English Electric's Canberra saw an unbroken 46 years of service in the UK as a test and trials aircraft from 1951 until final retirement in 1994. Flown by Government research establishments; military units and military defense contractors on a vast range of tasks; the versatile Canberra contributed to the development of aircraft engines; airborne radars; reconnaissance sensors; aircrew equipment; nuclear weapons; conventional armament; missiles and much more. The Canberra was flown in particular as a platform for the majority of post-war UK-developed airborne interception radars; from AI.18 through AI.20; AI.23 and a number of experimental radars; to AI.24 Foxhunter and beyond. Other projects covered included missile program; electro-optical sensors for the TSR-2 optical linescan; reconnaissance radars for the V-Force and the TSR.2's P.391 SLAR and the ASTOR SAR that led to the Sentinel R.1. The UK stealth program and the 'Rubber Duck' Canberra is examined as are Double Scorpion and Spectre rocket engines as well as aiming systems and the Q-band strike radar.The huge variety of airframe modifications and color schemes of these special aircraft are fully illustrated making this an invaluable book for the aviation enthusiast; modeler and historian.
#146156 in Books The Golden Sufi Center 2010-11-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .60 x 5.50l; .55 #File Name: 1890350214192 pages
Review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Window into Ancient GreeceBy Chris C. HillIn this work Peter Kingsley wears two hats; addresses two audiences; and the book divides accordingly. The first part is narrative; and the tone is that of a bard or shaman using story-telling powers to urge readers along a path of self discovery. The second part is historical; and the scholarship here regarding shamanic history can only be described as magisterial; albeit (as with all scholarship) rightly part of a vetting process that proceeds; sometimes over decades; through communications between many scholars.Unsurprisingly most reviewers fall into two camps: those drawn by the shamanic quest; who make little or no reference to Kingsley's scholarship; and those drawn by the scholarship but uncomfortable with the shamanic quest; which can destabilize one's sense of control.Well; Peter Kingsley _could_ have written two books targeting different audiences. But then there's something slightly dodgy and manipulative about doing that when your own journey to knowledge has progressed by yoking disparate sides of your brain. Give the guy credit for trying to bring to fruition the unique mix of potentialities he was born with; even though he's undoubtedly encountered some rough seas on his journey.Regarding the narrative part of this book: In its large rhythms and its mingling of intimacy and distance; Peter Kingsley's text reads like a prose poem; an instrument well suited for stirring readers. There are lapses of tone; however; when the author appears identified with unpleasant parts of his narrative. To some extent these subvert his larger aim by interrupting the progress of the narrative's long; positive line. Since requires reviewers to rate via stars; I'll subtract a star for such blemishes.Regarding the scholarly part of this book: A few years before the First World War; the British historian Arnold Toynbee drafted a monograph on the culture of ancient Greece. After many interruptions he took up the work again and completed it in the late 1950s; by which time he had become perhaps the most widely read historian writing in English. Hellenism was published in 1959. I mention Hellenism because on pages 59-62 Toynbee tells a story that contains numerous key elements of the story Peter Kingsley tells in the book under review. Among those key elements: Toynbee points out commonalities between Pythagorism and Orphism (in which oracular statements were famously uttered; in trance; by a mouthpiece for Apollo); identifies nomads of northern Asia as the possible source for those common elements; and discusses how this importation into Greece met a religious need that was lacking in Greek culture.To be sure Toynbee tells this story within a somewhat different perspective that synthesizes other elements; too. But the parallels are striking. I consider them sufficient to justify saying that Mr. Kingsley's scholarship has essentially filled in; with remarkable detail; the large blanks of a story that was evident to Toynbee a century earlier. I certainly don't mean that Kingsley was guided by or even knew of Toynbee's account. If this is sound history; that would be irrelevant in any case; Over time any number of historians could uncover some version of this story.My key take-away is this: Not only is Peter Kingsley's scholarship grounded in its details upon scores and scores of heterogeneous sources; but it may also be considered in its broad outlines mainstream; not idiosyncratic. Whether or not one is personally attracted to his particular synthesis or mode of presentation; this is serious stuff that deserves serious consideration.Addendum: What's needed now is a study of similar scope and rigor that sorts out interrelationships between Orphism and the Eleusinian Mysteries. If anyone knows of such a study; one that does not conflate fifth-century A.D. Neoplatonists and sixth-century B.C. sources (as; say; Uzdavinys does) please comment.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Pythagoras others illuminated!By Tom KingVery illuminating and open-minded review of the Mongolian influence on western philosophy. Written by one who has researched his subject in an unbiased manner it seems.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Awesomely good; synchronistic as I read it when preparing my ...By Kim Maree ParkerAwesomely good; synchronistic as I read it when preparing my arrow for my pipe ceremony. Cheers Peter Kingsley; again brilliant shamanic validation.
