Book Reviews

Title: Guiding Lights: United States Naval Academy Monuments and Memorials
Author: Nancy Prothro Arbuthnot
Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Reference
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1591140161

In this easy-to-use reference, Naval Academy English professor Nancy Prothro Arbuthnot tells the stories behind sixty of the Academy's monuments and memorials. To personalize the memorials and the naval figures they honor, she has included letters, firsthand battle reports, Lucky Bag commentaries, award citations, and other documents. Along with famous quotations, the book also presents poems and tributes written by midshipmen that explain how the memorials have inspired them, along with original poems by the author. More than 140 illustrations, including black-and-white photographs and reproductions of historic sketches, visually enrich the book. In revealing the people and events behind the Academy s memorials, Arbuthnot provides models or guiding lights to help readers steer their own courses through life.

Title: K9 Heroes: Together We Protect, Defend, and Conquer as One
Author: Nicole Arbelo
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Carmen Stenholm

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1432744755

Presents stories of courage and duty, friendship and family, loss and love, as told by the men and women serving with the Military Working Dogs, whose tasks include scouting, search and rescue, and the detection of explosives. Families and friends remember the servicemen and women, and their Military Working Dogs, who gave their lives for their country's service, as well as presenting a vivid picture of the life and times of a K9 Military Working Dog handler.

Title: In Green Sleep: A Tour of Duty
Author: Jerry Ackerman
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: Bob Doerr

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1462002447

It is the late 1960s. Cold war tensions and the Vietnam conflict dominate the media. John Bluderin, a drafted, dejected nineteen-year-old army specialist, has been assigned to military intelligence in Germany. Fluent in German and absorbed into the social fabric of Schwäbisch Gmünd, no one would ever suspect him of doing anything out of the ordinary. Specialist Bluderin is about to prove everyone wrong.

As John begins his first assignment, he meets Leda Beschwörung, a petite, dedicated agent able to jump twenty yards at a clip and infiltrate the enemy seamlessly. Leda, a practitioner of Gestalt psychology, makes Bluderin feel worthy again and becomes the catalyst in his coming-of-age journey, changing his life forever. Under Leda's diligent mentoring, Bluderin's perception of human nature sharpens. He soon encounters Günter Mann, a clairvoyant shepherd whose advice leads him to a Norwegian goddess. Solveig Evensen introduces him to a new world of emotional, intellectual, and erotic passion where both learn to transcend their past barriers. But it is Bluderin's final assignment that places his life on the edge of death.

Title: The Consummate Traitor
Author: Bonnie Toews
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1461015383

Historical Fiction: World War II spy story. One woman betrayed, the other sacrificed in a chain reaction of double crosses that alters the outcome of World War II. Loyalty betrayed... love lost... secrets buried... inhumanity at its worst. Is forgiveness possible in the turmoil of such tragedy? On the eve of World War II, American journalist Lee Talbot witnesses Hitler’s experiment in “total war,” the carpet bombing of Guernica in northern Spain. It’s a preview of the horrors Nazi Germany will unleash if Hitler’s nuclear labs develop the atomic bomb first. Lee joins Churchill’s secret operation to sabotage Hitler’s project, but ends up babysitting the king of England’s cousin, Lady Grace Talbot, a gifted pianist who fancies herself in love with an SS officer. When Lady Grace’s parents die in a London bombing, she joins Lee’s team as a ‘pianist,’ transmitting coded messages to British covert missions in Nazi-held territory. Soon, both women learn that, in the secret world of spies, they can trust no one. In a tale rich with historical detail, what happens to these two women exposes a secret England wants buried forever. REVIEWS “Riveting . . .” Gayle Lynds, NY Times best-selling author of Book of Spies “Compelling, disturbing and brutally honest . . .” Vicki Hinze, award-winning author of Acts of Honor and Deadly Ties “Historical fiction at its best.” Robert Gandt, best-selling author of the Brad Maxwell military thrillers “A concise, fast-paced twister . . . must reading for fans of spy fiction.” Harriet Klausner, Midwest Books reviewer. “The reader will discover that there is no greater love than for a man, or woman, to lay his or her life down for a friend.” Rita Gerlach, author of the Historical Romance Surrender the Wind. “In The Consummate Traitor, Bonnie Toews delivers an edgy, espionage thriller in a beautiful story that haunts the reader long after the book is closed. ” Laurie Foston, author of The Magi Chronicles and Just in Time for You. “In this brilliant novel, Bonnie Toews explores the spy world’s murky twists and cunning treachery. Although there is plenty of intellectual intrigue, Toews doesn’t forget the spiritual nature of her characters.” J. Carson Black, author of The Shop, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The Dark Horse.

Title: AMERICA REBORN: Book Three of the Clash-of-Civilizations Trilogy
Author: Lee and Vista Boyland
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1601459122

President Alexander begins the process of electing a new U.S. Government. But first he must take the nation back to its Constitutional roots. He recommends forming new political parties and establishing term limits. Political opponents plot to thwart his plans. The story begins with the destruction of the heart of the Islamic Empire, Operation Brimstone, followed by the invasion of Egypt, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. A British Royal becomes a hero. Women Army Rangers battle the Mutaween in Saudi Arabia and rescue twelve-year-old Julie Summers from being stoned and she steals Americans' hearts. Drug cartels are destabilizing Mexico and expand across the border. Political intrigue, treason, military battles, patriotism, love of God and country--the final novel of the trilogy describes America's rebirth into a world forever changed by events following the terrorists' sneak nuclear attack.