Damned Yankee: The Story of a Marriage; by Carolyn Schriber

MWSA Review
The market for fiction related to the American Civil War seems to be growing, but it is rare to encounter a writer who decides to focus almost completely on the “home front” aspect of the war years. This is what Carolyn Schriber has chosen to do in setting her tale in South Carolina, by looking at a family whose patriarch, Jonathan Grenville, is a New England-born teacher who married the daughter of a well-to-do Deep South landowner, and as a result suspected by almost everyone as somehow “disloyal to the cause.” This tension, Schriber underscores, becomes especially trying during the war.  It happens because there were many “causes” in the conflict – love of country, love of state, loyalty to family and friends, individual conscience (for Grenville is quietly ashamed that his wife’s family own slaves). This is just to name a few.  

This book is not an action-oriented tale of battlefield and comradeship. It is instead a thoughtful narrative, driven by dialogue between and among the characters as the war begins and continues in all its challenges and emergencies; these strains that the war placed on the civilians, becomes the heart of this story. What action exists in the book is usually related in letters the family members receive from relatives and friends in the Confederate Army. The Battle of Secessionville, when Union forces attempted to capture Charleston, South Carolina, is described in a letter as a hail of “shot and cannonball,” until the ammunition ran out, at which point the Rebs seize “every loose item to use as a projectile.” In this way the point is made that the South bankrupted its resources in the war.

The pains of the war are told more in discussions of the events like the steady decline of food supplies in the South (the Grenvilles tirelessly tend their vegetable gardens to hold back hunger). The inevitable decline of the South is told quickly in the last pages, which makes a nice metaphor for the painful defeat that no one wanted to face or dwell on.

Damned Yankee is a fine tale of the war from the perspective of the overlooked bystanders who bear no arms but suffer equally from the ravages of the conflict. It is recommended to anyone who enjoys Civil War fiction.
Reviewed by Terry Shoptaugh
 

Author's Synopsis
These are the people you don’t read about in history books.

A Harvard-educated New Englander. He was welcomed as a teacher by a school for apprentices in Charleston, South Carolina. But when his history lessons about the founding of America clashed with the pro-secession rhetoric of local slave-owners, he was out of a job. Can he find a way to reconcile his abolitionist sentiments with the practical need to support his family in a region whose economy is based on slavery? 

A wealthy Southern belle. She has always believed that her ancestors were benevolent slave-owners and that they treated their slaves with dignity and respect. Now she has inherited the family plantations, only to see the institution of slavery come under attack as an unmitigated evil. The coming of the Civil War threatens her land, her children, her marriage, and the values that have always sustained her. How much will she be willing to sacrifice in order to help her family survive?

A female slave. She was given to her mistress when they were both very small because they shared a common grandfather – a fact that everyone knew and no one talked about. The war offers her a promise of freedom as well as the prospect of a bittersweet separation from her beloved cousin. Will the bonds of family stretch or break?

A Confederate soldier. He supported secession and eagerly volunteered for the Army, 
believing, like most young men, that he was invincible. And like too many of those young men, he was wounded and taken prisoner. The aftermath of his war experience left him with wounds far deeper than those that caused the amputation of his leg. Can he conquer the pain, the flashbacks, the disability, and the nightmares that keep him incapacitated and unable to return to his former life?

The newly-weds. The couple married in haste, realizing that the coming of war might mean a long period of separation. But the young wife did not expect to receive a black-bordered letter telling her that her husband had been killed in battle. Now she faces life in wartime as a widow and the mother of newborn twins. She can return to her family or seek to make a a new life for herself. Which way will she turn?

The children. Uprooted from their home and school by a series of family disasters, they face an uncertain future. The teenage boy gives up his dream of becoming a dairy farmer. With tears streaming down his face, he begs his cows to run away because Confederate soldiers are confiscating all cattle as food for the army. His brothers and sisters struggle to adapt to new conditions of poverty, hunger, and hard work. And they watch with fear as those circumstances threaten the stability of their parents’ marriage. Will the family stay together or scatter as their friends and neighbors have done? 

An educated ex-slave. Despite his free status, he realizes that freedom is just a word -- meaningless without respect in the eyes of the community and without the ability to interact on an equal basis with those who once were his owners. Will his freedom really liberate him or will it destroy him?

America’s Civil War was more than a political disaster. It was a human tragedy, and everyone – North and South, young and old, black and white, rich and poor – everyone was caught up in that broken world. Yet somehow the victims held on to the hope that love for one another could mend the tears in the fabric of their lives. These are their stories.

The Court-Martial of Benedict Arnold; by Richard McMahon

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MWSA Review
The Court-Martial of Benedict Arnold by Richard McMahon is a historical novel that depicts what might have happened if Benedict Arnold had been captured and given the opportunity to explain to a panel of his military peers why he planned to help the British during the Revolutionary War. It includes a military trial where Arnold is allowed to offer explanation and context while being represented by a reluctant fictional attorney. By moving from the trial arena to the outside world, the reader also is given insight into the minds of Arnold’s contemporaries.

Genuine letters and documents are used through the book, and the beginning of the book lists a cast of characters. The epilogue tells us what happened to the people and places in this novel – even to the fictional characters (who are clearly identified in the epilogue).

Lovers of historical fiction and courtroom drama are in for a treat in this well researched and well written novel that examines the era of the American Revolutionary War. What if Benedict Arnold had not escaped and had instead been brought to trial? The courtroom developments bring out the best in Arnold while clearly explaining why he changed sides during the war.

MWSA Reviewer: Nancy Kauffman

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Author's Synopsis

Benedict Arnold was the most notorious traitor in American history. Entrusted with the defense of West Point by George Washington during the Revolutionary War, he attempted to surrender it to the British. The conspiracy, had it succeeded, would probably have been the death knell for the American cause. Fortunately, his treachery was discovered at the last moment. Warned of the plot’s failure, Arnold just barely evaded capture and escaped to British lines.

