Hop on over to On Military Matters for some steeply discounted books on a variety of topics. Most books will arrive at the shoppe in two or three weeks.
DISCOUNTED BOOKS…
THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MARITIME HISTORY Here is a 2,912-page encyclopedia of maritime history that, in scope and depth, rivals the expansiveness of the sea itself. The Encyclopedia covers the entire history of seafaring, from ancient Egyptian shipbuilders to Viking sea-raiders, from Nelson and the Napoleonic Wars to the voyages of Cheng Ho, from the European conquerors of the New World to the nuclear submarines and supertankers of today. Placing maritime affairs in their larger historical context, the Encyclopedia shows how seafaring has both reflected and influenced the major economic, cultural, military, and political developments in world history.
In four volumes and nearly 1,000 signed articles by an international group of historians and naval officers, the Encyclopedia offers a uniquely integrated approach, emphasizing the connections between maritime history and many related fields, including naval history, shipbuilding, navigation and scientific instrumentation, maritime art and literature, commerce and economics, exploration and maritime geography, oceanography and hydrology, and international maritime law. In so doing, the Encyclopedia provides, in a single reference work, a wealth of information that can otherwise be found only with the help of an extensive library.
Alphabetical organization, intelligible writing, plentiful illustrations, cross-references, bibliographies, a synoptic outline, and topical index included. 4 vol, 2912 pgs, 2007, U.S., OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, hardcover, $625.00 USD
TMP BLOW OUT: Save 65%. New price: $218.75 USD
THE INDIAN MILITIA & DESCRIPTION OF THE INDIES Sometimes referred to as the first published manual of guerrilla warfare, Bernardo de Vargas Machuca's Indian Militia and Description of the Indies is actually the first known manual of counterinsurgency, or anti-guerrilla warfare. Published in Madrid in 1599 by a Spanish-born soldier of fortune with long experience in the Americas, the book is a training manual for conquistadors. The Aztec and Inca Empires had long since fallen by 1599, but Vargas Machuca argued that many more Native American peoples remained to be conquered and converted to Roman Catholicism. What makes his often shrill and self-righteous treatise surprising is his consistent praise of indigenous resistance techniques and medicinal practices.
Appended to these four sections is a brief geographical description of all of Spanish America, with special emphasis on the indigenous peoples of New Granada (roughly modern-day Colombia), followed by a short guide to the southern coasts and heavens. This first English-language edition of The Indian Militia includes an extensive introduction, a posthumous report on Vargas Machuca's military service, and a selection from his unpublished attack on the writings of Fray Bartolome de Las Casas. Softcover, 368 pgs, 2008, U.S., DUKE, $25.00 USD
TMP Special Offer: Save 50%. New price: $12.50 USD
CHARGE! Great Cavalry Charges of the Napoleonic War Dramatic charges, the color, panache & drama, details of the different mounted troops and their uses, maps/illust, biblio, index. 1 vol, 304 pgs, 2001, softcover, $25.00 USD
TMP Special Offer: Save 50%. New price: $12.50 USD
WELLINGTON'S NAVY: Sea Power in the Peninsular War Narrative of many little-known operations and an analysis of overall administration/logistics. b/w maps, biblio, index. 1 vol, 224 pgs, 2004, U.K., CHATHAM, new-dj, $40.00 USD
TMP Special Offer: Save 50%. New price: $20.00 USD
F3D SKYNIGHT In Action The U.S. Navy's first all-weather jet fighter, the Douglas F3D Skyknight traces its origins to 1945, when the Navy began studies for a jet-powered, carrier-based night fighter. Ready for service when war broke out in Korea in 1950, the Skyknight, also known as Willy the Whale, proved its worth in the capable hands of pilots and radar operators with Marine Night Fighter Squadron VMF(N)-513. The F3D scored the highest number of aerial victories for an all-weather jet fighter in that conflict. The volume is packed with never-before-published color and b/w photographs covering the entire operational life of the F3D-1/2, F3D-2B, F3D-1/2M, F3D-2T2, and the EF-10B variants. Illustrated with more than ten line drawings and 196 photographs. softcover. $19.00 USD
TMP Special Offer: Save 15%. New price: $16.15 USD
INTO THE VALLEY – The Valentine Tank and Derivatives 1938-1960 200+ b/w photos, 40+ color profiles and detail photos, 20+ scale plans. The Valentine had the highest production numbers of any wartime British tank, and arguably the most variations. A total of 8,000+ Valentines were produced in no fewer than eleven variants. The Valentine tank received its baptism of fire with the British 8th Army in Operation Crusader in North Africa during July 1941, representing just the beginning of a long career, as they would eventually take part in combat in both the European and Pacific Theaters. After the war, Valentines served in several armies as late as 1960. softcover. 180 pgs, 2012, POLAND, MMP, $39.00 USD
TMP Special Offer: Save 15%. New price: $33.15 USD
