- Table View
- List View
Radicals On The Road: Internationalism, Orientalism, and Feminism during the Vietnam Era (The United States in the World)
by Judy Tzu-Chun WuTraveling to Hanoi during the U. S. war in Vietnam was a long and dangerous undertaking. Even though a neutral commission operated the flights, the possibility of being shot down by bombers in the air and antiaircraft guns on the ground was very real. American travelers recalled landing in blackout conditions, without lights even for the runway, and upon their arrival seeking refuge immediately in bomb shelters. Despite these dangers, they felt compelled to journey to a land at war with their own country, believing that these efforts could change the political imaginaries of other members of the American citizenry and even alter U. S. policies in Southeast Asia. In Radicals on the Road, Judy Tzu-Chun Wu tells the story of international journeys made by significant yet underrecognized historical figures such as African American leaders Robert Browne, Eldridge Cleaver, and Elaine Brown; Asian American radicals Alex Hing and Pat Sumi; Chicana activist Betita Martinez; as well as women's peace and liberation advocates Cora Weiss and Charlotte Bunch. These men and women of varying ages, races, sexual identities, class backgrounds, and religious faiths held diverse political views. Nevertheless, they all believed that the U. S. war in Vietnam was immoral and unjustified. In times of military conflict, heightened nationalism is the norm. Powerful institutions, like the government and the media, work together to promote a culture of hyperpatriotism. Some Americans, though, questioned their expected obligations and instead imagined themselves as "internationalists," as members of communities that transcended national boundaries. Their Asian political collaborators, who included Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, Foreign Minister of the Provisional Revolutionary Government Nguyen Thi Binh and the Vietnam Women's Union, cultivated relationships with U. S. travelers. These partners from the East and the West worked together to foster what Wu describes as a politically radical orientalist sensibility. By focusing on the travels of individuals who saw themselves as part of an international community of antiwar activists, Wu analyzes how actual interactions among people from several nations inspired transnational identities and multiracial coalitions and challenged the political commitments and personal relationships of individual activists.
Radio Free Afghanistan: A Twenty-Year Odyssey for an Independent Voice in Kabul
by Jenna Krajeski Saad MohseniFrom Time 100 honoree Saad Mohseni, the deeply moving and surprising story of the attempt to build a truly independent media company in contemporary Afghanistan. Saad Mohseni, chairman and CEO of Moby Group, Afghanistan’s largest media company, charts a twenty-year effort to bring a free press to his country after years of Taliban rule, and how that effort persists even after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.In the heady early days of the American occupation, Mohseni returns to Kabul which he had last seen as a child before the Soviet invasion. Casting about for ways to be involved in the dawn of a new Afghanistan, Mohseni makes what seems like a quixotic decision to leave the comforts of a career in international banking to start a Kabul radio station with his three siblings. This unlikely venture quickly blossoms into a burgeoning television empire, bringing Mohseni and his family and employees into sometimes uncomfortable contact with everyone who has a stake in the country—from the government of Hamid Karzai to White House officials. Moreover, their radio and television networks soon become a necessary beacon for millions of Afghans, who rely on them not just for independent news but for joyful pleasures like soap operas and Afghan Star, a beloved national singing competition in a country whose previous rulers had banned (and would again ban) music. Mohseni’s position at Moby affords him unique insights into this extraordinary yet troubled country, the youngest in the world outside of Sub-Saharan Africa, and his powerful account captures the spirit and resilience of the Afghan people—notably the hundreds of men and women still working in Moby's Kabul office today, who, once again under Taliban rule, create programs, report the news, and educate the public.Radio Free Afghanistan is a stunning, vibrant portrait of a nation in turmoil, poised between despair and hope.
