Bye Bye Baby by Max Allan Collins

BYE BYE, BABY by Max Allan Collins.

There are few figures in Hollywood history more iconic than Marilyn Monroe, and few Hollywood deaths more mysterious than hers. Even the most casual reader of her death and its subsequent investigation has to come away thinking that the LAPD of 1962 was grossly incompetent, at best; at worst, there is reasonable cause to think that they covered up her murder.

Enter Private Investigator Extraordinaire Nate Heller, hero of multiple novels in Max Allan Collins’ long-running series and no stranger to world-famous historical figures and their mysterious fates. Collins has created nearly the perfect vehicle for writing fascinating non-fiction books without actually writing non-fiction. Heller began his career in the Chicago of the 1920s, frequently walking the tight-rope between befriending Chicago’s mobsters while not (completely) alienating the honest cops. Along the way he has been involved in everything from the Lindberg kidnapping to being a bodyguard for Amelia Earhart, has met everyone from the real-life Charlie Chan to Frank Sinatra. His life has been interesting, to say the least.

But what makes a new Nate Heller novel so compelling is the often ground-breaking research Collins does for his topic. When Nate became involved in the Black Dahlia case, Collins’ research was so thorough that 2 new non-fiction books on the case had to be delayed to incorporate his new findings, and it is precisely this verisimilitude that drives the Heller series from being merely entertaining to the level of must-reads.

And so, when Heller is hired by Marilyn Monroe and begins to move in circles that include Bobby and John Kennedy, Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford, the reader believes what he or she is reading, and so believes the incredible conclusion that Collins eventually reveals. This latest entry, 10 years in the waiting, is as good as any others in the series and comes highly recommended by this reviewer.

Deathride by John Mosier

DEATHRIDE BY John Mosier

Mosier’s usually revisionist outlook holds true as he takes on the largest war ever fought, the Russo-German war 1941-1945. Using facts and figures, but also lots of extrapolations and educated guesses, Mosier tries to separate truth from Soviet-inspired myth when it comes to the Great Patriotic War. And, God knows, there are plenty of myths that the self-serving Soviet propaganda machine cranked out concerning the conflict.

Mosier is never afraid to praise Hitler or Stalin for a correct decision, casting aside political correctness in favor of historical correctness; his job is not to judge the morality of either regime (which is good, since it would be hard to find any morality at all in either one of them) but to determine what really happened during the war itself.

Many of his conclusions are unique, some seem almost preposterous, but he never fails to make you think about what he is saying. This has always been Mosier's approach, he is the shock jock of academic historical study, to take what is supposedly common knowledge about an historical subject and turn conventional wisdom on its head. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't work. To say that Mosier is uneven would be a gross understatement.

But not here; in Deathride Mosier has crafted something challenging, thought-provoking and documented. A fine book , all in all, but be prepared for the historian to take a much softer approach to Hitler’s generalship than is typically seen.

For all you Civil War buffs, or those looking for gift ideas for a Civil War buff...

GENERAL LEE’S ARMY FROM VICTORY TO COLLAPSE by Joseph T. Glatthaar, read by Robertson Dean. Unabridged.

A terrific biography of the Army of Northern Virginia and its relationship with its commander, R.E. Lee. The narrative sometimes gets bogged down in minutia of demographics that becomes boring very quickly, although it is necessary for the story and the background to the events that enveloped the army, but for the most part it moves quickly and is pretty interesting. The reader also does a fine job. Virtually required listening for the Civil War buff.

The book has a majesty that transcends the topic; as much as Lee and his legendary army have been romanticized, the truth is that serving in the Army of Northern Virginia was a harsh, often horrid experience fraught with many types of danger. Food was often scarce, clothing threadbare, good shoes worth their weight in gold and disease rampant. This book brings these realities home to the reader (or in this case, the listener) in a fashion that makes them seem quite real.

Even the most astute student of the Civil War will find much new in this book. This reviewer already knew a lot about the subject, having just written a paper on almost this very topic less than a year previously, and yet at least 30% of this book was new to him, and the parts that were not new were explained in a new way.

