This is one of those books that can appear to be highly specialized and of little interest to anyone who is not a professional working in that discipline. It turns out to be an enjoyable and informative text that is very easy to read and capable of taking the attention of a wide audience. It is difficult to see how any consideration of manned space exploration can be undertaken without having a reliable understanding of the psychology involved.
Monthly Archives: August 2011
Psychology of Space Exploration
This is one of those books that can appear to be highly specialized and of little interest to anyone who is not a professional working in that discipline. It turns out to be an enjoyable and informative text that is very easy to read and capable of taking the attention of a wide audience. It is difficult to see how any consideration of manned space exploration can be undertaken without having a reliable understanding of the psychology involved.
German Fighting Tanks
In this DVD the archive film has been well selected and is accompanied by bonus archive films and photo galleries. The DVD documentary follows the story from the first tanks of WWI to the formation of new Panzer units with Type 1 and 2 tanks, through to the end of WWII.
Assault on Normandy, Pegasus Bridge
This DVD follows on nicely from The Glider Pilot Regiment and is presented by the same two presenters. Their experience of battlefield guides and knowledge across the subject makes this an enjoyable and informative DVD. When the British airborne forces were born in the dark days of 1940, the RAF was focused on two battles.
German Fighter Squadrons
For non-Germans, the commentary may appear to be rewriting history but it is a German perspective that reflects the attitudes at the time when the original war film was shot. In this DVD the archive film has been well selected and is accompanied by bonus archive films and photo galleries. At the start of WWII, the Luftwaffe was primarily divided into fighter squadrons and into squadrons supporting the German Army. Effort had gone into building bombers that were twin engine tactical machines and single engine dive bombers that could be used as terror bombers on cities, after air superiority had been won by the fighters.
German U-Boats
The video follows the fortunes of the U-Boat war and provides rare footage from German archives. There is also interesting bonus material. This is a video documentary that all naval enthusiasts will want to watch. It plays successfully on DVD-V enabled computers in addition to playing on domestic entertainment DVD players.
The Red Baron, Der Rote Baron
The subject of the documentary is a legend internationally known and one of the few individuals to have achieved this level of celebrity during a bloody war of attrition that saw millions of Europe’s young men slaughtered in the mud and filth of the trench lines. When Richthoven was killed, he was engaged in an aerial fight at less than 100 feet altitude and well within range of light machine guns on the ground.. At the time of his death he was considered by his comrades as invincible and there was reluctance to believe that he could have been destroyed by another fighter pilot.
The Glider Pilot Regiment
Very few military forces enjoy such a short but intense history. It is a remarkable tale and it is told ably in this DVD. The two presenters both have a sound knowledge of the subject and they have interviewed surviving Glider Pilots. Video and sound quality is good in PCs running Windows 7 and on Apple Mac.