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Bf 110 vs Lancaster
by Jim Laurier Robert ForczykUnable to conduct ground operations on the European continent until Allied strength was marshalled for a full-scale invasion, the British government based its grand strategy in World War II on a protracted campaign of aerial bombardment of Nazi Germany's cities in order to bring the Third Reich to its knees. At the heart of this strategy were the emerging technologies of the heavy bomber, combined with night-navigation and precision-bombing techniques. The RAF introduced the huge four-engined Avro Lancaster in 1942 and used it to spearhead this aerial offensive. In response, the Luftwaffe created an elite nightfighter force based primarily upon the Bf 110 to counter the RAF bombers. Although the Bf 110 had failed miserably as a day fighter over England in 1940, it found its niche as a nightfighter. The Luftwaffe was quick to equip it with airborne radar that allowed it to intercept and destroy Lancasters over Germany. In turn, the RAF adopted countermeasures such as the Monica rearward-looking radar to alert Lancaster crews to the approach of nightfighters. The Lancaster heavy bomber was equipped with rear and dorsal turrets that gave it some chance to drive off nightfighters employing the standard tactic of attacking from above and behind.In May 1943, though, the Luftwaffe suddenly developed a novel technical and tactical approach to attacking RAF bombers - the Schräge Musik weapon system, which mounted upward-firing 20mm cannons in a Bf 110 nightfighter. The new tactic proved amazingly successful, and British bombers could be attacked from below with no warning. Soon, the Luftwaffe decided to equip a third of its nightfighters with Schräge Musik and began to inflict grievous losses upon Lancaster bomber units in the period from August 1943 to March 1944. For its part, the RAF failed to detect the new German tactic for six crucial months, during which time its Lancaster bombers were almost defenceless against this new threat. In time, however, the German advantage of surprise was lost and the RAF developed countermeasures to deal with the new threat. The duel between upgraded Bf 110s and Lancasters in the night skies over Germany became increasingly dominated by cutting-edge technology, which would determine the efficacy of strategic bombing.
Bicycle Blitzkrieg: The Malayan Campaign And The Fall Of Singapore
by LCDR Alan C. HeadrickJapan's December 1941-February 1942 invasion of Malaya and culminating conquest of Singapore is analyzed from an operational perspective. Although overshadowed by better known Pacific Theater actions in World War II, the campaign was Japan's most successful example of joint warfare and replete with lessons for the modern operational commander. Approached from the level of the commander and staff, the background and decision making processes are reviewed, with applicable areas identified for today's leaders. The need for aggressive leadership, accurate intelligence, flexible application of power, adjustment of force based on environmental conditions, and the value of logistics are the major lessons from the Japanese victory. Poor leadership and futility of trying to defend too much are among those lessons from the defeated British.
Bienvenidos a Occidente
by Mohsin HamidBienvenidos a Occidente es una bellísima fábula sobre los refugiados, una novela con una sólida posición ética que nos cuestiona en qué mundo queremos vivir. Por Mohsin Hamid, uno de los autores más reputados de la actualidad. La historia de amor furtivo de Nadia y Said tiene lugar en una ciudad llena de puntos de control y bombas. Es un laberinto humano donde, al empezar la guerra civil, surgen extrañas habladurías: «rumores sobre puertas que podían llevarlo a uno a otro lugar, concretamente a lugares remotos, alejados de aquella trampa mortal de país». En una historia épica de tremenda actualidad, esta insólita pareja de amantes huirá para recalar primero en Mikonos y luego ir desplazándose hacia el oeste, compartiendo el periplo vital de millones de personas que sufren en sus carnes el rechazo (o, en ocasiones, la bienvenida) de Occidente. Reseñas:«Dinámica y lapidaria. Una novela absorbente.»Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times «Elegante y actual. Hamid es un escritor tan romántico como político: en el centro de sus novelas siempre late una historia de amor.»Louis Wise, The Sunday Times «Una obra maestra, que estira los límites de lo verosímil para hablar del lugar en el mundo que ocupan inmigrantes y refugiados. Pero es también una novela asentada en lo real. Un libro bellísimo.»Michael Chabon «En el corazón de la novela, la cuestión moral sobre los derechos migratorios llega donde ninguna otra obra ha llegado todavía.»Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic «Impresionante. Bienvenidos a Occidente confirma la reputación de Hamid como ventrílocuo genial e implicado en los asuntos más urgentes de nuestro tiempo.»Andrew Motion, The Guardian «Extraordinaria.»Zadie Smith «Lo que sitúa a Bienvenidos a Occidente en la élite de la novela contemporánea es su manera de narrar,como ningún otro libro, lo que está sucediendo hoy y forma parte ya de la Historia.»Davide Piacenza, Rivista Studio «Necesitamos más escritores como Hamid. No nos conduce a la utopía, sino a la puerta de un futuro cercano donde se entrevén siluetas de forasteros: solo hay que cruzar el umbral y conocerlos.»Viet Thanh Nguyen
Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq
by Steve FainaruThere are tens of thousands of them in Iraq. They work for companies with exotic and ominous-sounding names, like Crescent Security Group, Triple Canopy, and Blackwater Worldwide. They travel in convoys of multicolored pickups fortified with makeshift armor, belt-fed machine guns, frag grenades, and even shoulder-fired missiles. They protect everything from the U.S. ambassador and American generals to shipments of Frappuccino bound for Baghdad's Green Zone. They kill Iraqis, and Iraqis kill them. And the only law they recognize is Big Boy Rules. From a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter comes a harrowing journey into Iraq's parallel war. Part MadMax, part Fight Club, it is a world filled with "private security contractors"--the U.S. government's sanitized name for tens of thousands of modern mercenaries, or mercs, who roam Iraq with impunity, doing jobs that the overstretched and understaffed military can't or won't do. They are men like Jon Coté, a sensitive former U.S. army paratrooper and University of Florida fraternity brother who realizes too late that he made a terrible mistake coming back to Iraq. And Paul Reuben, a friendly security company medic who has no formal medical training and lacks basic supplies, like tourniquets. They are part of America's "other" army--some patriotic, some desperate, some just out for cash or adventure. And some who disappear into the void that is Iraq and are never seen again. Washington Post reporter Steve Fainaru traveled with a group of private security contractors to find out what motivates them to put their lives in danger every day. He joined Jon Coté and the men of Crescent Security Group as they made their way through Iraq--armed to the teeth, dodging not only bombs and insurgents but also their own Iraqi colleagues. Just days after Fainaru left to go home, five men of Crescent Security Group were kidnapped in broad daylight on Iraq's main highway. How the government and the company responded reveals the dark truths behind the largest private force in the history of American warfare. . . . With 16 pages of photographs
Big Dan: The Story of a Colorful Railroader
by Dr Frank CunninghamBorn in 1873, Daniel Goode Cunningham started working for the railroad at age 18 as a machinist apprentice and became general foreman on the Norfolk and Western Railroad; general foreman for the Santa Fe at Needles; Superintendent of Shops for the Denver & Rio Grande Western at Salt Lake City; Superintendent of Motive power for the Denver & Salt Lake; and master mechanic of the Salt Lake Division of the Rio Grande. He was a community leader in modernizing the Salt Lake City Fire department. When he retired from active service on the railroad in 1941, he was honored by the railroad, the families of the employees, Salt Lake City, and the State of Utah. This book, by acclaimed author Frank Cunningham, is the biography of "Big Dan" Cunningham and a history of the railroad in Denver and Salt Lake City.
Big Data, Emerging Technologies and Intelligence: National Security Disrupted (Studies in Intelligence)
by Miah Hammond-ErreyThis book sets out the big data landscape, comprising data abundance, digital connectivity and ubiquitous technology, and shows how the big data landscape and the emerging technologies it fuels are impacting national security.This book illustrates that big data is transforming intelligence production as well as changing the national security environment broadly, including what is considered a part of national security as well as the relationships agencies have with the public. The book highlights the impact of big data on intelligence production and national security from the perspective of Australian national security leaders and practitioners, and the research is based on empirical data collection, with insights from nearly 50 participants from within Australia’s National Intelligence Community. It argues that big data is transforming intelligence and national security and shows that the impacts of big data on the knowledge, activities and organisation of intelligence agencies is challenging some foundational intelligence principles, including the distinction between foreign and domestic intelligence collection. Furthermore, the book argues that big data has created emerging threats to national security; for example, it enables invasive targeting and surveillance, drives information warfare as well as social and political interference, and challenges the existing models of harm assessment used in national security. The book maps broad areas of change for intelligence agencies in the national security context and what they mean for intelligence communities, and explores how intelligence agencies look out to the rest of society, considering specific impacts relating to privacy, ethics and trust.This book will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, technology studies, national security and International Relations.
