Northern Wolf by Daniel Greene

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MWSA Review

Northern Wolf is the story of Johannes Wolf, a young German immigrant with a crippled leg, who cons his way into the disorganized Union Army in 1862.  The opening scene takes place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as Wolf gets into a barroom brawl.  After cooling off in a jail cell he joins the fictional 13th Michigan Volunteer Calvary.
        Author Daniel Greene takes Wolf and his unit through the rigors of training and primitive camp conditions before experiencing battle under the leadership of a courageous George Armstrong Custer, "the boy general." There have been multiple depictions of Custer in American literature.  In Northern Wolf he is the warrior commander who leads from the front.
        The realistic battle scenes are set in the Eastern Calvary Fields, long considered a sideshow to the Battle of Gettysburg.  In the historical notes that Greene provides, he argues that this battle was, in fact, crucial in producing a Union victory.  Custer's foe is the infamous Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart who unsuccessfully tried to breach the rear of the Union line.
        By portraying Wolf and other characters in the story as immigrants, Greene emphasizes that the war was not a uniquely American experience but much more global. Approximately 500,000 immigrants fought for the North and thousands more for the South.  
        The mixture of fact and fiction makes Northern Wolf a worthwhile addition to the many historical novels that have been written about this era.  Greene is a veteran researcher and writer who promises that this is the first in a series.

Review by James Elsener (April 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

A broken man will be forged in the flames of war... 

It is late 1862, and the United States has been ripped apart by civil war for over a year with no end in sight. The war is a distant thought to Johannes Wolf, a young German immigrant with a crippled leg keeping him off the muster lists. 

Desperately dredging the gutters for recruits, Wolf cons his way into the depleted, demoralized, and poorly run Union army, and is promptly placed in the undesirable F Company of the 13th Michigan Cavalry. 

Wolf's company find themselves riding with Custer and the Michigan Brigade on a collision course with master horseman J.E.B. Stuart and the Army of Northern Virginia in a small town in Pennsylvania, called Gettysburg. 

Will they stand tall against the knights of the South and prove themselves worthy? Or will they fall beneath screaming bullets and sweeping blades, becoming more bloody fodder for a lost cause?

Format(s) for review: Kindle Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 247

Word Count: 74,000

Lady of the Army: The Life of Mrs. George S. Patton by Stefanie Van Steelandt

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MWSA Review

Meticulously researched, Stefanie van Steelandt’s debut biography, Lady of the Army: The Life of Mrs. George S. Patton, sheds light on the woman behind the man—the woman without whom the man might not have fulfilled his destiny. In love with George from the time she was sixteen, Beatrice Ayer saw through the man’s self-centeredness, holding to the sensitive, insecure boy she found so endearing regardless of his abusive rages and a possible romantic relationship with her niece.

Narrated in a style that combines expository writing with epistolary and narrative, the author composes the complex portrait of a wealthy, cultured woman supporting her husband through her wisdom and insight. The reader learns about the couple’s philosophical differences, first as the author traces the Republican Ayer lineage and the Democratic Patton lineage, then as she guides the reader to an understanding of their private and public lives. The highlight of the story occurs when the scale tipped in Hawaii. In 1925, George purchased the schooner Arcturus, seeking adventure in the absence of a war to fight. When they reached Hawaii, however, Beatrice experienced that unmistakable sense of being home, drawn by the island culture and mythology. Ironically, she found her creative soul at a time when George battled depression and a sense of uselessness.

An admirable work of this magnitude warrants and deserves an honest review. The author at times documents information about secondary players. Though interesting, the information detracts from the story’s strength and overall focus. Events presented out of sequence hinder the narrative flow. Nevertheless, Van Steelandt aptly achieves her purpose illustrating how Beatrice Patton was, not only a lifeline for the man who “would rather be dead than nobody” during three wars but also a woman who evolved into her own person and shone in her own time.

“It is impossible” to tell Beatrice Patton’s story “without bringing George along for the ride” writes the author in her Introduction. The emphasis rides heavily on George leaning on Beatrice to give him fortitude and yet, by the end of the book, the reader is left wondering, "Was it Beatrice or George who was brought along for the ride?" for, as the author makes clear from start to finish, to know one is to know the other.

Review by Janette Stone (May 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

If anyone considered an army wife to be merely the kite's tail, Beatrice Ayer Patton had the perfect retort, "How high can a kite soar without its tail?" 

General George Patton once remarked that World War II undoubtedly would have lasted a lot longer were it not for his soldiers and his wife. Those who knew the Pattons were aware of the vital role Beatrice played in his reaching his destiny, but few others understood the singular impact of this remarkable woman whom people described as having "a personality which radiates like a brilliant gem."

The arduous army life was alien to Beatrice growing up on Boston's Commonwealth Avenue, but her adventurous spirit and insatiable curiosity allowed her to adapt quickly. She became an immediate asset to her husband's career and continuously fanned the flames of his burning ambition, yet she managed to maintain her identity and pursue her interests. As comfortable on the back of a magnificent steed as at the helm of a great schooner, she became an authority on Hawaiian legends while stationed on the islands twice.

