Chloe the "Military Brat" by A.L. Zeine

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MWSA Review

Chloe the Military Brat is a realistic look inside an eleven-year-old girl’s mind as she deals with not only a military PCS move and her parents’ divorced life but also the petty jealousies of tween girls.

As a military brat myself, and a mother to two of them, I think this book is a good stepping off point to starting a conversation with your child about a PCS or divorce. I appreciated that the adults in the book respected Chloe’s feelings, encouraged her to share them and validated that she had a right to experience them. I also appreciate the author showing the divorced parents as functioning co-parents.

Chloe’s journal entries gave us insight into how she was feeling and were a good example of it being okay to be angry. The author showed Chloe’s range of emotions, but that she still functioned in the family units with respect and understanding. It modeled for the reader the resilience that military brats are so well known for.

The introduction of the best friend from another duty station is very true to real life, as was the awkwardness yet ease at which they became reacquainted. I’ll be interested to see the stories of the new friends introduced in the end, assuming they are the other Cul-de-sac kids books.

The book, by nature of length and character age, is intended for elementary or lower middle grade children. There wasn’t a conflict to solve other than Chloe not wanting the things she had no control over: the move or being the child of divorce. She just had to deal with them regardless of her opinion and feelings, which is the reality for military kids after all!

It is a cute story to show military kids that they are not alone. I would recommend it to military parents with elementary-aged children preparing for their first move or middle grade readers preparing to PCS. I’d also recommend it to civilian children who have military brat friends, to better understand their lifestyle and hardships.

Review by Rosalie Spielman (June 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis

Life isn’t easy for any eleven-year-old, but when your mom is an active-duty Army officer and your parents are divorced, it becomes so much worse. Chloe has had to move three times already and is devastated to learn it will happen again, forcing her to leave behind yet another best friend. Can their friendship survive this world-ending news? And how will Chloe explain to her parents just how hard it is being a military brat? So far, she’s only been able to pour her feelings into her journal. Life isn’t looking too great, then she gets some surprising, yet bittersweet news. This first installment in a new series follows Chloe as she tries to navigate her conflicting love and anger for her parents and ongoing struggles to maintain friendships throughout moves. Filled with the typical mix of fun and angst of tween daily life but set against the background of Chloe’s life as a military brat, readers are sure to find this a different, yet engaging tween series.

The Cul-de-sac Kids Chapter Book Series was designed to show Military Brats they are not alone. Every book in the series will follow Chloe and her friends as they work their way through the challenges all Military brats face.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Middle Grade Chapter Book

Number of Pages: 98

Word Count: 15,612

Smoke on the Water by Jack Bartley

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MWSA Review

Jack Bartley’s Smoke on the Water offers a gripping and immersive look into naval service during the Vietnam War, blending historical authenticity with engaging storytelling. Following Jason Conley’s unexpected deployment aboard a warship, the novel presents a detailed portrayal of life at sea, showcasing shipboard operations, leadership challenges, and the dynamics of serving during a turbulent era.

Bartley’s meticulous attention to technical accuracy ensures a realistic depiction of naval procedures, making the novel an excellent choice for readers with an interest in military fiction and historical naval operations. His ability to capture ship maneuvering, command structures, and daily routines aboard a warship is impressive, lending the book a strong sense of realism and depth.

The novel’s pacing is well-structured, balancing tense action sequences with reflective moments that explore Conley’s internal struggles with duty, service, and personal growth. The camaraderie among the crew adds an optimistic tone, making the novel accessible even to readers unfamiliar with military life. The strong research, engaging characters, and historical accuracy make it a rewarding read for fans of military fiction.

Review by Bob Ritchie (June 2025)
 

Author's Synopsis

May 1971. Jason Conley, a recent college graduate, finds himself about to pay the price for his free university education. He could not afford college, so he had applied for and was awarded an NROTC scholarship. The scholarship had strings attached; he now owed the Navy four years of service. Not wanting to be engulfed in the Vietnam war, he devises a scenario in which he would serve on a ship converted to be an oceanographic research support vessel in Hawaii, thousands of miles from the battle zone. A brilliant plan, if it worked.

It did. Then, it didn’t. 

