30f5bd18-d0a0-4190-85e0-f2e22367faf2TrueNewShip83HistoryAmazonLargeBooksreviewrank1792378179238B0006YOVJGhttp://www.amazon.com/medical-detectives-Berton-Roueche%C3%8C%C2%81/dp/B0006YOVJG%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0006YOVJG6277896Berton RouechéUnknown BindingTruman Talley BooksEnglishEnglishTruman Talley Books372Book1981Truman Talley BooksTruman Talley Books3999USD$39.990100005.0204B0006YOVJG5332008-05-03

Deadly fogs, horrible diseases, and brilliant medical detectives

Berton Roueché wrote for the "New Yorker" magazine for almost half a century, and was winner of the 1950 Albert Lasker Medical Journalism Award. His many volumes on physicians and medical detectives, including this book, were collected from his articles in the "New Yorker." <br /> <br />"The Medical Detectives" volume II is great bedtime reading, because the good guys, i.e. physicians and epidemiologists always get their villain (whether it's a germ, poison gas, or a disgruntled boyfriend). Volume II's twenty-three case histories date from 1947 to 1984, before the days when Big Insurance dictated how long patients would stay in hospitals and what kind of treatment they would receive. Some of the doctors in this book actually made house calls! A couple of the cases really stayed with me, because the patients were kept in the hospital for weeks at a time just to track down a diagnosis. In one case, a man had the hiccups. In the other, a woman had a headache. Can you guess what would happen to these patients if they went to an emergency room, today? <br /> <br />Anyone who is interested in medical detection will be both engrossed and instructed by Roueché's careful, detailed true-life mysteries. The cases contained in this volume range from the man who hiccupped for 27 years through the deliberate poisoning of a family. One of my favorites from 1948 is called, "The Fog". This does not refer to John Carpenter's famous 1980 horror movie, but a true story that is in some ways even more frightening than anything Hollywood could produce. It takes place in Donora, Pennsylvania, a gritty mill town along the Monongahela River, which is infamous for its fogs: "They are greasy, gagging fogs, often intact even at high noon, and they sometimes last for two or three days." <br /> <br />The Donora `Death Fog' killed 20 people and left hundreds injured and gasping for breath. Roueché tells this story of America's worst air pollution disaster through the observations of eye-witnesses, one of them a physician. London usually comes to mind when Death comes stalking through a thick fog, but this story is every bit as atmospheric as one by A. Conan Doyle, and "The Fog's" detectives are real people. <br /> <br />This collection of true medical stories starts off a bit slowly, but you will end up wishing for Volume III. <br />B0006YOVJG5012008-02-15

Recommended by Experts to Medical Students

This book was recommended as a gift to a pre-med student. She was excited to receive this as it dove-tailed with a course she is currently taking.B0006YOVJG5442007-12-19

"House" without the snark

This "classic collection of award-winning medical investigative reporting", published in 1988, is an excellent book. Each of the 25 case studies originally appeared as an "Annals of medicine" piece in the New Yorker, and there's not a dud in the bunch. <br /> <br />Most of the cases happened in the 1950's or 1960's, when sophisticated, CSI-era analytical techniques were unavailable. Nonetheless, there is no sense that these stories are dated. Roueche is a natural storyteller and has the rare ability to present technical aspects in a way that is intelligible to the non-expert reader, at just the right level of detail. <br /> <br />It's like 25 "House" episodes, but without the gratuitous obnoxiousness, condescension to the reader, or the ridiculous constraint that only a limping, misanthropic painkiller addict can be right.B0006YOVJG5002007-11-13

Awesome!

This book is amazing! I love it and recommend it to my friends. The author formerly wrote for a New York magazine, and his stories cover decades. It is interesting to see how some diseases such as Lyme's first became known and how the tools available to the medical profession have both changed and some have remained the same. Read it, you will love it!B0006YOVJG5002007-07-30

Wonderful Book!

I was given this book by one of the epidemiologists that was featured in the book. He had great respect for Roueche and loves his articles. I think these stories a very well written and really hold your attention. They also give you a good history of diseases and conditions. Great book!Contains three fascinating tales of strange illnesses, rare diseases, poisons, and parasites--each tale a thriller of medical suspense by the incomparable Beron Roueche.0156027771B000QTD5O80595091318078177195107817708741000Subjects1Arts & Photography2Biographies & Memoirs3Business & Investing4Children's Books4366Comics & Graphic Novels5Computers & Internet6Cooking, Food & Wine86Entertainment301889Gay & Lesbian10Health, Mind & Body9History48Home & Garden10777Law17Literature & Fiction13996Medicine18Mystery & Thrillers53Nonfiction290060Outdoors & Nature20Parenting & Families173507Professional & Technical21Reference22Religion & Spirituality23Romance75Science25Science Fiction & Fantasy26Sports28Teens27Travel283155Books076432070Xhttp://www.amazon.com/Miriam-Haskell-Jewelry-Schiffer-Collectors/dp/076432070X%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D076432070X110793http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51R14VTJ72L._SL75_.jpg7558http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51R14VTJ72L._SL160_.jpg160125http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51R14VTJ72L.jpg500390Cathy GordonSheila PamfiloffHardcover688.20929780764320705110076432070XSchiffer PublishingEnglishEnglishEnglish11105995USD$59.95Schiffer Publishing1256Book2004-05-01Schiffer PublishingSchiffer Publishing3908403777USD$37.77600011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewoRkW%2F6jlnlURqK4vPQMy6ziIs62WOW8%2BxqRNMy8Kz4dddYS%2Bbvcq3vbmy1WVf8uvNZ4JgjHQD6Joau7rlXVGbw%3D%3D3777USD$37.77Usually ships in 24 hours5.0204076432070X5002008-08-08

Miriam Haskell Jewelry

Book was purchased as a gift for my mother. Arrived on time, in great condition as it was listed. There was a small tear on the cover - but it was listed this way so it was what I was expecting. I just taped it up! She won't mind as she will be delighted with the book. 076432070X5002007-12-16

Best Vintage Jewelry Book Out there!!

