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Steve Mercatante

Book Review: The Fights On The Little Horn

on Sat, 01/24/2026 - 18:56

In terms of the Battle of The Little Big Horn, I have long thought one of the best books anyone could read on the subject is Richard Allan Fox Jr.'s Archeology, History, and Custer's Last Battle. I believe Gordon Harper's work here is, though different, equally superb. If you have any interest in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, then I cannot recommend this book enough.

Book Review: World War II Snipers

on Thu, 01/08/2026 - 19:45

The Casemate Illustrated Series is rapidly proving to be one of the better book series currently available. Gary Yee's look at World War II sniping is no exception to that observation, and is well worth your time.

Book Review: German Logistics 1939-45

on Mon, 11/17/2025 - 22:19

Though part of Casemate's illustrated series (and packed with illustrations), German Logistics is anything but a mere picture book. It contains ample descriptions regarding how the German system of supply worked, and I think anyone interested in the German way of war circa 1939-1945 will find much to enjoy in its pages. 

Book Review: South Pacific Air War

on Mon, 10/20/2025 - 16:32

Michael Claringbould and Peter Ingman have done it again! As noted by our latest review, Volume 3 of their series covering the air war in the South Pacific is a must read for anyone interested in the Battle of the Coral Sea. 

Operation Bagration Book Review

on Fri, 05/09/2025 - 17:20

Operation Bagration, An Incomplete Truth offers an in-depth and fresh take regarding how the Red Army finally defeated Germany's Army Group Center, and is a book I believe is worth reading. In this month's book review I explain why.

Solomons Air War Book Review: Volumes 1 and 2

on Tue, 12/17/2024 - 22:15

Combined, the two initial volumes of the Solomons Air War series offer a detailed and richly illustrated look at the August-October 1942 campaign in the air over Guadalcanal and the seas around the island. Readers can find my review here.

Villers-Bocage Book Review

on Fri, 08/09/2024 - 16:28

Our latest reviews have had a heavy German Eastern Front focus. This month we turn our attention west to Normandy during the summer of 1944. There, one of the most mythologized battles of the Second World War unfolded in a clash of armor that resonates to this day. That is the subject of this month's book review

Survivors of Stalingrad Book Review Published

on Tue, 04/30/2024 - 17:54

Stalingrad is a battle that fascinates on so many levels. Survivors of Stalingrad offers yet another. This book's searing first-person descriptions as to what it was like to survive the hell that was the final months of the German Sixth Army's existence during the winter of 1942-1943 is truly a must-read.

The Battle of Stalingrad: Then and Now Book Review

on Sun, 02/25/2024 - 20:30

Photographic research can be a powerful adjunct to primary documents and secondary sources such as operational military history, memoirs, journal articles, and other such publications. The Battle of Stalingrad: Then and Now is a great example of that idea.

Our Latest Book Review Has Been Published: The Germans And The Dieppe Raid

on Tue, 12/05/2023 - 01:28

The Germans And The Dieppe Raid is well worth your time. James Shelley's reasearch is thorough and comprehensively explains how the Wehrmacht defeated Operation JUBILEE in spite of relying mostly upon a second-rate "static" infantry division to do the heavy lifting in terms of defeating a well-trained and equipped Allied raiding force. The book also provides considerable analysis as to what this victory meant for the more important fighting in France that would come two years later in 1944.

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