African American Warrant Officers - Their Remarkable History by Farrell Chiles

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MWSA Review

The handsome red, white and blue cover of Farrell J. Chiles’ “African American Warrant Officers: Their Remarkable History,” promises stories of achievements and contributions of the too-long-unacknowledged men and women who have served as warrant officers of the United State Army—those men and women, that is, who administer, manage, maintain, operate and integrate “Army systems and equipment across the full spectrum of Army operations.”  A companion volume to Chiles’s earlier collection, “African American Warrant Officers: In Service to Our Country,” this volume honors the centennial of the Army Warrant Officer Corps by presenting individual vignettes of one hundred African American warrant officers. Chiles has compiled these profiles from a variety of sources, some submitted by individual authors, many written and published by Chiles himself in official newsletters such as the “Rocket” and the USAWOA (United States Army Warrant Officers Association) “Newsliner.”

Chiles opens the book with a short chapter defining Warrant Officer (“an adaptive technical expert, combat leader, trainer, and advisor”) and explaining the different grade, ranks and education system for warrant officers. This is followed by a brief overview of the one hundred year history of the Warrant Officers Cohort, established by Act of Congress on 9 July 1918. The main chapters of individual profiles are then grouped by information source such as newsletters, obituaries and Chiles’ earlier collection, “African American Warrant Officers: In Service to Our Country.”  Each vignette includes the accomplishments and awards of individual warrant officers along with one to three photographs, and many include personal anecdotes and quotations that provide fascinating glimpses into the warrant officers’ lives.
 “African American Warrant Officers: Their Remarkable History” is a handy research guide that offers a series of individual histories rather than the broader history of African American contributions to the Warrant Officer Cohort that the title seems to promise. For his dogged research, writing and publication over the years, we owe a debt of gratitude to Farrell J. Chiles.  His work provides the inspiring first steps needed in illuminating the remarkable history of African American serving their country as warrant officers in the U. S. Army.

MWSA Review by Nancy Arbuthnot (August 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

African American Warrant Officers - Their Remarkable History is a compilation of articles, biographies, and stories about African Americans who served or are serving in the United States Army Warrant Officers Corps. The book is in conjunction with the 100th Anniversary of the Warrant Officers Corps (1918-2018). There is an African proverb that says "Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." This historical book tells the history of African American Army Warrant Officers. Their history is rich and their achievements and contributions to the United States and the United States Army are remarkable. This book allows African American Army Warrant Officers to tell their stories.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-63263-785-7
Book Format(s): Hard cover, ePub/iBook
Genre(s): History, Biography, Reference
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference
Number of Pages: 258
 

Chopper Heroes by William Peterson

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MWSA Review

This read will take your breath away.  The harrowing details faced daily by Vietnam chopper crew members are vividly presented.  Each brief and deeply personal story creates new visuals of the daily fight to stay alive.  Powerfully moved, I felt back in time--similar to punching big buttons on a 60's jukebox full of deep cuts during that era.  However, this book's selections were not classic music from long ago.  Instead, in an amazing fashion, Chopper Heroes records ordeals faced by our bravest young men in service that are far more powerful than the music back then.  Simply stated, I highly recommend this book to those who appreciate valor and enjoy history about potentially forgotten warriors.

Review by Hodge Wood (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

Chopper Heroes ~ Have Guns Will Travel will introduce many of the survivors of the nasty war in Vietnam. The true, interesting, gut-wrenching and often thrilling stories you are about to read are from men whom I am honored to know. Many of the words written here are theirs from interviews I have done. As a storyteller, I have tried to recapture the events as they happened forty-five plus years ago. The narrative and scenes created here are mostly true, and the dialogue is written for all audiences from teenagers to adults, men and women alike.

ISBN/ASIN: 9781981656943    ISBN-13: 978-1981771561    ISBN-10: 1981771565
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Genre(s): Nonfiction, History, Religious/Spiritual
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 130
 

The Consultant by Tj O'Connor

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MWSA Review

The Consultant by Tj O'Connor introduces us to a consultant for the CIA who likes to work alone and to do things his way.  His superior believes in sharing information on a need-to-know basis and knows his rogue agent well.  Information about Hunter's professional and personal lives are shared with the reader as the story evolves; both are complicated.  He arrives home in Virginia in response to a message from his older brother only to witness his brother's dying words.  He learns of his brother's family as he struggles with relating to various law enforcers.  It's unclear who can be trusted.  As he searches for his brother's murderer, he stumbles into much bigger problems as terrorist attacks on civilians escalate and the country seems to be drifting toward another Middle East conflict.  At times Hunter uses self-deprecating humor that endears the character to readers.  His humor makes the "consultant" more likable in spite of his history of doing horrific things in his line of work.  A timely story worth reading.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

When a rogue CIA consultant goes AWOL from his Middle Eastern post in response to his brother’s plea for help, he arrives just in time to witness his brother’s murder. For years, Jonathan Hunter and his brother Kevin Mallory had not spoken—until Kevin’s final words, “… Khalifah … Not Them … Maya.” Pursuing his brother’s killer, Hunter stumbles into a nest of horrifying terrorist activity by Middle Eastern refugees, which sparks a backlash across America. In the shadows, Hunter’s mentor, the omnipotent Oscar LaRue, is playing a dangerous game with Russian Intelligence. Neither Hunter nor LaRue realizes that a new threat—the Iranian threat—has entered the game. Stakes rise as two shadowy players are one step ahead of Hunter and LaRue—Khalifah, a terrorist mastermind, and Caine, a nomadic assassin who dances with the highest bidder. As attacks escalate and the country drifts toward another Middle East conflict, innocent refugees become trapped between the terrorists and the terrorized. Prejudice, hate, and fear vent everywhere. Is this who we’ve become? Before the country explodes, Hunter must find Khalifah, learn the next terror target, and pray he’s in time to stop further annihilation.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-60809-283-3
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook
Genre(s): Mystery/Thriller
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 432
 