Let me first say that I have a ton of vintage jewelry in my personal collection and I also sell it in our family owned antique store. I purchased this book and read it from cover to cover. WOWOW, what a great book. So much great information and easy to read. These girls did a wonderful job in the layout of this beautful book. The pictures to say the least are all stunning and really show up great in their book. <br />I would recommend this book to anyone that has ANY kind of interest in vintage jewelry. This book really explains how different designers tried to copy the Haskell style. Great reference on how to date pieces and also identify key Haskell style trademarks. <br />Thanks for a wondeful book!076432070X5112007-04-04

For the Collector

Serious collectors must have this book on their shelf. Close-up photographs show the jewelry's intricate designs in detail.076432070X5332007-03-31

MIRIAM HASKELL JEWELRY (SCHIFFER BOOK)

This is a fantastic resource book for the Vintage Jewelry Collector or Seller. It is wonderfully organized & beautifully illustrated with many large color pictures. The descriptions are concise & precise. Values are given after each description. <br />There is also a wonderful & informative section on Identifying & Dating Haskell Jewelry~vintage to present~including clasps & materials. This section also has clear close-up photographs. <br />I feel it is an invaluable tool for the serious collector. And well worth the investment!076432070X5562006-09-09

Costume Jewelry at its best

Dealing with jewelry is both to me, profession and hobby. So I also like reading books about the stuff I love, and this one really got past my expectations. It helps getting insight not only in a really interesting branch of the jewelry business, but tells also about the people behind the design. At the same time, the author manages to give a helpful guide to the ambitioned collector of that kind. The book reminds one how much fun it is to create and wear exceptional pieces and tells some stories that are connected with those. The pictures are magnificent. This book is motivation for new ideas and simply fun to read. Miriam Haskell began selling especially beautiful costume jewelry in 1926, and her company continues to the present. Today, the jewelry that bears her name is highly sought after and the prices keep spiraling up. Claims abound that this is a Miriam Haskell, but is it a Miriam Haskell? This important new book gives collectors the key information to make intelligent buying decisions. It provides specific details on the art, design, style, materials, construction, and signatures, all vital to the identification and dating of Haskell jewelry. It also dispels many of the myths that allow wanna-bes and fakes to flourish. Over 600 beautiful color photographs display the most extensive collection of Haskell jewelry ever brought together. The jewelry is categorized by designer, specifying notable eras. The text provides notations on innovations, style preferences, and in-depth descriptions pointing to key Haskell identifiers. Readers, from casual admirers to serious collectors and dealers, will find in this comprehensive book the essential information and breathtaking pictures they seek.B001GQ3DUG1574325299076432911115743254260789496429518510History1862Fashion1Arts & Photography1000Subjects283155Books5085General5066Antiques & Collectibles48Home & Garden1000Subjects283155Books713331011General AAS5066Antiques & Collectibles48Home & Garden1000Subjects283155Books197497011General48Home & Garden1000Subjects283155Books713326011General AAS48Home & Garden1000Subjects283155Books13769Manufacturing227550Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems173515Engineering173507Professional & Technical1000Subjects283155Books14637History of Technology14631Technology75Science1000Subjects283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books050001664Xhttp://www.amazon.com/Most-Beautiful-Villages-Tuscany/dp/050001664X%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D050001664X16512http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61AXSZ6SNVL._SL75_.jpg7561http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61AXSZ6SNVL._SL160_.jpg160131http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61AXSZ6SNVL.jpg475389James BentleyHardcoverHugh Palmer945.500222978050001664094050001664XThames & HudsonEnglishEnglishEnglish12364000USD$40.00Thames & Hudson1224Book1997-09Thames & HudsonThames & Hudson39210002495USD$24.951114USD$11.145000USD$50.0032392011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewjwoayJXE9TCFktEFdRUhLKSTlF08Jp1JRq3mk%2F8vEnyduip4FUJt2aouixXYdN8azL%2BFFeCfmA%2BTf680f1Rq7g%3D%3D2640USD$26.40Usually ships in 24 hours5.0204050001664X5002008-05-26

beautiful villages of tuscany

i orignially purchased this book as a resource for a paper i was doing on tuscany, but when i received it and began to browse through it, i sat down and read the entire thing from cover to cover. the photography was magnificent; the information was just the right amount without going on and on; the entire product was stunning. i wanted to run to the internet and book the next flight to tuscany!050001664X3222008-02-12

Oh no, not another Tuscan picture book!

Yes, the photos are nice, but how many coffee table books with pretty Tuscan villages, cypress trees, and silvery olive leaves shimmering in the wind do we need? <br /> <br />Someone who reviewed this book suggested bringing it along on a Tuscan trip; if you put this large and heavy book in your luggage, you will have to leave the toothpaste, underwear, and a number of other things at home, particularly now that some airlines are apparently toying with the notion of lowering weight allowances and charging for the excess. <br /> <br />The text in most instances is not particularly helpful. There are quite a few books on Tuscany that do a much better job. And I was truly surprised to see the town of San Quirico d'Orcia included in the list of "most beautiful villages". I happen to know San Quirico and because it is off the usual beaten tourist path, it retains an "Italianness" that has been lost by, for example, Greve in Chianti, where one would be hard-pressed to find an Italian in that town's lovely main square on a Saturday afternoon. But San Quirico could never be called "beautiful", by any stretch of the imagination. <br /> <br />Despite my reservations about this book, it would probably be a welcome present for a friend who has recently returned from the grand tour of Tuscany and it will, at least for a while, have a prominent place on this friend's coffee table.050001664X5002008-01-12

Tuscany

Great service and beautiful pictures of Tuscany but somewhat dissapointed at the lack of an organized route map for efficient traveling to the various villages.050001664X5002007-11-17

Wonderful for so many reasons

This is the best for someone wanting to visit interesting places in Italy. It is not only well arranged and written, but it helped so much in trip planning. I highly recommend this to anyone traveling on their own to Italy.050001664X5012007-07-21

