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Diplomats at War: Friendship and Betrayal on the Brink of the Vietnam Conflict by Charles Trueheart
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
DIPLOMATS AT WAR: Friendship and Betrayal on the Brink of the Vietnam Conflict is a complex and ultimately tragic story of the development and playing out of U.S. foreign policy in South Vietnam between 1961 and 1963. Its author was the son of the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission (William Trueheart) in Saigon during that time. He explores the complicated relationships between Ngo Dinh Diem (the President of the Republic of Vietnam), his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu (who served as Diem's counselor and exerted a baleful influence in the government), and the Kennedy Administration.
The book also explores the relationship between William Trueheart and his close friend from their university days in the late 1930s (Virginians both) Fritz Nolting, the U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam from May 10, 1961 to August 15, 1963, when he was replaced by Henry Cabot Lodge. Sadly, this was a relationship that was not to survive the changing nature of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Diem's government as the situation in South Vietnam went from bad to worse, culminating in the Buddhist Crisis of the spring and summer of 1963. Indeed, this crisis caught both the Diem government and the Kennedy Administration flatfooted, and led to the latter losing confidence in Diem's ability to govern South Vietnam. With Lodge installed as Ambassador that August, plans were put into effect to foment a coup (one in which the Kennedy Administration could claim deniability) among the leading generals of the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) to depose Diem and Nhu.
Events in South Vietnam would spiral out of control and by year's end, the U.S., now led by a new President (Lyndon Johnson) --- following President Kennedy's assassination in Dallas TX on November 22, 1963 --- would be fated to be ensnared in a full-scale war in Vietnam that would end in defeat for both the U.S. and South Vietnam.
The book also explores the relationship between William Trueheart and his close friend from their university days in the late 1930s (Virginians both) Fritz Nolting, the U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam from May 10, 1961 to August 15, 1963, when he was replaced by Henry Cabot Lodge. Sadly, this was a relationship that was not to survive the changing nature of U.S. policy vis-a-vis Diem's government as the situation in South Vietnam went from bad to worse, culminating in the Buddhist Crisis of the spring and summer of 1963. Indeed, this crisis caught both the Diem government and the Kennedy Administration flatfooted, and led to the latter losing confidence in Diem's ability to govern South Vietnam. With Lodge installed as Ambassador that August, plans were put into effect to foment a coup (one in which the Kennedy Administration could claim deniability) among the leading generals of the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) to depose Diem and Nhu.
Events in South Vietnam would spiral out of control and by year's end, the U.S., now led by a new President (Lyndon Johnson) --- following President Kennedy's assassination in Dallas TX on November 22, 1963 --- would be fated to be ensnared in a full-scale war in Vietnam that would end in defeat for both the U.S. and South Vietnam.
DE HAVILLAND DH2 AND THE MEN WHO FLEW THEM by Trevor Henshaw, Barry Gray, Mike Kelsey, Mick Davis
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
As the First World War proceeded apace on the Western Front in 1915, air power began to gradually assume more importance in the outcome of military operations. With the adoption by the Germans in July of that year of the Fokker Eindekker single-seat monoplane fighter, which boasted one forward-firing machine gun synchronized to fire through the propeller arc, this aircraft played a significant part through the remainder of the year and into early 1916 in preventing Britain's Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in carrying out effectively its allotted roles of gathering intelligence, scouting over the front lines and beyond, bombing, and artillery spotting.
In response to the challenges now facing the RFC, the DeHavilland DH2 biplane fighter was introduced to help wrest aerial supremacy (what was then a new concept) from the Germans over the Western Front. (A prototype of the DH2 had already been tested and deployed in action in August 1915. But unfortunately its pilot was killed and the plane ended up in German territory.) The DH2 was a unique aircraft for its time in that its engine was situated behind the cockpit, and a forward-firing Lewis gun was set directly in front of the pilot, affording him a clear field of fire.
Throughout the spring and summer of 1916, the RFC deployed 3 squadrons on the Western Front with the DH2 (Nos. 24, 29, and 32 Squadrons), which proved themselves to be more than a match for the Eindekker in aerial combat. Indeed, the DH2 performed so well in combat that the Germans were compelled to withdraw the Eindekker from frontline service by mid-1916 and work on developing and deploying at the Front fighter planes that could effectively challenge the DH2.
So it was that the DH2s - which was among the RFC's first true fighter planes - gave the British aerial supremacy over the Somme Front until the introduction by the German Luftstreitkräfte in the late summer and fall of 1916 of the Halberstadt DV (armament: 1 forward-firing machine gun) and Albatros series of fighters (the DI, DII, and DIII) which boasted 2 forward-firing Spandau machine guns, synchronized to fire through the propeller. These planes, in terms of performance, were superior to the DH2 in terms of speed, firepower, and rate of climb. But until the RFC could introduce to the Front advanced fighters, it had to soldier on with the DH2, which it did well into the spring of 1917.
This book offers a full and definitive story --- rich with photos --- of the DH2s' service on the Western Front, in addition to its later service in Salonika (Macedonia), Egypt and the Middle East. There is also extensive information about the aircraft's characteristics, full color illustrations of the DH2, the tactics it deployed in combat, and the squadrons they flew the DH2 overseas and with Home Defence in the UK.
I highly recommend DeHAVILLAND DH2 AND THE MEN WHO FLEW THEM for any World War I aviation enthusiast. It's an absolute keeper.
In response to the challenges now facing the RFC, the DeHavilland DH2 biplane fighter was introduced to help wrest aerial supremacy (what was then a new concept) from the Germans over the Western Front. (A prototype of the DH2 had already been tested and deployed in action in August 1915. But unfortunately its pilot was killed and the plane ended up in German territory.) The DH2 was a unique aircraft for its time in that its engine was situated behind the cockpit, and a forward-firing Lewis gun was set directly in front of the pilot, affording him a clear field of fire.
Throughout the spring and summer of 1916, the RFC deployed 3 squadrons on the Western Front with the DH2 (Nos. 24, 29, and 32 Squadrons), which proved themselves to be more than a match for the Eindekker in aerial combat. Indeed, the DH2 performed so well in combat that the Germans were compelled to withdraw the Eindekker from frontline service by mid-1916 and work on developing and deploying at the Front fighter planes that could effectively challenge the DH2.
So it was that the DH2s - which was among the RFC's first true fighter planes - gave the British aerial supremacy over the Somme Front until the introduction by the German Luftstreitkräfte in the late summer and fall of 1916 of the Halberstadt DV (armament: 1 forward-firing machine gun) and Albatros series of fighters (the DI, DII, and DIII) which boasted 2 forward-firing Spandau machine guns, synchronized to fire through the propeller. These planes, in terms of performance, were superior to the DH2 in terms of speed, firepower, and rate of climb. But until the RFC could introduce to the Front advanced fighters, it had to soldier on with the DH2, which it did well into the spring of 1917.