Air Force One by Nicholas Veronico

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MWSA Review

Air Force One, The Aircraft of the Modern U.S. Presidency by Robert F. Dorr and Nicholas A. Veronica is the first in-depth history of the iconic airplane with the call sign "Air Force One" indicating that its passenger is the president of the United States. The book is rich in detail and has all manner of fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses into the flight, operation, and impact of Air Force One. As the authors point out, though people think that Air Force One is the Boeing 747 painted in presidential livery, the call sign actually refers to any aircraft in which the president flies (the exception being the Marine helicopter he uses, whose call sign is "Marine One"). Covering sixty years of history, it is loaded with historical photos and contains many interviews of people who worked at varying aspects of the aircraft. An important addition to the history of the presidency and aviation.

Review by Dwight Zimmerman (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

The presidential plane wasn’t always known as Air Force One. FDR traveled in the Guess Where II, a transport version of the heavy bomber four-engine Liberator. Later presidential aircraft included the Dixie Clipper and Sacred Cow (FDR), Independence (Truman), Columbine I and II (Eisenhower), followed by Air Force One.

For the last sixty years Air Force One has seen every president and first lady through each administration's triumphs and tragedies, and has flown over a million miles around the globe.

Featuring new and unseen photography of the presidential aircraft, aviation expert and author Nicholas A. Veronico brings the story of the mighty aircraft up to date; detailing how the plane has adapted to the digital age, and what to look forward to as Boeing updates the aircraft once more for 2024.

Get ready to fly!

ISBN/ASIN: 9780760357996
Book Format(s): Hard cover
Genre(s): History
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 160
 

The Wicked Problem of Cultural Heritage and Conflict by Christopher Herndon and Joris Kila

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MWSA Review

Though only 134 pages long, "The Wicked Problem of Cultural Heritage and Conflict" is a surprisingly thorough examination of the reasons behind the destruction of culturally significant sites, artifacts, and living creatures in times of conflict and of the institutions and laws in place. The authors provide not only numerous examples, but also identify relevant institutions and international laws devoted to protecting them. They also examine the diverse motivations behind the devastation of looting, trafficking, and outright destruction, and how even the language used to describe such incidents has evolved and become a point of contention. The many recent examples mentioned in the book highlight the scope of the problem and how urgent is to find solutions to solve it. "The Wicked Problem of Cultural Heritage and Conflict" is a good primer for someone looking to better understand this international tragedy.

Review by Dwight Zimmerman (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

The Wicked Problem of Cultural Heritage and Conflict: Military involvement in the protection and devastation of Cultural Property.

The world’s cultural heritage is currently not only threatened by time, nature, and human development and also increasingly by armed conflicts. We see destructions caused by looting and illicit traffic but also iconoclasm and manipulations of cultural heritage for political, religious, economic, and propaganda reasons. Revenues derived from the illegal selling are often used to finance conflicts as illustrated in the Da’esh business model example in this publication. Cultural Property Protection (CPP), while legally mandatory under national and international law, are poorly implemented and sanctions are rarely enforced. There is however, a constant and international demand for education and outcomes of multidisciplinary research on the topic, especially in the context of conflict and crime.

Research must include military perspectives, and common mechanisms connected to abuse and protection. Outcomes should contain academic conceptualization, as well as practice based solutions to diminish and mitigate damage. To meet demands while expanding, and following up on their previous works, the authors wrote this publication. It contains a selection of case examples and incorporates recent developments and trends. All ingredients serve to feed research and dialogue about the use and abuse of cultural heritage especially in the event of conflict, with a focus on cooperation and coordination between civil stakeholders and military parties.

A selection of identified fundamental CPP problems is discussed as part of a comparative analysis with field examples such as the Dugong case, an illustration of overlap between cultural and natural heritage coined as hybrid heritage. Other cases include events in Libya, Estonia, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Mali. All are weighed against Horst Rittel’s wicked problems theory and other concepts while involving new notions of securitization, politicization, memorialization and propagandization of cultural property. Last but not least, the authors signal within circles of IO’s, NGO’s and Governmental parties involved in the management and protection of heritage, an increase of bureaucratic behavior and political use of mankind’s cultural heritage contributing to the current deplorable situation.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-9994932-1-2, 978-0-9994932-2-9, 978-0-9994932-0-5
Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook
Genre(s): Nonfiction, Creative Nonfiction, Reference
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference
Number of Pages: 134
 

Eddie and Bingo : Destination Christmas by Kathleen and Katherine Taylor

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MWSA Review

Eddie and Bingo: Destination Christmas by Kathleen Taylor and Katherine L. Taylor is a delightful children’s picture book based on the life of a U.S. Navy sailor. As a sequel to Eddie and Bingo: A Friendship Tale, this book explores the life of a naval combat photographer during the years of the Korean War. The book is a heartwarming tale of normal everyday ship life as well as time spent ashore. Eddie, our “hero” is a regular guy whose kindness and compassion shine through in all he does. After Christmas leave is cut short and Eddie is ordered to return to the ship, the sailors find a meaningful way to share Christmas where they are stationed. And what about Bingo, the dog Eddie discovered on board in the previous book? Rest assured he makes an appearance in this book too, bringing joy to children and sailors alike.

