Research Books

In this material world, can you imagine someone devoting several years of their life -- for free -- to the cause of uniting the human community together for peace. If that weren't inspiration enough, you must read this book. Every page glistens with brilliance, heart, and soul. In this uptight time of fear, terror and war, it is thoroughly refreshing to feel the light of this torch of peace. If you can get a copy, read this book, then give it to your best friend.

Go ahead and make my millennium! Ken Kalb has lit a spiritual torch on this planet, the likes of which has never been seen since Jesus Christ. He's got millions of people passionately greeting the millennial year in love. He even has the likes of Marianne Williamson, Neale Donald Walsch, James Redfield calling for precisely the same meditations at the same time that he has been calling for (copy cats!). Sometimes whisphering the right thing in the right ears gets you more mileage. This is a wonderful book. It has filled me with joy. Read this book right away! You'll love it.

I am so thoroughly moved. If this book were read and taken to heart by the masses, we would have peace on Earth with most of our problems solved. What a thrilling and inspirational work filled with breakthrough information. Ken Kalb shold win the Nobel Peace Prize for LightShift 2000:Let's Turn on the Light of the World.

This book is not good, its GREAT! It is a joy to read its inspirational pages. Light yet deep, it is a practical plan for personal growth and world peace. It took me just two hours to read, yet I have a lifetime of wisdom in my hands. Do yourself a good deed and read this book NOW!

A small book with a BIG message. I am totally inspired and filled with hope after reading LightShift 2000! Ken Kalb acted upon a vision of the human family merging in spirit at the turn of the millennium he originally had during a near death experience in 1969. After "getting" it several more times, he acted upon it and voila, we now have a planetary movement where a million people all meditate on the first of the month to uplift the world's spirit. Beautifully written and illustrated, the author weaves together all the related methods and topics which surround this transformative undertaking. I wish this were a text book in all the schools! I will gift many copies of LightShift 2000, because it will help uplift this tenuous world into the the creation of a positive future. Bravo!

Rathje's and Murphy's RUBBISH! is insightful and engaging. Their anecdotes about the ironies of environmental movements rallying behind particular causes (like McDonald's styrofoam clam shells), and their analyses of popular misconceptions about waste provide, great food for thought for policy makers and for environmentally-minded individuals concerned about the problems with waste and its disposal. Along the way, the authors demonstrate the utility of archaeological knowledge for dealing with current social challenges. This book is a really great read!

Great book. Rathje is a engaging figure that delivers a good story - the story of our garbage.

Highly recommended.

I never thought reading about garbage would be interesting - well, okay, actually I did, otherwise I would have never read this book. I mean that I didn't suspect the book would be so darn interesting. Garbage really sheds a strong light on the culture that generates it. Just think, your garbage tells us a lot about who you are. Future archaeologists are going to love digging through our old garbage in a few thousand years. Oh, what a story it will tell.

This is an overview of the University of Arizona's continuing trash sorting project started in 1972 to document the lifestyle habits of the American public through observing what we eat, what we use in household goods, etc., and then throw out. Socio, political and economic behaviors become evident while recording the fascinating finds in daily trash digging, probing, and quantifying.

This project also included studies at the now closed Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island in New York City where holes were bored all the way to the bottom of the fill and where the studies then took on a more ominous dimension of environmental impact discoveries such as: that the breakdown of trash, even over years, is a myth. The research showed that there is little biodegradation occurring due to compaction and lack of bacterial decomposition, so the researchers found completely intact and recognizable items from food to readable newsprint- even at the bottom of the heap where it was at least 50 years old- same type discoveries of intact trash heaps discovered in ancient Rome, Greece, etc.

Most distressing of the discoveries in the landfill was the discovery of the huge quantity of "leachate"- a toxic liquid stew, that is leaking at the rate of a million gallons a day into New York Harbor.

The book concludes with recommendations on alternatives to landfill as a means to dispose of trash plus recycling and lifestyle changes.

For another enlightening read on all things trash, there is Elizabeth Royte's "Garbage Land"- a personal story of discovery of what her family's trash footprint is and where everything including recyclables ends up- a real eye-opener and an entertaining read!

"Rubbish" is a highly academic book about "The Garbage Project" at the University of Arizona's Anthropology Department. The main idea behind "The Garbage Project" is to gain information about society by analyzing garbage patterns in various locations.