Lady of the Army: The Life of Mrs. George S. Patton tells the story of the General's greatest champion in life and fiercest defender in death while shedding new light on a complex personality many remember as "old blood and guts”. Beatrice Ayer Patton was a good soldier who fought the war on the home front three times, but she would not have hesitated a second had she been offered the chance to stand beside her husband on the battlefield.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre:Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages:475

Word Count:175,000

Connected Soldiers: Life, Leadership, and Social Connections in Modern War by John Spencer

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MWSA Review On John Spencer’s second tour of duty to Iraq, he took command of a company in dire need of leadership. He found vast differences in building unit cohesion from his first tour five years earlier. Technology had entered the picture to the detriment of bonding among the ranks. What was missing? These men were not able to process the trauma of battle by sharing experiences and feelings. While on their computers, the men were communicating with family back home. Unable to share their deepest disturbing thoughts from being in battle, they had no outlet for their fear, anxiety, and trauma. How could a family snug at home relate? As Spencer observed his men, all deeply concentrating on a computer screen, he viewed technology as a threat to his unit’s cohesion.

In his previous deployment as a second lieutenant, Spencer had learned that development of a brotherhood helped a soldier survive, both physically and mentally. During the platoon’s downtime, they talked through each experience and processed the trauma. Now he was faced with the challenge of turning around a “black sheep” platoon into one capable of accolades. This story is told in an honest, forthright manner. The tools Spencer employed to achieve his goals were innovative.

After his tour of duty, Spencer returned home and faced another challenge when his wife was deployed. He became a stay-at-home dad in charge of three small children—in some aspects, a more difficult task. Spencer had an epiphany when he realized the value of the internet connection he and his kids had with his wife for much-needed daily visits.

Connected Soldiers: Life, Leadership, and Social Connections in Modern War by John Spencer should be on the required reading list for any active military person potentially in a leadership position. If you have any doubt about that, read the endorsements for this book from Generals David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal.

Review by Nancy Panko (May 2023)  

 

Author's Synopsis

John Spencer was a new second lieutenant in 2003 when he parachuted into Iraq leading a platoon of infantry soldiers into battle. During that combat tour, he learned how important unit cohesion was to surviving a war, both physically and mentally. He observed that this cohesion developed as the soldiers experienced the horrors of combat as a group, spending their downtime together and processing their shared experiences. 

When Spencer returned to Iraq five years later to take command of a troubled company, he found that his lessons on how to build unit cohesion were no longer as applicable. Rather than bonding and processing trauma as a group, soldiers now spent their downtime separately, on computers communicating with family back home. Spencer came to see the internet as a threat to unit cohesion, but when he returned home and his wife was deployed, the internet connected him and his children to his wife on a daily basis. 

In Connected Soldiers Spencer delivers lessons learned about effective methods for building teams in a way that overcomes the distractions of home and the outside world, without reducing the benefits gained from connections to family.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 280

Word Count: 90,200

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by L. Logan Sharrar

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MWSA Review

Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot: The Blue Zoo Boogaloo by L. Logan Sharrar is a combination of the author’s recollections of his years at the Air Force Academy, his life-long friendships formed there, and an imaginary plot formed against the institution. With the first eight chapters of narration to lay the groundwork, Author Sharrar finally incorporates witty repartee among three old friends. When the action picked up, I found myself laughing out loud.
Larry, Frank and Richard are 1972 Graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. When the Academy is taken over by a whacked out right-wing Militia led by Major General Stonewall Jones, the three old friends, in their 70s, decide to play commando to save the Superintendent, who is being held hostage. The militia, intent on making Colorado a White Only Zone in the middle of the United States, will stop at nothing to achieve their destructive goals.
Larry, Frank, and Richard arm themselves to the teeth, dress in makeshift combat gear, and sneak onto Academy property via a seldom-used back road. Reaching a specific building, they access the tunnels they explored as cadets. In the process of dispatching tunnel guards intent on killing them, the men discover that not only is the “Supe” a hostage, but one hundred fifty cadets are being held in the dining hall as well. Their plan becomes fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants, with input from the “Supe,” to include saving the cadets.

The story soon becomes intense with rampant hilarity. Larry, Frank, and Richard challenge the idea that, with cunning determination, old guys can’t be heroes.

Review by Nancy Panko (February 2023)

MWSA's evaluation of this book found a number of technical problems—including some combination of misspellings, grammar, punctuation, or capitalization errors.

 

Author's Synopsis

Larry and his friends Frank and Richard are minding their own business drinking beer at a local microbrewery, when they see a news story about the violent take over of the U.S. Air Force Academy by a right-wing militia.  The announced goal of the militia is to hold the Superintendent and some cadets hostage at the Academy, until Colorado is declared a "Free, Whites Only country in the middle of the United States.  The militia commander promises to execute the female Superintendent of the Academy if his demands are not met within 48 hours.  Larry, Frank and Richard do the only thing three old grads could possible under the circumstances, the decide to sneak onto the Academy, enter the steam tunnels which they explored as cadets, and rescue the Superintendent.  Long retired from the Air Force, their work for the last 30 years before retirement had been as Lawyers and Doctors.  Armed to the teeth, they go in.  What could possibly go wrong?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 173

Word Count: 51,276 words

Shadow Tier by Steve Stratton

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MWSA Review

Shadow Tier by Steve Stratton introduces us to Lance Bear Wolf, a member of the Crow Tribe, former Army Ranger, and Special Forces soldier. Now a civilian contractor within the Joint Special Missions Command, he keeps his hand in the military through a position in the Florida Army National Guard. When his National Guard team is called upon to provide intelligence and training support to a Mexican Army Special Forces unit, in relation to their war on drugs, Wolf is in his element. Their support role in a mission places Wolf in the sights of the Sinaloa Cartel.

