Book and Movie Reviews 1996 to April 2001
 

README.TXT

This Page: Book and Movie Reviews 1996 to April 2001.
Category Archive: Articles from 1996 to March 2001 ONLY! Does not include news.
Chronological Archive: Articles and news from January 2001 to Present.
Popular Sims: Collections of articles, files and links for one game (do not include news).
Article Database (NEW!): Eventually, all articles will be in this database.



 

Book and Movie Reviews 1996 to April 2001:

 

   
   
B o o k   R e v i e w
The Battle for Hunger Hill
In LTC Dan Bolger's book, The Battle For Hunger Hill, we learn that the lessons of Vietnam were not lost on the U.S. Army. In an effort to prevent another Vietnam, where conventional tactics fell short when used against an unconvential enemy, the U.S. Army created the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) in Fort Polk, Louisiana. JRTC is where infantry go to do battle with other U.S. soldiers playing the part of the opposing forces. This is serious business and there are few if any considerations afforded to the combatants. Short of live rounds, this is the real thing.

According to our reviewer, Dr. Simon Ng, LTC Dan Bolger's book, The Battle For Hunger Hill, is the honestly told, higly educational, and entirely engrossing account of one man's two tours of duty at this ultimate war simulation facility.

   
   
B o o k  R e v i e w
America's Hundred Thousand
If you took all the books written about things military and laid them end-to-end, they'd probably circle the globe. What's a military enthusiast to do when faced with such a range of choices?

In a new feature we call "Major Lee's Library," Ken "Major Lee" Golden will select a choice military tome from his collection and give us not only an overall review of the title, but also tell us how the book rates as a resource for military history buffs and a variety of combat simming enthusiasts; namely, 3D shape makers, aircraft skinners, and flight model designers.

   
   
Book Review
by Barry Isaacson --- Hornets Over Kuwait
Click to Proceed Barry Isaacson gives us his take on the no-holds-barred biography of Marine combat pilot Lt. Col. Jay A. Stout's Gulf War experiences in Hornets over Kuwait. If you like biographies that don't pull punches, then you'll want to check out this review.

Hornets Over Kuwait

   
   
Book Review  
by Bruce Irving     Air Warriors, Bogeys & Bandits, The Sixth Battle
A6E

Thanks to Jane's F/A-18 Hornet and a few other sims, there are a lot of virtual naval aviators trapping on virtual aircraft carriers these days. If you're one of them, or if you just have an interest in Hornets and carriers, here are three books that will add greatly to your knowledge and enjoyment of naval aviation.

Air Warriors, Bogeys & Bandits, The Sixth Battle

   
   
Review
  by Leonard Hjalmarson     The Arrow Scrapbook
LOGO In April, 1924, the Royal Canadian Air Force was born. Barely thirty years later, Canadian Engineers were drawing up plans for an advanced jet Interceptor. The engines to power this craft were two generations beyond anything that had yet seen the light of day.

The Arrow Scrapbook

   
   
Book Review
  by Dave Pascoe     The Secret Wars of America's Commandos
Cover One of the few commando books to be first published in hardcover, SOG is an exceptionally well researched account of the Special Operations Group mission in Indochina, covert and otherwise. I rate it as one of the best books on the subject, as told from the summary viewpoint of the men in the field, their field officers and commanders.

The Secret Wars

   
   
Book Review
  by Scott Purdy      Gulf Air War Debrief
IMAGE We carry around a bewildering array of images from Desert Storm: CNN correspondents conducting interviews in aardvark-snooted gas masks, burning oilwells like something out of Dante's imagination. But to understand the events of that war we need something more than old videotapes.

Gulf Air War: Review

   
   
Book Review
  by Dave Pascoe      We Were Soldiers Once... and Young
IMAGE As any student of the Vietnam war soon learns, there are two basic types of books about the war: political tomes and your basic war story. First published in 1992, We Were Soldiers Once . . . became the rare Vietnam war story to ever become a New York Times best seller.

We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young

   
   
Book Review
  by Scott Purdy      The Killer Angels
IMAGE

For the past two weeks I have learned the tactical difference between Little Round Top and Cemetery Hill (Little Round Top was a better defensive position). I have come to know that Robert E. Lee was often called "The Old Man". I have "limbered" and "unlimbered" the guns. I have sent out squads to harass the enemy artillery.

The Killer Angels

   
   
Military     V i d e o s
      Boeing and Lockheed Martin Video Libraries
LM1

Lockheed Martin and Boeing maintain their own video libraries. Check them out for some great footage. At LM find the F22, HIMAR, Armor etc. Then check out the Boeing (used to be McDonnell-Douglas) library for footage on the AH-64D Apache, Super Hornet, JSF and more!

LM Video Library

Boeing Video Library

   
   
Book Review
by Scott Purdy      The Face of Battle
IMAGE

Think military history and dry tomes in the cobwebbed halls of academia with dull-surfaced books with less life than the soldiers who died to fill them. Not so with John Keegan: So vivid and alive is the combat described in "The Face of Battle" you may at times feel yourself witness to a grisly scene from the fabled Norse Paradise, where warriors already dead leapt up to rejoin the fight.

The Face of Battle

   
   
Naval Combat   E n t e r t a i n m e n t
by Troy Whigham     Summer Movies Part III
Boat

It's July. It's hot. What better way to cool off than to spend some time in, on, and under the water. For those of us who prefer to stay indoors and out of the sun, here's some movies that are almost as good as being there. These are some of my favorites, ranked in order.

Naval Combat Movies

   
   
Armor Combat   E n t e r t a i n m e n t
by Scott Purdy      Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment
MLRS

You shouldn't come to any text by Tom Clancy assuming your vast knowledge of military acronyms will be needed to appreciate this tech-savvy author. On the contrary, Clancy's descriptions of the (increasingly complex) implements of war are decidedly down-to-earth and accessible to most any civilian.

Armored Cavalry

   
   
Air Combat   E n t e r t a i n m e n t
by Troy Whigham     Summer Movies Part II
F6F Hellcat

Last week I presented a list of some of my favorite movies that are out on video (except for "Flying Leathernecks" with John Wayne). Since then I've been reminded about several movies that didn't make it the first time around. My thanks to those who took the time to write and point out these great flicks.

Air Combat Movies

   
   
Combatsim  Book Review
by Scott Purdy     James Salter: The Hunters
Hunters

What better way to get fired up for Rowan's MiG Alley than to read one of the great novels of fighter combat depicting that era? "The Hunters," is just such a book, the tale of a daring bunch who soared over the Yalu in F-86 Sabres, thirsty for immortality, but often meeting their fate in a terse moment of gunfire.

James Salter: The Hunters

   
   
Air Combat  R e t r o s p e c t i v e
by Scott Purdy     Flight of the Intruder
A6E

One of the most cherished books in my personal library is a first edition hardback of Flight of the Intruder, by Stephen Coonts, a novel about the decidedly un-glamourous A-6A, its pilots, and the war it starred in. Not only does this book enhance one's interest in military aviation (and thereby the games we love), but it also proves one heck of a good read!

Retrospective

   
   
Air Combat   E n t e r t a i n m e n t
by Troy Whigham     Summer Movie Fun
Spitfire

Summer's here and the time is right, for dancing in the streets and watching movies at home. Here then is my take on movies that are "must-see" for any air combat fan, in order of importance. (In some cases you can also get your hands on the book!)

Summer Air Combat Movies

   
   
Adventure   E n t e r t a i n m e n t
by Maurice Fitzgerald     Summer Movie Fun
Moviestar

Summer's here and these are my top picks for ground pounding adventure movies.

Adventure Movies

   
   
   
   
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