Eddie and Bingo is engagingly illustrated, and children will identify particularly with the facial expressions of the characters throughout the book. They will also find enough detail to capture their attention while someone reads the words of each spread.  A brief glossary of navy terms as well as some fun facts are found in the back, along with some of the actual photos taken by the Navy photographer who is the inspiration for this book.

For those who love the Navy or are interested in learning more about combat photographers, this book will provide exceptional conversations with your young ones.

Review by Betsy Beard (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

Eddie's Christmas Destination is uncertain. Will he fly home to New York City for the holidays?Could he stay in Hawaii fulfilling the admiral's photo assignments? Would the Navy send him back to Japan to be reunited with his pup, Bingo? See what develops this Christmas?

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-62901-538-5
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Genre(s): Creative Nonfiction, History, Biography, Picture Book
Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Picture Book
Number of Pages: 48
 

Flowers from Afghanistan by Suzy Parish

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MWSA Review

In “Flowers from Afghanistan” by Suzy Parish, the narrator, Mac, grieving the death of his young son, leaves his wife of seven years at home to accept a year-long position in Afghanistan training police officers. Through his friendships with military and civilian Americans on base and a local contract worker, Gil, and his young son, Mac begins to understand that others’ lives are also filled with pain, and that his attempts to ignore or escape from suffering are fruitless. Although Mac resists Sophie and her faith in God for a long while, in the end he discovers the redemptive power of love.  

Set mainly in Afghanistan, the novel is filled with intriguing glimpses into life in an exotic, war-torn country. The author presents interesting details (many of which, the author acknowledges, come from her husband’s descriptions of his experiences as a police trainer in Afghanistan) of the Afghan countryside and customs as well as life on base. For example, Mac at one point notes that in Afghanistan “beards were honored as the sign of an elder.” At their best, the images reveal a character’s feelings or mindset, as when Mac compares the bright orange sky to “the color of ice cream on a stick I bought as a kid” or when he notes how Sophie, clearly disappointed in his lack of responsiveness, “unwrapped herself from my arm, like removing last year’s worn jacket.” While reading, I often found myself marveling at the strength of an image or a bit of dialogue, such as the time when Sophie asks Mac, who gives her so little emotional support, “Can’t you just pick me up some flowers?” 

“Flowers from Afghanistan,” directed at a Christian audience, is about redemption from suffering. Mac, despite his obtuseness, does grow in faith and ability to love. To me, however, despite the novel’s exemplary use of metaphorical language, Mac and the other characters remain essentially flat and one-dimensional, and the most crucial relationships lack development. Little Mac’s death and Mac’s flight to Afghanistan, for instance, both come too quickly in the book, so that we aren’t immediately drawn into the story and don’t really understand Mac’s motivations. While perhaps not sophisticated enough for a wide adult audience, with some revision “Flowers from Afghanistan” could appeal to YA readers.
 
MWSA Review by Nancy Arbuthnot (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

Weighed down by guilt following the death of his two-year-old son, Mac McCann accepts a year-long position training police officers in Afghanistan. Leaving his wife Sophie to grieve alone, he hopes the life-or-death distractions of his self-imposed exile will build a wall between him and his pain.

As camaraderie builds between Mac and the men on base---including a local barber and his precocious little boy---Mac's heart becomes invested in stories beyond his own tragedy and he learns he is not the only one running from loss. But when the hour of attack arrives, will he be able to see past his guilt to believe there's still something---and someone---worth living for?

With touching details based on true events, Flowers from Afghanistan is a redemptive journey of healing, a chronicle of hope in crisis, and a testament to the faithfulness of God through it all.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 978-1-5223-0116-5  ASIN B07BZ2CWXQ
Book Format(s): Hard cover
Genre(s): Fiction, Literary Fiction
Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction
Number of Pages: 200
 

The Perfection of Valor by Bob Mustin

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MWSA Review

Bob Mustin has written another fine book in The Perfection of Valor. A quick and easy read, the author writes about the events of August 29, 2005, perhaps most notable to many for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina.

However, in The Perfection of Valor, Mustin uses Katrina as one of his many subplots to pile on the stress affecting Cary Fletcher as August 29 is also the day Cary is supposed to be getting married. While the approaching storm indirectly has its affect on Cary, he is living upstate in Louisiana, and his concern is for his bride's sister still in New Orleans. The larger scenario affecting Cary is one he's had to endure since childhood, his relationship with his father, a highly decorated Marine now suffering from dementia and living in a nursing home. On the morning of the day he is to be married, Cary introduces Cornelia, his fiancé, to his father, only to have his father insult Cornelia and display his racial prejudice.  On top of this, Cary discovers that his father may have hit his mother, bruising and cutting her face. The author has tossed all this on his protagonist on the day of his planned wedding.  I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys literary fiction, and especially to those who might want to discover how this book ends. 

MWSA Review by Bob Doerr (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

Colonel Fletcher Hinton, USMC, retired, has had a storied career, but one aspect of his life remains wanting as his end approaches: family. Son Cary, a former Marine and now a college professor, is about to marry outside his race, and the old man, suffering a bout of dementia, insults Cary's fiancee. Too, Cary has moved his mother away from Fletcher, fearing the old man has hit her. This then is Fletcher Hinton's final contest – proving himself a good father and husband as he battles dementia and the stain that seems to tarnish his name and, through him, the Corps.

