I've been after this book for quite a while. Wasn't cheap £30, but worth every penny in my view. Anyway I've put it away handy, somewhere ? Graham.
I appear to be the sort of idiot that buys things they already have because they were silly cheap (and a little better nick). Shameful.
Been off visiting the Book fairies in Stratford today. Hopeful this lot will satiate the cravings for a while. BTW. First post from a smartphone so apologies for any speelinf midtooks. It''s Mrs T''s - think I''ll stick to my ancient Nokia
Good year for Dragonflies. Never seen so many. I spent my childhood (York) thinking they were something made up in books. Never saw a single example - mind blown when first spotted. And I'm told they keep the bastard mosquitoes down? Mozzies love me.
revised and updated version of the classic work on the Hs129, one of those oddball types I find fascinating. A good russian study on the types of tanks and how they were used on the Eastern front. Published collection of essays from a symposium looking at the fall of Singapore 60 years on. Some interesting contributions from Japanese historians
Remarkable little things, dragonflies. The parks are absolutely swarming with them in summer here. The traditional children's game is to catch them in 'butterfly' nets, which is harder than it first appears as they're extremely agile creatures. I'm quite used to seeing them, but I recall that when an old mate and his wife made it over to Korea about five years ago, they were amazed by the swarms of them. The cicadas are also deafening when you notice them, although you instinctively 'tune out' the noise most of the time because it's constant. The thing with mosquitoes--and I am an expert in an unfortunate practical sense--is to live with large people, especially pregnant women. With a resident blood-donor to keep the blighters well-fed, you'll be left well alone. Mosquitoes detect prey through multiple methods, but the main one is by sensing areas of increased CO2, which they can do at an appalling 160ft. The larger you are, the more carbon dioxide you produce, and pregnant women are 'exhaling for two' so to speak (well, one and a half, I suppose), which makes them the main targets. Lactic acid is another attractor: don't sweat and certainly don't exercise. Try to remain completely immobile all summer. And it may help to wear white. Perhaps ensuring that your wife/girlfriend is pregnant (with as little exertion as possible) and then remaining in bed under a white sheet until autumn would prove the perfect anti-mossie ploy.
I'll remember this while doing heavy work on a site dotted with stillages containing hundreds of litres of saved rainwater... The sneaky little spike-nosed bastards. Those PM Knight British tank books: Cracking on properly with the Comet one. If I've a criticism; there's so much archival reference & 'new' info packed in it's quite a challenging read just to keep up with exactly what's what & who the mentioned people represent. So many Boards, Establishments & committees. This is not really a criticism... A side-effect so far is increasing interest in the exchanges between US & UK, balancing lend-lease deals on vehicles & manufacturing machinery. Not since reading Alanbrooke's diaries have I so strongly been reminded 'Christ, this world war business is complicated'... Not sure if Crusader or one of the Cruiser titles next, but I fear the whole series will have to be obtained eventually.
Knights books - I've quite predictably got the Comet one - are superb as they satisfy all the specialist/nerdy aspects and look very good whether in use or decorating the bookshelves.
Best production quality Print on Demand I've bought yet too. (I think... got a few well done 'academic' titles that I suspect were, but it wasn't made explicitly clear.)
Rude not to for 25p No mention of what goes up coming down yet. Anyone might think the 1945 HMSO didn't feel like discussing where shells ended up, other than embedded in targets. Cracking cover design.
Brief mention here on civilian AA casualties but no mention of the statistics source. Going to have to do some more digging Attrition: Joy Bullets And Death From Above Mention in Hansard: Anti-Aircraft Fire (Casualties) - Hansard