BOOK REVIEW: ‘Vietnam’s Final Air Campaign: Operation Linebacker I & II May-December 1972’

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title:  Vietnam’s Final Air Campaign: Operation Linebacker I & II May-December 1972

Author: Stephen Emerson

Total Number of Pages: 128

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): 8½

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The American air operations known collectively as Linebacker I and II occurred in 1972, during the Vietnam War and were an 11-day-long aerial bombing campaign intended to force the North Vietnamese to seriously-negotiate a formal peace settlement between the United States of America and North Vietnam and so bring to an end the aforementioned war. In that it was successful, and the machinations and military activities which occurred immediately-prior-to and during the operations, form the subject of this very readable volume.

The book opens with the expected Contents page which, in addition to the usual chapter headings etc., also contains a list of the Maps the book contains; a Chart (U.S. Troop Levels 1964-1973), a Diagram (Typical Linebacker Force Composition) and a Table (U.S. Air Losses for Linebacker II, December 18-28, 1972). It is an ‘Admirable’ inclusion and saves a lot of time in respect of searching. A two-page Glossary follows. This clarifies the military terminology used throughout the book and is in turn followed by an Acknowledgements section within which the author, while thanking those who helped with information, also pays tribute to ‘…All the men who flew in or supported Operation Linebacker I and II in 1972’; it is a nice touch. The seven Sections (analogous to Chapters, but not named as such) follow. Of these, Sections One to Five provide the necessary background to what is detailed in Chapter Six (Unleashing the Dogs of War), and as such portend and explain what is to come; the activities outlined in Chapter Six being the ultimate focus of the volume Where relevant to the narrative, while equally stories in their own right, sections of text have been placed within boxed areas within the larger ‘chapter’ With Chapter 6 having been the focus of the narrative, an analysis becomes necessary. This is provided by the volume’s last section (Number 7 and titled Post Mortem), the title being self-explanatory. Within each Section, Subsections are used to provide additional information, and, where necessary, Endnotes are used to indicate the existence of additional reference material. The latter are sequential, Section-specific, and numeric in format; the individual citations appearing in a designated Notes section placed after Chapter 7.  A Bibliography follows that section and is in turn followed by the volume’s Index; the book’s last section. The narrative is accompanied by numerous monochrome Images from a variety of sources; some acknowledged, many not. A selection of coloured Images also appears, and is placed in an eight-page section in the centre of the volume.The Images are informatively captioned, but neither the Contents nor Index sections contain reference to their existence. As previously-noted Charts, Diagrams, Tables and Maps appear within the volume and are valuable aide memoirs to the narrative.

While this is an excellent tale and both well-told and written, for this reviewer, it was let down by the ‘little things’; the ‘details’ if you will. Of these the Index was the most problematic, with several randomly-sought locations being denied an Index entry despite being deemed worthy of a mention within the larger narrative.  Although others were also found, Mu Gia Pass (page 24) and the Thai Nguyen rail complex (page 108) will suffice as examples. The appearance of several Quotes without citations was also noted, as were a small number of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

As previously-noted this is a well-written and well-told volume and, despite the previously-referenced ‘little things’, begs fair to become a Standard Reference Work on its subject.  As such it may be of interest to aviation and military historians, while readers seeking clarification as to what who did what and why during the latter days of the Vietnam War, may also find it informative. Due to the large number of aviation-related images military-aviation enthusiasts and aero modellers may also find this book useful in their researches.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent, I have given this volume an 8½.

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BOOK REVIEW: ‘Adrian Shooter: A Life in Engineering and Railways’

Reviewer:  Michael Keith

Title: Adrian Shooter: A Life in Engineering and Railways

Author: Adrian Shooter

No. of Pages: 240

Rating Scale (1: very poor, 10: excellent): 8 ½

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To quote this volume’s Dustjacket, ‘This book is the tale of a small boy from Surrey who had a fascination with anything on wheels and, also, loved to learn about people and what motivated them’. While so-doing ‘He describes his upbringing and…takes the reader on a voyage of discovery into the world of 1960’s engineering before he joined British Railway [sic] in 1970’. The narration of his experiences with that organisation ‘…Presents readers with a whole new picture of what was really going on within British Rail at various levels’. It is an accurate summation of a very readable and interesting volume.

The volume itself consists of nine Chapters. These take the reader from the author’s childhood to approximately 1992 (the exact date is not stated).  As already noted, these detail his experiences in the world of mechanical engineering and within British Rail; the latter during the ‘Transition-era’ when steam was being replaced by both diesel-electric and electric locomotives, and new rolling stock was entering service It was a change of immense proportions and the author’s narrations of his experiences during that time make for always interesting reading. The Chapters are followed by a single-page Index. The volume contains numerous monochrome and colour photographs and newspaper-based images from a variety of sources. These are all relevant to the larger narrative and indicative of the author’s ever-upward progress through the British railways hierarchy. The Contents and Index pages contain no reference to their existence. No Maps are provided, and although numerous acronyms and abbreviations appear throughout the book, there is no master Glossary to provide a quick reference and so jog the reader’s memory

This is a very entertaining book, but this reviewer was disappointed by the person-centric nature of its Index. With but three exceptions (Bletchley TMD, Crewe Works and Derby Loco Works) the focus of the Index is entirely on individuals that appear within the volume. Regrettably, even that coverage is, at best, ‘Patchy’, with many of those named within the book being omitted, and in some instances (Beeching, Richard for example, referenced on pages 22 and 68) only given a single Index entry (page 22 in this example). As many railway-enthusiast readers rely on a book’s Index to learn if their favoured locations appear within it and purchase accordingly, by not including such information this volume’s Index has effectively eliminated a potential readership of considerable size. With little interest in searching for a possibly non-existent location, many potential ‘enthusiast’ purchasers will forego that privilege. The volume’s lack of maps only serves to compound the difficulty.

As it gives a ‘Management’ perspective on activities within the British mechanical engineering and railway industries during the 1960’s and ‘70’s, this volume may be of interest to transport and social historians with an interest in that time. The contents of some of the photographs may also be of use to railway modellers and to railway enthusiasts with an interest in British Railways during the same period. As an example as to how things might be done, those involved in Business Management may also find it of interest.

On a Rating Scale where 1: very poor, 10: excellent, I have given this book an 8 ½.

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