Andy Taylor
Reviews By Author
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Red Army Auxiliary Armoured Vehicles 1930-1945Published:
Red Army Auxiliary Armored Vehicles 1930-1945 is a very well researched and written book on a relatively unknown subject. With less fanfare than the armored combat vehicles that did the actual fighting, these are the Russian vehicles in support and auxiliary service that made a lot of the fighting possible. This book is a departure from the usual Images of War format. Rather than a brief summary of the chapter to come with a dizzying number of great photographs, the first 61 pages of this 152-page book is all text with detailed footnotes. The photographic sections are broken into 1930-1940 and 1941-1945. The Russian Army has a history of focusing on numbers and attrition. This is obvious as any modeler or student of World War II history on the Eastern Front can name Red Army… more |
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The Darkest Hour, Volume 1: The Japanese Naval Offensive in the Indian Ocean 1942- The Opening MovesPublished:
This is an amazingly detailed book authored by a Polish Ph.D. in Law, living in Japan, writing about Japanese advances in the eastern Indian Ocean. As if that isn’t intriguing enough, author Michał A. Piegzik covers a little known (at least to most Americans) subject in a much larger backdrop of Allied defeats in the early Pacific War, focusing on ABDA (American, British, Dutch, Australian) forces as they reeled from Japanese attacks in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, Java, and Burma. What makes this author’s approach interesting is that Michał A. Piegzik graduated from the University of Wroclaw’s (Poland) Faculty of Law in 2015. He moved his family to Japan as the Pacific War is his passion. Michał’s research entails original documents in… more |
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Hunting the Viet Cong - The Counterinsurgency Campaign in South Vietnam, 1961-1963 Vol 1-The Strategic Hamlet ProgrammePublished:
This is the first of a two-book series on the American counterinsurgency against the Viet Cong. Hunting the Viet Cong - The Counterinsurgency Campaign in South Vietnam, 1961-1963, Vol 1-The Strategic Hamlet Programme covers the early American involvement in Vietnam before Americans were officially committed as combat troops, serving as advisors to South Vietnam. Dr Darren Poole teaches military history at the University of Chester and University Centre, Shrewsbury, United Kingdom. Dr Poole has degrees in Geography, Education, History and Military History with over 20 years of experience. Dr Poole’s dissertation focused on the Vietnamese Strategic Hamlet Programme, and his research is evident with over nine pages of bibliography and nine pages of footnotes. The main point that… more |
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Himmler: Hitler’s HenchmanPublished:
Ian Baxter is a prolific author and has an impressive collection of photographs, many unpublished previously. The book follows the familiar Images of War format with brief introductions for each chapter followed by a lot of photographs to tell the story. At first, I was hesitant to review this book as a lot has been written about this period of well-documented evil that was the Nazi era. However, I wanted to read and see Ian Baxter’s perspective on Heinrich Himmler, the Architect of the Holocaust. Ian Baxter did not disappoint, and his opening paragraph sums up the book,
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Classic American Railroad Companies – Locomotives Vol. 2Published:
AMMO by Mig has released a new line of acrylic paints for railroad modellers called the Rail Center. There are 41 railroad specific colors in the series, with twelve box sets:
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Classic American Railroad Companies – Locomotives Vol. 1Published:
AMMO by Mig has released a new line of acrylic paints for railroad modelers called the Rail Center. There are 41 railroad specific colors in the series, with twelve box sets:
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Schwerer Geländegängiger Personenkraftwagen and SuccessorsPublished:
Alan Ranger is a former British Royal Engineer, engineer, collector of World War II militaria and original period photographs, and prolific author. Alan started his publishing days with Model Art of Japan and has already authored 25 books in the Camera On series, typically focusing on weapon systems and vehicles. Camera On Number 27 focuses on the World War II German heavy off-road wheeled passenger soft skinned vehicles – the title is self-explanatory - Schwerer Geländegängiger Personenkraftwagen and Successors, the Horch 108 Type 1, licensed built Ford Type EG, and light truck chassis Steyr 1500 and Mercedes Benz 1500A and S types. The beauty of this book is the photos were taken by German soldiers during their wartime service, not posed and polished propaganda shots. … more |
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A-10C Heritage HawgsPublished:
Twobobs Aviation Graphics are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year and keep producing outstanding decal sheets for modern military jet aircraft. A-10C Heritage Hawgs (48-275) celebrates three A-10s promoting heritage and morale. Twobobs chose A-10s from the active, reserve and National Guard squadrons:
There is one decal… more |
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Armed Forces of the English-Speaking CaribbeanPublished:
Armed Forces of the English-Speaking Caribbean: The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago is authored by Dr. Sanjay Badri-Maharaj, who received his MA and PhD from the Department of War Studies, Kings College London (his thesis was on India’s nuclear weapons program). Dr. Sanjay Badri-Maharaj has written two books - The Armageddon Factor: Nuclear Weapons in the India-Pakistan Context (2000) and Indian Nuclear Strategy: Confronting the Potential Nuclear Threat from both Pakistan and China (2018). What makes him qualified to write a book of this title? He also served as a consultant to the Trinidad Ministry of National Security. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a diverse region of islands and mainland states with an even more diverse mix of former and… more |
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The Erawan War, Volume 2: The CIA Paramilitary Campaign in Laos, 1969-1974Published:
This is the second of a three-book series on the Erawan War, which was the CIA paramilitary campaign in Laos during the larger, covert war in Vietnam from 1961-1974. Volume 1 covers the period from 1961 to 1968 and was reviewed by fellow IMPS/USA Review Corps member David Horn on 5 February 2022. Volume 2 is this review, and Volume 3 covers the Royal Lao Forces, 1961-1974. Author Ken Conboy is a prolific writer of American involvement in Asian wars – both covert and overt. He is a former deputy director of Washington DC think tank, Asian Studies Center, where he focused on South and Southeast Asia. Ken has written nearly 20 books about Asian military history and intelligence operations. He is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and of Johns Hopkins’… more |