Tag: interview

WWII aviation military history book – “Race of Aces” (Hachette Books, 2019) – John R. Bruning interview

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John Bruning is a historian with a passion for WWII aviation. He’s written books on the subject and we spoke about his most recent book about the WWII race to be America’s top aviation ace Race of Aces. Check the book out here: https://amzn.to/2Rdem20

0:42 – John talks about how he got into writing on WWII army aviation.

2:47 – John talks about how he structures the story of the five airmen in the book.

4:44 – John talks about how he chose what parts of the story to tell.

7:27 – John talks about the personalities of these airmen.

11:13 – John talks about the Army’s concern with their aces getting shot down.

14:05 – John talks about the Aleutians campaign and its part in this ace race.

17:26 – John talks about the planes involved in the race.

19:21 – John talks about his favorite parts of the book including Gerald Johnson’s romance with his future wife.

24:41 – John talks about the documents he used for his research and who he interviewed.

36:32 – John talks about how his perceptions about General Kinney changed during research.

40:05 – John talks about the champagne prize for winning the ace race.

40:38 – John talks about pilot Charles MacDonald.

44:55 – John talks about the emotional impact researching the book had on him. He relates a story of being in a chinook in Afghanistan.

1:02:45 – John is on facebook at John R. Bruning at the website johnbruning.com and theamericanwarrior.com.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2Rdem20

https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/john-r-bruning/race-of-aces/9780316508643/

https://theamericanwarrior.com/

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 | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: John R. Bruning

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, corsair, marines, history, fighter groups, richard bong, tommy mcguire, neil kirby, charles macdonald, gerald johynson, tommy lynch, 475th, 348th, aleutians, 5th figher command, general kenney, general whitehead, 5th air force, alaska, kiska, P-38, P-39, P-40, planes of fame, 457th, 49th fighter group, hind, japan, das boot, afghanistan, detroit lake, WWII, world war two

Check the book out here.: https://amzn.to/2Rdem20

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Samurai military history book – “Samurai” (ABC-CLIO Press, 2019) – Constantine Vaporis interview

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Samurai military history book – “Samurai” (ABC-CLIO Press, 2019) – Constantine Vaporis interview

Check out the book here  https://amzn.to/2uImEGh

Dr. Constantine Vaporis teaches and writes on Japanese history, especially that of the samurai. We recently discussed his latest book on the samurai of the Tokugawa period. Samurai (ABC-CLIO Press, 2019)

0:38 – Constantine talks about how he got into writing on Japan and samurai.

3:22 – Constantine talks about how he determined what he wanted to focus on in this book. He focused on the Tokugawa period.

7:48 – Constantine talks about how the daimyo and samurai ran the government.

9:18 – Constantine talks about how samurai and non-samurai interacted in the government.

11:14 – Constantine talks about how men became samurai.

13:12 – Constantine talks about loyalty among the samurai.

14:53 – Constantine talks how some samurai were developed to be military leaders both in the army and navy.

18:30 – Constantine talks about the make-up of the Japanese military.

19:31 – Constantine talks about the size of the Japanese military before Tokugawa and during that period.

21:27 – Constantine talks about how the Tokugawas took weapons from the populace and the pacification of the countryside.

22:23 – Constantine talks about Japan became remilitarized and how samurai were unmade in the mid 1800s.

24:08 – Constantine talks about how the peace was kept during the Tokugawa period.

26:30 – Constantine talks about how peasants dealt with their problems with samurai.

27:29 – Constantine talks about the rules of the military household.

29:19 – Constantine talks about female fighters.

30:43 – Constantine talks about samurai who fled to southeast Asia at the end of the 16th century.

31:32 – Constantine talks about samurai attachment to their name and the land.

34:07 – Constantine talks about the cultural diversity of Japan in this period.

37:44 – Constantine talks about the resources he used for this book. He mentions the archives he used.

40:04 – Constantine talks about samurai helmets and sword guards.

42:05 – Constantine talks about the quality of samurai weapons and armor.

44:07 – Constantine talks about conflicts between Japanese and westerners.

45:36 – Constantine talks about the pressure the westerners put on Japanese culture.

47:02 – Constantine talks about Japanese analysis of western books and technology.

48:57 – Constantine talks about coming across a temple to a loyal cat. He also talks about samurai keeping dogs.

54:30 – Constantine talks about how justice was dispensed by the samurai.

1:00:48 – He has a site at voicesofearlymodernjapan.wordpress.com

Links of interest

Check out the book here

https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A4999C

voicesofearlymodernjapan.wordpress.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 | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Constantine Vaporis

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, chanbara, seven samurai, daimyo, shogun, edo, tokugawa, status, tokugawa ieyasu, jesuits, portuguese, smithsonian, osaka, Sekigahara, muskets, suicide, vendetta, shogunate, mito, izu, naginata, fief, martial customs, horse riding, katana

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Iraq War military history book – “The Warriors of Anbar” (Da Capo Press, 2019) – Ed Darack interview

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Ed Darack is a prolific writer who wrote a book about his experiences embedded with a Marine unit in Iraq. We spoke about his experiences there and the Marines he wrote about. Check out the book here.

1:02 – Ed talks about how he got into writing this book.

5:52 – Ed talks about how he logistically managed being embedded with the unit in Iraq.

10:02 – Ed talks about the time period the book covers – 2006 to 2007.

11:14 – Ed talks about what he wanted to focus the book on. He focused on the individuals.

18:50 – Ed talks about the size of the Marine battalion versus the population of the area they were operating in.

22:23 – Ed talks about the artillery, tank, and air support the battalion had.

24:26 – Ed talks about the support this battalion had in theater.

26:30 – Ed talks about the morale of the unit.

27:54 – Ed talks about relations between the Marines and other units operating in the area.

29:18 – Ed talks about what he focused on in the book.

30:18 – Ed talks about how he approaches the analysis in the book.

32:14 – Ed wanted to paint a clear picture of modern war.

33:13 – Ed talks about what it was like to interview the Marines and their family.

34:40 – Ed talks about the Marine Corps birthday.

35:24 – Ed talks about how he did the research for the book.

37:26 – Ed talks about Iraqi reactions to the Marines.

38:13 – Ed talks about what he enjoyed about doing the book.

40:35 – Ed talks about what he found most surprising.

41:20 – Ed talks about some friction at the RCT level.

43:55 – Ed talks about awards that the unit received.

45:34 – Ed talks about his hope that the book will help people understand the job that the Marines do.

47:11 – Ed talks about the information that couldn’t get into the book.

48:19 – Ed talks about getting the book published.

49:24 – Ed talks about his next writing project on Operation Redwings and articles for Smithsonian Air & Space magazine.

50:13 – Ed is on darack.com and has various social media accounts.

51:12 – Ed thanks the battalion for letting him on board.

Links of interest

Check out the book here.

https://www.dacapopress.com/titles/ed-darack/the-warriors-of-anbar/9780306922664/

http://darack.com/

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 | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Ed Darack

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, hawaii, marines, mountain warfare training center, afghanistan, kunar, nangahar, battalion, 3/3, 2/3, iraq, embedded, haditha triad, al-anbar, operation redwings, al-qaeda, hachette books, navy, fleet marine, female marines, lionesses, air wing, air and space, smithsonian, whiskey company, deployment, beirut bombings, baghdad, fallujah, ramadi, AQI, islamic state, colonel farouk, ODA, fireteam, squad, platoon, company, MEU, rct2, rct7, harriers, isr, blackhawk, information operations, IED, wagu beef

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.