readable portrait of a military leader who deserves greater appreciation for his services to our nation.

1998, c. 568pp., 23 illus. Isbn-0-87338-594-