Eagle Reviews

Soon after the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Soviets were poised to impose Communism on all of Europe. Poland, just resurrected after having been conquered and subjugated for 123 years, stood in the way. Davies, an English historian, recounts the heroism of the Poles, under Pilsudski's leadership, in repelling the fresh Russian invasion of Poland that was to eventually continue to the rest of Europe. At the same time, Pilsudski possessed the foresight and discipline not to attempt to set Poland's eastern borders too far east at the expense of the Byelorussians and Ukrainians. It is ironic that the so-called Curzon line, purely a line of armistice between the Polish and Russian forces, was later to be made by Stalin as Poland's eastern frontier. It is also sad to realize that the Polish achievement was only met with European ingratitude. In fact,who knows how the course of history would have been different had the Soviets succeeded in imposing Communism on much or all of Europe back in the early 1920's!

Few people are aware of the war described by Norman Davies. In 1920, the Polish David defeated the Soviet Goliath. This, at very least, spared Eastern Europe from Communism for 25 years. Possibly, Communism would have gone on to global conquest had it not been for the outcome of this battle.

If you are interested in aviation history, a fan of vintage aircraft, a modelling enthusiast or a student of middle European affairs in the twentieth century, this book is - quite simply - a gem. The publishers, Hikoki, have an enviable reputation for high quality books which tackle unusual subjects (the air war in Biafra, the Coronation fly-past, photo-reconnaissance in south-east Asia in WWII are recent examples) and make them seem indispensable. This book on the Polish Air Force (1918-39) is one of their VERY best. A hardback of 302 pages, it contains nearly 470 black and white photos and 131 colour profile side-views to accompany the text which is split into three main sections. The first deals with the short period 1918-20 which saw the reconstitution of Poland after 120 years of divided serfdom to Russia, Germany and Austria, only to find itself in an immediate shooting war against Russian Bolsheviks. The fledgling Polish Air Force was equipped with an assortment of ex-German, French and White Russian planes and the authors deal with the overall progress of the conflict plus individual unit histories. The second section covers the inter-war period of 1920-38. For a newly-emerged nation with no WWI aircraft industry, Poland developed some extremely attractive aircraft, of which the most famous - the PZL parasol gull-winged fighter series - get pride of place. The suppression of coups-d'etat and sabre-rattling against Lithuania and Czechoslovakia are minor punctuations of the years of peace that precede section three - 1939. Some seventy pages are devoted to the annihilation of Polish forces by Germany in just over two weeks, the disbanding of air force units and the exodus of flyers and ground crew to join other air forces. There are further short sections on Polish Naval Aviation and Balloon Units, together with numerous maps, tables of aircraft and aero engine production, armaments, losses, personnel, Orders of Battle, glossaries of Polish terms and pronunciation and more. The text is very readable, but it is serious, factual and dense and may not suit those who like their history "chatty". Some colour profiles are accompanied by planform views, most are not. These points aside, the overall verdict is EXCELLENT. You get an awful lot for your money and five stars hardly seems enough.

Linda has done a terrific job of creating a story that is entertaining and enlightening.

This is a story about a teenage girl and her family who are struggling to accept the death of their mother. It's difficult to continue living when someone you love is gone. With God's help and the love and guidance of a friend Wakara and her family learn how to live one day at a time, exercising perseverence and trust even in the toughest circumstances.

The characters and situations in this book feel real and the story is exciting. I had a hard time putting it down.

Although this book is written for young adults it's good for us old adults, too. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

The book starts out simple - Old friends reuniting. But things change when spacecraft disappear and zombes appear.

Outstanding reading!!! This is the sixth book I've read of the Stareagle Adventures by Sydney DeFraites, III. He really goes out on a limb to keep you interested in the books!

Keep them coming!!

Six years ago, historians, Wesley Phillips Newton and Jerome A. Ennels, proposed a series of articles on the history of Maxwell Air Force Base to the Advertiser. The series that began in 1992, ended on October 8 1997 at a book signing and reception for the authors of "The Wisdom of Eagles: A History of Maxwell Air Force Base" at the Court Street offices of Black Belt Press. Both authors possess expertise in air power history. Ennels served as Director of History for Air University from 1977 to 1981, and as director of Maxwell AFB's Office of History since then. Newton served as a contract historian at the Air Force Historical Division from 1957 to 1961. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Auburn University, where he taught from 1964 to his retirement in 1987. Before proceeding with this review, I need to post a disclaimer: Wes Newton and Jerome Ennels are friends of mine. Having said that, I want to say that The Wisdom of Eagles is everything I expected it to be, plus some significant things I didn't expect. I expected to read about brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, and their flying machine. What I didn't expect was to read that some of the first people in Montgomery to see an airplane in flight may have been the black residents of Douglassville. Former slaves established the community of Douglassville after the Civil War, then, as free black men and women, continued to work the land as sharecroppers. The same flat land West of Montgomery at a bend in the Alabama River, became the home of the Wright Flying School at the turn of the century, and of Maxwell AFB today. I expected that authors, Ennels and Newton, would write about Montgomery's famous couple, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. As authors, how could they miss the opportunity to write a few words about arguably the most famous author ever? They took advantage of the opportunity and wrote a few words about the man who penned The Great Gatsby by describing some of the escapades of his bride, Montgomery's native daughter and original jazz age flapper, Zelda Sayre. They wrote about young pilots who "were reputed to have buzzed her home on the outskirts of downtown [Montgomery]." I didn't expect to read that [in 1942], "When a War Department-sponsored white lecturer visited Maxwell...Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald again defied local mores as one of two white Montgomery women who escorted him to Tuskegee." I expected and found it very interesting to read about the famous bands and entertainers, like Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Lena Horne who visited the area. Most performed in Tuskegee, entertaining black cadets learning to fly the Army Air Corps' combat aircraft during World War II. I didn't expect the many wonderful pictures that authors Ennels and Newton included in the book, like the one of World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Joe Lewis, when he fought at Maxwell as Sergeant Lewis. They have also included a rich pictorial album of local personalities. Most of all I really didn't expect that I would believe The Wisdom of Eagles, at 200-plus pages, was too short. But, I do. With this book, Jerome Ennels and Wes Newton have "raised the bar" for professional historians. The Wisdom of Eagles is the first comprehensive history of a U.S. Military installation by professional historians that explores the social, economic, operational, and educational aspects of events. The authors masterfully wrote of a military base in Montgomery, Alabama, at a time when race relations in the South shamed America, without dishonoring anyone. Ennels and Newton bring the military history of Montgomery to life and they do it without using racial stereotypes or omitting worthwhile history to protect traditional stereotypes. Because they wrote in a style that should become a standard -- history that includes all of us -- I am nominating Jerome Ennels and Wesley Newton as candidates for the Montgomery Advertiser's Black History "Difference Makers.

