Paul Dickson (1) (1939–)

I think it's an indication of the general quality of a work that it can be published by a general publisher that has been merged out of existence, only to be picked up by a fairly prestigious academic press; though Nebraska has a mission of serving the general reader as much as the academician.

By this point the main thrust of this book is fairly well-known, in that there was really not much reason for shock about Sputnik, as in scientific circles it was common knowledge that the Soviets were going to attempt to launch a satellite into space, during the so-called International Geophysical Year. What is still not appreciated by many people is that Eisenhower saw a virtue in letting the Soviets go first, as that would be a practical declaration of space being an open commons, and providing an opportunity for a new era of space-based reconnaissance operations. What no one foresaw is that Sputnik, particularly the large Sputnik III, would open the eyes of people to just what Soviet technology was capable of. Not helping matters is that the U.S. Army (patron of Werner von Braun), and its civilian advocates, saw a golden opportunity to wage organizational war on the U.S. Air Force in the never-ending jurisdictional battle over funding and missions, and gain political traction against Eisenhower; can you say "missile gap?"

So, if you're interested in the nuances of the early days of the Space Age, this is still a worthwhile book to read.… (more)

I am slowly collecting information to develop a data visualization chart of US Army Divisions in WW2. Gleaning information from multiple sources. Researching conflicting information, etc.

This has led me to an interest the period of the late 30s to early 40's when the US Army went thru a huge expansion in size. The army training maneuvers in the South US during this period have always appeared interesting. However, finding any detailed information of the topic has been quite challenging. Until this book, with my relative beginning knowledge on the topic, I found the book a tremendous resource. Lots of interesting and new information (from my perspective).

I did read reviews of this book and acknowledge possible minor shortcomings in presented information.

With my recent efforts in reviewing divisional information of the US Army during WW2, I did note various shortcomings by Dickson in identification of correct US Divisions or in divisional vs. regimental designations.

I could figure out the correct information to interpret what the author meant, but to other readers these shortcomings could easily be missed.

I do wish that there were more maps of the large training maneuvers. The lone map on the inside of the book cover was not enough to visualize these training exercises.

Overall the book was good reading and is recommended.… (more)

"Another glossary type reference, but without the narrative hook that made Roger, Sausage & Whippet so very engrossing.

This one is all about words coined, or first used by, authors. Shakespeare of course, although he doesn't have the showing you'd expect. A lot of words we take for granted today as being newish, but were actually coined over 100 years ago. (Jane Austen was the first to use base ball in a literary work. Google, while not more than 100 years old, has actually been found in a collection of stories published in 1942 - used as a verb, btw - and long before Sergey Brin and Larry Page were born.)

The author is a neologist himself, something that is made quite clear by his unapologetic promotion of words he's claimed credit for. By the end remarks, it seemed to me that it was very important to him that his name live on in connection with language. It's good to have goals, I guess.

Some of my favourite words from the collection:

Alogotransiphobia: fear of being caught on public transportation with nothing to read. (Created by George V. Higgins in 1992)

Bibliobibuli: drunk on books, as other men are drunk on whiskey or religion. (Created by H.L. Menken)

Page 99 Test: Ford Maddox Ford recommended that readers not judge a book by its first few pages, instead recommending that readers "open the book to page ninety-nine and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you." Carried forth on the website page99test.com."… (more)