The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany

Since I love Italy as a place to visit, this book is great to own.Bentley highlights 37 villages and towns, both for their intrinsic beauty and for the part they have played in Tuscan history and culture. Page after page of Palmer's magnificent color photos evoke the beauty of the land. Specially compiled listings of hotels, restaurants, and festivals complete the tribute to Tuscany and its villages.With the recent popularity of such notable books as Frances Mayes' <I>Under the Tuscan Sun</I> and Elizabeth Romer's <I>The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley</I>, a legion of new Italia fans are finding out what many already know: the charm of Tuscany cannot be denied. In <I>The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany</I>, author James Bentley and photographer Hugh Palmer offer a decidedly unique view of this remarkable region. Focusing on thirty-six villages and towns from all over Tuscany--chosen for "both their intrinsic beauty and for the part they have played in Tuscan history and culture"--the gorgeous full-color photographs, accompanied by superb accounts of each village, truly "bring the region to life, evoking the richness of architecture and landscape, and bringing out the charm of the Tuscan people." The final chapter is devoted to useful travel information, including passages on hotels and restaurants, market days and festivals, as well as a select bibliography and detailed map of the region. As beautiful as it is informative and entertaining, <I>The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany</I> is "the perfect visual tribute to the timeless beauty of these small towns and villages." 084782637605005105200141009004084782856505005418762024Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions2020Photography1Arts & Photography1000Subjects283155Books2093Europe2087Travel2020Photography1Arts & Photography1000Subjects283155Books465216General4959Italy4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books713314011General AAS4959Italy4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books713308011General AAS4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books67646General16973Italy16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books713823011General AAS16973Italy16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books16942General16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books713811011General AAS16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books713839011General AAS17025Reference & Tips27Travel1000Subjects283155Books197498011General27Travel1000Subjects283155Books713792011General AAS27Travel1000Subjects283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksR1NMTJZPFFFBL0Favorite Vacation DestinationsRWX6AUSWDMFXAn Inside Look at StephR3C73WS9JTUI88Italian TravelsR32E60KPIWHK3WDreaming of Tuscany...14HOZPS8RRPZIItaly, The Books2Y6DDNGDL1NC3Decorate, Live & Eat Italian!XC0KGQAAIUL6Escape Your Not-So-Beautiful Life1WU1FHQ0RJ168Are You an Italy-Freak?9643ZCZ8JYSSTravel3L8TSFNQCOJGQGira's picks for armchair traveler0198538499http://www.amazon.com/Neural-Networks-Pattern-Recognition-Christopher/dp/0198538499%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0198538499702906Christopher M. BishopHardcover006.497801985384931290198538499Oxford University Press, USAEnglishEnglishEnglish9509800USD$98.00Oxford University Press, USA1504Book1996-01-18Oxford University Press, USAOxford University Press, USA1916440000005.020401985384994662006-07-20

Only for an expert

Mr Bishop's book is very well written and contains a lot of useful information on neural networks. It is outlined well and progresses in a logical form. If, however, you are looking for a book that gives discussions with concrete examples of neural networks applications or set ups, you will be sorely disappointed. The mathematical treatment is universally generalized with very few specific concrete examples shown. Even the exercises will not serve you well. The term 'graded' is used; however, that simply referes to the description of difficulty. There are no answers to these exercises, so unless you have a teacher or are already firmly familiar with the material, you will not know if you have completed them correctly or not. Even worse, the exercises are in general not written to reinforce concepts in the chapter, but in most cases extend the chapter material into new regions. <br /> <br />In summary, this book should only be purchased by someone already familiar with neural networks and their mathematical basis. Anyone else will be wasting their money.01985384995222006-04-06

Fabulous

This is the best book I have found for a general study of the of neural networks. I found this particularly useful when looking at how to write my own NN frameworks. The depth of the mathematics allowed me to easily answer questions like: 'what if I replaced function abc with xyz'. I have found other texts failed to show key mathematical derivations, or to explore the subtleties of what the maths imply. <br /> <br />The book covers a plethora of topics from simple gradient descent through second order techniques and conjugate gradient, through to the use of 'bayesian techniques' (basically confidence intervals on network outputs), monte carlo techniques etc. Similarly error functions, non-linearities (sigmoids, softmax etc.) and data preparation are all treated. <br /> <br />The extensive bibliography also provides excellent references for further study, (a whos who of the field, as well as actual titles). My copy is now dog earred from frequent reading.01985384995462004-01-28

Sheer pleasure.

If you want a very good, intermediate introduction to pattern classification this book must be on your bookshelf. It even does a very nice job explaining the EM algorithm in a few pages! Basic calculus is all you need to understand the book. A must read.01985384995352003-09-15

It makes a difficult topic easy to understand

The theories of NN and PR are quite difficult to understand. But this book makes them much easier. The author can explain the concepts without using too much formula. If other authors could follow his step then the life is much easier!01985384995012003-07-22

Recomended book to read

This is a recommended book to read for people who would like to read about statistics and maths. People with few knowledge about these sciences will find it a bit difficult to read.This is the first comprehensive treatment of feed-forward neural networks from the perspective of statistical pattern recognition. After introducing the basic concepts, the book examines techniques for modeling probability density functions and the properties and merits of the multi-layer perceptron and radial basis function network models. Also covered are various forms of error functions, principal algorithms for error function minimalization, learning and generalization in neural networks, and Bayesian techniques and their applications. Designed as a text, with over 100 exercises, this fully up-to-date work will benefit anyone involved in the fields of neural computation and pattern recognition.This book provides a solid statistical foundation for neural networks from a pattern recognition perspective. The focus is on the types of neural nets that are most widely used in practical applications, such as the multi-layer perceptron and radial basis function networks. Rather than trying to cover many different types of neural networks, Bishop thoroughly covers topics such as density estimation, error functions, parameter optimization algorithms, data pre-processing, and Bayesian methods. All topics are organized well and all mathematical foundations are explained before being applied to neural networks. The text is suitable for a graduate or advanced undergraduate level course on neural networks or for practitioners interested in applying neural networks to real-world problems. The reader is assumed to have the level of math knowledge necessary for an undergraduate science degree.038731073804710566930132733501052171770104714297753573History549726Business & Culture5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books407484General3448Certification Central5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books713165011General AAS3448Certification Central5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books3896Neural Networks3887Artificial Intelligence3508Computer Science5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books132552011Pattern Recognition3870Algorithms3839Programming5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books657762General5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books713164011General AAS5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books465200General4954Germany4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books713311011General AAS4954Germany4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books5039General5035World9History1000Subjects283155Books713323011General AAS5035World9History1000Subjects283155Books713585011General AAS227361Mathematics173510Professional Science173507Professional & Technical1000Subjects283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books0806528230http://www.amazon.com/Never-Suck-Dead-Mans-Hand/dp/0806528230%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D080652823085975http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41N1cCMi3CL._SL75_.jpg7549http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41N1cCMi3CL._SL160_.jpg160104http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41N1cCMi3CL.jpg500325Dana KollmannPaperback5099780806528236800806528230CitadelEnglishEnglishEnglish8901495USD$14.95Citadel1304Book2008-02-01CitadelCitadel85600715USD$7.15695USD$6.9533120011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnew1%2F2Q6lS5d0ARBzliFqo%2FPJ1qMQaR7fUAx17ZkcJ400wLJXhMMY%2Fzjv4IUSf4DtRXvqCyhBhydLu4R%2Br57IxNng%3D%3D1017USD$10.17Usually ships in 24 hours5.020408065282305002008-09-05

Informative and Funny

I really enjoyed this book. Full of good information and entertaining to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject matter. 08065282305002008-07-21