Radio Operator on the Eastern Front: An Illustrated Memoir, 1940–1949
by Erhard SteinigerThe true and dramatic testimony of a German grenadier during World War II. Erhard Steiniger joined his Wehrmacht unit on 12 October 1940 as a radio operator, a role which required his constant presence with troops at the Front, right during combat. On 22 June 1941, he accompanied his division to Lithuania where he experienced the catastrophic first day of Operation Barbarossa. He later witnessed intense clashes during the conquest of the Baltic islands and the battles leading up to Leningrad on the Volkhov and Lake Ladoga. He describes the retreat from battles in Estonia, Kurland and East Prussia and his eventual surrender and captivity in Siberia. He finally returned to Germany in October 1949, a broken man. From the first page to the last, this is a captivating eyewitness account of the horrors of war.Praise for Radio Operator on the Eastern Front &“This often subdued, but continuously hypnotic, memoir is rare since it offers so much information, knowledge, and insight about the enemy from the beginning of the war on the Eastern Front right up to Steiniger&’s release from a prison camp in Russia and return to Germany in 1949.&” —ARGunners.com &“Witting testimony of a German radio operator—a extraordinary account from a German perspective. Fascinating.&” —Books Monthly
Radioactive Ghosts (Posthumanities #61)
by Gabriele SchwabA pioneering examination of nuclear trauma, the continuing and new nuclear peril, and the subjectivities they generate Amid resurgent calls for widespread nuclear energy and &“limited nuclear war,&” the populations that must live with the consequences of these decisions are increasingly insecure. The nuclear peril combined with the looming threat of climate change means that we are seeing the formation of a new kind of subjectivity: humans who are in a position of perpetual ontological insecurity. In Radioactive Ghosts, Gabriele Schwab articulates a vision of these &“nuclear subjectivities&” that we all live with. Focusing on the legacies of the Manhattan Project, Hiroshima, and nuclear energy politics, Radioactive Ghosts takes us on a tour of the little-seen sides of our nuclear world. Examining devastating uranium mining on Native lands, nuclear sacrifice zones, the catastrophic accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima, and the formation of a new transspecies ethics, Schwab shows how individuals threatened with extinction are creating new adaptations, defenses, and communal spaces. Ranging from personal accounts of experiences with radiation to in-depth readings of literature, film, art, and scholarly works, Schwab gives us a complex, idiosyncratic, and personal analysis of one of the most overlooked issues of our time.
Radioactivity: A Natural Phenomenon
by Michael WiescherThis book provides an accessible introduction to radioactivity. The first in a two-volume set, this volume is presented in two parts, covering radiation physics and natural radiation exposure.It first explores the discovery and physics of the phenomenon of radioactivity, covering the discovery of radioactive decay and the historical development of the physics and applications of radioactivity through to 1940. Chapters then present descriptive summaries of the physics of the atom and the atomic nucleus, mass and energy conditions, the nature of isotopes, and the different decay patterns. Chapter three discusses decay laws and introduces natural origins of radioactivity as well as methods for producing radioactive isotopes through nuclear reaction processes in reactor and accelerator. The book then provides an introduction on dosimetry, radiation chemistry and impact of radiation on biological systems.The second half of the book details natural radioactivity and the role of radioactivity in the formation of the planetary system and our Earth. The author describes how the inner radioactivity of our planet determines its dynamics and how it could have contributed to the origins of life. The volume concludes with an exploration of the external and internal radioactivity to which humans are exposed and their possible side effects.This book will be of interest to non-science undergraduate and physics graduate students alike, as well as to interested lay-people looking for an introduction to radioactivity. Key Features:- Written in an accessible style, to be understood by readers without a formal scientific education- Highly illustrated throughout- Authored by an expert in the field, drawing from decades of experience in experimental nuclear physics
Radioactivity: Anthropogenic Sources
