I'm adding my voice to the chorus of praise for the G&D books. The attention to detail is impressive. The authors go so far as to account for the different definitions of "inch"--an inch of armor in the Royal Navy was actually 0.98in, and this reflects correctly in the figures cited for the KGV, Lion, and Vanguard classes. In citing the damage inflicted on France's Dunkerque by exploding depth charges, the authors properly tally, not the amount of explosive in all the depth charges lying alongside the ship, but only the amount which detonated properly. Impressive work.
It should be no surprise that more recent revelations have overtaken G&D's look at Soviet designs. Still, the info they do present is generally representative of the design's actual properties. A similar state applies in the chapter on Dutch Design 1047.
The only caution requiring the reader's attention is that the occasional typo pops up to confuse the statistical information. This is a general caveat for all three volumes rather than this one in particular.

Among many books dedicated to capitol ships in the II WW, this volume is a very pleasant reading. It comes close to the experience of on the spot study of the design, construction and operational life of dreadnoughts of allied Navies, leading every naval buff to the very insight of the ship themselves. Each class is thoroughly illustrated, giving detailed information of ship's armament, protection systems, engineering and machinery. The best facet is the careful examination of operational career of each ship and the analysis of battle damage sustained by the ship according to testimonies, technical data and the most probable reconstruction of incoming shell trajectory. The damage studies are interesting since they are presented with extensive use of line drawings, further explaining the ships' innermost structural architecture. Another remarkable feature is the extensive chapter dedicated to Soviet wartime effort to build capital ships. It literally casts a light on the subject, providing many facts and photographs of this unknown page of II WW. Profiles, armor diagrams, shear,frame & body plans, line drawings are very accurate as they are results of blueprints' deep investigation.

This book is really an authoritative source for studying battleships from their inception to their final days.

Mssrs Garzke and Dulin have written a trio of detailed, comprehensive and objective analyses of the battleships of the World War II era (designs past 1930). In this volume, they analyze the capital ships of the Netherlands, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Overall, they rate the units of France as the best in the 35,000 treaty class due the Richelieu's fine protection and speed coupled with excellent firepower. The authors analyze the loss of Prince of Wales to Japanese air attack and the loss of Hood to Bismarck in intricate detail. For any wargamer or student of warships or naval history, this book is a must. Even designs contemplated but never laid down or completed are discussed, including the Lion class and French Alsaace class. A must read.

Guerrilla warfare is seldom spoken in Civil War circles or written about. Probably one of the more popular characters in this topic from that period is Bill Anderson. Authors Albert Castel and Thomas Goodrich have assembled quite a bit of useful information in regards to Anderson's ambitions, motivations, movements and operations throughout Kansas and Missouri. This dangerous, callous and revengeful individual is brought forth to show how rough and chaotic war can be, especially for a divided state such as Missouri. Anderson leads his small band of raiders throughout these states living like desperate pirates to plunder towns and more importantly hunt down enemies to the extreme.

Anderson's life is never short of violence as he is the ultimate and sadistic leader of a dangerous group of bandits that have borderline allegiances to the Confederate cause. Portraying to be Union Cavalry, Anderson and his band of murderers steal, burn, kill and ravage towns of Union sympathizers. Union Militia throughout the state of Missouri is quickly and badly organized to hunt down Anderson and his company that seems to constantly grow larger in membership. Anderson raids towns such as Fayette and Centralia leaving deadly results by killing many former Union soldiers, burning depots and various other buildings while looting stores. Anderson and his gang are always drinking and whiskey seems to elevate their need for murder and money that never ends.
Is he ever stopped?

Like many, I couldn't resist this book and wished for more though there is quite a bit of useful information for a short book of roughly 144 pages. It was descriptively well-written, concise, maps and pictures were included which gave the book a great rhythmic flow as far as content. 5 STARS!!

This is a very interesting and well written book about the atrocities that Bill Anderson and his bushwhackers committed, within the background of the Civil War. The authors have done a tremendous amount of research and it pays off.

The only problem I has with it is that at 150 pages, it was a bit too short. Then again, the subtitle does say Short and Savage life.

Well recommended for Civil War or military history buffs.

