Jump to content

Good military/aviation books


M2

Recommended Posts

"Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers Who Turned the Tide in the Second World War" by Paul Kennedy

Details how several technology advancements (cavity magnetron, P-51, etc) allowed strategic success. It's pretty balanced as far as not saying the Allies won solely because of technology, but recognizes how it was developed and how it contributed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Brenner Assignment by Patrick O'Donnell. OSS working behind German lines to influence the war in Italy. Some serious BAMF's dealing with pro-Communist partisans, pro-Democracy partisans, huge mountains, deep snow, and double agents while being hunted by the SS and Gestapo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read that a couple years ago and then had a chance to visit the locations where it all went down. The terrain is ridiculous. BAMF's is right. Also visited the village (Caprile) where the SS locked all the locals in a church and threatened to kill them if the partisans didn't surrender. What happened next is alone worth reading the book so I won't spoil it for those who haven't. But the village and buildings are all still there. Incredible to stand there now and think about what happened.

Going back in a couple weeks with the wife and kids.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

"The Dream Machine" by Richard Whittle. Covers the development, marketing, and integration of the V-22.

Just finished this book, very informative and balanced view of the entire V-22 program and a good example of how the sausage gets made and eventually greatly improved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 5 months later...

Free...

51zxUSOI1uL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-stic

"I have been hiking and backpacking for 47 years. I graduated from Air Force Survival School. (SERE). I know from experience what gear you need in your 72 hour kit to be safe and comfortable in most conditions."

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B6SWGDY?ie=UTF8&link_code=as3&camp=211163&creative=375279&creativeASIN=B00B6SWGDY

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Currently building a summer travel list for the Kindle app on my iPad . As an author, do you have any insight as to why some books are available on Kindle and some, like your F-15s in Combat, are not?

Sorry for the delayed response. It can be for a variety of reasons:

1. Format doesn't really work on digital (as suggested above)

2. Author has not given permission to turn it into digital - contracts today cover digital rights, but older contracts typically do not, so new contracts have to be issued. If the author isn't interested or doesn't like the rates of offer, they can torpedo the whole initiative by refusing to sign over digital repro rights

3. Many books are published by 'vanity publishers', where the author has actually covered most (if not all) of the publishing costs. To go digital will require the author to spend even more money

4. Some companies and authors are still not convinced that the ebook sale is a business model that they want to get onboard with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Just finished -

Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World--Told from Inside by the Man Who Ran It by Ken Ablik

The author ran a large portion of the USSR Biological Weapons Program and then defected to the States. Genetically modified viruses, to include Variola and Ebola and antibacterial resistant Anthrax etc... Modified SS-18 ICBMs to deliver to the States. Some crazy stuff.

The perspective on the internal Soviet politics reminded me a bit of Mig Pilot, but this author is a much better writer than Victor Belenko. Highly recommend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Solitary: The Crash, Captivity and Comeback of an Ace Fighter Pilot by Giora Romm.

You can pick it for ~$13 paperback. While a majority of the book revolves around Mr. Romm's dealings in captivity (flashbacks to SERE class and training guaranteed), the back side of the book expands on his recovery and eventual return to flight (not a walk in the park). The final chapters will thrill any military aviator, and how the 1973 YKW thrust Romm into command/cockpit forcing dealings with his residual demons of captivity.

A quick and easy read, you won't put it down until it's done.

Cheers and here's to a great 2015.

Collin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Fearless" by Eric Blehm. It's the story of a SEAL named Adam Brown who was killed in Afghanistan in 2013. What makes this book so unique is that Brown overcame being a hardcore drug addict, had multiple debilitating injuries, and a myriad of other challenges to just get into the Navy.

I greatly enjoyed the book because it looked at the man and not just his time as a SEAL. It is a very inspirational book and a great page turner.

http://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Undaunted-Ultimate-Sacrifice-Operator/dp/0307730700

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry for the delayed response. It can be for a variety of reasons:

1. Format doesn't really work on digital (as suggested above)

2. Author has not given permission to turn it into digital - contracts today cover digital rights, but older contracts typically do not, so new contracts have to be issued. If the author isn't interested or doesn't like the rates of offer, they can torpedo the whole initiative by refusing to sign over digital repro rights

3. Many books are published by 'vanity publishers', where the author has actually covered most (if not all) of the publishing costs. To go digital will require the author to spend even more money

4. Some companies and authors are still not convinced that the ebook sale is a business model that they want to get onboard with.