Through a series of events and miscues, some of his own making and some out of his control, Jason fails to negotiate life on board his first ship and is transferred to a new command, a ship that deploys on a WestPac tour to Vietnam the day he sets foot on board. He now faces new challenges. How does he avoid the same mistakes he made on the first ship? How does he reconcile his feelings about the Vietnam war while at the same time directing a destroyer escort on the gunline supporting U.S. and South Vietnamese troops? How does he stay alive?

“Smoke on the Water” is based on real life events. It is a coming-of-age tale that occurs in less than four years’ time, spanning events from the East Coast to Hawaii to Southeast Asia. It encompasses journeys and adventures in foreign lands, loves found and lost, humorous situations, and a maturation process within one man compressed in the pressure cooker of an unpopular war.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 316

Word Count: 96,000

Elements of War by Gray Rinehart

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MWSA Review

Elements of War by Gray Rinehart is a comprehensive exploration of the theories and principles of war, and the evolution of various theories of war, from Sun Tzu to von Clausewitz to Mahan. The book is very technical in and in-depth, using the various traditional, established methods to develop strategies in war to build towards an encompassing comprehensive theory of war. Unless you are a senior military officer or academic steeped in the study of military history, theory, and grand strategy, this is not a casual read. Fortunately, in-depth, detailed concepts are introduced in short chapters. At the same time, continuous references to past or future chapters can be distracting at times, an unavoidable dilemma given the nature of this subject.

The author states the book is based on a previous thesis and several professional papers. Although published in 2019, with some material probably originating earlier, the amount of attention and detail paid to the emerging and merging challenges of both cyber and space elements into modern warfare is noteworthy. There are also specific discussions of both naval and air warfare. This book will be of interest to career military officers, academics and those that work in military-industrial research and “think-tank” enterprises.

Review by Terry Lloyd (May 2025) 

Author's Synopsis

ELEMENTS OF WAR examines war and warfare in ways that challenge some of the most deeply held conceptions of armed conflict.

War involves myriad violent actions against often intractable foes, across varied and difficult environments, in pursuit of broad strategic aims, making it perhaps the most complex and consequential of all human activities. This volume presents nontraditional and even innovative ways of thinking about war and its constituent elements, and suggests that we may comprehend war better if we study it through the lens of theory of knowledge.

Is it possible to understand war in its totality? Perhaps not, but it does us well to try--even if we never approach any sort of unified theory to guide our strategic and tactical aims.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 357

Word Count: 85,000

Berkshire Heroes in WWII: With Courage and Honor by Dennis G. Pregent

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MWSA Review

Berkshire Heroes in WWII: with Courage and Honor by Dennis G. Pregent tells the stories of 26 men and 2 women who all are associated with 3 Berkshire towns at some point in their lives. All played significant roles in various branches of the service during WWII and were involved with most of the major WWII battles. Each story begins with the hero’s family, then describes their military service as well as details about their specialties. For example, communication specialists who support artillery units used sound ranging to figure out where the shelling was coming from. Then each story describes the hero’s life after military service. In most cases, they contributed significantly to their communities. In one case. A Seabee machinist’s mate who was quite an entrepreneur built a retirement village in the 1950s with “a giant water display … featuring over two hundred colored lights and hundreds of water jets that shot water ten stories in the air.” (pp 281-2). This over 40 years before Bellagio in Las Vega.

Each of the 28 stories is told separately and divided by the three towns: Adams/Chesire, North Adams, and Williamstown. Each section has its heroes listed alphabetically by last name. In the cases of brothers or a married couple, their stories are in the same “chapter” but the people are listed individually. So, for example, Charles and George Haley are listed separately in the Table of Contents, but both are covered in the same story.

There is a wide range of positions in these stories: artilleryman, bombardier, communications, fighter pilot, gunner, infantryman, machinist mate, navigator, nurse, paratrooper, radar operator, radioman, rifleman, tail gunner, truck driver. One of the nurses was a combat nurse who also had training in neurosurgery; the other was a psychiatric charge nurse. There is also a wide range of geography: Africa, Sicily, over the Himalayas, across the Pacific. They were involved in battles of Normandy, the Bulge, Okinawa, and Peleliu. There are many personal photos included.