by Michael WiescherThis book provides an accessible introduction to radioactivity. The second in a two-volume set, this volume is presented in two parts, covering its development and modern applications.It first explores the development and applications of technically enhanced natural radioactivity (TENR) and addresses nuclear energy sources, the fission and fusion processes, and the issues of radioactive fallout from nuclear weapon use and test programs. Later chapters explore the cutting-edge medical applications of radioactive materials in diagnostics and therapy, exploring nuclear medicine technologies such as x-ray tomography, brachytherapy, and positron emission tomography (PET). They also detail the broad range of applications of radioactive materials in industrial production processes, in the sterilization of tools and materials in the medical and the food industries, and in the analysis of art and archaeological material to analyse paintings and painting techniques to identify fakes and forgeries. The book concludes with a discussion of the societal impact and understanding of radioactivity, alongside detailing the underlying reasons for its negative preconceptions and the possible mitigation of these through better education and information practices.This book will be of interest to non-science undergraduate and physics graduate students alike, as well as to interested lay-people looking for an introduction to radioactivity.Key Features:- Written in an accessible style, to be understood by readers without a formal scientific education- Highly illustrated throughout- Authored by an expert in the field, drawing from decades of experience in experimental nuclear physics
Radioman: From Desert Storm to Operation Iraqi Freedom
by Andrew Hesterman Robert EinaudiA U.S. Marine Corps veteran gives a personal account of his twenty-five years of service in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in this memoir. From a Gulf War grunt to a full-fledged Marine Major in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Andrew Hesterman saw it all. Radioman offers a highly personal and unfiltered view of the Marine Corps as it transitioned from the post-Vietnam analog Reagan era to the post-9/11 high-tech George W. Bush and Obama years.Radioman begins with Andy as a recruit at boot camp and the ensuing training that leads to formally becoming a Marine. After comm school and the reserves, Andy is called to active duty in 1991 for the Gulf War, where he experiences combat up close in Kuwait. The next personally, professionally, and politically tumultuous decade brings marriage (and divorce), flight school and helicopter missions in Kosovo, the shock of 9/11, another marriage, and children. Andy&’s journey culminates as an officer in Iraq, where he directs air support for the Marines in Fallujah. Co-authored by Robert Einaudi, a close friend of Hesterman&’s since high school, Radioman provides an honest and vivid military portrait of the Marine Corps and the modern U.S. military seen through the experiences of one Marine.Praise for Radioman &“Both gripping and honest, Radioman is also told with a humor and humility that makes for an extremely pleasurable read.&” —Scott Anderson, New York Times–bestselling author of The Quiet Americans &“Radioman tells a universal story—about war, family, and growing up. Andy Hesterman&’s 25 years in the Marines span a huge range of world events and personal experiences. I found myself laughing, rooting for him, and shaking my head at the insanity of it all. A great book!&”—Nathaniel Fick, New York Times–bestselling author of One Bullet Away &“From a recruit surviving boot camp to a Major flying combat helicopters and controlling F/A-18s in Iraq, Andy Hesterman shares the pride of the Corps and the pain of saying goodbye to your family for yet another deployment. With Radioman, you&’ll feel like you&’ve put on the Marine cammies and marched alongside Hesty for over two decades of service to our country.&” —Dell Epperson, Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired)
Radovan Karadžić
by Robert J. DoniaRadovan Karadžić, leader of the Bosnian Serb nationalists during the Bosnian War (1992–5), stands accused of genocide and other crimes of war before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. This book traces the origins of the extreme violence of the war to the utopian national aspirations of the Serb Democratic Party and Karadžić's personal transformation from an unremarkable family man to the powerful leader of the Bosnian Serb nationalists. Based on previously unused documents from the tribunal's archives and many hours of Karadžić's cross-examination at his trial, the author shows why and how the Bosnian Serb leader planned and directed the worst atrocities in Europe since the Second World War. This book provocatively argues that postcommunist democracy was a primary enabler of mass atrocities because it provided the means to mobilize large numbers of Bosnian Serbs for the campaign to eliminate non-Serbs from conquered land.
