Unknowable Minds: Philosophical Insights on AI and Autonomous Weapons by Mark Bailey

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Author's Synopsis

Imagine that in the cold heart of a secret military facility, a new form of intelligence awakens. It is a synthetic mind born from intricate algorithms and complex computations, operating in ways unfathomable to its human creators. Charged with safeguarding national security, this intelligence orchestrates strategies that defy human ethics and laws of war, leaving its creators both awed and unnerved. Unknowable Minds delves into the unsettling reality of entrusting our safety to an intelligence that lacks human essence. As we navigate the Age of Artificial Intelligence, these systems - powering everything from our smartphones to military defenses - remain inherently opaque and unpredictable. The book explores how AI differs from any technology we've ever developed, its inherent complexities, and the profound risks it poses to our future. Drawing on philosophy, AI theory, and national security insights, this book offers a thought-provoking examination of AI's potential and peril. From the complexities of neural networks to the unpredictable nature of emergent behaviors, Unknowable Minds challenges us to rethink our relationship with AI and its role in the theater of global security. Can we control an unknowable intellect, or will it redefine human existence? As we stand on the precipice of unprecedented technological advancement, understanding and navigating the unknowable minds of artificial intelligences become a quest fraught with extraordinary challenges and existential questions.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference

Number of Pages: 236

Word Count: 50,000

The Only Ones Left by KE Jennings

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Author's Synopsis

Malia lives with Cole, her little boy. They are always together and live a very quiet life because absolutely everyone else in the world has gone, including Malia's beloved husband Josh. Malia can't think too deeply about what has happened, or why she and Cole are the only people left on the planet. The thought scares her, so she lives what she perceives to be a 'normal' existence until one day, she is messaged by someone on defunct social media channels. In a desperate attempt to connect to this man, Malia strikes up an online friendship with Ian, in Australia. That's when even more strange and unnatural things start to happen. Dark entities and crows begin to threaten Malia and Cole's very existence, which Malia desperately tries to cling onto while Ian is trying to get to her and her son. Will he make it? Will Malia and Cole survive and who are the dark entities that threaten then only ones left?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 208

Word Count: 62805

Women Warriors - The Hidden Spies of WWII by Donna Pedace

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Author's Synopsis

The stories of the 52 female agents trained and sent into France by the Special Operation Executive (SOE). They were a widely diverse group of women by age, education, economic background, and motivation. But all had the goal of freeing France from German occupation. Of the 52 women who went to France, eleven (11) were executed while prisoners in concentration camps, and two (2) died of disease in the camps. Others were captured and tortured but survived the war. All showed incredible courage, and Nazi records show that not one of the captured women gave the Germans any classified information – even when they faced a certain death.

Behind the veil of secrecy, not yet raised by the Air Ministry, there are great stories of courage and endurance. For the agent has no status, no friendly uniform or consul to rely on. With her friends, she is outside the law — until it catches up with her.

Written by Squadron Leader William Simpson, Distinguished Flying Cross, regarding the female SOE agents in March 1945.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 328

Word Count: 123,171

One of Four by Travis Davis

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Author's Synopsis

From New York Harbor to the battlefields of France, relive World War One through the eyes of an unknown soldier, as told through his diary. See how the 100-year-old diary brings a father and his estranged son back together by retracing his experiences fighting in the battlefields of France in 1917 - 1918 to his final resting place—the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 210

Word Count: 67,551

A Nation Born – A Homeland Lost: Native Americans and the Revolutionary War Era by George J. Bryjak

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Author's Synopsis

To fully understand the American Revolutionary War and its aftermath, we must also examine wars involving Native Americans in that era, and how they influenced the destiny of a people and a continent

.

As France and England battle for control of North America in The French and Indian War, most of the Indians who fight side with the French.

Pontiac’s Rebellion – often called the first American Revolution – is a concerted effort by Native Americans to halt European expansion and safeguard their ancestral homelands.

From Pontiac’s Rebellion to the battles of Lexington and Concord, a shifting political landscape results in most of the Native Americans who fight in the Revolutionary War siding with the British.

The Treaty of Paris and birth of the United States results in Native Americans battling for their sovereignty once more in the Northwest Indian War.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 285

Word Count: 84,000

Maryland Sasquatch Massacre by Ethan Richards

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Author's Synopsis

Maryland. Mercenaries. Sasquatch.

Ebenezer "Eerie Eb" Edwards is ready to hang up his rifle. After years in the military and security contracting, he's set on leaving his tactical profession behind and focusing full-time on podcasting. But when a lucrative final contract crosses his path, Eb agrees to one last mission—a search deep into the heart of Savage River State Forest for the missing sister of Cora Rhodes, a wealthy heiress with a fierce determination.

Cora's sister has disappeared into the remote, abandoned forest, and Cora will stop at nothing to find her. With Eb leading the way, they're joined by a band of mercenaries—each with their own specialties and reasons for taking on the job. Together, the team must navigate treacherous terrain, but it's not just the wilderness they have to survive. Something brutal and ancient lurks in the shadows—something far worse than they could have imagined.

This isn't just a search-and-rescue mission. It's a battle for survival against a creature long thought to be myth. As the team members fall one by one, Eb and Cora must rely on each other, pushing their limits as they confront a force of nature no one was prepared for.

In this action-packed thriller, will Eb's final mission be the one that costs him everything? Or will he and Cora survive The Maryland Sasquatch Massacre and uncover the truth about the horrors lurking in the forest?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi

Number of Pages: 162

Word Count: 43217

Until Our Time Comes: A Novel of WWII Poland by Nicole M. Miller

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Author's Synopsis

American horse trainer Adia Kensington is living her dream of working at the famous Janów Podlaski stables in Poland, where they breed the best Arabian horses in the world. But her plans to bring the priceless stallion Lubor to the US are derailed when the German army storms into her adopted country in 1939. Little does she know this is just the beginning of six long years of occupation that will threaten her beloved horses at every turn.