A completely honest look at what it's like at crime scenes

This was a fast read for me because of the subject. I was transfixed as each story was told. I only wish she'd recorded even more experiences. These tales will stay with me forever and I highly recommend this book.08065282304002008-05-31

Hardcore Science, ridiculous actuality

This woman is quite adorable. I found myself surprised at how, even though I picked the book up because I like crime nonfiction, I found it wasn't really a story about crime work at all. Some of the stories were very amusing but the deeper understanding I carried away was what a funny life it is. I greatly enjoyed the story of her parent's reaction to her crime stories and them not wanting to visit her work. I enjoyed the stories about her getting quite a rude introduction to being a crime worker who isn't a police officer and I loved the story of her sneaking home to take care of her dogs and accidentally pressing the panic button that allowed the whole department to hear her dog cooing. If you are looking for a hardcore crime solving book then this might be a little soft for you. If you're looking for a story of how ridiculous the actuality of crime is through the eyes of a quirky young mom then this is probably right up your alley. 08065282304002008-04-19

Must read before you decide to become a CSI!

Dana Kollman is hilarious, and very to the point. True forensics is nothing like it is on TV. Please read this if you are considering! Stories can be somewhat nauseating, don't read during dinner like I did. 08065282305002008-03-05

Fantastic!

I LOVED every part of this book. It's fantastically written and incredibly entertaining from start to finish. She has a way with words and is an excellent story teller! She was also my Forensics Professor at Towson University, so I may be a bit biased but I still think that this is probably one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time. "Informative, witty...Kollmann delivers terse commentary and gory detail while puncturing common misconceptions about forensics." --Booklist <P>Step past the flashing lights into the true scene of the crime with this frank, unflinching, and unforgettable account of life as a crime scene investigator. Whether explaining rigor mortis or the art of fingerprinting a stiff corpse on the side of the road, Dana Kollmann details her true, unvarnished experiences as a CSI for the Baltimore County Police Department. <P>"Riveting." --M. William Phelps, author of Murder in the Heartland <P>Unlike the popular crime dramas proliferating on today's television networks, these forensic tales forgo glitz for grit to show what really goes on. Kollmann recounts stories that the cops and the CSI's usually leave in the field, bringing the sights, smells, and sounds of a crime scene alive as never before. <P>"Raw and real." --Connie Fletcher, author of Every Contact Leaves a Trace <P>Unveiling the process and science of crime scene investigation in all its can't-tear-your-eyes-away fascination, Never Suck a Dead Man's Hand takes you into the strange world behind the yellow tape, offering a truly eye-opening perspective on the day-to-day life of a CSI. <P>"Gritty, witty, and heartfelt ... a must-read." --Aphrodite Jones, New York Times bestselling author of A Perfect HusbandB000Z4K4WUB000VSEDMMB001C2DDRC159102447100611894052426Scientists2419Professionals & Academics2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books2375General2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books713038011General AAS2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books9944Literary Theory9928History & Criticism9822United States10311World Literature17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books11007Forensic Science11003Crime & Criminals53Nonfiction1000Subjects283155Books11322True Crime11314True Accounts53Nonfiction1000Subjects283155Books13872General13871History & Philosophy75Science1000Subjects283155Books713700011General AAS13871History & Philosophy75Science1000Subjects283155Books400272011Paperback394184011Mass Market401237011Trade394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksB000FC0SDWhttp://www.amazon.com/North-Star-over-My-Shoulder/dp/B000FC0SDW%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000FC0SDW23716http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21l1Cyl5sZL._SL75_.jpg7556http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21l1Cyl5sZL._SL160_.jpg160120http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21l1Cyl5sZL.jpg267200Bob BuckKindle Edition920Kindle BookSimon & SchusterEnglish1199USD$11.99Simon & Schuster1448eBooks2004-01-07Simon & Schuster2004-01-07Simon & Schuster959USD$9.59100011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewtgzNIychf2eMPYwOkks%2BrbNqoQUQGmImaKDYDr6%2FIdRAb8KJKQ91T%2BfOHR3xlU9A65S6rocjmN86Ryi%2B68Buuw%3D%3D959USD$9.59Usually ships in 24 hours5.0204B000FC0SDW5002008-11-11

The Golden Age of Flight Described

I like the writing style of Bob Buck better than that of Ernest K. Gann, but the two tell similar stories covering approximately the same time period. Bob Buck's career with TWA was longer than Erenest K. Gann's career with American and the short-lived Matson, so Bob's stories extend into the jet age, but it's the stories from the 30s, 40s and 50s that I find to be the most interesting. <br /> <br />Bob flew a specially-equipped B-17 during WW-II, looking for lightning and other severe weather. It was funny that he literally flew all over the world looking for bad weather, only to learn that there's no better place in the world to find it than at his home base of Kansas City. <br /> <br />Ernest K. Gann's "Fate is the Hunter" is the gold standard by which all other aviation books are judged, but, well, I like "North Star Over My Shoulder" better. <br /> <br />It would be heresy to suggest that you not read Ernest K. Gann's "Fate is the Hunter," but it would be a severe omission if you were not to also read "North Star Over My Shoulder." <br />B000FC0SDW5002008-10-30

My Favoite Autogiography

This is one of the finest books, about an aviator's life, that you will ever read.B000FC0SDW5012008-01-28

Who better

I am a professional pilot who has done the freight, airline and corporate thing and now calls instructing corporate pilots his gig. (It's my wife who has the sign in so F off!) This has been been my mecca of aviation history. I was born 30 or so years late and I missed the glory years so I found the fountain of youth, wanna fight about it!? This book is THE penultimate tome of written aviatory (Bush said it so it's a word!!) history and I read it many times a year!B000FC0SDW4002008-01-08

North Star over My Shoulder: A Flying Life

Highly engaging. A chronicle of amazing change and progress in aviation in one man's career.B000FC0SDW5002007-10-05