This book offers a full and definitive story --- rich with photos --- of the DH2s' service on the Western Front, in addition to its later service in Salonika (Macedonia), Egypt and the Middle East. There is also extensive information about the aircraft's characteristics, full color illustrations of the DH2, the tactics it deployed in combat, and the squadrons they flew the DH2 overseas and with Home Defence in the UK.
I highly recommend DeHAVILLAND DH2 AND THE MEN WHO FLEW THEM for any World War I aviation enthusiast. It's an absolute keeper.
The Lost Prince : Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy by Hank Searls
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
For those of us with a fascination or interest in the lives of the Kennedys, the story of the eldest child, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (aka Joe Kennedy), is one of unrealized promise. Unlike his brother JFK (who was not quite 2 years his junior), who had suffered from a host of ailments from childhood - yet managed to persevere, Joe was the "Golden Boy." He seemingly breezed through life from prep school to Harvard, to the London School of Economics, and to Harvard Law School.
Like all the Kennedy children, Joe was a keen competitor and risk taker. He also took a special interest in his younger siblings that, as this book illustrates, was heartfelt and unselfish. I think that of all the Kennedy children, he was most like the Old Man. Joe was the standard bearer of that generation of Kennedys. Indeed he would assert to anyone who knew him that his great ambition was to be the first Roman Catholic to be elected President of the United States.
Joe was entering his third year at law school when he willingly opened himself to the draft and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an aviation cadet in May 1941. A year of arduous flight training followed which led to Joe earning his golden wings and commission. What erked Joe, however, was that his brother JFK (who managed to get into the Navy with the Old Man's help) earned his commission as a Lieutenant (jg) before him. (Joe was an ensign, which ranks below Lieutenant.) Next to JFK having had his Harvard senior thesis published and become a best seller in 1940, this was the first time Joe had been eclipsed by his younger brother. Furthermore, JFK (through pulling more strings) managed to get transferred from a desk job in Washington into a program in which he learned to operate patrol torpedo boats. This was hazardous duty. Subsequently, JFK was posted to combat duty in the South Pacific early in 1943 - several months before Joe (who was impatient to see action) was posted from Puerto Rico (where he flew flying boats with a patrol squadron tasked with seeking out and destroying German U-boats; the squadron was also stationed for a time in Norfolk VA) managed a transfer to VB-110. This unit flew the naval version of the U.S. Army Air Force's B-24 Liberator heavy bomber, flying long range missions out of England into the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay hunting for U-boats.
Unlike Joe's previous posting, there were many more hazards with which to contend. Examples: the vagaries of the English weather, flak, and enemy fighters (both long-range and short-range operating out of Occupied France).
Joe flew 2 combat tours (in excess of 50 missions, each of which lasted on average 12 hours). He was "tour expired" shortly after D-Day and could've returned to the States. But he was dissatisfied with his war experience, having failed to earn any medal or commendation. That was in contrast to JFK, whose ship had been cut in two by a Japanese destroyer on a night patrol deep in enemy waters in August 1943. Though seriously wounded, JFK managed to bring together the survivors of his crew and swim to a nearby island, where they sheltered for several days. All the while, JFK swam into shark-infested waters, seeking help. Eventually, JFK and his crew were found by Allied coastwatchers and friendly natives in the area, and spirited away to Allied territory. JFK was later decorated and his story was published worldwide.
Joe would volunteer for an extremely hazardous secret mission which would lead to his death on August 12, 1944. He was 29 years old.
This is a rather remarkable book, originally published in 1969. Hank Searls (who had himself been a naval pilot during WWII) was able to interview many people who knew Joe Kennedy Jr., including his mother Rose and brothers Bobby and Ted. He also consulted a wealth of resources from different phases of Joe's life.
Like all the Kennedy children, Joe was a keen competitor and risk taker. He also took a special interest in his younger siblings that, as this book illustrates, was heartfelt and unselfish. I think that of all the Kennedy children, he was most like the Old Man. Joe was the standard bearer of that generation of Kennedys. Indeed he would assert to anyone who knew him that his great ambition was to be the first Roman Catholic to be elected President of the United States.
Joe was entering his third year at law school when he willingly opened himself to the draft and enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an aviation cadet in May 1941. A year of arduous flight training followed which led to Joe earning his golden wings and commission. What erked Joe, however, was that his brother JFK (who managed to get into the Navy with the Old Man's help) earned his commission as a Lieutenant (jg) before him. (Joe was an ensign, which ranks below Lieutenant.) Next to JFK having had his Harvard senior thesis published and become a best seller in 1940, this was the first time Joe had been eclipsed by his younger brother. Furthermore, JFK (through pulling more strings) managed to get transferred from a desk job in Washington into a program in which he learned to operate patrol torpedo boats. This was hazardous duty. Subsequently, JFK was posted to combat duty in the South Pacific early in 1943 - several months before Joe (who was impatient to see action) was posted from Puerto Rico (where he flew flying boats with a patrol squadron tasked with seeking out and destroying German U-boats; the squadron was also stationed for a time in Norfolk VA) managed a transfer to VB-110. This unit flew the naval version of the U.S. Army Air Force's B-24 Liberator heavy bomber, flying long range missions out of England into the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay hunting for U-boats.
Unlike Joe's previous posting, there were many more hazards with which to contend. Examples: the vagaries of the English weather, flak, and enemy fighters (both long-range and short-range operating out of Occupied France).
Joe flew 2 combat tours (in excess of 50 missions, each of which lasted on average 12 hours). He was "tour expired" shortly after D-Day and could've returned to the States. But he was dissatisfied with his war experience, having failed to earn any medal or commendation. That was in contrast to JFK, whose ship had been cut in two by a Japanese destroyer on a night patrol deep in enemy waters in August 1943. Though seriously wounded, JFK managed to bring together the survivors of his crew and swim to a nearby island, where they sheltered for several days. All the while, JFK swam into shark-infested waters, seeking help. Eventually, JFK and his crew were found by Allied coastwatchers and friendly natives in the area, and spirited away to Allied territory. JFK was later decorated and his story was published worldwide.
Joe would volunteer for an extremely hazardous secret mission which would lead to his death on August 12, 1944. He was 29 years old.
This is a rather remarkable book, originally published in 1969. Hank Searls (who had himself been a naval pilot during WWII) was able to interview many people who knew Joe Kennedy Jr., including his mother Rose and brothers Bobby and Ted. He also consulted a wealth of resources from different phases of Joe's life.
What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life by Billy Dee Williams
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
WHAT HAVE WE HERE? : Portraits of a Life is Billy Dee Williams' memoir. Actor, artist, bon vivant, ladies man, seeker, humanitarian. Taken together, these words encapsulate the essence of a unique and extraordinary man whose work as an actor spanned and, in many ways, defined the second half of the 20th century.