ISBN/ASIN: 987-1642556889/B07BPDRQ7S
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Genre(s): Fiction, Literary Fiction, History
Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction
Number of Pages: 208
 

War in the Company of Medics: Poems of the 45th Surgical Hospital in Vietnam by John J. Candelaria

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MWSA Review

War in the Company of Medics, by John J. Candelaria, uses short narrative and imagistic poems to present a tale of war from the perspective of the executive officer of a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit in Vietnam in 1969-70. Taken together, Candelaria’s thirty poems, offering vivid images of blood-soaked hands, a severely wounded commander promising “I’ll walk again,” the body of an enemy combatant caught in concertina wire, and spring rain falling amid bombs, ponder the consequences of a politically questionable war.

Most of the poems are composed in free verse lines, but several use rhyme or poetic forms such as the villanelle, haiku, and what Candelaria calls a “found poem in a Sijo sequence,” in which the titles of all the poems are included in the last poem to help create an overview of the entire poetic sequence. Most of the poems employ an objective, almost anonymous narrative voice that is quite effective.  The poems reach their best, I think, when they are most abstract and cryptic, creating scenes that could be overwhelming if relayed in a more subjective, personal manner: “Scissors cut uniforms, wounds/ pressed to keep life in”; “Blades slice the morning calm./ Dustoff arrives”; “Again, the body shudders,/ the boot strikes/ as if to wake the sleep of death.” 

Although the author occasionally concludes a poem by repeating a phrase or otherwise interpreting the scene that do not enhance the already powerful vignettes (as, for example, in “Slice of Time,” which ends with the comment “I left the morgue never/ to forget that slice of time”), overall these poems are memorable and striking. The “calm expertise” and “relentless sense of urgency” that Candelaria ascribes to the members of his surgical unit describe as well the driving tone of this work. This is a strong and significant collection.

Review by Nancy Arbuthnot (June 27, 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

During the Vietnam War, MAJ John J. Candelaria served as Executive Officer of the 45th Surgical Hospital. The poems and photographs in this collection reflect the anguish resulting from soldiers wounded and killed in the line of duty. John's tribute poems to the 45th Surgical Hospital are expressions that embrace in words the courage, duty, and valor of those who served with distinction at the 45th MASH.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-9861604-1-7
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Genre(s): Poetry Book
Review Genre: Poetry—Poetry Book
Number of Pages: 52
 

Sebastian's Tale by Dylan Weiss

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MWSA Review

In Sebastian's Tale, author Dylan Weiss has written an entertaining story about a young skunk, Sebastian, and his weasel friend during their first year after leaving home. Sebastian was born without his stripes and his friend has an overweight issue. Both are bullied by their peers, but despite these factors, Sebastian learns that an ancient family prophecy claims that he will do great things to save the skunks and weasels. In doing so, he will grow his stripes and become a leader among skunks. When it comes time to leave their family homes, the two have several misadventures, and it's not until they meet a human who has the ability to communicate with all animals that things start to make sense to them. 

This book is an easy read. Sebastian's Tale reinforces the need for humans to take care of the environment and to remember that our encroachment into forest lands impacts the wildlife that is already there.  I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy stories about animals and nature.

MWSA Review by Bob Doerr (June 2018)

Author's Synopsis

Sebastian’s Tale is a fast paced, allegorical coming of age adventure.  As the story develops, readers discover, along with our hero, a lovable stripeless skunk, and his sidekick, a clever but oft misguided weasel,
exactly what is destroying Penn’s Woods.

Together Sebastian and Willie learn how to battle this menacing new enemy threatening life as we know it on earth. Although the telling is a fantasy, in reality the author hopes that lessons learned by Sebastian
and his woodland friends are embraced by children and young adults who choose to protect our environment against the degradation brought on by present day pollution.

ISBN/ASIN: B01LWHXS5B
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Genre(s): Fantasy/Sci Fi, Young Adult
Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Young Adult (fiction or non-fiction)
Number of Pages: 197
 

Vietnam Voices by Michael Lepore

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MWSA Review

Vietnam Voices by Michael F. Lepore is an excellent collection of the author's poetry.  Subtitled Echoes of the Vietnam Experience, the twenty eight poems in the book bring home to the reader the thoughts and emotions of those affected by the war, and it does so in a way that you can feel those emotions. Whether it's the thoughts and feelings of a parent approaching the Vietnam Memorial wall for the first time, or the thoughts of a young woman in Vietnam longing to go to the U.S. to find a father she has never known, Lepore has the ability of "getting under the reader's skin." In each poem, I could feel the simple truth that the author presented. This is not a political read, nor is it anti-military. It's simply a reflection of the harsh realities of war.

The poetry is thought provoking, yet it is easy to read.  My hats off to this author and to his work.  I recommend this book to all readers of poetry, those interested in books about the Vietnam War, and to anyone who simply wants a fast, well written book!

Review by Bob Doerr (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

Vietnam Voices employs in poetic verse the harsh realities of the Vietnam War as felt by those who fought it, those who anxiously waited at home, and those children born of American G.I.’s and Vietnamese women—innocent victims scorned for life. This book presents in all its complexity the bravado, agony and loss of those affected by combat and is as resonant with the issues that face our fighting men and women today as fifty years ago.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-9913861-3-0
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Genre(s): Poetry Book
Review Genre: Poetry—Poetry Book
Number of Pages: 60
 

Blades of Thunder by W. Larry Dandridge

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MWSA Review

A realistic and accurate depiction of the life a young helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Dandridge shares his experiences and those of his helicopter classmates, unit members and friends to paint a picture of camaraderie and patriotism while fighting one of the most vicious military conflicts in US history. Using his own personal account and those of his fellow troops, Dandridge unfolds the heartache, pain and triumphs of young soldiers who bravely flew “slicks” and “gunships” in an unforgiving war with unforgiving consequences. This book successfully serves as a living tribute to them.

