Japanese Tanks and Armored Warfare 1932-45
A Military and Political History
by
David McCormack
Japanese Tanks and Armored Warfare 1932-45 A Military and Political History by David McCormack The Japanese tanks and their usage are usu...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
Japanese Tanks and Armored Warfare 1932-45
A Military and Political History
by
David McCormack
Fighters of the Dying Sun The Most Advanced Japanese Fighters of The Second World War by Justo Miranda Every country in World War II had...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
Fighters of the Dying Sun
The Most Advanced Japanese Fighters of The Second World War
by
Justo Miranda
Every country in World War II had some interesting and cringe worthy attempts at making an aviation marvel during the war. Tons of books have been written about the German aircraft that were envisioned at sometime during the war. This book takes a look at the Japanese aircraft plans to help turn the tide in the airwar. Even though the planes are engineering marvels, (some of them at least), Japan had almost no manufacturing left by 1944, and had long since run out of trained pilots. So, we can admire these plans while still knowing their chance of flight was almost nil.
This is a book of line drawings of tremendous amounts of planes that were put on the drawing board during the war. Some of these planes actually made it from blueprint to being manufactured. Some had a few built as test beds, but most did not make the cut.
One thing that the Japanese planes had that is a stumbling block to historians is their nomenclature. The Army and Navy had their own planes, and their own process for 'naming' planes. The US was so stymied by the Japanese process that they used a simple plan to refer to the Japanese planes. The US gave fighters men's names, and the bombers women's names. So, a KI-84, in its most simple form, became a 'Frank' to US pilots.
As was mentioned, some of the planes in the book like the 'Zero', which was never used by the US forces which used 'Zeke', were used throughout the entire war. So, the reader gets a consolidated history of many of the known Japanese planes along with the planned ones. The Japanese were able to come up with some designs by 1944 to match the new US planes, such as the 'George' and 'Tony' etc. What they did not have was trained pilots or aviation fuel for them to use. That is why you will see numerous speeds listed for Japanese planes. The Frank probably only made 399 mph or less on the crude Japanese fuel. When tested in the US with high octane aviation fuel it could make 427 mph.
This is an excellent book to have for the reader interested in the Pacific War, but also for the aviation buff. The book has some information on the different weapons systems that serve employed by the Japanese. Thank you, Casemate Publishers for allowing me to review this book.
Robert
Book: Fighters of the Dying Sun: The Most Advanced Japanese Fighters of The Second World War
Author: Justo Miranda
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Distributor: Casemate Publishers
Saladin and the Fall of Jerusalem by Stanley Lane-Poole This book was originally published in 1898. The Introduction is done by Dr. David ...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
Saladin and the Fall of Jerusalem
by
Stanley Lane-Poole
This book was originally published in 1898. The Introduction is done by Dr. David Nicolle, who also did some minor alterations on the book for this release. The book is about Al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub. This is normally shortened to just Saladin. He represents a strange character in the history of the Crusades. For not only did the Arab world sing his praises, but the Crusaders also looked upon him as a just and gallant enemy. Most people do not know much about the Crusades, but if they have read or heard about them there are only two names they really know. These would be Saladin and Richard the Lionheart, unless they remember the character Balien from the movie 'Kingdom of Heaven' (he was an actual historical figure).
According to the author, Saladin was born in either 1137, or 1138. He also says that he was of Kurdish descent. Saladin was born into the turmoil of the Middle East after the First Crusade had won Jerusalem and lands in which we now know as Lebanon, Israel, and Syria. He spent some of his youth in Damascus.
During this time in the Middle East, things were not so black and white as we have been lead to believe. There was animosity between the Franks (collectively what the Moslems called the Crusaders), and the indigenous population. However, there was also friendship and trade etc. going on between the two sides. The author recounts a story that Saladin was actually knighted by a Crusader when he was a young man.
Saladin accompanied his uncle from Damascus to help in the conquest of Egypt from the Fatimids. His sovereign at this time was Nur-ed-din the ruler of most of Syria. The conquest of Egypt was the death knell of the Crusader States. Up until that time the Crusaders were able to play the different Moslem factions against one another.
Through luck and force of character, Saladin eventually became ruler of all of the Moslem States surrounding the Crusader States. He tasked himself with the reconquest of Jerusalem and all of the the lands under the Franks. His campaign against the Crusaders ends with their terrible defeat at the Horns of Hattin. Saladin is then able to conquer Jerusalem and everything but a few cities and lands adjacent to the coast of the Mediterranean. The Third Crusade is then undertaken by the Europeans to take back Jerusalem. This then leads to the great showdown between Saladin and Richard coeur de lion.
This book is about 120 years old. This history was written in a style that was heavily in vogue at the time. I have always liked the Harold Lamb style of 'telling the tale' of history type of book, as long as the facts are still the most important part of the book. This book is a wonderful and enjoyable read that holds to the facts, and yet still weaves a good tale for the reader. Thank you Casemate Publishers for letting me review this re-release of a classic.
Robert
Book: Saladin and the Fall of Jerusalem
Author: Stanley Lane-Poole
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Distributor: Casemate Publishers
German Heavy Fighting Vehicles of the Second World War by Kenneth W. Estes This book is only about the German heav...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
Messerschmitt BF 109 by Jan Forsgren The Bayerische Flugzeugwerke 109, is sometimes called the ME 109, after the d...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
The Sirdar and The Khalifa by Mark Simner 'Khartoum', a big motion picture from Hollywood, was made in...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
Warfare In New Kingdom Egypt By Paul Elliot We have gazed in wonder at the treasures that were found in Tutankha...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
The Ultimate Piston Fighters of The Luftwaffe by Justo Miranda The Ultimate Piston Fighters of The Luftwaffe i...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
Rorke's Drift a New Perspective by Neil Thornton The Title of the book pretty much sums this book up in a nutsh...
For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!
Fonthill Media
A Wargamers Needful Things is a one stop blog for Wargamers, Military Minifig collectors, Toy Soldier collectors and military history obsessives. We will do our upmost to cover in depth as much as possible. We shall be reviewing books, miniatures\toy soldiers, MiniFigs and of course games, plus interviews, model making and AARs! Quote from a reader.. "Your site is a much needed breath of fresh air, I absolutely love the spectrum of things you cover/review. Keep up the great work. "
Follow Us