At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the U.S. Navy; first published in 1962; is the official Navy history of Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats during World War II. The book; lavishly illustrated and fully indexed; is published here in a new; easy-to-read format. the book opens with a look at PT boat design and construction; naval activities in the Philippines and the evacuation of MacArthur from Corregidor (conducted via PT boat by the book's author; himself a PT skipper); followed by chapters on PT activities in the Pacific (including the Aleutian Island campaign); plus the Mediterranean and English Channel theaters where the PT boats faced Italian and German boats of similar design. The role of PT boats in support of the D-Day landings in Normandy is also discussed. With a Foreword by John F. Kennedy; At Close Quarters remains the authoritative work on PT boats in the Second World War.
#331430 in Books 2016-12-07Original language:English 9.00 x .37 x 6.00l; #File Name: 1519096909147 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. documents in straight forward unembellished language a year in Hell.........By MizEm; Queens; NYThis is the best first person journal I have ever read. Written by a twenty year old captured Union soldier; it documents in straight forward unembellished language a year in Hell. Andersonville POW camp was as bad as any WWII concentration camp. Horrid sanitation leading to rampant diseases; starvation rations; gangs preying on fellow prisoners; lack of potable water to drink or medical care; and incompetent cruel jailers. Ransom barely survives his ordeal; and in fact; was saved by another inmate. What is redeeming in this journal are the acts of kindness and care some inmates shared; and the fact that the Confederate commander who ran this camp was hung for his crimes after the war. This should be required reading for every citizen of the US. It would be welcome to find out just how John Ransom lived post his ordeal; but a quick foray yielded little results. Our inhumanity shows itself; barefaced and ugly; on every page of this journal; as does our spirit to survive and help fellow travelers.Documents such as this help define the extremes of our behavior. Hopefully; we will learn to be better people after reading this diary.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Ransom a genius; his writtings I do believe kept him alive.By Customer PappybluesFantastic ! ; A hurray ! ; Amazing man of resiliency to keep his fortitude in full positive strength.Not only did he save himself but aided in helping others in many ways . The Brotherhood that he wasable to show in his writtings and he partook in was skilled as much brave under the turbulant timesof strife put to them by the Rebels . I heard stories as a boy of the Civil War and how it tore our familyapart as well as neighbors close and far.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Reads like a novelBy M. HeissI appreciate this book more; also having read the novel ANDERSONVILLE; which is loosely based on this diary.John Ransom was a michigan artilleryman captured and imprisoned; first on Belle Isle; and then in Andersonville. The language is accessible and the diary never descends into squalor; fear; or depression. Ransom and his comrades made a pact to stay as healthy and positive as possible during their imprisonment; and that comes through in the diary; written in three journals and hidden throughout his captivity. Ransom does not dwell on the horrifying details of the prisons; but focuses on the good and bad in the characters around him. His horror comes through; especially when he lists the dead of his acquaintance; or even just quantifies the daily death rate -- 15 per day... 20 per day ... 40 per day ... over 100 per day.If you want the shocking gory details; read the novel Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor -- it isn't *near* the book that this diary is. But you will get physical descriptions of the prison that will turn your stomach. You will get physical descriptions of the diseases afflicting the prisoners -- much more detail than you probably want. But the novel Andersonville suffers from being way too depressing and maudlin; which never happens in John Ransom's diary.This diary is by far the better of the two books.
