Ship Breaker is some really solid YA scifi, in a post-climate change world. Nailer is the lowest of the low, a ship breaker on the storm tossed gulf sShip Breaker is some really solid YA scifi, in a post-climate change world. Nailer is the lowest of the low, a ship breaker on the storm tossed gulf shore. His job is to go into the stinking and deadly bowls of fossil fuel age cargo ships and strip them for valuable metals. He dreams of the horizon, and watches the modern cargo fiber clipper ships sail past, but life is a brutal day to day struggle against starvation, accidental death, and the drug-addicted brutality of his knife-fighter father.
After a storm, Nailer finds a wrecked clipper with a dead rich girl aboard. She could be his ticket to a better life, or a sure death. Drawn into a web of corporate intrigue, Nailer has to escape, find allies, and fight for survival and a better life.
The ethics are YA stock, but the setting has Bacigalupi's magic touch, and since its YA story skips some of the more problematic stuff sexual assault stuff from the The Windup Girl.
((also, Book 200 for 2017. #BookRace2017 suckers!))...more
Defenders of the Faith is a thrilling popular history, focusing on the clash of the two great empires of the 16th century, the Holy Roman Empire and tDefenders of the Faith is a thrilling popular history, focusing on the clash of the two great empires of the 16th century, the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire. For all its "clash of civilizations" overtones, the encounter was more of an up-jumped border skirmish at Vienna. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, faced problems in his rear in the form of the Protestant Reformation, King Francis I of France, and a bleeding ulcer of a war in Italy. Suleyman the Magnificent was on the offensive, but despite the largest and most organized army in the world at the time, he lacked the technology to reliably overcome fortified strongpoints, and the logistics to sustain an army in the field in the European winter.
Reston has a talent for bringing the pageantry of the era to life. This was a period of outsized personalities and lavish gestures. The Great Man approach is a little outmodeled, but in an era when a single man could shift armies, and trials of combat between heads of state were proposed, though never finished, it's appropriate. A great detailed look at a period that tends to get subsumed in European history in general....more
Arthur C. Clarke is known for bone dry science fiction, so it's only appropriate that he takes us to the Sea of Thirst on the moon, a massive lake of Arthur C. Clarke is known for bone dry science fiction, so it's only appropriate that he takes us to the Sea of Thirst on the moon, a massive lake of lunar dust traversed by the tourist cruiser Selene. When a sudden burst of lunar activity buries Selene under 15 meters of dust, it's up the passengers and crew to survive until rescue by heroic scientists and engineers.
There's some psychological drama among the crew and passengers, as they deal with escalating threats from oxygen starvation to heat, but the star of the book are the escalating threats to the buried craft, and the repeated last minute rescues. If you like Clarke and hard scifi, you'll like this, but don't come for complex characters or thrilling action....more
The Hell's Angels is HST at his best, before the booze and the drugs and The Reputation got a hold of him. It made his reputation as the enfante terriThe Hell's Angels is HST at his best, before the booze and the drugs and The Reputation got a hold of him. It made his reputation as the enfante terrible of New Journalism, and holds up today as a look at the fascinating all-American subculture of outlaw bikers. Thompson rode with the Hell's Angels for about two years, hanging out in their drinking holes, attending rallies in small California towns, and introducing them to Ken Kesey and the hip East Bay scene acid scene of 1965.
Thompson depicts the Hell's Angels as they are, crude violent outcasts who achieve a strange kind of grace behind the handlebars of a chopped Harley, and who are hopelessly oppressed by the world in any other situation. The Angels as they are just want to drink, fuck, do any drugs they can reach, and ride motorcycles. Sure, they wear ratty jeans literally soaked in motor oil and fight at the slightest provocation, but that's because the world cut them out, so fuck the world.
But where it went wrong is in the period when Thompson was writing this book, the Hell's Angels became famous, subject of the lurid Lynch Report and articles in Time, Newsweek, and the New York Times. They became automotive barbarians, destroying towns and raping innocent women. Cast in the mold of heroic celebrities, their aura of calculated menace curdled. The scene turned bad, with heavy heat from state and local cops, and weird conflicts. In the end, the Angels beat upThompson for some slight and kicked him out for good, but he got one hell of a book out of the whole weird journey....more
Harry Flashman is perhaps the most despicable protagonist in all of fiction. A scoundrel, coward, bully, rapist, racist, and all around bad egg, he isHarry Flashman is perhaps the most despicable protagonist in all of fiction. A scoundrel, coward, bully, rapist, racist, and all around bad egg, he is (in fiction) setting down his honest memoirs after a career in the service of the British Empire. Despite his thorough horribleness, the Flash is at least amusing in his base animal appetites for wine, women, and the esteem of his peers.