Prior to reading this book, I had to some extent been aware of Billy Dee Williams' work as an actor from the 1970s, having watched him in movies such as "Lady Sings the Blues", "Mahogany", "Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi." I also remember seeing him during the 1980s in a series of seductive TV beer commercials and in the popular night-time soap "Dynasty" opposite Diahann Carroll (whom I learned in the memoir had attended the same high school as Billy Dee in New York). He struck me as a cool, urbane dude. But at the same time, I never evinced any interest or curiosity about his personal life. All I knew about the latter is that he had married a Japanese-American woman and had children.
In WHAT HAVE WE HERE?, Billy Dee Williams speaks with considerable candor about his life, his family (both his parents were strivers, hard working, and loving and supportive of Billy Dee and his twin sister whom the family affectionately referred to as 'Lady'; Williams also speaks with affection and respect for his maternal grandmother, a British subject who hailed originally from the Caribbean island of Monserrat and had immigrated with her husband to the U.S. in the early 20th century; following the death of her husband, she lived with Williams and his family and wielded a considerable influence in his early life, along with his mother whom he dearly loved and cherished), and the people -- many of them some of the most famous and notable people in the movies and music -- with whom he worked and had relationships, professional and/or personal.
It surprises me how some reviewers decry the use of "name dropping" by the memoirist in tracing the arc of his/her life. That makes no sense to me. After all, don't most of us read memoirs of famous or noteworthy people because we want to know something, not only about the memoirist, but also the correspondingly famous or notable people who figured significantly in the life of the memoirist? Well, I love the "name dropping", especially when it's spiced with stories by the memoirist that give me, the reader, a glimpse or insight into what that person was really like on a uniquely human level.
I'm glad I read this book because I learned A LOT MORE about Billy Dee Williams, who, it became clear to me, has an artistic soul and humanist approach to life. The memoir has plenty of photos from various times in Billy Dee Williams' life in addition to photos of his paintings, which display his talents in that medium as well.
WHAT HAVE WE HERE? is one of the best, most interesting memoirs I've read in a long time. It has deepened both my respect and admiration for Billy Dee Williams, who, despite the obstacles and challenges he faced in his life and career, refused to sell himself short. Soon to be 87, he's still going strong.
Prior to reading this book, I had to some extent been aware of Billy Dee Williams' work as an actor from the 1970s, having watched him in movies such as "Lady Sings the Blues", "Mahogany", "Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi." I also remember seeing him during the 1980s in a series of seductive TV beer commercials and in the popular night-time soap "Dynasty" opposite Diahann Carroll (whom I learned in the memoir had attended the same high school as Billy Dee in New York). He struck me as a cool, urbane dude. But at the same time, I never evinced any interest or curiosity about his personal life. All I knew about the latter is that he had married a Japanese-American woman and had children.
In WHAT HAVE WE HERE?, Billy Dee Williams speaks with considerable candor about his life, his family (both his parents were strivers, hard working, and loving and supportive of Billy Dee and his twin sister whom the family affectionately referred to as 'Lady'; Williams also speaks with affection and respect for his maternal grandmother, a British subject who hailed originally from the Caribbean island of Monserrat and had immigrated with her husband to the U.S. in the early 20th century; following the death of her husband, she lived with Williams and his family and wielded a considerable influence in his early life, along with his mother whom he dearly loved and cherished), and the people -- many of them some of the most famous and notable people in the movies and music -- with whom he worked and had relationships, professional and/or personal.
It surprises me how some reviewers decry the use of "name dropping" by the memoirist in tracing the arc of his/her life. That makes no sense to me. After all, don't most of us read memoirs of famous or noteworthy people because we want to know something, not only about the memoirist, but also the correspondingly famous or notable people who figured significantly in the life of the memoirist? Well, I love the "name dropping", especially when it's spiced with stories by the memoirist that give me, the reader, a glimpse or insight into what that person was really like on a uniquely human level.
I'm glad I read this book because I learned A LOT MORE about Billy Dee Williams, who, it became clear to me, has an artistic soul and humanist approach to life. The memoir has plenty of photos from various times in Billy Dee Williams' life in addition to photos of his paintings, which display his talents in that medium as well.
WHAT HAVE WE HERE? is one of the best, most interesting memoirs I've read in a long time. It has deepened both my respect and admiration for Billy Dee Williams, who, despite the obstacles and challenges he faced in his life and career, refused to sell himself short. Soon to be 87, he's still going strong.
The Trouble with You by Ellen Feldman
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The Trouble with You is the BEST novel it has been my pleasure to read thus far in 2024. Indeed, it may be the most satisfying, compelling novel that I have read for many a moon.
The story begins in a cozy family home in Suburban New Jersey on Christmas Day 1947. Max Fabricant, the husband, is a recently returned war veteran from Europe, where he had served as an Army doctor in the field, working at saving lives whilst Death hovered ever near. Like other returned veterans, he was in the process of putting the war behind and getting his life back on track, intent on developing a flourishing medical career in Manhattan. Fanny, his wife, is a college graduate (rare among many women of her socioeconomic status in the U.S. at that time), feeling blessed to have Max in her life, for their relationship is very much a complimentary and mutually supportive bulwark in a world redefining itself in ways shaped by a dawning Cold War. A war in which people would be forced to choose sides, because to be neutral or on the "wrong side" would be seen by society and the powers-that-be in the U.S. as tantamount to treason.
Max and Fanny have a daughter, Chloe, who is almost 6. She is to be a flower girl in a wedding the family will be attending at the Hotel Pierre in New York. It is a very joyous occasion marred only by the onset of a wholly unexpected winter storm that leaves New York and the surrounding areas with a deluge of heavy snow. Luckily, Max, Fanny, and Chloe managed to make the trek home. Soon thereafter Chloe is put to bed, and Max is helping his wife to undress -- the two of them engaged in a playful badinage -- when after walking over to the closet, she says: " 'Honey, can you --- ' She stopped. What were the clothes --- his suit, several of her dresses and skirts and blouses --- doing on the floor? Later she'd realize he must have pulled them down when he'd grabbed the pole to keep from falling. But he had fallen. He was lying on his side, his body twisted, has face as white as the pleated shirt she'd danced against all evening, his eyes terrifyingly blank.
"She didn't remember calling the ambulance, but she must have, because it came, though it took forever to get through the snow. All she remember was sitting beside him, holding his hand in both of hers, begging him not to leave her."
Fanny's life is jolted, given a hard shove, leaving her with Chloe to raise alone and at a loss as to how to put herself on an even keel. She manages for a time to live on the payout from Max's life insurance plan. A widow's life was one to be pitied. Fanny's family and relatives (in particular, her Aunt Rose, who, as the novel progresses, is revealed to be a rather forward-thinking woman who has always moved to the beat of a different drummer, with a passion for progressive politics and social justice, having worked as a seamstress to help pay her brothers' university tuition; this latter skill would stand Rose in good stead, for she gained a reputation for quality work which netted her lots of upper class clients) offer what help they can.
