Viewing the subject from the side of the Allies, the author reviews four major achievements in World War II which had unexpected and even more dramatic consequences not discovered until much after the event. He also deals with the evaluation of some weapons, tactics and statistics in ways that are at odds with much of the conventional wisdom as well as with statements of fact that in retrospect are much different than the facts themselves. Finally, he describes some items that, if they are considered at all, are not discussed with the seriousness they deserve.

The author compares five primitive life forms from the Burgess Shale of over 500,000,000 years ago to five new technologies invented or developed in the first decade of the twentieth century in terms of their development and importance both in the past and for the future. He speculates on some possible alternative courses of history if different events had occurred during the first decade and what effect those alternative courses might have had on our lives today.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, American citizens within the United States constantly worry about security against future terrorist attacks. But author Gordon Greer delves further into this subject by trying to understand why the general public is so intent on the ramifications of security measures, such as the Patriot Act. The history of warfare might provide an answer. Greer examines domestic security throughout the history of the United States. During a period of war or the aftermath of war, the American government has generally found it necessary to install security measures that...

Mr. Greer outlines the not well-known aircraft and activities of the United States Air Force's all-weather fighters during the first part of the Cold War. He covers the organization, development and decline of the all-weather force in response to the Soviet Union's long-range strategic bomber force equipped with atomic weapons. The author describes not only the individual aircraft from the early night fighters of World War II through the F-106A of the seventies and beyond but also the control organization that directed them until the whole operation was made superfluous by the ballistic...

In attempting to analyze the role of luck in war, a rather narrow definition of luck is necessary. The conventional dictionary definitions of luck are "a force that brings good fortune or adversity" and "the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual." Those definitions are so broad that they would appear to cover many, perhaps most, events in war. There is in literature an old expression, deus ex machina, a translation into Latin of the original Greek thēos ek mechanēs. While it literally translates as "a god from a machine," its meaning is a person or thing...

Viewing the subject from the side of the Allies, the author reviews four major achievements in World War II which had unexpected and even more dramatic consequences not discovered until much after the event. He also deals with the evaluation of some weapons, tactics and statistics in ways that are at odds with much of the conventional wisdom as well as with statements of fact that in retrospect are much different than the facts themselves. Finally, he describes some items that, if they are considered at all, are not discussed with the seriousness they deserve.

The author compares five primitive life forms from the Burgess Shale of over 500,000,000 years ago to five new technologies invented or developed in the first decade of the twentieth century in terms of their development and importance both in the past and for the future. He speculates on some possible alternative courses of history if different events had occurred during the first decade and what effect those alternative courses might have had on our lives today.

Mr. Greer outlines the not well-known aircraft and activities of the United States Air Force's all-weather fighters during the first part of the Cold War. He covers the organization, development and decline of the all-weather force in response to the Soviet Union's long-range strategic bomber force equipped with atomic weapons. The author describes not only the individual aircraft from the early night fighters of World War II through the F-106A of the seventies and beyond but also the control organization that directed them until the whole operation was made superfluous by the ballistic...

In attempting to analyze the role of luck in war, a rather narrow definition of luck is necessary. The conventional dictionary definitions of luck are "a force that brings good fortune or adversity" and "the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual." Those definitions are so broad that they would appear to cover many, perhaps most, events in war. There is in literature an old expression, deus ex machina, a translation into Latin of the original Greek thēos ek mechanēs. While it literally translates as "a god from a machine," its meaning is a person or thing...

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, American citizens within the United States constantly worry about security against future terrorist attacks. But author Gordon Greer delves further into this subject by trying to understand why the general public is so intent on the ramifications of security measures, such as the Patriot Act.The history of warfare might provide an answer. Greer examines domestic security throughout the history of the United States. During a period of war or the aftermath of war, the American government has generally found it necessary to install security measures that...