Ross Books

"American War Plans: 1945-1950" by Steven T. Ross is a detailed look at the planning that the United States undertook in the period from the end of World War II to the beginning of the Korean War in order to meet the rising Soviet threat, with a strong emphasis on the word "plan". If you are looking for a book on early Cold War politics, or even a look at U.S. grand strategy in the post-war era, this is not what you are looking for. Ross concerns himself exclusively with the military's contingency planning for open war with the U.S.S.R., and given the hypothetical nature of that planning, and the vastly reduced role in policy formulation the military enjoyed post 1945, these plans are exercises in threat evaluation, and generally speaking, not power politics.

Ross' work opens with perhaps one of the great ironies of the Cold War: by 1946 the U.S. military, arguably the most powerful armed force in history at the end of WWII, and certainly the most well rounded, had been gutted to the point that it was not only incapable of defending Western Europe, it was largely incapable of even slowing the U.S.S.R. down. At the same time, there is the puzzling dichotomy of a military forced to rely on atomic weapons to compensate for a lack of conventional forces, at the same time that they have no idea how many weapons are available, and only a dim view of their battlefield utility. Thus, the first plans Ross discusses, are defined by a complete withdrawal from Western Europe, and a WWIII fought from the Middle East. The initial phases of such a conflict would entail an evacuation of continental Western Europe, a reinforcement of Great Britain, and securing the Mediterranean theater of operations. At the same time, atomic attacks would attempt to pound the U.S.S.R. and its satellites into submission. In the final phases of this scenario, the Allies would drive into the Soviet Union from the south, through the Caucuses. This final element is interesting in that it draws far more on the maneuver theory so prevalent today, than do the latter iterations of the plan, which presage the defense in depth of later decades.

It would excessive to give an overview of each additional scenario, but there are a few developments in the following years that often define the remainder of the Cold War era. The first is that the arms race is defined at a very early date; aside from the use of atomic weapons, Ross repeatedly mentions contingency planning for the development, and presumable use, of chemical and biological weapons. Along those same lines, the direction of nuclear war was pretty much set by 1948, as the first target of atomic bombs became the enemy's atomic bombs. Thus, in the span of three years, atomic bombs went from being a decisive weapon, to a non-factor (although it wasn't recognized yet) as all battlefield utility (e.g. counterforce) had largely been removed from their employment. This likewise dovetails into the internecine strife that often characterized the service branch turf wars of the Cold War. In particular, the Air Force/Navy battles become apparent as the Air Force argues that atomic war is the primary task in any future war, rather than one of many. In addition, although it is never explicit, the refusal to mount a first strike becomes implicit in U.S. military planning at this point. Finally, Ross' discussion of the fears for terrorism and subversion in the U.S., including the use of unconventional weapons by Soviet agents strongly echoes the fears of a post 9/11 world.

Ultimately, the need to shore up European allies in the newly formed NATO brings planning full circle, as the Joint Chiefs are forced by political requirements to plan for the defense of Europe. This, when combined with the Korean War, finally begins the process of funding that will allow the U.S. to have at least a reasonable chance of defending Europe. Thus, in five years another full circle is achieved as the military is gutted to achieve a political expedient, only to be rebuilt in order to achieve a different one.

In the end, Ross has done an excellent job of compiling numerous primary sources into a through, cogent and readable volume. His considerations of budget constraints versus planning necessities serve as a constant grounding for the work, and his exploration of the challenges of atomic planning is both interesting in and of itself, and critical to understanding the development of America strategy. This is a must read for any student of the Cold War.

Jake Mohlman

U.S. War Plans 1939-45 presents source material documents which outline U.S. war plans for the second world war, with introductory chapters outlining joint war strategy operations and the documents following. Libraries and individuals with in-depth collections on World War II history will find this an invaluable reference which assembles under one cover U.S. war plans and meeting results.

Dr. Furth does an excellent job of bringing light and understanding to a difficult subject, giving hope and compassion to those who suffer from this disorder and making great strides towards enlightening those who hold unfair prejudices against those afflicted. This book is a must for anyone who suffers from apotemnophilia, for anyone who loves an apotemnophiliac and for professional therapists who have shown ignorance in the face of a client's very real plight. Many compliments to the author for taking a stand and for fighting the good fight.

although i didn't buy this book yet i have read it. as an eager mathematics student i found it to be compelling. i totally loved it. i have never found a book that displays such an abundance of information without confusing the reader. i'm 15 and in calculus so it wasn't hard reading but i still wish i had it. i find times when it would have been very useful in remembering important topics connected to parametric and polar coordinates. i especially would find it useful for my small side learning of multivaraible calculus where it's information on spherical and cylindrical coordinate systems would be very helpful. throughout the book i was interested and i would recommend it to anyone who likes math

The Battleship "Warspite" was one of 5 ships of the Queen Elizabeth class and went on to serve with great distinction in World War 1 (including the Battle of Jutland) and World War 2 before finally being scrapped in 1947. Today, almost 60 years after she fired her last shot in anger (10 September 1944 off Le Havre), there are those who will remember serving on this magnificent ship and others who are interested in every facet of her history as well as her construction and technical detail. This is an excellent book for all such enthusiasts.

Conway Maritime Press are well known for their "Anatomy of the Ship" series in which they provide the finest technical documentation for specific ships or ship types ever published. "The Battleship Warspite" is hard-back measuring 10¼" (wide) x 9¾" with 120 pages of detailed and factual information. The wide format allows the publishers to produce first class detailed line drawings of every aspect of this ship in a size that is easy to see and follow. All the information is there - right down to the last nut and bolt.

