Fighting Books

I bought this book when it first came out,and have to say it is still one of the best books on the Tomcat. If you can get a good used copy, I would highly recommend it!!! Anything by Mr. Spick is good, I owen many of his books.

An exelent book for technical information, great photos, and so much more. I would Highly reccomend this book if your a helicopter finatic, interested in the military, or just want to learn about flying machines.

You play a bounty-hunter with a specific agenda, to bring to justice the worst offenders of war-crimes perpetuated by villains in the recent War of Four Nations. There is only one left, Karm Gruul, and recent evidence shows that he has finally come out of hiding. There can be no doubt that his reemergence speaks of some evil plot and you are the only one who can track him down and stop his schemes.

The descriptions, artwork, characters, and overall tone of this book place it as my unquestioned first choice among the Fighting Fantasy books. I've read perhaps 20 of them altogether and the only other one that comes close to being this good is Deathtrap Dungeon - but there has obviously been more work put into the setting for Moonrunner.
Although you play the hero, there is more to his past than usual and by the end you learn that his goals are much personal and the path he chose, that off the bounty hunter, was a means to an end.

As always, I love how there is a specific setting and timeline to where most of the fantasy versions of these books take place. It's not unusual for one to make reference to places or events that take place in other books - although this one seems to take place further in the future and doesn't have as much to relate to (although the intro on your charcter lists some nifty exploits).

Highly recommended to anyone that is interested in these sorts of books.

First the admission -- I consult with the translator of these poems to make sure the English is correct. I do this for zero remuneration because I love these poems. I don't read or speak French. I love these poems in their translation. Christian Souchon is able to translate poetry as poetry. If the original rhymes, he makes the translation rhyme without losing the literal meaning of the verse. Christian Souchon's English vocabulary is amazing. He frequently sends me to the dictionary. He sends me both the original French and the translation. I visit Babelfish to look at the literal translation (which is often idiomatically incorrect) just to marvel at what he has accomplished. Michel Galiana was a deep and philosophical poet. I'm going to post one of my favorites here:

Autumn in a Garden of Kyoto

In order to prevent Autumn and its emblem
From voiding weighty woods and spread out greeneries
And to dyke up the flood which the season carries
And let time in its locks, motionless, retain them

I have with a wall closed the page where roars my rest,
Laid fifteen bare pebbles that by their orison,
Their number and their weight should relieve their reason,
By their whiteness quarter the uniform whiteness

Which is woven by peace and meandering track
Where a footstep is path and love is the lover,
Where it is not the sand that has confined the rock,

But a meticulously plowed, narrow furrow,
A slumberlike network with arising rigour
Or soaring thought engraved into sand intaglio.

This collection includes poetic renderings of Hercules labors (with historical and mythological notes by the translator) and a collection of poems at least as mysterious as the one above.

This book is truly an amazing journal of a simple man caught up in pivotal moments of history. It is recorded in a clear and unaffected style and very readable. In his career Jacob Nagel was to meet great men, George Washington and Horatio Nelson. He was part of the First Fleet during the settlement of Australia. He sailed with the East India Company and was to reach all continents of the world. He witnesses history first hand and relates it to us. The immediacy of such an account is invaluable. He lived a long and eventful life, one I would recommend anyone with an interest in history enjoy through this journal.

Seton Dearden wrote few books, but those he did write he wrote very well. A Nest of Corsairs: The Fighting Karamanlis of the Barbary Coast takes the reader into the Karamanli family's reign of Tripoli with special emphasis on the British Consulate's position and influence on the royal court. The power and direction of the Sultanate in Constantinople had much impact on how the Tripoli court was run, but the Karamanli family did things their own way (bowing to the Sultan only when funds and armies were needed). One of the most captivating moments in the story is when one brother assassinates another during a meeting with their mother in her hareem. Few detective novels or murder mysteries engross the reader like this book, partly because it is written from obviously deep-set interest in Tripoli's history and after what would seem to have been exhaustive research. Hats off to Seton, the Dearden family strikes again! (I also recommend reading some from Seton's uncle, Harold Dearden). Seton's second wife, Ann Dearden, wrote about her knowledge of Jordan in a book titled Jordan (oddly enough) from her experiences and studies in that country through her many years living there. A Nest of Corsairs heads the Dearden family published list through its descriptions of everyday life in the court and on the streets of Tripoli back when ships were made of wood and men were made of steel. Well done Seton!

This is an inadvertent error by Amazon. The book has never been out of print. The book is listed correctly at the top of the list of books for Robert David Steele, and a currently available copy is at the link below:

The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political--Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption

I have the original hardback version of this book, very warn, second hand from my grandmother. I remember reading this as a child about light-foot and quick-foot, and all the quarelling between them. And little rosa and willy, much like many sibling relations. I think your child will like this book because it is a little harder to follow, but a longer story to test their skills at, with some "bigger" words in it. I enjoyed it as a kid, so shall my kids, and I hope yours will too.

FYI: this has been re-issued as a level 2 reader book as well.

This book is a very good springboard for anyone wanting information on corruption. I am teaching a course on corruption to law enforcement personnel in Europe and this is excellent source material. The OECD is an outstanding organization and has been very helpful in my research for this class.

When Osprey announced the first ten 'Aviation Elite Units' titles, I was puzzled by the RAF squadrons chosen, 91 and 43. I had thought Osprey might want to start out with a bang and headline the RAF's most famous units like 249 Squadron or 74, 111 or even 303. Yet, after reading Andy Saunders' NO 43 FIGHTING COCKS SQUADRON, I realize Osprey made the right choice. Saunders' book is a gripping account of a long-serving unit that absorbed some hard knocks yet gave exemplary service in several theaters of war.

Established in 1916, 43 Squadron, based at Tangmere, flew Hawker Furies pre-WWII, eventually converting to Hurricanes in late 1938. Pilots like Tony Woods-Scawen, Caesar Hull and Peter Townsend ran up kills in the Phoney War and the French blitz. One of Fighter Command's stalwarts in the Battle of Britain, the squadron claimed some 60 kills but suffered heavy losses. After being rested in the north, the unit returned to ops in mid-1942, flying night intruder missions, providing cover for the Dieppe landing, etc. In November the squadron was assigned to the North African campaign, flying its Hurricane IICs to Algeria. Spitfires soon replaced the Hurris and 43 played a leading role in the air battles over North Africa, Sicily and Italy. In late 1944 the squadron (reluctantly) took on the dive-bombing mission. Notable 43 pilots included 'Tubby' Badger, Bob Turkington, Frank Carey, Freddie Lister, Tom Dalton-Morgan, Daniel du Vivier and Charles Lott. By war's end, the squadron was credited with 159 kills.

Almost all air combat books, such as the Osprey Aces and Elite Units volumes, emphasize exciting aerial duels. Saunders' book includes a fair share of that but the reader also gets a rare look at the cost of victory. One April 1940 photo captures five 43 pilots at rest. Four of the five were KIA within the year; the fifth in a hospital badly burned! So many of the early war photos depict smiling faces that failed to return from combat. Later in the book, a 43 pilot recounts a strafing mission, remembering: "We could almost see the whites of our victims' eyes. We could see them run for cover or crumple in heaps under our gunfire...It wasn't fun. It was horrible. Grim. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise, and don't believe them if they do."

NO 43 FIGHTING COCKS SQUADRON is an excellent summary of a long-serving squadron at war. Saunders' well-written narrative is complimented by over 120 black & white photographs and nine color pages of side-views depicting Furies, Hurricanes, Spits and the squadron crest. While it delivers its share of air combats, it also offers a rare look at the price paid in lives. Highly recommended.