After his parents are killed in a cartel shootout, Wolf embarks on a private revenge mission, first in a special operation with his team, then entering Mexico alone on a violent rampage across multiple West Coast Sinaloa sites. The Mexican government, under the influence of the cartel, labels him a terrorist and demands that the United States bring charges against him. During the investigation, Army Special Operations Command steps in, realizing that Wolf’s revenge tour had been the most effective known attack on the drug cartels. Charges are dropped and a new unit, the Shadow Tier, is created.  

While I would have enjoyed a more in-depth exploration of Wolf’s character and motivation, the descriptions of weapons, technology, and procedures used in various operations were quite detailed. The many minor characters and subplots promise a long series of books on Shadow Tier missions. 

Review by Lynn Ellen Doxon (April 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Lance Bear Wolf, a Crow Indian by birth and an American Special Forces leader, stops with his parents for a casual lunch during a family outing in Mexico. They are classically in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As they are seated in the picturesque Mexican restaurant, Wolf and his father witness and get drawn into soldiers from the Sinaloa Cartel killing the restaurant owners over a perceived slight to cartel princess Eliana Cortes, a leader in her family’s drug empire.

When Wolf and his father shoot back and save many lives, Cortes orders her soldiers to kill the Americans. Wolf’s father is killed, and his mother critically wounded. The cartel princess and her escorts get away, but not until many of their shooters are left bleeding out on the ground.

Wolf vows revenge no matter the cost.

He builds a team of like-minded men to join a new classified unit codenamed Shadow Tier—and Wolf is its head of operations, giving him free rein to build an assault on the Mexican drug kingdom. A training mission along the Arizona border provides a cover story for a devastating assault on the core of the cartel’s operations. They decimate Mexican drug runners, but there are unanswered questions,.

And Wolf is losing to the darkness of revenge.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 500

Word Count: 90,000

When Troubles Rain by Jim Hodge

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MWSA Review

Author Jim Hodge tells the story of an upper Midwest family living an agricultural way of life during the tumultuous years of the 1960s. The Vietnam War was raging, and the Korean War was twelve years into a truce that stipulated maintenance of a demilitarized zone between the North and South.

In When Troubles Rain, the author deftly draws his characters so they are fully relatable. He builds informative back stories that illuminate the heritage, culture, and beliefs of the Norwegian-American Berg family.

Through love, strong familial ties, war, tragic loss, threats to their way of life, and strong community, the Berg family faces every challenge with grace, faith, and a good dose of stoicism.

The most touching aspect of this historical novel is its absence of bravado. We follow the family in its daily life for a period of time, and therein lies the magic. It is unassuming, yet powerful; serious, yet with humor; The story recognizes the horrors of war, yet stresses the family's dedication to God and country.

This is a book to renew the values of patriotism, hard work, family, sacrifice, and gratitude.

Review by Pat Walkow (March 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

When the painful war drums of Vietnam are accelerating, a fifth generation Wisconsin farm family must lean on its faith to see themselves through a land dispute, a wrenching loss at home and two very different sons who must face the call of war-time America. 

At home and in two far-away lands a salt of the earth midwestern family must face the realities of life.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 245

Word Count: 74,743

Pearl Harbor: Remembering How We Served and Survived by MS2 Shannon R. Cooper, USNR (Ret.)

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Author's Synopsis

This book is a collection of personal Pearl Harbor stories from actual survivors of Pearl Harbor to stories from the families of those who were at Pearl Harbor during the attack. It contains an accurate account of events as they took place on the fateful day of December 7, 1941.

Included in the book is a minute by minute account of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. There is information gathered from individual interviews of survivors and their families. These interviews give the readers a personal connection with the survivors and their families.

In reading the book, the readers will gather a true account and connection with those who survived. It will also give a better understanding of what truly took place on December 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 179

Word Count: 38322

The Quietude of Calvary, Second Edition by Jamison Whiteman

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Author's Synopsis

Murray Edgeton, the most brilliant physicist in at least three generations believes in nothing but quantifiable and provable science. His life's work is to expand upon Einstein's theory of relativity and in doing so he unlocks the secrets of the space-time continuum. Demonstrating that access to wormholes and space-time curves is possible, he sends a select team of U.S. Military Special Operators from the present time to First Century Judea. Their mission, based upon a closely held secret that Murray has been harboring his entire life, is to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was simply an itinerant preacher from the backwaters of Galilee and did not in fact rise from the dead on the third day. The time travel team makes a shocking discovery of their own on the hill of Calvary and return home to present their findings to an unbelieving world.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi

Number of Pages: 196

Word Count: 66,720

Athena's Bridge: Essays on Strategy and Leadership by Michael Hennelly

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MWSA Review

Strategy exists separately in two worlds: one in the military establishment and the other with corporations or businesses. As Athena's Bridge: Essays on Strategy and Leadership author Professor Michael Hennelly points out, strategic and tactical planning with the necessary leadership has similar roles in military and civilian organizations. Dr. Hennelly, as a military strategist and academic instructor at United States Military Academy, West Point, and a corporate advisor on leadership and strategy reveals in nine essays through contrasting examples, unnecessary gaps exist between military and civilian approaches to strategy and leadership. Mark Twain, Shakespeare, Melville, von Clausewitz, Pixar, McDonald's, The Godfather, Kmart, Trafalgar, and Iliad are diverse examples used to compare and contrast models of successful and not-so-successful strategic planning. Brief assessments of General George C. Marshall's wartime and civilian successes and France's failures at Dien Bien Phu represent potent examples of leadership applied to strategic planning. Important and time-tested lessons for today's business entrepreneurs are not new. For example, the author notes Sun Tzu's fifth-century B.C. themes for achieving success on battlefields can also work in corporate boardrooms. Essays from Athens's Bridge present enlightening crossover themes designed to close these two worlds with time-proven objectives.

