Stenciled on many of the deactivated facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; the evocative phrase “abandoned in place†indicates the structures that have been deserted. Some structures; too solid for any known method of demolition; stand empty and unused in the wake of the early period of US space exploration. Now Roland Miller’s color photographs document the NASA; Air Force; and Army facilities across the nation that once played a crucial role in the space race.Rapidly succumbing to the elements and demolition; most of the blockhouses; launch towers; tunnels; test stands; and control rooms featured in Abandoned in Place are located at secure military or NASA facilities with little or no public access. Some have been repurposed; but over half of the facilities photographed no longer exist. The haunting images collected here impart artistic insight while preserving an important period in history.
#1258005 in Books University of Missouri 2012-07-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.00 x 6.13l; 1.23 #File Name: 0826219721256 pages
Review
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Provides some balance.By Jeffery StewartAs far as I know there are not many books that provide a general; overall history of the Civil War in Missouri; especially one of more recent date. This book helps to fill that void.Good Points:1. The focus of this book is the conventional war in Missouri; not the guerrilla war. Much has been written on the guerrilla war in Missouri and by concentrating on the conventional war this book helps to give a more balanced view of the military events in Missouri.2. For the most part the narrative was not difficult to understand or follow and is neutral in tone. Being a general history it doesn't go into extreme detail on the events it covers; but enough detail is given to provide a solid basic understanding.Areas for Improvement:1. There are a few typographical errors; although it did not seem like an excessive amount to me. The only significant mistake I noticed was on page 119 in the last paragraph where it states that Belmont is located opposite Lexington; KY; the author meant Columbus; KY.2. The maps provided are not sufficient. The maps in the book are only general area maps and there are only a few of them. There are not any maps showing troops movements or the courses of battles; both of which are necessary. These maps are especially important for people not familiar with Missouri or the battles. The lack of maps was my reason for a three-star rating.13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Civil War MOBy Dale F. BeckerThis is a well written and authoritative account of the military operations of the Union and Confederate forces in Missouri during the Civil War. While not ignoring the relentless guerrilla war it brings new focus on these often small but still significant conventional military campaigns and battles. His analyses of the effects of these operations on the war both locally and nationally are well reasoned and informative. Gerteis has also provided some new perspectives on the motivation behind some of the commanders and politicians actions. As a result their decisions become more understandable to someone looking back with the advantage of hindsight. The author often provides capsule biographies of the many participants which I found at once both interesting; but often distracting to the narrative as well. Also included are a great number of pictures of the often obscure participants; particularly those on the union side.Aside from the occasional typo; from which a scholarly book of this type is usually free; my only negative comments concern the provided maps which I found to be particularly inadequate. Very often the places mentioned in the narrative are nowhere to be found on the accompanying maps making it impossible to follow the movement of forces. There is no map showing the routes of travel of the forces involved or even of the roads available to the participants for any of the operations described. Although there is well written and detailed description of the tactical situations and movements for nearly every engagement there are no maps to accompany the narrative to illustrate these actions. The map provided for the Wilson's Creek battle identifies some significant landmarks and terrain features; but omits others and is of little use. The only exception to the lack of tactical level maps is one adapted from a Missouri State Park site map for the battle of Lexington during which little maneuver occurred and none is shown in any case.All in all a good book with an unfortunate flaw which may have resulted from hasty publication. I would very much like to see a second edition with significantly improved maps.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Missouri Not a Backwater of the Civil War!By Amanda WarrenThis is a fascinating account of the unique form that the Civil War assumed in the highly contentious State of Missouri. The reader lives through the early days as military units and leaders; politicians; and the public choose sides and assume their positions. The author explains the lead-up and maneuvers of each major and minor battle; and the aftermath and repercussions for Confederates and Federals. He does an excellent service in providing in the end notes thorough follow-up information on many of the players. He expertly captures personalities; for example; we see the fire and fury of General Lyon and his sense of drama as he personally leads a parade of prisoners of war through St. Louis headed by a brass band playing The Star Spangled Banner! He delves into the evolving conflict between the military stickler General Ben McCulloch and the free-rein; charismatic General Sterling Price. We also read of unique situations that could only have occurred in Missouri; such as the September 30; 1862 fight at Newtonia in which Union General Solomon led a Cherokee unit against Confederate Col. Cooper's Chickasaw Rifles! And the book contains a surprising revelation (to me; anyway) about a Confederate raid into Iowa--who knew?! In short; this is a satisfying; in-depth treatment of the Missouri war; and the author expertly makes its complexities understandable.I do not agree with the reviewer who claims the book to be slanted toward or overly focused on the Union. The perception might arise from the reality that more reports and documents from the Federals survive. However; the author does not go easy on Federals who committed outrages; such as Col. McNeil's execution of Confederate prisoners in the Palmyra Masssacre; or Thomas Ewing's hard hand of war against civilians. And he rightfully depicts certain Confederates as noble and heroic; such as Emmett MacDonald. No--I found the author to be "fair and balanced" in that regard.I do believe that he too readily accepts the personal views put forth in General Grant's memoir; for example; he reproduces Grant's scathing criticism of Rosecrans as fact. But it is well known that Grant harbored bitter prejudice toward Rosecrans and several other Federal generals; therefore; his statements and judgments regarding them are so colored by his animosity that they cannot be relied upon.The book does contain several inaccuracies which should be pointed out. For example; Basil Duke was married to John Hunt Morgan's sister; not his daughter. Two photos are mistakenly captioned: the one identified as Gideon Pillow is actually James S. Rains; and the photo labeled William Merritt is actually the famous Eastern cavalry leader; Wesley Merritt. The two were not related; so we cannot attribute the problem to family resemblance; the picture is definitely of Wesley. Finally; the author claims that more than 1;000 of Price's men were "killed" at the Battle of Pilot Knob (p. 187). Of course he means the total number of casualties (killed; wounded and missing); which is not known for certain but variously stated as low as 450 and as high as 1;500.Those mistakes do not detract from the overall worth of this book. After reading it; I will no longer consider Missouri on the sidelines of the Civil War. Rather; its story is essential to understand the War in its entirety.