Very well written history of aviation as viewed by Bob Buck

I found the book to be excellent. My father spent a career in what became TWA starting with TAT a few years before Bob Buck was hired into the merged airline. In fact, my father accompanied Bob Buck on the historic Rockwell polar flight. The book was so well written that I felt like I was getting a close up look at my father's environment over the years.Captain Robert N. Buck retired from TWA after having flown well over two thousand Atlantic crossings and thirty-seven years of service as chief pilot and director of thunderstorm research. During World War II he was engaged in weather research for the U.S. Air Corps, for which he was awarded, as a civilian, the Air Medal by President Harry Truman. More recently, Buck has worked with the International Civil Aviation Organization -- the UN's body for aviation -- to develop a new plan of world airspace. In North Star over My Shoulder, Bob Buck tells of a life spent up and over the clouds, and of the wonderful places and marvelous people who have been a part of that life. He captures the feel, taste, and smell of flying's great early era -- how the people lived, what they did and felt, and what it was really like to be a part of the world as it grew smaller and smaller. A terrific storyteller and a fascinating man, Bob Buck has turned his well-lived life into a delightful memoir for anyone who remembers when there really was something special in the air.Bob Buck may not be as famous as Charles Lindbergh, but he's well known among aviators for setting flight-distance records in the 1930s, flying a B-17 in the Second World War, and finally, becoming a commercial airline pilot who logged more than 2,000 trips across the Atlantic Ocean. <I>North Star over My Shoulder</I> is Buck's memoir of a life spent in the skies. He shares plenty of cockpit wisdom: "A copilot can make a trip or ruin it; get someone who talks too much, gripes about the company, tries to impress you, tells long and boring anecdotes, or is overly aggressive in suggesting ways to run the flight, and the taste is unpleasant." He also answers the question he says nonpilots are most likely to ask him: How do you overcome jet lag? "You don't," he says. Buck addresses offbeat subjects, too, such as what an airline pilot does when one of his first-class passengers is irate about the lack of caviar on a long trip. Readers fascinated by flight will enjoy this book, both for its historical perspective on advances in aviation ("a time no one will ever experience again") and the good advice that springs from almost every page ("sitting low tends to make you level off a little too high, while sitting up high tends to make you fly into the ground and not level off enough"). Pilots will appreciate this book, as will anybody who has ever wondered what it's like to fly a plane. <I>--John Miller</I>B000QRIGLCB000FCKIYQB000QCTOZYB000UZQIWEB000JMKVMG3048891Memoirs2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books2375General2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books618073011Kindle Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books154793011Memoirs154754011Biographies & Memoirs154606011Kindle Books133141011Categories133140011Kindle Store154820011Travel154754011Biographies & Memoirs154606011Kindle Books133141011Categories133140011Kindle Store154780011General154754011Biographies & Memoirs154606011Kindle Books133141011Categories133140011Kindle Store156694011Aviation156693011Transportation156680011World156576011History154606011Kindle Books133141011Categories133140011Kindle Store0963869558http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Soldier-Enemys-Answer-Firepower/dp/0963869558%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0963869558285922http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C722K9M0L._SL75_.jpg7549http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C722K9M0L._SL160_.jpg160105http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C722K9M0L.jpg475311H. John PoolePaperbackWilliam S. LindMike Leahy3559780963869555940963869558Posterity PressEnglishEnglishEnglish8351495USD$14.95Posterity Press1360Book2001-08-09Posterity PressPosterity Press115551880USD$8.80500USD$5.002400USD$24.006124011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnew70iZa20Q8aCJNQHL3OmIeU5V9eRFfrXHX8SqJT2UA7jJ8%2FvXRmP3%2B9hR2XRFBnWtf4QT4j1LSkVB%2B%2FCtFQ8eqw%3D%3D1017USD$10.17Usually ships in 24 hours5.020409638695584002007-10-01

Outstanding Explanation of Effective Small Unit Tactis

Excellent book, but I am not sure the distinction is between Western and Oriental tactics. I suspect that American Indians, frontier scouts, the British SAS, U.S. Special Operations community, etc...would be very familiar with, and skilled at, these tactics. <br /> <br />A classic dilemma that resurfaces every time we go to war. Militaries, at least in the West, prepare to fight the last war and not the next one. As a free society, the public tends to forget the hard lessons learned and shuns warriors during times of peace. The end result is that we constantly are reinventing the wheel after every war/generation. <br /> <br />Victor Davis Hanson, in a recent editorial in the City Journal called Why Study War, gave a perfect example from the Post-Vietnam era; "The public perception in the Carter years was that America had lost a war that for moral and practical reasons it should never have fought--a catastrophe, for many in the universities, that it must never repeat. The necessary corrective wasn't to learn how such wars started, went forward, and were lost. Better to ignore anything that had to do with such odious business in the first place"...."A wartime public illiterate about the conflicts of the past can easily find itself paralyzed in the acrimony of the present. Without standards of historical comparison, it will prove ill equipped to make informed judgments." <br /> <br />A well-written and important book that provides an in-depth analysis of small unit tactics. <br />09638695585222007-08-21

Great Wisdom Simplified

<br />A sure test of talent and knowledge is the challenge of taking a very complex subject, explaining it in understandable terms and then offering solutions along with the understanding. My very brief stint in the Army ended long before Vietnam called the younger brothers of my generation. From the news reports it appeared that we suffered so many casualties only because the enemy was "sneaky" and prepared to die. How could the US lose to people who could not afford shoes? <br /> <br />Poole does a great job of bridging the gap from Sun Tzu to the muddy jungles of Vietnam and the significance of the lessons to our maneuver warfare. It is no accident that Boyd associate Willian Lind wrote the preface. <br /> <br />Poole finished the book just before 9/11. Our experience in Iraq and the Israeli experience during the past year show that we have much to learn. After 50 plus years of victories over various armies, the Israelis lost to what most consider a rag-tag army. Other than their heritage, they are as unlikely to defeat the Israelis as the sandal clod Vietnamese. <br /> <br />Poole's book is a gift to the small unit soldier and perhaps a greater gift to those in higher command who will order soldiers to assault targets with little understanding of what they may be facing. It may be at a distant command post or in the case of Somalia the commander flying overhead at 2,000 feet but unable to understand the river of lead flying down the street as he instructs troops to consolidate their positions. <br /> <br />This is a great aid to understanding current events and history from the comfort of your easy chair while balancing a martini on the arm. However, my sense is that it is far more valuable as a gift to a young trooper. In addition it should be mandatory reading ( along with Sun Tzu and Boyd's briefing slides) for every reporter who covers wars and "low intensity" conflicts. <br /> <br />Reading the book makes you appreciate Poole but feel uncomfortable with the contents. A great contribution. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />09638695585442006-11-24

Excellent Analysis on the Eastern Warfighter

As with all of Poole's works, we are treated here to an excellent analysis of the tactical sphere of war. This time, from the eastern fighter's perspective. Written, I believe, pre-9/11, the work itself is a thorough offering of actual techniques and wartime practices used by small units against western forces, but it is most remarkable in that it outlines in a concise and friendly manner what most analysts still fumble over on MSNBC. <br /> <br />In the world of tactical operations and small unit tactics, we can not ask for a better teacher than John Poole. Keep a close eye out for any and all of his works, for they have a lot to say about how and what western forces will fight for the next fifty years. <br /> <br />NOTE: This work makes a perfect companion to the author's "The Tiger Way," which outlines the ideal western method for combating such tactics. 096386955859112006-01-22