Fanny eventually finds a job in Manhattan as a secretary for a business that produces radio serials (i.e. radio soap operas). When one of the writers on one of the shows the business produces and broadcasts is blacklisted and let go, because of his left wing leanings, Fanny’s life becomes more problematical. This writer is Charlie Berlin, who comes to later figure prominently in the lives of both Fanny and Chloe. The Red Scare is on and where Fanny works, actors and writers are fearful of being branded as “subversives” or "un-American" and having their careers destroyed.
The author does a superb job of revealing the dynamic fluidity of both Fanny and Chloe's lives as they are played out over the following decade. During this time, Fanny makes the acquaintance of Dr. Ezra Rapaport, a pediatrician who had been a classmate of Max's at medical school. Fanny had gone to see him because of some unexplained stomach complaints Chloe had been having with mounting regularity after returning from summer camp, where she had been with her cousin Belle (whose mother Mimi - Fanny's straitlaced cousin - was a wartime widow who would soon remarry a man who loved her and assured her of the social and financial security women then were expected to have from a husband). The source of the stomach complaints was from Chloe's yearning for a father in her life. Like Fanny, she missed Max and sensed the emotional emptiness that her mother with which Fanny often grappled.
A loving relationship slowly develops between Dr. Rapaport and Fanny, while at the same time Fanny surreptitiously enters into a literary collaboration with Charlie through which she acts as a front, passing off scripts Charlie had written for radio serials as her own, which supplements her income considerably.
There are also a lot of interesting and, for me, unexpected situations that develop among the major characters of the novel. But I won't give any of that away. The writing in this novel runs smooth and hardly a word is wasted. The characters ring true. As a reader, they are real and tangible to me. I almost feel how fearful people in those times must have felt of being seen as out of step with what was considered “normal behavior” in the country.
Usually in a novel, there are winners and losers. But as far as I can tell in The Trouble with You, everyone comes out ahead or in a satisfactory, stable situation in their lives. I now am determined to search out Ellen Feldman's other novels.
By all means, read The Trouble with You. It's a delightful, highly readable gem of a novel.
The story begins in a cozy family home in Suburban New Jersey on Christmas Day 1947. Max Fabricant, the husband, is a recently returned war veteran from Europe, where he had served as an Army doctor in the field, working at saving lives whilst Death hovered ever near. Like other returned veterans, he was in the process of putting the war behind and getting his life back on track, intent on developing a flourishing medical career in Manhattan. Fanny, his wife, is a college graduate (rare among many women of her socioeconomic status in the U.S. at that time), feeling blessed to have Max in her life, for their relationship is very much a complimentary and mutually supportive bulwark in a world redefining itself in ways shaped by a dawning Cold War. A war in which people would be forced to choose sides, because to be neutral or on the "wrong side" would be seen by society and the powers-that-be in the U.S. as tantamount to treason.
Max and Fanny have a daughter, Chloe, who is almost 6. She is to be a flower girl in a wedding the family will be attending at the Hotel Pierre in New York. It is a very joyous occasion marred only by the onset of a wholly unexpected winter storm that leaves New York and the surrounding areas with a deluge of heavy snow. Luckily, Max, Fanny, and Chloe managed to make the trek home. Soon thereafter Chloe is put to bed, and Max is helping his wife to undress -- the two of them engaged in a playful badinage -- when after walking over to the closet, she says: " 'Honey, can you --- ' She stopped. What were the clothes --- his suit, several of her dresses and skirts and blouses --- doing on the floor? Later she'd realize he must have pulled them down when he'd grabbed the pole to keep from falling. But he had fallen. He was lying on his side, his body twisted, has face as white as the pleated shirt she'd danced against all evening, his eyes terrifyingly blank.
"She didn't remember calling the ambulance, but she must have, because it came, though it took forever to get through the snow. All she remember was sitting beside him, holding his hand in both of hers, begging him not to leave her."
Fanny's life is jolted, given a hard shove, leaving her with Chloe to raise alone and at a loss as to how to put herself on an even keel. She manages for a time to live on the payout from Max's life insurance plan. A widow's life was one to be pitied. Fanny's family and relatives (in particular, her Aunt Rose, who, as the novel progresses, is revealed to be a rather forward-thinking woman who has always moved to the beat of a different drummer, with a passion for progressive politics and social justice, having worked as a seamstress to help pay her brothers' university tuition; this latter skill would stand Rose in good stead, for she gained a reputation for quality work which netted her lots of upper class clients) offer what help they can.
Fanny eventually finds a job in Manhattan as a secretary for a business that produces radio serials (i.e. radio soap operas). When one of the writers on one of the shows the business produces and broadcasts is blacklisted and let go, because of his left wing leanings, Fanny’s life becomes more problematical. This writer is Charlie Berlin, who comes to later figure prominently in the lives of both Fanny and Chloe. The Red Scare is on and where Fanny works, actors and writers are fearful of being branded as “subversives” or "un-American" and having their careers destroyed.
The author does a superb job of revealing the dynamic fluidity of both Fanny and Chloe's lives as they are played out over the following decade. During this time, Fanny makes the acquaintance of Dr. Ezra Rapaport, a pediatrician who had been a classmate of Max's at medical school. Fanny had gone to see him because of some unexplained stomach complaints Chloe had been having with mounting regularity after returning from summer camp, where she had been with her cousin Belle (whose mother Mimi - Fanny's straitlaced cousin - was a wartime widow who would soon remarry a man who loved her and assured her of the social and financial security women then were expected to have from a husband). The source of the stomach complaints was from Chloe's yearning for a father in her life. Like Fanny, she missed Max and sensed the emotional emptiness that her mother with which Fanny often grappled.
A loving relationship slowly develops between Dr. Rapaport and Fanny, while at the same time Fanny surreptitiously enters into a literary collaboration with Charlie through which she acts as a front, passing off scripts Charlie had written for radio serials as her own, which supplements her income considerably.
There are also a lot of interesting and, for me, unexpected situations that develop among the major characters of the novel. But I won't give any of that away. The writing in this novel runs smooth and hardly a word is wasted. The characters ring true. As a reader, they are real and tangible to me. I almost feel how fearful people in those times must have felt of being seen as out of step with what was considered “normal behavior” in the country.
Usually in a novel, there are winners and losers. But as far as I can tell in The Trouble with You, everyone comes out ahead or in a satisfactory, stable situation in their lives. I now am determined to search out Ellen Feldman's other novels.
By all means, read The Trouble with You. It's a delightful, highly readable gem of a novel.
A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers, and Adventurers Who Created a New American Nation by Timothy Hemmis, David Head
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
A REPUBLIC OF SCOUNDRELS: The Schemers, Intriguers, and Adventurers Who Created a New American Nation refutes the triumphalist version we're often taught in school of the young United States as it emerged as a republic in 1789 following the ratification of the Constitution and the election of George Washington as the first U.S. President [under the Constitution]. And that is as a nation blessed with an amazing array of selfless, exceptionally brilliant and insightful men who governed the country and led it wisely through its growing pains. Certainly, in Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, we had wise leaders who played key, vital roles in the development of the country from the revolutionary period through the 1820s. And yet, there were also corrupt, mendacious, duplicitous, crafty, and wholly self-serving men in the young United States who were determined to get as much for themselves in terms of status, wealth, land, power, and influence as they could accrue for themselves, their friends, and families.