This book is best read over a period of time so that each story can be savored. The book is rich in details and will not disappoint those interested in the reality of WWII. The author’s summary states it well: “… it is a testimony to the uncommon valor of ordinary men and women responding to their country’s call – with courage and honor.”

Review by Nancy Kauffman (May 2025)
 

Author's Synopsis

Berkshire Heroes in WWII- With Courage and Honor chronicles the harrowing stories of twenty-eight men and women who endured some of World War II's most dire conditions. They served from Africa to Sicily, over the Himalayas, and across the vast expanse of the Pacific and found themselves in the consequential battles of Normandy, the Bulge, Okinawa, and Peleliu.

The reader will meet a paratrooper, a PT boat radioman, combat nurses, bombardiers, artillerymen, a tail gunner, and others.

The book is a testimony to the uncommon valor of ordinary men and women who answered their country's call.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 392

Word Count: 104,000

Murder Comes Home by Rosalie Spielman

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MWSA Review

Murder Comes Home by Rosalie Spielman is a cozy mystery with all the elements required to fit the subgenre of crime fiction. Spielman’s story is characterized by a focus on suspense, misdirection, and an intriguing plot. She avoids graphic violence and profanity while setting the stage with two amateur sleuths, Aunt Edna and her niece, Army retiree Tessa Treslow.

The story takes place in the small, close-knit community of New Oslo, Idaho complete with quirky characters, including two elderly sisters, Ginny and Olive Prunn, who are good at local historical genealogies as well as noticing everything that goes on in New Oslo from their storefront windows.

As with most cozy mysteries, this one also has an underlying humorous tone that made me chuckle occasionally. The victim of the crime is not particularly likable, and many have a motive to want him out of the picture. Tessa and Edna focus on the complicated puzzle of solving the mystery and begin to uncover a tortured family history of the previous occupants of their home.

As the story unravels, author Spielman deftly intersperses believable red herrings to keep the reader guessing who the real culprit is. As with most cozy mysteries, this one is solved by Tessa and Edna in a satisfying and happy ending, restoring order and peace to New Oslo, Idaho. I enjoyed following the amateur sleuths on their journey to solve this crime.

Review by Nancy Panko (May 2025)

 

Author's Synopsis

Army retiree Tessa Treslow is as excited as the other residents of New Oslo, Idaho, when the cast and crew of the TV show Picks with Ricks comes to town! Tessa and her Aunt Edna put their car restoration business on hold to let the celebrity antique hunters pick through their old garage, hoping the trash contains a treasure that will help fund their new business. But it turns out that the pickers come with TV cameras, likeable stars, a stressed-out producer—and a murderer!

The show’s lead makes an insistent offer on one of Aunt Edna’s renovation projects and won’t take no for an answer. And when Tessa finds the show's cameraman dead in the restored 1965 Mustang, Tessa knows murder has come home yet again. And the mystery takes a very personal turn when the dead man is found with an antique inscribed pocket watch connected to the former owners of Aunt Edna's farmhouse. As Tessa digs into the history surrounding the pocket watch and the relationships of the TV crew, shocking details—both old and new—arise. Will Tessa be able to catch a killer...before they return for a repeat performance?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 283

Word Count: 76,000

In Harm's Way by Thomas W. Wing

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MWSA Review

Author Thomas Wing has given us an exciting story in his book In Harm's Way. Set during the Revolutionary War, Jonas Hawke, our protagonist, has his commercial ship carrying legal cargo seized by the British Royal Navy. Although not originally disloyal to the king and unwilling to join the rebellion, the British seizure of his ship, brutal treatment of his men, and the British Navy’s subsequent firing cannons into the town where he lives pushes him to join the rebellion.  His only skill is that of a ship's captain, so Hawke soon finds himself a privateer in the open seas. Despite the lack of any combat experience, his skill as a ship's captain soon enables him to become effective in capturing British ships and seizing both the ships and their cargo. The British take notice and send warships to safeguard British trade routes.

This is a good start for a soon-to-be series. Anyone with an interest in Revolutionary War sea battles should like this book. Those who enjoy a good adventure with a little suspense should find this book appealing, too.

Review by Bob Doerr (May 2025)

 

Author's Synopsis

The man who fights for his family is far more dangerous than the one who fights for his king.

