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CAP History Book

Started by RiverAux, September 03, 2007, 03:01:52 PM

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RiverAux

I finally got around to ordering my copy of the new CAP History book and while browsing around the publishers website noticed that the ad for the the CAP book was right above the ad for the history of the "Clowns of America". 

♠SARKID♠

Do you think that says something about us?......nah


RiverAux

Just hoping it was a quirk of alphabetical listing rather than a comment on CAP. 

Pylon

Michael F. Kieloch, Maj, CAP

fyrfitrmedic

 Has the vendor updated the release date yet? I ordered mine ages ago.
MAJ Tony Rowley CAP
Lansdowne PA USA
"The passion of rescue reveals the highest dynamic of the human soul." -- Kurt Hahn

RiverAux

Nope, nothing on the web page about an actual release date.  Same thing for the CG Aux history book they're publishing.  It will be interesting to compare the two when they're out. 

♠SARKID♠


Pylon

Michael F. Kieloch, Maj, CAP

♠SARKID♠

What is the name of that huge CAP coffee table size history book that came out a few years ago?

thefischNX01

you mean the one that was supposed to come out a few years ago?

I've been waiting for my copy since Freshman year of College.  (I'm now a Junior)
Capt. Colin Fischer, CAP
Deputy Commander for Cadets
Easton Composite Sqdn
Maryland Wing
http://whats-a-flight-officer.blogspot.com/

RiverAux

Well, the CG Aux history book, which is being produced by the same company doing the CAP book, finally came out and I received my copy today.  Be prepared for the CAP version to have very little history and a lot of photos....

RiverAux

Received my CAP history book today.  Basically what I would call a photographic history rather than a real history book. 

Dominated to an extreme by World War II CAP photos. 

There is almost no attention paid to post-war CAP missions.  Don't the other 60 years of CAP history deserve a little attention?  Haven't we done a few significant things since then?  How come no summary of lives saved?  Why aren't the 100+ (my estimate) CAP members who have probably died while on duty since the war not listed? 

The section picturing CAP uniforms through the year is interesting, though there is one big piece of BS.  Here is the caption below the Blue BDU photo:
QuoteDark Blue Field Uniform (2004-  ) Authorized August 2002 as replacement for BDUs.  With USAF change to desert camoflage, jungle BDUs became harder to obtain)
1.  The BBDU did in no way replace the BDU.  It is addition to the BDU.
2.  The AF did not change to desert camoflage except for those there.  I'd say that even now most of the AF is wearing BDUs. 
3.  Even if true, the AF was not wearing what I consider "jungle BDUs".   These are woodland camoflage. 

Some of the recent photos are used in so many CAP publications that they've become cliches.  For example, the photo of CAP posterboy Rock Palermo looking up at a camera with a CAP plane in the background.  Palermo, by the way, gets two big photos of himself while most CAP national commanders were not pictured (including TP by the way).  Surely photos were available of these guys, many are still alive and could have posed. 

There is a section showing all the various CAP wing patches, but it is a confusing collection of old and new patches.  Some of the patches pictured haven't been used for years.  Thats fine, but they should have identified the years the patches were authorized so that people don't get the idea that these were the proper patches at time of publication. 

All in all, I'm disappointed since its unlikely that CAP will get another history book until our 75th anniversary at a minimum.  Maybe next time they'll put an actual historian on the job and produce a real history of the organization. 

All that being said, I suspect that most members will be satisfied with this book.  I freely admit to being a sort of snob about history and the sort of book I would like probably wouldn't be a big seller. 

jeders

Quote from: RiverAux on November 29, 2007, 12:52:58 AM
the sort of book I would like probably wouldn't be a big seller. 

I don't know, combine a pictorial history book like the one they produced with an actual history. One that went in to a decent amount of detail about CAP during WWII and after. I haven't purchased the book so I wouldn't know, but did they put much/any emphasis on what we've done since 9/11, or for that matter how a military related organization worked in a mostly anti-military culture during the Vietnam Era? Personally I'd love to see a good CAP history book, though pretty pictures are nice for when my attention span rivals that of a goldfish.
If you are confident in you abilities and experience, whether someone else is impressed is irrelevant. - Eclipse

RiverAux

Yeah, if they would have fleshed this one out with about another 30-50 pages worth of text, it would have been great.

Nothing about Vietnam.  Basically after WWII all they have is a few paragraphs here and there about a couple of individual missions and a lot of mini-biographies of various members. 

JCW0312

Who is the publisher of the book / where is it found?
Jon Williams, 2d Lt, CAP
Memphis Belle Memorial Squadron
SER-TN-144

RiverAux

Turner Publishing Co.  Look in just about any Volunteer in the last year or so and you'll see an ad for it.