Commencing with a potted history of the Queen Elizabeth class, we then have a career summary of the Warspite before coming on to a series of "Tables" which provide us with the technical details of construction, general arrangements, hull structure, protection, machinery, comparisons, armament, fire control, aircraft and so on. Next is 22 pages of historic photographs followed by 80 pages of detailed line drawings and technical information.

And detailed it is too; Under just one main heading "General arrangements" we have drawing after drawing showing every aspect of this ship in cross section - deck by deck and room by room, from aft to bows. Then everything is repeated from above as we work our way down through every level of the ship from the highest part of the superstructure to the keel. These are followed with more specific technical information under such headings as hull construction, machinery, accommodation, superstructure, rig, armament, fire control, fittings, disruptive camouflage, ground tackle, boats and finally aircraft arrangements.

The inclusion of even the humble Signal Locker (that box comprising almost 100 small "pigeon-holes" in which the different signal flags were kept) gives an indication of the attention to detail put into this book and, once again, I congratulate both the author and publishers for a job well done.

NM

I love this book. Although it is rated for ages 9-12, I am a graduate of an Ivy League school and I find that it quickly refreshes as well as adds to my (already good) knowledge of world history.

Its point of view is commendable: the author writes as if he were an extra-terrestrial just visiting Planet Earth, thus can write about all peoples--American, Europeans, Hispanics, Polynesians, Africans, Japanese, Chinese, Asian Tigers--in a neutral but interested and caring way, for his people out there in the stars to read.

He touts the amazing achievements of several peoples but also pokes fun at their faults and confusions in a breezy but not overblown style. He tells us of nationalism and the rise and fall of individual empires and nations including their feats, truths and dreams as well as their lies, illusions, and exaggerations. Even Science is shown as a rising God that blesses us with favors but also punishes us with headaches.

The book is illustrated in full color, comic-book style, and peppered with delightful stories in virtually every page. It is a good first book or refresher for anyone wishing to start, or again get going at, delving deeper into world history, from the Big Bang several billion years ago to the present. The readers ends up both appreciative and skeptical of humanity, in short with the truth.

I noticed a couple of typos at the end of the book, but they are minor blemishes in a truly excellent book of about 120 pages.

This book has a real feel for the two main characters, Shade and Rachel. The background information on what's happening helps to keep the book move at the pace that is set by Rachel's boss, Joshua. You see, Rachel is Shade's guardian angel and has been given a set time limit in which to save him from his revenge tactics to save his blood brother. This book is an excellant to read and takes your emotions on a rollercoaster ride from anxiety to joy and down to tears. It's also has a moral to this tale that is : Don't go for revenge as something will get them in the end.

Metaphorically The Angry Tide is a novel well-named. This is the watershed volume in the series, and also the one that breaks from the eighteenth-century which readers of Poldark had heretofore known, and brings to conclusion many storylines, situations....and characters. Death is more plentiful in this Poldark book than in any other, if not in all others combined. Several central figures do not survive this story, and one who is lost here is not only someone known from the series' start, but a person surely everyone had thought truly irreplaceable: which this person was, for the series is never the same afterward, nor is the shadow cast by this figure's death ever absent in the five books that bring Poldark to its 1820 conclusion.

In The Angry Tide, Captain Ross Poldark, a man of independent thought, is elected a member of parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, and he and Demelza travel by coach across the breadth of England, arriving in a London splendidly described by Winston Graham. (After the chapter that sets the characters firmly in the capital, you'll feel as if you've just taken a guided tour of the world's largest city in the concluding years of the 1700's.) In London, Ross and Demelza settle in only to be swept up into the tide of political life and intrigue, as the nation gossips of little else besides the new man of the hour, whose reputation as a master of warfare carries his name fearfully to every mind: Napoleon Bonaparte. Elsewhere, Elizabeth, desperate to heal the rift in her marriage to George, takes the most drastic step imaginable and consults with a famed foreign obstetrician, intend on inducing premature birth of the child she carries, hoping a second premature delivery might lay to rest George's doubts about his being the father of her son, Valentine. In another marriage in the series, the portly, despicable Reverend Osborne Whitworth, far from a sinless clergyman, rediscovers the charms of a more than willing substitute for his psychologically traumatized wife Morwenna, and in so doing gets more than he could ever have bargained for. And lastly in London, the calculating George Warleggan befriends a sadistic former infantry officer, a man who loves killing and fears no one, a celebrated marksman who has emerged the victor in many past duels, and whose lust for Demelza---and distaste for Ross---comes to a head with pistols at dawn in one of the city's parks...

In all my library of children's delights this is my very all time favorite book regarding both wordplay about animals and children alike. This book will lull you into one spasm of laughter after another and leave your heart and mind so soothed and rekindled, you will leap into reading it again and again. I am lucky enough to own the original 1913 copy but shall order the new one for my new neice. Good reading and happy hunting, Jen

Anna Halprin is now 82 years old. Retirement - 'I have so many dances to do yet.'

And dance she does, in her own way, her own style, dancing based on a long, long lifetime of breaking the mold of tradition.

This book is an admiring biography of Anna and even more a story of the dances she has performed. Ms. Ross is Associate Profesor of Drama at Stanford University and the author of several books on dance. She had virtually unlimited access to Anna, her husband Lawrence, and their extensive files, making this essentially an approved biography.

It is clear that Ms. Ross admires Anna a great deal. Not only as a dancer and teacher of dance, but as a woman, a human being that has led a life of exploration of finding new grounds, of struggle against cancer. Her book reflects this admiration. It reports on a life well lived.