Colonial sea captain Jonas Hawke returns home to Norfolk after a year-long voyage only to have his ship and its valuable cargo seized by the British Royal Navy. As the royal governor further tightens the noose on trade, Jonas is thrust into the chaos of a growing rebellion. Desperate to support his family, he sets out to find work. When he is denied a commission with the newly formed Continental Navy, he outfits his own vessel as a private ship-of-war and voyages to the Caribbean in search of enemy merchant ships he can capture and friends he can trust.

But dangers multiply on the unforgiving sea. The Royal Navy reacts mercilessly to the threat posed by privateers like Jonas. How will Jonas fare now that he has boldly defied the king of Britain to preserve his family? And what will happen to his loved ones while he is away, engulfed in a war to oppose tyranny in the name of freedom?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 324

Word Count: 95000

Inshallah (God Willing) by Dana Catoe

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MWSA Review

Author Dana Catoe in his book Inshallah provides us with a fascinating, in-depth insight into life as an American contractor in Baghdad in 2003 and 2004. The Iraqi government with our encouragement attempted to transition to a democracy after Saddam Hussein was ousted by US Forces. As the head of security for the Interim Iraqi government, Catoe had a front row seat and describes to us the dangers and difficulties that faced both Iraqi citizens and US soldiers and civilians assigned to Iraq at the time. Saddam Hussein was no longer in power, but substantial sporadic fighting was still occurring. The various Iraqi religious and political factions were still killing each other in Baghdad and the rest of Iraq. Even working for the Americans could be dangerous. Mortar rounds were routinely fired into the American Green and Red Zones and improvised explosive devices were commonplace. Author Catoe tells us like it was. This is a very interesting read.

Review by Bob Doerr (May 2025) 

Author's Synopsis

Chaos and hope collide in this unforgettable book on the horrors of war, cultural tensions, and the development of a fledgling democracy during Bush-era Iraq. Authored by Interim Iraqi Head of Security Dana Catoe.

Step inside a tumultuous era of global history in this powerful memoir where Iraq’s former head of security, tells the true story of the Iraq War. As a pivotal player in Iraq’s interim democratic government from its inception in 2003 through the nation’s first free elections, Dana Catoe was tasked with protecting government officials, Iraqi employees, and civilians during a time of terror attacks and raging conflict. Catoe provides a rare, unfiltered perspective on the challenges of rebuilding a nation in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion.

Catoe draws on an extensive military background as a U.S. Marine, exposing us to the daily realities of life in the upper echelons of a provisional government—a perspective few have been privileged to experience. Beyond the halls of government, he also shares the struggles of ordinary Iraqi citizens caught in the tumult of change, terror threats, and political upheaval.

With vivid storytelling and an insider’s view on Bush-era Iraq, Inshallah: (God Willing) is a book of tremendous importance for history, offering a one-of-a-kind, behind-the-scenes look at the successes and failures of America’s intervention in the Middle East. For fans of military memoirs, political history, and stories of human courage, or for students studying this defining era of world history, it is a can’t-miss. Both harrowing and inspiring, Catoe’s story illuminates the complexities of global conflict, the painful realities of war, and the fragile hope of democracy.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 200

Word Count: 48,000

Chasing Money: A Marty and Bo Thriller by Michael Balter

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MWSA Review

Chasing Money: A Marty and Bo Thriller is a twisting mystery romp, a mixture of satire and dark humor that keeps readers hooked from the first page.

Marty and Bo are struggling entrepreneurs, always chasing money to fund their struggling new business. When they connect with Nico Scava, he seems to be the perfect angel investor: the answer to their prayers, with connections in the art world and a creative idea. But instead, Nico proves the adage, “Be careful what you wish for.”

The plot involves the Russian mob, faked artwork, a bogus baron, violent murders, and a frantic chase from a cabin on Mount Hood to a Portland strip club.  Debut author Michael Balter’s wry humor, clear writing style, and knowledge of art history make this a captivating story.  

Balter has teamed up with Mission Point Press, a publishing firm with a history of transforming first-time authors into success stories.  Chasing Money, published in 2023, has already garnered an impressive roster of literary awards. This is the first of two Marty and Bo thrillers, with a sequel eagerly anticipated.  

