The Jackson MacKenzie Chronicles: Brothers In Arms by Angel Giacomo

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MWSA Review
Angel Giacomo’s Brothers in Arms is a nail-biting installment in the Jackson MacKenzie Chronicles. Lieutenant Colonel Jackson MacKenzie is a legend. Starting his military career as a scared 17-year-old grunt in Korea, he has risen through the ranks to be a Special Forces field grade officer. Never one to sit behind a desk, he leads from the front, moving through the jungle with his team of silent, lethal predators.

Staff Sergeant “Mikey” Roberts is new to Special Forces. After his first tour in Vietnam working at a field hospital, he has now returned wearing a Green Beret and is ready to serve as his team’s combat medic. He is in awe of his commanding officer, as is everyone else.

These two warriors, along with colorful characters like Chief and Major Russell, embark on a routine Special Forces mission, only to be detoured to rescue some downed Navy pilots. Their helicopter is shot down, and the team is captured. Together, they must endure deprivation, uncertainty, and torture as they dig deep within themselves to find a way to survive.

This book is fast-paced and details will seem familiar to anyone who served in Vietnam, Special Forces, or otherwise. Not only is it an enjoyable read, but you probably will look forward to more of the Jackson MacKenzie Chronicles.

Review by Rob Ballister (March 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

Duty – Service – Love of country – Honor – Dreams – Family. Those words mean everything to young Michael “Mikey” Roberts. From a small Kansas town, Mikey wants to find his path in life. To accomplish that he joins the United States Army. During his first tour of duty in Vietnam, he found his path…medicine. He became a Special Forces medic. However, in war that path can fork many times. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst. Mikey finds more horror than he expected and learns more about life than he ever wanted to know.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1734567489, 979-8483888338, B09H3QG1KW

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction

Number of Pages: 162

Combat and Campus: Writing Through War by Annette Langlois Grunseth and Sgt. Peter R. Langlois

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MWSA Review
Nearly fifty years after its peak, the Vietnam War still retains its reputation as the most turbulent and tragic of America’s military conflicts. It has produced a wide range of movies and books, many of which examine that darkness in highly-stylized ways. Combat and Campus takes a different route, however, one that is an effective complement to many notable works on Vietnam. It focuses on one soldier and his family, using the letters of Sgt. Peter Langlois during his deployment and the poetry of his sister Annette.

Langlois deployed in mid-1969 after the Tet Offensive had changed the tenor of the war and hardened American protests against it. His letters from in country are a vivid reminder of the horrors of jungle combat against a dug-in enemy and the shock felt by someone seeing those horrors for the first time. Yet what makes the story work are two other elements: pre-combat letters Langlois sent from his initial military training and poems/letters from other members of his family.

The initial letters from OCS show a new soldier who graciously looks past repetitive and pointless tasks, instead labeling the Army as “a real test of character” and growing “quite fond of Georgia” while training at the “beautifully landscaped” Fort Benning. His journalism degree resulted in a good sense for detail and an awareness of when to tell stories objectively versus when to pull back and reflect on his role in them. Things begin curdling even before Langlois leaves for Vietnam, however, and the book’s finest achievement is capturing an arc that begins with such good-naturedness and ends as far too many Vietnam experiences ultimately did.

Poetry can be difficult to objectively judge, but the inclusion of verse from Sgt. Langlois’s sister Annette accomplishes the important goal of providing insight into a family member’s parallel experience on a campus wracked by protests against the war her brother is fighting. Even the most visceral descriptions of war can become numbing, and the poetry (along with a smattering of letters to and from other people) keeps the depictions of combat from blurring together. Annette, who oversaw the process of publication, wisely left the largest chunk of poetry until the end where it can serve as a capstone to the overall story and a way of showing just how difficult these events were to process for everyone involved.

The awfulness of Vietnam is well-known and was increasingly referenced as post-9/11 military operations continued for nearly 20 years. But whether that comparison is apt is less important in many ways than the individual stories of the soldiers and families whose sacrifice is required for any type of war, just or unjust, quick or decades-long. This book does a fine job telling one of those stories.

Review by John McGlothlin (February 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

An infantryman's riveting letters from Vietnam, preserved for fifty years by his family, share experiences of living the war that are honest, raw, and graphic. As a journalist and soldier with the 25th Infantry Division, riding armored personnel carriers into rice paddies, engaging in night time sweeps of the jungle, Sgt. Peter Langlois chronicles the smells, sights, and sounds during some of the darkest days of the war from 1968 - '69. He would return home to a nation still protesting the war in which his younger sister, Annette, had walked to class behind National Guardsmen marching across the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Their correspondence and her poetry offer a unique perspective of the war in Vietnam and social change happening at home. Together, they share what was learned and what was lost.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN HARD COPY 978-1-940863-12-2, ISBN E-book: 978-1-940863-13-9

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 180

No Hero's Welcome by Jeffrey K. Walker

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MWSA Review
No Hero's Welcome offers us a very close and personal account of the struggles one fictional family in Ireland had in the early 1900's. Author Jeffrey K. Walker has done a masterful job in describing life and mixed loyalties that divided families against themselves. Mostly set in the decade beginning in 1916, this was the time of the Irish Revolution.

