Kenneth R. Rutherford

american-civil-war, explosive-devices, military-history*****

A victim of a landmine while in Somalia as a humanitarian relief officer, Rutherford was motivated to present the early development and use of land mines, also known as "infernal machines" and much later as Improvised Explosive Devices.
There was some irregular use of land mines in The Crimean War (October 1853 to February 1856) and sea mines were being developed by several other countries as well. The major beginning of the use of landmines was documented during the American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865) as initiated by the Confederate Army. What follows is a detailed account of the further development and use of landmines during various Confederate military campaigns. (Great for military studies but too much like memories for this nurse who needs no help in picturing the carnage and wounds.)
John Harrison Gass has a personalized delivery in his excellent narration which adds to the tone of the book.
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Together with Jerry White the author co-founded Landmine Survivors Network in 1995 which later became Survivor Corps. He and White accompanied Princess Diana on her last humanitarian mission to visit landmine survivors in Bosnia-Herzegovina in August 1997, only three weeks before her death. Rutherford was a prominent leader in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines which won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.… (mais)