601st Tank Destroyer Battalion Unit History

Failmezger, Victor.  American Knights: The Untold Story of the Men of the 601st Tank Destroyer 
       Battalion.  New York: Osprey Publishing, 2015.  ISBN: 978-1-4728-0935-3

American Knights is not your typical World War II history that looks at an individual battle, campaign, or the whole war.  Instead, it is a unit history of the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion during World War II.  The 601st served in North Africa, Italy, and France attached to a variety of divisions, landing across the beach in Morocco, Salerno, Anzio, and Southern France.  It helped break the Colmar Pocket and then made it all the way to Austria by the end of the war.

Victor Failmezger had a relative who served in the 601st during the war and his letters acted as a catalyst in the writing of this book.  In addition to his relative's letters, he used diaries and letters of other soldiers, official unit reports, news articles, and other sources to provide a picture of the unit in action, at rest, and at play. 

The 601st was one of the first tank destroyer battalions to see action and also one of the last.  The unit used all of the tank destroyers in the US Army inventory during the course of the war, receiving multiple individual and unit citations.  If you want to read about a different fight, you are likely to enjoy American Knights.

The Civil War Custer

Hatch, Thom.  Glorious War: The Civil War Adventures of George Armstrong Custer.  New York:
         St. Martin's Press, December 2013.  ISBN: 978-1-250-02850-1

Today, George Armstrong Custer is best remembered for his actions at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 that wiped out half of the U.S. 7th Cavalry.  But in 1876, General Custer was better known as a Civil War hero for actions at Gettysburg, Brandy Station, Yellow Tavern, and Appomattox.  Glorious War tells the tale of Custer's Civil War adventures.

Thom Hatch provides a heroic partial biography of George Armstrong Custer that covers his time at West Point and during the Civil War, ending with the Army of the Potomac marching through Washington, D.C.  He discusses the part played by Custer in numerous battles,  his time as aide-de-camp for McClellan, his wooing of Elizabeth Bacon, and his meteoric rise in rank from 2nd Lieutenant at Bull Run to Major General at Appomattox.  He also illustrates that Custer was a leader that men adored, willingly following him during charges against seemingly unbeatable odds.

Hatch provides a Custer that has some warts, but he does not dig into all the known faults and issues that other officers had with Custer.  He also spends a number of pages on Jeb Stuart that seen to have no bearing on Custer except to contrast the two cavalry icons.  But, if you want a hero to lead you through most of the Eastern Civil War battles, Glorious War will satisfy that itch.

Battle Winning Strategies or Maybe Not

Overy, Richard.  A History of War in 100 Battles.  New York, Oxford University Press, 2014.
         ISBN: 9780199390717

 Richard Overy seeks to provide a summary history of war through the ages by focusing on one hundred battles.  He opens with a introductory chapter (The Truth of Battle) and then dives into the battles, placing each in  one of five categories (Leadership, Against the Odds, Innovation, Deception, and In the Nick of Time).  For each battle, he provides a summary of the battle, concentrating on one of the "winning" strategies, and provides a piece of artwork that illustrated the battle or the general.

In each category, Overy cherry-picks the battles that he feels best illustrates the "winning" strategy.  He uses the summary to point out how that strategy lead to victory for one side or the other.  He uses battles from ancient to modern times which brings up the question of sources.  He provides a bibliography of sources used, but does not document which book was used for individual battles. Some of the sources are summaries of campaigns which he mines for quotes rather than battle histories.  He includes some errors of fact in the summaries (for instance the Argentine naval warship General Belgrano being listed as a troopship).   He also equates a campaign and/or war with a battle in regard to The Battle of the Atlantic, The Six Day War, and The Battle of the Falklands. 

Despite the above caveats, A History of War in 100 Battles provides a decent, readable, general history of these one hundred battles.  You do not need to agree with Overy's premises or  conclusions to understand the battles found in this book.

Have you read Galatians recently?

Oakes, Peter.  Galatians.  Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.  ISBN: 978-1-4412-4651-6

Commentaries are by nature books written about other books.  While many works of literature have commentaries (think of all that has been written discussing Shakespeare or Chaucer), when you think of  individual commentaries, you are likely thinking of a book on individual books of the Bible.  That is the case here.  Peter Oakes has written a commentary on Galatians that works on many levels.  He provides a nice overview of the book, highlights the major themes that he sees in Paul's letter, and then he digs into the individual chapters and verses.