As a recently widowed woman mourns the loss of her husband to a war that also returned a crippled son to her, she is faced with another, younger son who begins to hate the English. Eda, the mother, runs a tavern frequented by friends and regular customers. Included in this mix are loyalists to the English crown and revolutionaries who strive to keep their loyalties secret. Violence and betrayal surround them and are only hidden by a thin veil of secrecy.

This book is thought provoking yet still an easy read.

Review by Bob Doerr (March 2022)

 

Author's Synopsis

The horrors of the First World War devastated many a Dublin family and the Brannigans weren’t spared. Struggling to get past their heartache, the family finds itself divided by both the rebellion against British rule and the wide Atlantic. Devoted matriarch Eda Brannigan witnesses her family unraveling. Sean and Molly make startling choices with potentially lethal consequences. Francis steeps in a drunken angry stupor. Young Brandon is so eerily quiet. Eda desperately wishes her beloved firstborn, Deirdre, wasn’t living so far away. But with a determined resolve, Eda soldiers on in her bustling pub, The Gallant Fusilier, where tragedy, triumph and even love unfold. Can this family endure the violence and intrigue of the Easter Rising, the bloody struggle for independence, and a bitter civil war?

ISBN/ASIN: 1947108042, 978-1947108042, B07X1Z232D

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 280

Truly Are the Free by Jeffrey K. Walker

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MWSA Review
Truly Are the Free by Jeffrey K. Walker is a carefully woven tapestry of nationality, race, sex, and prejudice during a difficult time in world history during the early 1900s. The textures of this literary fabric are rich and thought-provoking, rough in spots (war), smooth in others (peace), but always intriguing.

Author Walker creates a life-changing intersection for two extraordinary men. One is American Ned Tobin, a World War I veteran who has seen the ravages of war.Harlem-born attorney, Chester Dawkins, raised in a respectable, tightly knit black family, is the second character to give texture to this story. Chester joins the military with a strong sense of patriotism and pride to become an officer in an all-black regiment dubbed Harlem’s Hell Fighters. Ned is tasked as a liaison with Chester’s regiment, and he and Chester are sent into battle against the German forces. The two officers form an unbreakable bond in battle as they fight for survival from brutal enemy attacks.

In a compelling writing style, Jeffrey K. Walker weaves the stories of these two families during and after the war into the tumultuous years of the Roaring 1920s. Readers are treated to a journey of love, war, loss, and redemption through the artist community of Paris, prohibition-era Harlem, and into the lush green farm country of Ireland as the tale threads itself in and out of the lives of both men.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2022)

 

Author's Synopsis

South Boston-native Ned Tobin has all the luck. Alive after the Somme, he meets, beds and falls in love with the alluring Adèle Chéreaux. Their love affair is suddenly upended in 1917 when Ned is called home and Adèle flees the last German advance of the First World War. Young Harlem lawyer Chester Dawkins dutifully joins a new regiment anxious to fight for their chance at valor in the face of deep-rooted racism. Meanwhile, his sister, Lena, is left at home to shoulder a crippling legacy of family debt. Ned finds himself back in France with Chester's regiment. Can these soldiers from very different backgrounds overcome long-held prejudices and find common cause in the bloody trenches? Will Ned ever find Adèle again? And what will become of Lena? Journey through avant-garde Paris, Prohibition-era Harlem and newly independent Ireland in this heart-wrenching yet hopeful story of love and loss.

ISBN/ASIN: 1947108026, 978-1947108028, B077SB7ZLH

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 278

None of Us the Same by Jeffrey K. Walker

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MWSA Review
None of Us the Same by Jeffrey K. Walker is a powerful look at how war affects not only its combat participants but also the medical personnel who tend to them and the families whose soldiers come back as a far different person than the one who left. Based on the author’s extensive research into World War I, the story alternates between a group of young Newfoundlanders and the Irish nurse who befriends and cares for them, both physically and emotionally. Since there are not many books written about Newfoundland’s and Ireland’s involvement in World War I, this novel adds depth and understanding to the era as well as to the awful cost of trench warfare and its effect on the bodies and minds of those who fought. Despite the horror, the book is engagingly written with beautiful detail. This is a must read if you are interested in WWI, nursing care, war tactics, post-traumatic stress, and coming of age novels.

Review by Betsy Beard (February 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

Fiery Deirdre Brannigan had opinions on everything. She certainly hated the very idea of war in 1914. Childhood pals Jack Oakley and Will Parsons thought it a grand adventure with their friends. But the crushing weight of her guilty conscience pushes Deirdre to leave Ireland and land directly in the fray. Meanwhile the five friends from Newfoundland blithely enlist. After all, the war couldn’t possibly last very long…

They learn quickly how wrong they are and each is torn apart by the carnage in France.

What began with enthusiastic dreams of parades and dances with handsome young soldiers turned into long days and nights in the hospital wards desperately trying to save lives. And for the good and decent young men in fine new uniforms aching to prove themselves worthy on the field of battle, the horrors of war quickly descended.

