Among other things, Thomas Edward Lawrence was an author, archeologist, and British Army officer. During the First World War, he served as a liaison between the British and the Arab tribes fighting Ottoman rule in the western Arabian desert. Lawrence spent approximately two years and covered hundreds of miles by camel in this role. His campaign was successful in toppling Ottoman rule yet failed to fully meet the Arab tribes’ aspirations for self-rule. Lawrence tells the story in “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”.

Within a few short years, drones went from being a niche capability reserved for technically advanced militaries to something ubiquitous on the modern battlefield. According to the Atlantic Council, Ukraine was producing 200,000 first person view drones per month by early 2025. The Ukrainians used those drones to inflict up to 80% of Russian battlefield casualties. That conflict continues and so does its use of drones. Meanwhile, Hamas used drones to as part of the October 7th attacks. The Houthis have used drones to attack US Navy ships in the Red Sea and drones are being extensively used by Iran in the ongoing conflict. Drones are a rapidly changing and rapidly proliferating capability. In this book, engineer and historian Lars Celander gives an overview of how drones are designed and used – How they fight.

Tameichi Hara descended from Japan’s samurai class. He graduated from the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1921 and began a career at sea. When war started with the United States in 1941, Hara was serving as the captain of the destroyer Amatsukaze. He went on to command a destroyer division and participated in major engagements throughout the war. His last assignment at sea was captain of the light cruiser Yahagi tasked with a suicide mission to attack Allied forces during the Battle of Okinawa. The Yahagi was sunk but somehow Hara survived. He was the only Japanese destroyer captain at the start of the war to survive. This book, Japanese Destroyer Captain, are his memoirs.