Review by Mick Simonelli (June 2018)

Author's Synopsis

Blades of Thunder (book One) is a non-fiction, action packed, and Vietnam War history book that tells the story of six young Army aviators, flight school classmates, who go to Vietnam in the fall of 1968 and are forever changed.  Some died, some were wounded.  All those who returned brought back emotional scars that will never really go away.  Blades of Thunder is more than a story about Vietnam.  It combines a realistic narrative of combat operations with a human dimension, the physical and psychological toll imposed on those who survived. While learning about their experiences, this all five-star reviewed paperback or hard cover book gives you a window into the lives of crew chiefs and door gunners whose job extends beyond flight when the aircraft is once again safely tucked into its revetment, the battery switch is off and the blades are tied down.  Timeless lessons on leadership abound.  •    The author takes the reader into the details of the Army Aviation business.  46 annotated photos and generous, informative appendices provide an informal class on the tools of our trade: the components of a UH-1B rocket pod and machine gun assembly; the essential elements of an OH-6A “Loach” to include cyclic, collective, armored seats, grenades and mini-gun; and a host of other switches, gauges, etc., to include the hook over the pilot’s door in a Huey on which to hang your helmet.  Blades of Thunder (Book One) even offers an appendix of over 24 mini-biographies of the key characters in the book, showing that, if they survived, they each became successful family men and leaders in every field of business and government. Nothing is left out.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-578-15637-8 Paperback and 978-0-692-78369-6 Hard Cover
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Genre(s): Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Biography, Picture Book
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 411

Homeland Burning by Brinn Colenda

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MWSA Review

Tom Callahan, along with family and friends—and their determined and lethal foes—are at it again.  The good guys are brave, cultured, quick-witted and lethal… and so are the women.

Brinn Collenda’s second novel in the Callahan series, Homeland Burning, is a terrifyingly believable thriller.  Taking over where the last installment ended, the main players in this saga have moved away from South America, but they haven’t moved away from danger.    Seemingly grabbed right out of current news headlines, the deadly scenario that unfolds in the course of this novel isn’t a stretch—especially given the still-raging battle to control various wildfires in America’s west.  The life-and-death struggle facing all those who battle a raging fire is deftly conveyed in Collenda’s exciting yarn.  

This fast-paced, exciting story will have you begging for more... and the book’s ending leaves no doubt that there’ll be plenty of work for the Callahans in the future! 

Review by John Cathcart (July 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

Spring of 2000: Wildfires destroy mountain watersheds and municipal water systems, breached dams release tidal waves of water to obliterate farms and towns, and stone-cold shooters target helpless civilians. USAF Colonel Tom Callahan struggles to convince a skeptical U.S. intelligence community that enemy attacks on American soil are not only possible, but inevitable.

Kurt Wallerein, the world’s foremost terrorist-for-hire, feared, hated and hunted by every intelligence service in the West, has unleashed a terrifying campaign against the American Heartland to undermine the legitimacy of the United States government.

Callahan has to rally support to stop the attacks, but his political enemies in Washington conspire to distract the President and ridicule evidence. He’ll need all the help he can get from aviators of the New Mexico National Guard, the Civil Air Patrol and the Ninety-Nines.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN-10: 1596161035 ISBN-13: 978-1596161030
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 300
 

Tested by Connie Cockrell

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MWSA Review

The author develops the mystery and challenges of main characters, and their adventure, where you are eager to read further. The story is exceptionally well written with language appropriate for the age group of young adults. The initial chapters leave you a bit confused; however, the author quickly advances the scene to provide a clear understanding of the lead character’s Gift. Both main characters show great strength and determination to accomplish their goal. Each having different strengths and weaknesses which complement each other, creating a durable and capable team. 

It appears the author intentionally left the conclusion open as to what caused the catastrophic event creating challenges to survive in a world seemingly totally destroyed. The main character, Alyssa, has a healing gift she attained at birth, yet is never fully clarified. Kyra, on the other hand, has a physical gift well described. In both cases, the author leaves the story open to future developments and mysteries to keep the reader wanting more. 

The interactions of the individuals in the story shares many good and bad characteristics of humanity, teaching the readers some imperative lessons about mankind and how taxing situations breakdown society. The author develops the importance of self-sacrifice for the betterment of humanity as one of the most important lesson for young readers. Additionally, the author’s female characters deliver well developed heroism for young women to follow in their own future development in society.  Well done!

MWSA Review by Tom Criser (June 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

With winter over, Alyssa and Kyra move on to Harrisburg. They soon find the community they are seeking: A conclave of scientists using their knowledge to assist in their survival. They find much to learn and contribute, and perhaps even finding new love. However, shadows lurk even here. They quickly find that the community is not all that it seems.

Will Kyra and Alyssa be able to stand against the dark side of scientific inquiry? Or will they be tested to failure?

