Recent Acquisitions - 2011-03-09

I used to be able to read books as fast as i bought them. This hasn't been true for many years. However, here are some recently acquired books which I hope to read someday:

Troy, New York, and the Building of the USS Monitor, Stephen H. Muller and Jennifer A. Taylor, Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway, Troy, NY 2009
This pamphlet (36 pages) provides a brief history of the USS Monitor and discusses the many aspects of its construction that relate to Troy, New York (a city in which I lived for nearly 25 years, and live only a few miles south of today.) It should be available from the publisher (linked above). I picked up my copy at the Mariner's Museum/USS Monitor Center down in Virginia a week ago.

Project Azorian: The CIA and the Raising of K-129
Norman Polmar's name on a book about Naval History is pure gold. This should be fascinating, the story of the attempt by the CIA to recover a complete Soviet Ballistic Missile Sub from the bottom of the Pacific, right under the Soviet's noses. Another book from the gift store at the Mariner's Museum


The Official Virginia Civil War Battlefield Guide
I'm building a collection of various guides of this sort for a couple of reasons. One is that I just like tromping about old battlefields. This one provides summaries of the battles, maps of the battles, and directions on how to get to the battlefields reviewed. Found it at the bookstore at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center.

A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution
I am very annoyed. The Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center Bookstore, where I purchased this, is selling the 2006 edition. I did not find out about the June 2010 edition until I went to Amazon for the link. I am providing the link to the 2010 edition, it's the least I can do for everyone else.
Savas Beatie has become one of my favorite publishers for US Military History in recent years; most of my recent civil war acquisitions have been books on their list. Theodore Savas, the publisher, is co-author of this. One of the things I particularly like is that the capsule summary at the beginning of each battle description provides time of day and weather information to help in understanding the conditions of the battle. Good maps, and the book also informs you what, if anything, is left at the battle site that indicates what happened there.