As a soldier of Empire, Flash was present at any military disaster of note in the 19th century. The first book starts off with a bang with the first Anglo-Afghan War. Flashman, rapidly expelled from Rugby, and exiled from Lord Cardigan's 11th Cavalry, is dispatched to India, where a talent for languages sees him assigned to Elphinstone's expedition. If you read wikipedia, you know how the main story goes, with a British army cuts to shreds in the high passes. Flash narrowly survives, and comes out a hero through repeated instances of sheer dumb luck.
Quick reading, action packed, and delightfully cynical, the Flashman series is historical fiction that holds up....more
Growing up in a Culture of Respect focuses on children in the remote Peruvian village of Chillihuani. Though poor in material goods, and living a margGrowing up in a Culture of Respect focuses on children in the remote Peruvian village of Chillihuani. Though poor in material goods, and living a marginal existence as subsistence herders and farmers in one of the most remote corners of the world, the Chillihuanis have a durable culture that stretches back to the days of the Inca, a society of mutual aid, sacred geography, and children who are inquisitive, cheerful, respectful, with none of the angst that characterizes Western adolescence.
Bolin chronicles a world based on mutual solidarity, and one where an independent childhood is almost erased. Children are included in the rituals of adult life as soon as they are able, helping out around the home, and being treated as full and active participants in the life of their families and the village. The demanding environment seems to foster a true strength of character....more
I'll admit that this is not in my usual wheelhouse, but I'm trying to hit 200 books for the year, and Carrying Coca is short and has pictures. ChuspasI'll admit that this is not in my usual wheelhouse, but I'm trying to hit 200 books for the year, and Carrying Coca is short and has pictures. Chuspas are highly decorated bags used in the Andes to carry coca, and Sharratt ably discusses the relationship between the adorned objects, the rituals of coca, and its sacred role in the culture of the Andes...more
Morton begins the book with two questions: 1) Do you think human emissions of carbon dioxide are changing Earth's climate? 2) Do you think it will be Morton begins the book with two questions: 1) Do you think human emissions of carbon dioxide are changing Earth's climate? 2) Do you think it will be difficult to transition away from the centuries-long and multi-trillion dollar reliance on fossil fuels? If your answer is "yes and yes", then it may be necessary to embark on some form of geoengineering, the deliberate introduction of (most likely) sulfur aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect more light into space and counter the greenhouse effect.
Morton is a professional science writer, and he has a keen grasp of good analogies to describe the flows of energy through the upper surface of Earth, and the scientific discoveries that lead to theories of geoengineering. Major volcanic eruptions in the late 90s offered a case to test the assumptions of primitive climate models against the introduction of bulk surfer aerosols, with sudden cooling and associated hemispheric changes in the weather. Of course climate models are relatively crude, and there's still much that we don't know about the effects on weather, which is what people notice and care about, rather than the climate. The ease of geoengineering is stark. Perhaps $10 billion to set up a fleet of stratospheric tankers, and a $2 billion annually to maintain the program. Big science, yes, but costs on the order of a few large nuclear plants.
The problem with geoengineering is it's Promethean potential. It's not that the actual practice is wholly new. Climate change is just one natural cycle now substantially influence-to-completely dominated by human activity, from the Haber-Bosch process and nitrogen fertilizer, to phosphorus fertilizer, to the narrowly averted disaster of CFCs and the ozone layers. To take a major Earth system deliberately in hand and say "this is what we want it to be" is a new level of planetary ambition. Geonegineering induced cooling will have some losers, and the politics of those harms are not well mapped out.
This is where Morton falls short. He imagines a scenarios where a "Concord" of minor states threatened by climate change enact geoengineering, but it seems more likely that a major power or even a billionaire operating under a flag of convenience will get there first. The internal politics of geoengineering, its scientific debates, and relationship to mainstream atmospheric physics and ecological activism, are sorely under-reported. Still, I can't think of a better book on the topic....more
Welcome to the Monkey House collects Vonnegut's short fiction through the 50s and the 60s, a blend of the scifi that made his reputation and non-genreWelcome to the Monkey House collects Vonnegut's short fiction through the 50s and the 60s, a blend of the scifi that made his reputation and non-genre stories about Yankee storm window salesmen that paid the bills. There's the characteristic Vonnegut humor, irony, profanity, the gut punches cloaked in plain words and honeyed absurdity.
