Bill Richardson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and enlisted in the Army in 1945. He deployed to Korea when war broke out in 1950 and fought northward up the length of the Korean peninsula as part of the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. On November 5th, 1950, Richardson was captured by the Chinese during the Battle of Unsan. He spent roughly the next three years enduring brutal captivity. So brutal 38% of American prisoners died. Somehow Richardson survived with his spirit unbroken. After being freed and returning to the United States, he served the rest of his 40 years in Army service. He tells the story in “Valleys of Death.”

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.