But it is also the war which brings them together. Deirdre’s path crosses with Jack and Will when they’re brought to her field hospital the first day of the slaughter on the Somme. Their lives part, their journeys forward fraught with physical and emotional scars tossing them through unexpected and often painful twists and turns. But somehow, a sliver of hope, love and redemption emerges. And their paths cross again in St. John’s.

When the guns finally fall silent, can Deirdre overcome her secret demons through a new life with battered Jack? Can shell-shocked Will confront his despotic father’s expectations to become the man his young family deserves?

ISBN/ASIN: B071F8ZBKR, 194710800X, 978-1947108004

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 285

Believing In Horses Out West by Valerie Ormond

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MWSA Review
Believing in Horses Out West is an excellent follow-on to award-winning Valerie Ormond's Believing in Horses (2012) and Believing in Horses, Too (2014). The story continues with Sadie, who turns fourteen in this story, seeking and finding her true purpose in life. In this book, the author enlarges the storyline to include animal cruelty and human trafficking. She also continues with the coming-of-age experiences of a teenage girl in today's complex society, with emphasis in this book on interaction with boys.

Both overcoming fears and the transition to teenage years are central themes in Believing in Horses Out West, and it should appeal to readers beyond the YA set. Sadie faces her fears, never gives in, asks for help when needed, wins by working hard and not by luck, accepts kindness, and is rewarded for her efforts.

Ormond is clearly a passionate horse person and a gifted author who draws the reader into the story with characters that show numerous equestrian techniques. She writes well, and readers of all ages will have no problems enjoying the book. I particularly appreciate the use of chapter titles as a way to provide a clue to the next phase of the plot. I also loved the resolution that is complemented by tying up all the loose ends to make a most satisfactory outcome.

The book is sprinkled with additional gifts of wisdom passed on from one generation to the next – primarily from the grandmother character. Among those are: faced with what appears to be insurmountable obstacles you can find solutions, rely on your instincts, you have to believe you can do it to succeed, everyone needs a helping hand at some time, constantly beating yourself up over mistakes does no one any good, you need situational awareness, not all parents do a good job, being on your own is exhilarating but can be fraught with danger, there are temptations in life, jealousy and envy are normal but need to be monitored, sometimes not everyone needs to know what happened, being with a horse is a partnership, teenage girls have difficulty understanding themselves and it is normal, boys have difficulty understanding girls, boys have a sensitive side but are reluctant to display it, older brothers can be a pain in the neck but they (like dad) always have your back, every life has a purpose, and the most important is crime does not pay.

I highly recommended the book for those who enjoy children's horse books, coming of age fiction, teen and young adult equestrian fiction, teen and young adult family, and equestrian sports.

Review by Jim Tritten (January 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

Sadie Navarro rescued a mare from an auction accomplishing what she thought was the most important mission of her young life.

Now, that mare is headed to a ranch in Montana and a home Sadie knows nothing about.

She wants to make sure the horse is in good hands, but Montana is far away and a different world from Maryland.

Will fourteen-year-old Sadie need to stand up to rugged cowboys to protect her special rescue horse?

ISBN/ASIN: 9780985187422, B09H3V1V2Q, 9780985187415

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

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

Number of Pages: 260

Dead Men Flying, A Remembrance by Mike "Mule" Mullane

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MWSA Review
Dead Men Flying describes the rapid pace at which a college “kid” is turned into a hardened combat veteran. The book’s pages reveal, with vivid descriptions, the author’s struggles through flight training, admitting failures and successes alike. Quickly maturing, the author advances his account after initial Naval Aviation flight training with his preparations for war, flying the famous and nimble A-4 Skyhawk. Then, from an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam during the deadly months of 1967 the author, Mike “Mule” Mullane, in a first-person account, does the math. As missions mount and friends die, depicted with highly accurate descriptions of dodging deadly missiles while bombing targets in North Vietnam, he realizes time remaining and missions to go are longer and greater than his life’s expectancy based on pilot losses in his squadron. A brotherhood, with bonding only experienced by warriors where their very lives depend on the other, is fully revealed through the author’s somber remembrances. Fatalism becomes an overriding factor affecting his life ever after. Carrier flight operations and tactics flying the Skyhawk are real and written with precision and clarity even a non-aviator can understand. Wartime missions flown in the Skyhawk and trials experienced by their pilots are as real as any ever revealed in the written word.

Review by Tom Beard (February 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

The squadron starts with twelve A-4E Skyhawks and twenty-two pilots. Seven days later the squadron was down to eight aircraft and nineteen pilots. With 200 days of combat to go, the arithmetic is inescapable. The author knows he will never see home again.

An honest, unflinching account of a college kid becoming a Naval Aviator and doing what he must to become a warrior among his squadron's brotherhood of combat pilots.

Intense real-time descriptions of combat bring he perishable art of aerial combat to life. Experience the transformed state of being where mind-body-aircraft become one, senses stretch to the horizon, time slows, and comprehension is quicker than thought.