Review by Tom Beard (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Most people don’t know that General George Marshall is a valuable and relevant model for 21st century entrepreneurs. That is because there are two worlds of strategy and most people are only aware of one. There are two worlds of leadership and most people are only aware of one. One is the military world, thousands of years old but studied by very few. The other is the corporate world, astonishingly new but studied by millions. Both of these worlds have developed valuable insights into strategy and leadership. The problem is that MBA students rarely study the military world and soldiers rarely study the corporate world. Learning from both worlds deepens one’s understanding and provides a richer and more diverse perspective on strategy and leadership. This book is designed to be a bridge between these two worlds.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—How to/Business

Number of Pages: 398

Word Count: 89,282

The US Navy’s On-the-Roof Gang - Volume 2 War in the Pacific by Matt Zullo

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MWSA Review

This book is the second in the "On-the-Roof Gang" set that chronicles the origins and applications of radio intelligence as a major component of US Navy warfare capabilities. The first in the set, subtitled "Prelude to War", followed the evolution of the US Navy's radio intelligence capabilities in the 1920s and 1930s as the world moved inexorably toward a second World War. The result is an engaging, character-based narrative that leaves the reader eager to find out how their stories will play out against the backdrop of the war in the Pacific.

Volume Two of the set, "War in the Pacific," tells the personal stories of the On-the Roof Gang alumni as they fulfill their destinies against the sweeping backdrop of the US Navy's campaigns to defeat the forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The narrative rightly focuses on the personalities and exploits of the cadre of skilled radio intercept operators who had been trained and deployed across the Pacific prior to Pearl Harbor.

The author is a retired Navy Master Chief Cryptologic Technician who wisely chose to write this narrative using the "creative nonfiction" style, supplying dialog and descriptive details that bring life to the historical facts, pulling the reader into the collective stories of the pioneers of this skill set.

The alumni of the “on-the-roof” training classes found themselves at the center of the Pacific war serving in critical roles at sea and ashore—often in the thick of battle. Some of their number spent the war as prisoners of war, while others were sent to the remote corners of the Pacific Rim to support Allied intelligence needs.

The uninitiated reader will be surprised to find out the significance of the role played by radio intelligence in the many battle victories achieved by the US Naval forces, and in the inexorable Allied strategic victory over the Japanese war machine. Well-known pivotal events in the war, from the Battle of Midway to the Doolittle Raid and the killing of Admiral Yamamoto, very likely would have had different outcomes except for the critical information provided from intercepted Japanese Navy message traffic. The addition of radio direction finding technology added to the ability of the Allies to locate and attack enemy forces.

As with the first book in this set, the depth of research and meticulous level of detail in this volume makes it much more than just a creative nonfiction overview of the highlights of the war against the Imperial Japanese Navy. The author has created a unique perspective for reviewing the major battles and turning points of the conflict in the Pacific. The result is an engaging, character-driven narrative that leaves the reader with a new appreciation for the crucial contributions of radio technology and intelligence to the Allied victory at sea.

Both volumes of this set are well worth reading for anyone interested in military technology advances before and during World War II.

Review by Peter Young (April 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

THE US NAVY'S ON-THE-ROOF GANG: VOLUME 2 - WAR IN THE PACIFIC is an historical novel based on the unknown true-life story of the "On-The-Roof Gang." It is a sequel to THE US NAVY'S ON-THE-ROOF GANG: VOLUME 1 - PRELUDE TO WAR.This second volume begins with the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and documents the contributions of the On-the-Roof Gang during World War II. It focuses on the wartime stories of the On-the-Roof Gang intercept operators, some who were stationed in Hawaii, some who survived a tortuous existence in a POW camp, others who had to evacuate their intercept sites, and still others who performed intercept operations while at sea during some of the most famous naval battles of World War II.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Creative Nonfiction

Number of Pages: 424

Word Count: 100,000

The US Navy’s On-the-Roof Gang - Volume 1 Prelude to War by Matt Zullo

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MWSA Review

The US Navy's On-the-Roof Gang: Prelude to War is the first of a two-volume set that recounts the birth, development, and wartime service of the US Navy's radio intelligence community. The author is a retired Navy master chief cryptologic technician who wisely chose to write this narrative using the "creative nonfiction" style, supplying dialog and descriptive details that bring life to the historical facts, pulling the reader into the account.

The critical role of radio intercept and decryption in both theaters of World War II may be generally known but is not universally understood to any real depth. Recent popular film and television have highlighted the exploits of Alan Turing and the Bletchley analysts in breaking the German Enigma codes. The equally important (and arguably more impactful) achievements by the US Navy in breaking and exploiting the Imperial Japanese Navy codes in the Pacific theater have received relatively little media attention. The On-the-Roof Gang set goes a long way toward correcting that deficiency.

