Renowned for decades as the worldÕs foremost railroad artist, Howard FoggÕs career spanned half a century and some twelve hundred paintings. However, while his art has been welcomed for decades, few of his enthusiasts have been aware of his prior career, as a fighter pilot in the U.S. 8th Air Force during World War II. Fortunately Fogg left behind a detailed diary of his experiences, which illuminate this brief but exciting aspect of his life, as he engaged in direct combat with the Luftwaffe at the controls of a P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustangs. Articulate and insightful, his diary offers a frank and fascinating glimpse into the life of a fighter pilot, both in the sky and in wartime England. Written during 1943 and 1944 it offers a confidential perspective of life as a Òflyboy,Ó during which Howard flew 76 combat missions and was awarded the Air Medal with three clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross with one cluster. Presented in its entirety, with supplementary material by Richard and Janet Fogg, and supporting illustrations from Fogg himself, including satirical cartoons, military and railroad artwork, Fogg in the Cockpit paints with a broad brush, from the smallest details of a pilotÕs day-to-day existence. to air combat, and the strategic and political decisions that influenced the course of the war. http://www.longmontweekly.com/longmont-arts-entertainment/ci_17803807 fogginthecockpit.blogspot.com

The acclaimed painter’s memoir of his experiences as a fighter pilot during WWII includes original illustrations and satirical cartoons by the author. Renowned as the world’s foremost painter of railroads, Howard Fogg’s career spanned half a century and some 1,200 paintings. However, few are aware of his prior career as a fighter pilot in the US 8th Air Force during World War II. Fortunately, Fogg left behind a detailed diary, which illuminates this brief but exciting chapter of his life at the controls of P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs. Fogg’s diary is presented here in its entirety, offering a candid glimpse into the life of a fighter pilot, both in the sky and in wartime England. Written in 1943-44, it offers an intimate perspective on his seventy-six combat missions, for which he was awarded the Air Medal with three clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Speaking on personal details of a pilot’s day-to-day life, Fogg also discusses air combat and the strategic and political decisions that influenced the course of the war. Fogg in the Cockpit also includes supplementary material by Richard and Janet Fogg, as well as illustrations by Fogg himself, including satirical cartoons and military and railroad artwork.

During World War II, Allied casualty rates in the air were high. Of the roughly 125,000 who served as aircrew with Bomber Command, 59,423 were killed or missing and presumed killed—a fatality rate of 45.5%. With odds like that, it would be no surprise if there were as few atheists in cockpits as there were in foxholes; and indeed, many airmen faced their dangerous missions with beliefs and rituals ranging from the traditional to the outlandish. Military historian S. P. MacKenzie considers this phenomenon in Flying against Fate, a pioneering study of the important role that superstition played in combat flier morale among the Allies in World War II. Mining a wealth of documents as well as a trove of published and unpublished memoirs and diaries, MacKenzie examines the myriad forms combat fliers' superstitions assumed, from jinxes to premonitions. Most commonly, airmen carried amulets or talismans—lucky boots or a stuffed toy; a coin whose year numbers added up to thirteen; counterintuitively, a boomerang. Some performed rituals or avoided other acts, e.g., having a photo taken before a flight. Whatever seemed to work was worth sticking with, and a heightened risk often meant an upsurge in superstitious thought and behavior. MacKenzie delves into behavior analysis studies to help explain the psychology behind much of the behavior he documents—not slighting the large cohort of crew members and commanders who demurred. He also looks into the ways in which superstitious behavior was tolerated or even encouraged by those in command who saw it as a means of buttressing morale. The first in-depth exploration of just how varied and deeply felt superstitious beliefs were to tens of thousands of combat fliers, Flying against Fate expands our understanding of a major aspect of the psychology of war in the air and of World War II.

A collection of some of the wildest and weirdest trivia packed with incredible facts, obscure history, interesting origins, bizarre quotes, and more. The second fully illustrated entry in Uncle John’s popular new Weird, Weird World series opens a portal to the bizarre. It’s page after page of unbelievable history, odd origins, tales of amazing luck, kooky conspiracy theories, epic fails, astounding facts, and some things that are so weird that they defy description. That’s where the pictures come in: Hundreds of eye-popping photographs and illustrations take the humor and the fun to a whole new dimension . . . to the EPIC zone! Read about . . . • How to Hypnotize a Chicken • The Origin of the Lie Detector • Weirdest Ways to Die at National Parks • Feral Cat Day and Other Strange-But-Real Holidays • Here Comes the Spammobile! • Keith Urban Legends • The Power of Poo • Winners of “Ugly Dog” Contests • Weird World Records • TV Shows That Were All a Dream • Kalshnikov Pat & the Helicopter Jailbreakers • Odd-phrodisiacs • Japan’s Most Surreal Video Games • News Pundits Gone Wild • The Pacific Garbage Patch • Calamity Jane and the Old West’s Toughest Gals • What Your Nose Says About Your Love Life • Scams That Could Only Be Pulled Off by Identical Twins • Anarchy in the E.R. And much, much more

This book tells the amazing story of WWII pilot 2nd Lt. John W. Herb who died when his P-51 plane crashed in Germany on April 13, 1945. His body was not found at that time and he was declared missing. But he was NOT FORGOTTEN by a German man, Manfred Romer, who saw his place crash when he was five years old. Years later, after his retirement, Manfred dedicated himself to finding the body. His efforts, along with others who became involved, resulted in the burial of John W. Herb 70 years later in 2015 at Arlington National Cemetery.

Includes a mid-December issue called Buyer guide edition.

Howard Fogg always said he wasn't an artist, just an illustrator. But, from the presidents of major railroads to the average rail buff, Fogg was regarded as the greatest artist who ever painted trains. This new all-color book by Cedco celebrates the long career of Howard Fogg, who, over a span of six decades, created more than 1,200 paintings-nearly all depicting trains amidst incredible scenic backgrounds. Over 180 of his best appear in all their glory in this hardcover book, along with a recounting of his amazing career by co-authors Ronald C. Hill and Al Chione.

There are few places in America that have such a rich variety of landscape and scenery as the Lakes Region of New Hampshire: from the summer calm of Squam Lake to the robust white winter mountaintops of the Gunstock Mountain Resort. So it is no surprise that the people who call it home reflect the same wide palette of humankind--from the pre-Revolutionary War surveyors who first marked their initials on a rock at Weirs Beach to Bob Lawton, the current owner of the world's largest arcade; from one of George Washington's inner circle to Ernest Thompson, the award-winning author of On Golden Pond. The Lakes Region draws them--or grows them--all, because it has it all.