In a follow-up to the Bay of Pigs' attempt to oust Fidel Castro from power in Cuba came the events leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. This 37^th book in the Helion & Company Latin America at War series provides daily insights into the identification, escalation, and resolution that took place from January 1961 through December 1962. The author, Linda Rios Bromley, takes the reader into meeting rooms, briefings, and events that took place during one of the most critical events of the post-WW2 world during the 20^th century.

Ian Baxter has done it again. Not only is he an amazing, captivating author, he once more approached a very difficult topic, and did it well, presenting the horrifying facts in a manner that honors the dead, but doesn’t sugar coat it. This book follows the familiar Images of War format with brief introductions for each chapter followed by a lot of photographs to complement his topics.

Between the covers of this (9.6”x7.4”) paperback book are 144 pages, with over 250 black and white photographs, and two very detailed appendices, is the story of the Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camps during 1944 and 1945. It is composed of the following:

Human beings sure like to squabble, and the more history they share, the more enmity they seem to feel. America is little over 200 years old, and has had only one internal conflict during that time, and yet it still impacts the country to this day.Imagine, then, a region occupied for millenia2, and the potential only increases.

India and Pakistan have been at each other’s throats since the day of partition, and the author Ravi Rikhye, does a good job of explaining the incredible complexities of the hostility for the average reader.Suffice it to say that my head was buzzing after reading the introduction. It’s very hard for someone not born in that part of the world to really understand what the grievances are. The author himself states flatly that writing history is a subjective experience, and that there are no “bad guys” or “good guys” in this struggle. After reading the entire book I have to agree.

ICM is a hobby company based out of Ukraine. They have provided IPMS/USA a six (6) bottle acrylic paint set for review.

In the Box

The paint set contains six (6) 12ml bottles with nontoxic water based acrylic paints. The following colors are provided:

• Camouflage Green (1071)
• White (1001)
• Olive Green (1068)
• Aluminum (1023)
• Black (1002)
• Varnish Satin (2002)

Straight out of the bottle, the paint’s viscosity is thick and purposely prepared for brush painting. The instructions do recommend thinning 40-60% with water or thinner for airbrushing. All surfaces are recommended to have primer applied prior to painting. Volume wise, the paint takes up about 70% of the bottle and has “room” to add thinner if so desired.

Note, the bottles are not the usual dropper style (think Vallejo) but a twist off cap and a large opening to allow brushes to enter the bottle.

Green Stuff World (GSW) is a company based out of Spain. It is specialized in the design and production of tools, paints, and other types of resources for modeling, crafts, and wargames. GSW has provided IPMS?USA with a sample bottle of Maxx Darth Blackest Black acrylic paint for review. The website product description states it has a light absorption rate of 98.9%. For this review six (6) other brands of black paint will be compared to Maxx Darth Blackest Black.

In the Bottle

The paint comes in a 17ml bottle and is a nontoxic water-based acrylic. Inside the bottle is an agitator ball to help mix when shaking which is great, since the paint has a thick consistency.