BOOK REVIEW: Potez 63-11: Colour & Scale 05  

by Marek Rys and Teodur Liviu Morosanu.   

Softcover (8.3x11.8 inches). 16 pages. 2024.  

Subtitle: France 1940

This booklet offers six 1/72 Potez 63 black and white plan drawings for those who like to build their aircraft. In addition, it contains 24 color camouflage aircraft profile illustrations and one color unit image illustration for those that paint up their miniatures or models. Captions include colors and other details.

Yes, my review essentially repeats, but this series is all about delivering color profiles and black and white plans. Excellent work.

Enjoyed it.

BOOK REVIEW: Break Contact Continue Mission   

by Raymond D. Harris.   

Hardback (6.2x9.3 inches). 288 pages. 2024.   

This novel by a Vietnam vet who performed recon missions across the border in Laos is better than the usual expert turned fiction writer with a well-developed lead character, Sgt. Garner, and a good selection of supporting characters. The prose is generally good as well.

The missions involve a helicopter drop and intel recon, sometimes involving a prisoner grab. The flight and fight details as well as barracks and R&R, offer tidbits of life in the special forces.

The book contains six black and white photos.

I'm not sure how much is true and how much embellished, but as the epilogue notes, it's a combination of characters and situations Harris encountered in 1969-1970, complete with photos. There's certainly enough to create a few infiltration scenarios that may or may not end in running firefights -- and a goodly amount of airpower.

Enjoyed it.

BOOK REVIEW: The Unlikely War Hero  

by Marc Leepson.   

Hardback (6.3x9.3 inches). 233 pages. 2024.  

Subtitle: A Vietnam War POW's Story of Courage and Resilience in the Hanoi Hilton

Biography of Neavy seaman Doug Hegdahl, who fell off or was blown off the USS Canberra by gun concussion off the coast of North Vietnam. Rescued by fishermen, he was transported to the Hanoi Hilton POW compound. Tortured, starved, and interrogated, he defied the North Vietnamese guards by playing dumb and pretending to not know how to read or write very well.

Being the only enlisted man in a camp full of pilot officers, he could get away with the ruse. With less oversight at times than his fellow POWS, he could move around the camp and sometimes outside. In the process, Hegdahl memorized the names, ranks, and personal details of 254 POWs at a time when North Vietnam refused to turn over POW names.

Released early, he recited the names to US officials, who changed the status of about a quarter of those from MIA to POW. He made appearances across the US for a year as the Nixon Administration changed policy on US POWs from ignoring them to demanding North Vietnam release names and adhere to Geneva Convention protocols on POW treatment.

The book contains 13 black and white photos.

It's an interesting and well-told tale of cleverness under pressure.

Enjoyed it.

BOOK REVIEW: From the Battlefield to the Big Screen   

by Melody Foreman.   

Hardback (6.5x9.5 inches). 246 pages. 2022.  

Subtitle: Audie Murphy, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Dirk Bogarde in WW2

In some ways, this is neither a fish nor fowl book. The subtitle promises the wartime exploits of the actors and actress on the cover -- and it does, but...it's only a small part of the book. It is often combined with summaries of WWII history and mini-bios of other actors and actresses as well as some wartime colleagues. Most of the text discusses their acting resumes, which can directly tie in with their service in movies about WWII.

First off, the lack of a Vivian Leigh photo on the cover also indicates the lack of an extensive biography. She was married to Olivier and gets a slightly more detailed mini-biography than other actors.

As for the three leading men, you get a fairly good litany of the films they starred on, or at least appeared in, along with a decent encapsulation of wartimes service.

Murphy served with the US 3rd Division in Africa, Italy, and France, initially in non-combat roles. Later, and famously as depicted in To Hell and Back, he'd been in combat and received a battlefield promotion for his exploits.

Olivier learned how to fly in the US, cracking up three planes in the process, and ached to join the RAF in combat. Alas, being 33 and considered too old, he joined the UK Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and flew the flights for gunner training. Here, he crashed into two aircraft while taxing. Bored with being a glorified air taxi, he went back into films to shore up British morale. Henry V was a tad too late for morale purposes (1944), but proved a wartime success.

Leigh got bored playing the dutiful pilot wife and joined the British equivalent of the USO and gave recitations and other performances to British troops in North Africa before returning to stage and screen in the UK.

Bogarde is an actor who sounded familiar, but I couldn't place him. He drifted a bit in the military during WWII before becoming an ace RAF photo interpreter. His work for Bomber Command proved fruitful and he was transferred after VE Day to India for photo intelligence work. He then headed to Indonesia and became an aide to a general before heading back home.

As you might expect, the text is sprinkled with mentions of other famous actors and actresses. Like any industry, you hang around long enough, are talented enough, and get lucky enough, you'll ascend through the ranks to the top tier. Of course, a "name" helps pull in other "names" for various projects, good and bad.

The book contains 33 black and white photos and three black and white illustrations.

My interest faded in and out as I read. At times, it was a compelling read and at other times, reciting reviews from movie critics about films I never heard of proved deadly dull. Their service proved the most interesting, but that would have made for a good magazine article, not the length of a book. Still, the intertwining of names as they meet and careers merge and part was mildly interesting. Ties go to the author.

Enjoyed it.

BOOK REVIEW: Armies of Anglo-Saxon England 410-1066  

by Gabriele Esposito.   

Hardback (6.5x9.5 inches). 159 pages. 2022.  

Subtitle: History, Organization & Equipment

Subtitle: Armies of the Past

The Armies of the Past series offers a good overview of a particular army of a particular period. In this case, it's Britons and Anglo-Saxons from 410 to 1066. The text offers a considerable amount of history, including touching on Arthur, Alfred the Great, and a host of squabbling royal families and warlords who sought to unite Briton or at least stave off being overrun by Vikings and other invaders.

The 108 sharp color photos of re-enactors pepper the pages of the book -- and provide contact information as well for the UK-based groups. Many photos are full-figure shots, but a considerable number of them are close-ups of specific aspects of weapons, armor, equipment, and uniforms. Chapters of text explain the lot. Miniature painters and modelers will appreciate the imagery.

One non-fatal typo (p108): "Nor dman foot" should read "Norman foot."

About the only nit I'll pick is that the bibliography is a bit dated. The earliest book is from 1977 and the latest is from 2020. Now, there's nothing wrong with referencing earlier books, including the 1980 WRG book Armies of the Dark Ages 600-1066, but I'm wondering if there had been "new" archeological information, library research, or interpretations about inter-kingdom/warlord relations. Maybe they were consulted. Maybe the Parker chronicle and the Laud chronicle translations were consulted. I can only use the bibliography as a guide. My guess? Most gamers will not worry about it and enjoy the compact military history and uniform details. I certainly did.

Enjoyed it.