Military Law Books

The most informative book about the k98 I have ever read. The book identify's each k98 rifle ever made from, year and place of manufacture with picture and identifying marks and locations! This allows you to know when and where that old rifle grandpa had came from. Also protect you from some one trying to sell you a original, or matching rifle that was built from parts, They still shoot good, just you should not have to pay a fortune to get one. The history and things you learn about the production is another reason to buy the book. Amazing archive photos and blue prints,and diagrams! How long did it take him to do the research for this book?!?

This book will tell you everything you want to know about the 98k. It covers everything! An awesome book, I can't imagine the time it took for all the references.

Richard Law provides more information about the Kar98k Mauser than any other publication I have read. Invaluable reference source for the collector! Lots of illustrations and pictures.Highly recommended!!

I purchased this book and its successor. Having just finished the first volume I must say that I learned just about everything I wanted to know about this rifle. It has excellent illustrations. It gives timeline information as the rifle evolved over the years from pre war Germany right up to the end of WWII.

This is a must buy for collectors.

Now I need to read vol 2 Sniper Variations of the German K98k rifle.

For someone who (like me) knows next to nothing about Civil War artillery, this little book is a gem. Generously illustrated with both photographs and line drawings, Thomas' book provides basic information about battery crews, the "anatomy" of cannons, limbers, and carriages (including the surprising fact that artillery batteries carried portable anvils for quick repairs in the field), the manufacture of both cannon and projectiles, and a typology of projectiles (solid shot, shell, case shot, canister, and grapeshot) as well as cannons, howitzers, rifles, and mortars.

What struck me especially about Thomas' discussion is the vicious killiing power of Civil War artillery. Solid shell, when used against soldiers, was fired so as to ricochet for maximum physical and psychological effect. Case shot, canister, and grapeshot could rip apart not only individual soldiers but entire columns and files of men. And these weapons were used in unimaginable quantities. Thomas ends his book with a "Summary of Federal Purchases" of artillery. Between 1 January 1861 and 30 June 1866, for example, the army purchased slightly under 3 million projectiles for smoothbore guns, just over 3 million for rifled guns, 6.5 million pounds of grape and canister shot, almost 10 million pounds of cannon powder, and nearly 8 million pounds of mortar powder. Trying to translate these figures into an appreciation of what all this did to human bodies and hopes and families is impossible. But really: we ought always to try, lest we forget the true cost of war.

A nice basic little book on this subject that might suit a child or anyone with a little bit of interest in the subject and can not find better books in the library or find a good source on the internet.

While this might look like a simple kids book/pamphlet on the cover, there is far more inside this extremely well illustrated guide. The author does a fine job providing a wide overview of the most important cannons of the ACW, textual summaries of each and sufficient details of their fundamental stats. The amazing part is how much the author has fit between a mere 72 pages. This work is very inexpensive and should prove useful to anyone touring Civil War battlefields, interested in Civil War gaming, reenacting, or curious about civil war cannons.

A friend of mine recently recruited me into his Civil War re-enactment unit. It was an artillery unit and this book was my introduction to Civil War artillery. Dean Thomas writes an excellent introduction starting his readers with organization and drill. Many readers may have known that sponging the barrel cooled it, but they may not have thought about the added effect of extinguishing any smoldering cartridge bags. Thomas then leads his readers through ordnance and types of cannons (where, when, and how used), and concludes with implements used with the cannons. To top it all off Thomas supplies his readers with a lavish supply of actual Civil War photographs.

As a judge, a lawyer and an historian I had heard about the Leo Frank case but did not know the details. Leonard Dinnerstein does an excellent job of relating the story of Leo Frank in a fair and unbiased manner. He also puts the entire affair in a historical context. This would be an excellent read for any student of racism in America and of the New South. It is easy to read and has an excellent bibliography.