Number 3 is not accurate. KDP, Draft2Digital, and Smashwords are all free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

The Wright Brothers by David McCollough. You've probably heard of them. Great read.

In progress.

I'm at the part where they put a Gatling gun on the Wright Flyer, but the Signal Corps said it was a bad idea since the hydrogen observer ballons could do the job, so stop it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Number 3 is not accurate. KDP, Draft2Digital, and Smashwords are all free.

None of those are 'vanity' publishers. Your move.

This whole "digital music" craze is probably going to blow over, too.

It's not about bucking a trend, it's about holding out to be paid an amount that is commensurate with both the effort put in and the worth of the product for as long as possible.

I'm not going to throw away the small number of bargaining chips I have just because I fear that you might ridicule me for being backward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In progress.

I'm at the part where they put a Gatling gun on the Wright Flyer, but the Signal Corps said it was a bad idea since the hydrogen observer ballons could do the job, so stop it...

Spoiler Alert: the Gatling gun doesn't work. Something to do with a mil error in the helmet mounted sight. But they did solve the overheat problem by not using too many computers.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished Any Weir's The Martian... Amazing book, could not put it down.

Basically, (no spolier), an astronaut gets left behind on Mars when his crew has to evacuate due to a storm - to be fair they think he's dead and cannot find the body in the short amount of time they have left. The marooned astronaut comes to, finding himself alone and has to survive until the next mission that will take place in years...

The book is part Robin Crusoe, part Gravity and all McGyver...

Weir did some really outstanding research for the book.

There is a movie coming out soon with Matt Damon in the role of the lost astronaut...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p7bgMxewxA

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

None of those are 'vanity' publishers. Your move.

I'm not sure what you're arguing then. Are you saying that you lose digital rights when you use a vanity publisher? Because AFAIK even if you went vanity for print only, you should be able to upload to D2D for free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished Any Weir's The Martian... Amazing book, could not put it down.

Basically, (no spolier), an astronaut gets left behind on Mars when his crew has to evacuate due to a storm - to be fair they think he's dead and cannot find the body in the short amount of time they have left. The marooned astronaut comes to, finding himself alone and has to survive until the next mission that will take place in years...

The book is part Robin Crusoe, part Gravity and all McGyver...

Weir did some really outstanding research for the book.

There is a movie coming out soon with Matt Damon in the role of the lost astronaut...

2. The Martian was outstanding.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure what you're arguing then. Are you saying that you lose digital rights when you use a vanity publisher? Because AFAIK even if you went vanity for print only, you should be able to upload to D2D for free.

You lose almost all rights to the publisher (vanity or not) when you get your work published. For starters, the publisher owns the majority of rights to the edited and laid out book, not the author.

So, no, the author can't simply take it and make a digital version using a free digital publishing service. While a typical contract may require author approval for foreign rights sales and digital versions, to go digital, the publisher would expect the author to pay the costs to convert it, and then they'd expect a cut of the revenue.

Even with non-vanity publishers, the author eventually pays for the cost of conversion to digital because he/she only gets paid on revenue minus conversion costs.

Edited by Steve Davies
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last of the Few: The Battle of Britain in the Words of the Pilots Who Won It

Book about RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain. Was $1.99 for kindle, so that deal may come up again. Good read and surreal at times. Guys getting shot down and walking to the closest pub for a pint, things like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Viper Pilot" by Dan Hampton. One of the few books about military aviation in recent years. I'm not a big reader but I really enjoyed it. Even went out and got "Lords of the Sky" by him after I finished it, about the history of the fighter pilot. About a third of the way thought but so far it's good.

Through* damn autocorrect

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished Lemay by Warren Kozak. Good look at the hows and whys in his approach to the bombing campaigns in Europe then Japan. And how he built SAC. My favorite quote "I'll tell you what war is about. You've got to kill people and when you kill enough of them, they stop fighting." His mentor was Robert Olds, father of Robin Olds. Lemay was also a lead from the front kind of guy and had to be ordered to stop flying bombing missions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...