April 2008: Iowa Class Battleships and Alaska Class Large Cruisers Conversion Projects 1942-1964: An Illustrated Technical Reference by Wayne Scarpaci - beautiful paintings of fantastical battleship makeovers that never occurred ... but should have!Annoucing IOWA CLASS BATTLESHIP AND ALASKA CLASS LARGE CRUISERS CONVERSION PROJECTS: An Illustrated Technical Reference by Wayne Scarpaci. This beautifully illustrated book is the definitive and only book on its subject–a unique must-have for any battleship fan.
The book is available from Nimble Books via CreateSpace or via Amazon.com and will soon be available via Ingram (ISBN 1934840386).
Here are a few of the beautiful images included.
This is the latest in a series of periodic updates of the Nimble Books Marketing Playbook.
When I think about marketing books online, I often think of principal components analysis, which is a mathematical technique that is used to reduce the dimensionality of a data set. When you have a phenomenon that is described by a large number of factors, PCA is a tool for identifying the smaller number of variables that account for most of the variance. PCA is often surprisingly effective, sometimes reducing dimensionality from hundreds to single digits. The same concept works for marketing books online: although there are a great many variables, just a handful seem to explain most of the variation.
There are four major variables that you can influence before publication:
There are four major variables that you can influence after publication:
That’s it! This relative handful of activities seems to explain most of the variation in the efficiency of online marketing for Nimble Books.
In a future post, I will list just a few of the dozens of demonstrably cost-ineffective marketing tools that have been devised to separate authors and publishers from their money.
Amazon.com: sdae102’s review of BB-67 MONTANA, U.S. Navy Battleship: Why S…
5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding, March 10, 2008
By sdae102
A unique volume that depicts USS Montana as if the ship had been completed The photos of the model work are excellent. And the artwork of the ship by noted naval artist wayne scarpaci is outstanding.
It’s really heartening that this guy liked what I did.
I am a best-selling battleship author. Go figure!
This is one of the better days in the history of Nimble Books. Today we have reached a final agreement with Hugo and Nebula-award winning science fiction author, futurist, and commentator David Brin, and we will be publishing his THROUGH STRANGER EYES, a collection of “Reviews, Introductions, Tributes & Iconoclastic Essays” in the U.S. and U.K. We will be working in partnership with Robert Stephenson of the fine SF publisher Altair Australia who be publishing a simultaneous edition for his markets. THROUGH STRANGER EYES will include essays on figures as diverse as J.R.R. Tolkien, John Brunner, George Orwell, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Charles Sheffield, Richard Feynman, and Ayn Rand.
More to come …
Cool Maps of France: Paris and Beyond
Figure 1. France's overseas territories and departments
Table 1. Status and population
Table 2. Uninhabited islands
Figure 2. Martinique 1632 (Library of Congress)
Figure 3. Martinique (Central Intelligence Agency 2006)
Figure 4. Fort-de-France 1984 (U.S. State Department)
Figure 5. French Guiana shaded relief 1992 (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 6. French Guiana political 1992 (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 7. French Guiana vegetation 1972 (Central Intelligence Agency) The territory is mostly rainforest.
Figure 8. French Guiana economic activity 1972 (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 9. French Polynesia 1989 (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 10. Guadeloupe (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 11. Île Saint-Barthélemy (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 12. Île Saint-Martin (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 13. Mayotte (Central Intelligence Agency). The Comoros Islands are to the west.
Figure 14. Location of Mayotte (WikiMedia Commons, 2008)
Figure 15. New Caledonia (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 16. Réunion (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 17. Réunion – the day after the volcano erupted, January 16, 2002 (NASA). Red, indicating patches of active lava, is just barely visible at the volcanic cone on the southwestern island.
Figure 18. Île Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 19. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (NASA)
Figure 20. Îles Wallis and Iles de Horne (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 23. Île Alofi, to the southeast of Futuna (NASA).
Figure 22. Futuna Island (NASA)
Figure 21. Uvea, one of the Wallis Islands (NASA).
Figure 24. Île Amsterdam (WikiMedia Commons)
Figure 25. Île St. Paul (WikiMedia Commons)
Figure 26. Bassas da India (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 27. Bassas da India from space (NASA)
Figure 28. Clipperton Island (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 29. Clipperton Island from space (NASA)
Figure 30. Crozet Islands (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 31. Crozet Islands eastern group (NASA)
Figure 32. Ile Europa (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 33. Île Europa land use (WikiMedia Commons)
Figure 34. Île Europa (NASA)
Figure 35. French Antarctic and Southern Lands (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 36. Îles Glorieuses (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 37. Îles Glorieuses (NASA)
Figure 38. Île Juan de Nova (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 39. Île Juan de Nova (NASA).
Figure 40. Île Kerguelen (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 41. Île Kerguelen (NASA)
Figure 42. Landsat infrared image of Kerguelen (NASA)
Figure 43. Baie du Morbihan, Kerguelen Islands (NASA)
Figure 44. Map of Kerguelen drawn during the expedition of Captain James Cook (WikiMedia Commons)
Figure 45. Île Tromelin (Central Intelligence Agency)
Figure 46. Île Tromelin (NASA)
This is one of my favorites in the ever-growing Nimble Books list. The cover looks terrific--very realistic, just as if the Navy had really built the U.S.S. Montana! The interior of the book includes:
SSN-23 JIMMY CARTER, U.S. Navy Submarine (Seawolf class)Introduction
Buy This Book If:
Acknowledgements
Key Facts
Specifications
Ships in the Seawolf Class
Remarks at the Naming Ceremony in 1998
Figure 1. SSN-23 incorporates new design features for an “expeditionary” future.