I got interested in this case after reading a large write up in the local paper, the Atlanta Journal constitution, which is quoted many times in the book. I like historical books and was really amazed at the semitic overtones in the south during the civil war. As stated by reveiwer C. Ellen, it was written well and put into context with other goings on in that period. Being from Atlanta myself, I could very easily relate to the narative and it held my facination throughout. It told what I beleive to be the complete story and facts as well as being updated for NEW release in 1987 by adding an additional preface. Anyone who is interested in civil war reads, the laws of the time , or who lives in or around Atlanta , will be interested in this book. Over 50 pages of it are dedicated to the bibliography and all facts are well documented. It is a story that is all to reminiscent of famous cases that have arrisen in the past few years. It's a sad commentary on just how far the attitudes of this nation have come in the past 100 years or so. If interested in further information after reading this book, then I suggest trying to contact the Atlanta Journal Constitution for their brilliant account of the incident in the June 11, 2000 addition of their paper. It also gives a partial list of the lynching mob, held in secretcy until this time. A great book to own for any historical book collection.

The circumstances and attitudes that coincided in the trial of Leo Frank, had very little to do with the accused or the victim. They were both surrogates for a larger battle; Leo Frank was proxy for Northern industrialists and "Little Mary Phagan" stood in for the victimized South who had been taken advantage of by Northern opportunists.

The fact is that the case of Leo Frank acted as a steam valve, in many respects, to the buildup of Southern frustration and anger that had grown since the Civil War, then through Reconstruction and its aftermath. Southern Pride took a near-mortal blow when Lee surrendered to Sherman at Appomattox, humiliating the survivors of hundreds of thousands of dead. Reconstruction brought in Northern carpetbaggers who participated in the governments of the states that they had just defeated. Southern anger accumulated, especially as attempts to overturn it were thwarted until the contested election of 1876, in which Rutherford B. Hayes won on the condition of agreeing to end Reconstruction.

Reconstruction allowed Southern states to exact a measure of revenge on black populations, although resentment toward the North remained unavenged. In an honor-bound society such as the South, it is very difficult to imagine that wrong to one's family would go without settling the score. Such is the larger metaphor of the South as a whole to the North. Southern society and culture prided itself on being a distinct and cultured entity from the slavish industrialists of the North.

Thus, when a stereotypical Northern carpetbagger, a Jew no less, found himself in connection with the violent death of a Southern belle, vengeance became a powerful a prevailing force. Upon Leo Frank was heaped all of the indignation from Southern loss to the North - the industrialization, forcing young girls to work in factories; the ownership of capital; the imposition of Reconstruction; Lincoln marching into Richmond - all Southern rage at the North was embodied in the trial of Leo Frank. (Ironically, a Northern newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, fed the flames through his acquisition of the Atlanta Georgian, which led the pack in sensationalizing the trial.)

All of this is to say that the forces which demanded that Leo Frank be the sacrificial lamb for the North's crimes against the South were too powerful for rational legal procedures. If the governor had reversed the conviction or the commuted the sentence, he would have been denying the mob the satisfaction of revenge. The lynching of Frank did give rise to the Klu Klux Klan, however the immediate reaction of Georgia (and the South) was a demand for justice, even though it was at the end of a rope.

It is telling that Frank did not receive a pardon of his conviction until 1986, and even that was amid controversy in the South. Those eighty years had to pass before rational analysis of a crime could be carried out and a form of justice could be executed, which lends perspective to the heft of the event in the history of the South. Tom Watson's remark was an astute reflection of the prevailing sentiment of the day and offers a glimpse into larger, unresolved tensions of the day.

Dinnerstein does a beautiful job in eloquently presenting the facts of the famous Leo Frank case. All angles of the case are examined in a thorough, impartial manner. A must read for anyone familiar with the Frank case, and well worth looking into for anyone who loves a good murder mystery.

Dr. Caravelli is most certainly an expert in understanding the seriousness and complexity of the nuclear threat we face. His candid and forthright style further increases the book's credibility. The structure and flow of the book allow the reader to fully grasp the overall severity of the situation while understanding the multifaceted contributing elements. It is also eminently readable.

Notably the book goes beyond filling the need to understand the events that lead us to today's threats in its many dimensions. It sets the context of the critical challenges to contain and control nuclear stockpiles and nuclear proliferation and offers a realistic multistep solution to best mitigate the nuclear threat. This book is certainly an eye opener.

