Tag: Britain

Brian Herskowitz talks about making the Vietnam War television show Tour of Duty

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Brian Herskowitz talks about the Vietnam War show Tour of Duty

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Check out the show here  https://amzn.to/3aD11YZ

Interview Summary

Brian Herskowitz has been a screenwriter for years and has taught the subject too. When he first started in Hollywood, one of his first assignments was working on the popular Vietnam War show “Tour of Duty” which ran from 1987-1990. He became a producer and writer on the show. He’s also written other screenplays, done some acting, and has worked in the entertainment industry for years. We talked about the show, the show’s approach to history, veterans, screenwriting, and about his screenwriting book “Process to Product”.

1:04 – Brian talks about how he got involved with the show Tour of Duty. (Note: I stated his screenwriting book was published in 2019 but it was published in 2014.)

2:48 – Brian talks about how the show progressed and dealt with real issues.

7:56 – Brian talks about the historical consultants and approach to authenticity of the show.

13:26 – Brian talks about the mail the show got from veterans.

14:31 – Brian talks about why the show was cancelled and China Beach.

17:57 – Brian talks about the chemistry of the characters.

20:21 – Brian talks about the approach to the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong in the show.

25:29 – Brian talks about the characters of Zeke and Lt Goldman.

26:09 – Brian talks about audience response to episodes where the US sometimes doesn’t get put in a positive light.

29:49 – Brian talks about Steve Philip Smith, a veteran who was an executive producer on the show.

32:31 – Brian talks about how the actors stepped back in time from the 80s to the late 60s.

34:33 – Brian talks about the environment in the 80s for Vietnam War stories.

38:25 – Brian talks about Magnum PI and its connection to the Vietnam War.

40:34 – Brian talks about people who had trouble with the show’s subject matter.

43:42 – Brian talks about the interracial marriage story line in the show.

47:16 – Brian talks about the kinds of stories that wrote for the show.

49:47 – Brian talks about censorship and the deaths of children and drug use in the show.

51:36 – Brian talks about changes in the use of violence in movies and shows.

56:10 – Brian talks about video games and we discuss how troops play military video games.

1:02:15 – Brian talks about veterans writing screenplays.

1:08:14 – We discuss the movie “Taking Chance.”

1:10:56 – Brian can be found at brianherskowitz.com.

1:12:09 – Brian discusses a few more details about the show Tour of Duty.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3aD11YZ

https://amzn.to/2PUQNJG

https://www.brianherskowitz.com/

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Brian Herskowitz

Host: Cris Alvarez

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2PUQNJG

Check out the show here  https://amzn.to/3aD11YZ

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Alexander Mikaberidze interview about Napoleonic military history book “The Napoleonic Wars” (Oxford University Press, 2020)

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Alexander Mikaberidze Napoleonic Wars interview
Alexander Mikaberidze Napoleonic Wars

Alex Mikaberidze Napoleonic Wars Interview

Interview Summary

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/308FVxH

Alex Mikaberidze has been studying and writing on the Napoleonic Wars and Middle Eastern history for many years. He recently completed a ten year project writing on the global impact of the Napoleonic wars. We spoke about the Napoleonic wars, Napoleon, the War of 1812, and the process of writing the book.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:43 – Alex talks about how he became interested in the Napoleonic Wars.

2:32 – Alex talks about the languages he knows and its applications to this research.

3:33 – Alex talks about how his history of the Napoleonic Wars is different from other books on the subject.

9:07 – Alex talks about the various impacts of the Napoleonic Wars.

12:45 – Alex talks about the economics of the Napoleonic Wars.

16:58 – Alex talks about the importance of Napoleon in everything that happened in this period.

20:45 – Alex talks about why Napoleon made himself Emperor and what effects that had.

25:56 – Alex talks about how some Russians were happy that Napoleon made himself an Emperor.

27:06 – Alex talks about Napoleon not being a warmonger and his immense intellectual curiosity.

29:38 – Alex talks about Napoleon being a micro-manager.

32:46 – Alex talks about why the Russians did not surrender to Napoleon when he took Moscow.

38:41 – Alex discusses what might have happened if Napoleon had abolished serfdom in Russia.

39:31 – Alex talks about the military changes engendered by the Napoleonic Wars.

41:24 – Alex talks about changes in the Ottoman military.

43:22 – Alex talks about changes in the Iranian military.

45: – Alex talks about the political changes caused by the Napoleonic Wars especially with Spain and its colonies.