USS KIDD On Deck Fletcher-class destroyers were the mainstay of the U.S. Navy's destroyer force during World War II. With 175 of the class commissioned, the Fletchers were the most numerous of the American 'Tin Cans' – as destroyers are affectionately known. Today, only one of the type has been preserved in WW II-configuration, the U.S.S Kidd. softcover. $19.00 USD
TMP Special Offer: Save 15%. New price: $16.15 USD
U-48: The Most Successful U-Boat of the Second World War In August 1939, U-48 left Germany, commanded by 'Vaddi' Schultze, to take up a waiting position around England. It scored its first success on 5 September, when it torpedoed the British freighter Royal Sceptre, then the Winkleigh on 8 September. On both occasions – the first of many – Schultze showed himself to be a notable humanitarian: he addressed signals to Churchill giving positions of the sinkings so that crews could be saved. By 1 August 1941, U-48, the most successful boat of the Second World War, had sunk 56 merchant ships of 322,478 gross tons and one corvette. She was then transferred to the Baltic as a training boat. Softcover, 208 pgs, 2012, U.K., FRONTLINE BOOKS, $40.00 USD
TMP Special Offer: Save 15%. New price: $34.00 USD
INTERESTING BOOK OF THE WEEK…
DIE DEUTSCHEN MARINEN 1818-1918 Two volumes of text with image part in a slipcase, 1336 pages, 304 color illustrations, hardcover volume with dust jacket. After nearly ten years of research, the authors put in a two-volume work of 1,336 pages (304 color illustrations) a standard work on the uniforms, weapons, and equipment of the German Navy of 1818 to 1918 – organization, personnel, career, and rank structures of military and civilian officials. Also included: detailed information about operations of the Marine Corps in the tropics or on the land front in Flanders and color images of many items of clothing and equipment. [German text] $225.00 USD
WARGAMING…
PIKE & SHOTTE – Battles with Model Soldiers in the 16th and 17th Centuries Rules cover English Civil War, Thirty Years War, the Italian Wars, Tudor Wars in the British Isles, and the War of the Grand Alliance. The format of the inner pages will be a familiar one to those who already own Hail Caesar and Black Powder rulebooks – loads of eye candy to back up the rules! $45 USD
TRIBES OF LEGEND – Fantasy, Myths, Magic and Mayhem, Gaming and Modelling in the World of Greek Gods and Legends This book contains not one, but three separate games set in this ancient world of myth, magic, and monsters, ranging from full-scale battles to a game for a single hero having to overcome all of the obstacles that mortals and gods in their whim and wisdom devise. Includes guides for building terrain on your tabletop and a series of step-by-step instructions on how to paint the models you might want to play with – the photographs in this book show the models at their best, in their natural habitat: heroes and monsters locked in honorable combat. $45.00 USD
TMP Special Offer: Save 15%. New price: $38.25 USD
AND DON'T FORGET THE MAGAZINES…
TANK & MILITARY VEHICLES: #5 Includes: Les musees militaires de Cuba, War Motors Weekend, Churchill NA75, Mercedes 320 Kubelwagen WK 142 III, Focus: Sd.Kfz 250/3 Neu, Winter Rally, Char Renault D2, Jeep M151 MUTT, Restauration: Tracteur 4x4 4-5 Ton White 444-T, and Les 'Tank Recovery Unit' 6x6 de l'US Army. [French text] $14.00 USD
VAE VICTUS #103: March 2012 Includes the game 'Syracuse 415-413 BC.' Il est prevu pour deux joueurs (Athenes et allies vs. Syracuse et allies). Un tour de jeu couvre trois mois de temps reel. The game includes: 16-page rules booklet (14,4x21 cm). English version of reproduction rules booklet is included; one 29,7x41 cm Map (27 land zones and 12 sea zones); one counter sheet of 108 die-cut counters (68 leaders and combat units, 22 stratagems counters and 18 makers); and one historical scenario and a 'What if? Scenario' including Alcibiades as main Athenian leader. [French text, English text for rules] $24.00 USD
ARMES MILITARIA #320 March 2012 Includes: VETERANS: De la Hollande a Dien Bien Phu, itineraire d'un soldat alsacien, 1944-54; UNIFORMES: La Jacket Parachutists britannique (complement); AVIATION: 1962, l'US Navy dans la crise de Cuba (3); UNIFORMES: Un Breton dans les automitrailleuses de Levant, 1935-36; DOCUMENTS: Panzertruppen, le Soldbuch d'un chef de char; LIBERATION: Aout 1944, Marseille liberee; COIFFURES: Casque a pointe et shakos de l'infanterie saxonne, 1914-1918; NORMANDIE: 6 juin 1944, les Filthy thirteen; EQUIPEMENT: France 1940, les materiels de detection chimique; and GUERRE DU VIETNAM: L'armee nord-vietnamienne, 1954-72 (1). 1 vol, 70 pgs 2012 PARIS, HISTOIRE & COLLECT [French text] $12.00 USD
RAIDS #310 March 2012 Includes: EN DIRECT DES ARMEES; POINTS CHAUDS; FORCES SPECIALES: Operation Caiman and La BFST en action; ENTRAINEMENT: Avec le '5th Scots' dans le combat urbain; COMBAT: Blesses d'Afghanistan: de la zone de combat jusqu'a l'hopital Percy; OPEX: Kandahar 2011 (1ere partie); TEMOIGNAGE: Un OMLT en Alasay; ARMEMENT: Le fusil d'assaut M4 Carbine (1ere partie): service et futur dans les forces armees americaines; and NOUVEAUX MATERIELS [French text] $12.00 USD
GBM: Blindes & Material #100 All the tanks in the French Army 1914-1940. 100 profiles, 200 photos. [French text] $20.00 USD
As always, more on the onmilitarymatters.com website!