The Battle of Midway by Craig L. Symonds

A great deal has been written on the Battle of Midway, some good and some not so good. The Battle of Midway by Craig L. Symonds has to be one of the most definitive works on the Battle of Midway. And one of the better books on this subject by a long way.

The Battle of Midway. Was it a miraculous event, as some see it? Or a culmination of tactics and weapons?

Craig L. Symonds takes a long view of this key battle in World War 2. He traces the origins of some of the points that would be of vital importance, back to the latter years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century.

He examines the military careers of the Japanese officers and the American officers from their earliest days at their military academies, teasing out facts that would prove important in the roles they played in the battle of Midway.

He also examined how blunders on both sides cost many lives and could have impacted on the outcome of not only the Battle of Midway but on the outcome of the war itself.

He points out that the decisions of Japanese officers was often coloured by their very real fear of being murdered by their subordinates, of how hundreds of US pilots were sent to their deaths because their planes had dreadful design  faults or their torpedoes just did not work.

Apparently the US government in pre-war days did not want to 'waste money' on testing the new design of torpedo, so the many faults in the design were not discovered in a timely manner and corrected. Instead they chose to blame the pilots, many of whom lost their lives attempting to launch useless, inert torpedoes. The torpedoes used by the US Navy submarines were just as bad.

The Japanese side was no better. They failed to provide adequate damage control facilities on their warships, so that a fairly minor explosion or fire could result in the loss of a ship and the subsequent unnecessary loss of many lives. Symonds also points out that the Japanese were doomed to fail by their desire for quality in pilot training and the construction of ships, planes, etc.

Symonds looks afresh at what we thought we knew about the progress of the battle, and has discovered that some of it was flawed due to error and that other information was simply wrong due to what appeared to be covering up by some persons involved.

The book is superbly illustrated with battle maps and photographs. These appear throughout the text, so do help to tell the story.

Although very readable indeed, the book will make a most suitable textbook for students of World War 2. The footnotes,  appendixes, notes and index are worth their weight in gold.

It is 452 pages long and published in hardback by the Oxford University Press at $27.95.

I can heartily recommend this book to old servicemen, their families, students of military history and serving forces personnel.

Explore the Humorous Side of Life with “Close Your Eyes the Future Has Just Begun” A Collection of Aphorisms and Cartoons

Can people handle the truth or will it be too painful? When faced with the easy or hard decision, do people take the easy way out even though it doesn’t give them their desired result? Aleksandar Krzavac releases his new book, “Close Your Eyes the Future Has Just Begun”.

Are you a person who always sees the bright side of every challenge? Are you the person who is seen as the one who always makes lemonade out of lemons?

For the individual who likes to think and live outside of the box, Aleksandar Krzavac has just the e-book for you, “Close Your Eyes the Future Has Just Begun” which is humorous and illustrated with cartoons.

Krzavac says he wrote “Close Your Eyes the Future Has Just Begun” to challenge people to think out of everyday convenient life. However, a  result is achieved even if readers have great fun reading the book.

Some of the aphorisms contained in the book are: “Survival skills have nothing to do with morals. Force is a side effect of ruling. Fight for the future, do not adopt it.”

“Close Your Eyes the Future Has Just Begun” contains 401 aphorisms and approximately 77 cartoons.

“Close Your Eyes the Future Has Just Begun” addresses almost all issues people are annoyed with, no matter what their economic status, education level or race. Sub-genre but not sub-culture, that keeps our eyes wide open revealing the extent of self-delusion in everyday life we are exposed to.

Author Krzavac states, “Once you read this e-book, the reader will figure out what the side effect of sex is, what real engine of revolution could be and even why communism failed or the real reason we vote for democracy.

In “Close Your Eyes the Future Has Just Begun”, each single aphorism or cartoon is a world unto itself. It will literally draw the reader in and expand their thinking about the circumstances and world around them. Readers are encouraged to face the truth, no matter how painful it can be.