Reading a whole bunch of these back to back, though, reveals a basic underlying sentimentality. I'm not sure if Vonnegut actually likes people much, but he sure is sentimental about them, in all their aches, weirdnesses, sins, and dreams....more
How exactly did the ancient Greeks fight? Christopher Matthew conducts a masterful piece of experimental archaeology to discover the basic mechanics oHow exactly did the ancient Greeks fight? Christopher Matthew conducts a masterful piece of experimental archaeology to discover the basic mechanics of the hoplite manual of arms. Using archaeological relics, modern reconstructions, and the willing assistance of the Sidney Ancients reenacting society, Matthews lays out a convince case for the lethality of close-order legion.
Simple biomechanics show that the spear was most likely held underarm, couched just under the armpit, or lower. The overhead pose commonly found of Greek pottery is simply impossible to maintain for more than a few minutes, strikes with less accuracy, and leaves vital gaps in defenses. The round aspis shield is full of clever devices to ensure proper positioning balanced on the left shoulder, providing cover without tiring out the hoplite. Bronze cuirasses and helmets can be penetrated by direct thrusts, but deflect glancing blows, and if made any thicker would impair mobility and endurance. The mechanics of the individual are sound and convincing, but I am less sure about his conclusions about how a phalanx would behave in battle. His arguments, that a close-order formation was all but invincible, yet required superior troops, and that most killing took place at spears' length rather than in a literal pushing crush, make sense, but for obvious reasons cannot be safely tested.
Matthew ably blends his experiments with historical backing from ancient chroniclers, including variant translations, artistic depictions and recovered artifacts. The scholarship is impressive, to say the least. There's some repetition, and Matthew at times seems to carry a grudge against other classicists who have never picked up a spear, and odd factions in the historical martial arts world that I can only begin to comprehend. Still, this is a great book, and I have to give props to a guy who turned his very geeky obsession in a PhD and a job....more
This is both a fascinating book and a great historical artifact.
Charlie Plumb was shot down near Hanoi in 1967 on his 75th mission. Captured almost imThis is both a fascinating book and a great historical artifact.
Charlie Plumb was shot down near Hanoi in 1967 on his 75th mission. Captured almost immediately, Plumb set about the hard work of surviving as a prisoner of war. He was tortured on arrival, and then again for repeated infractions of prison rules, such as setting up communication networks, celebrating American holidays, and refusing to be a willing participant in North Vietnamese propaganda. Even on the days when he wasn't singled out for special punishment, there was still the poor food, vermin, and sheer tedium of 2,103 in prison.
Organized thematically by Glen DeWerff (presumably a pre-internet professional writer), Plumb candidly discusses the harsh conditions in the prison, how he set up communication networks of taps and passed notes to maintain discipline, and the little things like exercise and holidays that increased morale. A basic faith in America, in his fellow pilots, and in God sustained Plumb through the worst of times. It was fascinating to see how important the PoWs creation of an internal chain of command was, and the relative improvement in conditions (always poor) over the years. Having authorities to appeal to, and standards to meet, was vital for ensuring that the men presented a united front to the enemy.
Plumb reveals that everyone broke under torture, eventually. Initially holding himself to the Geneva Convention "name and number" standard, he wound up confessing useless information like the model of airplane he flew, a trivial surrender since they had taken the manuals for an F-4 Phantom off him, and then as many lies as he could manage. I doubt any meaningful secrets passed to the enemy, but men would always break and talk. Plumb regards his Vietnam captors as both brutal and inefficient. Their regime of pain, starvation, and isolation was horrific, but frequently evaded by the Americans.
Finally, published in 1973, this book came out when the war was very much still a live issue, though no longer one that directly affected many Americans. Plumb has a natural charm, which he turned into a successful and ongoing career as an inspirational speaker. As a book about the good things to take away from being a POW, it's a little odd, but still a solid read and artifact....more
**spoiler alert** Uprooted is a modern fantasy inspired by classic Polish fairy tales. In the valley in the shadow of the fearsome Woods, the powerful**spoiler alert** Uprooted is a modern fantasy inspired by classic Polish fairy tales. In the valley in the shadow of the fearsome Woods, the powerful Dragon eats a girl every decade. Well, not literally. The Dragon is the local wizard, and every ten years one local girl is chosen as his servant. No one knows what happens to them, but when they're done, they move away to distant cities.