One prime example of such a man was James Wilkinson, who, while commander of the U.S. Army in the 1790s, was also in the employ of Spain as a spy for close to 20 years! What is amazing to me is that this fact about Wilkinson was quietly whispered about by some people in the federal government. But as far as I could determine, there was never any substantial proof furnished that could establish Wilkinson's guilt. He was recognized and promoted within the government for being the clever organizer and ingratiator that he was.
The other scoundrels cited in the book are:
William Blount (first territorial governor of Tennessee Territory and later governor of the State of Tennessee; he was also a notorious land swindler);
Matthew Lyon (a British immigrant who became a fervent Jeffersonian Republican in Congress who was unafraid to speak truth to power as he saw it - for violating the Alien & Sedition Act of 1798, he was put in jail; notwithstanding that, Lyon was re-elected to Congress);
Jason Fairbanks;
Philip Nolan;
Thomas Green;
the Kemper Brothers;
William Augustus Bowles (a Tory from MD who fought on the British side during the American Revolution and later became a self-styled Native American leader set on leading a confederation of Native American tribes in what is now parts of Louisiana, Georgia, and Northern Florida during the 1780s and 1790s);
Aaron Burr (Revolutionary War hero, Tammany Hall lawyer, rival of Alexander Hamilton, and Vice President under Thomas Jefferson);
Benedict Arnold (who, I confess, from the essay written about him in this book, led me to think that he was driven to betray the revolutionary cause and go over to the British side because he was often maligned by his fellow officers who envied him because he had considerable battlefield skills - indeed Arnold's role in the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 was key to the revolutionaries' crushing defeat of the British in that battle which convinced France to side with the United States -- militarily and economically -- to help it achieve its independence);
General Charles Lee (another British expatriate and former army officer who commanded troops under Washington - but had a knack for saying the inappropriate, impolitic things out loud, and having the hubris to think that he could be a better commander than Washington); and to me, one of the most fascinating figures profiled in this book ---
Diego de Gardoqui, a Spaniard who was an astute businessman as well as fluent English speaker, who materially aided the Americans during the Revolution on a massive scale that amazed me. (Later, as a representative of Spain in the U.S., he would intrigue against the U.S. government in support of his country's interests in what was the western frontier of the U.S. during the 1780s.)
On the whole, A Republic of Scoundrels is an interesting book to read, especially for anyone who wants a better understanding as to whom and what helped shape the United States during the first quarter century of its existence.
One prime example of such a man was James Wilkinson, who, while commander of the U.S. Army in the 1790s, was also in the employ of Spain as a spy for close to 20 years! What is amazing to me is that this fact about Wilkinson was quietly whispered about by some people in the federal government. But as far as I could determine, there was never any substantial proof furnished that could establish Wilkinson's guilt. He was recognized and promoted within the government for being the clever organizer and ingratiator that he was.
The other scoundrels cited in the book are:
William Blount (first territorial governor of Tennessee Territory and later governor of the State of Tennessee; he was also a notorious land swindler);
Matthew Lyon (a British immigrant who became a fervent Jeffersonian Republican in Congress who was unafraid to speak truth to power as he saw it - for violating the Alien & Sedition Act of 1798, he was put in jail; notwithstanding that, Lyon was re-elected to Congress);
Jason Fairbanks;
Philip Nolan;
Thomas Green;
the Kemper Brothers;
William Augustus Bowles (a Tory from MD who fought on the British side during the American Revolution and later became a self-styled Native American leader set on leading a confederation of Native American tribes in what is now parts of Louisiana, Georgia, and Northern Florida during the 1780s and 1790s);
Aaron Burr (Revolutionary War hero, Tammany Hall lawyer, rival of Alexander Hamilton, and Vice President under Thomas Jefferson);
Benedict Arnold (who, I confess, from the essay written about him in this book, led me to think that he was driven to betray the revolutionary cause and go over to the British side because he was often maligned by his fellow officers who envied him because he had considerable battlefield skills - indeed Arnold's role in the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 was key to the revolutionaries' crushing defeat of the British in that battle which convinced France to side with the United States -- militarily and economically -- to help it achieve its independence);
General Charles Lee (another British expatriate and former army officer who commanded troops under Washington - but had a knack for saying the inappropriate, impolitic things out loud, and having the hubris to think that he could be a better commander than Washington); and to me, one of the most fascinating figures profiled in this book ---
Diego de Gardoqui, a Spaniard who was an astute businessman as well as fluent English speaker, who materially aided the Americans during the Revolution on a massive scale that amazed me. (Later, as a representative of Spain in the U.S., he would intrigue against the U.S. government in support of his country's interests in what was the western frontier of the U.S. during the 1780s.)
On the whole, A Republic of Scoundrels is an interesting book to read, especially for anyone who wants a better understanding as to whom and what helped shape the United States during the first quarter century of its existence.
OUT OF THE DESERT by Tom Walker
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Out of the Desert chronicles the experiences of Peter Denhay, a newly arrived pilot from the UK to take up his assignment with a light bomber squadron in Egypt during September 1940. It is a dire, critical time for Britain, with much of the country braving incessant, daily air attacks from the Luftwaffe, and licking its wounds after having been driven out of continental Europe earlier in the year by the German juggernaut. What's more: Italy - Germany's ally - has launched an offensive against British forces in Egypt from its neighboring colony Libya, outnumbering the British by at least 3 to one.
The reader is instantly put into the atmosphere of life surrounding a squadron in wartime. A number of characters emerge who give an added dimension into what it is that makes a squadron the unique organism it is when faced with the almost daily vicissitudes of a war that is at turns both static and dynamic over the seven months described in the novel. There is Charlie Kendrick, Peter's navigator, considered a bit of an oddball because of his leftist leanings and beliefs, who prides himself on his skills as a navigator. Skills that Peter at first scoffed at until the two airmen embarked on a test flight in one of the squadron's Bristol Blenheims that led to a spectacular discovery behind enemy lines that would later reap dividends for the squadron itself --- as well as for Peter and Charlie. Then there was Venner, one of the veteran pilots in the squadron who made it clear in no uncertain terms how much he detested both Peter and Charlie. Venner epitomizes one of those 'posh' types in British society whose affluence and privilege place them far and above their fellow citizens. And to round it off, there is Miller, the top turret gunner on Peter's plane who is representative of the enlisted ranks who are the heart and soul of a fighting unit.