The author flew 212 combat missions between June 1967 and January 1969.

Dead Men Flying offers the reader a vicarious experience of carrier operations and combat against the densest and most experienced defenses of their time.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN-13 9798692604477, ASIN B098GV14MT

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 393

Reflections of Valour by James Elsener

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MWSA Review Pending
Author James Elsener's Reflections of Valour relates the story of two young lovers—John and Brenda—who live in different worlds: she in the rarefied world of elite college and he in the Marine Corps. It is the middle of the Vietnam War, and as they learn more about each other, she prepares to graduate and John decides to re-enlist and continue his service to his country. He does not discuss his decision with Brenda before re-enlisting, and she is angry. They part with harsh words.

John's time in Vietnam is drawn well in this book. He is a forward observer operating in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). James Elsener takes the reader along on missions with John. The author allows us to feel the boredom, fear, and physical discomfort John and his comrades experienced. We come to understand how they relied on each other, liked each other, or just tolerated each other. And we are dismayed when a few months prior to his discharge, John is wounded—almost fatally—in combat.

More than two decades after John's tour of duty in the war, Brenda learns what happened to him. She finally understands why he re-enlisted. What happened to Brenda and John has probably happened to others who've fallen in love during wartime.

Reflections of Valour is a satisfying read and a reminder of Vietnam's horror. Its dual message of acceptance and closure will be understood by all whose love was interrupted by war.

Review by Patricia Walkow (February 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

Reflections of Valour is an American story of untested lovers from opposite backgrounds during the tumultuous early days of the Vietnam War. Brenda enjoys the trappings of college and her wealthy suburban environment.  John Briggs is from a modest midwestern working class family.  The Marine Corps owns his loyalty.  When he is called to war, Briggs is torn between a sense of duty and having to leave behind the woman he loves.

In Vietnam, he emerges as a leader among the young troops trying to survive combat. The reader experiences the exhilaration, the boredom, the confusion, and the horrors of war.  Briggs becomes an artillery forward observer in the DMZ. After a fierce firefight he leaves the battlefield critically wounded.

Two decades after they said goodbye, Brenda learns why he was drawn to war and what happened to him afterward.  Reflections of Valour is a novel of love, peace and closure.  The Vietnam Wall serves as a backdrop for both the beginning and end of the story.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 978-1-949661-50-7, 978-1-949661-51-4

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 244

Please Write: A Novel by Janette Byron Stone

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MWSA Review
Please Write gives a wonderful view of the Vietnam War from the Australian point of view. The letters tie the thoughts of young servicemen in Vietnam with those of Catherine, left behind to come into adulthood in a strange time in Australian history. Vivid descriptions allow the reader to step into Catherine's shoes, feeling her desires and her pain. I highly recommend Please Write.

Review by Dawn Brotherton (February 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Catherine has lived a cloistered life dominated by the choices of a tormented mother and an overprotective grandmother. A summer job in Kings Cross, infamous for its mob controlled nightclubs, prostitutes and drugs, will change all that. Sydney has just opened its doors to American GIs on R&R from the war in Vietnam and Catherine is in the perfect place to meet them. Before long she finds herself charmed by the well mannered Americans, but when tragedy hits a target close to Catherine's heart she realizes her life is spinning out of control. Set in a time that continues to shape the course of history, this is Catherine's story of negotiating the lessons of Vietnam as one of those trapped in the spaces between her own personal struggle and an unpopular war.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN-13 9780578475240, ISBN-10 0578475240, ASIN B07P9ZQ1YV

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 306

Return to Saigon by Larry Duthie

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MWSA Review
Larry Duthie has given us a vivid and deeply moving account of his war in Vietnam and his personal journey to reconcile with it in Return to Saigon: A Memoir. Skillfully weaving together humor, raw honesty, sincere love for his brothers-in-arms, and painstaking attention to detail, Duthie paints a clear coming-of-age tale of his transformation from a high school student into a naval aviator, and eventually into a combat veteran seeking healing. Duthie’s memoir is outstanding and should be required reading for all those who are interested in the Vietnam War and in learning more about military conflict from a warrior’s perspective.

Review by Zita Ballinger Fletcher (March 2022)

 

Author's Synopsis

The author of this memoir ejects from his burning Navy jet onto a karst ridge near Hanoi, and what follows is one of the most implausible and heroic rescues of the Vietnam air war. The events immediately following his rescue carry him to a secret base in Laos and then to a makeshift hospital in Saigon. The larger story, however, is of a man's complex relationship with Vietnam.

It begins in Saigon, where as a teenager he attends high school and comes to love the Vietnamese people. When he returns to the States for college, he believes he's done with the country. But as a Navy pilot, it's a direct line back to Vietnam where he will fly 137 combat missions.

After he leaves the Navy, Vietnam tightens its grip. Three decades later, he climbs the ridge where he and his flight leader were shot down. He learns his guide's brother was one of the gunners--then she leads him deep into a cave. Later that day, seated at a table in her thatched home, he begins to find reconciliation.