I, Sniper- A Review by William A. Webb

One of my favorite series is that of Bob Lee Swagger, Bob the Nailer to his friends (and enemies). A renowned Marine sniper, Bob Lee is not a man to be trifled with, being the son of Medal Of Honor winner Earl Swagger (who has a series of his own). Hunter is a terrific writer but the series has been somewhat uneven over the years. There is nothing second-rate about the subject of this review, however.

I, SNIPER by Stephen Hunter.

The 21^st century is a time in shades of gray. There is no black or white, no good or evil, just the in-between, the no-man’s land of flexible morality and sellable honor. Nothing matters except perception, success is defined by measures of things, of objects, of tangible goods far removed from the world of the spiritual. So when 4 radical leftists from the bygone protest era of the 60's and 70's are slaughtered in a matters of hours by someone with world-class sniper skills, the FBI almost immediately identifies one Carl Hitchcock, USMC (retired), the leading sniper in Vietnam, as the likely culprit. All of the evidence points his way, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to indicate that he is innocent. And when he turns up dead in a seedy motel room with the muzzle of a rifle in his mouth, it is almost a given that he died from a guilty conscience.

Almost a given. Because while the 21^st century might be a time of bendable truth, a time of gray, not every man living in that time is of that time. Not the Special Agent in Charge of Task Force Sniper, Nick Memphis, and most definitely not his deux ex machina, Bob the Nailer, aka Bob Lee Swagger.

The wife of southern billionaire T.T. Constable, the lady who once sat on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft missile battery and encouraged them to kill Americans, Hanoi Joan Flanders, took one through the heart at a very long distance, as did three other similar leftists now living the cushy life regaling a whole new generation of star struck leftists with their exploits. Although divorced from Joan, pampered bully Constable wants the case closed immediately and when Hitchcock’s name comes up he jumps at the chance, pressuring everybody he can think of to issue the report and tidy up the mess. And with most of Washington, D.C., firmly in the narcissistic 21^st century camp, it seems a foregone conclusion that hero Hitchcock will get the blame without a chance to defend himself. Nobody is going to go out on a limb just to save the reputation of some dead guy.

Except Nick Memphis, who knows better but doesn’t care. And where Memphis leads, Swagger follows. Asked just to give his opinion, Bob soon enough concludes that Hitchcock is innocent and vows to clear his name. That’s when bad people start trying to up the body count to include him. They make one serious mistake: you don’t hunt Bob the Nailer, he hunts you. They find this out soon enough.

This is the most satisfying entry in this series for quite a long time, perhaps ever. There are moral wrongs to be righted here and the aging Bob Lee is just the man to do it. There is plenty of sniper-jargon and technology here, plenty of covert stalking, plenty of action, along with the usual terrific dialogue and interwoven plot. Hunter is flat out good at this and isn’t afraid to show it. And there’s nothing gray about that.

Norwich under the gun

Perhaps because they were the ones most traumatized by World War II, in Europe books on every conceivable topic about the war are still being published in their hundreds. Most people have heard about the London Blitz, the German bombing attacks during 1940-41, but are not aware that other British cities were also bombed. And in 1942 the Luftwaffe foolishly launched the 'Baedeker' raids, to destroy significant cultural artifacts in England, which was a total waste of precious Luftwaffe resources at the very moment they were most needed elsewhere.

Here is a terrific review from the London Mail of a new book on the Norwich attacks.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2135522/The-nights-Norwich-burned-Dramatic-images-reveal-cathedral-city-suffered-hands-Hitlers-Luftwaffe.html#ixzz1td3KSGIc

The nights that Norwich burned: Dramatic images that reveal how the cathedral city suffered at the hands of Hitler's Luftwaffe

New book chronicles the suffering of the city during the Second World War

• Targeted as part of the Baedeker raids that saw England's cultural centres bombed
  

By Charles Walford

PUBLISHED: 08:29 EST, 26 April 2012 | UPDATED: 01:41 EST, 27 April 2012

For the first two-and-a-half years of the Second World War, the cathedral city of Norwich had been safe from the Luftwaffe's air raids.