Big Gun Battles: Warship Duels of the Second World War
by Robert C. SternThis naval history of WWII explores the advancing technology and tactics of battleships through a fascinating survey of ship-to-ship duels. While many naval battles of the Second World War were decided by the torpedo or the aerial bomb, there was a surprising number of traditional ship-to-ship engagements involving the big guns of battleships and cruisers. Big Gun Battles recounts some of the most significant and technically fascinating of these gunfire duels in a narrative that combines lively storytelling with an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing victory or defeat. Covering all theatres of the naval war from 1939 until the Japanese surrender, the selected incidents demonstrate the changing face of surface warfare under the influence of rapidly improving fire-control systems, radar, and other technologies. By 1945, battleships achieved the pinnacle of gunnery excellence.
Big Gun Monitors: Design, Construction, and Operations 1914-1945
by Ian Buxton&“Extremely well researched . . . a total account of the design, building, service, refits, and fates of the big gun monitors built for WW1 and WW2.&” —Malcolm Wright, author of British and Commonwealth Warship Camouflage of WWII In the history of naval warfare probably no type of ship has provided more firepower per ton than the monitor—indeed they were little more than a huge gun mounting fitted on a simple, self-propelled raft. Designed and built rapidly to fulfil an urgent need for heavy shore-bombardment during World War I, they were top secret in conception, and largely forgotten when the short-lived requirement was over. Nevertheless, they were important ships, which played a significant role in many Great War campaigns and drove many of the advances in long-range gunnery later applied to the battle fleet. Indeed, their value was rediscovered during the Second World War when a final class was built. Monitors were largely ignored by naval historians until Ian Buxton produced the first edition of this book in 1978. Although published privately, this became an established classic and copies of the first edition are now almost unobtainable, so this new edition will be welcomed by many. It has been completely revised, extended and redesigned to a generous large format which allows material deleted from the original edition for lack of space to be restored.&“This book looks in detail at the technical and economic aspects of the 42 monitors built, and is, without a doubt, the definitive work on the subject.&” —Ships Monthly&“Ian Buxton&’s work has set the standard in celebrating these big gun ships . . . It makes an invaluable contribution to the study of naval and land operations.&” —Warships International
Big Guns and Brave Men
by Rodney Earl WaltonAlthough it was the largest and final battle of the Pacific War, the Battle for Okinawa has long been overshadowed by other dramatic events in 1945. The books that have been written about it emphasize the role of infantrymen, armor, and U.S. Marines. This work takes a fresh perspective and focuses on the vital role played by the U.S. Army's forward artillery observers-the eyes and ears of American artillery who were among the least recognized heroes of the war. According to Rodney Earl Walton, U.S. artillerymen matched Japanese gunners in intensity and surpassed them in effectiveness because their forward observers were able to provide a much shorter response time to requests for artillery support. Divided into teams consisting of four or five men led by an artillery lieutenant, these observers would spend three days on the front lines directing artillery against enemy positions, return to their artillery battery for three days, and then rotate up to the line of battle again. While trying to maximize the damage inflicted on the enemy, the men had to deal with the ever-present possibility of firing on their own forces. The ability to shift artillery fire throughout the battlefield was a new development in World War II, and its evolution is fully examined in the book. Walton, the son of one of the forward observers on Okinawa, spent more than twenty years investigating what happened to his father and other artillerymen during the conflict. Interviews with the artillerymen and the infantrymen they supported are central to his story, which is filled with gripping and sometimes humorous accounts of what happened. The work stands as a stirring tribute from the "baby boom generation" to the "greatest generation."