The author's expertise offers a clear understanding of the history and challenges facing the United States, as well as the world, in this age of "nuclear insecurity". His experience in the CIA, National Security Agency and Department of Energy certainly enables him to provide in-depth and comprehensive insights into this most pressing problem. More heed needs to be paid to both the analysis and insights presented.

As a current US Government employee, it's uplifting to see how Caravelli and other dedicated senior managers could navigate the bureaucratic barriers to "do the right thing". The chapters unfold to tell the story of forging policies to meet the nuclear insecurity challenges in the face of shortsighted decisions and managerial incompetence that are so often counterproductive to long-term solutions.

The book carries lessons that are clearly contemporary as inadequate control and the lack of effective security of nuclear materials compound the real and actual dangers of nuclear proliferation today. I recommend this book to those concerned with one of the greatest enduring threats to America, as well as Western civilization.

From a current US Government employee.

This book offers a combination of personal experiences and case studies related to nuclear and radiological proliferation. The insights that Jack Caravelli provides of the interactions, harmonious and acrimonious, of the various US agencies tasked with non-proliferation duties, illustrate how critical both personal and professional relationships are to progress. The description of the oversight of the US Department of Energy, by the Government Accountability Office, shows how carefully arranged mechanisms can be thwarted by obstruction and ineptitude. The two case studies address Pakistan and Iran, and are detailed and timely. They afford an historic overview and cover contemporary developments up to the point of publication. In addition, the case study of the critical international confrontation with Iran includes suggested solutions to ending the nuclear threat. This book is a useful addition to the literature on the risk of all forms of nuclear proliferation. It should be read by interested parties in both the US and Europe.

A thoughtful and well-researched effort, Dr. Caravelli presents an insider's view of the nonproliferation issues we currently face. Drawing on his years of service at the highlest levels of government, he paints a disturbing picture of what the future may hold. This book should be required reading for anyone interested in homeland security, counter-terrorism, and world politics.

The authors give a full account of this historical trial. I had no background knowledge of the Nuremberg Trial, and I found this book easy to read as well as complete and detailed enough. I would complement it with Nuremberg's Diary, by Gilbert, to get a deeper insight of the defendants personalities. Although I can't compare this book with the others available on the subject, I would certainly recommend it as an excellent choice.

I first became familiar with the Tusas' study in 1985 while covering Argentina's "mini-Nuremberg" trial of the three military juntas that ruled in Buenos Aires from 1976 to 1982 for Newsweek and the Washington Post.

It is a wonderfully written, comprehensive study, really the best I have read on the subject either before or after. I recommend it without hesitation for all those interested in the trial itself, its effects on international law, or anyone who is just trying to make sense out of the murky period in which we now live.


Martin Edwin Andersen
Churchton, Maryland

This book is well written and informative. If your goal is to know about the Nuremberg Trial, or if you're a lawyer studying issues that arise in conducting international tribunals, you'll enjoy this book and it'll be five stars for you! If you're looking for an exciting book on WWII or the aftermath of that war, you'll probably be a bit bored with portions of this book and at best think it's worth three stars.

Best parts of the book deal with the opening and closing statements at the trial, testimony and cross examination of Goering, Speer, etc, the deliberations of the judges, the verdict and subesquent executions, including the mystery of how Goering got the cyanide the night he was to be hanged in order to commit suicide.

What might bore you if you're not a lawyer is the international law stuff, so I'll give the book four stars.

This book must be the best account of the Nuremberg trial out there. OK, I'll admit I haven't read all the other accounts, but this one gives all the information any interested person needs to know about the trial without getting mired in needless detail. Plus it's written in narrative style and the Tusa's personal observations are side splittingly funny at times (Hard to imagine for such a serious topic, but they do it)

The book begins before the actual trial and details the discussions that the four powers had about the trial - what the scope of it would be, which countries would be represented, what the charges would be, who would fund it etc... The actual pre-trial preparation was such a mammoth task and this book helps the reader appreciate the difficulties facing the judges, lawyers and administrative staff.

