by Arthur La Vove, Schiffer, 2021, $24.99. Many firsthand accounts have been written by pilots who flew during World War II. Hump Drivers, however, stands out by having been written by a pilot who was also a journalist. Born in 1909, Arthur La Vove was an experienced airline pilot well before WWII began. He had … Lire la suite

THROUGHOUT NAZI GERMANY, the exploits of U-boat commanders and their crewmen were glorified during the early years of the Battle of the Atlantic. U-boatmen were hailed as heroes; U-boat commanders became legendary figures draped with Iron Crosses. And the successes of this “Happy Time”—as the Germans called the period from January to July 1942, when … Lire la suite

Fox Conner (1874–1951) was among the most influential American generals of World War II, despite having retired from active duty in 1938, three years before the United States entered the war. One of the Army’s most senior officers during World War I and the interwar years, Conner mentored several leading generals of World War II. … Lire la suite

The experiences of U.S. infantrymen in Vietnam are told in many ways: through personal memoirs, media accounts, oral histories— and the government’s own reports. Historian Chris McNab mined those reports to produce The U.S. Army Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual, which reprints declassified primary documents such as field manuals, weapons manuals, intelligence analyses and after-action reports, … Lire la suite

‘OOPS’ WAR[Re. “The ‘Oops’ War,” by Daniel McEwen, March 2022] The article certainly does not downplay the enormous cost of World War I, but the title struck a nerve with me. From what I’ve read, the interlocking set of alliances German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had set up made the war inevitable once the assassination … Lire la suite

One young woman, inspired by her father’s service in World War II, joined the Army to be a nurse. Another young man, motivated by stories of history and the Army’s place in it while in grade school set his sights on a career in the military. Both wound up in the Vietnam War and decades later shared their stories … Lire la suite

by Dmitry Degtev and Dmitry Zubov, Pen & Sword, 2021, $34.95. Innumerable books have been written about the 1940 Battle of Britain. Almost nothing has been published in the West concerning the equally pivotal World War II aerial campaign waged over Moscow between Germany and the Soviet Union during 1941 and early 1942.  Although the … Lire la suite

Traveling safely underwater in an enclosed airtight capsule had been a dream of man for millennia. Although various plans and designs for a watercraft capable of accomplishing this were being drawn as early as the 1500s, reportedly the first actual prototypical submarine—a crude, oar-powered rowboat-like affair—was built in 17th-century England. Once the possibility of beneath-the-waves … Lire la suite

On January 3, 2022, people in Arizona witnessed a unique spectacle. A Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, or at least its 160-foot-long fuselage, was hitting the road. The bomber in question, B-52H 61-0009, known as Damage Inc. II, had served the U.S. Air Force actively from 1961 to September 25, 2008, when it was retired to the … Lire la suite

Linda Hope (Illustration by Randy Glass Studio) Linda Hope is the eldest daughter of legendary comedian Bob Hope. A producer and writer, she worked with her father for many years and produced the Emmy Award–winning 1993 TV special Bob Hope: The First 90 Years. With co-author Martha Bolton she recently published Dear Bob: Bob Hope’s … Lire la suite