Review by James Elsener (May 2025)

 

Author's Synopsis

Most investor pitch meetings don’t end in murder - but then Marty and Bo haven’t had a lot of luck lately. They’ve been struggling to keep their startup business alive. It’s not high-tech, it’s not highly successful and the pressure to find capital has strained their bank accounts and Marty’s marriage.

So when Nico Scava offered to invest they eagerly accepted. He had money, connections in the art world, and a creative idea, but maybe they should have asked more questions. Now Nico’s dead and they’re on the hook for whatever scheme he was running. The Russian mob is after them, and if they don’t find $10 million and a mysterious missing painting in the next few days they’ll be dead too.

Their frantic chase will lead them from a cabin in the Oregon woods to a Portland strip club, from an aging artist to a bogus baron, and deep into the history of a missing masterpiece that someone is willing to kill to obtain. As the bodies pile up, Marty and Bo will have some tough choices to make about how far they’ll go to protect their families, their company, and themselves.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 286

Word Count: 79000

Keeping it Lively: The Hunt for Edie Lama by Michael Lund

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MWSA Review

Thomas J. Bragg’s memoir, Keeping It Lively: The Hunt for Eddie Lama is the story of two men and the unbreakable bond they formed during combat, resulting in a legacy left for future generations. They were as different as they could be: a white man from suburban Chicago and a black man from rural Virginia. Together in D Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry in South Vietnam, these two decided to make the most of their situation, vowing to always “keep it lively.” They shared a love of photography and optimism within the ranks. Morale was high for the men serving with Eddie and Thomas. While serving together in the jungles of Vietnam, Eddie Lama once saved Thomas Bragg’s life. Then one day, Eddie, with only a short time to go before the end of his tour, volunteered for a mission.

Thomas’s and Eddie’s platoon leader was seriously injured in the fighting in which Eddie died. John Hodge, Lt. Retired, remembers the mission and when he was shot in a firefight by a sniper and had to be lifted out of the jungle to a field hospital. As the chopper left, the platoon provided cover fire. During that time, Eddie Lama was struck by a single rifle shot. Back at camp, Thomas heard about his friend’s death over the radio minutes later, but didn’t know the details until 2015.

Forty-six years after being discharged, Thomas sought to somehow commemorate Edward Bartholomew Lama, KIA, 31 March 1969. Thomas participated in a free writer’s workshop for military vets and their family members at the Blackstone Conference and Retreat Center. The professor, Michael Lund, was willing to help Thomas write about Eddie and how they and others stayed strong in combat. In 2015, Military Experience and the Arts and Thomas were able to contact alumni association officers for Eddie’s high school in Mundelein, Illinois, learning that Eddie had younger siblings.

Thomas contacted Eddie’s surviving relatives and carried the book, The Hunt for Eddie Lama, to a reunion of their company at the grave of their fallen comrade. The story was featured in local newspapers and on television, promoting the writing program for veterans and their families.

Author Thomas Bragg died on September 13, 2020, at his home in Blackstone, Virginia. His story is only part of his legacy. While The Hunt for Eddie Lama: Keeping it Lively may never win a Pulitzer Prize, the story behind it will warm your heart.

Review by Nancy Panko (May 2025)
 

Author's Synopsis

In 2015 Vietnam Army veteran Thomas Bragg wrote in his memoirs about the death of his friend and fellow platoon member, Eddie Lama, in South Vietnam. This was a project he’d always hoped to complete; but he had to wait for retirement to find the time. And the story didn’t stop there: two and a half years after he completed his memoir, his platoon leader from 50 years earlier sought him out, saying that he had visited the grave of their fallen comrade. That led to connections with the Lama family in Mundelein, Illinois, a moving unit reunion, and this revised edition of Keeping it Lively: The Hunt for Eddie Lama.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 55

Word Count: 8263

Nothing Here Worth Dying For: Task Force Lion in Iraq by Col Seth W.B. Folsom, USMC (Ret)

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MWSA Review

Nothing Here Worth Dying For is an impressive, in-depth account of a role of a combined-arms task force supporting Iraqi armed forces in their extended war against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq. The author, at the time a US Marine Corps colonel, writes from his perspective as the task force commander.