Big Guns: Artillery on the Battlefield (Casemate Short History)
by Angus KonstamA concise, illustrated introduction to artillery from medieval times to the modern era. Over seven centuries, the artillery piece has evolved from a status symbol to one of the most deadly weapons wielded by man. Using gunpowder weapons was initially something of a black art, but over time, gunnery became a science, a dependable method of breaching fortifications or overcoming an enemy on the battlefield. By the nineteenth century, most European armies had artillery units manned with trained gunners; Napoleon, originally an artillery officer, then took the use of artillery to a new level. Over the following decades, rapid advances in gun technology paved the way for the devastatingly powerful heavy artillery that literally transformed the landscape during World War I. The use of rolling and box barrages shaped how armies fought on the front lines, and powerful naval guns dictated the outcome of battles at sea. By World War II, the range of artillery had expanded to include self-propelled guns and powerful antitank and antiaircraft guns. In this informative introduction, historian Angus Konstam concisely explains how the development and evolving deployment of artillery led to big guns becoming the key to victory in two world wars and a potent force on the modern battlefield.
Big Planet (Gateway Essentials #181)
by Jack VanceBig Planet is Jack Vance's first major sf novel, and in the words of the Encyclopedia of SF, "provided an sf model for the planetary romance which has been of significant use for forty years". The huge world of the title is home to a range of colourfully detailed and imaginative human societies, which Vance explores with the zest and humour which are hallmarks of his work.All Jack Vance titles in the SFGateway use the author's preferred texts, as restored for the Vance Integral Edition (VIE), an extensive project masterminded by an international online community of Vance's admirers. In general, we also use the VIE titles, and have adopted the arrangement of short story collections to eliminate overlaps. Big Planet was cut almost in half for its first publication, but sadly the excised pages are lost.
Big Sky Dynasty (Whitehorse, Montana: The Corbetts #3)
by B.J. DanielsA rancher’s dark past endangers his future with the woman he’s falling in love with in this romantic suspense from a New York Times–bestselling author.Dalton Corbett’s secret past had finally caught up with him and taken residence above Whitehorse’s knit shop—owned by the unsuspecting and sweet Georgia Michaels. Although Georgia had no reason to mistrust the woman she’d just rented to, Dalton knew how dangerous and deadly she was—just as he knew that Georgia was the type of girl his mother hoped he’d marry. Unwilling to see Georgia hurt, he devoted himself to ensuring her safety—and the more time he spent with her, the more he realized that she was the woman for him. But would his secrets put the next Corbett bride in danger?
Big Wars and Small Wars: The British Army and the Lessons of War in the 20th Century (Military History and Policy)
by Hew StrachanThis is a fascinating new insight into the British army and its evolution through both large and small scale conflicts. To prepare for future wars, armies derive lessons from past wars. However, some armies are defeated because they learnt the wrong lessons, fighting new conflicts in ways appropriate to the last. For the British Army in the twentieth century, the challenge has been particularly great. It has never had the luxury of emerging from one major European war with the time to prepare itself for the next. The leading military historians show how ongoing commitments to a range of ‘small wars’ have always been part of the Army’s experience. After 1902 and after 1918 they included colonial campaigns, but they also developed into what we would now call counter-insurgency operations, and these became the norm between 1945 and 1969. During the height of the Cold War, in 1982, the Army was deployed to the Falklands. Since 1990 the dominant tasks of the Army have been peace support operations. This is an excellent resource for all students and scholars of military history, politics and international relations and British history.
Big Week: Six Days that Changed the Course of World War II
by Bill YenneIn just six days, the United States Strategic Air Forces changed the course of military offense in World War II. During those six days, they launched the largest bombing campaign of the war, dropping roughly ten thousand tons of bombs in a rain of destruction that would take the skies back from the Nazis . . . The Allies knew that if they were to invade Hitler’s Fortress Europe, they would have to wrest air superiority from the mighty Luftwaffe.The plan of the Unites States Strategic Air Forces was extremely risky. During the week of February 20, 1944—and joined by the RAF Bomber Command—the USAAF Eighth and Fifteenth Air Force bombers took on this vital mission. They ran the gauntlet of the most heavily defended air space in the world to deal a death blow to Germany’s aircraft industry and made them pay with the planes already in the air. In the coming months, this Big Week would prove a deciding factor in the war.Both sides were dealt losses, but whereas the Allies could recover, damage to the Luftwaffe was irreparable. Thus, Big Week became one of the most important episodes of World War II and, coincidentally, one of the most overlooked—until now.
