Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Reviews By Author
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Nuclear India, From Reluctance to Triad - Asia @ War Series No.25Published:
Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy! If you are of a certain age and remember duck and cover under your school desk for nuclear attack drills, under a poster saying “one nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day,” this book will cause stress – rightly so. India is the setting of this Asia@War Series book, describing the oft-ignored entry and burgeoning status of India as a nuclear nation. It describes how India came to love The Bomb. This book is No. 25 of the Asia@War series, and details the nuclear weapons journey of a reluctant India, from 1960s to now. The author, Professor Sanjay Badri-Maharaj has written nine books in Helion’s @ War series (six in Asia and three in Latin America and other books on modern-day military topics. I have reviewed… more |
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The Japanese Destroyer Suzutsuki. TopDrawings No. 128Published:
Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy! Kagero Publishing, from Poland, in TopDrawings No. 128, details the appearance of the apex of WW2 Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers, the Akizuki class Suzutsuki (Calm Moon) in 1945. The TopDrawings series is designed for modelers to have an accurate reference for detailed appearances of individual ships and aircraft. TopDrawings consist of glossy color covers with matte black & white (B&W) line drawings of the ship, particular features, and equipment, especially armament. But the main attraction is the separate, large foldout of B&W scale drawings – 1/200 in this book. Suzutsuki looks huge (over two feet long) in the foldout, supplying plenty of tiny details I have not seen before. This book is the… more |
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Danger Forward. The Forgotten Wars of General Paul F. GormanPublished:
Danger Forward is the title, but you will read how the book could have been titled Danger 360. The stuff of which good movies should be made. This hard-to-put-down book reads fast and easy with a you-were-there feel that covers key US military efforts from WW2 to the mid 1980s, when General Gorman retired. He is still alive at 94 years in Virginia. The author, Mike Guardia, came out with the first book on Hal Moore, and the resulting movie with Mel Gibson, which catapulted him to the Top 100 authors in the US, and he continues his excellence and making history palpable and more exciting then when the reader lived through it and remembers with the adventures of Paul Gorman. What You GetThe book is 8.5x5.5 inch size with 295 pages and front/back covers (in color). The… more |
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The Development of Crude Oil Tankers. A Historical MiscellanyPublished:
Thanks to Casemate Publishing & IPMSUSA for the review copy! Casemate Publishers presents The Development of Crude Oil Tankers. A Historical Miscellany by Dr. Ray Solly. This book is a large hardbound with glossy pages chock full of photographs, detailed line drawings, and explanations of how tanker design progressed to the present day. Our current lifestyles and national security depend on these ships, so learning more about them is a joy. Learn why supertankers are the safest and most regulated form of transportation in the world. The author, Dr. Ray Solly, started as a Navigation Officer in the Merchant Marine, including supertankers. His hobby was coasters, smaller tankers dispersing oil and petroleum goods to smaller markets. Dr. Solly was a schoolmaster for… more |
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Mar Verde - The Portuguese Amphibious Assault on Conakry, 1970 - Africa @ War Series No. 55Published:
Headlines: Cold War Intrigue. Secret MilOps. Prison Camp Raid! Merry Band of Mercs & Rebels Overthrowing a Corrupt Regime. Freedom Fighters vs. Commies. Sean-Connery-James-Bond Style / Peter Graves Style Mission Impossible Skullduggery. Government Disavowal of Actions. Records Expunged. Postmortem Analysis From Forgotten Document. Guinea is the setting of this Africa@War Series book, describing the little-known commando assault by Portuguese and Guinean ex-pats to overthrow the current government and rescue Portuguese prisoners to thwart the Guinea guerilla tactics trying to overthrow and absorb neighboring Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau). The author, Jose Augusto Matos, is an independent researcher on Portuguese military history, especially the colonial wars… more |
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The British Battleship HMS VanguardPublished:
Kagero Publishing, from Poland, in TopDrawings No. 123, exhibits the largest, fastest and last British battleship, HMS Vanguard, in all its glory as the world’s largest yacht for royalty. Also, the last battleship ever launched. The TopDrawings series is designed for modelers to have a reference for detailed appearances of individual ships and aircraft. TopDrawings consist of color covers with black & white (B&W) line drawings of the ship, particular features, and equipment, especially armament (including aircraft). But the main attraction is the separate, large foldout of B&W scale drawings – 1/400 in this book, to match existing model kits. Just before World War 2, Britain’s battleships were aging, slow and the latest design, the King George V class, was not… more |
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The French Battleship Jean BartPublished:
Kagero Publishing, from Poland, in TopDrawings No. 125, illustrates the last commissioned battleship of the French Marine Nationale – Jean Bart, in his final fit in 1956. The TopDrawings series is designed for modelers to have a reference for detailed appearances of individual ships and aircraft. TopDrawings consist of color covers with black & white (B&W) line drawings of the ship, particular features, and equipment, especially armament. But the main attraction is the separate, large foldout of B&W scale drawings – 1/400 in this book, to match existing model kits – and now there are full color profiles in 1/400 scale. This TopDrawings is a go-to reference for building or scratchbuilding the Jean Bart as a waterline or full hull model. The author, Witold Koszela,… more |
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WWII USN Crane Barges II YD98Published:
Thanks to DragonUSA for supplying the resin/PE set for review and IPMSUSA staff for handling the request and publishing this review. Special thanks to Dave Morrissette who forwarded this kit to me after I and everyone else refused to review it in 2014. I said it would take me a while to get to it, but better late than never! Apologies to DragonUSA for the delay. YD98 is still available! Photoetch Set ReviewLionRoar has produced a line of WW2 US Navy barges, either mixed resin + photoetch or all metal photoetch. This small box kit is the US Navy Crane Barge YD98, in service during WW2 and into the 1960s at Mare Island, California. Kit has 17 parts (2 resin, 15 steel PE), and a simple instruction sheet (front & back) for PE folding and assembly. 1/700 crane barges… more |
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The Battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Vol. IIPublished:
Bottom LineVolume 2 of the WW2 German Kriegsmarine battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau focuses on the career and appearance of DKM Gneisenau. Volume I gives more info on Gneisenau than anything previous – an extensive narrative history along with many B&W photos, a section of high-quality, large-scale photographs, stunning 3D graphic “visualizations” of her various fits, two large foldout sheets of 1/200 line drawings (four sides), a foldout sheet in 1/72 scale for the floatplanes and 3D glasses for the 3D photos. A modeler and historian could not ask for better references. BackgroundKagero Publishing, from Poland, is one of the major military history publishing houses. Since 1998, when Kagero started publishing in English, over 550 titles have been… more |
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WWII USN Crane Barge II YD98Published:
Thanks to DragonUSA for supplying the resin/PE set for review and IPMSUSA staff for handling the request and publishing this review. Special thanks to Dave Morrissette who forwarded this kit to me after I and everyone else refused to review it in 2014. I said it would take me a while to get to it, but better late than never! Apologies to DragonUSA for the delay. YD98 is still available! Brief HistoryCranes are ubiquitous at harbor dockyards. Some are permanently mounted on a flat barge, and towed to wherever they are needed. Unlike warships and auxiliary ships, information on barges is rare and suspect. In 1941, the US Navy received YD78, built by Washington Iron Works. Photographs of YD98 are usually in the background from other ship photos, but there is on side… more |