But what if Arnold had been captured by the Americans and tried by court-martial for treason? What would his defense have been? Would we have learned what prompted this man, a true hero of the war’s early days, to suddenly turn on his country? 

In The Court-Martial of Benedict Arnold, America’s most infamous traitor defends himself before a panel of his peers, claiming that the entire event was an enemy plot to discredit him and thus undermine the American cause. This is also the story of Joshua Thorne, a conflicted officer in the Judge Advocate General Corps, who has been given the task of defending Arnold. Thorne is depressed by the role he is required to play in prosecuting soldiers for offenses caused mainly by the failure of Congress to feed and pay them. He has started to drink heavily, and is beginning to question his loyalty to the quest for America’s independence. His life is further complicated when his defense of Arnold places his love affair with Amelia Martin at risk. Amy, a school mistress and fierce patriot, detests Arnold as a traitor, and is distressed by Thorne’s growing alliance with him.

Currents: Corrales Writing Group 2015 Anthology; by Patricia Walkow,‎ Christina Allen,‎ Maureen Cooke ,‎ Sandi Hoover,‎ Thomas Neiman,‎ James John Tritten

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MWSA Review
In their third anthology, titled Currents, the Corrales Writing Group once again showcases their exceptional and varied talents.  

The book is divided into four sections (humor, fiction, essay, and memoir), and among the twenty-three different stories, anyone will find multiple works that speak to them.  My favorite section was the fiction offering, and I especially enjoyed the gritty “Bête Noire,” one of the best crime stories I have read, short or otherwise.  “The Moist End of the Earth,” was also highly enjoyable and very surprising with its erotic undertones.

This talented group has something for every taste, and fans of variety and short stories/works will definitely enjoy this book.
MWSA Reviewer: Rob Ballister  
 

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Author's Synopsis

Currents is an anthology of work from the Corrales Writing Group for the year 2015. It includes humor, fiction, essays and memoir.

Vietnam Nurse: Mending & Remembering; by Lou Eisenbrandt

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MWSA Review
A young woman trains as a nurse and goes to Nam to find her personal and professional way!

To satisfy wanderlust, Eisenbrandt chooses a nursing vocation to finish high school and the Army to “see the world” and develop her skills.  Not the norm for a young woman to go to the war zone, this VIETNAM NURSE shares her field hospital lifestyle that year in 1970.  The author narrative describes the routines and incoming patients, recreation on the China Sea, and the limited social outlets and available relationships.  

After her tour, Lou Eisenbrandt reflects on four return trips to Vietnam after the war ended and as she aged, with her varying feelings and impressions.  Not the normal war story, this book relates to the impact of war on a young woman and her ongoing relative success to travel and mend as much as anyone may with a scarred war background.     
MWSA Reviewer: Hodge Wood
 

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Author's Synopsis

Combining narrative and poetry, photos and documents, Lou Eisenbrandt's Vietnam Nurse tells the compelling story of how a Midwestern woman, born with a little wanderlust and a lot of courage, found herself serving as a nurse in Vietnam during some of the most dangerous and damaging stretches of the war in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During her service, Eisenbrandt encounters life-changing stories, most notably her own, as she writes in one of her poems, that spark "Songs of love and loss, of sweat drenched nights and blood smeared days." Since the war and through her many return journeys to Vietnam, Eisenbrandt shows us her deepening commitment to service, widening search for truth, and enduring creation of a life that matters.

—Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg 2009-13 Kansas Poet Laureate

Before the Belle; Cassius Mullen

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MWSA Review
A great read and a long-overdue recognition of a record-breaking B-24 crew during World War II.

Have you heard of the Memphis Belle? Have you seen the movie—or the 1944 documentary—of the same name? How about 12 O'Clock High? When we think of World War II bombers, why is it that the B-17 seems to be the first airplane to come to mind? You might find an answer in an article written for the January 2016 edition of the Aviation History magazine, which quotes a B-24 engineer-gunner: "The B-24 was the bomber that was mostly ignored when the history books were written." Thanks to authors Cassius Mullen and Betty Byron, and their thoroughly enjoyable book, Before the Belle, you'll have a much better appreciation for the Liberator's capabilities and its role during the war.

As a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, I was familiar with the story of the Memphis Belle. I also thought that I had a pretty good handle on daylight precision bombing—carried out primarily by the U.S. Army Air Corps—during the Second World War. Although I was familiar with the B-24 Liberator, this book made it clear that there was a great deal I didn't know about its capabilities and contributions to the war effort.

In addition to being a great read, Before the Belle also makes an important contribution by correcting the historical record—which gave the crew of the Memphis Belle credit for being the first to accomplish twenty-five combat missions in the European theater of operations. The authors correctly point out that rather than the Memphis Belle, it was the crew of a B-24 Liberator nicknamed Hot Stuff, who were the first to reach that important milestone.

After a short introduction, we follow the Hot Stuff's crew as they complete their initial training in the airplane, get their first taste of combat during anti-submarine patrols off the coast of Florida, deploy to Europe, and fly and fight their way through each of their thirty-one combat missions from October 1942 through March 1943. The descriptions of aerial combat occur in short, but action-packed, chapters covering each mission.