ISBN/ASIN: B079GFDSCD
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook
Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy/Sci Fi, Young Adult
Review Genre: Fiction—Horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi
Number of Pages: 122
 

Heroes to the End by Jim Smith

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MWSA Review

In his book Heroes to the End, author Jim Smith provides us an excellent perspective of the waning days of U.S involvement in the Vietnam War. As a young man employed as a Newsday reporter, the author received a very low draft number ensuring he'd be picked up in the next draft, he took the initiative and enlisted for three years.  This kept him from going straight into the infantry and on to Vietnam. At least this was his plan and it did work, somewhat. He enlisted and became an admin clerk, but the army still sent him to Vietnam at the end of July 1971.

Smith provides some insight from his experiences as an admin clerk at Cam Ranh Bay, but the meat of the book comes after the author volunteers for and got accepted into the correspondent's pool with Stars and Stripes. In his position with the press, Smith was allowed to travel throughout Vietnam and conduct a variety of interviews. He captured the essence of these interviews, along with his own observations, in articles he wrote back then and republished in this book.

I found the first hand accounts refreshing as they provide a real time picture of events, individual's thoughts and emotions.  The vast collection of articles give us a much better picture of what was happening in Vietnam from late 1971 to mid 1972, than someone's recollections recorded some forty plus years after the war.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in military history and especially to those with an interest in the Vietnam war.  I found it an interesting read and am certain you will too.

MWSA Review by Bob Doerr (June 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

"Heroes to the End" is my memoir of my 1971-72 Vietnam tour as a clerk in Cam Ranh Bay and a as a reporter for Stars and Stripes. Its most compelling chapters deal with combat heroes during the final days of U.S. involvement in an unpopular war. The premise is that Americans were doing good things, heroic things, right up until the war's final days. That included civic action projects, serving as MPs, driving in convoys, working to improve relations between races, patrolling the bush, building fire bases, and calling in air strikes under fire.

I wore civilian clothes at times, grew my hair long, blended in with civilian journalists and learned from some of the best, such as Peter Arnett and Malcolm Browne. I walked with grunts in the bush, had more than 200 hours aloft in helicopters, flew on hunter-killer missions, interviewed Rangers, advisers on hilltops, door gunners, aircraft pilots, chaplains and Vietnamese soldiers, pilots and refugees. Six men I knew were killed during my tour, including Alec Shimkin of Newsweek and III Corps senior adviser John Paul Vann.

The book was a labor of love because I donated $12,000 to United Veterans Beacon House, which runs homeless shelters for veterans, from speaking fees and book sales proceeds over the past two years. I am working with an agent to transform the book into a Netflix screenplay and have been connecting with veterans, history professors, advocates and military buffs on Facebook and LinkedIn, in order to raise my visibility and lay the groundwork for submitting a screenplay.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-4917-6812-9, B014ZX51S8
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 354

Racing Back to Vietnam, A Journey in War and Peace by John Pendergrass

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MWSA Review

In Racing Back to Vietnam, author John Pendergrass tells an interesting story about his experiences as a flight surgeon while stationed at Da Nang Air Base in VietNam from 1971 to 1972, and then goes on to relate that experience with his return to Vietnam to participate in a triathlon in 2016.  

As a flight surgeon, the author had the rare opportunity to fly as a GIB, or the guy in the back seat, of F-4 in actual combat operations. In reading the book, I could feel the author's emotions as he recounted these events. The experiences he had in the air are without a doubt memories that will never fade.  The author's work as a doctor in a wartime environment and descriptions of Da Nang and Vietnam are full of detail, but it's his flying that jump out at the reader.  

After leaving Vietnam in 1972 and returning to his medical practice and family, the author thought he had left Vietnam behind him; however, when an opportunity to participate in a triathlon in Vietnam in 1976 arose, he jumped at it. Now in his seventies, he participated as one of three in the relay portion of the half triathlon.  While he had participated in marathons and triathlons before, he knew his real reason to return to Vietnam wasn't for the race, but to revisit the country.  For the last third of the book author John Pendergrass, through his writing, let's the reader see the changes in the country and his impressions of the Vietnamese people.  Impressions that I believe surprised him.  This is a well written book and should appeal to anyone that is interested in the Vietnam war and in seeing today's Vietnam through the eyes of a returning airman.

MWSA Review by Bob Doerr (June 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

In 1971,US Air Force flight surgeon John Pendergrass spent much of his time as a Weapon Systems Operator in the back seat of an F-4 Phantom,racing across the skies of Vietnam.

Forty -five years later he boards an altogether different type of aircraft and heads back to Vietnam for an altogether different kind of race-an Ironman triathlon.

A veteran of Ironman triathlons on six continents, RACING BACK TO VIETNAM follows John's year in combat and his return to Vietnam,revisiting a country that,for him, is bound up in history,memory,and emotion.A memoir of war as seen from the skies and a reflection on life's high adventure,John tries to reconcile the Vietnam he saw from the backseat of a fighter jet with today's modern nation.

ISBN/ASIN: 987-1-57826-699-9
Book Format(s): Hard cover
Genre(s): Nonfiction, History, Memoir
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 256
 

Through Smoke-Teared Eyes: The Vietnam War I Fought by Johnny F. Pugh

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MWSA Review

In Through Smoke-Teared Eyes: The Vietnam War I Fought, Johnny F. Pugh offers a compelling and often riveting account of his experiences in Cu Chi, Vietnam through the eyes of a combat soldier and, later, as a veteran struggling with PTSD. Pugh’s memoir opens with an account of nightmare, one of the traumatic after-effects of his wartime experience that accompanied him through many decades, then shifts in time back to his introduction to military life, through descriptions of boot camp and his arrival in South Vietnam. In the middle section of the book, Pugh describes his "fog of war," with no certainty of who or where the enemy might be and with little faith in the officers who don’t understand the situation on the ground; more significantly here, he highlights the camaraderie of his fellow soldiers, so that we get to know them as individuals. Then he moves into a gripping account of what appears to be a completely botched mission, “Operation Attleboro,” which left hundreds of his fellow soldiers dead or seriously wounded. Pugh ends his account of his Vietnam days ends with his transfer to the safety of HQ (headquarters) and his return to the States.