DANGER, DANGER, WILL ROBINSON

Danger, danger, is very much the message put forth in this book and it should be heeded before it is too late. Some reviewers have mentioned Sun Tzu and his rules of warfare. Sun Tzu puts forth a very reasoned and systematic set of rules that define a nations path to victory or defeat. By definition, our present leadership has us solidly on the path of defeat. Our people in the field have to both fight our Eastern enemies as well as carry a great weight of poor leadership at the highest levels. This book is very informative and is for the most part, completely accurate and frightening. <br /> <br />The idea that hardware superiority alone can replace common sense is ludicrous and this book digs deeply into this. I remember seeing news footage of our troops in Afganistan heading up into steep mountainous terrain encumbered with huge heavy packs and body armor. They could barely move. They should have had only their clothes, rifles, ammunition and food and water and some good lightweight footwear. If you are going to fight an Apache you have to be an Apache. It seems at times to me that our soldiers are forced simply to carry as much weight in useless (and expensive) contractor equipment as a mule. Small unit combat and the tactics that win in this arena will be the deciding factor. Something also needs to be done about our so called free press. This game is for blood not for profitable commercial air time and these people should be subjected to the sort of censorship that our country used in WWII and the sooner the better. <br /> <br />I feel also that some of the opinions voiced on China are a bit over the top. The Chinese wish to better themselves and are not necessarily motivated by a desire to hurt us per se. It is very possible that in future that the Chinese could help us. They should not be blindly antagonized. They think and plan in a fashion that is very, very, long term. Our own leadership is cripplingly shortsighted in strategic planning. <br /> <br />I have lived and worked in the Mid East for a number of years and my personal opinion of the Iraq war can be summed up as follows: <br /> <br />1. The US leaves Iraq now and the country will dissolve into a bloody civil war. <br /> <br />2. The US leaves later and Iraq dissolves into a bloody civil war. <br /> <br />This book documents many of the reasons why this is so. Anyone who cares about the future of our country and indeed the world (China included) should read this book. 096386955845122006-01-17

Inside Out

I read all these reviews and in the main agree with them. However, the real "way of western combat" is exemplified right here: we -- AT THE BOTTOM LEVEL -- are discussing all this and implementing it as we go. And as another reviewer mentioned, our soldiers are getting at it and learning from this NOW. Here's the clincher: does the oriental soldier or citizen do this. No way. It's not in their culture. Hasn't been for thousands of years. Unlikely to be unless huge changes occur in their citizenry. West = democracy / more free / BOTTOM-UP APPROACH. East = tyrrany / less free / TOP-DOWN APPROACH. <br /> <br />SUMMARY: I'd much rather be in the West facing the Eastern way of war rather than be in the East facing the Western way of war. Let's be data-driven: what is the kill ratio of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam? 40-1? 10-1? And yet, Poole's talk about Japan in WW2 making "infantry the most valued weapon". What?! Americans (and all European armies before them all the way back to Alexander) don't line up rows of infantry and charge across open fields to be mowed down. Doubt it? Guadacanal. Korea. etc. That's the "cultural" difference highlighted here: we value life, even a single soldiers. <br /> <br />Further reading: Carnage & Culture, by Victor Davis Hanson.Phantom Soldier: The Enemy’s Answer to U.S. Firepower may be the best treatise on Oriental warfare ever produced in the West. Well researched and illustrated, it sheds new light on what an Eastern infantry unit can do in combat: (1) alternate between guerrilla, mobile, and positional warfare; (2) use “ordinary forces” to engage and “extraordinary forces” to beat an opponent; and then (3) run away when fighting holds no more strategic import. While what occurred in history does not change, one’s perception of it does — as he comes to better understand his former adversary. Well versed in the Asian arts of deception and delay, the author explains in detail what really occurred at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir, Hue City, and other Vietnam battlefields. It would seem that former adversaries have used strategic retreat and tactical withdrawal not only to save their soldiers, but also to undermine U.S. resolve. By revealing how Eastern soldiers could hold their own without resupply, tanks, or air support, Phantom Soldier shows what U.S. infantrymen must do to survive the more lethal weaponry of the 21st century. This is must reading for any combat leader or concerned citizen.09638695740963869566096386958214184720770963869590684270011Military468230History468206Humanities465600New & Used Textbooks251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books712989011General AAS468230History468206Humanities465600New & Used Textbooks251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books684299011Military Sciences468214Social Sciences465600New & Used Textbooks251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books713011011General AAS468214Social Sciences465600New & Used Textbooks251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books712982011General AAS465600New & Used Textbooks251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books713014011General AAS319654011Qualifying Textbooks251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books5020Strategy5011Military9History1000Subjects283155Books5014General5011Military9History1000Subjects283155Books14450Military Science9History1000Subjects283155Books14637History of Technology14631Technology75Science1000Subjects283155Books400272011Paperback394184011Mass Market401237011Trade394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksR1L4ZLJZPCBKO2The Mighty Military!R5KWD8LP0L3SUWho are the Al Qaeda? What do they do?R26ENSHBXCNSCTKnow the enemyRW6UYU6NZZV38Get to Know the Background of the Islamic Enemies of the WorldR1BQ2UM1JYK0L2Warrior Classics3GS9SDM9OVVTBGuerrilla WarfareRTLR1YUQVXQOELUSIVE ENEMY: HOW TO FIND, FIX & FIGHT INSURGENTSBMKTF90PUV5P4th Generation WarriorXOAKFB8WJ053Military Studies 7--The Future of War156ZEJSWD8HS2The Future of Warfare?030436312Xhttp://www.amazon.com/PIECE-FICTION-Cassell-Military-Paperback/dp/030436312X%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D030436312X788815http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512I3JEB9LL._SL75_.jpg7549http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512I3JEB9LL._SL160_.jpg160105http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512I3JEB9LL.jpg500327Derek RobinsonPaperback823.9149780304363124170030436312XCassellEnglishEnglishEnglish1210995USD$9.95Cassell1672Book2002-08CassellCassell11076013300USD$133.004999USD$49.991900005.0204030436312X5002008-08-22

Comment on reviews

Just a comment about the reviews of this great book. Without rehashing the accolades and criticisms: If you think the character portrayal was disrespectful to "the Few," you have obviously, never spent any time in a tactical aviation unit. The dynamics of the young pilots' relationships with each other was pretty close to reality. <br /> <br />This book is spot on if you want to know what squadron life is like! (minus the chateau of course)030436312X5002008-06-16

