Tricky Dick with some light reading
More on Nixon from this Aug. '22 post above —
Reading “The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942–1944 (The Pacific War Trilogy, 2)” by Ian Toll
I’m about halfway through — pretty good. Gives Japanese general’s & admiral’s thoughts, views, doubts, debates which adds nice balance.
Snip from Amazon blurb — “…encompasses the heart of the Pacific War―the period between mid-1942 and mid-1944―when parallel Allied counteroffensives north and south of the equator washed over Japan’s far-flung island empire like a ‘conquering tide,’ concluding with Japan’s irreversible strategic defeat in the Marianas. It was the largest, bloodiest, most costly, most technically innovative and logistically complicated amphibious war in history.”
Battle of Tarawa (p.359)
“On the third day of the battle, Japanese resistance buckled and collapsed. The 6th Marines rolled up the southern shore and joined with other units to overrun the airfield. The last axis of organized resistance in central Betio was in a two-story steel-reinforced concrete blockhouse that had withstood all direct hits by shells or bombs. The hard-run bulldozers were called into service to finish the job. They approached with blades raised as armor against fire and shoved a small mountain of sand and coral up to cover the entrance and firing slots. A few Marines climbed to the top of the structure and poured gasoline down the air vents. A single hand grenade was enough to convert the block-house into a kiln. The remains of 300 Japanese were later excavated from the interior.”
Curtiss SB2C-1C Helldivers
Two U.S. Navy Curtiss SB2C-1C Helldiver dive bombers of Bombing Squadron 1 (VB-1) in the landing circle of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) in July 1944.
Not a book but history related — today in 1453
The Fall of Constantinople occurred on May 29, 1453, after a siege that began on April 6. The battle was part of the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars (1265-1453).
https://greekcitytimes.com/2026/05/29/may-29-1453-fall-of-constantinople-2026/
“A turning point in Western history, the Fall of Constantinople is seen as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance… The loss of Constantinople severed European trade links with Asia, leading many to seek routes east by sea and keying the Age of Exploration.”
that set the stage for the Battle of Vienna in 1683 where my favorite person in history, john sobeiski - king of poland; turned back the muslims and saved europe. who knows what europe would be like today, or rest of the world for that matter; had the muslims won that.