Fearlessly taking aim at the seemingly impressive facade of modern military power, Dirty Little Secrets is an unusual, entertaining, and thought-provoking look at the myths, mysteries, arcana, and boondoggles unknown to the rest of us. Did you know that
<ul>
<li>There are an estimated 40 million AK47 assault rifles in the world? (Page 25)</li>
<li>The United States Air Force estimates that collisions between aircraft and birds, about two thousand a year, cost $100 million annually-and about twenty injured or dead airmen? (Page 136)</li>
<li>As the ultimate defense against electronic warfare, the Swiss Army maintains twenty thousand carrier pigeons for combat service? (Page 243)</li>
<li>The space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 crippled the U.S. intelligence satellite network between 1986 and 1990 and would have left the U.S. military almost blind in the event of a major conflict? (Page 245)</li>
<li>Most helicopters on combat ships cannot be used more than twenty to forty hours a month? (Page 179)</li>
<li>For over twenty years, the U.S. Navy has been successfully using sea lions, dolphins, and whales to guard its ships from enemy divers? (Page 195)</li>
</ul>
In addition to recounting everything from the merely trivial to the truly terrible, the authors help readers to look at the big picture, reminding us that ignorance is not bliss where the military is concerned.

Dirty Little Secrets: Military Information You're Not Supposed To Know

History

DUNNIGAN, JAMES F.

Nofi, Albert

Military

William Morrow Paperbacks

The Blue & Gray Almanac: The Civil War in Facts & Figures, Recipes & Slang

Albert Nofi tells the story of the American War through a range of insightful essays, anecdotes, and facts. Did you know... • During the final days of the war, some Richmond citizens would throw “Starvation Parties,” at which elegantly attired guests would gather at soirees where the finest silver and crystal tableware was used, though there were usually no refreshments except water. • Union Rear-Admiral Goldsborough was nicknamed “Old Guts”, not so much for his combativeness as for his heft, weighing about 300 pounds, and was described as “. . . a huge mass of inert matter.” • 30.6 percent of the 425 Confederate generals, but only 21.6 percent of the 583 Union generals, had been lawyers before the war. • In 1861, J. P. Morgan made a huge profit by buying 5,000 condemned US Army carbines and selling them back to another arsenal, taking the Army to court when they tried to refuse to pay for the faulty weapons. • Major General Loring was reputed to have so rich a vocabulary than one of the men once remarked he could "curse a cannon up hill without horses." • Many militia units had a favorite drink, the Charleston Light Dragoons’ punch took around a week to make while the Chatham Artillery required 1 pound of green tea leaves be steeped overnight. • There were five living former presidents when the Civil War began, and seven veterans of the war (plus one draft dodger) went on to serve as President. Table of Contents 1. The "House Divided" 2. From Secession to Civil War 3. The Civil War in 11,000 Words 4. Armies Blue and Gray 5. Incidents and Anecdotes of War 6. The Naval War 7. War and Society 8. The Generals 9. Money, Graft, and Corruption 10. The Naughty Bits 11. The Troops 12. Civil War Medicine Epilogue: The Civil War since the Civil War Appendix: The Civil War and the Presidency Notes Further Reading Onomastic Index

Americas

Casemate

A fascinating and entertaining anthology about the American Civil War, throwing new light on all aspects of the war, and how it affected America and Americans, then and down to the present. Albert Nofi tells the story of the American War through a range of insightful essays, anecdotes, and facts. Did you know...* During the final days of the war, some Richmond citizens would throw "Starvation Parties," at which elegantly attired guests would gather at soirees where the finest silver and crystal tableware was used, though there were usually no refreshments except water.* Union Rear-Admiral Goldsborough was nicknamed "Old Guts", not so much for his combativeness as for his heft, weighing about 300 pounds, and was described as ". . . a huge mass of inert matter."* 30.6 percent of the 425 Confederate generals, but only 21.6 percent of the 583 Union generals, had been lawyers before the war.* In 1861, J. P. Morgan made a huge profit by buying 5,000 condemned US Army carbines and selling them back to another arsenal, taking the Army to court when they tried to refuse to pay for the faulty weapons.* Major General Loring was reputed to have so rich a vocabulary than one of the men once remarked he could "curse a cannon up hill without horses."* Many militia units had a favorite drink, the Charleston Light Dragoons' punch took around a week to make while the Chatham Artillery required 1 pound of green tea leaves be steeped overnight.* There were five living former presidents when the Civil War began, and seven veterans of the war (plus one draft dodger) went on to serve as President.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Nofi, Albert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Nofi, Albert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Nofi, Albert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Dirty Little Secrets: Military Information You're Not Supposed To Know

The Blue & Gray Almanac: The Civil War in Facts & Figures, Recipes & Slang

The Blue & Gray Almanac: The Civil War in Facts & Figures, Recipes & Slang