Americans tend to forget that Japan didn’t only attack Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. She simultaneously attacked across a wide swath of the Pacific Ocean, including the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. Britain had just sent to Singapore one of its most modern battleships, HMS Prince of Wales (which had recently played… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in 1941
Tag: Saturday snippet
Saturday Snippet: Debugging the Oak Ridge nuclear plant
During World War II, Richard Feynman, then a very newly-graduated physicist, was sent from Los Alamos, New Mexico (the heart of the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb) to Oak Ridge in Tennessee, where the nuclear material for the bomb was to be enriched. He was tasked with making sure that the factory… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: Debugging the Oak Ridge nuclear plant
Saturday Snippet: a Viking hunting adventure
Readers seemed to like the snippet I posted from a proposed Viking/fantasy novel a couple of weeks ago: so here’s another one. The book is taking shape very quickly, and should be ready shortly. In this excerpt, the young Alvar (by now entering his teens) is hunting an elg, which is the Norwegian (and Viking)… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: a Viking hunting adventure
Saturday snippet – deterring a thief in Haiti
Max Hardberger has written several books inspired by his time at sea, first as a marine captain, and later as a well-known recovery expert, “stealing back” ships and other big-capital items that had been stolen from their owners. In his book “Freighter Captain” (officially a novel, but which is obviously and unashamedly highly autobiographical), he… Continue reading Saturday snippet – deterring a thief in Haiti
Saturday Snippet: a Viking teaser
During my ongoing recovery from my heart attack last month, I’ve been trying to work on the books I have in progress. It’s very difficult to write creatively when the new medication I’m taking makes me breathless, dizzy, and too easily tired. The combination doesn’t do much for my muse! As a result, when things… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: a Viking teaser
Saturday Snippet: more hazards on the trail
Following my recent heart attack, I’ve found my writing activities severely disrupted. Part of it is the sheer amount of time I have to spend on cardiac rehabilitation classes, seeing doctors, and other related activities. However, much of it is due to medication issues. I’ve been put on one of the most recent anticoagulant/blood-thinner medications,… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: more hazards on the trail
Saturday Snippet: The USS Enterprise and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
As we all know, the US aircraft carriers weren’t at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked it on December 7th, 1941. However, they weren’t far away. USS Enterprise was one of only three US carriers (along with USS Saratoga and USS Ranger) to serve throughout World War II from the first day to the last. … Continue reading Saturday Snippet: The USS Enterprise and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Saturday Snippet: Elephants and their noses
Saturday Snippet: Elephants and their noses
Rudyard Kipling is famous for many books, but not too many people on this side of the Atlantic Ocean are aware of his “Just So Stories“. It’s a volume of a dozen stories for children, including many favorites such as “How the Camel got his Hump” and “The Cat that Walked by Himself”. I grew… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: Elephants and their noses
Saturday Snippet: the perils of small game collecting in West Africa
In the 1950’s, naturalist Gerald Durrell went to what was then known as British Cameroon in West/Central Africa to collect animals for zoos in Britain. He chose the region of Bafut for his collecting activities, and recruited local tribesmen to help him in his hunt for specimens. In a moment of whimsy, he christened his hunters,… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: the perils of small game collecting in West Africa