Despite being a book about garbage, the contents of the book are quite diverse. The book is divided into 4 parts. The first section, An Introduction to the Garbage Project, gives the background of "The Garbage Project", why it started, what they do, and what they hope to accomplish. This section also discusses how anthropologists use garbage to learn about ancient civilizations. The second section, The Landfill Excavations, discuss the basic theories of landfills, how the team takes samples from landfills, and discusses why biodegradation does not work in landfills. The third section, Interlude: Diapers and Demographics, I found to be highly entertaining. This section has a fascinating chapter on estimating the population of a neighborhood (as well as sex and age) based on the garbage collected from this neighborhood (a study done to initially help the Census Bureau). This section is also filled with useless information such as "There is a link between owning a cat and reading "The National Enquirer"". There is also a detailed discussion about disposable diapers in landfills. The final section, Garbage and the Future, was the most educational by far. This part discusses the serious shortcomings of citywide recycling programs and side effects people never hear about. There are also discussions on alternate garbage disposal methods, such as high tech incinerators used to generate electricity, as well as several other attempts at using technology to turn garbage into a useful product. The section and the book end with a chapter on reducing and addressing garbage disposal.

I think this book will not be for everyone. The book reads like a Master's Thesis at times, rather long and seems to ramble. However, some parts of the book are exceptional (such as the chapter on recycling or "Closing the Loop") and are really an eye opener.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Environmental Sciences. Also, if you can manage to wade through pages of various scientific theories and facts, I'd highly recommend picking this book up! While a little slow reading at times, it is quite informative and I think a real eye opener.

Was used as a textbook, but is an excellent reference book for managers.

I like his 5 spheres of side-by-side leadership. He then added certain skills to each sphere. 20 skills in total spread out among 5 spheres. I found his chapter on "Interaction Fields" to be the most useful part of the book. I read other books on leadership. And this one has a lot of good information. Great book to read for a beginner in leadership.

Just like many other leadership books, he tries to look at great leaders. In general he doesn't present anything new. He just found new ways to say what is now being said repeatedly in other leadership books. Is it worth reading this book? Yes... as I said earlier, especially if you're new to true leadership. If you have been having problems with your leadership position, defiantly read this book.

In conclusion, it is a good leadership book filled with practical tips. Not only defines what leadership is, but tells you how to lead as well, explaining his ideas based on what works.

... I believe that the leadership points the direction of where to go and when to get there and the frontline people figure out the "how" part. When I picked up Side-By-Side Leadership, I was immediately struck by the wealth of research to support the basic premise of the book. I was also impressed with the careful, almost scientific approach Dennis took in proving the case for frontline people driving performance improvement by working side-by-side with organizational leadership. I knew we were kindred spirits when I read a few lines on page 44 " The effective Side-by-Side leader is aware of all of these influences on the team and organization and knows that frontline people -- the employees who are in daily contact with customers and suppliers -- are often the first to discover new opportunities and threats to the organization. By maintaining a two-way dialog, Side-by-Side leaders and their contributors can respond quickly to changes without losing sight of their goals." If you want true, sustainable and significant performance improvement in your organization, regardless of your industry, read the book and bring the concepts into your heart. Let your actions speak louder than your words to the people in your organization.

Dennis Romig has done an excellent job of integrating real world experience with a wealth of research to create a very readable book. Often leadership books are criticized for being "too theoretical" or "too soft" for the real world. This book is different. The principles and best practices presented are backed up with "hard" data obtained from the review of 3,000 studies.

The ideas presented in this book can really make a difference to the bottom line. Applying these innovative ideas will yield productivity gains, improvement in employee morale, and increased profits. This leadership model departs from both the "top down" and "bottom up" models of leadership. It presents a third model which Dennis Romig calls "Side by Side" leadership. The Side by Side model recognizes that leadership is about building and sustaining effective relationships. "Leadership is facilitating Side by Side relationships in pursuit of shared goals."

Romig points out that often the most effective way for leaders to influence others is to "change their own behavior." This is right in line with Stephen Covey's "inside out" approach to leadership and Bowen's Natural Systems Theory. The Side by Side model recognizes that leadership involves facilitating and coordinating a two-way influence process. Such leadership is mutual, interactive, and shared.

In the top-down, authoritarian model of leadership influence is one-way. Top-down leaders usually listen only to a few others-mostly those in authority above them in the hierarchy. On the opposite side of the leadership spectrum are the bottom-up leaders who have allowed participative management practices and "democracy" in the work place to get completely out of hand. Dennis Romig presents a "third way" that is a higher way than either the top-down or bottom-up approach.