The squadron --- through its actions against the Italians in Egypt and later in Greece following its transfer to that country in the wake of the Italian invasion of said nation in October 1940 --- finds itself beset with a number of unforeseen setbacks "after their home base is attacked and its aircraft ambushed" which raises suspicions of a double agent operating in its midst.
The novel's climax comes with the German invasion of Greece in April 1941 (to bolster Italy's flagging fortunes there) and the consequences heaped upon Peter, Charlie, and the squadron as a result, with the British being overwhelmed by superior ground and air forces and compelled to evacuate to the neighboring island of Crete. Despite an inordinate number of editing and punctuation errors, Out of the Desert was a gripping story, one that held my attention from beginning to end. That's why I give it 5 stars.
The reader is instantly put into the atmosphere of life surrounding a squadron in wartime. A number of characters emerge who give an added dimension into what it is that makes a squadron the unique organism it is when faced with the almost daily vicissitudes of a war that is at turns both static and dynamic over the seven months described in the novel. There is Charlie Kendrick, Peter's navigator, considered a bit of an oddball because of his leftist leanings and beliefs, who prides himself on his skills as a navigator. Skills that Peter at first scoffed at until the two airmen embarked on a test flight in one of the squadron's Bristol Blenheims that led to a spectacular discovery behind enemy lines that would later reap dividends for the squadron itself --- as well as for Peter and Charlie. Then there was Venner, one of the veteran pilots in the squadron who made it clear in no uncertain terms how much he detested both Peter and Charlie. Venner epitomizes one of those 'posh' types in British society whose affluence and privilege place them far and above their fellow citizens. And to round it off, there is Miller, the top turret gunner on Peter's plane who is representative of the enlisted ranks who are the heart and soul of a fighting unit.
The squadron --- through its actions against the Italians in Egypt and later in Greece following its transfer to that country in the wake of the Italian invasion of said nation in October 1940 --- finds itself beset with a number of unforeseen setbacks "after their home base is attacked and its aircraft ambushed" which raises suspicions of a double agent operating in its midst.
The novel's climax comes with the German invasion of Greece in April 1941 (to bolster Italy's flagging fortunes there) and the consequences heaped upon Peter, Charlie, and the squadron as a result, with the British being overwhelmed by superior ground and air forces and compelled to evacuate to the neighboring island of Crete. Despite an inordinate number of editing and punctuation errors, Out of the Desert was a gripping story, one that held my attention from beginning to end. That's why I give it 5 stars.
50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars and Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins by Dave Karger
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This is a book I came into the know about purely by chance a short time ago. I happened to listening to a podcast one day in which the book's author, Dave Karger, was interviewed about his life and career as a student of film, journalist, and movie critic. I was so taken in with the interview. So, when it was mentioned that Karger had a book newly published - 50 OSCAR NIGHTS: Iconic Stars & Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins , I did a search on the local library's website and VOILA! - the library had a copy of the book available. I then put in a request and within days, the book was in the library for me to pick up and read.
And what a delight - as well as revelation - this book was to read. It soon became clear that Karger is not only a first-rate interviewer, he gives each Oscar winner the space and time to share with readers his/her feelings and experiences surrounding him/her receiving an Oscar nomination and then winning an Oscar and its immediate impact on his/her life and career- be it for Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score or Song, or Best Costume Design.
One of the interviews in the book that stands out for me is the interview with Sally Field in which she talks about how she ended up making "Norma Rae", the movie that helped to establish and solidify her status as a major star. She said that the role had been offered to 5 major actresses before she was offered the role by the director Martin Ritt. All 5 of those actresses turned it down. Field also said that the studio really didn't want her for the role. But Martin Ritt said that he believed in her and would fight the studio to ensure that she got the role. And the rest, as they say, is History. Sally Field is someone I have always liked. From watching "The Flying Nun" as a child in the early 1970s and on to the "Smokey and the Bandit" movies, I've always found her likeable. It's hard to explain. Sometimes you take an instant liking to people and it grows over time. Besides, I've seen Sally Field in several movies from "Mrs. Doubtfire" to recently, "80 for Brady." She's good - and a solid, believable actress.
50 OSCAR NIGHTS is a book I wholeheartedly recommend for anyone who loves movies. Period.
And what a delight - as well as revelation - this book was to read. It soon became clear that Karger is not only a first-rate interviewer, he gives each Oscar winner the space and time to share with readers his/her feelings and experiences surrounding him/her receiving an Oscar nomination and then winning an Oscar and its immediate impact on his/her life and career- be it for Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score or Song, or Best Costume Design.
One of the interviews in the book that stands out for me is the interview with Sally Field in which she talks about how she ended up making "Norma Rae", the movie that helped to establish and solidify her status as a major star. She said that the role had been offered to 5 major actresses before she was offered the role by the director Martin Ritt. All 5 of those actresses turned it down. Field also said that the studio really didn't want her for the role. But Martin Ritt said that he believed in her and would fight the studio to ensure that she got the role. And the rest, as they say, is History. Sally Field is someone I have always liked. From watching "The Flying Nun" as a child in the early 1970s and on to the "Smokey and the Bandit" movies, I've always found her likeable. It's hard to explain. Sometimes you take an instant liking to people and it grows over time. Besides, I've seen Sally Field in several movies from "Mrs. Doubtfire" to recently, "80 for Brady." She's good - and a solid, believable actress.
50 OSCAR NIGHTS is a book I wholeheartedly recommend for anyone who loves movies. Period.
Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot: Defending the Reich Against the RAF and USAAF by Wolfgang Fischer
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot: Defending the Reich against the RAF and USAAF is Wolfgang Fischer's account of his wartime experiences with the Luftwaffe.
Shortly after passing out of high school and little less than 2 months after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Fischer joined the Luftwaffe, anxious to achieve his cherished ambition of becoming a fighter pilot.
For the first 3 years of war, Fischer was shuttled into a number of non-flying positions in the Luftwaffe. After receiving a spate of training designed to instill a military bearing in him, Fischer was assigned to a reconnaissance squadron in Northeastern Germany tasked with flying photographic missions above the Baltic coast as well as keeping a covert eye on the Soviet Union nearby (though at that stage of the war, the Soviet Union and Germany were allies). He was a part of that squadron for several months and then was posted in August 1940 to a meteorological center in France. His role was "to decode the weather reports sent in by aircraft and ships out in the Atlantic, and by German-manned weather stations operating in Greenland." This work went on for several months before Fischer was given another job within the same office that was pretty humdrum, giving him very little to do. What I found interesting about this period of Fischer's service in the Luftwaffe, is his detailing of experiences he had in exploring various parts of France to which he had been assigned, his interactions with French people, and his impressions of the German occupation, which was then less than a year old following the French surrender in June 1940.
All the while, Fischer was intent on getting into flight training and after making a considerable effort to show his superiors how earnest he was in carrying out his duties, he was transferred back to Germany in the summer of 1941. He underwent a 2-month NCO instructional course in which he learned the basics of command. Afterwards, Fischer was sent back to his unit in France for a short stint and, at long last, on February 1, 1942, he was poised to begin training as a pilot at a flight school in his native Bavaria.
