Glad you gave me a chance to advertise here on FR. I don’t get that often.
*I didn’t serve. Course, neither did VDH. I was 4F during Veetnam.
*In 1984, I co-authored the single comprehensive study and history of the Trident submarine program (https://www.amazon.com/Trident-Douglas-Schweikart-Larry-Dalgleish/dp/B00WPZK97M/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Dalgleish+and+Schweikart+Trident&qid=1595287408&sr=8-1) that was used by the Naval War College in its instruction. (We also heard some 500 copies were picked up behind the Iron Curtain, but couldn’t prove it).
*I went on to publish,with Doug at least two (I may have forgotten some) articles in the prestigious Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute.
*Later, with Doug Dalgleish, we co-authored a study in the Dayton Engineer that was to my knowledge the ONLY study ever done on SDI that took into account the failure rates of Soviet hardware. Our calculations were that the USSR in a full launch of 1400 missiles might get a handful of nukes through. Horrible, massively destructive, but nothing compared to what would be sent back to the USSR.
*Beginning in 1988, the USAF/DARPA/NASA hired me to be the official historian of a secret jet-to-orbital plane called the X-30. I worked in the program for 6 years until it was cancelled. The USAF published it as “The Quest for the Orbital Jet” in 2004, then reprinted in 2012 (https://www.amazon.com/Hypersonic-Revolution-Studies-History-Technology/dp/1478146176).
To my knowledge, that makes me the only historian ever to write “the” definitive program history of two major programs-—for different service branches, no less.
*In 2006, my book on the American military tradition, “America’s Victories” came out. (https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Victories-U-S-Wins-Terror/dp/1595230211/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=America%27s+Victories+Schweikart&qid=1595287776&s=books&sr=1-1). As a result of the book, I was invited to address the Marines at Camp Lejune.
*That year, the White House heard of the book and invited me, Hanson, and the legendary John Keegan to the White House for a meeting with President Bush to discuss strategy and history. I don’t think Bush took much of our advice. But certainly on that day, in that platform, VDH and I were shoulder to shoulder.
The fact is, Hanson left out a LOT of the critical discussions-—most notably about American battle performance in WW II-—that are front and center today among active military officers. I know, because I taught many of them in my classes. It actually does detract from his book on WW II. Whether he learns anything from it is up to him. Even with his excellent “Carnage and Culture” I don’t think he has outsold my “Patriot’s History of the United States” which has gone into its 31st printing with a half-million copies in print.
But thanks for the opportunity to advertise to other Freepers a number of my works. Always good to sell a few more books!
My kid’s high school used your history book as the assigned textbook Junior year. Really made an impression on him. I’m not surprised it sells well.