The Side by Side leadership model appears to be the closest of the three models to Robert Greenleaf's vision of Servant-Leadership.

"Executives who spent their entire careers practicing autocratic leadership read Robert Greenleaf's Servant Leadership and did a complete turnaround. But they mistake Greenleaf and others like him. They went too far. The proponents of participative management never meant to advocate a one-way, bottom-up model...Neither top-down nor bottom-up has worked very well for us."

Dr. Romig presents five spheres of influence in Side by Side Leadership. These five spheres are:
1. Personal
2. Interpersonal
3. Team
4. Organizational
5. Knowledge

Most of us are strong in one or two of these spheres, but naturally weaker in other spheres. For instance, you may excel at personal and knowledge leadership, but be weaker in interpersonal, organizational, and team leadership. This is an important concept. An organization needs leadership in all five spheres. It is unlikely that a single individual will excel in all five spheres of influence.

Dennis Romig identifies seven principles that are critical in all five spheres of influence. These principles include focused creativity and structured participation. Each of the five spheres of influence can be thought of as an assemblage of these seven principles. Finally, the author shows that it is important for a Side by Side leader to master twenty critical skills, such as two-way listening and living organizational values.

With five spheres of influence, seven principles, and twenty skills to master, this leadership model may seem overly complex. That is just the point. Too many authors have taken a simplistic approach to leadership. Leadership is not simple! It is a complex system with many interrelated parts. However, Dr. Romig has done a superb job of integrating all these elements and relationships into his book, keeping references to research findings brief and to the point. He shows that there are many "entry points" into the Side by Side leadership model, and there are many different ways to be a successful leader. This is not a "one size fits all" kind of book!

I want to thank Ray Bard at Bard Press for suggesting I review this book.

I rarely get this excited over a book. Buy it! Read it. Get excited too!

Review By Dr. J. Howard Baker

Dennis Romig's consulting experience gives real and personal flavor to this research-based guide for leaders. His examples are interesting and the book is especially readable because he keeps his references to research findings brief and compelling. I was especially interested in his references to Bowen's work on patterns to be watched for in teams and organizations. Romig has written a great "how to" text of best practices.

This is an excellent book for artists fo all kinds. Our company has a library we make available to Production Designers - this is a great addition.

A luscious collection of photographs of beautiful colors and textures to inspire any artist/designer and be used as reference again and again.

There are nice collection of the samples.You can enjoy to look through them.

This book is one of the best references for any designer and painter in the industry. Color Photos are amazing and complete. I have been wanting to purchase it for years now and am very glad to add it to my collection. All of her books are worth having in any artists library.

I think I was a little hard on Judy Juracek with reference to the included CD. What Ms. Juracek has done in the way of cataloguing is nothing short of miraculous and one should not expect that every image on the CD would be photographed dead on and shadow-perfect. I was just really irked by the image quality of a CD I had such high hopes for. I purchased this book when it first came out for a Hundred Dollars retail but the price I now see listed online seems almost a steal for the treasure trove contained within.

In any case, A recent search reveals that even more books in the series have been written by the author and I'm excited to purchase these as well--let's hope the image quality has improved on the included CDs for the new millenium we're in. I guess you could still expect "middlin'" quality for an image CD produced back in the "stoneage" of the 90's. The book is GREAT!

adequate resource for my nursing education course. does not include mentoring or preceptorship, which was my presentation topic.

Very thorough and easy to read. Included all pertinent information from theorist, models of learning, taxonomies, to styles of student learning and much more. Each chapter was concise and to the point.

I am studying education at the moment and this book has been an excellent source of reference. I would recommend this to other education students.

As a future nursing educator I found this book to be indispensable. Over the past fifteen years of my nursing career, I have been in virtually every nursing educational setting. For this reason I have collected numerous books and nursing resources on the subjects of cognitive processes, learning and teaching techniques. This book by far pulls all the information together, and it will become the most utilized of my collection. The information is laid out in a logical format that starts with the basic concepts, theories, objectives and goals of learning. She then moves on to explain how to prepare and conduct classes. She concludes with the testing and evaluation process. DeYoung takes you gradually through everything you need to know to formulate and conduct a classroom setting that is both stimulating and achieves the goal of educating nurses to become critical thinking, problem-solvers. Her work employs the latest research on learning/education and at the end of every chapter she reinforces learning through case studies, critical thinking exercises and ideas for future research. Any nursing educator within the academic setting or within the clinical area would benefit from this text. She has made the material easy to understand for the beginning educator and advanced enough for the expert. I wish I had had this resource at the start of my career. I absolutely recommend this book.

