Category: interview

20th Century US Warfare history book – “Crash Course” (Rutgers University Press, 2018) – H. Bruce Franklin interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

H Bruce Franklin was an US Air Force navigator and intelligence officer but then became an anti-war activist. He’s written nineteen books and hundreds of articles and we talk about his latest book about the wars of the United States in the 20th century.

1:01 – Bruce talks about how he got into studying and writing on war. He talks about his influences when he was young.

2:01 – Bruce talks about the book and his life experiences that led to writing this book starting with when he was eleven on the day of the end of WWII. When he got older he joined the Air Force as a navigator. He talks about his reconnaissance and provocation missions over the Soviet Union.

8:37 – Bruce talks about his time with the Strategic Air Command and their efficiency and proficiency.

10:21 – Bruce talks about his first mission as a combat ready navigator and being part of a four plane cell. The mission almost resulted in an air collision.

13:49 – Bruce talks about the military-industrial complex and how it’s affected the wars the US has been part of.

25:58 – Bruce talks about the events that switched his political thinking on war.

27: 29 – Bruce mentions the anti-napalm movement.

31:53 – Bruce talks about the Korean War.

40:17 – Bruce talks about the historical archival material that he used for the book.

46:01 – Bruce talks about an interesting episode associated with the Cuban Missile Crisis.

56:00 – Bruce talks about 1991, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the peace dividend.

1:01:56 – He has a website at HBRuceFranklin.com where people can find information on all his books. It also has an events page.

Links of interest

https://www.hbrucefranklin.com/

https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/crash-course/9781978800939

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: H. Bruce Franklin

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, Cold War, Soviet Union, anti-war, Air Force, Strategic Air Command, KC-97, Boeing, bombers, Vietnam War, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Iraq, peace dividend, Saddam Hussein

American Revolution history book – “Valley Forge” (Simon & Schuster, 2018) – Tom Clavin interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Tom Clavin is a prolific history writer who’s been on the New York Times Bestsllers list. We talk about his latest book co-authored with Bob Drury, Valley Forge.

0:41 – Tom talks about how he got into co-authoring a book on Valley Forge during the American Revolution.

3:05 – Tom talks about how the book is laid out and describes each of the three parts.

7:51 – Tom talks about the ways Washington was able to keep his troops at Valley Forge.

10:44 – Tom talks about Lafayette and Von Steuben.

14:14 – Tom talks about Washington’s feelings of fatherliness to the men in his army and to the country.

17:02 – Tom talks about the British plans and the effects of winter on campaigning.

19:58 – Tom talks about Washington’s plans for the time at Valley Forge and after. He also describes Von Steuben and what he did for the army.

24:19 – Tom talks about how Washignton managed an army made up of people from all over the country and also of other nationalities. There were also hundreds of black troops in the army.

29:00 – Tom talks about what they used to research the book.

31:55 – Tom talks about visiting the site of Valley Forge.

34:55 – Tom tells the sad story of John Lawrence, one of Washington’s favorites.

38:15 – The Americans deployed an attack submarine during Valley Forge. As wild as that sounds, Tom explains.

39:40 – Tom talks about the effort to usurp Washington.

43:54 – Tom talks about how camp followers were taken care of.

45:29 – Tom talks about the huge population of people at Valley Forge at the time.

47:04 – Tom talks about Washington’s experience in managing this large number of people.

53:45 – He has a website tomclavin.com

Links of interest

http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Valley-Forge/Bob-Drury/9781501152719

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: Tom Clavin

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book. George Washington, Lafayette, Von Steuben, Alexander Hamilton, Howe, British, Continental Army, Continental Congress, Franklin, American Revolution

How Soviet Russia prepared for WWII with Mark Harrison

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

The Industrialization of Soviet Russia

How Soviet Russia prepared for WWII with Mark Harrison

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3eIEmvT

Interview Timeline

Mark Harrison has been a historian studying the Soviet Union and the Soviet economy for many decades. We talked about his latest project, a book about the Soviet economy just prior to WWII which he co-authored. The Industrialization of Soviet Russia Volume 7 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018)

0:51 – Mark talks about how he got into studying Soviet history and its economic history and how it pertains to WWII.

3:07 – Mark talks about how the book breaks down the subject and its place in a book series on Soviet history.

10:45 – Mark talks about how few people in the Soviet system wanted to make final decisions.

13:43 – Mark talks about how much control the central authority had over outlying areas of the Soviet Union.

18:45 – Mark talks about how a good harvest in the Soviet Union at this time hurt Stalin’s plans.

21:07 – Mark talks about how the Politburo decided how many armaments to make.

26:15 – Mark talks about how the Soviets were planning for massive future war. Stalin was also very worried about the fifth column and the “unconscious” enemy.

30:09 – Mark talks about Soviet strategy for future war.

34:05 – Mark talks about allied support to the Soviet Union and what the Soviets had expected.

39:15 – Mark talks about the various archives used for the research.

44:09 – Mark talks about Soviet and German record keeping and differences between Hitler’s and Stalin’s leadership styles.

49:18 – Mark talks about the Lithuanian KGB and archives about it.

53:29 – Mark talks about jet propulsion in the 1930s.

1:09:35 – Mark can be found by googling “Mark Harrison Warwick”. He also has a blog which can be found by googling the previous phrase and adding the word “blog.”

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3eIEmvT

Book’s home page – www.palgrave.com/9781137362377

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: Mark Harrison

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, Soviet Union, Germany, KGB, purges, agriculture, industrialization, WWII, world war two, Stalin, Hitler, Politburo, strategy

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3eIEmvT

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Military History Inside Out banner