The authors personalize the history by creating conversations between the various crew members and other military personnel and civilians they meet. The dialog is found throughout the book and allows readers to feel like they're flying along with the crew in their B-24… or exploring London and Cairo with the Hot Stuff crewmembers during a 24-hour pass.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this unsung hero of an airplane and the brave crewmembers who flew it.
MWSA Reviewer: John Cathcart

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Author's Synopsis

On May 3, 1943, a lone American B-24 on a secret mission from Bovington airdrome in England neared the Icelandic coast bound for the United States. Captain Robert “Shine” Shannon was at the controls. He and his nine man crew of Hot Stuff had been honored two weeks earlier as being the first heavy bomber in the Eighth Air Force to complete 25 combat missions. That number was a benchmark established by the Army Air Force for bomber crews to be rotated back to the United States where the plane and its crew would tour the country to promote the war effort.

By the time Hot Stuff and its crew received word they were to rotate back to the States, they had endured not just 25 but 31 combat missions. A combat mission was defined as anytime an American aircraft came under hostile fire over enemy territory.
Hot Stuff was honored to be chosen by Lt. General Frank Andrews, commander of all American Forces in the European Theater of Operations, to fly him and his staff to Washington, D.C. After arriving in Washington he was to receive his fourth star and assume command of all Allied Forces in the European Theater of Operations. However, the accomplishments of Hot Stuff and its crew along with those of Andrews went unheralded in the annals of World War II.

Death Ship; by Joseph Badal

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MWSA Review
Joseph Badal knows how to spin a good yarn. Death Ship is the 5th book in the Danforth Saga. When Bob Danforth retires, he takes his wife, daughter-in-law and grandson on a supposedly leisurely cruise in the Ionian Sea. The cruise turns out to be anything but relaxing.

At the same time, terrorists plot a major attack to garner worldwide attention. Well-planned and seemingly foolproof, the incident will have far reaching consequences, not to mention that the men behind the attack will achieve great monetary benefits.

Although Danforth is retired, he becomes involved, as the CIA and U.S. military try to anticipate the terror threat. His son Michael is a one-star general attached to Delta Force. His grandson, Robbie, is an intelligent, tech-savvy teenager. Together with the trained specialty  operatives, they seek to track down the terrorists before it is too late. While their path is often foiled by political forces, they use all the connections and resources at hand to save the lives of hundreds of thousands innocent victims.

Badal gives readers a complicated plot filled with characters that run the gamut from good to viciously evil. His writing style and use of dialogue make the story easy to follow as it twists and turns to its final conclusion. And his well-developed characters stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
MWSA Reviewer: Pat Avery

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Author's Synopsis
"Death Ship” is another suspense-filled thriller in the 45-year-long journey of the Danforth family. This fifth book in the Danforth Saga, which includes “Evil Deeds,” “Terror Cell,” “The Nostradamus Secret,” and “The Lone Wolf Agenda,” introduces Robbie Danforth, the 15-year-old son of Michael and Miriana Danforth, and the grandson of Bob and Liz Danforth.

A leisurely cruise in the Ionian Sea turns into a nightmare event when terrorists hijack a yacht with Bob, Liz, Miriana, and Robbie aboard. Although the boat’s crew, with Bob and Robbie’s help, eliminate the hijackers, there is evidence that something more significant may be in the works. 

The CIA and the U.S. military must identify what that might be and who is behind the threat, and must operate within a politically-corrupt environment in Washington, D.C. At the same time, they must disrupt the terrorist’s financing mechanism, which involves trading in securities that are highly sensitive to terrorist events.

Michael Danforth and a team of DELTA operatives are deployed from Afghanistan to Greece to assist in identifying and thwarting the threat.

“Death Ship” is another roller coaster ride of action and suspense, where good and evil battle for supremacy and everyday heroes combat evil antagonists.

The Liberators; by Jerri Gibson McCloud

MWSA Review
Tender moments followed by horrific combat

Jerri Gibson McCloud neatly packages a love story, a family drama, and a hard-hitting shoot 'em up war action into a book that entertains and informs. At various moments, The Liberators makes one misty-eyed, sympathetic, euphoric, and cringing in horror at the vivid up-close experiences of aerial combat during World War II.

The author's knack for grouping words in a dramatic, descriptive fashion makes the reader feel he is in an airplane being shot to pieces by German fighters. While reading, one feels he is inside the airmen's minds as they fight to control fears so the mission can be completed. Your adrenaline pumps with a gunner's desperation of destroying an enemy plane before it destroys your plane. You feel the terror of watching your buddies go down in flames.
The Liberators follows Andrew Walters from telling his family he has dropped out of college to join the Army Air Force and train as a B-17 bomber pilot, to combat in Europe where he meets a hometown girlfriend serving as a Red Cross Nurse, to being shot down over Germany, and to surviving the deprivation of being a prisoner of war. Walters struggles to overcome his own insecurities as he holds his crew together, completing one harrowing mission after another until their luck runs out. Captured after being shot down, Walters faces different leadership challenges against adversaries in a POW camp.

Although the bulk of The Liberators follows the adventures of Captain Walters, his war experiences are skillfully interwoven with the different issues faced by his family back home in North Carolina and their emotions after receiving the dreaded telegram: Your son is missing in action.

I recommend The Liberators.
Review by Joe Epley, MWSA Reviewer

Author's Synopsis
Winter 1943. WWII is full blown. USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, Capt. Andrew Walters who has an unstoppable drive and undeterred command of leadership, flies his crew through horrific missions over Germany and Austria to slow the surge of the Luftwaffe and liberate people from the devastation of Hitler’s Third Reich. 

In this fast-paced debut novel, German Luftwaffe burst through clouds at 12 o’clock with blinding sun preceding them, unleashing their weapons on an out gunned—out maneuvered—overloaded B-17 on one of three treacherous missions to destroy ball bearing plants over Germany. Capt. Walters leads his crew through torturous flak, 8mm guns peppering the Flying Fortress, and 20mm cannons barreling through the plane while holding a steady course toward their initial point to release bombs on German targets. A web of bloody human debris splayed across the B-17’s windshield—an eyeball stars back at them. 