The Volume One story line begins in the early 1920s and follows a real-life Navy radioman whose curiosity leads him to begin eavesdropping on the routine transmissions of the Imperial Japanese Navy. An amateur HAM radio operator, he understands the potential for radio intercept intelligence and lays out the foundation for interpreting the Japanese katakana broadcasts. The account moves through the next two decades as radio intercept and decoding gain a foothold within the Navy’s radio communications establishment.

By 1928 the highest levels of US Navy leadership had recognized the value of intercepting katakana radio traffic. The first training class for fleet radio specialists was convened in Washington, DC, in a makeshift classroom constructed on the roof of the main Navy building on Constitution Avenue. Over the following twelve years, two hundred Navy radiomen were trained in the Japanese codes and in operating the specialized equipment used for intercepting and recording their Navy transmissions. By the outbreak of the war on the Day of Infamy, the US Navy had deployed a set of intercept stations across the Pacific, manned by skilled operators capable of listening in on the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The depth of research and meticulous level of detail in these volumes makes them much more than just creative nonfiction accounts. The author has created a definitive chronicle of the development of the US Navy's radio intelligence capabilities as the world moved inexorably toward war. The result is an engaging, character-based narrative that leaves the reader eager to find out how their stories will play out against the backdrop of the war in the Pacific.

This is well worth reading for anyone interested in military technology advances between the World Wars, and specifically the birth and growth of the US Navy’s radio intelligence abilities in the years leading up to World War II.

Review by Peter Young (April 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

THE US NAVY'S ON-THE-ROOF GANG: VOLUME I - PRELUDE TO WAR is an historical novel based on the unknown true-life story of the "On-The-Roof Gang," the U.S. Navy's fledgling radio intelligence organization in the years leading up to World War II. It is based on the real life of Harry Kidder, a U.S. Navy radioman who first discovered and deciphered Japanese katakana telegraphic code while stationed in the Philippines in the 1920s, discovering that he was listening to Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) radio communications. Kidder strongly believed in the future of radio intelligence and a chance meeting with Lieutenant Laurance Safford led to the birth of the Navy's Radio Intelligence community. Kidder taught others the nascent art of intercepting IJN communications on the roof of the Main Navy Building in Washington, DC. From 1928 to 1941, 176 Sailors and Marines attended this training and were then stationed as radio intercept operators around the Pacific. These men would become known as the On-The-Roof Gang and were charged with keeping track of the IJN as they prepared for war with the United States. The circumstances of America's entry into World War II hinged on success or failure of the On-The-Roof Gang, and Harry Kidder knew this. On-the-Roof Gang: Prelude to War concludes with the "date which will live in infamy," December 7, 1941.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Creative Nonfiction

Number of Pages: 424

Word Count: 100,000

When We Are Apart by Becca Johnsey

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MWSA Review

When We Are Apart, written by Becca Johnsey and illustrated by Marižan, is a picture book catering to children who face emotional challenges when a parent leaves on a business trip.

Written in rhymes, the book's musicality reminds readers of nursery tales that are meant to soothe and reassure, two important goals when it comes to narrate a story in which the main character is displaying emotional struggles because of the sudden changes within the family dynamics.

The narrator (a mother) offers her child suggestions on how to calm down: deep breathing through the nose, counting to ten, and eating a healthy and balanced meal. Hugs, of course, help too!

The illustrations do a good job in supporting the narration, properly conveying emotions, and keeping young readers' attention. Colors are vivid and the pages are not too crowded with unnecessary details.

Though the story is based on the author's personal experience, at the end of the book parents and guardians find a "Four Activities to Try Together" page where the author offers suggestions on what to do to help children cope when a parent is away on business.

Review by Brunella Costagliola (March 2023)

Author's Synopsis

Each night after school, your dad tucks you in tight. He reads about trucks, turns on your night light. But sometimes for work, your daddy’s away. You miss him so much more than you can say.

When We Are Apart is a sweet rhyming picture book to help families cope with separation while a parent is away. This book will help even your youngest child name their feelings, cope with their emotions, and navigate through them while being reassured that they are loved unconditionally. Based on debut author Becca Johnsey’s own experiences helping her children deal with missing their dad while travels with the Army Reserves. Becca hopes this book will be as impactful to other families as it has been for her own. Perfect for ages 2-5.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Picture Book

Number of Pages: 32

Word Count: 249

Ashur’s Tears by Bill Riley

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MWSA Review

Author Bill Riley in his book Ashur's Tears has introduced us to a new world of magic and magical creatures. From a goddess disguised as a cat to demons the size of a car with gnashing teeth to octopus-like tentacles, Ashur's Tears will stretch your imagination and have you reading all night. The book, aimed at the Young Adult audience, is an easy, fast read. As young Toby and his sister strive to find out what happened to their missing father, they find themselves thrust into a world of deceit, magic, and danger. Evil magic has found its way to Earth and has possessed one man already. Now, it's only a matter of time before it will take over the world. That is unless Toby, his sister, and a cat can stop it. I think any fan of Young Adult fantasy will enjoy this book.

