Hesketh Reviews

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Book reviews for "Hesketh" sorted by average review score:
Sniping in France
Published in Hardcover by R & R Books (March, 1996)
Author: H. Hesketh-Prichard
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A seminal book, of continuing relevance in the 1990s
Despite some imperfections of style and editing, which may be accounted for by the fact that the author was more concerned about doing a job effectively rather than with the finer points of authorship and literary presentation - this is a key work on the emergence of sniping among the British and their allies in the first world war, in response to highly effective German sniper units, and on the contribution that was made by men (enlisted and officers) who had a background in hunting and rifle shooting for precision accuracy. As a historical record it is essential, along with McBride's "A Rifleman Went to War". It may also be seen in context if read alongside Capt. Clifford Shore's "With British Snipers to the Reich", which continues the history of sniping through the second world war, and shows its second resurgence in this century. A book of great importance and practical value to military historians, modern soldiers, target shooters and those who hunt wild game animals.

Hesketh Pritchard was one of the greatest ever snipers
In the 1990s people have no reason to know much about war. Sniping is the very essence of war - one man deliberately killing another, in cold blood. Hesketh Prichard was a British soldier in the Great War (WW1) who was largely responsible for the much needed renaissance of sniping in the British Army. This book is about how he established the sniper school and raised the standard of sniping in Flanders. It also offers insights into the beurocratic mentality that would rather see less change and more casualties in an army than more change and fewer casualties. Not, perhaps, a phenomenon restricted to that army or that time - ask anyone who survived the fall of Singapore, the Vietnam war, or the Atlantic before the convoy system was reintroduced. Further, it offers insight into the peculiar mentality required of a sniper. Any infantry officer should read this book, as should any feminist who feels that as a matter of principle women should serve in all combat arms. It may help the former avoid costly mistakes; it might open the eyes of the latter to the grim realities of war, and show why, perhaps. potential mothers should not be in the front line.

Wet Scrubbers, Second Edition
Published in Paperback by Technomic Pub Co (20 February, 1996)
Authors: Kenneth C. Schifftner and Howard E. Hesketh Ph.D.
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Outstanding
I worked for a year designing/specifying/sizing wet scrubbers, and this book was open on my desk the whole time. It's fantastic.

A must-read for air pollution control practitioners.
The NST/Engineers, Inc. reviewers found that the authors, Kenneth Schifftner, Product/District Manager for Bionomics Industries, and Howard Hesketh, Professor of Engineering (Retired), Air Pollution Control, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, have provided a most useful resource to the pollution control community. Mr. Schifftner is the patentee of a scrubber with unusual capabilities, the Catenary Grid ®, also described in the book. The reviewers, having successfully applied that scrubber design to a high solids-loading, toxic, plant exhaust stream in one case, and to a toxic plant exhaust stream, in an urban setting near a school, can attest to the soundness of the application principles described in the book.

The authors have demonstrated again in this second edition the practical value of their more than fifty-year experience in wet scrubber research, development, and plant installations. They cover every important type of wet scrubber for industrial and municipal applications. Practical considerations are highlighted throughout. As an example, they describe twenty-three considerations for successful gas absorption in liquid streams. Provision of design methods, reference data, and typical calculations lead users to the proper choices for scrubbing equipment and the auxiliary systems for the wide range of gaseous, misty, and particulate-loaded conditions that all pollution control practitioners face.

Where Black rules white; a journey across and about Hayti
Published in Unknown Binding by Irish University Press ()
Author: Hesketh Vernon Hesketh Prichard
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Where Black Rules White
This book was written at the turn of the 19th Century. I lived in Haiti for a year, and Mr Pritchard's descriptions are penetratingly accurate, and his predictions uncannily correct. His writing skills are of the very highest order, and his extraordinary experiences combined with his sense of humour make for an absolute gem of a book. For those interested in the History of Haiti, this book must not be missed.

Actual after one hundred years
This is a very interesting book. It was written in the begining of century, but stills actual after one hundred years. The author - the english journalist Hesketh Prichard, from the "Daily Express" - depicts his impressions of a journey across and about Haiti. He found a country where the black race rules after a century, which was a rarity in 1900 (just Liberia and Ethiopia, at the time, had black governments, too). Although the author shows simpathy for the ordinary haitian people, the opinion that he gives from the country is far away to be positive. Here, in his opinion, we find a place,curiously, like post-colonial Africa 60 years later, where who really rules is widespread corruption, exarcebated but ridiculous militarism (an army with 7.000 men had 6.500 generals and 7.000 brigadiers), venal judges, police brutality, intimidation of free press,continuous political instability (during one hundred years, none president of Haiti was able to end his term), and, last but not the least, susperstition and witchcraft. I will end my commentary, quoting the author himself: "Today in Haiti we come to the real crux of the question. At the end of a hundred years of trial, how does the black man governs himself? What progress has he made? Absolutely none. When he undertakes the task of government, he does so, not with the intent of promoting the public weal, but for the sake of filing his own pocket. His motto is still, "Pluck the fowl, but take care she does not cry out". Corruption has spread through every portion and every department of the Government. Almost all the ills of the country may be traced to their source in tiranny, the ineptitude, and the improbity of those at the helm of state. (...) Can the negro rule himself? Is he congenitally capable? (...) Today, and as matters stands, he certainly cannot rule himself". Worth reading book, wrote in a fine literary english.

Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life
Published in Audio CD by Naxos Audio Books (October, 2001)
Authors: Hesketh Pearson and Tim Pigott-Smith
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Reveals Doyle's many other accomplishments
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) is best known as the creator of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. This outstanding biography by Hesketh Pearson (and wonderfully narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith) reveals Doyle's many other accomplishments, including how he came to the profession of medicine, his activities as a war correspondent, his eventual interest in spiritualism, as well as his many other writings. Ironically, Doyle felt his Sherlock Holmes stories to be the least of his literary works while prizing his now largely forgotten major historical novels. Here too is the story of Doyle as a husband, including the death of his first wife and the enduring affection of his second marriage. A true "rags to riches" tale, Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life is a technically flawless production with musical interludes and cues that is a "must" for anyone who has ever thrilled at one of his immortal stories.

Dizzy: The Life and Nature of Benjamin Disraeli : Earl of Beaconsfield
Published in Hardcover by Greenwood Publishing Group (June, 1975)
Author: Hesketh Pearson
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An Interesting Tale about An Interesting Fellow
This is an excellent biography of Benjamin D'Israeli. Pearson has nicely captured D'Israeli's life. He allows you to get to know D'Israeli during his many pursuits and love of travel. However, D'Israeli's written and political accomplishments are more so mentioned than that of his personal or private life. As a biography of a politician one may expect it to be very dry, but this is one biography that is not. If anyone is interested in D'Israeli and wants to be bombarded with dates and figures of his life than this is not the book to get, but if one is looking for a good read with a feeling of satisfaction at the end this is it.

Happy Reading

In Control: A Cancer Victim Describes His Struggle to Gain Control of His Mind and Body
Published in Paperback by Nova Kroshka Books (01 November, 1996)
Author: Frederick A. Hesketh
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In Control
This is an outstanding story of triumph in the life and death struggle with the disease of cancer. The author discribes how to move beyond fear to action, the power of hope and faith, and the importance of being an equal partner in one's own treatment. This should be required reading for every medical student. I strongly believe anybody diagnosed with cancer or loves someone with cancer should read this book.

A Life of Shakespeare
Published in Audio CD by Naxos Audio Books (April, 2001)
Authors: Hesketh Pearson, Simon Russell Beale, David Timson, Daniel Philpott, and Caroline Faber
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An excellent reading of a thought-provoking biography
A new addition to the generally excellent series of Naxos Audio Books is Hesketh Pearson's (NA 221612). Here we have a 2:27 hour abridgment read by the now internationally known British actor Simon Russell Beale, with very short scenes read by David Timson, Daniel Philpott, and Caroline Faber.

Many scholars might carp at the choice of authors, since Pearson takes things from an actor's point of view; and a good deal of his assumptions are based on the "fact" that running a theater back then differed little from Pearson's own experiences in that field.

He tries to run a careful course between using passages from the plays as "proof" that Shakespeare must have thought thus and so and realizing that what a character says in a play may not (and probably doesn't) reflect the author's personal point of view. (Often the former method is valid. For example, Shakespeare almost never makes a positive reference to dogs or a negative one to highly spiced foods. One can reasonably assume he disliked dogs and bland food.)

Yet Pearson often makes statements that rest on lines from the plays but do not really prove anything. Can we really take Othello's plea before killing himself as Shakespeare's own? Especially annoying is basing claims that the actor Shakespeare played certain parts on mere say so's that have been passed on from one generation to the other. It would be nice to know, for example, that Shakespeare acted the Prologue to "Henry V" so he could point to himself as "the bending author"; but this seems wish-fantasy on Pearson's part rather than even reasonable surmise. But Pearson is never boring and that is what also counts in a recorded reading such as this one.

Beale's delivery cannot be faulted, nor can the short contributions of the three assistants. I know that I will play this many times again, especially on long car rides. I opted for the CD version (which I transferred to tape for the car), and there are enough tracking cues to make finding what you want pretty easy. Highly recommended.

The Oncogene and Tumour Suppressor Gene Factsbook
Published in Paperback by Academic Press (15 January, 1997)
Author: Robin Hesketh
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The Oncogene and Tumor Suppressor Gene Factsbook (Factsbook)
This book is highly recommended for the academically smart. I have never read a better book for learning about tumour's and oncogenes. If you are looking to improve your knowledge of tumours and mutations, then this book will more than satisfy your needs. I found that I couldn't tear mysef away from this book, as the information just goes on and on. This is an absolute must-buy, for the scientifically correct. Well done Robin- you're a right boomere!