During his thirty-month journey, Capt. Walters is determined to become the man his perfectionist father can be proud of—a man alone in his secret plight, his leadership would turn frightened, petrified, ashen boys into men. 

Along the way, the Captain falls in love with a spirited Red Cross nurse from his hometown. She rescues an orphaned toddler and becomes extremely attached creating multiple problems as a result. The pilot’s family in Fayetteville, North Carolina, suffers tremendously when their son becomes Missing in Action.

Rarely does a WWII novel deal with the fears of its airmen or take you back home where the families cope by serving their country in other ways while their men fight for freedom for all. The Liberators covers it all.

The Quest of the Sultana; by J. L. Rothdiener

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MWSA Review
In The Quest of the Sultana, author J. L. Rothdiener succeeds at combining history and fiction. This Christian historical novel begins with a Northern concert pianist and a Southern belle meeting in 1859, when emotions were already running at a high pitch and war seemed a distinct possibility.
Barrett von Weber and Brooke Fortner meet at Harpers Ferry, when he rescues her from possible harm at the hands of John Brown and his sons. As they fall in love during the next year, her youngest brother displays his hatred for any Northerner and his obsession with war. 

Although Barrett appears to be simply a Christian musician, he is also an expert marksman who practices Kung Fu, an heir to a major German winery and a well-educated, multicultural student of history. He and Brooke marry in June of 1860, and are traveling in Europe when the Civil War breaks out.

Barrett feels the need to return to America where his talents are needed to train Union soldiers in the use of new weapons. Throughout the war, this fictional character crosses paths with famous historical figures, new technologies and real economic occurrences of the time.
Rothdiener stays true to history while weaving a story of two people and the people they love. The plot revolves around the New Havens Arms Company (the maker of the Henry repeating rifle), Andersonville Prison and the Sultana. His extensive research is evident in both plot and character development.

The Quest of the Sultana leaves the reader pondering the futility of war and the moral quandaries that arise as well as the atrocities and the heartaches suffered by both sides.
At Harper’s Ferry, Barrett remarks to General Robert E. Lee, “It is hard to bring the future to men who are stuck in the past.” I am still contemplating that statement.

MWSA Reviewer: 

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Author's Synopsis
HE WAS A MAN OF CHIVALRY, JUSTICE, AND LOVE...
Brooke is the daughter of a wealthy Southern landowner. Barrett is a hymnist and a renowned concert musician from the North. They’re from different worlds, but somehow fate has conspired to bring them together.

When the tensions between North and South reach the breaking point, the entire nation is swept into the struggle that will one day be known as the Civil War. Brother pitted against brother. Father against son. Families torn apart, and futures shattered beyond any hope of repair.

Now, separated by distance, and blood, and pain, Barrett and Brooke must find out if their love is stronger than war.

Mark's Special Mission at Arlington National Cemetery; by Gregory Keeney

Author's Synopsis
Strength of a Nation, Honor to Our Fallen, and Healing Through Relationships. Mark’s Special Mission in Arlington National Cemetery epitomizes the character and compassion of the United States in its commitment to honor the Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen who have given the final full measure in service to our nation.

Where Youth and Laughter Go: With "The Cutting Edge" in Afghanistan; by Seth W.B. Folsom

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MWSA Review
The IED war in Afghanistan
Lt Col Seth Folsom received a call in his small cubicle in the bowels of the Pentagon, informing him he had been selected to command the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, The Cutting Edge. Seven months later he assumed command of the battalion,  and Where Youth and Laughter Go is his memory the 3/7’s preparation and seven-month deployment to the Sangin District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. 

This was The Cutting Edge’s second deployment to Sangin, but most of the officers and NCOs were new and much had changed since their last deployment. Their mission, like that of their predecessor the 1/5, which they relieved in place, was not only to engage Taliban fighters attempting to regain control and impose their version of Shariah law, but also to stabilize the district by training local law agencies by introducing the people to democracy prior to 2012 elections. Folsom soon learned that , shuras/meetings, with Afghan government and military agencies, ANA, ANCOP, ANSF, and the AUP, not only took up his time, but were often futile – No plan survives first contact with the enemy or the ANSF. [A glossary is included to familiarize the reader with terms used by the author]

More than a memoir, Colonel Folsom’s account of the 3/7’s  mission is the heart-wrenching story of The Cutting Edge’s valiant struggle to follow our government’s strategy to introduce democracy to a people who have no concept of it and no real desire to make the changes necessary to implement it. In recalling his thoughts about Iraq, Colonel Folsom wrote, “They have to want this more than we do if this is ever going to work.” He realized this is also true of Afghanistan.

While Folsom’s recollections of Sangin are not intended to be a critique of the U.S.’s Afghanistan counterinsurgency strategy, as the story unfolds, reasons for the strategy’s failure become apparent. Afghanistan is a country of tribes with an ideology and values incompatible with Western concepts, a country where corruption is endemic and democracy is a foreign concept that is incompatible with Islamic ideology. The author comments more than once that Afghans have long memories for the past, but can only see two weeks into the future.

A book about courage, determination and dedication, Where Youth and Laughter Go is the story of young American men and a few women who followed orders and gave their all while attempting to save a people that could not understand our concept of democracy, and the responsibilities demanded by it. 
MWSA Reviewer: Lee Boyland

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Author's Synopsis

Where Youth and Laughter Go: With “The Cutting Edge” in Afghanistan completes LtCol Seth Folsom’s recounting of his personal experiences in command over a decade of war. It is the culminating chapter of a trilogy that began with The Highway War: A Marine Company Commander in Iraq in 2006 and continued with In the Gray Area: A Marine Advisor Team at War in 2010.