After this introduction, we get a view of the prosecution and defence teams and the judges. The Tusas have done an excellent job by bringing us behind the scenes of the actual trail and getting us up close and personal with the 'stars' at the trial. They help us understand where the judges are coming from and how the different systems make it difficult for them to agree on certain aspects of the trial - very accessible to those who aren't lawyers.

What is the more interesting part of this book is the character studies of the various defendants. The Tusas have succeeded in making these men come alive. I was reminded of the movie Nuremburg with Alec Baldwin when I read the description of Goering and Speer. (Incidentally that would be an excellent movie to watch after reading this book.). The cases against these men are explained both from the prosecution and the defence side. Heavy sarcasm lightens the mood especially when some of the heinous crimes are described; it is amazing the blatant lies that some of these 'leaders' told when faced with their crimes.

There is a short section on the case against Organizations; the SS, SA, Gestapo etc... which is followed by the verdicts and the executions. I think that this book is fairly unbiased and factual (there are references at the end of each chapter and it's from the BBC J ) I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the second world war and especially the part that the Germans played in it.

Having read Catch-22 many years ago I wanted to read this. I found it kept my attention more than Catch-22, but maybe that's because I flew in Viet Nam. Outstanding, just like some of the vignettes from the USN Tailhook Magazines. I knew people like Smiling Jack so could relate well. Also knew many armchair Colonels and Generals just as he describes them. Those are the ones who should have been weeded out of all services. Remember Colonel's Jack Broughton, Robin Olds and Chuck Yeager who were true leaders and warriors, yet had yo-yo;s above them who were jealous and kept them from getting the stars they deserved

Having just finished this over this past weekend. I think that it is a great read if you can get around the toss around the author makes of past and present in the story. That is the only reason that i didn't give it a 5. The story is about a young man who join the USMC and became an aviator and flew during Vietnam. The other story here is one of the same man 20yrs down the line in a defense contractor and realizing that his boss is robbing the government and the company with some future aircraft that can't preform the job. In both he faces tough choices of going on or quitting. A lot of humor in here as well. Good for a few laugh.

Keene tells the story of a F-4 jock in terms that only one who has "een there -- done that"could write it. Some of the best humor encountered in ages, mixed with true pathos many Nam vets will recognize and wish they could have put their finger on it with such stark clarity.

Keene often refers to "he other war."A vet's personal war within, and it is in this capacity that Pettibone's Law touches so many nerves. A really excellent read for both the witty humor and the mirror it holds up for any combat veteran -- but especially the Nam vet.

Pettibone's Law is the SEA veteran's "atch 22,"and is every bit the classic that is Heller's WWII-based masterpiece.

BDA (Bomb Damage Assessment) 100% from a Nam FAC who may have, unknowing to both, controlled John Keene in a different world and life so far away, yet so everpresent still. Pettibone's Law is dead center and a top shelf keeper.

I just put aside everything to read John Keene's "Pettibone's Law". I wanted to finish it before his memorial on January 28th, 2000.

The book was complicated and sad, quirky and smart, packed with intelligence...much the way I remember John Keene when I met him briefly over twenty years ago.

It's been said that the Viet Nam war produced the best war literature ever written, mainly because some guys who fought the war were also able to really write about it. Well, John Keene was one of those, and he scores right on the target with "Pettibone's Law". It's written with humor and pathos and confirms what I always suspected about that war, but never knew.

It's a good read, and it's not lightweight so if you're looking for fluff, skip it. It is a must-read, though, for anyone who's interested in a good book that deals with truth and abandoning illusions about war. Yes, it's fiction, but which great fiction isn't based on truth?

Thank God "Pettibone's Law" got written. The book shares a kinship with "Catch 22", etching into our consciousness what it was like being a fighter pilot in Viet Nam. You can't help but laugh, you can't help but cry.

Oh yes, there is one chapter towards the end that's philosophical and a bit difficult to read, (I guess John wanted to have his say about a few things) but when I finished the book a few chapters later I cried genuine tears for Old Jack Rawlins with his pork "hanging out".

I recommend this book without hesitation.

