When Thunder Rolled

[Cub Driver]

I happened to be conversing (actually, e-conversing) with Smithsonian
Institution Press yesterday, and I was told that Ed Rasimus's book,
When Thunder Rolled, is being reprinted. For SIP, this is unheard of!
It was published only in March. Two years is more like it, and most
SIP books never go back to the printer.

http://www.warbirdforum.com/thunder.htm

Congratulations, Ed (Raz, whoever)!


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[Dale]

In article >, Cub Driver
> wrote:


> When Thunder Rolled, is being reprinted. For SIP, this is unheard of!

WTG Ed!!

Now where's that F-4 book?

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html

[Matt Richards]

"Ed Rasimus" > wrote in message
...
> Dale > wrote:
>
> >In article >, Cub Driver
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >> When Thunder Rolled, is being reprinted. For SIP, this is unheard of!
> >
> >WTG Ed!!
> >
> >Now where's that F-4 book?
>
> I'm working on it, really...I am.
>
> Ed Rasimus
> Fighter Pilot (ret)
> ***"When Thunder Rolled:
> *** An F-105 Pilot Over N. Vietnam"
> *** from Smithsonian Books
> ISBN: 1588341038

Ed,

Any idea when/if your book will make it to Australia? Or will I have to
order it off the net?

Matt.

[Bill Silvey]

"Ed Rasimus" > wrote in message

> Dale > wrote:
>
>> In article >, Cub Driver
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> When Thunder Rolled, is being reprinted. For SIP, this is unheard
>>> of!
>>
>> WTG Ed!!
>>
>> Now where's that F-4 book?
>
> I'm working on it, really...I am.

Slightly on that subject, sir, have you read Maj. Trotti's book "Phantom
Over Vietnam"? Just curious if you had and what you thought...

--
http://www.delversdungeon.dragonsfoot.org
Remove the X's in my email address to respond.
"Damn you Silvey, and your endless fortunes." - Stephen Weir
I hate furries.

[Ed Rasimus]

"Matt Richards" > wrote:

>Ed,
>
>Any idea when/if your book will make it to Australia? Or will I have to
>order it off the net?
>
>Matt.
>
I suspect there's an Amazon.com for Australia--I know there's a
British one and a Japanese site as well. Folks have sent me links to
my book page at both of those. So, check Amazon, wherever you have to
go to order it. I don't suspect you'll find it stocked in your local
outback general store.

Heck, I'd like to see it in the US at places like Wal-Mart or even
military exchanges, but that hasn't happened yet either.

Barnes & Noble has it, as does Borders in the US.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (ret)
***"When Thunder Rolled:
*** An F-105 Pilot Over N. Vietnam"
*** from Smithsonian Books
ISBN: 1588341038

[Matt Richards]

"Ed Rasimus" > wrote in message
...
> "Matt Richards" > wrote:
>
> >Ed,
> >
> >Any idea when/if your book will make it to Australia? Or will I have to
> >order it off the net?
> >
> >Matt.
> >
> I suspect there's an Amazon.com for Australia--I know there's a
> British one and a Japanese site as well. Folks have sent me links to
> my book page at both of those. So, check Amazon, wherever you have to
> go to order it. I don't suspect you'll find it stocked in your local
> outback general store.
>
> Heck, I'd like to see it in the US at places like Wal-Mart or even
> military exchanges, but that hasn't happened yet either.
>
> Barnes & Noble has it, as does Borders in the US.
>
> Ed Rasimus

There isnt an Amazon in Australia :(

I went up to Borders Sydney city store today, and they dont have it and cant
order it in. Looks like I'll be ordering it off the net.

Matt.

[Cub Driver]

>I suspect there's an Amazon.com for Australia--I know there's a

No, not yet!

>Heck, I'd like to see it in the US at places like Wal-Mart or even
>military exchanges, but that hasn't happened yet either.

SIP used to be famously difficult and cheap to deal with; many stores
won't carry SIP books. (It also used to be difficult to get a review
copy from them, but evidently that has changed, to judge by the email
exchange I just had with them.) I think part of the problem is that
they won't give deep discounts to individual stores, so by the time
the store has paid the shipping it really doesn't make any profit at
all from the book.

I've several times suggested to a museum bookstore that they stock
Flying Tigers or Glen Edwards, only to be told that they didn't do
bidniz with SIP. And those are avaiation-related shops!


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[Cub Driver]

>I went up to Borders Sydney city store today, and they dont have it and cant
>order it in. Looks like I'll be ordering it off the net.

You'll likely come out best at Amazon US. You can compare prices by
clicking on the links at www.warbirdforum.com/thunder.htm -- over on
the right column.