About Aleksandar Krzavac

Aleksandar Krzavac was born in 1959 in Belgrade, the former Yugoslavian capital, where he spent his teenage years and his thirties in what is referred to in the West as a Communist dictatorship. Holder of a University degree in economics, e-book author Aleksandar Krzavac does not object to wasting his time writing aphorisms and drawing cartoons.

Krzavac has published his aphorisms and cartoons in highly regarded Belgrade newspapers and magazines and a selection of Krzavac's cartoons are published on the Aydin Dogan Vakfi website. Aphorisms of Aleksandar Krzavac have appeared in the New York Times bestselling author James Geary's website at www.jamesgeary.com.

Close Your Eyes the Future Has Just Begun can be purchased at Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Lulu.

Your Head Here: Your Guide To Real Bedroom Feng Shui By Sherwin Ng

This is THE book to clear all your doubts on Bedroom Feng Shu- the bed is regarded as the mountain within the house, and as such, a good bed location enhances good health, generates meaningful relationships, as well as augments power and authority.

Are you sleeping in the right sector?

In his highly-anticipated first book. Sherwin Ng introduces to you the importance of mountains in Feng Shui, and how these mountains affect your house and your bedrooms specifically. Transforming Classical concepts into modern application. this second book of the Fengshuilogy series gives you a fun, easy way to Feng-Shui-It-Yourself  by just turning to the page you need.

This is perfect for both the layperson interested to know if they have their beds in the right sector, and for the student of Classical Feng Shui looking for an alternative perspective on the simple but profound effects of mountains and the Feng Shui of the bedroom.

In this book: A concise, complete introduction on bedroom Feng Shui; An introduction to mountains and external Feng Shui; A complete chapter of bedroom rules in Feng Shui -- and WHY; All 16 Flying Stars chart for Period 7 and Period 8 houses; Technical commentary on the different bed locations for all 16 Flying Star charts in Period 7 and Period 8.

www.gazellebooks.co.uk

Midlands Footy: 1980-2011 By Steve Brooke

This book looks back at the teams, players, managers and rivalries between all the Midlands clubs since 1980.

Over the last 30 years of great games there are many true icons who will never be forgotten and Midlands football fans have voted for the top 5 players from each of their clubs.

Featuring every result of every Midlands derby ever played and in-depth profiles of 100 Midland club legends - this is a celebration of one of the world's football hotbeds.

Features: Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Burton Albion, Cheltenham Town, Coventry City, Derby County, Kettering Town, Kidderminster Harriers, Leicester City, Northampton Town, Notts County, Nottingham Forest, Port Vale, Shrewsbury Town, Stoke City, Tamworth, Telford United, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

www.gazellebooks.co.uk


Canadians At The Table: Food, Fellowship & Folklore - A Culinary History Of Canada

This is an introduction to the diverse culinary history of Canada. We learn about the lessons of survival of the First Nations, the foods that fuelled the fur traders, and the adaptability of the early settlers in their new environment.

As communities developed and transportation improved, waves of newcomers arrived, bringing their memories of foods, beverages, and traditions they had known, which were almost impossible to implement in their new homeland. They learned instead to use native plants for many of their needs.

Community events and institutions developed to serve religious, social, and economic needs -- from agricultural and temperance societies to Women's Institutes, from markets and fairs to community meals and celebrations.

One New World food, pemmican -- a light, durable, and highly nourishing blend of dried and powdered buffalo, elk, or deer meat that is mixed with dried berries, packed into a leather bag, then sealed with grease -- was introduced by the First Nations to the fur traders coming to Canada.

Small amounts of pemmican replaced large amounts of regular food, freeing up precious hunting and food preparation time and allowing more space to carry additional furs and trade goods. From the self-sufficient First Nations and early settlers to the convenience foods of today, this book gives us an overview of one of the most unique and fascinating food histories in the world and how it continues to change to serve Canadians from coast to coast.

www.gazellebooks.co.uk

RIT English Professor's New Book Explores History and Evolution of ‘Mania’

Lisa Hermsen reveals her personal struggle with mental illness and traces the multiple ways in which the word “mania” has been used by popular, medical and academic writers in her just-released book, Manic Minds: Mania’s Mad History and its Neuro-Future.