Figure 2. Positive thinking about Carter's role. Interestingly, none of these missions look much like the cable tapping missions that made Carter’s predecessor Parche the most decorated sub in U.S. naval history.
Figure 3. President Carter being given a model of the future Jimmy Carter at the naming ceremony. Personally, I'd have held out for the bigger one.
Figure 4. A full-length view of the model, courtesy Motionmodels.com. Note the conceptual representation of the additional maneuvering units fore and aft. These below-waterline fixtures will most likely never be seen in public while Jimmy Carter is in active service.
Figure 5. Ship's crest.
Figure 6. A detailed view of the propeller, rudder, and aft maneuvering units (courtesy Motion Models). The actual appearance of the maneuvering units may be somewhat different.
Figure 5. Moving her outdoors for the first time, June 24, 2004.
Figure 6. Sneaking out a little early.
Figure 7. The Multi-Mission Platform that makes Jimmy Carter unique.
Figure 8. Inserting the forward upper module in the MMP.
Figure 9. Leaving Electric Boat to begin Alpha Sea Trials, November 2004.
Figure 10. During sea trials, February 2005.
Figure 11. The commissioning ceremony, February 19, 2005.
Figure 12. The crew manning the ship during the commissioning ceremony.
Figure 13. Carter being "depermed", or demagnetized, to reduce her vulnerability to weapons that detect magnetic signatures.
Figure 14. Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn about to set off on an overnight trip, August 12, 2005.
Figure 15. Departing Kings Bay, Georgia with the Carters on board.
Figure 16. Carter on Carter. This is the boat’s mess room.
Figure 17. Returning to Kings Bay after taking Jimmy Carter on an overnight.
An Appropriate Name
Why SSN-23 Jimmy Carter Matters Today
References
Colophon
I found some terrific AP photos taken inside JIMMY CARTER--I wish I had been able to use them! but the book is pretty nice. want to take a look at a couple of other titles in our "Cool Ships" series:
Cool Maps of Cuba: An Atlas of History, Population, Resources Before and After Fidel Castro Figure 1. The historical context of the Spanish and Portugese Age of Discovery. The Cambridge Modern History Atlas edited by Sir Adolphus William Ward, G.W. Prothero, Sir Stanley Mordaunt Leathes, and E.A. Benians. Cambridge University Press; London. 1912.
Figure 2. Cuba. Joan Vickeboons, 1639 (Library of Congress).
Figure 3. A new chart of the seas surrounding the island of Cuba with the soundings, currents, ships, courses &c. and a map of the island itself lately made by an officer in the Navy. From The London magazine, or, Gentleman's monthly intelligencer. Oct. 1762, v. 21.
Figure 4. Cuba during the Spanish-American War, 1898.
Figure 5. The location of the Bay of Pigs (1961).
Figure 6. The Bay of Pigs in Atlas Nacional de Cuba (Moscow 1970) via Cryptome.org.
Figure 7. CIA briefing board for JFK showing range of Soviet MRBMs stationed in Cuba (CIA 1962, via the National Security Archive, George Washington University).
Figure 8. Sugar in Cuba (US 1977).
Figure 9. Land Utilization in Cuba (US 1977).
Figure 10. Economic Activity in Cuba (US 1977).
Figure 11. Population Density (US 1977).
Figure 12. Political map of Cuba (CIA 1994).
Figure 13. Havana (CIA).
Figure 14. Detailed topographic map of Guantanamo Bay (NIMA, 1996).
Figure 15. Camp Delta at Guantanamo (Department of Defense, 2003). Our bad.
Figure 16. A beautiful MODIS image of Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba (NASA 2001).
Figure 17. Another spectacular MODIS image (NASA 2004).
Figure 18. Coral reefs of Cuba (NOAA).
Figure 19. Coral reefs off western Cuba (Landsat 2001).
Figure 20. Land cover (MODIS IGBP, NASA, 2007). Red is urban, dark green is forest, pale green is grassy.
Figure 21. Vegetation map of Cuba (USGS & the Nature Conservancy).
Figure 22. Elevation and depth of Cuba and its surrounding waters (SRTM, NASA, 2007).
Figure 23. Coastal and Marine Geology (USGS).
Figure 24. Capitalists will find this USGS map of Cuba’s mineral resources handy. Not dated, but note the nuclear power plant near Cienfuegos on the west side of the island. Elements are identified via their scientific abbreviation (e.g. Cu for copper).
Figure 25. Population density (SEDAC, 2004). After Fidel and his brother depart, the people of Cuba will remain.
Figure 26. Almost every area of Cuba has been touched by human activity. Reds are substantial impact, green is low impact. (SEDAC Human Footprint V2, 2007).
Figure 27. Night lights over Florida and Cuba (DMSP, 2007). Observe the difference between the vibrant lights of Florida and the scattered lights of Cuba.
I wish I had been able to find a Godfather III map of organized crime activity in Cuba before 1960, and I would have liked to find a map that showed something of the restrictions on freedom under the Castro regime. If you have any ideas for more Cool Maps of Cuba, by all means send them to me!
In the meantime, let's be glad that Castro is finally on the way out, and hope that this authoritarian regime will soon loosen its grip on the people of Cuba. Surely, at the very least, they deserve to live less like North Korea and more like China.
Sincerely yours,
Fred Zimmerman
Publisher, Nimble Books LLC
BB-67 MONTANA, U.S. Navy Battleship: Why She Matters Today 
"The Solomon Key" and Beyond: DIGITAL FORTESS, ANGELS & DEMONS, DECEPTION POINT, THE DA VINCI CODE, and more ... 
Basic Documents About the Treatment of Detainees at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib 
Torture and Democracy 
My Netflix Queue
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