{"title":"Dick Nelson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"contrail-chronicles-book-dick-nelson-9781432755041","title":"The Contrail Chronicles","description":"Contrails are those silvery white tracks left in the sky by the engine exhaust condensation of high-altitude aircraft. They show where the airborne traveler is going, as well as where he has been. They define the journey, conducted at high speed, where the air is thin and danger is always lurking. This was the harsh testing-ground for a father and his son, from a family of Swedish immigrants---unlikely participants in the armed conflicts that would consume the world in their respective lifetimes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe saga of the Nelson family contains joy and sorrow, triumph and tragedy, and ample quantities of humorous stories. It is a case study in how wars cut deeply into a family's heart and soul, and often destroy the bonds that normally exist. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe book traces Wendel Nelson's idealistic quest to become a World War II fighter pilot and defend democracy from fascism. As an American volunteer in the RAF, his exploits range from the Battle of Britain to the North African campaign against Rommel, and then fighter sweeps into Europe in the final years of the war. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHis son, Dick, documents his experiences at the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval flight training, and the Vietnam air war. The impact of war on the families involved is described in poignant detail. The lifestyle of the modern combat pilot is described in both hilarious and sad episodes, where fiery death was always around the corner. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book also describes in detail the family's involvement with World War II, and its effect on Dick and his mother. The stories show the full impact of a war's lost sons and fathers on the families they leave behind. There are rarely happy endings in such stories---mostly, there are only lucky escapes at best. The reader should remember that war is about destruction, not creation; fear, as well as courage; and hatred, as well as love. It is a process of violent human extremes, and not for the squeamish. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn hindsight, most wars seem easy to diagnose as caused by missteps, lapses in judgment, and hidden agendas. But for the immediate participants and decision-makers, the initiation of war always seems---at the time---to be warranted and necessary. Even when war is unavoidable for national survival, it is almost always permeated by a number of incompetent decisions, lack of leadership courage, and cynical motives. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe wars that impacted the Nelsons---World War II and Vietnam---demonstrated war's cruel fallacies in many ways. Wars are normally not won in quick, bloodless victories. The winner is usually the one that makes the least mistakes along the way, and is still standing at the end. That is why the doctrine evolved by some of the greatest military strategists---from William Tecumseh Sherman to Colin Powell---advocated the immediate application of overwhelming force on the enemy to force resolution. Sherman wrote, I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect and early success. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the swirling dog-fights of the Battle of Britain to the bloody skies over North Vietnam, the Nelsons put their lives on the line to serve the country they loved. Wendel lost his life in the last months of his war, when his P-51 Mustang was caught in a blinding snow storm. Twenty years later, Dick followed in his footsteps and became a Navy carrier pilot, flying the supersonic F-8E Crusader into combat from an aircraft carrier. He was lucky and survived that conflict, while many did not. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnother aspect of war is its painful impact on the families that are swept up in its whirlwind of violence. The story begins with a young Swedish carpenter's classic search for a better life in America. Enjoy the journey","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50382884634897,"sku":"CIN1432755048G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51025800954129,"sku":"NIN9781432755041","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1432755048.jpg?v=1750890838"},{"product_id":"boston-boy-goes-to-war-book-dick-nelson-9781665794541","title":"Boston Boy Goes to War","description":"Amid the tumult of the Vietnam war era, Boston Boy Goes to War chronicles the adventures of Special Forces Officer James Driscoll from Boston to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines. With bravery and leadership, he wins battles despite flawed Pentagon mindset and strategy doomed to lose the war.President Kennedy was skeptical of military involvement in Vietnam. He preferred a light footprint of Special Forces. Had he lived, he would not have committed a large US military presence fueled by a controversial draft of young Americans. Jimmie Driscoll's West Roxbury neighborhood bled its young men in Vietnam. His father, a Boston police captain, served as an army ranger in Korea. Jimmie followed the same patriotic tradition. He advanced through the Special Forces ranks by combat heroism in the secret war in Laos, then Vietnam and the Philippines. In Bangkok, Thailand he fell in love with Tassanee Oleson the beautiful daughter of a Danish shipping magnate and Taiwanese international banker. A Princeton graduate and fluent in Thai and Mandarin, she carves out a promising career with the CIA.Jimmie and Tassanee bond and survive battles and danger across Thailand, the secret war in Laos, the war in Vietnam and bandits in the Philippines. Along their adventure they interact with the Thai Princess Mother, a future president and a colorful cast of soldiers, thieves and heroes and politicians.Jimmie's wounded Marine brother and Tassanee's voluptuous California cousin add heroism and spice to the novel.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53479568703761,"sku":"NLS9781665794541","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53590192554257,"sku":"NIN9781665794541","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781665794541.jpg?v=1782866098"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-dick-nelson.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}