Pugh writes with a raw honesty of his wartime experiences and the traumatic personal results of his experience. He writes of the soldiers and officers of the war, their loss of innocence, their heroism, their cowardice. He pays particular homage to those who fought beside him. Writing the book, Pugh admits, was a way for him to heal his soul, a way to figure out what had happened to him in Vietnam. It is a personal story--but he also writes for those of us who were not there, clearly explaining the military operations he was engaged in, his role and that of others, the equipment used, even the history of the famous name of his infantry division, the “Wolfhounds.” Careful to define each acronym he uses, he writes as well for those who are not necessarily versed in military jargon, The inclusion of several photographs--of Pugh, his squad members, the rice paddies of South Vietnam, the choppers that rescued the stranded, dead or wounded—add to the authenticity of his account. This is an often sad but ultimately triumphant tale of one soldier finally overcoming the traumas of war. We should thank Pugh—and also his widow--for the immense effort it must have taken to compose and publish such an account.

MWSA Review by Nancy Arbuthnot (June 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

To confront the demons of his past, author Johnny F. Pugh relives the year he spent as an army rifleman battling unseen guerilla fighters in one of the most dangerous places during the Vietnam War, the Iron Triangle. Through his stories and poetry, he shows how it felt to be trapped in a kill zone, enemy bullets just inches from his face, and the mind-numbing terror experienced after being thrown by a land mine explosion while fighting off bloodsucking leeches, vicious mosquitoes, and stifling heat and humidity. 
Through Smoke-Teared Eyes offers an engaging, sometimes bilingual, account of the close friendship Pugh shared with his fellow squad members, learning from them critical survival skills and his own identity as a Chicano. After witnessing numerous atrocities against the Vietnamese peasants at the hands of the American military, he is forced to question his own role as a participant in this bloody war.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN: 9781532026881/ASIN: 1532026870
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Genre(s): Nonfiction, Creative Nonfiction, History, Memoir
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 310
 

The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in World War II Series, Vol. 2) by William L. McGee

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MWSA Review

William McGee in his book The Solomons Campaigns 1942-1943 provides an incredibly detailed and exhaustingly researched look at what some sailors from the campaign regard as a “forgotten little war.”  From the early struggle to claw Guadalcanal back from the Japanese to the more polished and less opposed island hopping operations later in the war, McGee does an excellent job of relating the issues faced by those in command of not only the combatant ships, but also the commanders of the aircraft, transport vessels, and Marine units that took part in the campaign.

I especially enjoyed how the author, himself a veteran of this very campaign, seasoned his work with “sea stories” from his fellow veterans, especially those on the smaller, “unsung” transport ships like the LST’s and LCI’s.  The end result is a work that not only tells the history of the geographical area during the war, but of the men who fought and sometimes died there as well.  I was also impressed by the level of detail spread across all the various facets of warfare involved.  There was equal time given to large ship actions, small ship actions, PT boat raids, and dogfights involving handfuls of aircraft.  Platoon and company size actions were discussed along with Corps-sized movements.  It was expected that there would be discussions about sailors, soldiers, Marines, and airmen.  Less expected but much appreciated was the time given to corpsmen, Seabees, Pioneers, and other support forces, without whom there would have been no victory.

Those who enjoy historical work on World War Two, especially in the Pacific, will appreciate this book, as will those with a  general interest in naval history or a particular interest in Admiral “Bull” Halsey, destroyer combat, Marine Raiders, or Navy Seabees.

Review by Rob Ballister (May 2018)

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Author's Synopsis

On the morning of 7 August 1942, eight months to the day after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. 1st Marine Division, under MGen Alexander A. Vandegrift, landed on the islands of Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. This was the beginning of the bloody and brutal six month Battle for Guadalcanal. 

For those who were there, Guadalcanal is not only a name; it is an emotion, recalling desperate fights in the air, furious night naval battles, frantic work at supply or construction, savage fighting in the sodden jungle, nights broken by screaming bombs and deafening explosions of naval shells.

Under one cover, military historian William L. McGee details all the campaigns fought in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific theater of war — from Guadalcanal to Bougainville — and summarizes the valuable lessons learned from these bloody battles.

"Enough gripping drama, heroism and heartbreak in McGee's almost encyclopedic work to supply Hollywood with material for a century." -Marine Corps League

“As a Marine who landed on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942,  Bill McGee’s The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943 is the most comprehensive book I’ve read on the subject. It covers all the campaigns — Southern, Central and Northern — and sums up the tough lessons learned. It brings back memories of those very dark days. Semper Fi.” -William J. Carroll, President, Guadalcanal Campaign Veterans

■ Part I, The Southern Solomons – Covers the bloody six-month struggle for Guadalcanal. The relationship between ground fighting, naval warfare and air combat is described in considerable detail as first one side and then the other gains the advantage. Seven major naval engagements are recounted, including America’s severe defeat at Savo Island and decisive victory in the three-day naval battle of Guadalcanal – another notable turning point.