Raffles, 1781-1826
by Reginald CouplandFirst published in 1926, this is a scholarly work on Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, FRS (July 6, 1781 - July 5, 1826), a British statesman, Lieutenant-Governor of British Java (1811-1815) and Governor-General of Bencoolen (1817-1822), best known for his founding of Singapore. He was also heavily involved in the conquest of the Indonesian island of Java from Dutch and French military forces during the Napoleonic Wars and contributed to the expansion of the British Empire.
Rage of Ares (The Long War)
by Christian CameronArimnestos of Plataea was one of the heroes of the Battle of Marathon, in which the heroic Greeks halted the invading Persians in their tracks, and fought in the equally celebrated naval battle at Salamis.But even these stunning victories only served to buy the Greeks time, as the Persians gathered a new army, returning with overwhelming force to strike the final killing blow.For the Greeks, divided and outnumbered, there was only one possible strategy: attack. And so, in the blazing summer of 479 BC, Arimnestos took up his spear one final time at the Battle of Plataea.
Rage: A Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International Novel (Rogue Team International Series #1)
by Jonathan MaberryFrom New York Times Bestselling author (creator of the Netflix series V Wars), Jonathan Maberry comes the first in a brand new series featuring Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International. A small island off the coast of Korea is torn apart by a bioweapon that drives everyone—men, women, and children—insane with murderous rage. The people behind the attack want Korea reunified or destroyed. No middle ground. No mercy. Soon Japan, China, and the United States are pushed to the brink of war, while terrorists threaten to release the rage bioweapon in a way of pure destructive slaughter. Joe Ledger leads his newly formed band of international troubleshooters in their first mission to stop the terror cell, fighting alongside agents from North and South Korea. With the lives of billions at stake, Ledger is willing to bring his own brand of terror to this frightening new war.
Raging Seas: The Bomb Vessel, The Corvette, 1805 (Nathaniel Drinkwater Omnibus #6)
by Richard WoodmanTHE BOMB VESSEL It is 1801, and Napoleon is reaching supreme power in France and has allied himself with Tsar Paul of Russia. Drinkwater is in command of an old bomb ship, the Virago, which joins battle off the Danish coast. Amid gales and ice, Drinkwater strives to save his ship and his brother. THE CORVETTE The frozen splendour of the Arctic Ocean and the absorbing drama of a nineteenth-century whale hunt unfold in The Corvette, in which Drinkwater finds himself battling with the enemy, the elements and fiercely independent whalemasters in a three-handed struggle for mastery of icy Arctic waters. 1805 Drinkwater is sent to patrol the Channel coast, helping the Royal Navy maintain a heroic blockade of the enemy's post, but soon his ship the Antigone is needed elsewhere as everything now hinges on the confrontation that Nelson has forced off Cape Trafalgar.
Raglan: From the Peninsula to the Crimea
by John SweetmanAll too many historians have dismissed FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, first Baron Raglan, as at best, an indifferent and, at worst, an incompetent on the basis of his association with the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade.Yet as this long overdue biography of a pivotal military figure of the 19th Century reveals Raglans achievements over fifty years should not be judged on so narrow a basis. True, as Commander of the Expeditionary Force to the Crimea, he must take his share of responsibility for the hardship suffered by the men under him particularly during the winter of 1854-55 but the fact remains that Raglan never lost a battle for which he was fully responsible.Commissioned in 1804 he served under Sir Arthur Paget and the Duke of Wellington, throughout the Peninsular War losing an arm at Waterloo. He held key posts, including Military Secretary for an astonishing 25 years and Master General of the Ordnance and his influence was far reaching.Raglan is revealed in this objective study as a brave, thoughtful, caring and capable man, who found himself an easy target for critics of an outdated and inadequate military administrative system. Very personal attacks, some from official quarters, mortally wounded him and he died in June 1855, a mere seven months after being appointed a field marshal amid public acclaim.In this first full biography of Raglan, John Sweetman examines not just the man himself but the workings of an Army that was straggling to keep up with social and technological change. Readers will find this a fine expos of a man who was placed in a no-win situation through little fault of his own.John Sweetman graduated from Brasenose College Oxford (Modern History) before taking a PhD at Kings College, London. He later became Head of Defence and International Affairs at RMA Sandhurst. He is the author of numerous military works. Now retired he lives at Camberley.