Full of drama and suspense

I looked for this book after catching the end of the miniseries on TV. I guess the author broke a lot of "rules" about characters and probably other things, too, but I loved it. You might be introduced to a character, learn all about him, and find him dead two pages later. This gave me a sense for what it might have been like to live through those harrowing years. The readers, just like the aviators themselves, don't know who's going to make it through. An absolutely fascinating drama. Highly recommended! 030436312X5002007-06-08

Battle of Britain

Having grown up "over there" reading this book makes you wonder how indeed we did win the Battle of Britain. Great book.030436312X4662005-05-03

A cynical classic

The Battle of Britain. Dashing, fearless young patriots out of Shakespeare take to their machines to save Albion from Nazi bombers. Battling hopeless odds and a vastly superior enemy, these lions of the sky prevail against evil, save democracy, and land back at base in time for their tea. <br /> <br />Or not. <br /> <br />Derek Robinson's "Piece of Cake" has to be one of the most brutally cynical, myth-debunking pieces of historical fiction ever put to pen. In its 650+ pages it methodically, and at times gleefully, ravages the heroic sterotype of Britain's fighter pilots cemented by the hundreds of books, movies, and documentaries which have come out since the war. In the language of the book, it puts paid to all that bumf and tells the truth --or rather, Robinson's version of it. <br /> <br />"Cake" is the story of Hornet Squadron, a rather average collection of fighter pilots flying Hurricanes, between September 1939 and September 1940. It details their involvement in the "phoney war," the Battle of France and lastly, the Battle of Britain. From the very first chapter, when a number of the pilots wreck their car while driving home drunk from a pub, then steal a tractor, and finally horses, to get back to their base, the reader begins to realize that we few, we happy few, we band of brothers, is nowhere to be found here. With the occasional exception, Hornet Squadron is a collection of snobbish, selfish, sophomoric, not-too-terribly bright adrenaline junkies who joined the RAF in the hopes of blowing things up without legal consequences. It's a case of be careful what you wish for, times two. <br /> <br />For a story with so many characters -- the squadron has more than a dozen, and chaps are always getting knocked off and replaced -- Robinson does a terrific job of keeping them all fresh and distinct from each other. Each reader will have his own favorite "good" guy -- goodhearted flight leader Fanny Barton, the cold-blooded American volunteer Christopher Hart ("CH3"), the crazy as a loon Flash Gordon, or possibly the non-fighting duo of "Uncle" Kellaway (the squadron adj) and his sidekick, an Oxford don turned intelligence officer "Skull" Skellen, who spend a lot of time arguing about squirrels. There is no question about the squadron's biggest bastard -- not since "GoodFellas" Joe Pesci/Tommy DeVito did I hate somebody as much as Lance "Moggy" Cattermole, the big, smooth-talking sociopath who seems to enjoy tormenting and using his squadron mates even more than he likes to machine-gun German pilots as they hang helpless in their parachutes. Robinson takes positive delight in showing how how Hart's theory that "up there the world is divided into bastards and suckers" also applies on terra firma. <br /> <br />"Piece of Cake" was a contraversial book not only for its thoroughly unglamorous depiction of the RAF jocks but because it expands on the touchy and undiscussed issue of the RAF's kill claims. The pilots, who in fairness can hardly be blamed for making mistakes given the nature of air combat prior to the installation of the gun camera, claimed about 2.5 German aircraft destroyed for every one that actually was. The vastly overstated statistics issued by the RAF made their way into the postwar literature and contributed to the mythos surrounding the battle. In point of fact, the Germans had about 900 fighters to the Brits 600, and the Me 109 was badly hampered by its extremely short range and the necessity to try and protect the bombers. The odds were somewhat closer than the Brits care to believe. <br /> <br />"Piece of Cake" wasn't written to disparage the courage of the British pilots or denigrate their accomplishments, but to show them for what they were -- young, often immature officer-boys of varying character who sometimes died stupid and futile deaths. In other words, human beings at war. In this sense, Robinson does the RAF a favor, for heroism is much more impressive when it comes from real people rather than Hollywood cartoons. After all, peacetime flaws often make for wartime virtues. Or as Hart says to Fanny Barton about Moggy: "He really does like killing people. You don't know how lucky you are to have him." <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />030436312X5442004-12-05