ISBN/ASIN: 9798680692028, 9780578800288, 9780578760957, ASIN B08HRC1J79

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 308

Flights for Freedom by Steven Burgauer

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MWSA Review
Flights for Freedom is a fictitious World War One account of Lieutenant Paul F. “Petrol” Petronas, an American who flies a Sopwith Camel with the British 17th Aero Squadron. Shot down over France after only a few successful combat flights, Petrol escapes to neutral Holland through Belgium with the assistance of a woman with the Dutch Resistance. During his escapades in an effort to return to England and rejoin his unit, he encounters, in addition to the beautiful young woman who helps him, a British spy, a Belgium woman who crochets patterns on flour sacks to smuggle secret messages, and a Catholic priest whose pet carrier pigeons are used to send battlefield messages for the British Signal Corps. Petrol’s destiny is determined through his interactions with those he encountered in his journey to freedom. Author Steven Burgauer has two previous books: Nazi Saboteurs on the Bayou and The Road to War: Duty & Drill, Courage & Capture.

Review by Tom Beard (February 2022)

 Author's Synopsis

The dangers of flying an open-cockpit WWI aeroplane were many. Flights for Freedom is the exciting story of one brave American flyer — “Petrol” Petronas of the 17th Aero Squadron — as he learns to master the undisciplined two-winged fighter called a Sopwith Camel.

Shot down over France during the course of a bruising air battle, Petrol is then shuttled from safehouse to safehouse by a beautiful yet defiant woman of the Dutch Resistance.

In the background is the poppy-covered landscape known to us as Flanders Fields, a battlefield choked with dead and dying soldiers. Children, orphaned by the war, find safety with a kindly Catholic priest, who raises carrier pigeons vital to the war effort on the rooftop of his Abbey. Every day, his birds carry secret messages to and from the frontlines for Signal Corps.

Life-threatening challenges lay at every turn.

Two thousand volts pulsate through the electrified border fence that separates Holland from Belgium, enough to kill a man. The trick in crossing the border alive is in knowing who to bribe and how much to pay. Otherwise, there is no way for a downed American flyer to get safely across the heavily patrolled border into Holland and back to England.

Will Petrol make it back to England alive? Will he make it back carrying the top-secret plans for an advanced gunsight that has been smuggled at great risk out of Holland hidden inside an embroidered cotton flour sack?

Join the story and find out.

Steven Burgauer is the author of two well-known World War Two books, including: Nazi Saboteurs on the Bayou and The Road to War: Duty & Drill, Courage & Capture.

ISBN/ASIN: 979-8467746388, B09F4CTKJR

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, ePub/iBook

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 332

Touch the Dead by E.S. Thornton

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MWSA Review
In Touch the Dead by E.S. Thornton, Eden Sinclair returns to Fox Dunes Lodge on the Florida coast after leaving her home in Illinois. She's exhausted from struggling with a failing marriage while caring for her terminally ill mother Annie. When Annie dies, Eden leaves the Blue Moon Trailer Park for the rundown beach resort in Florida owned by her late grandfather. Eden reminisces about summers with her cousin Jess, Jess’s twin brother Luke, and their friend Johnny. But now everything is different. Luke was killed in combat in the Middle East, and Jess is missing. Eden is determined to find her cousin and is ambivalent about running into Johnny again. Both she and Jess had a summer love with Johnny and thoughts of Johnny still get Eden’s pulse racing.

In her quest to recreate the last weeks before her cousin’s disappearance, Eden uncovers some unsavory, dangerous miscreants within the circle of family and old friends. All might have a reason to want Jess out of the way. Yet Eden believes that her cousin may have wanted to disappear.

Enter McCabe, Luke’s war-time friend. Having promised Luke to help find his sister, McCabe is in Florida to make good on that promise. He befriends Eden, tells her why he has come to Fox Dunes, and fosters a relationship as he teaches Eden to have the confidence to surf. He assures Eden that he has her back and urges her to be careful playing detective.

Touch the Dead is filled with suspense as Eden follows clue after clue while she struggles to free herself from an unhappy past to find her place in the world. Step by step, Eden unravels a seamy tale of drugs, betrayal, and murder with plenty of red herrings in this intricate, complex mystery. With all the revealing pieces of the puzzle in place, Eden finally feels that she has the courage and confidence to sign divorce papers and rebuild a whole new life.

Review by Nancy Panko (January 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

Eden Sinclair returns to the Fox Dunes Lodge on the Florida coast to search for her missing cousin Jess. But finding answers and someone to trust prove as elusive as the shadows beneath the waves. Jess and Eden both loved Johnny, and when he comes to the lodge and takes Eden in his arms, she is forced to confront a painful question: Can she even trust herself to find the truth?

ISBN/ASIN: B096W654KW, 978-1735706801

Book Format(s): Soft cover, ePub/iBook

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 238

From Michigan to Mekong by James B. Hubbard, Jr.