Take surface mail. It may well turn out to be air. I bought a book
from Amazon.co.jp and got it by US (!) Priority Mail in about a week.
Evidently they send the stuff over in batches by air freight, then
remail. Might do the same for Oz.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[Ed Rasimus]

Cub Driver > wrote:

>
>>I suspect there's an Amazon.com for Australia--I know there's a
>
>No, not yet!
>
>>Heck, I'd like to see it in the US at places like Wal-Mart or even
>>military exchanges, but that hasn't happened yet either.
>
>SIP used to be famously difficult and cheap to deal with; many stores
>won't carry SIP books. (It also used to be difficult to get a review
>copy from them, but evidently that has changed, to judge by the email
>exchange I just had with them.) I think part of the problem is that
>they won't give deep discounts to individual stores, so by the time
>the store has paid the shipping it really doesn't make any profit at
>all from the book.
>
>I've several times suggested to a museum bookstore that they stock
>Flying Tigers or Glen Edwards, only to be told that they didn't do
>bidniz with SIP. And those are avaiation-related shops!
>
>
>all the best -- Dan Ford
>email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

I hate to be viewed as "biting the hand that feeds me", but they don't
feed me very much (or often.) SIP has been remarkably disappointing in
their marketing. Thanks to your great job doing the review for WSJ,
and the buzz which it generated, the book has done well, but SIP
doesn't acknowledge that it happened through R.A.M.
conversations--they attribute it to Matt Litts in their shop, who
simply mailed you the review galleys.

They bring new meaning to the concept of a "non-profit" corporation.



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (ret)
***"When Thunder Rolled:
*** An F-105 Pilot Over N. Vietnam"
*** from Smithsonian Books
ISBN: 1588341038

[ikke]

>
> I hate to be viewed as "biting the hand that feeds me", but they don't
> feed me very much (or often.) SIP has been remarkably disappointing in
> their marketing. Thanks to your great job doing the review for WSJ,
> and the buzz which it generated, the book has done well, but SIP
> doesn't acknowledge that it happened through R.A.M.
> conversations--they attribute it to Matt Litts in their shop, who
> simply mailed you the review galleys.
>
> They bring new meaning to the concept of a "non-profit" corporation.
>
> Ed Rasimus

Ed,

I've found out about your book in this NG, and ordered it yesterday in a
local book shop here in Belgium for about 30 euro.
It should arrive in 4 to 6 weeks time and I'm very much looking forward to
it.

Keep up the good work.

Steven
Cave Putoriem

[Ed Rasimus]

"ikke" > wrote:


>Steven
>Cave Putoriem
>
WW #2488.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (ret)
***"When Thunder Rolled:
*** An F-105 Pilot Over N. Vietnam"
*** from Smithsonian Books
ISBN: 1588341038

[Matt Richards]

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
>
> >I went up to Borders Sydney city store today, and they dont have it and
cant
> >order it in. Looks like I'll be ordering it off the net.
>
> You'll likely come out best at Amazon US. You can compare prices by
> clicking on the links at www.warbirdforum.com/thunder.htm -- over on
> the right column.
>
> Take surface mail. It may well turn out to be air. I bought a book
> from Amazon.co.jp and got it by US (!) Priority Mail in about a week.
> Evidently they send the stuff over in batches by air freight, then
> remail. Might do the same for Oz.

It arrived today from Amazon, with some post marks on the box to suggest it
came from Hong Kong.

Matt.

[Cub Driver]

>It arrived today from Amazon, with some post marks on the box to suggest it
>came from Hong Kong.

Matt, was that surface mail? How many weeks (days?) did it take to
reach you?

I don't think anybody really understands how Amazon works. They have
these so-called stores in Japan, Britain, France, Germany, and Canada,
but we suspect that they are really broom closets in Washington State,
with maybe a small warehouse in the host country. Of them all,
Amazon.co.uk seems to be the closest to an actual operation. And
Canada, it's generally agreed, doesn't exist at all, but is just a
business model to handle Canadian dollars and Canadian postage.
(Probably Jeff Bezos drives the books across the border after work :)


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[James Hart]

Cub Driver wrote:
>> It arrived today from Amazon, with some post marks on the box to
>> suggest it came from Hong Kong.
>
> Matt, was that surface mail? How many weeks (days?) did it take to
> reach you?
>
> I don't think anybody really understands how Amazon works. They have
> these so-called stores in Japan, Britain, France, Germany, and Canada,
> but we suspect that they are really broom closets in Washington State,
> with maybe a small warehouse in the host country. Of them all,
> Amazon.co.uk seems to be the closest to an actual operation. And
> Canada, it's generally agreed, doesn't exist at all, but is just a
> business model to handle Canadian dollars and Canadian postage.
> (Probably Jeff Bezos drives the books across the border after work :)

UK version won't even guarantee to send multiple items out from the same
depot! You order, say, 5 books all listed as in stock, at least 1 will turn
out to be OOS and the other 4 usually turn up in 3 boxes spread over 2 days.
The final book turns up a week later in a box big enough for a small horse.
Truely bizarre way of running a mail order business if you ask me. They do
very good packaging though, never had an item damaged with them.