The chronicle of Folsom’s command of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, “The Cutting Edge,” and his harrowing deployment to Afghanistan’s volatile Sangin District presents a deeper look into the complexities and perils of modern counterinsurgency operations in America’s longest war. Charged with the daunting task of pacifying a region with a long history of violence and instability, Folsom and his Marines struggled daily to wage a dynamic campaign against the shadowy enemy force that held Sangin’s population firmly in its grip. With peace and stability always teetering on the brink of collapse, the Marines of “The Cutting Edge” confronted their own mortality as they conducted endless patrols through Sangin’s minefields while fighting to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan villagers.

No other books have been published from the perspective of a Marine infantry battalion commander in Afghanistan. It was Folsom’s job, as the unit commander, to lead his Marines under impossible circumstances. LtCol Folsom made the unusual decision to patrol with his rifle squads every day through Sangin, where his Marines dodged improvised explosive devices and sniper fire from an invisible enemy. As his tour progressed and casualties mounted, he found his objectivity evaporating and the love for his men growing. Where Youth and Laughter Go is more than a blood-and-guts war story, it is a jarring, “boots on the ground”–level examination of the myriad challenges and personal dilemmas that today’s young service members face as the United States approaches its final endgame in Afghanistan.

Dustoff 7-3: Saving Lives Under Fire in Afghanistan; by Erik Sabiston

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MWSA Review

A quick and thoroughly enjoyable read.
Dustoff 7-3 by Erik Sabiston will not sit unread on your bedside table for long. Instead, you'll find yourself tearing through the pages. The book focuses on a short but intense tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2010. Sabiston is pilot in command—or as he puts it, "locked in the cockpit of a big, vibrating sauna"—of a Medevac (or "Dustoff") UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. 

The book's first five words are written in all caps and set the stage for what is to follow:  I AM NOT A HERO. Although the author is documenting his own hair-raising experiences flying Medevac missions in combat, he does not dwell on his own thoughts and actions. Instead, Sabiston goes out of his way to acknowledge others, his fellow crew members and those in the line combat organizations he serves, especially the ones having "the worst day of their lives" and needing his unique set of skills. 

This book is quite realistic. So much so that the reader will be immersed in the action and introduced to all the acronyms and lingo used by Army medical evacuation units: PC, TOC, Wobbly One, Meat Servo, to mention just a few. Keeping track of it all can be a bit daunting, but worth the effort, especially when combined with the author's unique sense of humor. For example, I've read many similes for what it's like to hover a helicopter; but none quite like the author's. He likens hovering to "riding a unicycle on top of a bowling ball while juggling three rabid raccoons and reciting the alphabet backwards while you're half-drunk."

The author's sense of humor and matter-of-fact writing style combine to make his highly-skilled and dangerous job seem almost routine. He fairly easily inserts the reader into near-unbelievable situations. Despite his self-depreciating humor and understated style of writing, the author's (and the others with whom he serves) bravery and professionalism come through loud and clear in Dustoff 7-3. 

I recommend this book for readers who want to learn about today's U.S. Army Medevac mission, and especially their role in the battles taking place in Afghanistan.
MWSA Reviewer: John Cathcart

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Author's Synopsis

This book is for heroes.

Dustoff 7-3 tells the true story of four unlikely heroes in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, where medics are forced to descend on wires to reach the wounded and helicopter pilots must fight wind, weather, and enemy fire to pluck casualties from some of the world’s most difficult combat arenas. Complete opposites thrown together, cut off, and outnumbered, Chief Warrant Officer Erik Sabiston and his flight crew answered the call in a race against time, not to take lives—but to save them.

The concept of evacuating wounded soldiers by helicopter developed in the Korean War and became a staple during the war in Vietnam where heroic, unarmed chopper crews flew vital missions known to the grateful grunts on the ground as Dustoffs.

The crew of Dustoff 7-3 carried on that heroic tradition, flying over a region that had seen scores of American casualties, known among veterans as the Valley of Death. At the end of Operation Hammer Down, they had rescued 14 soldiers, made three critical supply runs, recovered two soldiers killed in action, and nearly died. It took all of three days.

Hover: A Novel; by Anne A. Wilson

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MWSA Review
In the Navy's world of men, water levels the battlefield of love. 

In her romance, Hover: A Novel, Anne A. Wilson crafts a story of romance, guilt, forgiveness, and bravery in the wake of nightmares.

Lieutenant Sara Denning's goal as a Navy helicopter pilot is to remaining "a small dot,” get in and get it done without stirring the waters. Little does she know in her quest to do her best without creating waves, both happen naturally.

As a woman living in a predominantly man's world, Sara finds herself often floating her actions against the prejudices and biases of her peers and commanders. She recognizes that, although her reasons for attending the Naval Academy and becoming a pilot were in penance to drown her guilt, she actually enjoys her career. If only she can step aside and allow happiness to ebb in. 

When Lt. Denning meets an unassuming, strong, yet kind, colleague, the feminine qualities Sara tried so hard to submerse start rising to the surface.  Now, if only they can all manage to stay buoyant in the company of a traitor.

Anne A. Wilson casts a net over her reader and reels them aboard one word at a time, in Hover: A Novel.
MWSA Reviewer:  Sandra Miller Linhart
 

Author's Synopsis
Helicopter pilot Lt. Sara Denning joins a navy battle group with little fanfare—and that's just the way she likes it. After her brother Ian's tragic death, her career path seemed obvious: step into his shoes and enter the Naval Academy, despite her fear of water. Sara's philosophy is simple—blend in, be competent, and above all, never do anything to stand out as a woman in a man's world.

Somewhere along the way, Sara lost herself—her feminine, easygoing soul is now buried under so many defensive layers, she can't reach it anymore.