Agnieszka is chosen, and find herself the lowest sort of scullery maid for a cruel master. But then her talent for magic awakens, and she finds herself heir to a strange sort of witchcraft. She battles the corruption of the Woods, saves a friend, and the queen of the kingdom, taken 30 years ago. But this rescue is the start of a series of disasters, which take Nieska to the capitol, and lead to the deaths of dozens of people and a catastrophic war that will leave the human lands critically weakened and at the mercy of the Woods. At the end, it's up to Nieshka to venture into the heart of the Woods, and try and set right an ancient crime.
Novik has a breezy and cheerful writing style, even as Uprooted grapples with some very dark themes. Uprooted lost the 2016 Hugo to The Fifth Season, but that's like losing a bout with Mohammed Ali. Nothing to be ashamed of. This is a nice little modern fantasy. ...more
After Hieroglyph and Everything Change, perhaps the inevitable next destination for the Center for Science and the Imagination is outer space. There 2After Hieroglyph and Everything Change, perhaps the inevitable next destination for the Center for Science and the Imagination is outer space. There 2017 offer, Visions, Ventures, Escape Velocities is a collection of seven short stories from leading fiction writers, a dozen scholarly essays from the ASU faculty, and a dialog between scifi great Kim Stanley Robinson and Mars scientist Jim Bell.
These stories don't shy away from how hard life in space will be. That's hard as in hard vacuum, hard radiation, the tyrannies of the Tsiolkovsky equation, and the lag of merely lightspeed communication. But yet, space is still the final frontier, and even if the economics of space exploration are not there, and may never be there, we still dream of what we may find and become out in the black. The best story, in my opinion, is Vandana Singh's "Shikasta", about an encounter between a multicultural exploration team, their AI probe, and an alien life form closer to sentient volcanism than anything we might recognize. Madeline Ashby brings a taut small world story about choice and responsibility in "Death on Mars", while Karl Schroeder does a little buzzword mashing, but tries to find a way out of the thicket of property rights in "The Baker of Mars". All the authors bring a good game, and the accompanying essays provide criticism and context (with footnotes).
This is a great collection of hard science-fiction, meshed with science and science policy. Fans will enjoy this book, and I could easily see slotting some of the fiction and essays into a course module on space and space related issues. And for the price of free, the ebooks are well worth your time.
*Disclosure Notice: I am a graduate of ASU, and know many of the contributors as friends or colleagues. I was not part of the project, and received no compensation for this review....more
Citadel follows up Live Free Or Die with the basic outlines of the universe set up. Humanity is now a minor power, cut off from their galactic patronsCitadel follows up Live Free Or Die with the basic outlines of the universe set up. Humanity is now a minor power, cut off from their galactic patrons by an expansionist empire. Now humanity has to race the clock to get their defenses up before a major invasion fleet comes through.
Our viewpoint characters are Butch, a space welder, and Dana, a shuttle pilot. These is a very guts eye look at mega-scale space construction, as they get the asteroid battlestation Troy turned into a warship. I'll admit, I cackled gleefully when they installed an Orion drive to send the Troy on offense in the final chapter. The bad aliens are delightfully hubristic, the tech big and glossy. Tyler Vernor shows up in a few places to play benevolent overlord, but this is at its heart a blue collar space action adventure.
That said, there's still a lot of Ringo weirdness. Not just the odd jabs at liberals, but stuff like a plague that makes blond women super fertile, or the "hard choice" to doom thousands of third-world contract employees to deaths in space because getting salvage in under the gun means cutting safety regs. And the basic problem of the setting, that Troy is so powerful that even kilometer-long dreadnoughts can barely scratch it, undercut the tension of the battles. ...more
I picked this up on the strength of the Snow Queen, and got quite a bit into it before realizing it was a sequel. I didn't much like it, but out of faI picked this up on the strength of the Snow Queen, and got quite a bit into it before realizing it was a sequel. I didn't much like it, but out of fairness, I'll bump it up a star. Maybe with the first book there's a better sense of character and setting.