But seventy years ago this month, the Nazi bombing campaign of England entered a new phase.

Having seen the Blitz fail in its objectives to decisively undermine the English war effort, and stung by the increasing success of Allied raids over Germany, in 1942 Hitler decided on a change of strategy.

Rather than cities of military importance the Luftwaffe's new targets were strategically unimportant but picturesque cities in England.

And this was how it came to be that on April 27, 1942, the residents of Norwich woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of sirens and the menacing hum of incoming aircraft.

Destruction: The Wincarnis works in Westwick Street ablaze following one of the Luftwaffe raids

Burning: Fire-fighters in the city tackle the devastation wrought by Hitler's bombers

A Shattered City: The book looks at the effects of Hitler's bombing campaign on the city of Norwich and its people

During two nights of intense bombing, the cathedral city suffered its worst ordeal of the war as Hitler targeted it for destruction as part of his vengeance campaign.

The unexpected nature of the raids meant that insufficient defences were in place. By the time barrage balloons had been positioned over the town int he following days it was too late.

Norwich: A Shattered City, a new book by Steve Snelling, documents Norwich's plight during the raids, which turned the commercial centre to a near wasteland, and left entire streets in ruins.

So far in the War had Norwich seemed from danger that some residents had even taken to ignoring air raid warning sirens and not bothered to seek shelter.

But all that changed in just two nights.

The raids brought heavy loss of life, killing more than 200 deaths, but the majority of the city's most historic buildings, including its Norman castle and cathedral, escaped the bombs and fires that ravaged so many shops, factories and homes.

Men, women and children were killed in the Norwich blitz, which began on the 27 April and continued on the 29 April, with many injured and thousands seeing their homes destroyed.

There were further attacks in May and a heavy bombardment on 26 and 27 June in which the Cathedral was badly damaged.

Exeter, Bath, York and Canterbury all suffered similar treatment at the hands of the Luftwaffe in 1942.

Target: A building on St Stephen's road in the centre of the city is engulfed in flame

Aftermath: A row of bomb-battered houses in The Avenues shows the damage done by the bombing raids

At the ready: One of the city coporation's gas decontamination squads prepare for the air raids

THE BAEDEKER RAIDS OF 1942

The raids on Norwich, Exeter, Bath, York and Canterbury left 1,637 civilians dead and 1,760 injured. More than 50,000 homes were destroyed.

Some noted buildings were destroyed or damaged, including York's Guildhall and the Bath Assembly Rooms, but most escaped - Exeter and Canterbury cathedrals survived as Norwich's did.

But, like the Blitz, from the German point of view the raids were a failure as the bombers, such as the Focke-Wulf FW-190 (pictured), suffered heavy losses for the relatively minimal damage inflicted.

The cities were reputedly selected because they were awarded three stars for their historical significance by the German Baedeker Tourist Guide to Britain - hence the forays were named the Baedeker raids.

German propagandist Baron Gustav Braun von Stumm, is reported to have said on April 24, 1942, after the first attack: 'We shall go out and bomb every building in Britain marked with three stars in the Baedeker Guide.'

Steve Snelling's account of the raids and aftermath features dramatic images of firemen desperately tackling the blazes that engulfed the city's buildings but also reveals the personal experiences of those who lived through the ordeal.

The bombings shook the city but made the people emerge from their shelters with a determination to resist the creeping Nazi threat.

Through personal interviews and archive research the human cost and steely resilience of the locals shines through.

Ralph Mottram, in his book the Assault Upon Norwich wrote,: 'Those of us who drove through the blazing streets had an unpleasant reminder of old days of Ypres and Armentieres (First World War)” wrote.'

'The light of flames flickering through jagged gaps in familiar walls, and reflected in pools of water, the crunch of broken glass and plaster beneath wheels and feet, the roar of the conflagration and the shouted orders and warnings were ominously reminiscent.'