When she meets strong, self-assured Lt. Eric Marxen, her defenses start to falter. Eric coordinates flight operations for a Navy SEAL team that requests Sara as the exclusive pilot. This blatant show of favoritism causes conflict with the other pilots; Sara's sexist boss seems intent on making her life miserable, and her roommate and best friend, the only other woman on the ship, is avoiding her. It doesn't help that her interactions with Eric leave her reeling.

The endgame of the SEALs' mission is so secret, even Sara doesn't know the reason behind her mandated participation. Soon, though, the training missions become real, and Sara must overcome her fears before they plunge her into danger. When Sara's life is on the line, can she find her true self again and follow the orders of her heart before it is too late?
Anne A. Wilson's Hover is a thrilling, emotional women's journey written by a groundbreaking former navy pilot.

Chita Quest: One Man’s Search for His POW/MIA Father ; by Brinn Colenda

MWSA Review
Enthralling actions against surprising adversaries.

Chita Quest is an action-packed thriller that keeps one up all night, compelled to read the next page…and the next page…and the next page…

More than thirty years after his father went missing following the crash of his F4 Phantom fighter along the Laotian-Vietnamese border, U.S. Air Force Colonel Tom Callahan’s hopes soar when a journalist friend brings a photo of what looks like a 70-year-old Caucasian working a rice field in Vietnam.  Despite discouragement from the Pentagon and the murder of the photographer on the streets of Washington, Callahan takes leave from his White House job and recruits his estranged brother to go with him to Southeast Asian to find clues of MIAs who may still be alive.
Along the way, several attempts by unknown assailants are made on the lives of the Callahan brothers, and in Washington, on their wives and Tom’s young daughter. The mystery is why and what connection to the search for a missing warrior from a long ago war.

The quest leads the Callahans on a dangerous, surreptitious, and illegal trip through China and Mongolia to Chita, Siberia, where they meet new adversaries—agents of the Russian Security Services.  The China-Siberian trip is unauthorized by and unknown to U.S. government officials.

Author Brinn Colenda draws from his own experiences in the Air Force as he provides a detailed look at the military’s Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command operations in Washington, Hawaii, and in the Southeast Asia as Colonel Callahan seeks the agency’s help for his quest.  

For those who love fast paced action and dramatic surprises in a well written book, Chita Quest is most satisfying. 
Reviewed by Joe Epley, MWSA Reviewer

Author Synopsis:
Were American POWs left behind at the end of the Vietnam War—either by accident or design?
Colonel Tom Callahan is driven to find out—his own father is still listed as Missing In Action. What Callahan doesn’t understand is how politically explosive the issue is, domestically and internationally. As he begins his quest, friends and associates meet violent deaths. Aided by his Australian-born wife, Colleen, his journey takes him halfway across the world to Vietnam, China, Mongolia, and ultimately, Siberia. He is helped and hindered by unexpected friends and cunning, deadly enemies.

Bestselling Author, William B. Scott states:
“Chita is a unique, fast-paced thriller that weaves nasty Washington cover-ups with assassinations, international intrigue, and air combat”

Walter E. “Buck” Buchanan III, Lt Gen, USAF (ret) tells us:
“Brinn Colenda once again proves himself to be a master storyteller”

Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood; by Valerie Pfundstein

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MWSA Review
Valerie Pfundstein's picture book, Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood reminds us a hero isn't necessarily a stranger who lives far away.  Our neighbors, the grocer, the butcher, our coach - all could be a part of the growing and honorable group of heroes - Veterans, who don't wear badges or medals on their regular work clothes, and are not readily noticed to stand out in a crowd.

Each generation gives a portion of its numbers in service to our country. Pfunstein's book brings home awareness and appreciation of these unassuming heroes who work and walk among us daily. Through her book, she shares their sacrifices new generations of Americans who may one day join their ranks.

Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood is a must for every school library in the United States.
Reviewed by: Sandra Miller Linhart

Author's Synopsis
Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood is an engaging rhyming picture book for readers of all ages that fosters mindfulness of and appreciation for the brave service men and women who are also our family, friends, and neighbors.  These are the men and women who bravely served our great country and now humbly serve in our communities.

Hook Up: A Novel of Fort Bragg; by William Singley

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MWSA Review
Life as a paratrooper in the peacetime 1950s
Hilarious, irreverent, irrelevant, racist, profane, vulgar, tragic: all describe the lives of teenage paratroopers in William Singley's Hook Up, a novel about of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in the late 1950s. 

For those who served at Fort Bragg during that spit-polish era between wars, it is a nostalgic read as one remembers similar characters as those skillfully portrayed by the author. He was there, experiencing the agony of jump school and the thrill of leaping from a high-performance airplane, hoping that a canopy pops open to carry him safely to the ground. 

Most of the young men were draftees in those days, yet volunteered for the Army's elite only to count the days until their enlistment's end. There's Patterson, the kid from New Jersey who emerges as the lead character, struggling with maturity and proud to be a private first class. Margolin, the ROTC second lieutenant, is intimidated by everyone older and questions his sanity for joining the paratroopers, but somehow excels. Martin, the marionette first sergeant, treats his company as a private fiefdom. The cast goes on. Some you love, some you hate, some you admire, some you wonder how they ever got in the Army, much less the Airborne. 
The dark side of  Hook Up illustrates blatant racism in an Army barely ten years into desegregation, alcoholism, drugs, and disregard for individual responsibility.

Barracks humor that permeates the book may not be for everyone, especially uptight sergeants major who bristle when anyone tarnishes the image of their beloved 82nd or mothers horrified their precious son was exposed to such antics (but, God forbid, never participated). They too will chuckle when reminded of life back in the day of the OD uniform, spit-shined boots, and raucous bar hopping along Hay Street and Combat Alley in downtown Fayetteville... before the city cleaned up its image.