Plenty of books talk about wartime jargon, but here's an actual dictionary exposing war propaganda usage and terms in Battlebabble: Selling War In America. Soldiers and civilians alike will find it's a-z reference allows for quick look-up of terms and definitions - but it's much more than just a one-paragraph dictionary: in-depth coverage often takes up several pages to thoroughly explain history, jargon, and approaches to selling war in the media and to the public.

Battlebabble is "a dictionary of deception": it lists alphabetically euphemistic terms the government uses to describe wartime activity, what author Dr. Thomas Lee calls "a tidal wave of deceptive rhetoric poured from the White House, aimed at drowning reason and protest." Such terms include "collateral damage," "friendly fire," and "air campaign," all of which in fact describe death and destruction but are peddled for public consumption by these "patriotic" and mendaciously neutral phrases.

Lee's "dictionary" is cogent, meticulously researched, well written, and passionately argued. It contributes significantly to the war against the war, and repeats a message we can never be reminded of too often: that, as Orwell said and Lee quotes, "Political language. . .is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." Lee's specific exploration of individual terms and phrases ruthlessly exposes exactly this point, with deep concern for the social ignorance and complacency such language fosters.

If more people shared and acted upon Lee's simple but penetrating belief that governments must try to see war as "not the final resort, but a totally unacceptable alternative"-which he admits "is worlds away from the usual assumptions of our society"-perhaps pacifism would begin to seem less like an extreme stance and more like the right one. Battlebabble bravely and effectively tries to move us in that direction.

In his new book, "Battlebabble, Selling War in America", long-time activist Thomas Lee tackles the painfully disturbing subject of government deception and its willing advocates. This book comes to us at a time when people, who were originally beguiled by George W. Bush's war rhetoric, are now having second thoughts. Mr. Lee expertly defines and illuminates the reality lying behind the deceptive and euphemistic language employed by the current administration. This book is a "must-read" for all Americans.
Maureen E. Levine, Ph.D.

Always looking for new books on this subject as they are few and far between. This book is written by a cop who knows the business. Really like the way its written, funny at times as well as informatove, good read actually enjoyed what can be dry material. Highly recommended.

Have read thru this book 2x now just got it a while ago. I like the way everything is laid out in a logical progression. Plenty of photographs, very clear, shows a lot of close ups. It is hard to find good material on this subject except for some of the early stuff like Applegate's book and Tear Gas Munitions by Swaerengen. Those books are dated though, this one is up to date.
Plenty of info!!! The pepper spray chapter is worth the price alone.

Great source of material about this subject. Everything is covered and in great detail. Not just another book listing manufacturer's info, but includes the history of the products as well - interesting reading and great photos (old historical and new photos). Chapter on gas masks makes things clear as well.

A meticulously researched memoir that in its revelation of truth reads as a work of fiction. The story leaves the reader with an emptiness that is borne of all suicides... even those where the victim is not one of our own. It takes courage to write a memoir like this one, how to tell what can be told and that which can not be expressed about an older family member, beloved and iconic, whose death forces those who wish to grieve silently to try to find a way back to the missing. It is a story of war, all wars, a story of survival and how with the stories we tell we keep the dead alive. The reader is relieved to see the quotidian details of the narrator's life as a way of momentary displacing grief, additionally these background noises remind us how we are all sitting next to someone who may be making a meatloaf while crying.

In Black Glasses Like Clark Kent, Terese Svoboda has rendered a beautifully nuanced memoir. Her uncle has a secret about his service as an MP in post-WWII occupied Japan that becomes more urgent when he sees the photographs of Abu Ghraib. But he won't reveal this secret easily to her. He sends her tapes of his memories through the mail, and Svoboda must piece together all the information at her hands -- her uncle's memories, his letters home to his girlfriend during his service, her familial relationships, statistics about the occupation of Japan -- many of which are conflicting, her understanding of heroism, and interviews with aging WWII veteran and Japanese native populations to try and uncover the secret. In the vein of Susan Griffin, Svoboda offers a mosaic text with pieces of the puzzle -- military documents, memories, photographs, and taped transcripts juxtaposed so that the reader joins her in the journey of trying to uncover what her uncle couldn't bring himself to say. This memoir is written for readers who like to be actively engaged by a story rather than sitting back and having it spoon fed to them. Her writing is beautiful. Her honesty is bracing. It should never be forgotten during the reading that this is a true story -- her uncle's last story. If we are to understand how events like Abu Ghraib happened, then we need to understand how it was not an isolated incident in our military history. Svoboda takes the difficult and accurate view that the brave men and women who serve in our military are often asked to do things in the line of duty that will haunt them the rest of their lives. I highly recommend this book.