Review by Bob Doerr (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Toby Cypher has it pretty good. He’s on the cusp of success with his mimics (programmable morphing robots advanced enough to be indistinguishable from humans), he’s got a side gig volunteering in the Air Force Museum, and a new job tutoring the coolest girl in school, Rachel Majeski. Toby’s world falls apart when he learns that his father, Dr. Erasmus Cypher, a scientist who runs a mysterious lab, has gone down in a plane crash over Iraq. But then Toby’s sister, Katie, uncovers a secret message… one sent after the plane crash that draws Toby and Katie into a dizzying world of untold danger and profound betrayal, where the two siblings will need all their wits, dark magic, and help from an unlikely feline to survive and maybe save the world.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Young Adult (fiction or non-fiction)

Number of Pages: 320

Word Count: 87,000

An Imperfect Plan by Addison McKnight

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MWSA Review

An Imperfect Plan by Addison McKnight, the pen name of Nicole Moleti and Krista Wells, is a mystery/thriller involving two women of completely different backgrounds with a similar desire. Because of how they were raised, both women have their own motivations on how to realize their dreams, and for the actions they take to achieve them.

Colette DeLuca and Greta O’Brien are the two main characters, who are sometimes hard to like. The two women live parallel lives for a good part of the book. The authors devote alternating chapters to Colette and Greta and their various relationships. A reader can’t help but wonder what one has to do with the other.

The one thing the women have in common is that each is desperate to be a mother. Because of their backgrounds and life circumstances, Greta will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. Colette has what she thinks is a viable plan. As the authors point out, “All it takes is one lie for the best-laid plans to go awry.”

When their lives finally do intersect through tragedy, both Colette and Greta, and their families, will never be the same. After overcoming betrayal, manipulation, lies, and deceit, the two women find that a common loss is cause for a tentative relationship.

Expect to be surprised, angered, perhaps shocked, and at times, saddened when you read An Imperfect Plan.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

All it takes is one lie for the best-laid plans to go awry.

After decades of pushing away traumatic memories from childhood, Colette De Luca is ready to start a family of her own. It’ll be healthy, a wish come true, with a man she believes is the love of her life. Thankfully, she thought ahead when she was younger and froze her eggs for this very moment.

Greta O’Brien, a wealthy hedge-fund manager, is forced to confront the making of her own family when tragedy strikes her twin teenage sons. As she debates whether to confess a betrayal to her husband, the ripple effects of the family’s devastating circumstances begin to spread far beyond their home.

These two women, hopeful, disillusioned, and desperate, are on an emotional decades-long journey to motherhood by any means necessary. Strangers whose lives explode in the wake of a shocking event―and converge in more ways than one―Colette and Greta are forced to face the twists of fate and the choices they’ve made.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 381

Word Count: 80,000

When the Violin Weeps by Glenn Starkey

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MWSA Review

In When the Violin Weeps, author Glenn Starkey relates the story of symphony violinist Jacob Liebermann, a Jewish resident of the Warsaw ghetto. In their early thirties, he and his wife Hannah are shipped to the Treblinka concentration/death camp. On arrival at the camp, Hannah is sent to the gas chamber, and Jacob survives as a slave laborer. A sadistic SS Officer, Klaus Hermann, confiscates Jacob’s violin and requires him to play it from time to time, especially when a prisoner is being tortured to death.

Grieving the loss of his wife, his freedom, and the life he once enjoyed, Jacob questions his faith in God and grows more hateful day-by-day. With a band of other slave laborers, he escapes the camp and spends many months in the deep woods with other resistance fighters. Through the remainder of the war and into the 1960s, Jacob finds his way across Eastern Europe to Palestine, and lives through the birth of Israel. But his hatred for Klaus Hermann never abates. His desire for vengeance and, to some extent, justice only grows, yet his belief in God has been destroyed.

At the birth of Israel and during its early years, Jacob becomes a fighter, though he never thought he would be one. He joins Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel, and is instrumental in capturing Nazi war criminals wherever they are in the world. Klaus Hermann, living in South America after World War II, remains free, and Jacob wrestles with what he will do when he finds him.

Glenn Starkey’s well-researched historical novel rings true with every word, and sadly, Jacob’s story is one of millions – Jews, gypsies, Slavic peoples, and others targeted for outright extermination or death via forced labor.

The book reads easily in the way it is crafted, although there is much violence in it. It is a story no one who reads it will forget. Mr. Starkey deftly weaves in the history of the newly-minted state of Israel, and hints at the role of the Catholic Church in helping former Nazis flee to South America.

For those unfamiliar with Nazi (and Stalinist) depravities of World War II, this book is an eye-opener. For those familiar with the war, it is a reminder of what blind adherence to ideology and control of the media can do to an otherwise reasonable populace. As such, it resonates well with our time, when a noisy, dictatorial media is making ordinary people fearful of not following the “party line.” The Nazis did this. Could it be happening again? Mr. Starkey’s is a book not only to read, but to study, lest we repeat history.

Review by Pat Walkow (March 2023)

Author's Synopsis

Forcing Warsaw's massive Jewish population into an overcrowded ghetto to starve was Nazi Germany's first undertaking after invading Poland. Next came the merciless transports to the Treblinka extermination center. When Jacob Lieberman's wife Hanna is murdered in a gas chamber, the former Warsaw Philharmonic violinist fell into an abyss of insanity. But he keeps his promise to her to survive the Nazi atrocities at all costs.

Through months as a slave laborer, escaping from the death camp, and fighting for the underground, Jacob lives for the day of reckoning with Klaus Hermann, the SS officer that killed his wife. After a harrowing trek to freedom in Palestine and joining Jewish resistance groups to combat a new enemy, Jacob makes the country home. He becomes one of Israel's first Mossad agents. Then fate brings him face to face with the devil incarnate.