I found this book to be an easy to read history of not only Anderson but the circumstances that helped create him. The authors have done an excellent job turning up new information and sifting old information to write a helpful new view of Anderson. The book is well footnoted and contains several never before printed photos including a photo of Anderson's wife, Bush Smith and one of the cord he used to keep track of his kills. This book is a must for anyone interested in the Civil War on the Kansas-Missouri border.

It was a pleasure to read Give Us This Mars, the second book in a series that deals with the great heights of achievement human beings are capable of reaching. The books illustrate well how each giant step for mankind is generally the accumulated results of the many efforts of a small group of amazing and inspiring individuals. In Book One, the three heroes of the story ended up with no choice but to attempt the first human settlement on Mars, and after many years of hard and frustrating work, they succeed in developing an efficient, prosperous and fully functioning Mars settlement.

This Martian settlement, thought impossible by people on Earth, is now, of course, the subject of considerable envy, especially on the part of the great powers. The satisfying theme of how the decent little people, with limited resources in a very difficult environment, attempt to outsmart the powerful and unethical big guys, is played out to its fullest in Give Us This Mars. The characters in the story are well developed and the plot unfolds smoothly, but with many unexpected twists and turns. Also, the necessary science in the story is clearly explained, and the author's understanding of the laws of nature enhances the flow of the plot. All in all, Give Us This Mars is a very enjoyable and stimulating read.

For those of you who have read the first book this one is very different. The first book was about surviving the elements of Mars and how to setup a living facility on Mars. The sequel is an action packed thriller that reminded me of the old Wild West. The bad guys arrive into a small town and try to take over. There are [weapons] and everything. Lots of twists and turns that kept me in suspence throughout the entire read.

I am a member of a book club of twelve, and we try to read as diverse a selection of books as possible. That includes SF books, which few of us would read without a prod.

"Give Us This Mars" is as good a page turner as I have ever read. Reading it was like being on a long and wonderful visit to Mars. I began on a Saturday morning and could not put it down. I continued until night, when I was forced to stop, with poor Astrid clinging to life by a thread. Next day brought more excitement, with Don giving me a big surprise. What happens is brilliant.

This unexpectedly thrilling read took me into a world of political intrigue, armed conflict, power politics at the highest level, and the physics of trebuchets (medieval artillery, which I understood even though I am not a scientist), with a light sprinkling of Zen philosophy.. All this combines to give a futuristic reenactment of events that took place in the years following the discovery of the Americas by Columbus. The way the trebuchet comes into the plot is not what you might think.

I got a sense of the alien landscape of Mars, and the experience of the dangers of Mars made for exciting reading. At times I even experienced an emotional involvement with the characters and events in the story. The author is usually thorough in his narration of events, but on occasion he shows sophistication, in leaving out the details of events that are best left to the reader's imagination, such as a long journey Captain Derk and his military go on to carry out a surprise attack. There is not much technology/science detail in the story, and if you do not have a science background, I would recommend reading Book Two before Book One. You had better be ready for the directions north, south, east, and west, which are common in the story. I needed the maps and diagram at the end to help me keep track.

There is a discussion early in the book between Derk and Denise about land ownership on Mars. They have very opposing ways of looking at how land/territory is acquired and retained, and it explains many conflicts on Earth. I thought it was the most thought provoking part of the story. The book is definitely not far-fetched science fiction, and this non science-fiction reader closed it with a satisfied feeling, and many things to ponder. Did I see hints in the book of an interesting installment to follow?

Thomas Jefferson's " Notes on the State of Virginia" is a brilliant piece of history, sociology, law, geology, government,and science. This work, Jefferson's only book, shows his powerful, brilliant mind at it's best. Jefferson shows the depth of his knowledge, not just on his own beautiful state, but on human nature itself. Some of the gems in this work are his views on education, advocating free public education for all, free government, advocating a revisal of the defective original Virginia Constitution. His knowledge of slavery, and the Indian races before his eyes are from personal experience and observation. Although painted by the deconstuctionist left as a "racist" Jefferson was a dangerous radical to the Virginia gentry due to his advocacy of emacipation and deportation of slaves. His views on black inferiority are exaggerated since he placed them forth as a scientific hypothesis based on personal observation. Jefferson could not see a "multicultural" society in America made up of former masters and slaves with resentment and prejudice still in the hearts of both. Many of his predictions about race relations have come true: hate, resentment, power struggles, and a continuing obsession which he forsaw would destroy the America Republic.

