A well researched and written account of an obscure chapter of America's involvement in World War I. I read extensively on military history, and this is the only account that I have come across that explores Imperial Germany's attempt to beat the British blockade with cargo submarines. I am familiar with the World War II missions to land saboteurs in America from U-boats, but was unaware that there was an active sabotage operation being run in the States during the First War.

Based on the official reports from Army Group B in the wake of the allied landings in Normandy it is interesting to see just how long Operation Fortitude impacted the German Army's dispositions and plans to counter the invasion.

I found myself struggling to finish this book, it veers so sharply from the title's suggested purpose. The author's note begins "I want to state for the record that I am not now, nor have I ever been a historian." This book convincingly proves that assertion again and again. I had mixed expectations when I received this book, but Oliver Hazard Perry and his vital role in the War of 1812 is certainly not the central theme of this story. The first historic fort the author attempts to visit was not even open on the day he planned to visit and three chapters on his trials and tribulations with automotive breakdown and repair were 2.5 chapters too many and really failed to contribute to any understanding of O. H. Perry. This is not a book for anyone who has a serious interest in the War of 1812 or history in general. I had hoped for a more balanced weaving of the events on Lake Erie during the war with the author's travels to various historical sites as suggested by the book's cover, this book did not meet that expectation.

I received this book through the Early Reviewer program and was not 100% percent sure what to expect. I might have felt differently had it simply been titled "A Fiery Peace in a Cold War" and not included a specific reference to Bernard Schriever. I say this because I feel that Bernard Schriever is missing from the narrative for extended portions of the book, I was expecting this to be more of his biography and a history of his role in the Cold War. Instead I find this book to better a better overall history of the Cold War in general. There is no doubt that the author has done extensive research and the book is filled biographic sketches of many of the individuals that were involved in the development of the ICBM, but I certainly did not feel that this book really conveyed the story of Bernard Schriever as the central figure. I found that myself looking for the details of his World War II service that was supposed to have honed the skills and talents he brought to bear to build the ICBM and at times felt that I was provided with more details about the wartime service of his subordinates than him. Perhaps because of this I found this to be a well researched but less compelling read than I might have.

An interesting insiders account by a member of the United States Pacific Fleet staff both prior to the outbreak of the Pacific War and for the duration of the fighting. RADM Layton's writing is a fascinating insider account of the military intelligence operations and intrigues behind two of the most significant events in the first six months of the Pacific War, Pearl Harbor and Midway. As a loyal staff officer his defense of his commander, Admiral Kimmel is understandable. As the Pacific Fleet Intelligence Officer on December 7, 1941 you can not escape the idea that some of the passionate defense of Admiral Kimmel may also be in the interest of protecting his own military reputation, since the surprise attack certainly qualifies as an intelligence failure of significant proportion. Granted the collective wisdom of the defense establishment expected attacks almost anywhere in the Pacific except Hawaii and the US West Coast. Henry Clausens's Pearl Harbor Final Judgment presents a significantly less favorable light on both Admiral Kimmel and the entire command and staff operation/coordination/cooperation in the Hawaiian Department during the critical months preceding December 7, 1941.

An interesting addition to any Gettysburg collection, I have read Lincoln's remarks in many volumes, but before obtaining this reprint had only ever read that Mr Everett was the keynote speaker and President Lincoln had been asked to attend and make a few appropriate remarks. Serious students of the civil war will recognize the factual errors in parts of Mr Everett's address, but we have the benefit of hindsight and considerably more reference material at our disposal, including reports and records from the Confederacy which were certainly were not available to the speaker. While certainly referring to his own speech with the line "the world will little note nor long remember what we say here," President Lincoln was at once very wrong and highly accurate. President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is certainly one of the most studied speeches in American history, but it took me over 20 years of reading about the civil war before I had both the interest and opportunity to read Mr Everett's speech.

An interesting addition to this storied unit's history. The transformation of the unit from its poor state of readiness on Sept 11 into the highly effective force that eventually policed the airport road in Baghdad is an excellent study on effective leadership. The impact of the battalion commander can not be overstated, his efforts were the driving force behind the unit's recovery.

As a civil war buff I could appreciate the irony of the 69th's attachment orders for their Iraqi deployment. The battalion was attached to the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team which traces its lineage back to the Louisiana Tigers of civil war fame, their fire support was provided by 1-141 Artillery which had once deployed its guns as the Army of Northern Virginia's "Washington Artillery" contesting the 69th New York Volunteer Infantry on many a bloody field.

An excellent account of the most decorated US Navy warship to emerge from World War II. A must read for anyone interested in the Pacific War. Following the Japanese surge across the Pacific in 1941 the Enterprise was part of every significant US operation except the Battle of the Coral Sea from Dec 1941 through the conquest of Guadalcanal. The details of some of the later carrier actions seem light in comparison to the extensive accounts of the ship's battles in the Solomon Islands, but in the early battles the Enterprise was often operating with only 1 or 2 other carriers instead of the powerful Task Force 38/58 of the later war years.

An interesting evaluation of the German failure to attempt an invasion of Great Britain following the fall of France. This book establishes a solid argument for reexamining the impact of the Battle of Brittan on Operation Sea Lion. The condition of the German surface fleet as documented clearly indicates that in the summer and fall of 1940 it was in no condition to protect a cross-channel invasion fleet. The balance of naval power in the invasion zone was clearly in the Royal Navy's favor. There can be little doubt as to the havoc that would have resulted from night time surface attacks against the invasion fleet, when air power would not be a factor.

Not for the serious history buff. The book has no citations and no bibliography. I found only one fact that I accept without further research because I’ve read about it extensively in footnoted sources. There is no obvious organization to the book, I found notes about the American Civil War scattered throughout the book instead of grouped into one section. More a collection of trivia meant to facilitate passing time waiting for the bus then a serious work of history.

A welcome addition to my Civil War collection. The first book that I have read that takes a serious look at Lincoln's management of the Navy Department and his interactions with the senior leaders of the United States Navy. Plenty of material exists regarding Lincoln's presence in the War Department telegraph office monitoring the Army's activities in stark contrast to his interactions with the Navy Department prior to this book.

Disappointing. The schematics and line drawings that are included are reduced so much that they are very difficult to read. The "analysis" of why the ship matters is less than two pages long. A significant amount of space is dedicated to color photos of a 1/700 scale model of BB-67.