Bret Conway is at Janów Podlaski under the guise of a news reporter, but his true mission is intelligence gathering for the British. That and keeping Adia safe, which is harder and harder to do as she insists they must evacuate 250 horses to save them from being stolen, sold, or eaten by the invading forces. What follows will test their physical, mental, and emotional strength, as well as their faith in God, humankind, and each other.

Drawn from true events of World War II, this epic story of escape, capture, resistance, and love from debut novelist Nicole M. Miller will thunder into your heart like a herd of beautiful horses across a raging river.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 372

Word Count: 95,000

The Spear and the Sentinel by J. L. Hancock

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Author's Synopsis

Voodoo and his team of special operators are thrust into the heart of a global conflict. The stakes have never been higher as China’s Belt and Road Initiative pushes into Central Asia, exposing dark ambitions and a secret lab advancing AI warfare.

Set against the vast steppes of Kazakhstan, this story unfolds in the shadow of the former Soviet Union. Tensions rise as Voodoo’s team embarks on a covert mission. New team members add to the friction as more troubles from Voodoo’s past return to the present.

They soon find themselves on the brink of a perilous future the Western world is unwilling to face: a world where AI reigns supreme, and there's no turning back. Fans of Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy, and Clive Cussler will snatch this thriller and refuse to let go.

Will Voodoo’s team succeed? Or has his luck finally run out?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 340

Word Count: 80,000

Crucible 1972: The War for Peace in Vietnam by J. Keith Saliba

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Author's Synopsis

By early 1972, America’s long struggle in Vietnam was nearing its end. President Richard Nixon’s policy of “Vietnamization” had seen U.S. troop strength plummet to its lowest since 1965, even as military planners ramped up efforts to train and equip South Vietnam to stand alone. In an effort to kickstart peace negotiations, Nixon that January revealed that for more than two years his administration had been in secret talks with North Vietnam to end the war. Nixon proposed a withdrawal of all foreign military forces from South Vietnam and the release of prisoners held by all sides. After which, the president intoned, the people of South Vietnam would be free to decide their own fate through peaceful, democratic means. All that remained was North Vietnam’s acceptance. But Hanoi said no. General Secretary Le Duan, seeing that the United States was already on its way out and calculating that Vietnamization had failed, decided war not peace would bring final victory.

And so on 30 March 1972, the first terrible wave of 30,000 North Vietnamese infantrymen, armor, and heavy artillery rolled across the DMZ separating North and South Vietnam. Within a month, that number would grow to more than 225,000 troops and hundreds of tanks pressing South Vietnam on three battlefronts. But what Le Duan did not calculate was the ferocity of the U.S. response. American airpower—now unshackled by a president determined to win an “honorable peace” in Vietnam—would rain destruction unlike anything the North Vietnamese had experienced. Before it was over, Washington, Hanoi, and Saigon would be pushed to the brink—and toward a deeply flawed peace that merely sowed the seeds of further war. Drawing on archival research and interviews with veterans who were there, J. Keith Saliba tells the tale of America’s last fateful year in Vietnam…and its desperate attempt to achieve an honorable peace.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 444

Word Count: 95,000

Cherry Blossoms in Winter: A Riveting Soldier's Story of the Korean War, Friendship, and Love in Post-War Japan by Michael J. Summers

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Author's Synopsis

In a world scarred by conflict, can the tender beauty of cherry blossoms withstand the winter of war?

Manila, Philippines, 2003.

Dane Chandler is on a writing assignment in Manila, where he meets Jack Pierce, a tough-talking Korean War Veteran. Their chance encounter leads Dane into Jack's past, beginning in 1949 Tokyo, where Jack, stationed at Camp Drake, meets Michiko Okura at Club Florida. Their budding romance is cut short by the outbreak of the Korean War, which transforms Jack amidst the brutal fight for "Rat Mountain."

As Dane listens to Jack's story, experiencing his hellish battlefield encounters and tremendous loss, he witnesses Jack's undaunted outlook on life and discovers newfound maturity in himself.

Cherry Blossoms in Winter is a masterful blend of historical fiction, multi-cultural romance, and military adventure, exploring the bonds of brotherhood, the harsh realities of war, and the enduring power of love, highlighting the unyielding strength of the human spirit.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 259

Word Count: 82000

The Master Chief's Sea Stories: Volume II Duty Ashore and USS Comte De Grasse (DD 974) by Johnny J Moye

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Author's Synopsis

Outstanding stories continue as Young Moye expertly communicates his extraordinary journey. Accompany him as he enjoys the freedom of shore duty, finding himself as a person and sailor. Assigned to one of the world’s most powerful warships, the USS Comte De Grasse, he faced the most difficult but amazing period of his life. Initially a meek person, he was forced to lead men and machine through the toughest situations he and his sailors had ever faced.

For millennia, sailors have told stories of the sea. Readers of Volume I (USS Manitowoc) witnessed how four years of arduous naval service transformed a simple boy from the hills into a sailor, communicator and leader.

Built on his journal-based autobiographical account, Moye skillfully articulates his continued transformation—and the transformation of those he led. Stories as only possible from someone who experienced such adventure and challenges.

Moye details significant events that prepared him for future advancement and challenges, both professional and personal. His daily journal entries aboard the Count identify events as they occurred, allowing him to accurately and honestly spin his yarns of adventures and hardships, some too incredible to believe. While experiencing the most amazing time of his life, he also endured days seemingly too difficult for him and his shipmates to bear. But bear they did. Prepare yourself for these amazing sea stories for they are no-shitters.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 670

Word Count: 245,000