I read this book years ago, and was left inspired and sometimes tearful at the way Oglesby forced me to confront not just my inadequacies, but the value I have in the eyes of God. This book isn't really an easy read; the modern-day tale of the Prodigal Son and his Older Brother is mingled with the revelation of how each of us carries traits of both the lost child and the child who never wanders but loses his soul within himself. And the moments when the Prodigal returns, as well as the final drama, are life-changing. It breaks my heart that this book is out-of-print; maybe with enough demand, it will see the light of publishing day again!

Kinkade's "With Wings Like Eagles" will restore a sense of pride in America to even the most hardened cynic. Biblical passages are woven with reflections on our country's history to show that our nation does indeed have a purpose in God's plan. Given what the citizens of America went through with the 2000 presidential election, it would be easy to lose heart about our political process. But just sitting a while with this book, and reflecting on the great but simple values that built this country, will rouse in the reader a sense of pride and purpose that goes beyond political partisanship and bickering. With Wings Like Eagles shows, both through its writings and Kinkade's paintings, that the greatness of America lies not only in its Constitution but on the moral fiber and values of its individual citizens.

Jeffrey Ethell put together a wonderful collection of original WWII vintage color pictures of military aircraft, primarily from the European Theater of Operations. The book is light on text, but the pictures more than make up for this shortcoming. Mr. Ethell, who unfortunately died in a crash of a P-38 in 1997, was a foremost authority of military aircraft and amassed an amazing collection of color photographs from WWII. Just a small fraction of these are displayed in this wonderful book. If you are a fan of WWII military aircraft, this book is a must for your collection.

BAND OF BROTHERS is about the close relationship of the soldiers who volunteered for Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. It follows them through Normandy, the Arnhem campaign in Holland, The Battle of The Bulge, and the capture of Berchtesgaden, Hitler's Eagle's Nest. I had previously read Ambrose's CITIZEN SOLDIERS, which had enough characters to make a Russian novelist proud. Like a journalist, Ambrose would fully identify a soldier the first time he's mentioned, then assume the reader knows whom he's talking about thereafter. With BAND OF BROTHERS there's more of a focus. Captain Herbert Sobel, the first C.O. of Easy Company gets a lot of attention. Sobel was a training officer, pretty much hated by the men. Lieutenant Richard Winters, who was cool under fire, is the exact opposite. Forty-seven years later he still receives letters from some of the regular troopers. Of the enlisted men, I found Pvt. David Webster the most intriguing. Before the war, he was a Harvard English Lit major. Ambrose uses the book he wrote about his war experience extensively.
An especially interesting part of the book was the part about the troopers' relationships with French, Dutch, Belgium, and German civilians. Their attitude toward the Germans was rather surprising.
Ambrose provides an epilogue where he details what became of the men after the war: An inordinate number of them became teachers or were involved in the construction trade. Several became millionaires. The most tragic case is that of First Sergeant Talbert, who never was able to shake the trauma of war.
If you have as much respect for the soldiers who fought in WWII as I do, you will find BAND OF BROTHERS a compelling read.

Since reading Citizen Soldiers about a year ago, Stephen Ambrose has been one of my favorite military historians. Having read several different unit histories before, I found Band of Brothers a refreshing exception. Choosing more personal level instead of usual "platoon this did that while being supported by X squad" is an excellent way of telling about small unit actions. Ambrose follows 1944-1945 Screaming Eagles' European battles mainly through certain members of E company. He has chosen just the right level of telling their (E company's) story without writing too much about same person at a time or certain battle or other happening. While reading this book one finds out that these elite soldiers were just ordinary men with same problems all other people had at that time. This book isn't some serious tactical study but a true war story which has been told just like war stories should be told.

Apart from this book I also highly recommend Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers and D-Day for all those who are interested about US Army in western Europe during later part of WW2.

This is a great book. If you like to read about war, then read this book. It is about Easy Company and the part they played in WWII. They were a group of paratroopers who all volunteered because they got paid more. The members of Easy Company Got paid $50 more than the normal troops got paid. Every check they got they got $100 instead of $50.
I saw the series on HBO and really liked it so, I thought I would read the book because I thought it would be very good. After I read it, I thought it was one of the greatest books I have ever read. The entire book is an account of Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from the drop in Normandy to Hitler's Eagle nest in Austria. Overall it is a very well written book. Ambrose is a great author.