The classic 1951 movie Flying Leathernecks starring John Wayne immortalized the USMC pilots who had fought in the skies over Guadalcanal and the Solomons. The US Marine Corps has a long and proud heritage of aviation excellence; celebrating its centenary in 2012. While "flying leathernecks" made their mark in both world wars; Korea; Vietnam and more recently throughout the global war on terrorism; it was during World War II that they captured the hearts and minds of the public with their daring exploits. This is the first book to detail the legendary actions of famous fighter aces such as Medal of Honor winner John L Smith; Greg "Pappy" Boyinton; Marion Carl; Joe Foss; and many more. Barrett Tillman combines expert research into the history and organization of the Marine Fighter Squadrons with dramatic accounts of deadly dogfights.
#1014594 in Books I. B. Tauris 2013-05-28 2013-05-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.82 x 1.18 x 5.09l; .88 #File Name: 1780765045368 pages
Review
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful. A regime the West can't changeBy R. L. HuffBritain's veteran Russia specialist; Angus Roxburgh; offers a mature; reasoned; and experienced Western view of Putin and Putinism. It serves as a necessary counterpoint to the incessant demonizing of both emanating from the United States. I seriously doubt if it could have been written or published now in the US. Russia-bashing is an old American tradition; predating even the Bolshevik revolution (see David Fogelsong's "The American Mission and the `Evil Empire': The Crusade for a `Free Russia' Since 1881.") And unfortunately; in the wake of the Crimean annexation; it is the negative that's escalating to ever more shrill (and impotent) heights. Roxburgh bids us to stand back and look at the world not just from Putin's view; but that of Russia itself. The West has obliviously (or; perhaps knowingly) plowed on ahead with a self-interested agenda to simultaneously remold and contain the "New" Russia; as if said adjective was merely a supporting prop.Roxburgh is good at demonstrating the Western "forked tongue" over NATO expansion eastward; which is ultimately behind most of the post-Soviet angst. But he shies short from connecting the dots. The Latvian president's tear-jerking ode to her country's freedom from Russian domination at the Prague summit of 2002 (p. 97) left many Russian eyes dry; as they recalled the two Latvian SS divisions that served Nazi occupiers in the Third Reich's thrust toward Moscow. The Kremlin cries today of "Ukrainian fascists" who have taken over Kiev hearken to the same bloody memories; still willfully ignored by the West as it seemingly patronizes groups precisely for their anti-Moscow militance.Roxburgh is also; I feel; being disingenuous when he wonders why post-communist Russia has not "turned itself into a thriving manufacturing country like China or many other developing economies" (p. 283). He seems unaware that Russia is not a developing country; but an old developed economy whose industries were of the same rust-belt generation as the mills; mines; and factories of Youngstown or Pittsburgh. The thrust of "economic reform" was thus to dump old industrial investment for new finance-driven capitalism; exactly as in the old-money West - with the added inducement that Russia's modernization was further hamstrung by bans on new-technology sales to Moscow. This policy is far from dead; as the quashing of Russia's bid to acquire GM asset Opal attested: to keep Russia from acquiring the very technology required to make it competitive.I disagree with Roxburgh's take that Russian reform has always "come from above." The Tzar's granting of a Duma in 1906; and initiating land reforms; was inspired solely to quell the revolutionary movement of the streets and villages. Similarly; the Russian revolution re-erupting in February; 1917; was a perfect parallel to Egypt's Arab Spring as a groundswell of street activism; bringing down two governments within a year. But it's true that Putin has rolled back the glasnost era; when Russian liberty seemed to have arrived into its own at last. Two points here: Yeltsin was not the "democrat" the West made him out to be; as Roxburgh accurately recalls; but an authoritarian predecessor for all that it now objects to in Putin. Secondly; Yeltsin's entourage was composed not only of Democratic Russia liberals; but entrenched apparatchiks who hated Gorbachev; who abandoned the old CP because it was no longer theirs - like Yeltsin himself. Mouthing democratic phrases was a small price to pay for access to Western loot. The rise of Putin in 2000 demonstrated the final eclipse of the liberal DemRossiya wing of Yeltsin's movement. It has been a downhill slide since; but with equal responsibility from a self-serving West.Putin's role; as he sees it; is to reconstruct the Russian; not the Soviet empire. His vision is the old mantra of "Great Russia; One and Indivisible." Western fuming over the return of the USSR shows an ignorance as mutual as the Russian belief that 9/11 was a Zionist-CIA plot. He highly resembles another "strongman"; the former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic. Yet the West will not be able to bomb Putin to the negotiating table. It will have no other option but diplomacy and recognizing Russian interests. Russia - like GM - is simply "too big to fail."6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Understanding Russia and PutinBy Andras JeneiAn excellent insight to the Russian administration; to their political and historical thinking; and a clear and detailed picture of Vladimir Vladimirovich. Not as detailed as other biographies but the purpose of the book is to place his politics into a context not to know every inch of him.If you want to understand; what is actually happening today in Russian politics in the shadows of the Ukrainian crisis; this book is a must read. You will understand; why Putin is not backing out from the crisis; why the Russian people support this controversial quest; why the West doesn't really understand his moves. The author's view is very balanced; most of the hypotheses are on solid ground and also very useful how the motivations of Putin are shown - you can even predict some moves and steps if you read carefully. Not heavy; a fun to read; but worth to do it at least twice (or make a lot of notes) or you can get easily lost in the web of oligarchs; business ties and networks.9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Easy Fun Read with lots of insider infoBy The KidThis is both a well written book and an enjoyable read. It doesn't take a stance heavily one way or the other which keeps the book from being to heavy handed. There are many times in which he gives the opinions and view points from people behind the scenes and this is what makes this a really good book. I really enjoyed reading this and felt I knew the Russians and Putin's stand on things better after reading it. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to better understand the Russian approach to foreign policy; Great Book!