Big Week: The Biggest Air Battle of World War II
by James HollandA history of World War II’s Operation Argument in which US and British air forces led a series of raids against Nazi Germany in 1944.During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation Argument, this aerial offensive quickly became known as “Big Week,” and it was one of the turning-point engagements of World War II.In Big Week, acclaimed World War II historian James Holland chronicles the massive air battle through the experiences of those who lived and died during it. Prior to Big Week, the air forces on both sides were in crisis. Allied raids into Germany were being decimated, but German resources—fuel and pilots—were strained to the breaking point. Ultimately new Allied aircraft—especially the American long-range P-51 Mustang—and superior tactics won out during Big Week. Through interviews, oral histories, diaries, and official records, Holland follows the fortunes of pilots, crew, and civilians on both sides, taking readers from command headquarters to fighter cockpits to anti-aircraft positions and civilian chaos on the ground, vividly recreating the campaign as it was conceived and unfolded. In the end, the six days of intense air battles largely cleared the skies of enemy aircraft when the invasion took place on June 6, 1944—D-Day.Big Week is both an original contribution to WWII literature and a brilliant piece of narrative history, recapturing a largely forgotten campaign that was one of the most critically important periods of the entire war.Praise for Big WeekAn Amazon Best Book of the Year“With the aid of diaries, memoirs and his own interviews, Mr. Holland gives a detailed, crewman’s-eye view of combat from inside the British, American and German aircraft during the months leading up to Big Week and during the week itself. For those hoping for war-movie stuff, rest assured that the enemy fighters do come in at 6 o’clock, the guns do hammer, the sun does glint and the ‘chutes do blossom in the sky. Still it’s a serious and important story as well as a dramatic one, and Mr. Holland tells it with verve and authority.” —David A. Price, Wall Street Journal“Highly detailed. . . . The interplay of personal stories with the broader strategic picture makes this book especially illuminating. . . . A fascinating must-read for World War II aficionados.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Big Wings: The Largest Aeroplanes Ever Built (Pen And Sword Large Format Aviation Bks.)
by Philip KaplanIn the history of aviation there have been many attempts to produce aircraft of extraordinary proportions to expand the limits of technology and create new performance standards. With few exceptions, the early attempts did not become the successes envisaged until post-World War II when such aircraft as the Boeing B-52 long-range heavy bomber and the Boeing 747 'Jumbo Jet' airliner changed the face of aviation in both the military and civil roles. Big Wings is a well-researched, highly informative and sometimes nostalgic look at the sixteen most significant giants of the air. Each chosen aircraft is introduced and its raison d'?tre explained, then follows an in-depth review of the successful and failed technical aspects of the design, its operational history, first-hand accounts from those that had flown the aircraft and finally some startling facts and statistics. The aircraft selected are as follows: Military—Douglas B–19, Boeing B-29, Consolidated B-36, Northrop B-49 and Boeing B-52, Airliners—Bristol Brabazon, Boeing 747 and Airbus A380, Heavy Lifters—Messerschmitt Me323, Consolidated XC-99, Lockheed C5 and Antonov AN-225, Flying Boats—Dornier Do-X, Martin JRM Mars, Hughes HK-1 and Saunders Roe Princess.
Biggest Brother: The Life Of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led The Band of Brothers
by Larry AlexanderIn every band of brothers, there is always one who looks out for the rest. A soldier. A leader. A living testament to the valor of the human spirit. Major Richard D. Winters finally shares his amazing story. They were the Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Army Airborne, the legendary fighting unit of World War II. And there was one man every soldier in Easy Company looked up to-Major Richard D. Winters. Here, for the first time, is the compelling story of an ordinary man who became an extraordinary hero-from Winters's childhood in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, through the war years in which his natural skill as a leader elevated him through the ranks in combat, to now, decades later, when he may finally be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on D-Day. Full of never-before-seen photographs and the insight that family, friends, fellow veterans of Easy Company-and only Winters himself-could provide, Biggest Brotheris the inspiring life story of a man who became a living testament to the valor of the human spirit-and America.
