Derek Nelson

This is a fun book and has lots of interesting info--but it's not particularly well organized. I enjoyed reading it but didn't like that the author doesn't site specific sources for individual facts (after complaining that other authors take too many liberties with the histories of place-names).

A highly readable and moderately interesting tromp through the garden of place-names. It is very generalized, there is a nice bibliography, but no footnotes, and the book is not at all scholarly rigorous in any form or fashion. Sometimes I felt as though the chapters had no connective tissue, and there is very little underlying theory or pattern discernible to the act of place-naming, something people like George R. Stewart try to get at. Thus, this book is an enjoyable, trivia-full read, show more but not a serious weighty tome (which it never pretends to be). show less

Nostalgic black-and-white and period color photos depict the legendary Army Air Corps and Air Force jacket as worn by airmen in World War II and the Korean War. Anecdotes and a history of the jacket's service are accompanied by marvelous images of the hand-painted art that more often than not adorned the backs of these garments. *This is a paperback re-issue of Hell Bent for Leather.
The A-2 was the standard Army summer flying jacket before WWII, G-1 the Std. Navy & Marine flight jacket show more bought from Willis & Geiger. The A-2 was cancelled in 1942 due to a shortage of leather to be replaced by the multi-layered B-10 in July 1943 (outer shell of olive-drab cotton twill (gaberdine) which was wind and moisture repellent, an inner layer made of 50:50 alpaca and wool and a low, mouton collar. Also featured the patch pockets, knitted wristbands and waistband carried over from the A-2. show less

The Curious Histories of Place-Names. This amusing, fact-filled book recharts geography--from Ptolemy to the break-up of Yugoslavia--through the eyes of intrepid seafarers, arrogant imperialists, feuding neighbors, gullible map-makers, and bumbling tourists. 50 maps.