An interesting look at the trials and tribulations individuals went through trying to supply needed materials to support the war effort in WW2. The heroes are not the typical ones of book lore, but rather rough, flawed and yet still patriotic. Overall, a good read with plenty of side stories to hold your interest in what may seem to be a dry subject.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This account of a little-known scientific phenomenon that found a wartime application is just one such that shows how wartime expediency is a very strong catalyst to progress technological solutions. The part of the book that describes the natural characteristic of the mineral Calcite and its employment in gunsight and bombsight uses is thought provoking as to the forethought of Edward Land and his engineers.
However, the depth and length of the accounts of the mining operations of the material and the biographies of the miners themselves seem to distract from the technological portions of the book. That said, these personal stories, although related and interesting in themselves, tended to distract me from the main theme of the book and perhaps it is the structure of the book itself could be improved to ‘smooth the flow’ and connection between the two elements. The last, technical descriptor of the molecular structure of Calcite and it properties that can produce polarization, requires a certain understanding of molecular physics to begin with however it is useful to include it in the book for the technically minded.

I have always been of fan of books of this type. Books that focus on a particular technology, and how it was developed and changed the world, and the difficulties in getting to a success. Larry Hughes tackles this topic, specifically on the subject of a specific crystal used in WWII gunsights.

=== The Good Stuff ===
* The tale is interesting, and both simple enough to be understood, but complex enough to be entertaining. Specifically, the mineral calcite, normally of little value, was essential to produce a certain type of gunsight used in WWII weapons. Hughes takes us through the invention of the gunsight, the difficulties in procuring the mineral, and its eventual success.
* In the book, we meet an interesting cast of characters. Calcite seemed to be found in some of the more inhospitable places in North America. Since both the demand and the supply were small, it did not attract the attention of bigger mining operations, and therefore mostly relied on individual or very small operations. The dedication of these small mine operators made a very interesting story.
* Larry Hughes writes in an easy-to-read style, and his narrative brings the story to life. The book is more of a story of the human struggles rather than a technical discussion of optical sights, and the characters are certainly interesting. The book seems well researched, although some of the details will always be a little clouded.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===
* The author presents an expanded scope of the story, and some of the more “spiritual” elements of the story seemed to detract from the story rather than add to it. I found them more distracting than interesting.
* Ultimately, the gunsights based on the calcite crystals were just never all that important to the war efforts of the Allies. The gunsights themselves were a bit of a niche technology, and problems in sourcing the raw materials limited their widespread adoption.

=== Summary ===
Mostly I enjoyed the book, although some of the excursions the narrative took were more of a distraction than an asset. The technology was interesting to read about, although it was more of a limited-use dead-end. Still, the characters and the lengths they were willing to go through to supply a vital war material were amazing and a fun read.

Winding Tale Of Americans Coming Together To Capture The Earth. Why does every nonfiction book about the American side of WWII these days have to proclaim that whatever it is talking about "helped win WWII"???? Because let's face it - with many things, such a claim is tenuous at best, and perhaps the most glaring weakness of this text is that while the calcite is shown to be an important tool of the war, it is never truly established how it "helped win" the war. Indeed, the book as written does a far superior job of establishing how this calcite crystal that everything in the book revolves around was crucial in capturing "Earthrise", the famed Apollo-era shot of the Earth from orbit around the moon, than it does in establishing how this particular technology "helped win WWII".

Beyond the criticism of the subtitle though, this truly was a well documented examination of how a group of Americans that couldn't actively fight in the war - though some later did just that - still found a remarkable and obscure way to contribute to the overall war effort. Essential, during times of total war such as WWII. It also shows how these people - and the Polaroid Company - would advance knowledge of optics and sights to levels unknown before, and how such advances really did need such a wildly disparate group of people all around the country to work together to achieve a common goal.

Ultimately, this book is about teamwork and the "can-do" spirit that American propagandists of this and later eras were so ardently promoting - even into the modern era, in some circles - as much as it is the science and tech of the calcite and optics. So take that for what you will, though I will say that this book never actually feels like a propaganda piece. If anything, it feels so *real*, like you're actually there as these events are happening. That is clearly thanks to Hughes' research as well as the way he chose to write this narrative, and speaks well for his abilities in both arenas.

Overall an interesting book with perhaps a few quibbles here and there, but one esoteric enough that few (relatively, at least) will likely read it - even though it really does show a glimpse of an America and Americans rarely seen in reporting of this era. Very much recommended.