As an aviation aficionado, I enjoyed reading about the various stages of Fischer's flight training, which, at that stage of the war, was typical of the exacting and systematic prewar flight training regimen that was standard in the Luftwaffe. A year later (February 1, 1943), Fischer was posted to a fighter training unit (JG 107) in Nancy, France, where he would be for the next 8 months, serving as a flight instructor. Subsequently, he would be somewhat sidetracked by being assigned to a flight school in Germany, where he learned blind flying (preparatory training for a night fighter pilot) during the first 2 months of 1944.
By the time Fischer had served his apprenticeship, he was a highly skilled fighter pilot and an officer - albeit one who had yet to see active service. He was overjoyed to learn that instead of being assigned to a night-fighter unit, he was posted to one of the Luftwaffe's premiere fighter units in the West: Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen' (JG 2). It was while with JG 2 that Fischer was schooled in front line fighter tactics and experienced his first air combat over Italy during the early spring of 1944. Fischer would go on to fly both the Messerschmitt Bf 109G 'Gustav' and the Focke Wulf FW 190 on a number of missions in France. He would shoot down down 2 enemy fighters (one of them a P-51 Mustang). But his combat service would be fated to be a short one.
Whilst flying a mission over the invasion beaches at Normandy on June 7, 1944, Fischer, rather than staying close to his Gruppenkommandeur, for whom he was serving as wingman, opted to cut out of formation (as his unit was returning to base) and attack a British landing craft, sustained grievous damage to his FW 190, was forced to bail out, and upon landing, was soon captured by a group of British soldiers. A short time later, after his wounds were treated, Fischer was transferred to a POW camp in England. Subsequently, he was put under U.S. jurisdiction with several other POWs and was shipped to the U.S., where would be in a POW camp until he was repatriated to Germany in the spring of 1946.
I liked this book because it gave me, as a reader, a glimpse into the wartime experiences of a Luftwaffe fighter pilot who - though he didn't become an ace - nevertheless achieved a great deal in realizing his dream to fly.
Shortly after passing out of high school and little less than 2 months after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Fischer joined the Luftwaffe, anxious to achieve his cherished ambition of becoming a fighter pilot.
For the first 3 years of war, Fischer was shuttled into a number of non-flying positions in the Luftwaffe. After receiving a spate of training designed to instill a military bearing in him, Fischer was assigned to a reconnaissance squadron in Northeastern Germany tasked with flying photographic missions above the Baltic coast as well as keeping a covert eye on the Soviet Union nearby (though at that stage of the war, the Soviet Union and Germany were allies). He was a part of that squadron for several months and then was posted in August 1940 to a meteorological center in France. His role was "to decode the weather reports sent in by aircraft and ships out in the Atlantic, and by German-manned weather stations operating in Greenland." This work went on for several months before Fischer was given another job within the same office that was pretty humdrum, giving him very little to do. What I found interesting about this period of Fischer's service in the Luftwaffe, is his detailing of experiences he had in exploring various parts of France to which he had been assigned, his interactions with French people, and his impressions of the German occupation, which was then less than a year old following the French surrender in June 1940.
All the while, Fischer was intent on getting into flight training and after making a considerable effort to show his superiors how earnest he was in carrying out his duties, he was transferred back to Germany in the summer of 1941. He underwent a 2-month NCO instructional course in which he learned the basics of command. Afterwards, Fischer was sent back to his unit in France for a short stint and, at long last, on February 1, 1942, he was poised to begin training as a pilot at a flight school in his native Bavaria.
As an aviation aficionado, I enjoyed reading about the various stages of Fischer's flight training, which, at that stage of the war, was typical of the exacting and systematic prewar flight training regimen that was standard in the Luftwaffe. A year later (February 1, 1943), Fischer was posted to a fighter training unit (JG 107) in Nancy, France, where he would be for the next 8 months, serving as a flight instructor. Subsequently, he would be somewhat sidetracked by being assigned to a flight school in Germany, where he learned blind flying (preparatory training for a night fighter pilot) during the first 2 months of 1944.
By the time Fischer had served his apprenticeship, he was a highly skilled fighter pilot and an officer - albeit one who had yet to see active service. He was overjoyed to learn that instead of being assigned to a night-fighter unit, he was posted to one of the Luftwaffe's premiere fighter units in the West: Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen' (JG 2). It was while with JG 2 that Fischer was schooled in front line fighter tactics and experienced his first air combat over Italy during the early spring of 1944. Fischer would go on to fly both the Messerschmitt Bf 109G 'Gustav' and the Focke Wulf FW 190 on a number of missions in France. He would shoot down down 2 enemy fighters (one of them a P-51 Mustang). But his combat service would be fated to be a short one.
Whilst flying a mission over the invasion beaches at Normandy on June 7, 1944, Fischer, rather than staying close to his Gruppenkommandeur, for whom he was serving as wingman, opted to cut out of formation (as his unit was returning to base) and attack a British landing craft, sustained grievous damage to his FW 190, was forced to bail out, and upon landing, was soon captured by a group of British soldiers. A short time later, after his wounds were treated, Fischer was transferred to a POW camp in England. Subsequently, he was put under U.S. jurisdiction with several other POWs and was shipped to the U.S., where would be in a POW camp until he was repatriated to Germany in the spring of 1946.
I liked this book because it gave me, as a reader, a glimpse into the wartime experiences of a Luftwaffe fighter pilot who - though he didn't become an ace - nevertheless achieved a great deal in realizing his dream to fly.
THE BLUE MAX AIRMEN | German Airmen Awarded the Pour le Mérite: Volume 20 - Jacobs & Sachsenberg by Lance J. Bronnenkant, PhD
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book, Volume 20 in The Blue Max Airmen Series, tells the stories of two of Germany's top fighter aces of World War I who were awarded the Pour le Mérite (aka the Blue Max), the Imperial German Empire's highest award for bravery in battle. It also contains photos - many of which hadn't been published before that were culled from private collections of the airmen themselves - and a variety of illustrations showing the various aircraft flown by both pilots during their wartime service.
The first airman covered in this book is Josef Jacobs, of whom I had some prior knowledge as a World War I aviation aficionado. His interest in aviation predated the war. Indeed, Jacobs, whilst working as an apprentice in an industrial company with an aim towards earning a degree in mechanical engineering, undertook flight training in 1912 under the tutelage of Bruno Werntgen, a pioneer aviator. This proved to be a somewhat abbreviated training program because Werntgen was killed in a flying accident the next year.