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MWSA Review
James Hubbard, Jr. and Deborah Nylec have given us an up-close and personal look at the life of Hubbard in their book, From Michigan to Mekong. The style is somewhat unique in that the vast majority of the book is a collection of letters from James, or Jim Jr. as he referred to himself back then, to his parents and later to his wife. The letters run from the time he was away for college to shortly afterwards when he was away in Vietnam. The college letters portray a young man struggling to get through college but determined to do so. The ones from Vietnam give us insight into his loneliness, his sense of humor, and a definite desire to shield the extent of danger he faced from those back home in the U.S.
The book did make me interested in Hubbard's life, and I would have loved more backstory detailing his actions, which resulted in his receiving a Silver Star, and his observations regarding the Tet Offensive. His not going into detail in his letters is, of course, understandable. This book is an easy read and could be a cherished heirloom for generations to come.

Review by Bob Doerr (February 2022)

 

Author's Synopsis

This is a collection of correspondence from me to my parents and my wife beginning my freshman year in college in 1961 and concluding with my return from Vietnam in late 1967. It details the struggles of a young man not quite ready for the discipline of a college regimen through a combat tour with the 9th Infantry Division in III Corp and IV Corp in Vietnam to include the Tet Offensive and the award of a Silver Star. The book concludes with an epilog of what the experiences of the better part of a decade taught me.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-7373024-0-7, 978-1-737024-1-4

Book Format(s): Soft cover, ePub/iBook

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 231

9/11 That Beautiful, Broken Day by 17 American Authors

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MWSA Review
Those of us who were alive and ten years old or older can vividly recall where we were on September 11, 2001. It changed all of our lives, even the lives of those weren’t born yet, and we are still feeling those impacts today.

We all find solace in different ways. The writers featured in 9/11: That Beautiful, Broken Day found their healing in writing about the experience. The seventeen individuals contributing, appropriately noted on the cover as simply 17 American Authors, write about their feelings, the impacts, and how they moved forward. Some used poetry; many used personal anecdotes about where they were and what they witnessed. Some remembered loved ones lost.

Through all the writings, what comes through is the resolve and spirit of America that was showcased that day and in the months and years that followed. While it may stir up some unpleasant feelings and memories for those of us who vividly remember, it will also remind readers that this country has a spirit that can be tested, but not broken.

If you remember 9/11, you will benefit from this book. If you don’t remember 9/11, you will learn from this book. Either way, it’s worth reading.

Review by Rob Ballister (February 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

Seventeen American authors share their memories of "That Beautiful, Broken Day," September 11, 2001.

Where were you when you heard? Or were you even born yet? This collection of stories, poetry and essays make clear the deep impact this day had, not only on New York city, Washington, D.C. and a field in Pennsylvania, but in hearts and minds all over the United States.

We were all eyewitnesses to history, no matter where we were and when we heard.

ISBN/ASIN: ‎ 979-8503300819

Book Format(s): Soft cover

Review Genre: Other—Anthology

Number of Pages: 112

Blueberry Moose by Nancy Panko

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MWSA Review
Blueberry Moose is a delightful story about a curious boy, Jaxson, who has to know why the moose outside his window is blue, and not brown. The words begin in a lyrical rhythm and put the reader in the mind of young Jaxson P. Jackson. Jaxson ventures out to find out why the moose is blue and simply asks him. And then, to Jaxson’s surprise, the blue moose speaks to him.

The moose explains in rhyme that he loves eating blueberries, which turn him blue. Once the moose bids Jaxson farewell, Jaxson finds he has picked up the moose’s “magic” and only speaks in rhyme. But Jaxson takes it in stride, pleased with the story he discovered by venturing out to answer his curiosity of what he saw from his window. Yes, it was, in fact, a blue moose, and now he knows why.

The author, Nancy Panko, is a retired pediatric nurse, and it’s obvious that she understands children in the way she wrote this book. It is a fun and uncomplicated story with a good outcome. The illustrations pop off the page and tell more of the story not said in the words. Examples of the details in the illustrations are Jaxson’s t-shirt that says “Maine,” sports trophies, a treehouse, and the fellow animals in the wilderness including bears, birds, an otter, and deer. The Jaxson character is always in motion, and the big blue moose conveys facial expressions that bring him to life.

There’s a special treat at the end of the book with educational details and even a Blueberry Mousse recipe. This book is highly recommended for young readers and would also make a great read-along story for families.

Review by Valerie Ormond (February 2022)
 

Author's Synopsis

It’s a moose! And it’s blue! But why?

It’s a beautiful summer day in the state of Maine, and when Jaxson looks out his window at his tree fort, he expects to see a chickadee, a deer, a bear, or maybe even an American eagle, but what he does see gives him a big, blue shock.

But the real surprise comes when Jaxson asks why the moose is blue.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1611534580, ‎ 978-1611534399

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover

Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Picture Book

Number of Pages: 40

101 Trailblazing Women of Air and Space: Aviators and Astronauts by Penny Rafferty Hamilton, Ph.D.

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MWSA Review
Dr. Penny Rafferty’s book, 101 Trailblazing Women of Air and Space, is a colorful and well researched work regarding some of the most amazing women in the history of aviation.