Raid! The Untold Story of Patton's Secret Mission
by Richard Baron Richard Goldhurst Abe BaumThe orders came from Patton himself: Take a strike force behind enemy lines--with no air or ground support--and liberate a POW camp at Hammelburg, where Patton's son-in-law was held. Captain Abe Baum and an armored task force answered the call, crashing through an enemy-held town, plunging into German territory, and fighting their way to Hammelburg. With the German army closing in around them, the raiders kept going, until they had liberated 1,500 prisoners of war. Baum's Raiders had just achieved an impossible objective. Now they had to get back out... Written by the men who were there, Raid! is the gripping real-life story of a controversial mission in the heart of World War II. From the belly of a Sherman Tank pelted with enemy fire to the POWs waiting behind barbed wire, this is a thrilling, you-are-there chronicle of human courage--in the face of impossible odds.
Raider: The True Story of the Legendary Soldier Who Performed More POW Raids than Any Other American in History
by Charles W. SasserRaider is the true story of the legendary soldier who performed more POW raids than any other American in history.He went into battle as a boy. And on one of the most daring missions of World War II, he became a man-- and the perfect soldier for America's next wars...Galen Charles Kittleson was slight, modest, and born to wage war. The son of an Iowa farmer, Kittleson volunteered in 1943 and caught the eye of his commanders. By 1945, PFC Kittleson was selected for the Army's smallest elite unit, the Alamo Scouts. While U.S. forces were pushing back the Japanese in the Pacific, the Alamo scouts unleashed legendary raids deep behind enemy lines, including the liberation of over 500 starved, beaten prisoners of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. For Kittleson, a career as a raider had just begun...Charles W. Sasser chronicles the remarkable journey that was Kit Kittleson's courageous life in the service of his country. Now a veteran after first going to war as a boy twenty-five years ago, Kittleson volunteered for one last mission-- the most extraordinary and daring POW raid ever attempted by secret American Special Forces in Vietnam...
Raiders from the Sea: The Story of the Special Boat Service in WWII
by John LodwickThe Special Boat Service was a small force during World War II, never more than about 300 men. But that did not stop it from inflicting great damage on the enemy. In the Mediterranean arena and in the Aegean, which the Germans controlled after the fall of Greece and Crete, this small commando force kept up a constant campaign of harassment, thus pinning down enemy forces and preventing their joining other fronts.They travelled by night to their targets, using submarines, small surface vessels or canoes, with the commanders of the vessels often putting themselves in danger in order to help the men carry out their dangerous and secret missions. They were reliant on the co-operation of the fiercely independent Greeks and in particular the Cretans, all working together in their common objective against the German invaders.John Lodwick took part in the SBS Mediterranean campaign and writes from personal experience with the panache and verve of the squadron itself. For it is more than the story of the remarkable men who made up the force: men such as Anders Lassen, ‘the Dreadful Dane’ who was awarded a posthumous VC, Fitzroy Maclean, Eric Newby, Jock Lapraik, and Lord Jellicoe, who commanded the squadron for almost two years and who contributed a memorable foreword to this memoir.Strong, determined individuals, together the men of the Special Boat Service formed a deadly, cohesive fighting force which contributed much to the war in the Mediterranean and to whom John Lodwick’s book is an excitingly readable tribute.