Peter Oaks does a very credible job of setting Galatians in context of its time and location while relating the letter to the rest of Paul's letters.  He provides his own translation of the text and setts the major themes in relation to each other.  He works on developing the reader's understanding of how each part of the letter interacts and reflects with the rest of the letter.  He syntheses and documents other commentaries on Galatians without losing his own vision of the book.  The major quibble I have with Oakes' commentary is the abrupt ending.  An afterword would have been a nice addition.  Otherwise, a good choice for developing your understanding of Paul's Letter to the Galatians.

WW II Bombing Reassessed, Again

Overy, Richard.  The Bombers and The Bombed: The Allied Air War Over Europe, 1940-1945.
        New York: Viking, 2014.  ISBN: 978-0670025152

Years ago,when I was about 12, I got hold of my dad's Compact History of  the United States Air Force and managed to read it from the beginning with the Wright Flyers to the end of the Korean War and developments to 1960.  A large portion of that book dealt with the bombing of Germany and other locations in Europe and Asia during WWII.  So when I started reading The Bombers and The Bombed, I was entering semi-familiar ground. 

While Richard Overy does not write a justification for the Allied/German bombing campaigns; neither does he write a scathing condemnation of the bombing campaigns.  Rather Overy seeks to provide background on what Allied and German air forces concepts of bombing were in context of that time, the goals they thought achievable, the resources they had, and what was actually accomplished.  Alongside the bombers, Overy provides description and statistics on the effect the bombing had on the various populations being bombed, covering, England, Germany, Italy, and the rest of Europe in six chapters and an epilogue. 

Richard Overy writes serviceable prose with a purpose; he aims to show via the evidence presented that bombing does not win wars alone despite the stories told by air force generals and air power advocates.  He provides plenty of statistics and documents his assertions.  If you have an interest in World War II air war or air power in general, you are likely to enjoy reading The Bombers and The Bombed.

Planning for Overlord

Symonds, Craig L.  Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings.  New York:
        Oxford University Press, 2014.  ISBN: 978-0-19-998611-8

Craig L. Symonds opens Neptune with President Roosevelt receiving word about Pearl Harbor.  He closes the book with the capture of Cherbourg and a summoning up of major personalities.  In between, he documents Operation Neptune which covers the planning and execution of the Allied invasion of continental Europe, specifically France.

Symonds provides the  documentation in this readable account of the planning that ended with Operation Overlord without overwhelming the reader.  He traces the evidence that shows how the "Germany First" objective was established.  He then demonstrates how the need to do something lead first to Operation Torch, and then the invasions of Sicily and Italy before Operation Overlord would take place.  He uses quotes, personal narratives, official documents and newly declassified material to provide the reader a sense of the decision making and planning at all levels that lead to the invasion of France on June 6, 1944.  He briefly covers the training for D-Day and the fiascoes that ensued.  He ends the book with a brief examination on how the planned operation compared to the actual operation (with more emphasis on events on Utah and Omaha than on Juno, Gold, or Sword).

In the final analysis, Symonds writes a very credible popular history of the back story of Operation Overlord.  Readers will appreciate the care Symonds used in crafting this book.

Google and the Librarians

Palfrey, John.  Biblio Tech: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google.  New
        York: Basic Books, 2015.  ISBN: 978-0-465-04299-9

John Palfrey channels passion and desire in making his case as to why libraries are relevant and more needed in this age of Google then ever.  He works on presenting a rational, yet passionate plea for the role libraries played in America's past and the part he thinks it needs to play in the present and future for the betterment of society.

Palfrey provides a list of what he considers the problems facing today's libraries: public use (and understanding of libraries); physical space versus virtual space; a desire to change libraries from locations to platforms (although he does acknowledge that hybrid libraries will be a necessity for the near future); networking for collection and preservation; and a decent chapter on copyright.  He ends the book with a ten item list of what he thinks need to be done to make libraries relevant in the future.

Despite his dry, passionate arguments, Palfrey's list strike this reader (a veteran librarian for 30 years) as well meaning, overdone, and often contradictory.  They resonate with similar calls of action that have rung out over the years, been applauded by librarians and done little but deforest the land.  Despite all the pleas and posturing, I foresee libraries continue to astound critics and supporters in the future despite all the grandiose plans made by library honchos because of the front line librarians' impact on students and patrons. 

It all started with Sabrina!