In addition to the well-known Amelia Earhart, there are 100 other brief tales of overcoming discrimination, prejudice, and financial difficulties, all in pursuit of becoming airborne. The author makes a specific effort to capture women from all eras of aviation history, from the very beginning of flight to some of the most recent female astronauts. She also covers women from all nationalities and cultures, including African American women and Asian women.
Most of the book is devoted to small biographies of each heroine, sorted alphabetically. However, the second section contains very interesting information regarding several woman-focused aviation and industrial associations and organizations.

Overall, the book is both educational and entertaining. This reviewer was very interested in the all-female Russian bomber squadron of World War II, nicknamed the Night Witches, as well as learning about the women who were selected to undergo astronaut training with the initial Mercury astronauts.

Fans of aviation history are sure to enjoy this book!

Review by Rob Ballister (February 2022)

 

Author's Synopsis

Packed with authentic stories and photographs of trailblazing women of air and space who have made world history. True stories of many female pilots and astronauts serving in the military worldwide. Quotes from aviation and aerospace industry leaders about this important history are: Ben Sclair, Publisher, General Aviation News, "True stories of aviation and aerospace women with 'the right stuff' are always inspiring and important to read." Patty Wagstaff, three-time U.S. National Aerobatics Champion. "What a great look at the International women who blazed trails in sky and space." Amy Spowart, President National Aviation Hall of Fame. "Throughout aviation's history women have excelled and made essential contributions to the success and advancement of aviation. The trailblazers shared in Hamilton's book(s) serve as perpetual inspiration for those who come after." Jacqueline Boyd, Ph.D. Chair, Amelia Earhart Memorial Fund, The Ninety-Nines, Inc. "It is always a joy to read about inspiring female pilots and astronauts. Penny Hamilton never fails to deliver." John King, co-founder of King Schools. "This book is a great contribution to the aviation and aerospace community." An extensive "Explore More/Bibliography" demonstrates the academic research used to support this important contribution to aviation, aerospace, and women's history. This book is an inspiring career and education project partially sponsored by Epic Flight Academy in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Available in hardback, trade paperback, and Kindle eBook formats.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0578322377

Book Format(s): Hard cover

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 316

Zone of Action: A JAG's Journey Inside Operations Cobra II and Iraqi Freedom by Colonel Kirk G. Warner, USAR (Ret.)

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MWSA Review
Zone of Action is a first-hand account of a different side of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. While the coalition’s bombs fell and ground forces rolled over the wire, Lt. Col. Kirk G. Warner and his JAG team refined and enforced the rules of engagement and advised senior leadership on legal matters. When Baghdad fell, they moved in to rebuild and reform a shattered legal system built on the vestiges of decades of brutal repression. The author’s compilation of journal entries, essays and emails follow the action from the command centers of Kuwait to the streets and courtrooms of Baghdad, and beyond.

Entertaining and informative, the book is a front-row seat to historically significant events with key actors, some of which the reader may find familiar. The vivid accounts read like a series of boisterous adventures as Warner zips around Iraq on C-130s, helicopters, and Humvee gun-trucks. The reader rides along as Warner works to reconstruct a fair and effective court system, dismantle the mechanisms of the fallen dictator’s reign of terror, and addresses high-profile criminal activity.

Warner’s colorful prose, descriptive narrative, and wit provide an immersive reading experience. Touching side-stories and anecdotes about living in an active war zone add depth and humanity. While there is repetition, a few editing opportunities, and a heavy dose of military jargon, the book’s readability improves after the first few sections, and the author provides a glossary. Certain gallows humor and a clear pro-war stance give the book an authentic flavor and energy that might turn off certain readers, but this doesn’t detract from its central premise.

Zone of Action is a stimulating read and a testament to a talented team of legal professionals who successfully accomplished a monumental task in the face of overwhelming odds. It should appeal to a wide audience, in particular, fans of military and political history, and legal fiction and non-fiction.

MWSA Review by Ingo Kaufman (March 2022)

 

Author's Synopsis

Zone of Action is a front-row seat to major combat operations, leadership, tragedy, and nation-building. These are the war-theater observations of a senior Army JAG constantly in the thick of the war, the occupation, and the Iraqi community. He tells the inside-the-war-room story of Operations Cobra II and Iraqi Freedom during the march to Baghdad and the nation-building beyond. It details his official and inner journeys and those of soldiers and Iraqis encountered along the way. It reveals the sacrifice of many unsung heroes and the challenges of liberating and occupying a broken country. It shows the character of our soldiers and leaders . . . and the occasional lack of it. But above all things, it is an honest, often humorous romp through war by someone deep in the arena.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 978-1-64663-139-1, ISBN 978-1-64663-137-7, ISBN 978-1-64663-138-4, Library of Congress Control Number: 2020911734

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, ePub/iBook

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 302

Key to Command by Michael Godbout

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MWSA Review
The title, Key to Command: The WWII Journey of the 50th Signal Battalion from Iceland to Germany with Exercise Tiger, D-Day, The Bulge, and Nordhousen Along the Way, accurately suggests the breadth of information covered in author Michael Godbout’s book.