"When the Violin Weeps" is based upon real lives, the disturbing true events of the Holocaust in World War II, and on through the struggles to create the State of Israel. It is the story of appalling crimes against humanity, mankind at its best and worst, and the courageous strength to live and fight against overwhelming odds.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 269

Word Count: 81,000

Twelve O'Clock Haiku: Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems by Randy Brown

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MWSA Review

​In this short work, the author gives readers a ​53-page analysis of the movie, Twelve O’Clock High, and includes 12 haiku poems. His discussion ranges from “lessons learned” and “maximum effort” to comparing day and night bombing in the first years of World War II. ​A good presentation, but little poetry. The poems themselves are thought provoking and in places disturbing, which is what you would expect given the subject matter.

The author is a talented writer and his self-described obsession with the movie, Twelve O’Clock High, comes through in the musings and essays about military lessons learned in the first half of this work. His passion for the subject is evident. However, readers thinking this is a book of poetry may be disappointed. Readers with little familiarity with Twelve O’Clock High can be at a loss, unable to fully grasp much of what the author is attempting to convey. 

Review by George ​J. ​Bryjak (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

In a cheeky critique of the classic American airpower narrative “Twelve O’Clock High,” award-winning soldier-poet, essayist, and humorist Randy Brown explores what it means to be a leader or follower at war—morally, physically, and psychologically. The book is packed full of insights into military life, as viewed through the lenses of war movies, history, and the author’s personal experiences as a one-time U.S. Army-trained “lessons-learned analyst.”

“I started out to write 12 haiku poems about a favorite old war movie,” says the author, “but my ‘whimsical experiment in minimalist war poetry’ mutated into a ‘maximum effort’ mix of memory, media, and military culture!” TWELVE O’CLOCK HAIKU: Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems now comprises a salvo of provocative poetry, a companion essay about the film, and resources for enthusiasts of World War II aircraft, history, and movies.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Poetry book

Number of Pages: 114

Word Count: 17,500

Writ Reveal by Ethan Burroughs

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MWSA Review

Writ Reveal by Ethan Burroughs is the second in a series featuring protagonist Clayton Haley. It seems Haley, a U.S. State Department employee, attracts trouble wherever he goes. This time he is sent to Kuwait, where an enemy from a previous book targets him for death. Mild-mannered Haley is drawn into a maelstrom of Middle East intrigue as he seeks to repatriate Iraqi soldiers who died in Kuwait during the first Gulf War in 1990 and discovers artifacts buried with the soldiers. Mayhem ensues but not before the reader is thoroughly acquainted with the cuisine of the region. The action is slow to start as the author seeks to educate the reading public about the region, its religion, its players, its language, and its culture. Military terms and various languages (translated in brackets) slow the read somewhat. Those who enjoy learning about other cultures and customs will find a wealth of information about little known aspects of the history, beliefs, and politics of the Middle East. 

Review by Betsy Beard (April 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

The thrilling sequel to Messianic Reveal, Writ Reveal takes protagonist Clayton Haley deeper into Middle Eastern conspiracy and intrigue, ferrying him up the Tigris into modern and ancient Baghdad, and stirring a combustible mix of politics and religion with deadly consequences.

Clayton Haley’s journey as a U.S. foreign service officer continues into the disconnected destinies of modern Kuwait and ancient Baghdad in search of a truth—one that is scripted on ancient sacred palimpsests, providing rare scrutiny into the exploitation of one of the world’s largest religions.

Haley’s exhumation efforts of those who died in war lead to the discovery of a map that was stolen in the 1990 Iraqi looting of the Kuwaiti national archives. This map points to the long-forgotten Round City of Baghdad, which is said to contain treasures lost to humanity in the 1258 destruction of the city by Mongols. Haley’s efforts, bolstered by an unruly team of Green Berets and intelligence friends, don’t go without opposition—a spectral Bin Laden empire scion counters his every move in a desire to foment tribal uprisings against nouveau colonialism while carrying out an avowed revenge against Haley for thwarting his Messianic Reveal.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Mystery/thriller

Number of Pages: 300

Word Count: 74,000

Lexie's Gift by John R. Stoeffler

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MWSA Review

First-grader Lexie, saddened by her classmate and best friend's tears caused by Susan's father, an army soldier being deployed, discovers a plan and executes it. Susan's father will miss her next birthday and the family's Christmas celebration. More importantly, Susan's father won't be at her bedside to hug, kiss, and tuck her in at night. Lexie, inspired by her younger cousin Kanon's "Comfy-Dumfy" pillow and memories of her own "Lambie" pillow, gets an idea. Lexie's Gift author John Stoeffler, with illustrations by Jeanine-Jonee, leads the young readers along with Lexie as she plans to ease Susan's sadness. Lexie executes the idea by bringing the gift to Susan. The story is inspirational, reflecting a project the author started in 2008, where he, with his wife's and volunteers' assistance, created and shipped "Sweet Dream Pillows” to more than 13,000 children of deployed U.S. armed forces parents.