Raiders: World War Two True Stories
by Ross KempTo the people of Great BritainWorld War II was the deadliest and bloodiest war in history. Never before or since have so many people made such a personal sacrifice in the line of duty.Raiders tells the extraordinary true stories of six of the most daring special operations ever undertaken in warfare and the heroism of the people behind them.Operation Chariot was the most ambitious amphibious raid ever mounted by the British Forces. Attacking the heavily fortified dry dock at St Nazaire in German occupied France, an elite group of commandos battered their way through a maelstrom of bullets and incendiaries. Their boat is punctured by over a hundred shell holes, the dead and wounded lie all around them on the decks, but still their guns are blazing and still they press on...'Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all others'Winston Churchill
Raiding on the Western Front
by Anthony SaundersThe trench raid came to typify the aggression and close-combat of trench warfare on the Western Front. Inevitably, raiding by aggressively minded units had a psychological effect on the enemy. Dominance over the enemy could be established by aggressive raiding. Equally, raiding had an effect on the morale of friendly troops but not always a positive one. Successful raids buoyed spirits but unsuccessful raids could be detrimental because of the casualties sustained for no gain and raiding provoked retaliation from enemy artillery or mortars or a tit-for-tat return raid.Raids came to be the epitome of all-arms operations, combining individual weapons skills with tactical sense and requiring cooperation with artillery and mortar batteries for success. Yet, a raiding party was an ad hoc all-arms combat team put together and trained for a specific operation. In the early days of raiding, the raiders were always volunteers but the steady toll of experienced soldiers led to raiders being told off for the first task like any other.This is the first book to look at how raids were carried out, the successes, the failures, the consequences of raiding, and their effect on morale and their contribution to military operations on the Western Front.
Raiding with Morgan: American Civil War 1 (American Civil War Ser. #1)
by Jim R. WoolardPursued by the Union army, Morgan's Raiders blazed a trail of destruction unparalleled in Civil War history. Only a handful of Morgan's men lived to tell the tale...For seventeen years, Ty Mattson never knew if his father survived the Mexican War. But when he receives news that his father is alive--and he's joined the Confederate forces of General John Morgan--Ty leaves home to enlist with the Raiders...Owen Mattson turns out to be everything Ty imagined he would be: a good man, a true mentor, a great soldier. But a Confederate assassin's bullets nearly divide father and son yet again. From the blood-soaked chaos of Morgan's devastating defeat at Buffington Island to the harsh brutality of a Union prison, Ty Mattson will do whatever it takes to fight and survive. For his father. For the love of a beautiful woman. For the life and the land he treasures.
Rail Transport and the Winning of Wars
by James A Van FleetJames Alward Van Fleet (March 19, 1892 – September 23, 1992) was a U.S. Army officer during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy. He served as a regimental, divisional and corps commander during World War II and as the commanding General of U.S. Army and other United Nations forces during the Korean War. “This survey reviews the role of railroads in national security. It is based upon both personal observation and recorded experience of the effect of rail transport, or the lack thereof, on the outcome of campaigns and the winning of wars.”
Railroad Generalship: Foundations Of Civil War Strategy
by Dr Christopher R. GabelIncludes 4 figures, 13 maps and 4 tables.Renowned Military Historian Dr Christopher Gabel investigates the effects of the Railroad on the strategies employed by both the Union and Confederate Generals of the Civil War.According to an old saying, "amateurs study tactics: professionals study logistics." Any serious student of the military profession will know that logistics constantly shape military affairs and sometimes even dictate strategy and tactics. This excellent monograph by Dr. Christopher Gabel shows that the appearance of the steam-powered railroad had enormous implications for military logistics, and thus for strategy, in the American Civil War. Not surprisingly, the side that proved superior in "railroad generalship," or the utilization of the railroads for military purposes, was also the side that won the war.
Railroading in Eighteen Countries: The Story of American Railroad Men Serving in the Military Railway Service, 1862 to 1953
by Maj.-Gen. Carl R. GrayThis is the story of the Military Railway Service of the United States Army from its beginning in 1862 and including a brief account of the Service in World War I. It is specifically the story of the military use of railroads in World War II and in Korea. General Gray has focused his comprehensive account on the performance of the personnel of the Service, and on outstanding individuals wherever possible. Out of more than 351,000 men and women employees of American railroads serving in all arms in World War II, 43,500 were assigned to various units of the Military Railway Service. This impressive record of their achievements covers history, organization, training and operations in Alaska, England, North Africa, Sicily and Italy, Northern France and Belgium, Southern France, Germany and Austria, Iran, India, the Philippines, New Caledonia, Australia, Japan and Korea.A notable feature of this handsome volume is the wealth of fine photographs of operations in all areas, for the most part photographs not seen before.