The author includes the broader context of campaigns and battles, and the details of participation and contributions made by the 50th Signal Battalion. Particularly admirable, the author uses extensive interviews with veterans and research to provide firsthand accounts. Experiences like a death in the unit, celebrations, and moments of heroism are provided by quotes from veterans.

The book delivers a deep and respectful education in the work, lives, sacrifices, bravery, and honor due to the men of the 50th Signal Battalion in WWII. The writing respects the efforts of the “little guy,” those doing jobs which civilians might mistake as safe or simple.

I came away from this book with a deep respect for the work of the 50th Signal Battalion and the men who served. I recommend this book to anyone hoping to understand the experiences of soldiers, the work of signal battalions, and the complexities of battle logistics.

Review by Barb Evenson (March 2022)

 

Author's Synopsis

There are hundreds of history books that recount the US Army’s participation in World War II, but there are very few that tell the story as it was seen through the eyes of the Signal Soldier. Michael Godbout brings months and years to life through this vivid narrative of the 50th Signal Battalion’s service during the period of its activation from 1940 to 1945. Through extensive research and interviews with veterans, the author is able to recount the unit’s history through an amazing series of photographs and firsthand accounts.

More than anything, Key to Command is a history about soldiers, about men who sacrificed and risked their lives to defend their country against an enemy determined to destroy it.

The 50th Signal Battalion was activated July 1, 1940, at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, not long before the United States was drawn into World War II. In September of 1941, a portion of the Battalion was sent to Iceland, followed by the rest in January of 1942 in order to build a communications infrastructure for Iceland Base Command on the island. Upon completion of that assignment, the Battalion was sent to England to prepare for the invasion of continental Europe. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Battalion landed on Utah Beach in support of VII Corp and its assigned units, which continued until the end of the war in Europe.

Much of the information and many of the photographs contained in this book came from meeting or conversing over the phone with World War II veterans of the 50th Signal Battalion or the surviving members of their families.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 9781643073309, ASIN B09618FBLW

Book Format(s): Hard cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 400

Panama's Gold by Sandi Hoover & Jim Tritten

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MWSA Review
Authors Sandi Hoover and Jim Tritten have truly brought us a tale of greed in their novella, Panama’s Gold. Set on the isthmus of Panama, the story has a bit of everything—international intrigue, nefarious dealings, colonial history, ecological adventure, and budding romance. 

On an excursion, mysterious bird deaths in the jungle find our antagonist, Lanny Mitchell, a retired American environmental lawyer, navigating a maze of international twists and turns. An unexplained helicopter crash hints at more skullduggery afoot. But why? And who is involved? She teams up with her guide, Alejandro, and Bernardo, his professor friend, to uncover the truth. 

The book’s characters are well developed, credible, and entertaining. The details, in particular those of Panama, are vivid and colorful. The ending is a shocker and leaves the reader begging for more.

Review by Sandi Cathcart (February 2022)

 

Author's Synopsis

Chen Zhou represents his company and a Chinese gang in Panama in 2018. His objective is to secure an economic advantage for his country with raw materials critical in manufacturing smartphones, digital cameras, computer parts, and in the renewable energy technology industry, military equipment industry, glass-making, and metallurgy. Chinese gangs are running investments and infrastructure development in Panama. Lanny Mitchell, a youthfully-retired American environmental lawyer as the antagonist, revisits Panama, to test her idea of becoming a resident ex-pat. She unexpectedly encounters ecological issues and the activities of the gangs. A dormant volcano leaks poisonous gases that kill local fowl and threaten humans. Spanish gold and artifacts are linked to events while the Panama Canal was being excavated with hints at government coverups explaining Yellow Fever caused massive deaths during construction. Chinese attempts to capitalize on the opportunity to corner the world's rare-earth market are thwarted by Lanny and local Panamanians. They want Panama to retain its ownership of the valuable rare-earth and Spanish gold. Chen Zhou meets his fate at the hands of the Chinese gangmaster, who does not tolerate failure. Finding the answer to environmental and economic concerns and helping friends drive the action to a surprising finish, with enough clues to hint at a follow-on adventure.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1637771389, B09DXY8TTT

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 154

Short Season by DJ Scott

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Author's Synopsis: He watched his unit die for their country. Now he may have to do it again. Navy medical officer Mike McGregor hates the human cost of war. After barely surviving a top-secret mission in Iraq, the loss of his team leaves him bitter and wary of authority. But when a Yemeni warlord steals six Russian nukes, McGregor doesn't hesitate to head back into combat.

Thrown together with an aggressive female Marine determined to prove her worth, McGregor worries this assignment will end like the last. And when things go sideways behind enemy lines, his loyalty is torn between duty and the lives of his people.

Can McGregor prevent nuclear disaster and bring his crew out unscathed?

Short Season is a gripping military fiction novel. If you like gritty heroes, action-packed operations, and tough moral dilemmas, then you'll love DJ Scott's compelling tale.

Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Format(s): Softcover, Kindle

ASIN: B07W6JP1D2, ISBN 10: ‎ 1943290695