Upon the outbreak of war in August 1914, Jacobs joined the Fliegertruppe (later renamed as the Luftstreitkräfte). By the summer of 1915, he had completed his training as a pilot and was posted to the Western Front with a reconnaissance squadron tasked with flying long range missions behind enemy lines. Jacobs served with this squadron for several months and during that time, had managed to shoot down a French plane. But due to a lack of independent witnesses who could verify Jacobs' victory, it was officially listed as unconfirmed. Notwithstanding that, Jacobs was given the opportunity in the Spring of 1916 to learn to fly the Fokker Eindekker monoplane fighter, which boasted a forward firing machine gun synchronized to fire through the propeller. At that stage of the war, the Eindekker had proved itself a potent fighter at the Front - in particular against the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC). This aerial supremacy achieved by the Eindekker would last for only a few months, for by the Spring of 1916, the British and French had developed fighter planes (the DeHavilland 2 and Nieuport 11, respectively) that were better in performance than the Eindekker.
Jacobs managed to achieve his first confirmed victory flying the Eindekker on May 12, 1916. Sometime afterward, his unit was posted behind the Front, serving as a kind of 'aerial body guard' for the headquarters of a high-ranking general. Jacobs was unhappy at having to play this role and was glad when he was sent back to front line duty in September 1916. At this time, the first true German fighter squadrons (Jastas) were being set up. Jacobs served with both Jastas 12 and 22, scoring 3 confirmed and several more unconfirmed victories. He was growing in experience and skill as a fighter pilot. Indeed, in recognition of that skill, Jacobs was given his first command as the squadron leader for Jasta 7 in August 1917. Between that date and the end of the war in November 1918, Jacobs flew a number of Germany's top fighter planes from the Albatros DIII to the DV (and DVa), the Fokker Triplane, and what was arguably Germany's best fighter of the conflict - the Fokker DVII. He achieved many confirmed kills, was awarded the Blue Max on July 18, 1918, having achieved 23 victories in aerial combat. Jacobs survived the war with 47 confirmed victories (with many more unconfirmed) and would live a long life before dying, age 84, in July 1978.
The second airman in the book, Gotthard Sachsenberg, was a naval officer whose length of wartime service was similar to that of Josef Jacobs. Sachsenberg had begun his stint in the Navy prewar, serving as a sea cadet on a warship in 1913. Two years later, he transferred to the naval air arm, where he initially served as an observer with Marine Feldflieger Abteilung II. During this time, Sachsenberg was commissioned as an officer, underwent flight training, and returned to Marine Feldflieger Abteilung II, this time flying the Fokker Eindekker.
By February 1917, Sachsenberg was given his first command of a naval fighter unit in Flanders. He would go on to be vested with greater authority at the Front, commanding a fighter group of several fighter squadrons, and would survive the war as a holder of the Blue Max with 31 victories.
In the immediate postwar era (January 1919), Sachsenberg was put in command of an aviation unit made of several veteran airmen (e.g. Josef Jacobs) which helped to successfully defend the independence of the new nation of Latvia against a Bolshevik invasion from Russia. He later became involved in business and the aviation industry. What's more: Sachsenberg ran successfully for a seat in the Reichstag in the late 1920s. In 1934, he was arrested for his anti-Nazi stance (but was soon released in recognition of his previous military service). Sachsenberg would return to business postwar and die in 1961, age 70.
All in all, Volume 20 is one of the best books in the series. Highly recommended.
The first airman covered in this book is Josef Jacobs, of whom I had some prior knowledge as a World War I aviation aficionado. His interest in aviation predated the war. Indeed, Jacobs, whilst working as an apprentice in an industrial company with an aim towards earning a degree in mechanical engineering, undertook flight training in 1912 under the tutelage of Bruno Werntgen, a pioneer aviator. This proved to be a somewhat abbreviated training program because Werntgen was killed in a flying accident the next year.
Upon the outbreak of war in August 1914, Jacobs joined the Fliegertruppe (later renamed as the Luftstreitkräfte). By the summer of 1915, he had completed his training as a pilot and was posted to the Western Front with a reconnaissance squadron tasked with flying long range missions behind enemy lines. Jacobs served with this squadron for several months and during that time, had managed to shoot down a French plane. But due to a lack of independent witnesses who could verify Jacobs' victory, it was officially listed as unconfirmed. Notwithstanding that, Jacobs was given the opportunity in the Spring of 1916 to learn to fly the Fokker Eindekker monoplane fighter, which boasted a forward firing machine gun synchronized to fire through the propeller. At that stage of the war, the Eindekker had proved itself a potent fighter at the Front - in particular against the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC). This aerial supremacy achieved by the Eindekker would last for only a few months, for by the Spring of 1916, the British and French had developed fighter planes (the DeHavilland 2 and Nieuport 11, respectively) that were better in performance than the Eindekker.
Jacobs managed to achieve his first confirmed victory flying the Eindekker on May 12, 1916. Sometime afterward, his unit was posted behind the Front, serving as a kind of 'aerial body guard' for the headquarters of a high-ranking general. Jacobs was unhappy at having to play this role and was glad when he was sent back to front line duty in September 1916. At this time, the first true German fighter squadrons (Jastas) were being set up. Jacobs served with both Jastas 12 and 22, scoring 3 confirmed and several more unconfirmed victories. He was growing in experience and skill as a fighter pilot. Indeed, in recognition of that skill, Jacobs was given his first command as the squadron leader for Jasta 7 in August 1917. Between that date and the end of the war in November 1918, Jacobs flew a number of Germany's top fighter planes from the Albatros DIII to the DV (and DVa), the Fokker Triplane, and what was arguably Germany's best fighter of the conflict - the Fokker DVII. He achieved many confirmed kills, was awarded the Blue Max on July 18, 1918, having achieved 23 victories in aerial combat. Jacobs survived the war with 47 confirmed victories (with many more unconfirmed) and would live a long life before dying, age 84, in July 1978.
The second airman in the book, Gotthard Sachsenberg, was a naval officer whose length of wartime service was similar to that of Josef Jacobs. Sachsenberg had begun his stint in the Navy prewar, serving as a sea cadet on a warship in 1913. Two years later, he transferred to the naval air arm, where he initially served as an observer with Marine Feldflieger Abteilung II. During this time, Sachsenberg was commissioned as an officer, underwent flight training, and returned to Marine Feldflieger Abteilung II, this time flying the Fokker Eindekker.
By February 1917, Sachsenberg was given his first command of a naval fighter unit in Flanders. He would go on to be vested with greater authority at the Front, commanding a fighter group of several fighter squadrons, and would survive the war as a holder of the Blue Max with 31 victories.
In the immediate postwar era (January 1919), Sachsenberg was put in command of an aviation unit made of several veteran airmen (e.g. Josef Jacobs) which helped to successfully defend the independence of the new nation of Latvia against a Bolshevik invasion from Russia. He later became involved in business and the aviation industry. What's more: Sachsenberg ran successfully for a seat in the Reichstag in the late 1920s. In 1934, he was arrested for his anti-Nazi stance (but was soon released in recognition of his previous military service). Sachsenberg would return to business postwar and die in 1961, age 70.
All in all, Volume 20 is one of the best books in the series. Highly recommended.