As a future nursing educator I found this book to be indispensable. Over the past fifteen years of my nursing career, I have been in virtually every nursing educational setting. For this reason I have collected numerous books and nursing resources on the subjects of cognitive processes, learning and teaching techniques. This book by far pulls all the information together, and it will become the most utilized of my collection. The information is laid out in a logical format that starts with the basic concepts, theories, objectives and goals of learning. She then moves on to explain how to prepare and conduct classes. She concludes with the testing and evaluation process. DeYoung takes you gradually through everything you need to know to formulate and conduct a classroom setting that is both stimulating and achieves the goal of educating nurses to become critical thinking, problem-solvers. Her work employs the latest research on learning/education and at the end of every chapter she reinforces learning through case studies, critical thinking exercises and ideas for future research. Any nursing educator within the academic setting or within the clinical area would benefit from this text. She has made the material easy to understand for the beginning educator and advanced enough for the expert. I wish I had had this resource at the start of my career. I absolutely recommend this book.

Why do people post who have NOT read the book they are writing a review for?! Like the poster below. Don't bother seeking Dorothy Parker's review of Technique of the Love Affair, like I did, thinking Parker maybe wrote more, because it's IN THE BOOK! And is, like, a paragraph long, at best; more than half is quoted on the very page you're reading!

That rant aside, I love this book. While one should take its advice as lightly as its tone, it has invaluable tips for relating to men, especially the majority who, as Moore describes, are conformists congratulating themselves for being exceptional individuals, ie, supremely attached to the particular status symbols and labels of their class. Which, as an influence in paramour/mate selection, is NOT to be underestimated, personal experience has shown me. Moore's advice has been especially enlightening during some perplexing encounters with the male species; I am increasingly indebted to her as I get older. Doris Langley Moore deserves more appreciation!

Wonderful book, not very politically correct though. What I really loved about this book is that it provided a framework on how to be, rather than a detailed list of rules. It seemed to recommend easing into ones natural state with time rather than a indefinite charade. I regularly re-read it to help with my dating practices.

I have NOT read this book! However, if you can get your hands on "The Portable Dorothy Parker" (available through Amazon), you might want to read HER review of this book.

This book is so elegantly and beautifully written that the words just jump off the pages. The good sense that is written is self-evident - i.e you don't read it thinking "oh thats not how I feel" but simple truths, well-written just resonate with the reader. Like other books of simple truths this book is timeless and can be applied easily to the "modern male" - I'm sure men would not be overjoyed to realise how predictable they are, but my friends, you are, but then women are too. This shows a woman how to play the dating game. However, I do think it is interesting to note that it was written when Miss Langley-Moore was 22 and she later divorced her husband of twenty years and ended up remaining single for the rest of her life. She seemed to find her greatest interest and joy in the fashion world and in writing. So, perhaps, on a human level "playing the game" isn't spiritually satisfying in the long run - even the author admits it is "hard to do but worth the candle". She seems to have decided in her forties it wasn't worth the candle after all. However, in terms of staggering effectiveness this works. I can attest to that and it also gives a woman some good boundaries to work within so one doesn't end up a victim of their emotions. Its also really good guide for getting those men you may previously have thought were out of your league. I can assure you they are not - in fact the more successful and intelligent the more they seem to respond to these techniques!

The top book on male-female relationships ever! Originally published in the 1920's it's the great great great grandmother of them all.
Yes. This clever, intelligent, honest, ray of light should be required reading for all girls and women!

I may start buying stacks of copies and handing them out to strangers, it's that good.

Dr. Holick's work needs to celebrated for revealing an extremely important aspect of the human condition, i.e. we are not exposing ourselves to enough UVB to produce sufficient amounts of Vitamin D. As mentioned previously, this work does not need go into more scientific depth. It is not a work in biochemistry. It is a work which challenges people's thinking and the expectations of a pharmaceutical industry. It is criminal that a professor that has stated his objective scientific opinion would be removed from his position by a biased department chair. Is anyone saying to go out and cook ourselves in UVA all day every day? Are the people defending the pharmaceutical protocol prepared to explain what early versions of sunblock actually did to help INCREASE rates of sun cancer? You can look at this from either perspective, secular or non-secular. We evolved in the sun or this is a system the Lord created. We don't need more talking heads telling us not to do what the DATA supports that we should do. Bravo, Dr. Holick, for your lifetime of work, starting from UW to BU.