49:16 – Alex talks about what countries gained the most and lost the most from the Napoleonic Wars.

51:49 – Alex talks about British wins in India and Africa due to the wars. He discusses the rise of Russian power after the Napoleonic Wars.

54:58 – Alex talks about how badly France, Spain, and Portugal ended up after the wars.

56:49 – Alex talks about how he did his research and the main archives her used.

58:20 – Alex talks about the places he visited for his research.

1:01:00 – Alex talks about the tug of war between modernization and tradition during the Napoleonic Wars.

1:03:28 – Alex talks about Napoleon’s refusal to make a compromise deal in 1813.

1:05:51 – Alex about the writing and publishing process.

1:09:57 – Alex talks about research into the Louisiana Purchase and American and Russian competition in western North America.

1:14:33 – Alex can be found on facebook and on the Louisiana State University Shreveport website.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/308FVxH

https://www.lsus.edu/alexander-mikaberidze

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Alexander Mikaberidze

Host: Cris Alvarez

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/308FVxH

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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20th century military history book – “Saving Israel” (Stackpole Books, 2020) – Boaz Dvir interview

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Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2ZnM73r

Boaz Dvir is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker. He spent ten years researching the creation of the Israeli Air Force in 1948. He produced a documentary on the subject titled “A Wing and a Prayer” which was shown on PBS. He then wrote a book on the subject. We spoke about the Israeli Air Force of 1948, the secret methods needed to create it, the writing of the book, and what it took to research it.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:51 – Boaz talks about why he wrote this book.

3:41 – Boaz talks about how the Israelis were armed with Nazi weapons in 1948.

4:25 – Boaz summarizes what led up to the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.

7:35 – Boaz talks about what he focuses on in the book.

12:32 – Boaz talks about how the Arab were threatening to annihilate the Israelis.

14:41 – Boaz talks about the US Army flight engineer who started the operation to arm Israel.

19:59 – Boaz talks about how the Jewish-American underground set up an airline to fly people into Israel.

23:05 – Boaz talks about how Adolf became an international arms smuggler.

26:54 – Boaz talks about military resistance to the smuggling of weapons.

31:41 – Boaz talks about what the Israeli Air Force consisted of before the 1948 war and what had been created by the end of the war.

32:58 – Boaz talks in detail about the planes they brought into Israel.

35:35 – Boaz talks about the initial operations on both sides during the 1948 war.

39:22 – Boaz talks about the air war during the 1948 war and the initial Arab advantage.

41:54 – Boaz talks about how Israel used Nazi weapons in the 1948 war.

45:14 – Boaz talks about the research he did for the book.

49:10 – Boaz talks about coming across one of the old C-47s used in the 1948 war.

51:19 – Boaz talks about how amazing it was to talk to the US WWII veterans.

54:26 – Boaz talks about the emotional responses to this subject matter.

54:53 – Boaz talked about his surprise at US antagonism towards Israel in 1948.

59:10 – Boaz talks about how the USSR indirectly armed Israel.

1:04:01 – Boaz talks about influence of Jewish Russians on Israel.

1:05:22 – Boaz talks about the British pilots who flew against Israel and the shoot-down of a British reconnaissance plane.

1:08:21 – Boaz talks about the two types of Egyptian pilots that the Israeli pilots faced in 1948.

1:09:52 – Boaz talks about the victims of the war.

1:17:14 – Boaz talks about how the people in his book were innovative.

1:22:30 – Boaz can be found on facebook at Boaz Dvir and on twitter @BoazDvir.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2ZnM73r

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780811737265/Saving-Israel-The-Unknown-Story-of-Smuggling-Weapons-and-Winning-a-Nation%E2%80%99s-Independence

https://twitter.com/boazdvir?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

 

Guests: Boaz Dvir

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, tags: Israel, Holocaust, Arab-Israeli war, Nazi, Palestine, Jewish, United Nations, US Army Air Force, aviation, neutrality act, WWII, world war two, Britain, Trans-Jordan, ATC, concentration camp, RAF, Royal Navy, arms smuggling, arms embargo, Egypt, Iraq, Hawaii, US Navy, FBI, Czechoslovakia, California, New Jersey, 1948 war, dogfighting, pilots, Negev, B-17, El Al, Tel Aviv, Messerschmitts, Nazi, Spitfires, Syria, flight logs, Israeli Air Force museum, greatest generation, Soviet Union, Stalin, Ben Gurion, Cairo, P-51, Panama, Wing and a Prayer, PBS

 

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2ZnM73r

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.