history

Brownlow (as usual) researches well, provides great narrative, and treats his subject with the respect it deserves. Anyone who has seen his documentary collaborations with David Gill, or his restorations of great classics will be familiar with his thoroughness.

This book is very easy to read, but insightful, helpful...makes you wish there were still silents, particularly in the wake of movies overdone with Dolby Surround.

A pilot's pilot (Captain Buck flew the line, did research and wrote some best-selling classic pilot education books) who can make the flight through the decades come alive. Imagine sitting down with an old man at a small airport who still pilots gliders and he turns out to be a storyteller of great wit and charm, a man who still remembers when crossing the Atlantic was a battle, who was there when airline flying advanced from shaky pistons to huge jets. Who would not want to relax in the sun, watch the airplanes, and listen to the wonders of TWA unfold. In the tradition of St. Exupery, Ernest Gann and Len Morgan. And yes, I liked it.

Despite the effectiveness and timeliness of this book, it does have a couple of significant (and related) weaknesses. First, despite the meticulous endnoting, it is difficult to sort out which ideas are Vandergriff's own and which derive from his multitude of sources. The sorting can be done, but, if done thoroughly, would require the reader actually to construct an "idea matrix" from the endnotes as he goes along.

Second, this is a work with 796 (!) endnotes -- but with no bibliography at all. All in all, Presidio Press has made the book quite difficult -- unnecessarily difficult -- to use as a reference. This does detract somewhat from its value as a synthesis of ideas and guide for follow-on work. Fortunately, these weaknesses detract very little from the overall message.

Highly recommended. (But if there's a second edition, could we please have a good solid bibliography?)

Although this book is primarily written to an Army audience it has applicability to all the Services. No other book has hit the target like this book. Many other books have alluded to problems, but Vandergriff digs deep to find the underlying reasons and causes of this dysfunctional system. He also provides solutions.

"The responsibility for military planning, direction and execution falls most heavily on the officer corps. The officer corps is critical to combat operations. It is the officer corps that reflects the values and characteristics of the military. If the corps is corrupt or incompetent, the whole army [military] will be also." As the Duke of Wellington supposedly remarked: "There are no bad troops--only bad officers." "Military excellence has always depended upon an officer corps which could think creatively about war--one that understood and practiced the art of war." Many of the deficiencies in our defense must be traced to problems in the officer corps.
Although, one can argue that many of the egregious problems of the officer corps in the Vietnam War have been corrected, many of the systemic problems have not. Several surveys done by the Army and the USAF since 1970 indicate there are still significant problems in the officer corps. Certainly, civilians in the Defense Department, the Congress (DOPMA) and the Executive Branch share the responsibility for our defense inadequacies, but a significant portion of these problems must be traceable to deficiencies in the organizational structure and within culture which officers are created, developed, and promoted.
That does NOT mean that most officers are individually to blame. The problems are generally systemic in nature. For the most part, officers in all services are victims of the current system. The problems are rooted in bureaucracy, the officer surplus, how we promote our officers, and in the way we educate them--matters over which only the most senior officers have any significant control. That is why many younger officers are dissatisfied and cynical about the Pentagon and other centers of bureaucracy. They know the shortcomings are NOT due to laziness, disinterest, or lack of dedication on their part. Few other groups put as much effort into their work as our military officers. Physical discomfort and danger, separation from family, and inadequacy of material and authority to do the job are the rule, not the exception. Unfortunately, we have promotion systems that often reward careerism and the courtier--not the truly selfless and those with moral courage
One of the most detrimental aspects of the current military culture is the up-or-out promotion system.

Instead of just analyzing the problem, Vandergriff gives us the foundation for a new system. Vandergriff states that the Army should adopt an up-or-stay (tracked) promotion system.

Vandergriff highlights that the promotion system(s) that drive military culture have a negative effect on our military capabilities. Moreover, some of the effects of the up-or-out system could be described as "corruptio optimi pessima"--the corruption of the best is the worst. As Shakespeare put it, "Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds." We need promotion systems that rewards those of strong and honorable character, people who have the moral courage to speak the truth--not the courtiers who are interested only in self. A promotion system should NOT reinforce the Peter Principle, where every person tends to rise to his level of incompetence.
Instead of using promotion as the sole positive incentive, we should seek alternatives that would link performance with pay and longevity, but reduce the link between rank and pay. Officers performing well should be allowed to stay in positions where they are competent. There would be a tracked system that would allow officers to stay in their main specialty longer. There would not be enough officers to perform all the current jobs, which would be to the good: many make-work jobs would be eliminated. Unit commanders would rotate less frequently, and many decisions made by officers would be delegated to NCOs.

This book is tremdously researched and footnoted. There is no doubt that Vandergriff's "heart and soul" went into this masterpiece. For those hesitant, it will provide cognitive dissonance and more. A great book!

When this record came out I somehow felt compelled to buy it before ever hearing any of it on the radio, from a friend, or anywhere. I just plain bought it sight unseen, and it turned out to be one the best 'flyers' I've ever taken with regard to my impulsive music buying habits. "MODERN MUSIC" is Be Bop Deluxe's best album in every respect. More than anything, it's a completely conceptialized whole, comprised of two song sets, the former sides 1 and 2. Both boast strong songs, carefully sequenced and performed with energy and taste. The second of these is the elegant and powerful "Modern Music Suite," where the songs crossfeed dreamily one into another. Both "sets" of music have held up for me over an untold number of listens, spread out over a significant number of years (this record was released in the late 1970s).

Excellently recorded and produced, this is Bill Nelson's peak with regard to his Be Bop Deluxe period. If you enjoy other vintage 1970s recordings such as 10CC's "HOW DARE YOU," Genesis' "LAMB DIES DOWN" and "FOXTROT," "Todd Rundgren's "A WIZARD, A TRUE STAR" and "SOMETHING/ANYTHING" or any one of a dozen or more other such treasures, give this recording a try. The uninitiated among you will likely enjoy this time-capsule nugget as much as I have, and do.

NOTE: As others have mentioned here, this is apparently the same "REMASTERING" that resulted in the 1990 re-issue of this recording on CD (the one I own). Therefore, if you already have this record on CD, it is probably this very same re-mastering, as I don't think it was available on CD prior to 1990. In which case, enjoy your copy and spend your money on Bowie's "Scary Monsters," Television's "Marque Moon," Utopia's "Oops Wrong Planet," or some other 1970s classic.

Unfortunately, Merens sister, Idut, has planned a feast for his homecoming despite his express directions to the contrary. His estate is crawling with relatives who squabble, meddle in his romantic life, and accuse him of shirking family duties. To make matters worse, Pharoah shows up, wanting to make sure the bodies are properly entombed.

As Meren is at his wits end, his cousins wife turns up dead, her body found in a granery. There is no evidence of murder, but what was the woman doing there and how did she die? She did not lack for enemies, and Meren's job is made more difficult when his family members and friends become suspects.