Holick's book, and his articles helped me find out why, after staying indoors for ten years, due to depression, MY WHOLE SKELEFeeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Revised and UpdatedTON AND ALL MY MUSCLES ACHED. I went to a MD and found out I had NO vitamin D3 in my body, and over 100 tiny fractures. I'm on D3 therapy (50,000 I.U.s a week). I just purchased a UVB lamp. I feel so good, now. I'll be basking in the sun all year long. Thank you Dr. Holick, and keep fighting the good, and right fight. By the way, the writing is clear, tight, plain, and nicely organized. Dr. Holick, you changed my health and life.

Dr. Michael Holick is considered a pioneer in the field of vitamin D.
I consider the recent advances in vitamin D research one of the major breakthroughs in the entire medical field. Vitamin D is ultimately converted to a hormone that affects the entire body. If you think that vitamin D is only for the bones and you only need 400-600 IU a day as your multivitamin bottle and the US government tell you, then you are still living in the 1950s. Vitamin D has receptors in the bones (increases bone density), muscles (enhances muscle strength and power), lymphocytes (without adequate vitamin D they go wild and attack different organs and tissues, causing autoimmune disorders),
blood vessels (relaxes the arterial walls and lowers blood pressure by ~ 2-4 mmHg), heart muscles (prevents thickening of the heart ventricles), myelin (prevents multiple sclerosis), prostate, breasts, colon, pancreas ... (preventing cancers of these organs)...... brain cells (prevents degeneration of brain cells), skin, hair follicles (nourishes the hair and skin) ... etc. When your vitamin D level is inadequate, the body loads your bones with water (instead of minerals such as calcium and phosphorus(, the result is stretching of your periostium (lining of your bones) which results in excruciating pains in the shins, wrists, ribs, and the breast bones. These nagging pains and aches do not go away with anything except with vitamin D.
When your muscles lack vitamin D, you get very weak and very tired. Your quadriceps muscles become so weak that they cannot carry you without supporting yourself with your hands when rising from a sitting position, you have difficulty climbing stairs, difficulty reaching objects over your head. Elderly people will have constant pains and aches, they have to use walkers, and they lose their balance and fall, since their quadriceps cannot give them a sense of balance.
To add insult to injury, vitamin D level is outdated in almost every lab in the USA, most doctors do not check the level, some check the wrong type of vitamin D (there are 2 types). The new knowledge has not even made it into the curriculum of medical schools, and most medical students are not even aware of it. The US government still preaches the old daily requirement of vitamin D.
The daily requirement of vitamin was recently updated to 1000 IU a day, which is still inadequate.
Dr. Holick's book will teach you how to understand vitamin D for your overall health, how much of vitamin D you need, and how a safe exposure to the sun-without overdoing it- will ultimately give you vitamin D to liver healthier (and even longer).
Dr. Holick's recent review suggests that women who are vitamin D deficient have a 253% increased risk for developing colon and rectal cancer, and women who ingested 1500 mg/d calcium and 1100 IU/d vitamin D for 4 yr reduced risk for developing cancer by >60%.
I have been applying the new vitamin D research studies to clinical patient care in my office since 1999.


Shirwan Mirza, MD

Lightweight introduction to UV and vitamin D. No slight intended to Dr Holick who has been and is a key researcher on vitamin D and is presenting important health information to the public. But this book is like a friendly conversation between a well-informed doctor who is giving essential information to a lay audience, but he assumes they don't want much detail. If you have read a few web-pages about vitamin D, you may already know everything here - vitamin D RDA is too low, many people are deficient, deficiency is associated with a number of illnesses, sunlight exposure will give you what you need but don't get sunburned, supplements can also help but are inferior to sunlight because you need to determine appropriate dosage. The book has repeated information, padding (sentences along the lines of 'countless poets and songwriters attest to the enjoyment of sunshine'), while some things that could have been described in depth - like vitamin D toxicity from supplements (or potentially from diet I guess) - get short shrift. If you don't know much about vitamin D and want a high-level introduction, it's fine. If you wanted more detail or science, skip it.

This is an easy to read book that has scientific research that convinced me that we all need vitamin D to prevent many of the health problems that are prevelant today. The author writes that vitamin D is best absorbed from natural sunlight and shows how this balances with the problem of too much sun which causes skin cancer. There is alot of skin cancer information in this book also. I highly recommend this book!