Biggest Stick: The Employment Of Artillery Units In Counterinsurgency
by Major Richard B. JohnsonThis study uses a comparative analysis of the Malayan Emergency, the American experience in Vietnam, and Operation Iraqi Freedom to examine the role and effectiveness of artillery units in complex counterinsurgency environments. Through this analysis, four factors emerge which impact the employment of artillery units: the counterinsurgency effort's requirement for indirect fires, constraints and limitations on indirect fires, the counterinsurgency effort's force organization, and the conversion cost of non-standard roles for artillery units. In conclusion, the study offers five broadly descriptive fundamentals for employing artillery units in a counterinsurgency environment: invest in tactical leadership, exploit lessons learned, support the operational approach and strategic framework, maintain a pragmatic fire support capability, and minimize collateral damage. Finally, the study examines the role of education for leaders in a counterinsurgency, and it's influence on these imperative fundamentals.
Bill Haywood’s Book: The Autobiography of William D. Haywood
by William D. HaywoodTHE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ‘BIG BILL’ HAYWOODThis is William D. Haywood’s own story, written during the last year of his life. An heroic giant of the American labor movement during its most turbulent years, “Big Bill” was a Socialist and a founder and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Born in Salt Lake City, he went into the Nevada metal mines at the age of 15, and joined the Western Federation of Miners in 1896 at 25. At 31, he was Secretary-Treasurer of the WFM, and led its epic struggles against the mining trusts. He became the storm center of many other great labor struggles on the eve of the First World War, including the strikes of textile workers in Lawrence, Mass., and in Paterson, N.J. He also led the militant Wobbly “Free Speech” fights, and was prosecuted for opposing U.S. entry into World War I. His story, a swift moving narrative as absorbing as a novel, should be known to the present generation.
Bill Lancaster: The Life and Death of an Aviation Pioneer
by Ralph BarkerCaptain William Lancaster was the subject of public attention and controversy during his life as a record-breaking flyer, because of his love affair with Jessie Chubbie Miller (dubbed the Australian Aviatrix) and as the defendant in one of the most sensational murder trials of the twentieth century. His disappearance, which occurred during an attempt to break the London to Cape Town record in 1933, less than a year after his acquittal, led to speculation that his ill-prepared last flight had been driven by desperation, perhaps even guilt.Twenty nine years later, a French military patrol in the Sahara stumbled across the wreck of Bills plane and his body, along with his perfectly preserved log book. For eight days he had calmly recorded his thoughts, looking back over his life as he stoically faced death. In Bill Lancaster: the Final Verdict, we are presented with the original story in full (first published in 1969 as Verdict on a Lost Flyer), complete with an additional postscript written by the late author's daughter. Meticulously researched by Ralph Barker and written with the full cooperation of Chubbie Miller and the Lancaster family, it includes a complete transcript and photographs of the moving account contained within Lancaster's final diary a precious record that has since gone missing.
Bill Slim
by Peter Dennis Robert Lyman'Bill' Slim was one of the greatest British generals of World War II. In a career that stretched from 1914 until 1958 Bill Slim's greatest triumphs came in India and Burma in the long war against the Japanese between 1944 and 1945. This new Command title will cover both expeditions extensively. It also explores the legacy of a general that time often forgets. His success in rebuilding the morale and self-confidence of a defeated army remains at the heart of the way the British Army continues to train its soldiers today. He was no theoretical soldier, but in his demonstration of the principles of what is today called 'manoeuvre warfare' he is regarded as one of the finest commanders of the modern age and this book will help illustrate why.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Bill, the Galactic Hero
by Harry Harrison“The funniest science fiction book ever written” is a space military parody about a hapless soldier from a Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductee (Terry Pratchett, New York Times–bestselling author of the Discworld novels).It was the highest honour to defend the Empire against the dreaded Chingers, an enemy race of seven-foot-tall lizards. But Bill, a Technical Fertilizer Operator from a planet of farmers, wasn’t interested in honour—he was only interested in two things: his chosen career, and the shapely curves of Inga-Maria Calyphigia.Then a recruiting robot shanghaied him with knockout drops, and he came to in deep space, aboard the Empire warship Christine Keeler. And from there, things got even worse . . .Praise for Harry Harrison“A perfectly grand storyteller.” —David Brin, Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of Star Tide Rising“Few commercial writers are more deserving of their popularity than Harrison, a fine writer who occasionally reaches brilliant heights.” —Publishers Weekly
Billericay in the Great War (Your Towns And Cities In The Great War Ser.)