Review by Tom Beard (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

This is the story of a little girl, Lexie, whose best friend's father is in the Army and is called to active duty. Susan, the friend, is so sad that her dad will miss her birthday and Christmas and won't be there to hug, kiss and tuck her in at bedtime. Lexie wishes she could do something to comfort Susan while her father is away. With a little help, Lexie makes the perfect gift for Susan: a pillow with her father's picture printed on it. Susan is thrilled, and the girls decide to make more picture pillows for others like her and in doing so discover it is more fun to give than to receive.

 This story is based on a project started in 2008 by the author and his wife. In all, they and their volunteers made and shipped free what they called "Sweet Dreams Pillows" to over 13,000 children of deployed members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Picture Book

Number of Pages:  29

Word Count: 2600

Dispatches From The Cowgirl: Through The Looking Glass With A Navy Diplomat's Wife by Julie Tully

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MWSA Review

Dispatches from the Cowgirl: Through the Looking Glass with a Navy Diplomat’s Wife by Julie Tully is an engaging read from beginning to end. In letters written to family and friends, Tully showed them, in vivid detail, places they would most likely never see. Entries from her diary and those letters she wrote grew into this memoir.

Julie Tully was born into a cattle ranching family in northern California. For more than a third of her life she worked the cattle or marketed the beef. Tully explains, “I am a girl of the land who married a man of the sea.” From her perspective, she writes of extraordinary events and everyday life during her time as a military spouse in Africa.

To Julie, the diplomatic post is more than a job. She and husband John actively immerse themselves in the customs of the country. In short, they bloom where they are planted. Following the example his parents set for him, their young son Quinn spends his early school years learning to speak French and making friends with other expat children and locals who staff the embassy in which they live. A supposed two-year assignment for her family in Sub-Saharan Africa soon turns into an eight-year adventure in Cameroon, Nigeria, and Djibouti. In a world where diplomacy is key, Julie Tully, in her cowboy boots, charms the embassy staff and foreign diplomats in every assignment with her genuine demeanor.

Looking back over the words she wrote, Julie Tully sees a big picture of how she found purpose as the spouse of a diplomat in Africa after leaving her career to become a full-time mom and a traveling Navy spouse. She quotes Lewis Carroll, who writes in Alice in Wonderland: “Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventure.”

Review by Nancy Panko (February 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

Would you move to Africa? For Julie Tully, a cowgirl who married a United States naval officer, the answer was a no-brainer: Yes!

Leaving her career and everything she knew behind to follow her husband, Julie was rapidly approaching forty and wondering, “What is my place in the world?” Enter Africa, the continent she had dreamed of since childhood, a chance to reinvigorate her life. A supposed two-year assignment for her family in Sub-Saharan Africa soon turns into an eight-year adventure in Cameroon, Nigeria, and Djibouti and sees Julie become an unofficial diplomat as wife to a military attaché. In a world where diplomacy is key, Julie becomes the person she was meant to be.

Julie’s memoir is a real-life Alice in Wonderland tale. A cowgirl falls into Africa like Alice fell into Wonderland, taking you on a voyage of discovery and into the little-known world of an American military spouse serving amongst the world’s diplomatic corps. One moment, you’ll laugh out loud as Julie takes her first step onto the African continent and begins setting up their home in Cameroon. The next, you’ll gasp in shock as a terrorist bomb shakes their house in Nigeria.

Part travelogue, and part midlife coming-of-age story, Dispatches from the Cowgirl takes you to the Africa that Julie experienced. Complete with all its beauty and flaws, it’s the Africa that continues to capture the attention of the world’s military powers and the Africa she struggled to say goodbye to.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 335

Word Count: 86,610

Rucksack Grunt by Robert Kuhn

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MWSA Review

Rucksack Grunt is the story of one man's Viet Nam experience as a soldier with the US Army. Robert Kuhn, the author, was that young man, and he tells a tale not unlike what many young teenagers in that era had to endure. Eighteen years old and unsettled with not much direction for his life, Author Kuhn enlisted in the army. Right away he questions his decision, but there is no turning back. The only thing he is sure of is his love for his girlfriend. His decision, however, is taking him away from her.  Like most enlistees at the time, he soon finds himself in the infantry and heading to Viet Nam. While there, he is exposed to artillery fire landing nearby, sniper fire zinging by too close, and more than one contact with the enemy. His biggest threat, though, turned out to be from a mosquito. The author contracted malaria and had to be sent to a hospital for treatment.  His dream was to survive and return home to marry his sweetheart, but would she wait for him? Author Kuhn's story is a quick read and well worth reading.

Review by Bob Doerr (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

RUCKSACK GRUNT - A VIETNAM VETERAN'S MEMOIR

A Vietnam War Memoir with an Underlying Love Story.

A narrative about a naïve teenage boy’s evolutionary journey from his safe suburban neighborhood in Pennsylvania to the dangerous Central Highlands in Vietnam to becoming a Vietnam War Veteran as he remembers it and still struggles today to understand it all.

The events of this narrative take place from 1969-1972, beginning with a young teenage boy’s love for and his marriage proposal to his high school sweetheart. Robert then decided that the best path to obtaining an education and a “real” job needed to support their future marriage was through an easy short stint in the US Army. Little did the naïve teenager know that the path to accomplishing his goals would take him through the dangerous jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam during the latter years of the war. Although not a blood and guts war story, this first-hand emotional account details the many traumatic and sometimes distressing encounters of Robert Kuhn, the “rucksack carrying grunt” who served with the 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry unit during his Vietnam tour of duty.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 186

Word Count: 34005