Paul Scotti's writing style makes what could have been a boring history lesson, an exciting and interesting book. Most Coast Guardsmen of that era knew almost nothing about what our ships, boats, and men did in Vietnam. I made two brief visits to Vietnam during that era and was really surprised at how little I knew.At one time Coast Guard recruiting was using the phrase, "Active in Peace and War" This book tells about only one war - the actions after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita tells about one peacetime mission. Semper Paratus! The service was wise to move Paul Scotti out of the gunnery business and into Public Affairs.
Gil Shaw, LCDR, USCG (Ret)

I could not put this book down. I was in the Coast Guard from 1974 to 1978. I spent my last year and a half on a 82ft WPB. The stories about the 82's peaked my interest. The Coast Guard did a great job in in Vietman. Even my 13 year old sons read the book and learned about the Coast Guards role in Vietnam.

Semper Paratus.....................

Paul Scotti presents a thoroughly researched and documented history of the Coast Guard in Vietnam. He expertly uses first-hand sources to supplement and tell his story. Real people with very human emotions and reactions. It is a historical overview but reads like a novel. You will enjoy.

In peacetime, the invaluable service provided by our nation's fifth branch of the armed forces, the United States Coast Guard is certainly well known. Especially after 9/11, the Coast Guard shoulders the responsibility for protecting thousands of miles of coast line. Commercial and pleasure craft alike can count on the Coast Guard to respond to any distress in foul weather and in fair. It is befitting that President George W. Bush had recently bestowed such praise on the men and women that serve in the United States Coast Guard. In wartime, however, the accomplishments of the Coast Guard are often over-shadowed by the other branches of the service. Nowhere is this oversight more glaring than the Coast Guard's participation in America's involvement in Vietnam. In _Coast Guard Action in Vietnam: Stories of Those Who Served_, Paul C. Scotti provides a remedy for this omission with an engaging narrative of a little known chapter in the Vietnam conflict. Scotti blends organizational, operational and oral histories splendidly in a fast-paced account that never gets bogged down in jargon. The author thoroughly outlines the five-fold mission of the U.S. Coast Guard in Vietnam: interdicting enemy supply lines at sea; providing security at South Vietnam's harbors and sea ports; implementing and tending to buoys and other navigational aids; ensuring quality control over civilian merchant shipping; and of course, conducting search and rescue missions. Scotti devotes a chapter to each of the five tasks while delegating others to individual combat missions. Scotti clearly demonstrates that it was the Coast Guard that squelched the North Vietnamese efforts the supply the south by way of open sea. It was the Coast Guard that brought efficiency to South Vietnam's chaotic and primitive harbor facilities, allowing merchant vessels to contribute to the United States mammoth logistical apparatus. And it was the Coast Guard that performed numerous humanitarian missions as well. Scotti writes from experience, having himself served as a gunner on an 82-foot CG patrol boat in Vietnam. It is this craft, the workhorse of the Coast Guard fleet, and the men who served aboard them that provides the nucleus of the book. Scotti became USCG public affairs officer and his observational and organizational skills as a journalist are evident throughout. Nowhere, however, does he allow unit pride to obscure an honest attempt at objective history. The book is generously sprinkled with maps, graphs, and photographs, many from the author's own collection. Numerous appendices containing historical and statistical data, bibliography and notes complete the package. One small criticism, however, it is regrettable that Scotti's work did not receive a hard cover edition for which it is certainly deserving. Reading Scotti's book will leave one with a whole new take on the Vietnam war at sea, and a whole new appreciation for our U.S. Coast Guard veterans. This book comes highly recommended.

I am a CG Vietnam veteran having served aboard the CG Cutter Chase, CG Squadron 3 in 1969-70. Paul Scotti's book is the definitive book about the CG operations in Vietnam. Paul gets you up front and personal to the point you can smell the smoke and hear the gunfire. His book vividly describes the everyday life of a Coastie in Vietnam be it on the water, in the air or at the base and will touch your hearts as you read not only about combat but about the many humanitarianism projects that the folks back home never new about. After reading this book you will realize just how important and diverse our Coast Guard is and have a new respect for the brave men and women of our oldest "Naval" military service. "I know, I was there". Read this book and you'll be there too!!

I just want to point out that field marshal von manstain really mistakenly evaluated the situation.