Cat is a psion streetkid in a galaxy that hates psions. Psychically crippled from his last job taking down a terrorist and running out of credits, he's offered a job as a bodyguard for Elnear taMing, a politician and corporate executive one step away from membership in the Federation Security Council. To get there, she needs to survive and win a key vote over drug legalization, with the opposition being spearheaded by a charismatic televangelist.
Cat bounces through intrigues involving the very strange taMing family, and the criminal underworld of N'Yurk, still capitol of the Federation. Nothing is as it seems, but this is not 'wheels with wheels', or opaque post-human psychodramas, more like ambitious people who take one edge too far. This book might have been better if I connected with the narrator, but Cat comes off as alternately petulant and out of his depth, with a deus ex machina in the form of his telepathy. His final plan hinges on blackmail, and the lusts of his opponent. The thoughts about political systems and governance in an age of interstellar networks sit uneasily on a story which is very personal in scope. The final result comes to extruded generic scifi product....more
Alleged "cartoonist" and pundit Ted Rall ventured into Afghanistan in November and December 2001 to see the new war, and writes and draws about it in Alleged "cartoonist" and pundit Ted Rall ventured into Afghanistan in November and December 2001 to see the new war, and writes and draws about it in this book. On the plus side, Rall is a decent essayist who skepticism about the war turned out to be entirely correct. On the downside, his artistic style is one step above crayon scribbling, and the story is not that interesting. Being an independent journalist in Central Asia means a lot of getting ripped off by the locals, hoping you don't get killed by the locals, and cursing at the rich bastards with the networks. Rall froze in the Northen Alliance city of Taloqan, observed the battle for Kunduz from a distance, and noted both the basic decency of Afghanistani in helping each other in trying times, and the treachery of the fighters (literally identical across the Northern Alliance and the Taliban) and the roving nighttime rape-and-murder gangs of soldiers/bandits. Rall's point of view is, as usual, planetary in how self-centered it is. He's right, and you're wrong for not being as cynical about the war as he is.
If you're looking for a book in this view, get Matt Bors' War is Boring instead, which is better by every conceivable measure....more
Official histories are frequently that. Official, bureaucratic, and basically tedious. Bulkley's account of PT boats, prepared for the US Navy in 1946Official histories are frequently that. Official, bureaucratic, and basically tedious. Bulkley's account of PT boats, prepared for the US Navy in 1946 and released for a mass publication in 1962 after a PT boat skipper became President of the United States, is a decent example of the type. It's a comprehensive list of campaigns that the PTs were involved in across the world, from the Pacific to the Mediterranean to the Aleutian (and early model boats lacked heaters). Actions get a few paragraphs: boat number, skipper, any crew injured or killed, targets likely destroyed. It gets repetitive fast. A few sections quoting the men involved on their narrative of the action liven up the book, but those are few and far between.
This is a shame, because the PT boats deserve a book as thrilling as their actions. Nothing embodies the words of US Navy legend John Paul Jones, "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast for I intend to go in harms way" than the PTs. A handful of men, under the command of at most a lieutenant, the PTs bristled with automatic weapons which they used in slashing attacks against enemy barges, lighters, planes, and destroyers, and used stealth and subterfuge to survive against far superior naval and air force. A routine patrol could turn into disaster in seconds in so many ways, from grounding on a coral reef under a shore battery, to friendly fire, to stumbling into an enemy convoy and having to escape under a hastily laid shore barrage. PT boats were based out of temporary facilities, constantly moving up support the frontline, with bases offering a respite from combat along with attempts to keep the high-performance boats and torpedoes running on shoestring logistics. Despite the fact that Bulkley served as a PT commander, this official history is almost free of color or excitement. It feels like government-issued metal desks, not a life at sea....more
Final Incal begins where we left John DiFool, falling down the shaft of the great city of Terra 2014 towards an acid lake, his cosmic encounters forgoFinal Incal begins where we left John DiFool, falling down the shaft of the great city of Terra 2014 towards an acid lake, his cosmic encounters forgotten. He's rescued by plasma shooting giant bugs and informed of a new universal conflict. The great black Bentacodon, a horrible energy vampire, is conspiring with the Prezident of Terra 2014 to release a horrible plague, killing all organic life and forcing the survivors into metal bodies. DiFool meets up with Elohim, a glowing white archangel who informs him that only his love for Luz can save the galaxy, and they're off through the Incal cosmology, meeting mutants, space pirates, techno-technos, and the hermaphroditic Emperor/ess of the Galaxy.