Singley describes his book as a historical novel. But for those who were there, the situations and attitudes happened. I recommend Hook Up. All the Way!
Reviewer: Joe Epley
 

Author's Synopsis
It was an Army between wars. Korea was a fresh memory for some soldiers and Vietnam was only an insignificant blip on the military radar. It was an Army in which reluctant draftees mixed with aimless volunteers looking for adventure and ways to test or confirm their manhood. In those days and in that Army, “hook-up” was a jump command for paratroopers rather than a romantic liaison.

Hook Up: A Novel of Fort Bragg takes us inside that Army and introduces fascinating characters who are struggling to become paratroopers and survive in a starch-stiff U.S. Army airborne regiment based at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Side-by-side in that demanding trek are officers like Lieutenant Sy Margolin, a potential nebbish who instead becomes a strong leader, and enlisted men like Privates Willie Patterson and Scott Breslin, who challenge authority every step of the way to winning their paratrooper wings.

In Hook Up we get a close-up, very personal, and fascinating look at an Army that no longer exists—an Army populated with soldiers who have either learned hard life lessons or are about to learn them in a crucible where failure can land you in the stockade or in the morgue. From the rigors of barracks life to the raucous off-post adventures to the thrilling jump sequences, Hook Up is a fast-paced, thrilling story of military excellence pursued and human innocence lost.

Harnessing the Sky: Frederick "Trap" Trapnell, the U.S. Navy's Aviation Pioneer, 1923-1952; by Frederick M. Trapnell Jr. and‎ Dana Tibbitts

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MWSA Review
In all the years I have been following aviation, only a few of the early pilots in my library were Navy. So I eagerly read  Harnessing the Sky about Frederick M. "Trap" Trapnell's incredible experiences in test flight in the 1930s and 1940s. Since the book was written by family members, I expected more sentimentality than most biographies. However, while the tone was warm and the book was definitely an easy read, it was well-researched and competently indexed. It covered not only the man but also his era and will make an excellent source for other historians.

Military uses for aircraft were identified during World War I, only a few years into the era of flight. Ensign Trap was assigned to the USS Marblehead when he saw the potential for airplanes to support the Navy's most basic missions. As a result, he volunteered for flight in 1924, just as airplanes were beginning to be viewed as weapons. Aircraft carriers came of age with the help of pilots like Trap who helped perfect air/sea strategies and techniques.

If you are interested in aviation at all, this biography is a must.
Review by Joyce K Faulkner

Author's Synopsis

Harnessing the Sky is one of the best untold stories in 100 years of naval aviation. This biography fills an important void in the history of flight test and explores the legacy of the man who has been called “the godfather of current naval aviation.”

Vice Admiral Frederick M. Trapnell’s calculated courage advanced the frontiers of Navy test flying more than any other aviator during one of the most perilous and thrilling periods of aviation history. “Trap” entered the Navy at a time when flight testing was still in its infancy- when test pilots were more likely to be stunt men than engineers; when airplanes served an ancillary and undeveloped role in the fleet; when the airplane had not yet come into its own as a weapon of war. His vision and leadership shaped the evolution of naval aviation through its formative years and beyond.

When the threat of war in 1940 raised an alarm over the Navy’s deficiency in aircraft—especially fighters—Trap was brought in as head of the Flight Test Section to evaluate and direct the development of all new Navy airplanes. Trap expedited the evolution of two superb fighters that came to dominate the air war against Japan – the Corsair and Hellcat—by dramatically shortening test and development cycles for new prototypes.

This remarkable feat was repeated after World War II when Trap returned as Commander of the Naval Air Test Center to lead the Navy through the challenges of transitioning to jets. Recognized for defining the operating requirements for carrier-based jet propelled aircraft, Trap personally conducted the preliminary tests of the Navy’s first generation jets.

Over the course of two decades (1930-1950), Trap tested virtually every naval aircraft prototype and became the first U.S. Navy pilot to fly a jet. He pioneered the philosophy and perfected many of the methods of the engineering test pilot, demanding aircraft that pushed the performance envelope up to the limits of safety in all flight regimes. He insisted on comprehensive testing of each airplane with all of its equipment in all missions, conditions and maneuvers it would face in wartime fleet operations.

These innovations advanced the tactical capability of naval air power that have kept it at the forefront of modern aviation and stand as an enduring legacy to the man who is regarded as the foremost test pilot in a century of naval aviation.

Never Fear: The Life & Times of Forest K. Ferguson Jr.; by Bob D'angelo

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MWSA Review
Author Bob D’Angelo delivers a well-researched and informative story about a remarkable athlete who stormed Omaha Beach and paid a heavy price over 70 years ago.  Thanks to NEVER FEAR   The Life and Times of Forest K. Ferguson, we learn of a giant among men, Forest Ferguson.  
The author gathers infinite details about this man and our greatest-generation culture.

Small town legend Forest Ferguson becomes a Florida All-American football player and later plays football for the Army against NFL teams,  as was the style in the early forties.  In these and other sports like track, boxing, and basketball, “Fergie” excelled.  Without the author’s exhaustive research, this wonderful American leader’s walk in life and those he knew may have been forgotten.