Epstein, Edward Z.  Audrey and Bill: A Romantic Biography of Audrey Hepburn & William 
       Holden.  Philadelphia, PA: Running Press, 2015.  ISBN: 978-0-7624-5597-3

The Introduction to Audrey and Bill clues in the discerning reader that Epstein is providing a biography of the "romance" of Audrey Hepburn and Bill Holden rather than a complete biography of their entwined lives.  Epstein using published accounts and interviews then proceeds to document how their shared connection affected the rest of their lives.

The movie Sabrina served as the catalyst for bringing Audrey and Bill into each others lives.  Some of the romance played by their characters bled into real life, or maybe it was the other way around.  And as in the movie, Bill did not get Audrey in the end.  But that fact did not end the connection between the two.  Epstein takes sixteen more chapters to tell how Audrey and Bill found other arms to comfort and support them.  They even worked together on another movie, but the spark found in Sabrina could not be flamed back to again as too much time and experience had shaped each of them. 

Epstein wrote a very readable account of the entwined lives of Audrey and Bill, providing plenty of stories, movie details, and glimpses of Hollywood life all through a rose-colored filtered lens of romance.  The book starts with the filming of Sabrina with little backstory on how Bill Holden and Audrey Hepburn arrived at that point in history.  The tale continues through the romantic lives and movies of each person ending with their death, followed by a brief look at their place in movie history.   Audrey and Bill works best for readers interested in the interaction of stars and their movies who do not expect too much analysis on the way.

Scholars on Comic Book Movies

Burke, Liam.  The Comic Book Film Adaption: Exploring Modern Hollywood's Leading Genre. 
        Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2015.  ISBN: 9781628462036

Liam Burke brings an academic's focus to the study of comic book movies.  In five chapters, he mines adaption theory in light of comic book film studies, surveys audiences in Ireland regarding their knowledge of comic fandom, studies how the Marvel Way of Comics has influenced comic book movies and many other topics.

Each chapter is self-contained, but mentions discussions found in other chapters.  Chapter titles include The Golden Age of Comic Book Filmmaking, The Comic Book Movie Genre, Fans, Fidelity, and the Grammar of Value, A Comic Aesthetic, How to Adapt Comics the Marvel Way, concluding with The Future of the Comic Book Movie.  Burke also includes in an appendix the North American Box Office Totals for Comic Book Film Adaptions (in dollar amounts not weighted for inflation).

Burke develops well his thesis for each chapter, providing plenty of scholarly detail and notes to other studies.  He makes his points accompanied by illustrations where appropriate, but never really provides a coherent theme or scope for the book.  Rather he seems to have taken ideas that did not make it into published articles and crammed them into one disjointed book.  However, if you are interested in film adaption theory and comic books, you could mine this book for your own pleasure.

Six Weeks That Changed the War and World

Preston, Diana.  A Higher Form of Killing: Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the
         Nature of Warfare.  NY: Bloomsbury Press, 2015.  ISBN: 978-1-62040-212-2

Diana Preston takes three seemingly unrelated events of 1915 to weave a tale that is a thrilling, informative, and interesting history.  Generally the first use of poison gas, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the bombing of London by Zeppelins are examined as singular events, but  Preston demonstrates how these events were catalysts in overturning long-held views on the conduct of war, a flouting of the Hague Conventions rules of war, and an escalation of scientific warfare that continues to resonate today.

In A Higher Form of Killing, each episode is examined in the context of the war and in relation to the other two episodes.  The main characters are introduced, the science behind the weapons is examined and then a recounting of the event using first person perspectives when and where available.  Finally, the author looks at the lasting effects each event had on the rest of the war and on future wars and conflicts.

Preston manages to balance her look at the three separate events by combining these acts of German aggression into an examination of how the world thinks of weapon systems before, during, and after the First World War.  Read A Higher Form of Killing and make up your mind regarding her thesis.

A Higher Form of Killing

Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

- See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-higher-form-of-killing-9781620402122/#sthash.47mGrhTd.dpuf

A Higher Form of Killing

Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

- See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-higher-form-of-killing-9781620402122/#sthash.47mGrhTd.dpuf

A Higher Form of Killing

Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

- See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-higher-form-of-killing-9781620402122/#sthash.47mGrhTd.dpuf

A Higher Form of Killing

Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

- See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-higher-form-of-killing-9781620402122/#sthash.47mGrhTd.dpuf

Not Quite Another Bulge Book

Caddick-Adams, Peter.  Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge 1944-45.  New York: Oxford
        University Press, 2015.  ISBN: 978-0-19-933514-5

With Snow and Steel,  Peter Caddick-Adams adds another volume to the multitude that have been written on the most recognized battles fought by the U.S. Army in World War II.  However, if you are new to the Battle of the Bulge, do not start with Snow and Steel, rather hunt up and read Battle: The Story of the Bulge by John Toland or A Time for Trumpets by Charles B. MacDonald.  Either of these books do a better job of placing events in context across the battlefield. 