--
James...
http://www.jameshart.co.uk/

[Matt Richards]

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
>
> >It arrived today from Amazon, with some post marks on the box to suggest
it
> >came from Hong Kong.
>
> Matt, was that surface mail? How many weeks (days?) did it take to
> reach you?
>
> I don't think anybody really understands how Amazon works. They have
> these so-called stores in Japan, Britain, France, Germany, and Canada,
> but we suspect that they are really broom closets in Washington State,
> with maybe a small warehouse in the host country. Of them all,
> Amazon.co.uk seems to be the closest to an actual operation. And
> Canada, it's generally agreed, doesn't exist at all, but is just a
> business model to handle Canadian dollars and Canadian postage.
> (Probably Jeff Bezos drives the books across the border after work :)

It went via "Standard International Shipping" whatever that means. My order
was placed on the 27th, it shipped on the 29th and arrived here in Sydney
yesterday (Tuesday 10th about lunch time), and I finished reading it 10
minutes ago (dont tell my boss I was reading it at work).

All the amazon info says it shipped from the US ("std-intl-us-aus" on the
invoice). There is a sticker on the box saying "Postage Paid / Hong Kong /
Port Paye".

I cant wait for Ed's next book.

Matt.

[MLenoch]

Ed:
Got the book today!! Can't wait to read it!!
Quick question: what were the altitudes flow by the F-105 inbound to targets?
What were some of the considerations for altitude selection, if there were any?
Thx mucho,
VL

[Ed Rasimus]

(MLenoch) wrote:

>Ed:
>Got the book today!! Can't wait to read it!!
>Quick question: what were the altitudes flow by the F-105 inbound to targets?
>What were some of the considerations for altitude selection, if there were any?
>Thx mucho,
>VL

Altitudes for ingress/egress varied over time. I discuss a bit about
the philosophies of the two wings (without belaboring it as did
Broughton and Bell).

Initially the years of low-low-low tactics used in Europe for nuclear
profiles prevaiiled. We realized while I was doing the job in '66 that
you could do that on a target you studied extensively, but on daily
changing tactical targets, it meant lots of opportunity to get lost,
miss the target entirely, or be in a position from which delivery was
impossible.

At Korat we raised the ingress to about 4500 AGL--high enough to be
out of small arms, high enough to give a longer lead/time-of-flight
for AAA, yet low enough to get quickly down into ground clutter and
terrain masking for SAM evasion.

By December of '66 when ECM pods came into use, the ingress altitude
was raised to 14-18,000 MSL.

Here's a brief excerpt from WTR on the topic:

"Mitchell was one of the few leaders in the squadron who still
supported the tactic of low level run in to the target. Most had
decided that the disadvantages far out-weighed any advantage. Enemy
radar reached as far as the tanker tracks, so the bad guys knew we
were coming. Sure, the low altitude provided shielding from SAM radar,
but it also meant you were within range of even the smallest of guns.
It also made it a whole lot harder to find the targets. Low altitude
meant your navigation had to be absolutely perfect, because it was
only when you popped up to bombing altitude that you could see to
identify your target. A few degrees off on your run-in and you might
be too close to drop, you might be so wide that you'd have to float at
the apex of your pop exposed to all of the target area guns, or you
might simply miss your target entirely.

Let there be no doubt about it, running along on the tree tops at 540
knots in a flight of four F-105s loaded with high explosive iron may
be the most exciting thing a man can do with his pants on. You've got
the most impressive piece of machinery on the planet strapped to your
ass and it responds to your every wish. The throttle controls the
beast's heartbeat and the slightest movement of the stick directs your
flight path. You're the lord of evil perched on your rocket-powered
throne and coming to deliver justice. It's exhilarating and thrilling,
frightening and almost orgasmic. But it isn't necessarily tactically
sound."



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (ret)
***"When Thunder Rolled:
*** An F-105 Pilot Over N. Vietnam"
*** from Smithsonian Books
ISBN: 1588341038