HistoryJournal.org

I bought some great books at a used book store earlier this week. It’s dangerous for me to stroll into such an establishment on a university campus, especially when they’re running a “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” sale. They recently received a collection of military history books — many of them titles about aviation during WWI. This was my undoing. I purchased:

• Knights of the Air by Ezra Bowen  (bought it mostly for the unique photos and illustrations)
• The First Air Campaign: August 1914 – November 1918 by Eric and Jane Lawson  (a well-written overview of the conflict — reading this now)
• Hat in the Ring: The Birth of American Air Power in the Great War by Bert Frandsen  (a scholarly account of the first American combat aviators)
• Richthofen: Beyond the Legend of the Red Baron by Peter Kilduff  (a scholarly biography about the famous German flyer)
• Gunning for the Red Baron by Leon Bennett  (a unique scientific look at the physics of aerial gunnery and maneuvering)
• Bombers 1914-1919: Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft by Kenneth Munson  (handy visual reference for obscure aircraft types)

On my way out the door, I couldn’t resist these endcap enticements (both at first glance revealing an appealing writing style — rare in this genre):

• Greek and Roman Naval Warfare: A Study of Strategy, Tactics, and Ship Design from Salamis (480 B.C.) to Actium (31 B.C.) by W.L. Rogers
• The Ancient Engineers: Technology and Invention from the Earliest Times to the Renaissance by L. Sprague de Camp

Shout out to Howard’s Books in Evanston for facilitating some impulsive buys (all totaling under $50) that upon later reflection I don’t regret making.