Peter Caddick-Adams provides plenty of proof in the  the first fourteen chapters to convince the reader that Hitler started thinking and planning for a West Front offensive as early as September 1944 during the time of Operation Market-Garden and to set the stage for the battle.  He then proceeds in the next twenty-two chapters to narrate the shifting fortunes of the the Allies and the Germans during the course of the battle.  He then finishes the book with two chapters summarizing the end of World War II on the Western Front, followed by a chapter discussing previous Battle of the Bulge books and finishes with a look at the historical reputations of many of the Battle of the Bulge participants.

Snow and Steel gets high marks for the drawing attention to the planning Hitler and his staff did before the offensive.  The book also gets high marks for the use of German sources and narrators.  However, while the setting is superb, the battle description is disjointed with abrupt switches of locations within chapters with little or no transition and  a disturbing habit in listing all battle participants who were famous or became famous (Jimmy Stewart for one, Henry Kissinger, for another) whether they played a relevant role in the battle or not.  This disconnect and the fact that almost half-the book does not deal with the battle is why this book is recommended for those who feel the need to read every book about the Battle of the Bulge or really want to know what the latest theories are related to the battle.  Novices should look elsewhere!

For Whom Doth The Rebels Yell?

Gwynne, S. C.  Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson.  New
       York: Scribner, 2014.  ISBN: 978-1-4516-7328-9

Are you interested in Thomas J Jackson's life and military endeavors?  Then you picked the right book to inform your curiosity, inflame your historical passion and detail a mosaic of "Stonewall" Jackson in a short 600+ pages.  S. C. Gwynne provides a biography that covers the whole life of Jackson but not in chronological order.   

Rebel Yell opens with Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson stealing a march on Union forces as he entrains his army and moves to join Lee outside Richmond in 1862. The author then skips back to the opening of the war and narrates events through the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run.  Another backward time jump covers Jackson's early life, his Army career including his Mexican War exploits and his tenure as VMI professor.  The narrative then meanders enticingly through Jackson's Valley campaign, his lack-luster leadership before Richmond, his brilliance at Second Manassas and his solid performance at Antietam and Fredericksburg.  The last part (Part Five) covers the Winter of 1863 and Jackson's final performance at Chancellorsville.

S. C Gwynne provides a very solid biography of Jackson without hero-worship that allows the reader access to the military leader and the man behind the reputation.  He combines eye witness accounts, newspaper stories, diaries, official reports and other sources to document the tale of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.  Rebel Yell is well worth reading for both pleasure and insight.

A look at the man, not the music.

Suchet, John.  Beethoven: The Man Revealed.  New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2013.
        ISBN: 978-0-8021-2206-3

Ludwig van Beethoven is a renowned classical musical composer.  That is common knowledge, but not so commonly known is his talent as a gifted musician, mainly the piano, and as man who had to overcome numerous obstacles before he achieved success. 

John Suchet opens with Beethoven's background, exploring his grandfather's and father's careers as musicians in Bonn, Germany before spending four chapters on his early life, training and musical beginnings as a composer and player.  With Chapter 5, Beethoven arrives in Vienna where he worked on taking the city by storm as a player and then a composer.  Beethoven grew in fame for his compositions while growing in notoriety for his peculiarities which were partially due to his working habits and partially due to his growing deafness.  His family interactions did not help him in regard to his health or his notoriety.  In the end, his death came as a climax of a tale of endurance and achievement.

Suchet, a presenter on Britain's Classics FM station, provides the general public a readable life of Ludwig van Beethoven.  As the sub-heading hints, Suchet concentrates on Beethoven the man rather than Beethoven the composer. Suchet writes a life of Beethoven that weaves in his compositions with the woof of his everyday life.  The reader learns the circumstances under which a composition was created and performed, allowing a glimpse at Beethoven's creative process.  However, Suchet is not above speculating in certain areas such as a meeting with Mozart that may have included a private performance when there is no firm evidence.  Suchet does provide a list of sources for further exploration and his ideal discography of Beethoven's music which he cheerfully admits is biased by his taste in performance.  In the end, Beethoven: The Man Revealed is worth reading by the general public who want to understand the man behind the music.