“I am bipolar and have a medical diagnosis. And I am a freak; I am mad. There are no two options; I am both and more. I can have it both ways. And…I can tell a good story.” Lisa Hermsen, associate professor, Rochester Institute of Technology

Mania. Throughout centuries, the word has been synonymous with madness, fury, rage and frenzy. Although its meanings have shifted over time, the word has remained connected, even in clinical descriptions, to the same madness and rage. As a result, it is profoundly affecting individuals living with medical and psychological conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety.

In her latest book, Manic Minds: Mania’s Mad History and its Neuro-Future, Lisa Hermsen, associate professor and chair of Rochester Institute of Technology’s English department in the College of Liberal Arts, traces the multiple ways in which the word “mania” has been used by popular, medical and academic writers. She also explains the way medical professionals analyzed the manic condition during the 19th and 20th centuries.

“Today, we don’t classify people using the terms lunacy, insanity or melancholy, but the word ‘mania’ still appears as a diagnosis,” says Hermsen. “The problem with the world ‘mania’ is that it carries madness with it. Madness lingers with mania and can’t be shaken. The purpose of this book is to talk about what kind of language we can use to change how we think about madness. The word mania and the baggage that comes along with it interfere with people’s ability to manage their disorders.”

Hermsen, who teaches courses at RIT in the rhetoric of science and the history of madness, knows firsthand about the struggle with the perception of mania. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her early 20s. Many of her colleagues and students had formerly been unaware of her diagnosis, but Hermsen believed that her admission was necessary to include in the book.

“My husband and I talked about whether I should ‘out myself’ in the book as someone who lives with bipolar disorder,” says Hermsen. “I feared that my colleagues and students would look at me differently if they knew—and maybe some will. But if my intention is to help others understand the history of their disease and learn that it can be managed, lived with and that these individuals can become successful, then I knew there was no way I could leave it out.”

Throughout the book, Hermsen offers in-depth analysis of contemporary figures that have written from within the illness itself, as well as her thoughts on her personal experiences with mania. Hermsen’s story was included in the book based in part on a note that was sent to her from an RIT alumnus who experienced a serious depression that temporarily interrupted his studies. The note says, “I’m glad to see someone like us chairing the English department.”

Hermsen writes: “By emerging from this diagnostic silence, I am able to tell a story beyond my own limited narrative. There were certainly times during the writing when I had to come to terms with the debilitating effects of a manic episode—the bodily reality of psychic tension, times when linguistic power eluded me. But in the end, I hope to have written with the confidence and credibility of one who possesses a dynamic relationship to mania.”

Hermsen’s book is available for $23.95 at http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu or www.amazon.com.

Galileo Selected Writings

The book, Galileo, Selected Writings is a masterful new translation by William R, Shea and Mark Davie.

The book is not just a collection of the writings of a great man. Shea and Davie are able to put Galileo and his writings into the context of the times in which Galileo lived.

It touches on the financial problems that beset Galileo when, on the death of his father, he became the breadwinner and the man of the house. He had dowries to fund for his sisters and his mother to provide for. Problems which meant that Galileo needed to earn a goodly income to provide for his family.

Galileo made a substantial income by selling a geometrical and military compass of his own design, which is referenced within this book, together with information on his work to construct the best telescope in existence at that time.

The book also points out that Galileo did not quite use the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the way that is generally depicted to prove his theory of gravity.

The book contains a wide and deeply fascinating collection from a range of Galileo's writings. From letters to important figures of his day, including nobles and royalty, his observations on the Copernican Theory, details of his trial and his statement of abjuration.

It contains his Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems (see above) A Sidereal Message and much more besides.

This book is not only a testament to the brilliance of Galileo it is an interesting thought-provoking  work.

It contains copious and highly useful notes, explanatory notes and a detailed and most helpful index.

It is an ideal book for the student and for those curious to learn more about Galileo.

It is available in paperback at £10.99 published by the Oxford University Press.

The ISBN is 978-0-19-958369-0.

It is, of course, available from the That's Book bookshop, which is powered by Amazon.