The best edited version of the is Koch and Peden's edited on in "The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson", but the full Notes is very good, but the reader must be prepared for numerous charts and tables. Overall a great book, and buy!

The book is written much like an epic poem- with lists of river, towns, economic conditions etc in 1780s. But also much more: His feeling on race. He obviously did not hate blacks, proposed a theory that they were less intelligent, had an aesthetic view of man akin to Gulliver's Travels and the horses. Theory of education is much akin to European model of today, much better than current theories in use. He opposed multiculturalism and opposed teaching children religion in schools or anyplace else, preferring Greek, Roman and European histories and philosophy for guidance of children. The difference between the America he wanted and the reality of today is striking. Which is better? Each must judge, but this is a must read book.

I recomend The book which was edited with an introduction and notes by William Peden. I have an orginal copy of "Notes on the State of Virginia" Second Amarican edition Printed in 1797, on loan to the Monticello, (of which I am welling to part with at the right price). This was a hard book to understand, once I read the one edited by William Peden, I had a much better understanding of what Mr. Jefferson wrote, as well as the history of Mr. Jefferson's efforts in acheaving it's final contents.

Every major class of battleship is described in meticulous detail. From design to outcome this book has it all.

Be warned, this book also contains extensive technical information, so if you are interested in narrative storytelling look elsewhere. This book is for the true devotee of battleships.

Quite a bit of detail about each individual ship organized in sections on a ship-by-ship basis. Lots of good photos and drawings.

Bill Garzke and Bob Dulin have outdone themselves again. When I was the structural project leader to direct the hull and armor redesigns for the reactivation of the Battleship NEW JERSEY at Long Beach Naval Shipyard (the planning yard for the Battleships), we used their earlier edition of this book as our general guide. Two members of my design team brought in their personal copies and kept them handy so I could include excerpts from them for official Navy memos and instructions. The Naval archives were sorely lacking detailed chemical and heat treating records of the Class A and Class B armor of the Battleships. A quick phone call to Bill Garzke gave me an armor expert on the west coast that had all the data our designers and welding engineers needed. Thanks, Bill. I owe you one. The only thing I have found missing from this edition is the fantastic Gibbs & Cox scheme D Battleship that was half Battleship and half Aircraft Carrier and was actually bought by the Soviet Union in WW II, but never built. In this edition, perhaps the most important section is the one devoted to the disasterous incident of turret II on the IOWA where 47 men were killed. The authors go into meticulous detail as to actual facts and almost every conceivable theory as to what caused the deflageration (not an explosion). However, they are properly cautious as not to force their personal opinions on the reader. Yet they give enough detail, including histories of past turret incidents on other Battleships, so the reader can draw his own conclusions. There are a few typos and descrepancies between the text and the illustrations. For example, the text correctly identifies the powder in the propellent bags as D846 where the illustrations identify it as B846. Also, the elevation sketch indicates that the heavily armored turret bustle hatch was blown off when in fact it was the turret bustle hatch ACCESS PLATFORM below the bustle (overhang) that was blown over the side. But these are miniscule descrepancies only an "insider" like me would know (I was tasked to write a repair procedure). All in all, it is unthinkable that any true Battleship historian or lover would be without this book. Actually, both the 1976 and this 1995 edition should be in every Naval Architect's library. Richard A. Landgraff DREADNAUGHT CONSULTING Long Beach, California

This study is a wonderful compilation of the life and writings of Thomas Jefferson. The introduction by Koch and Peden of Jefferson's long and fruitful life is rich and complete. Jefferson's greatness shines forth in the pages of this volume. His Anas, Autobiography, Essay of the Anglo Saxon language, Notes on Virginia, And his numerous public papers and letters show the reader the depth of this great man. Koch and Peden clearly admire Jefferon which is a welcome respite from the sad and anti-intellectual deconstructionist philosophy of modern historians. No PC here. For a student of Jefferson, or someone attempting to familiarize themselves with his ideals, this is a great buy!