Gateau Robinson: a treat

This is one of my favourite books ever, perhaps rivalled only by Robinson's other masterpiece, "Goshawk Squadron", both of which I have read and re-read again and again over the years. The writing is simple, subtle and brilliant, the dialogue sparking and witty, the atmosphere vivid. <br /> <br />Was this what life in the RAF was really like at the start of the Second World War? The author's unemotional writing carries with it a gritty and entirely convincing sense of reality; you cannot help think that this is really how it was. <br /> <br />From the opening sentence to the final full stop, Robinson delivers a tense and entertaining story whose characters spring to life from the pages. If many of his personae are necessarily only lightly sketched and interchangeable, others are multi-dimensional portraits that remind me forcefully of the kind of people I went to school with or suffered under as a pupil. (I served my time in a British Public School. By the 1960s we were living in 1890). <br /> <br />We meet Ramsey, headstrong and impatient, but he is in such a hurry that we have little time to get to know him. Fanny Barton, an athletic but uncertain New Zealander suffers from social insecurity and a nervous introspection that drives him to hasty and poorly considered decisions. Lord Rex is confident and breezy, but his aristocratic charm disguises an unpleasant ruthless arrogance, and sometimes callous cruelty. Despite his experience as a pilot in the First World War, the much older adjutant Kellaway comes from an earlier epoch, and ideas of gallantry are not completely erased. Skull Skelton, the intelligence officer, by contrast, sees the folly of war for what it is - and gains few friends from his outspoken views. Moggy Cattermole is thoroughly unlikeable from the beginning. When we meet him he has just stolen a giant gollywog from someone by punching him in the eye. As the story progresses his unusually ugly character is slowly revealed to the reader. By contrast, Chris Hart III is an upright, cynical, war-weary American, viewed by some as an unwelcome colonial intrusion into a thoroughly British war. <br /> <br />On the ground, Robinson evokes the colours and scents of wartime France and England, and mercilessly - but without fuss - shows us the muddle, misconceptions and incompetence of the administrative machinery of 1939 and 1940. He lets the reader see the unthinking class snobbery of the young pilots, making us reassess these otherwise often likeable individuals and realise that by upbringing they must in many cases have been blinkered and insufferable, arrogant self-anointed masters of the universe. But you cannot dislike these pilots. They live intensely and with gusto, and the reader is swept up into their funny, unscrupulous, devil-take-the-hindmost world where a quick turn of phrase and disregard for personal safety are badges of honour. <br /> <br />By the outbreak of the air war in 1940 the Spanish Civil War had convincingly demonstrated that large formations of fighters were horribly vulnerable to attacks from an enemy using more flexible tactics. The RAF ignored the lesson that the Luftwaffe had taught the Spanish Republican Air Force and stuck to the outmoded air gymkhana for no reason but doctrine. Robinson shows in this book how the RAF gradually came to accept that doctrine does not win air battles. <br /> <br />In the air, Robinson immerses us in a vast and frightening arena of battle. His descriptions of flying a Hurricane are so well executed that the reader can almost feel the vibration of the airframe and smell the hot oil and hear the exhilarating roar from the Merlin engine. In some books you can predict which character will live and which die; in this book you get the feeling that you had better not get too attached to any of the jaunty, interesting individuals that inhabit its pages. Death is as unexpected and final here as it must have been to the young men and women who saw these events at first hand. Robinson delivers battle in the air with a mastery that leaves the reader shocked and shaken as death scythes in from below, from behind, from nowhere, in an abrupt shuddering blur from the empty sky. <br /> <br />I have read many war novels. "Piece of Cake" has few rivals. <br />Derek Robinson's depiction of an RAF fighter squadron during the Battle for France and the Battle of Britain won critical acclaim but upset the DAILY TELEGRAPH-reading public. His pilots were real human beings, far from convinced of the wisdom of their military leaders or that of Churchill, for that matter. The likelihood of being burned to death in a Hurricane concentrated their minds on other things. Some turned to drink. Some turned on their own in order to survive. Others, most notably the brilliantly drawn anti-hero Flight Lieutenant 'Moggy' Cattermaul, scored a succession of aerial victories even if his behaviour on the ground was utterly unforgivable. A vivid and unforgettable portrait of young men at war: real men, not the two-dimensional stiff-upper-lip heroes of legend. 0786715952B00004W5P1078671618519040106520304361828465308General5031World War II5011Military9History1000Subjects283155Books713322011General AAS5031World War II5011Military9History1000Subjects283155Books10177Historical10134Genre Fiction17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books10195War10134Genre Fiction17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books10129Contemporary17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books713365011General AAS17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books400272011Paperback394184011Mass Market401237011Trade394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksR39QMOSLV2P2S9Incredibly good readsR3KYOXH8W33JNFMy Favorite World War 2 NovelsR1NLAOUQKD0GFXEight is Enough - Great Works of Military FictionR1G96OWDUKFAKWWar what is it good for?2ZBFQXESIA0KLAll I Want for Christmas - lots of good reading2RLLWVYAKK2YWGood WW II Books (and a few movies) you may not know about1U05Z3VUS3NHRGreat Flying Books1932714200http://www.amazon.com/Plenty-Blame-Around-Controversial-Gettysburg/dp/1932714200%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D1932714200291469http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vflFWlzeL._SL75_.jpg7550http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vflFWlzeL._SL160_.jpg160107http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vflFWlzeL.jpg500334Eric J. WittenbergJ. David PetruzziHardcover973.734997819327142031601932714200Savas BeatieEnglishEnglishEnglish9103295USD$32.95Savas Beatie1456Book2006-09-01Savas BeatieSavas Beatie1456302059USD$20.591749USD$17.4915360011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewmzcp1ica6YjsY0KdDrcsBpF%2FzsCPxiGDqQ6c4aul0NzaKzEyAC9cw3agWkMfxMUaNdkj3S%2FyqxuIfYP4zTB7zeq1exCNCugr2175USD$21.75Usually ships in 24 hours5.020419327142005332008-10-06

Fact from fiction

No matter what you may think you know about Jeb Stuart's ride, you have to read this book. Its that good!!19327142005232008-06-13

Those who failed to win the Ballle and those that Lost it

Lets face it Lee lost the battle of Gettysburg. He admitted it himself, but he did have a co-conspirator. Due to his criticism of Lee, the fact that he wasnot your typical chivarlous southerner and becoming a Republican after the war Longstreet had been pick for that role. Everyone of the confederate corp commanders made mistakes. Cocky Hill letting Pettigrew go to Gettyburg with no idea of what was in front of him. Indecisive Ewell failing to attack Cenetery Hill when even Hancock admitted later that it could have been taken with a timely southern attack. And then there was Longstreet or what i like to call "The little train that couldnt" who whether right about not attacking the union postition or not certainly had a hand in that failure with his sulkying and perhaps even self fullfilling prophecy due to his lethargy and slowness. The mistakes these corp commanders made did not win the battle but only two if you want to discount that the federals won it lost the battle. Lee's ofder of pickett's charge and his incompetence in not properly overseeing Longstreets diligence in overseeing the attack especially Hill's corp lost the battle. Staurt was co-conspirator for these reason's. Would Hill have stumbled into a general engagement if Staurt's cavalry would have been there to report that it was federal cavalry and not militia in Gettysburg. There has been claims that there was sufficent cavalry left to Lee yet Stuart took every exceptional commander with him on his ride. What if he had left Wade Hampton to oversee that cavalry. As for Ewell he was getting reports that federal infantry was advancing up the Baltimore Pike It was confederate skirmishers and he was told that but how much did that and his ignorance of what federal forces were coming up because Stuart was not there to tell him contributed to Ewell hesitation. Not even Stuart can be blamed for Ewell not occupying an unoccupied Culps Hill. As for Longstreet and his suggested small flanking movement around the round tops and his larger one of putting the Condeferate force between Meade and Washington on defensible ground forcing Meade to attack. How feasible would they have been if Stuart would have been there to tell Lee where the federal forces were. Everyone of the corp commanders mistakes has the hand of Staurt on them. As for Picketts charge that was Lee's and Lee's alone so dont get the idea that this review is in anyway an attempt to exonerat him. Malvern Hill and Picketts charge showed he could perhaps be too audacious. Regarding this book hopefully it is the beginning of a movement that those Lee adoletors if they want to scapegoat Lee's failure at least it will go to the proper person. Stuart not Longstreet. I dont care about his brillance before and after the battle, i dont care that he died for his country. I dont care if he represented true southern chilavry. Jeb Staut made a monumental mistake in how he choose to obey Lee's orders by choosing a route that he could have foreseen the union army blocking his way north and his total lack of urgency in getting to Lee by chasing a wagon train half way to Washington. I have read Lee's order and while it may have given Stuart discretion in how he got there