What this feel like most is a retread, a return to basically the same themes and story beats as both previous Incals and the Metabaron, without the psychological tension or originality that made those stories great. Jodorowsky has his themes, and returns to them again and again. DiFool alternates between cowardice and heroic self-sacrifice as the narrative demands. The war between black and white, and their ultimate fusion, seems like an empty play of symbols. And finally, something is off about the art. It's incredibly detailed in every panel, but when I found in the end that Ladronn did it entirely digitally, and 3D modeled key elements like the city shaft, it made sense. Some things are better analog....more
I let this book sit on my shelves because I thought that it'd be too depressing to read. When I started, I couldn't put it down. The story of the BelgI let this book sit on my shelves because I thought that it'd be too depressing to read. When I started, I couldn't put it down. The story of the Belgian Congo and the broader colonization of Africa is one of the most fascinating and horrible in history, and Hochschild makes King Leopold's Ghost come alive.
Late into the 19th century, Africa was still the 'dark continent', unmapped and uncontrolled by European powers. The great Congo river was blocked by falls a few hundred miles inland, and the slave traders camped out in disease ridden coastal towns were content to let slaves come to them. A few men of immense will and ambition broke that system. Henry Morton Stanley was a Welsh orphan, a man who invented his own past, and became a famous explorer. His expeditions could best be described as search and destroy operations, as he lead columns of enslaved porters into the African wilderness, blasting away at anything, animal or human, that crossed his path. His expedition to the headwaters of the Congo found thousands of miles of navigable river above the Congo rapids. King Leopold of Belgium was ruler of a small country with grand ambitions. In a clever series of diplomatic manuevers in the 1880s, he organized millions of square miles of internal Africa as a personal colony, responsible only to him.
And then he set out exploiting that. The system is simple. Get a few people from Europe ready for a grand adventure. Give them rifles, bullets, and a platoon of enslaved Africans separated from their home. Tell them to gather ivory by any means necessary, including hostage taking, repeated application of the chicotte (a kind of whip made out of hippo hide), and summary executions. When ivory began to fail, a rubber boom provide an even greater impetus to murder for the sake of profit. Conrad's Heart of Darkness and his Mr. Kurtz only scratch the surface of the mass murder and disfigurement of the Congo. At one point, soldiers were required to show a severed hand for every bullet expended, leading to a brisk trade in hands.
Leopold's Congo was brought down by public opprobrium, lead by the English abolistionist E.D. Morel, and substantially aided by a pair of African American missionaries, George Washing Williams and William Sheppard. These men revealed to the world what was happening in the Congo, and the immensity of the crime. Leopold was forced to relinquish the Congo a year before his death, but not before extracting one last concession from the Belgian people.
Since its publication, Hochschild's book has provoke a reexamination of King Leopold, and European colonialism more broadly. This is right. This is one of the best books I've read all year. Absolutely recommended....more
Kelly is an experienced defense journalist, so he has a keen ear for the stories that resonate, and how to convey them to readers who may lack a lot oKelly is an experienced defense journalist, so he has a keen ear for the stories that resonate, and how to convey them to readers who may lack a lot of context. From a Dark Sky focuses on the history of Air Force Special Operations from World War 2 to Desert Storm. One of the dreams of military flight was to leapfrog over defensive lines, landing armies in vulnerable rear areas and parachuting . Of course, the devil is in actually doing this stuff, which involves low-level navigation at night through contested air space.
The first section is a solid history of the air commandos role in the Burma campaign, and supporting OSS and SOE agents in Occupied Europe during World War 2. The special forces capabilities were mostly lost in the post-war draw down, and had to be reinvented for Korea, and then reinvented a third time for Vietnam. Vietnam was where aerial special forces came into their own, with helicopters a marked improvement over gliders for inserting and evaccing special forces operators, and night navigation equipment reaching a tipping point of usability, and the deadly side-firing gunships becoming standard platforms for air support. The Son Tay raid demonstrated that tactical perfection could be spoiled by faulty intelligence, while the fiascos of the USS Mayageuz and Operation Eagle Claw demonstrated how quickly the delicate intermeshing of skills required for aerial special operations could decay.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a final renaissance for the Air Commandos, incorporated into their own command, and adequately funded for once, with specialized aircraft, helicopters, and veteran crews.
For what's it worth, pararescuemen are almost entirely absent, aside from the cover photo. And this is a popular history, not a complete account. ...more
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