Leaders were destined to storm the German pill boxes on D-Day.  D’Angelo reveals how Lt. Ferguson earned the Distinguished Service Cross on that grim day, June 6, 1944.  Although neurological deficits from battle injury on D-Day limited Ferguson for life, he still served… and his brand of discipline can be appreciated by any reader.  Thanks to the author, we are given the opportunity. 
MWSA Reviewer: Hodge Wood
 

Author's Synopsis
The story of Forest K. Ferguson Jr. is one of athletic greatness at tiny Stuart High School in the late 1930s and at the University of Florida in the early 1940s. "Fergie" was a World War Ii hero who won the Distinguished Service Cross on D-Day, and paid dearly for his bravery as his promising athletic career -- and life -- would be cut short by his sacrifices. Longtime Florida sports journalist Bob D'Angelo digs into the past and presents a fresh look at a man whose skills and courage were evident on the playing field -- and on the field of battle.

KINYAMASWA: An Epic Poem by Andreas Morgner

MWSA Review

Kinyamaswa, by Andreas Morgner, is truly “an epic poem.”  The author dragged painful memories from people who survived the genocide in Rwanda that bled the life from a nation in 1994.  He uses masterful images that compel the reader to live the experience with them. His research had to be written with tears as he made notes of the stories he heard.  Every word, every line, every image Morgner shares has meaning, undeniable meaning, that compels the reader to experience their pain. It is a book intended for adults.  Youthful readers would confuse reality with science fiction, for truth is surely more impactful than fiction in this case.  Morgner paints a picture that imprints on a reader’s mind, with images that cause frequent gasps for air.  We don’t want to believe mankind can be this cruel or sink to the levels that genocide excavates. 

Many years ago I listened to a masterful telling of Beowulf in the Celtic dialect.  The fires of hell were in the words of that storyteller and I feel them still.  I experienced war first hand, but not the kind of thing described in Kinyamaswa, which means “merciless.” The book is written for history lovers, people who enjoy free style poetry, and others who simply want to step into a seriously talented storyteller’s world. 

I found myself saddened that the story is applicable to current events. When I began the journey through Morgner’s “cantos” I did not expect it to leave the impression it did. I applaud his work and respect his incredible command of our language.  

I wholeheartedly recommend Kinyamaswa: An Epic Poem. 

Reviewer: Michael D. Mullins
Author: Andreas Morgner
ISBN-10: 1627200746
ISBN-13: 978-1627200745

The Cards in the Deck by Robert Stanek

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MWSA Review

The blaring alarm awoke Scott Evers in his bunk on the Sea Shepherd, a 201 foot ship with a crew of 45 operated by an organization similar to Greenpeace. Its mission was to disrupt illegal Tuna fishing in the Mediterranean Sea.

On his way to the topside Evers, whose job is security, discovered Libyans had sunk a sister ship, the Bardot III. When he reached the top deck he saw the ship was circling one of five Tunisian fishing boats and their crews were hurling links of chain at the Sea Shepherd, whose crew was responding with fire hoses and stink bombs, a repeat of previous battles. Then things went south.

David Gilbert, a NASA senior data mining and analysis specialists at a super secret National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center (DC), Camp Williams, Utah was a troubled man. Gilbert was early because he wanted to review the latest D-Wave test results from the latest generation of supercomputers employing quantum computing. Gilbert’ supercomputer was one of three with super-cooled niobium chips. After studying the results he realized something was amiss in the Med. Now Gilbert had two things to worry about: What was not being reported in the Med, and his long time concern about supercomputers exceeding human intelligence and enslaving the human race. 

The “director” enters the story and Scott Evers and his gal pal Edie have rollicking, fantastical adventures as they chase the bad guys across the Mediterranean to Malta with the help of the CIA, NSA, SEALs and the Sixth Fleet. 

Reviewer: Lee Boyland

ISBN-10: B00TBFNFFC
ISBN-13: 978-1511983631

Meant To Be by Jessica James

MWSA Review

When a chance meeting on a quiet beach turns into a fun day of laughter and a déjà vu feeling of companionship, Lauren Cantrell and Michael "Rad" Radcliff find it hard to say good-bye.  They soon find their paths unexpectedly cross in the most undesired way, in a place where courage and hope are all they have left to give.  In this world of danger where lives are at stake, they'll do anything to keep each other safe... if it's not too late. 

In her romance novel, Meant to Be, Jessica James introduces us to two strangers who make us want to believe in soul mates or, at least, love at first sight.  The author builds on layers of romance, secrets, heartache, and sacrifice to reveal a tapestry of emotion deeply set inside the bravest of Americans; the soldier.  Ms. James' characters are real, multi-faceted and engaging; the reader soon becomes entangled in the dichotomy of the horrors of war juxtapose with love-fueled and patriotic bravery with these new-found friends. 

Meant to Be takes us on a tumultuous journey of love, heartache, healing, and hope.  I found myself on the edge of my seat, feeling the pain and sorrow, clinging to the idea love beats all odds for the sake of her characters.  I look forward to reading Jessica James' other romance novels.

Reviewed by: Sandra Miller Linhart (Oct 2015)

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Author's Summary

It started as a chance encounter on the beach, and ended 24 hours later when they parted to go their separate ways. 
Or so they thought.

Actually it was just the beginning.  When LAUREN CANTRELL said goodbye to the guy she had just met on the beach, she had no way of knowing their paths would ever cross again. But fate had another unexpected meeting in store for them—this time in a place where danger was part of the culture and the stakes were life and death. 

THE LAST PERSON in the world Rad expected to see at a special ops briefing in Afghanistan is the girl he met at the beach two weeks ago—the one he can’t stop thinking about. 

From the sundrenched beaches of Ocean City, Md., to the snowcapped mountains of Afghanistan, this thrilling tale of espionage and intrigue takes readers on a spellbinding journey into the secret lives of our nation’s quiet heroes—and answers the question: 
What do you do when the person you most want to protect is the one risking everything to make sure you survive? 

MEANT TO BE recounts the dedication of our military, the honor and sacrifice of our soldiers, and a relationship that is tested and sustained by the powerful forces of love, courage and resolve.