The Life of Oscar Wilde
Published in Audio CD by Naxos Audio Books (October, 1995)
Authors: Hesketh Pearson and Simon Russell Beale
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Comprehensive, sympathetic, authoritative.
This is the book that helped resurrect the reputation of one of the most tragic figures in English literature. When this book was originally published, Wilde was nowhere near the iconic figure he is now accepted as. Dying in poverty and disgrace in 1900 in Paris, (where all "bad" Englishmen went in the 19th century!) Wilde was still anathema to the "Establishment" for close to a half century afterward. Today, a bust stands in Westminster Abbey, and Hesketh Pearson's biography can claim a good measure of the credit for it. Comprehensive, detailed and sympathetic without being hagiographic, this book is essential to understanding the enigmatic genius of Oscar Wilde.

Fortitude: The D-Day Deception Campaign
Published in Hardcover by Overlook Press (02 November, 2000)
Authors: Roger Hesketh and Nigel West
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VERY dry
I'm a big fan of this topic area, yet had to force myself to keep reading this one until I finally gave up. The problem is that the author writes this as really an "after-action report" to his superiors, so the prose is extremely heavy on orginizational details. Just to give you a flavor, here are passages from two pages chosen at random:
(1, p. 91): "It now became necessary to provide FUSAG with armies of its own. This wa done on the one hand by fictitiously detaching the First Canadian Army from 21 Army Group and putting it under the command of FUSAG"
(2, p. 275):"Under the new scheme, Three would be at the head, 7(2) would be called in to act as freelance, taking the place of Seven in that respect. The territory of 7 (4) would be enlarged to include Kent as well as Sussex, thus filling the gap caused by 7 (2)'s departure. 7(7) and 3(3) would continue as before, the former in the Eastern counties and the latter in Scotland".

I hope you get my point - authoritative and detailed, but not exactly a page-turner.

Inside account and thorough but a little dry
For WWII buffs this book will prove to be invaluable. The level of detail (specifically quotes from actually documents and interviews with captured German generals)will intrigue anyone who has ever wondered how we managed to get a foot hold in Europe in 1944.

The only negatives associated with this book are the lack of writing style (this man was, actually, not a professional writer) and a certain amount of data overload concerning formations, locations, and dates.

My suggestion is to read it slowly and don't mind if you find yourself skipping of a an Armoured Division here or an Infantry Division there. Just keep track of the narrative and you will be surprised at how 'tight' the story ends up being. Also, don't forget to skim the appendicies for some interesting perspective on how experts 'thought' the war in Europe would go.

Overall this is an excellent book for interested parties. If you don't have a strong interest in WWII or spycraft I would consider lighter fare.

They fooled Hitler, Rommel, and the German High Command.
This book is very detailed. "The author actually wrote the account at the end of the war, but its publication was delayed until the principal participants died or came out of hiding." (Thats all I should have to say.) I would highly recommend this book (hence the 5/5 stars). They fooled Hitler, Rommel, and the German High Command. How? Well, read this baby and you'll know how. (Project Fortitude) This goes beyond the inflatable tanks, fake radio broadcasts, double agents, spies, and etc. There are several intresting documents, too. I read and purchase several history books and documentaries. I must admit that I’m only 3/4 through. This book is worth the money!!! I could yap on instead check out an excerpt. Have FUN :-)

Chapter One

Early Planning

The decision to invade France in 1944 was taken at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. General Morgan was appointed Chief of Staff to the future Supreme Commander and established his headquarters at Norfolk House, St James's Square, in April of that year. On 26th April he received a directive from the Combined Chiefs of Staff which, besides instructing him to prepare plans for a full-scale assault against the Continent as early as possible in 1944 and for a return to the Continent in the event of German disintegration at any time, also demanded `an elaborate camouflage and deception scheme extending over the whole summer with a view to pinning the enemy in the West and keeping alive the expectation of large-scale cross-Channel operations in 1943. This would include at least one amphibious feint with the object of bringing on an air battle employing the Metropolitan Air Force and the Eighth US Air Force.' The deception plans which were prepared in compliance with that instruction and which received the name of COCKADE do not strictly lie within the scope of this report. Nevertheless, as they had a bearing upon subsequent events, a short account is included.

COCKADE had two distinct objects: to contain German forces in North-Western Europe, thus preventing them from being used on the active fronts, and to destroy German aircraft. The plan comprised three connected operations: TINDALL, the threat of a landing in Norway; STARKEY, of a landing in the Pas de Calais; and WADHAM, of one in the Bay of Biscay. STARKEY and WADHAM, so the story ran, were to be complementary operations. After the bridgehead in the Pas de Calais had been established by British forces, an American landing was to take place in Western France with the object of opening Brest, which could then be used to land troops sailing direct from the United States. The forces in the United Kingdom being held inadequate to support all three plans, the French and Norwegian assaults were presented as alternative undertakings. STARKEY was the most important part of COCKADE inasmuch as it included an elaborate embarkation exercise by 21 Army Group in which the landing craft actually sailed to within a few miles of the French coast, as well as real air attacks against the Pas de Calais. TINDALL and WADHAM relied mainly on the use of wireless, dummy devices and controlled leakage.

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