Brian M. Sobel’s book “The Fighting Pattons” isn’t about the Patton family as much as it is a biography of George S. Patton III, son of the famous World War II general. As such, it fills an important role in examining this overlooked Patton.

In “The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship” Patrick Bishop tells not only of the sinking of the Tirpitz but of how the hunt for the German battleship took on such significance that it diverted badly needed resources that could have been better used elsewhere.

The ‘hook’ in ‘WWII from Space’ – images shot from space, on which information overlaid – sounds good but isn’t particularly impressive; however, the content and the other visuals make this DVD of a program from HISTORY well worth owning.

Despite its nautical title, ‘Ships of Oak, Guns of Iron,’ covers both the naval and ground war of the War of 1812 and is a fantastic addition to the scholarship that is shedding new light on this ‘forgotten’ war.

‘I saw planes dropping torpedoes. They dropped three at one time and knocked me to the deck’ This excerpt is from one of many veterans’ stories found in ‘War Stories: The Pacific, Volume Two: The Solomons to Saipan.’

“The Graphic History of Gettysburg,” which used a graphic-novel format, is an excellent choice for introducing younger readers to the battle, with enough meat in its fast-paced, accurate narrative to satisfy grown-ups.

“Those Angry Days – Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America’s Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941″ examines an interesting, if overlooked, era of American history; more significantly, it explores questions America may face in the near future.

Not a simple repackaging of commonly known facts and Eurocentric military biographies, R.G. Grant’s “Commanders – History’s Greatest Military Leaders” is a cornucopia of information on military leaders from across the span of recorded history.

The War Against the Nazi U-boats 1942-1944: The Anti-Submarine Command. L. Douglas Keeney, ed. Premiere, 2012. Paperback. 181 pages. $14.95

During the opening years of World War II, the Nazi military employed one of the deadliest nautical weapons, the submarine, …

“Elihu Washburne: The Diary and Letters of America’s Minister to France During the Siege and Commune of Paris” provides a personal account of the inner workings of American diplomacy under under extremely difficult circumstances.

The Military Quotation Book; Revised for the 21st Century. Book review. Edited by James Charlton. Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press. 176 pages. $17.99

What does an author say to prospective readers in a review about a book on military …

Soldier Dogs, the Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes. Maria Goodavage. New American Library (division of Penguin Books), 2012. 293 pages, 28 photographs, Softcover. $16.00

Soldier Dogs, the Untold Story of America’s Canine Heroes, provides an insightful look at …

“The Civil War in Color” is a fascinating coffee-table sized book that adds life to “dusty images of a dustier past.” Period photographs have been electronically “cleaned up” to improve image quality and then colorized with careful attention to detail.

“The Guerrilla Factory: The Making of Special Forces Officers, the Green Berets,” by Tony Schwalm, presents insights into the world of Special Forces, presented in a narrative style that makes the book hard to put down.

Amy S. Greenberg’s “A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico,” covers the political decisions and actions that led to what U.S. Grant later called a wicked war.

“Reporting the Revolutionary War” is an impressive collection of reproductions of newspaper pages from the time of the American War for Independence, a must-have for anyone interested in the period.