by Kenneth Frederick Porter Stephen John WynnIn 1914 Billericay was a peaceful compact village of about 2000 inhabitants. There was the High Street, Back Street, which today is called Chapel Street, and Back Lane which is now Western Road. Within half a mile of the High Street there were groups of cottages; Sun Street had some, which are still there today. There were others in Laindon Road at the beginning before you come to the Roman Catholic Church, and Stock Road, along with Norsey Road and Western Road. All of this policed by a couple of local Constables.In London Road there was Hodges Farm and others along Laindon Road where it verges on to Little Burstead, Norsey Road, Stock Road and Jacksons Lane. The roads back then were no more than dirt roads. They weren't flat and smooth and made of tar, but luckily horses were still king of the road.In 1914, between the bottom end of the High Street and the top end at Sun Street, there were only a total of 54 premises including private houses shops, pubs, a bank, Post Office, the Police station, two Blacksmiths, the undertakers, a school and a Church. The war began in August of that year and like the pace of life in the village, it started slowly for the people of Billericay. To start with it was something which they only read about in the newspapers. During the war soldiers started to be billeted in the town. There was an Army camp in Mountnessing Road opposite Station Road for the ordinary soldier, but the officers were billeted in people's houses. Initially there was excitement and enthusiasm about the war but when some of the local men who had gone off to fight in it were getting killed, suddenly it became very real and personal as local families started losing loved onesSeptember 1916 saw a Zeppelin crash in a field at nearby Great Burstead. The burnt and disfigured remains of the German airmen left nobody in doubt just of how real and painful the war was.'February 1918 even saw German soldiers come to the town as Prisoners of war interned in the local Billericay Work House. They were the enemy, but not monsters, just ordinary men like those from Billericay who had gone off to fight in a war that they most probably didn't want to be fighting in. When it was all over some would return to their families to get on with their lives and for the ones who didn't make it back, there would be the commemoration of their names on a war memorial for generations to remember forever more.
Billy Bishop Goes to War
by John Gray Eric PetersonOne of Canada's most successful and enduring musical plays, Billy Bishop Goes to War was first published in 1982 and went on to win the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Award and the Governor General's Award for Drama. In 2010, the celebrated story of the World War I flying ace - credited with seventy-two victories and billed as the top pilot in the British Empire - was revised to frame the original play as a retrospective. It is the same play it always was - the difference is in the telling. Billy Bishop now appears in his later years, reflecting on his wartime exploits, and on the business of war and hero making. Bishop's reminiscence is not so much about the horror and death of war as it is about being young and intensely alive. "The prime of life / The best of men," Bishop sings, "It will never be / Like this again."A memory play about war, Billy Bishop has been going into battle onstage for more than thirty years. The Canadian classic is revisited in this second edition, where war is still a terrible thing, but some men say it was the greatest time of their lives. It's about the ironies and the price of survival.The play format is deceptively simple with a solo narrator who assumes multiple roles while his piano-playing sidekick offers sardonic musical comments.Cast of 2 men.
Billy Bishop VC Lone Wolf Hunter: The RAF Ace Re-Examined
by Peter KilduffA “superb” look at one of the Great War’s most storied combat pilots and his legendary solo missions, with never-before-published photos (Barrett Tillman). William Avery Bishop is recognized as the British Empire’s highest-scoring WWI ace, credited with seventy-two combat victories. Overall, he ranked behind only Manfred von Richthofen and René Fonck. This remarkable man’s story—his personal courage, daring, and superior marksmanship—has been detailed in books and articles, but here author Peter Kilduff investigates the untold story, bringing new light to missions and kills that have been previously steeped in controversy through evenhanded, thorough research and forensic evidence. As so many of Bishop’s victories were achieved during solo combat, the author examines and scrutinizes German, British, and Canadian archival sources, Bishop’s private correspondence, and accounts by friends and foes. Such an approach provides as complete an account as possible, in a valuable work featuring many previously unpublished photographs. “Kilduff is not the first to conduct such an inquiry into Bishop’s claim of 72 victories, but his book is by far the best researched . . . expertly laid out, with photos of the aircraft mentioned by Bishop, particularly the German types. Kilduff has done a marvelous and subtle job of showing how a real hero became larger than life.” —Aviation History