30 July 2014

And now more than 4,000 for the month!

Thank you!  The website has ticked over 4,200 pageviews for the month.  Indeed, it has romped past the previous record month which, incidentally, was last month!

I still reckon half of the visits are mine - ha ha - but I still hope more and more people (or bots) are looking into these books.

I'm currently enjoying Anthony Cooper's Kokoda Air Strikes which looks at the 1942 Allied air operations in the Pacific theatre as one campaign and their effect on the Japanese advance along, and the Australian defence of, the Kokoda Track.  The book contains a surprising amount of personal details despite being very much a big picture work.  What really stands out is the insistence of the USAAF to persevere with largely ineffectual high altitude bombing against pinpoint targets, the inability of the stretched Japanese bomber and fighter force to maintain pressure on the Moresby airfields complex when they it was at its most disorganised (or any time for that matter) and, regarding that disorganisation, the sheer determination of the air and ground crews of both sides to persevere when supply lines were poor, equipment struggling and the weather frustrating.  It is certainly a study of men and machines up against it (with a bit of unrealistic expectation from headquarters thrown in for good measure).  As always, the author's style of writing, that which served him so well in Darwin Spitfires, means you make a lot of progress through this large paperback in short order ... and it's an education despite the familiarity.

New South have certainly done well with this genre as one of their latest signings, Kristen Alexander, has released photos of an advance copy of her new book Australia's Few And The Battle Of Britain.  The design from cover to cover is the best I have seen for some time and certainly looks like it was put together by someone who completely understands the subject matter.  This will be a special addition to any collection.

On top of all of this Steve Darlow's Fighting High has fired out three books in quick succession.  Mosquito Down, D-Day: Failed To Return and Henry Maudslay Dam Buster (check out the cover of the latter ... can you see the Lanc over the breached dam ... very clever!) are all hardbacks of typical quality from the publisher that sets the standard on the international market.  There's more to come from Fighting High in the next couple of months too.

Edit (Aug 26): sadly, I've since discovered the site is being spammed by two other blogger-based blogs.  Somewhat deflated as I have yet to work out how to block them but, for the time being, I'll keep plugging away.  What is a bit diconcerting is that these 'false' stats can cause the site to slow down and, consequently, be ignored by the search engines.  Again, thank you for your support.  It means even more to me now!

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