We added this book to our library when I was doing research for a doctoral project on Racism. In one volume, is Jefferson's autobiography, travel journals, essays, biographies of other historical figures, notes and correspondence. It is a wealth of material into a foundation stone personality of our American identity.

Lately Jefferson has drawn fire because of his position on slavery and his philandering activities as a plantation owner. Still, within this volume you can observe the full story historical context provides.

In my favorite passage in connection with the slavery issue he writes,

"And can the liberties of a nation be though secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of thepeople that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever; that considering numbers,nature and natural means only, a revolution of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation is among possible events; that it may become probably by supernatural interference! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a contest." (Notes on Virginia, Query XVIII; p. 278 Modern Library Edition)

I think every family should have a copy of this volume in their library. It is enlightening, powerful and life changing material.

Excellent in-depth coverage for those who want more than the usual cursory overview. R. Thomas Campbell's Sea Hawk Of The Confederacy brings drama to the naval war, providing both a biography of Charles W. Read, a Confederate Navy officer whose battles were legendary, and a narrative style which reads like a novel while incorporating plenty of strategy and military facts.

Thomas Campbell's latest addition to his several other books on the Confederate Navy is the most exciting, as an 'old, mostly unknown' hero emerges to the spotlight he so well deserves. This first, complete biography of Lt. Charles W. Read, CSN, skillfully weaves various obscure sources of information, mostly unknown except to serious students of the Confederate Navy, to new family histories recently discovered. Many of the generous number of photographs have never been seen in public before. Read's participation on such ships as the CSS McRAE, ARKANSAS, FLORIDA AND WEBB are but a portion of the many thrilling experiences he originated and encountered. A brief history of each of the ships such as with Capt. Maffitt on the CSS FLORIDA fills the reader with anticipation of the next chase and adventure. Charles Read's overland escapades will surprise many students of the army to find they were done by navy personnel. In short, this book is a must for anyone who wants to learn of a true life adventurer and to ask themselves "why haven't we heard of him before?". Thomas Campbell is to be commended for this work. John E. Ellis, founder, Confederate Navy Research Center, Mobile, Alabama, http://www.csnavy.org

Any book by Professor Williams is worth reading. He is a wonderful stylist and meticulous researcher. He is analytical and has a simple, plain spoken narrative style that educates the reader along with making it simple to follow his thesis, though by no means is his thinking simple. This book deserves to be read by all Civil War enthusiasts and also provides some insight to later historians who studied under this man, including Stephen Ambrose. This is a great book, and a much needed one.

Author William Venner has assembled a useful book in relating to the history of the 19th Indiana. Venner has worked hard to back up his information offering many pages of footnotes that are handy in reenforcing his writing. This book is a fast read and chronologically follows the 19th from 1861 muster to final discharge as the unit is blended with the 20th Indiana. This book follows the hard fought history of a tough group of individuals that faced many conflicts such as Gainesville, Antietam, Gettysburg, The Wilderness and Petersburg. Venner does an excellent job covering the manpower involved in the regiment and how they survived with ever-dwindling numbers. Venner's writing is easy to read and not ever complex. This book is an excellent source for reading about the 19th Indiana as much is not written about this hard fighting group. 5 STARS!

This book must be the definitive biography on General Beauregard. I was highly impressed. William's uses 4 to 6 different sources for each quote and incident. This book tells more about Beauregard than many Civil War Buffs know. William's goes into the Beauregard and Davis feud that lasted not only the entire war, but to their dying days.
I feel it is unfortunate that the feud prevented Davis from employing Beauregard, rather than putting inferior Generals in Beauregards place.
Beauregard seems to be quite the inventor, with a sharp intellect. ( Beauregard once proposed the Confederate Army use Rockets with explosive war heads, a design he had figured out. The Confederate Government thought that idea was too radical, total nonsense, and disregarded it)
William's believes Beauregard performed his best battle in Petersburg 1864, and uses ample sources, and references to make that conclusion, which I agree with.
I've often thought Beauregard would have made a better President than Jefferson Davis, it seems that William's has this belief also.
I must say that William's seems to be a little hard on Davis, I don't know if all of that is justified, though I'm sure some certainly is.
I don't believe there is a better biographical book on P.G.T. Beauregard.