Interesting Books - Number 2

The next book in my look at interesting books is, "RAF Coastal Command, 1936-1969" by Chris Ashworth.

"Coastal" was formed in 1936 as a small reconnaissance force operating almost exclusively on behalf of the Royal Navy. After the outbreak of World War Two, and as the war dragged on, the Coastal Command became an essential part of the offensive maritime operations against both the German U-Boats and surface shipping. The Coastal Command also took responsibility for weather flights, photo reconnaissance, and air-sea rescue covering an area that stretched from Iceland to the Azores. In 1969 the Coastal Command ceased to exist as a separate entity when its assets were turned over to No 18 (Maritime) Group.

The author, a pilot with Coastal Command during the 1950s and 1960s, has written a well-researched history that concentrates mainly on the war years when the Coastal Command was at its height. He covers the anti-submarine and anti-shipping operations in great detail. A series of appendices give detailed information on the Order of Battle for the war years, aircraft type, squadron numbers and commanders, and types of Axis submarines Coastal Command fought.

The book is well illustrated with photographs of the various aircraft used by Coastal Command, from Beauforts to Blenheims, and Sutherlands to Spitfires. Also contains a series of maps showing Coastal Command operational areas.

All in all, an interesting book for military history and aviation enthusiasts.

Interesting Books

One thing about running a used bookstore. You do come across a great many interesting books. So I thought it might be a good idea to do a little write-up on books that have caught my fancy and hopefully you'll find them interesting too. I'll normally cover one book per post and I see this as an ongoing series.

The first book I want to talk about is "The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands in the Light of Archaeological Study" by Yigael Yadin.  Yigael Yadin was an Israeli archaeologist, politician, and the Second Chief of the Israel Defense Forces.  In 1956 he received the Israel prize for his doctoral thesis on the translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. As an archaeologist he excavated some of the most important sites in the region, including the Qumran Caves, Masada, Hazor, and Tel Megiddo.

The "Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands" covers all lands of the Bible, from Anatolia to Egypt and from Palestine to Mesopotamia, a part of the world containing nations and countries that had been fighting each other over long periods of history. The author felt that only a complete analysis from both the military and archaeological point of view would allow the reader to comprehend the development of warfare in all its aspects: weapons, fortifications, army organizations, and tactics.

This is a two volume set. The books are organized to first present an overview of the different aspects that all of the military organizations had in common, such as mobility, firepower, and security. The books then break down these by country/kingdom beginning with the fortifications of Jericho (7000 B.C.) through the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (920-586 B.C.) 

The text is rich in detail and is augmented by line drawings and color plates showing various fortifications, weapons, battles, tactics as they appear in the archaeological record. This set is truly an interesting read and should appeal to both the person interested in ancient archaeology as well as those interested in ancient military tactics and warfare.