1. The whole German offensive in the north became defensive, and later on model have to abandon Orel which threaten Moscow for two years.
2. Manstain believed USSR depleted all of their reserve, actually soviet still have a complete "grass army" in reserve, the soldier's number change from
1.35 million to some what 2.2 million in the end(stalin even transfer troops who gonna liberate Leningrad to Kursk front).
3. German troops were extremely exhausted and outnumbered. As you described, they had so few tanks in hand and how could they encircle the red army which is sever times greater in manpower, weapons.
4. soviet can produce 1200 tanks during 1943 and they can quickly refit and regroup their amour division while German's factory were bombard by USA, it can't
Recover from the heavy loss to Kursk at all.

My conclusion is: Von manstain never can have a chance in the south wing even if Hitler won't halt the action.
Actually in fact, Hitler allowed him to advance, and most the unit can't transfer to Italy due to the soviet's attack.

I think that this is very good book.
1. Author style is really good, the narrative is gripping.
2. There a lots of maps, which is so material in such type of books that even rather poor quality of them almost isn't a problem.
3. Operations described in "Decision..." are very important in eastern conflict - Nipe did a great job in describing them without all that propaganda stuff met elsewhere.
4. Photos are great.

Now, the dark side (or why I subtracted one star):
1. Maps are of low quality
2. Russians are shown as amorphous mass - which is not true - and sources for them are easily accessible (Glantz, Ericsson etc)
3. Appendices are of no value. I expected some real data, tables, OdBs unfortunately I found almost none. This is I think main weakness of the book. With such effort put in writing "Decision..." I hoped that Nipe would give the reader some hard data in the form of appendicies.

This is an excellent book for the military history buffs and it's also very useful for anyone who wants to thrive into the details of the terrific battles of the Eastern Front in the summer of 1943. Mr Nipe's fine historical research and his vast archical references prove beyond doubt that "the (German) losses at Prokhorovka are a myth, and in fact, the Waffen SS divisions retained sufficient fighting power to destroy Tolbukhin's Mius bridgehead in July and later help III Panzerkorps fight the Soviet 1st and 5th Guards Tank Armies to a standstill at Bogodukhov". Although the first 68 pages are devoted to the great tank battle of Kursk and the damage that the Germans inflicted to their enemy, the most interesting part (and that which is most analytically presented) is the Mius campaign, where the weak 6th Army with the help of II SS Panzerkorps smashed the Soviet South Front after grevious battles which lasted for 16 days. The details are abundant and it is clear that the author has a perfect grasp of his subject. The book has many black and white maps (and some very good b/w photos also) which may be not of the finest quality but give the reader a comprehensive picture of the action. The story of battle of Kharkov begins on page 259 and is also extremely interesting. With this book Mr Nipe has covered a little known period of the Great Patriotic War which is usually overshadowed by the Kursk and Dnieper battles and is often less than a paragraph long in other books. Despite its volume this book is easy to read and the chronological presentation of the action, as well as the informative chapter and paragraph titles help a lot! A very highly recommended book!

This book examines Operation Citadel and the linked battles for the Mius and August battles around Bogodukhov. The book is extremely well researched and this research throws serious doubts over Russian claims in regards to the battle of Kursk and especially the confrontation of armour at Prochorovka. Studies of SS records do not substantiate Russian claims of 400 German tanks destroyed at Prochorovka, however a single Panzerkorps effectively annihilated the armour of the 5th Guards Tank Army where between 600-650 tanks were destroyed.

The author points out at least partial victory may have been acheived by the Germans at Kursk, but Hitler lost the will to continue the battle at the critical moment and his attention focused on the Soviet build up at Izyum and Mius river threatening the Ukraine and the Allied landings in Sicily. However, the Soviet moves were a deliberate deception to distract German armour from the Kursk area when Russian reserves were almost spent in the southern sector. The German reserve of XXIV Panzerkorps was transferred to meet these new threats and subsequently any opportunity to exploit the advantage gained in the southern sector at Kursk was lost. Having lost the initiative, German forces were constantly engaged in trying to counter attack Soviet thrusts and SS Panzer Divisions were effectively used as mobile 'fire brigades'.

The author makes the point that the Germans may have been the masters on the tactical battlefield but the Russians and Stalin were strategically superior and ensured strategic goals were obtained no matter the cost. The last chapter is an excellent summary and review of the previous chapters analysis with conclusions drawn.