■ Part II, The Central Solomons – Chronicles the amphibious operations in the New Georgia Islands group, including the five separate landings at Rendova, Segi Point, Viru Harbor, Wickham Anchorage, and Rice Anchorage, plus three more significant naval battles and the occupation of Vella Lavella.

■ Part III, The Northern Solomons – Recounts the seizure of the Treasuries, the Choiseul Diversion and the Bougainville campaign, plus two more significant naval battles.

■ Lessons Learned – Summarizes the many valuable lessons learned during all the Solomons Campaigns, ranging from logistics support and force requirements to offshore toeholds and leapfrogging, most becoming doctrine in later Pacific campaigns.

688 pp, 310 b/w photos, 44 maps, plus charts, notes, appendices, bibliography, and index. Paperback 6”x9”, $39.95.

Other Titles in the Series: 
The Amphibians Are Coming! Emergence of the ‘Gator Navy and its Revolutionary Landing Craft (Vol. 1)
Pacific Express: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II (Vol. 3)

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-9701678-7-3
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Genre(s): Nonfiction, History
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 688
 

God Does Have a Sense of Humor by Rob Ballister

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MWSA Review

The Author Has a Wonderful Sense of Humor! I started off reading God Does have a sense Of Humor not expecting too much more than perhaps a nice gentle little book that might make me smile on occasion. I ended up finding myself laughing out loud and almost wetting my pants! Author Rob Ballister, a Naval Academy graduate and current Naval Officer in San Diego, really has a wonderful sense of what is funny even when he is battling life threatening health issues like testicle cancer. I figured if anyone could make fun of that life situation then the rest of his book would be hilariously funny in the male “Erma Bombeck” sort of way. And his book is really all about male energy and humor that women will enjoy just as much.

The book is filled with dozens of short stories; some of which are based on true experiences while some are totally fictional creations of the wild imagination of the author. The key is that I could not tell which were what, when reading them – they all felt like real experiences because of the warm and skillful writing skills of Ballister. His subject matter goes from “Sex Education as Taught by Nuns” to “Christmas in Gingerbread Hell.” He deals with the simple things in life that men deal with like laundry protocols (separating colors) and blind date disasters. He handles all of these men’s issues like a profession male and makes his gender proud.

There are so many "just great" moments in his stories. I think most all of us guys can relate to his comments on shopping differences between men and women and the experience of buying something at Victoria’s Secret.  This book is full of little pearls of wisdom and humorous gems. The book entertains while filling the reader’s heart with a smile. That is saying a lot in these stressful times of terrorists, wars and random street crimes; it is nice to have something that allows the readers to escape, relax, smile and maybe even laugh out loud. This is one of those special books that are a true gift for your soul.

The book would be a great gift to all the men in your life – be them fathers, brothers, husbands, significant others, or just male friends. You will find however, that women will be laughing just as hard but at our male traits and behaviors when they read his stories. It is a delightful reading experience and one that is pure entertainment!

Reviewed by: Bill McDonald (2007)

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Author's Synopsis

Author Rob Ballister delivers a touching and entertaining portrait of his journey through dating, growing up in New Jersey, and surviving cancer. Along the way, he learns that God Does Have a Sense of Humor. Follow him:

Through surgery—My understanding was that the doctor, while hopping up and down on one foot and singing the national anthem, was going to remove my lymph nodes using a butter knife, a hacksaw, and some 10W-30 motor oil.

Into the confessional—There sat Father Riener, who was technically old enough to have been one of the original apostles. As I began reciting my list, Father began falling asleep. Being only in the fourth grade, I did exactly what I did at home when my younger sister fell asleep. I kicked him.

Through family Christmas traditions—That first year, Dad put up a wreath and Mom put up a tree, and things were pretty much low key that season. Then I was born, and as I grew, so did Dad’s commitment to having the house visible from orbiting spacecraft.

With an incredibly wry sense of humor, Ballister offers a hilarious look at life, guaranteed to make you smile!

Home of the Brave by Jeffery Hess

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MWSA Review

Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform, edited by Jeffrey Hess is a collection of stories from individuals who served in a variety of military service capacities and the life lessons and experiences learned during their service experiences. Hess has collected stories from a variety of sources, including more popular writers such as Tim O'Brien, Kurt Vonnegut, and Tobias Wolff. Yet the strength of the book comes from the stories of lesser-known individual writers whose experiences and values learned from military service provide a framework for common ordinary experiences that unite us and define us as humans. The stories, at times poignant, and other times quite sorrowful and humorous, leave a lasting impression on the reader long after the last page has been turned.

Reviewed by: Elliot Parker (2009)

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Author's Synopsis

Among these stories by writers, including Kurt Vonnegut, Tim O'Brien, Tobias Wolff, Chris Offutt, Benjamin Percy and many others, you'll find shipbuilders and sailors, pilots, wild dogs, battles-both physical and emotional, misunderstandings, fistfights, and the wounds of unrequited love. There are parades and hurricanes, people getting high and some merely getting by, as well as the human sacrifices made, the losses endured, the hardships faced because of or in spite of some connection to the military. If you've served, you might recognize a couple of these characters, or their situations. Maybe you will relate to some because you're just like them or because they served in the same place you did. If you've never served, but have had contact with someone who has, you may find similarities between a character here and a person you thought you knew. Each [story] is different in the way it approaches the lives of these individuals at certain points of the modern era, but each will entertain you, and challenge, and stay with you. - from the Introduction, by Jeffery Hess, editor