Defences: The men of the city dig a trench shelter in Chapelfield Gardens, while young Judy Swain manages to put on a brave face

Bomb site: When raids resumed in the autumn the town was prepared and children were safe in a shelter just yards from where a bomb hit the Jenny Lind Playground in Pottergate

Two-year-old Pat Brock poses on a defused 500kg bomb in Brickle Road (left), while one device that failed to detonate came to rest in a Norwich vegetable patch

Infantry Tactics of World War II

Terrific review of what looks to be a long-overdue book for World War II buffs. Great Father's Day gift folks.

Book review: Second World War Infantry Tactics by Stephen Bull

By Pam Norfolk
Published on Monday 30 April 2012 07:00

‘Battles and wars are not won unless the infantry is standing on the land that once belonged to the enemy. They live under the hardest conditions and suffer the most danger. It is the pits, a place to stay out of...’

The combat-hardened words of US foot soldier Radford Carrol will ring true with warriors of every nation. Since time immemorial, the ‘poor bloody infantry’ has done the dirty front-line work of war.

They bear the brunt of fighting and often suffer disproportionately in comparison with the other arms of service, and yet the history of infantry tactics is too rarely studied and often misunderstood.

Curator of military history and archaeology for Lancashire Museums, Stephen Bull sets the record straight in this fascinating, in-depth account of the fighting methods of the infantry during the Second World War.

He focuses on the infantry theory and the combat experience of the three major players, the British, German and American armies, while his close analysis of the rules of engagement, the manuals, the training and equipment is balanced by vivid descriptions of the tactics as they were tested in action.

These operational examples show how infantry tactics on all sides developed as the war progressed and give a telling insight into the realities of infantry warfare.

So how did an infantryman function in combat when whole belts of ammunition and train loads of shells were meant not merely to kill him, but blow him to pieces?

The answer, says Bull, is by being taught to fight in very specific ways, not just to pull the trigger or control the desire to run. Chaotic as combat often is, the models for infantry actions are a complex choreography.

During the Second World War, infantry techniques changed over the six years between 1939 and 1945 with armies learning from each other and becoming more similar in their tactical outlook.

Whilst we tend to think of this war as a period of technological leaps – radar, atom bombs and submarines – the truth is that troops still had to advance, take ground and cities, kill and be killed.

As the British Operations manual of 1939 noted, it was infantry that confirmed success, compelled the withdrawal or surrender of the enemy, and held objectives.

But this meant the fighting foot soldiers inevitably absorbed most of the punishment. In Normandy alone, British infantry represented about 70 per cent of the army’s losses even though only one in four men was actually in the infantry.

Bull says that the outcomes of combat can never be predicted however many calculations are made because, in reality, men are not numbers and do not always act in accordance with theories.

He claims that very often individual soldiers cannot see, or perhaps do not understand, the bigger picture. Some do not know they are in range, ‘others can clearly see the gates of heaven, or a quick way home. Others are too tired or hungry to care.’

Bravery in battle, he says, is often depicted as ‘suicidal’ in histories and novels but mostly is a response to their training, battle ‘fever’ and traumas. What injuries soldiers most fear also has an impact on what they might do in combat, or are prepared to venture.

A major pitfall in the study of tactics, says Bull, is the idea that there are tactical absolutes, some perfect movements that, if only they could be discovered and applied, would always prove successful.

Every age is different, with important factors like economics and technology changing rapidly. New weapons and training can appear very quickly in times of war, weather can have a massive impact and, most importantly, people change too...

Bull’s excellent book focuses on the infantry’s role in the infamous blitzkrieg and on the growing significance of sections and squads. He emphasises the increasing importance of combat in urban areas – in buildings, sewers and rooftops – which evolved through the experience gained in bitter protracted urban battles like Stalingrad.

Accessible, well-researched and wide-ranging, Second World War Infantry Tactics is an enthralling introduction to the methods of the opposing ground forces as they confronted each other on the European battlefields of 70 years ago, and a tribute to the men who fought and died.

Pen&Sword, hardback, £19.99)

Original article