Rails To Oblivion: The Decline Of Confederate Railroads In The Civil War [Illustrated Edition]
by Dr Christopher R. GabelIncludes 2 charts, 7 maps, 7 figures and 5 Illustrations.Renowned Military Historian Dr Christopher Gabel charts the decline of the Confederate Railways system that was to spell ultimate doom to the outnumbered soldiers of the Southern states.Military professionals need always to recognize the centrality of logistics to military operations. In this booklet, Dr. Christopher R. Gabel provides a companion piece to his "Railroad Generalship" which explores the same issues from the other side of the tracks, so to speak. "Rails to Oblivion" shows that neither brilliant generals nor valiant soldiers can, in the long run, overcome the effects of a neglected and deteriorating logistics system. Moreover, the cumulative effect of mundane factors such as metal fatigue, mechanical friction, and accidents in the civilian workplace can contribute significantly to the outcome of a war. And no matter how good some thing or idea may look on paper, or how we delude ourselves, we and our soldiers must live with, and die in, reality. War is a complex business. This booklet explores some of the facets of war that often escape the notice of military officers, and as COL Jerry Morelock intimated in his foreword to "Railroad Generalship," these facets decide who wins and who loses.
Rails of War: Supplying the Americans and Their Allies in China-Burma-India
by Steven James HantzisIn a theater of war long forgotten and barely even known at the time, James Harry Hantzis and his fellow soldiers labored at a thankless task under oppressive conditions. Nonetheless, as Rails of War demonstrates, without the men of the 721st Railway Operating Battalion, the Allied forces would have been defeated in the China-Burma-India conflict in World War II. Steven James Hantzis’s father served alongside other GI railroaders in overcoming danger, disease, fire, and monsoons to move the weight of war in the China-Burma-India theater. Torn from their predictable working-class lives, the men of the 721st journeyed fifteen thousand miles to Bengal, India, to do the impossible: build, maintain, and manage seven hundred miles of track through the most inhospitable environment imaginable. From the harrowing adventures of the Flying Tigers and Merrill’s Marauders to detailed descriptions of grueling jungle operations and the Siege of Myitkyina, this is the remarkable story of the extraordinary men of the 721st, who moved an entire army to win the war. For more information about Rails of War, visit railsofwar.com.
Railway Security: Protecting Against Manmade and Natural Disasters
by Richard R. Young Gary A. Gordon Jeremy F. PlantThis book provides an overview and assessment of the security risks, both manmade and natural, facing the railways and rail networks.Railroads face significant threats from disasters, but with situational awareness and coordinated effort these can often be substantially minimized. Transportation assets have always been vulnerable to natural disasters, but in the current environment these assets are also a preferred target of human-caused disruption, especially in the form of terrorism, as the events in many other parts of the world have underscored. Railways are not a homogeneous mode of transportation given their various roles in intercity and commuter passenger movement, as well as being a major portion of the freight ton-miles upon which the U.S. economy is highly dependent. Designed to provide advice for railway owners and first responders, this text discusses how to secure hazardous material transport and how to establish guidelines for rail freight operations and rail passenger operations. The book aims to develop an understanding of the unique operating characteristics of railways, the nature and the range of vulnerabilities, the present means for protecting the infrastructure, and the public policy initiatives that are prerequisite for developing a comprehensive appreciation of the magnitude of this issue. The book utilizes case studies of transport disasters to illustrate lessons learned and to provide critical insight into preventative measures.This book will be of great interest to students and practitioners of transportation, technology and engineering, and security management.