This is highly recommended reading

George Nipe has writeen yet another supelative book that debunks all the nonsense about the Kursk battle, as told by Soviet Communist propaganda or crypto-communist historians like David Glantz, recounting all the losses suffered by the Germans, and the heroics of the Russian peasant soldiers in the Great Patriotic War.

Working from unit war diaries and daily returns on losses, Nipe comprehensively proved that the SS were tops in battle, whichever way you look at it. And that by a SS Panzer Korps that received no preferential treatment in equipment ( the much vaunted Ferdinand tank destroyer, and the Panther tanks were both issued to Heer units, whose leadership incompetence and lack of elan resulted in grievious losses, especially in abandoned tanks), was relatively outdated in amour compared to its Russian adversary, yet beat the latter in every encounter.

Compared the SS Panzer Korps singular achievements in the South of the Kursk salient to the miniscule gains made by Walter Model's
armies in the North (spearheaded by Heer units), you notice why the SS was head and shouders above Heer and the Russians in battlefield performance.

This is one of the very best all round books you can own. It has unit break downs, ranks, what regiments are in what divisions, dog tag information, research information, just about anything you would need to know to research most any unit or someone in the family. All the information in it, for the price, is one heck of a deal. All the books I've ever seen by Jonathan Gawne are outstanding, especially his 'Spearheading D-Day' book. This book 'Finding Your Father's War' is outstanding.

Ever ask 'What did you do in the War, daddy?' Ever wonder what all those patches, medals, etc represented? Ever wish you still had them???

I could never get my dad to talk about his experiences while in the US Army during WWII, outside of a comical happening or two. All I knew was that he had served in the retaking of the Philippines and briefly in the occupation of Japan. I'm proud of what my dad/the USA did during the War and very interested in what he did or went thru. Are you in the same situation?

Then this is the book that you need!!!!

Most importantly, it gives the places to search for & to obtain information and how to read the documents.

But wait! That's not all!! (as they say in infomercials on TV. LOL)

It gives an excellent breakdown of the units and their sub-units in size and organization (T/O) and the associated abbreviations for each. As a military history buff, I thought I knew how the Army was organized but boy did I learn a lot more about it.

This book covers campaign dates, T/O, how to identify a vehicle's assignment, badges and just about everything else you could want to know and I highly recommend it. Even if you're just a WWII history buff.

The only thing I've not been able to find in this book is a breakdown on how to read the ribbon bar(s).

"Finding Your Father's War" is a fantastic reference guide! For relatives of U.S. Army veterans, it is a straight forward guide to the resouces you'll need.

This is an amazing resource on the composition and structure of the US Army during WWII. There is detailed information on how the Army was organized at the time, including an appendix on the Army Air Force. There is no information on the Navy or Marine Corps: the focus is fixed on the Army. The book is packed with photos and illustrations of insignia, badges and medals worn or awarded during the war. What this book is not is a reference on the armament, equipment or gear of the period; nor does it discuss battles or unit losses.

Contents

Introduction

The War in a Nutshell

Section 1: Introduction to Army Units
Background information on the composition of the World War II US Army

Section 2: Individual Records
The various Army records pertaining to an individual soldier

Section 3: Organizational Records
The Army's record of what a man did during the war

Section 4: Finding Records
Places around the country where you can find records of your soldier's service

Section 5: Introduction to Army Units
Identifying what you may already have and what it can tell you about your relative's service

Appendices

Appendix A: The Infantry and Airborne Divisions in World War II

Appendix B: The Armored and Cavalry Divisions in World War II

Appendix C: Army Groups, Armies, and Corps in World War II

Appendix D: Major Army Commands of World War II

Appendix E: The Army Air Forces in World War II

Appendix F: Vehicle Markings in World War II

Appendix G: The Campaigns of World War II

Appendix H: Official Abbreviations Used in World War II

Appendix I: The Green Books and Select Bibliography

This is an outstanding book! It brings together information on so many aspects of a search for WWII information it has become invaluable to me. I found the most helpful aspects included the many full color pictures, the charts of organization, and the explanations of the many documents I found in my father's papers. Some of the sample documents and forms were small reproductions and did require a magnifying glass to see clearly but the information was so helpful, I didn't mind. The book also gives clear information on where various documents are located and how best to access those sources. Having this book months ago would have saved me hours of time.

My only disappointment is that there is no index. When I go back to the book to refresh myself on a topic, it is not always easy to find what I am looking for through the Table of Contents. I would hope any future editions would include a good index. That one complaint aside, I think this is an excellent book and I would recommend it highly for anyone searching for records.