I don't feel that the photo does it credit, but red and black on yellow are not great colors.
The narrative covers the unit that supported the British and American bomber campaigns against Nazi Germany with jamming, chaff, and night fighters from before its inception to just after the end of the war. Unlike a more usual history that would have had accounts from the pilots and aircrew to add a little humanity and human interest to the book, Confound & Destroy has no interest in that. It has a lot of ground to cover to trace the technical and tactical developments as the British and Nazis strive for dominance over the night skies over Europe. The number of different radars, radar jammers, and night fighter techniques is extensive, as are the five appendixes that cover the equipment, the British and Nazi units, operations elsewhere, and both sides' aircraft.
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This is not a book for beginners. The device names and acronyms fly thick and fast, and missions are summarized in tables, rather than described in the narrative. This allows Confound & Destroy to cover a lot of ground, but it makes it more difficult to understand why things are happening. If I had not read (or listened to, Audible is great) books like Big Week by James Holland I would have had no idea about how the German air defense system worked, and why the British were employing these techniques. Ironically the appendix chapter on the Nazi air defense system covers this excellently and touches on the personalities behind it. This might be a product of the date that this book was written. Published in 1978, it is entirely possible that some British sources were still classified, even though the back of the book says it is based on the latest declassified documents.
What the book does get across is the ever-evolving nature of radar technology of the period, and the constant need to adapt to the enemy's innovations with ones of your own. I just wish that it had been covered in a more engaging read. Hopefully, in the future, a historian will approach the subject again in a book that should be more readable, and probably more accurate. That is the funny thing about history, the latest books tend to be the best because they are building on what came before with the perspective gained by distance. It is just a shame that this area has not garnered that much attention. Would I recommend it? Yes, if only because I have not seen anything better, and it is very interesting.
One of my older dice sets, that I picked up at a con while in college. Ahh nostalgia.
For the next book this blog will go back to its roots a bit, but still, stay in the new books section. I went to a book sale at the local library where they would let you get a bag of books for ten bucks on the last day of the sale, so I walked away with a significant number of additions to my collection. I wholeheartedly recommend going to the local library's book sales. I have 18 books in the new book section, so a roll of a d20 will determine the next subject.
Look, I got yet more shelves. I still need more, I can never have enough.
I roll up a 14 and get Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army by Donald W. Engels. Two strange coincidences, this book is also copyrighted 1978, and I am finishing up the audiobook Philip and Alexander by Adrian Goldsworthy. I am always glad for additional context.