Black Glasses Like Clark Kent is one of those non fiction books that reads like a novel, almost a French novel, in that the narrator is self-aware and weaving the opinions and feelings and revelations of the characters in the story around the action of the book. The action is haunting -- what DID happen to the MPs and their prisoners in Postwar Japan and why does no one want to talk about it -- but, equally as haunting, is the family suffering the loss of the uncle MP who recently committed suicide. Was what he saw and lived through unbearable? He has sent his writer niece (Terese Svoboda) the tapes of what happened and she listens and then begins to investigate. As with all suicides of someone one knows and loves, she feels she did not do enough. She does enough to tell his story and find the morality that he himself was reckoning with. Of course, the book makes us, once again, reflect on the high moral and mortal cost of all who "serve". It proves that if the serviceman is willing to remember, the pain can get him. Hence, many of Svoboda's interviewees aren't talking. Svoboda's style (in all her books) is spare, sly, and unflinching in getting to the heart of her story. In this book, her father (the uncle's brother) rallies her on. Personally, I am partial to non fiction by novelists, since they cannot but give you all the facts without going to the heart. The book stays with me.

"Entertaining" and "fun to read" are not the usual descriptions applied to books like this heavily footnoted, two volume set. But this work is very enjoyable to read, despite its comprehensive and well-documented scope. David Irving will not be pleased. Mr. Sprecher effortlessly moves through the origins of the Military Tribunal conducting the trial, the 4 counts under which the defendants are tried, the defendant individuals, and the defendant government organizations. The prosecution cases against all of these are presented in volume I, and the defendants' cases are presented in volume II, followed by the judgement and aftermath.

Mr. Sprecher's presentation is a summary of each case presented by each prosecutor (or defense attorney), quasi-day-by-day, interspersed with personal observations, observations from other people such as psychologists who interacted with the defendants, and also provides defendant reactions to certain witnesses/documents during the trial. Highly informative, highly entertaining. Mr. Sprecher also provides pointers to follow-on sources, if you wish to do more research. An invaluable work.

One nit to pick, however: there are so many mispellings and typos in this work that one wonders if the publishers had editors go through the book prior to publishing it. Although the writing is first rate, the production work is second or third rate.

I first met the author in 1968, while I was still at Uni. Several years later I learned of his earlier life at Nuremburg. Now, I have found use in his having put down a summary of his work at Nuremburg. Mr. Sprecher has written a great reference work for anyone who might wish to pursue the evidence of Buchenwald, Treblinka, etc., rather than the dramatic stories we've often seen in film or read in novels. All human rights lawyers who are today looking for precedents to help support their arguments will find this is a thorough and excellently organised sourcebook. Non-lawyers need not worry--the language is quite readable, and while the text often refers to evidence, it nonetheless contains enough detail for the gruesome-minded.

This book discusses in considerable detail the trial before the first International Military Trial in Nuremberg in 1945 and 1946. From contemporaneous documents, Drexel Sprecher discloses the planning of aggressive wars by Nazi Germany which eventually resulted in the deaths of nearly 30 million people. Sprecher describes the evolution of the numerous concentration camps and the genocide of more than six million Jews and one-half million Gypsies. Though he was a prosecutor, Sprecher presents the first complete account of the defenses made on behalf of the 22 defendants at the trial. He also sets forth the findings of the International Military Tribunal concerning the guilt and innocence of the defendants. The book is an important source for reference by the several international tribunals which have been established by the United Nations to deal with recent war crimes and civil crimes involving the murder of large numbers of civilians. Inside the Nuremberg Trial is well organized into 122 chapters, each with many subsections. This organization makes it possible to find virtually any topic concerning the Nazi regime and the holocaust and how the Nazi leaders were brought to justice at Nuremberg.