Bøger af Thomas Wictor

Hallucinabulia: the Dream Diary of an Unintended Solitarian is a document of disaster and recovery. The third volume in the Ghosts Trilogy, it joins Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed L.A. Music Journalist and Chasing the Last Whale, a fictional black comedy about love and suicide in contemporary, wartime America. Like its two companion titles, Hallucinabulia explores the theme of overcoming a deeply traumatic past by transforming anger over loss into gratitude for what once was. Plagued by chronic nightmares until an incurable illness finally allowed him to achieve happiness, Wictor published this very private record in order to bear witness, banish, and entertain. The healing power of laughter is again demonstrated and affirmed. Wictor's near-perfect recall allowed him to capture some of the most off-kilter, frightening, strange, and funny imagery that a twisted imagination could ever devise. The diary-divided into twelve chapters organized by subject matter-provides context to the memoir and the novel by presenting the nocturnal battles the author fought with his demons, as well as the salvation that his angels conferred. Straight from Wictor's subconscious, the dialog, bizarre scenery, and outlandish situations are preserved in the form of intricately detailed short stories. The characters introduced in Ghosts and Ballyhoo and romanticized in Chasing the Last Whale are finally set free in Hallucinabulia, being no longer bound by law, nature, or even reality. The result is a book that travels an arc from incomprehensibly brutal to indestructibly optimistic, as intense evil gives way to infinite beauty and good.

IN COLD SWEAT

This book covers the organization, tactics, weapons, equipment, orders of battle, and uniforms of official and unofficial units, from early raiding parties to formal assault battalions. Rare photos depict badges and insignia not previously known, while primary documents describing regulations and training are provided in their entirety. New information on the origin of shock tactics is presented, gleaned from German archives and not previously published in English. Specific operations on all fronts are included, along with extracts from German army manuals for shock-troop arms such as flamethrowers, mortars, machine guns, grenade launchers, assault artillery, and tanks.

Lavishly illustrated with rare photos and diagrams, this book describes in unprecedented detail the history, weapons, equipment, tactics, and uniforms of all the flamethrower troops fielded by both sides during World War I, and is the only book in any language devoted entirely to the topic. The book draws on primary sources such as classified flamethrower manuals, unit diaries, military correspondence, and personal memoirs, with much of the material previously unpublished. For the first time in English the flame-warfare efforts of Russia and Bulgaria are presented. Select flamethrower attacks are documented, as well as complete technical data on weaponry including weight, range, duration, pressure, capacity, oil mixtures, and color schemes. Also described are all known models of flamethrower used by the combatants. Additional weapons such as incendiary grenades, fire tubes, oil projectors, and side arms are also featured.