The narrative covers an eighteen-month period centered around a campaign to liberate a major area of western Iraq from the control of ISIS forces, beginning with the author’s assignment to build a team from scratch and prepare for deployment to Iraq. The team’s mission was explicitly defined—to provide command and logistics support to the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) who would be responsible for engaging and defeating the ISIS enemy. As the author makes clear, the role of the American sailors and Marines was as backup for the native military: “We weren’t there to do the fighting for them.”

While the account provides plenty of details about the daily challenges of modern combined-arms warfare, the author pulls the reader into the intensity of life in a combat zone. He artfully describes the oppressive heat, dust, and other discomforts that defined the warfighters’ daily lives. Interpersonal conflicts and collaboration are often conveyed as dialogue. Key characters are brought to life with descriptive details—physical appearance, behaviors, qualities and faults. Combat action is described vividly.

Three underlying themes dominate throughout the memoir. First, the author points out that traditionally US Marines accept orders with minimum guidance and work to accomplish their mission with a bias for action. The basic priority for this task force, however, was strictly limited to a non-combat support role. Despite the ability to monitor the ISF combat operations from the rear, he and his troops could not take an active part. Second, the incredibly complex international operating environment in Iraq generated multiple, often conflicting sources of guidance. The result was a constant state of shifting priorities and timelines. A third factor was the source of the author’s primary frustration—the pervasive risk-averse policies and directives of his superiors and Iraqi allies. These mindsets were a constant threat to the morale of his troops and his own confidence and determination.

From the outset of his assignment, he sensed that the Marine Corps senior leadership was distancing itself from the conflict in Iraq. He was repeatedly warned about the need for minimizing risk when executing his assignment. A telling blow came when the Commandant of the Marine Corps made a personal tour of the combat zone and expressed his lack of appreciation for the task force’s mission and accomplishments, stating “[N]othing we do here is gonna make any difference; nothing is gonna change.”

Despite frustrations and disappointments, however, the author was able to salvage a sense of satisfaction, knowing that he had done his utmost to lead his troops in achieving their mission. His own words belied the negative aspects of his experience: “[T]here are some things worth the risk. There are some things worth dying for.”

Any reader with an interest in the complexity of our nation’s recent military international expeditionary forays will find this book engaging, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding.

Review by Peter Young (May 2025) 

Author's Synopsis

In this sharp, challenging memoir, Col Seth Folsom lays bare the complexities of modern military combat advisor missions at the twilight of America’s longest war. "Nothing Here Worth Dying For" tells the story of his command of Task Force Lion — a “purpose-built” combat advisor team — and his frenetic 2017 deployment to Iraq’s Al Anbar Province. Charged with the daunting task of advising, assisting, and enabling the Iraqi Security Forces in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Folsom and his team of Marines and sailors struggled to support their Iraqi partners in the Jazeera Operations Command while simultaneously grappling with their own leadership for their relevance on the battlefield.

 "Nothing Here Worth Dying For" is the jarring coda to Folsom’s nearly thirty years in uniform — the last twenty of which he spent deploying to the long war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Far from a jingoistic tale that celebrates Corps and Country, this work challenges many of the popular assumptions about military command, leadership, loyalty, and teamwork.

As with the author’s previous books, "Nothing Here Worth Dying For" focuses on individual Marine actions at the tactical and operational levels while also addressing regional events that contributed to the overall narrative of the U.S. war in Iraq. Folsom describes his unpopular decision to prioritize his team members and their mission to support the Iraqi army above the desires of his own military service branch. As the final operation against ISIS in western Al Anbar gained steam, he questioned the wisdom of the military leadership to which he had dedicated his entire adult life. Despite his disillusionment, he committed himself to the men and women under his command who fought against the odds to accomplish a crucial mission. At its core, this is a story about teamwork and the bonds that develop when men and women risk their lives and reputations together. As the United States struggles once more to extricate itself from Iraq, this book will be a timely addition to the existing body of work about the war.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 336

Word Count: 100,795

The Very Last War by WH Hawthorne

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MWSA Review

W.H. Hawthorne’s The Very Last War is a believable techno-thriller that combines plausible weapons tech with American fighting spirit.
After a disastrous presidential administration ruins America’s reputation and causes her allies to turn against her, the United States leaves the UN and finds herself without international friends. The world, sensing the weakness of its once greatest superpower, plots to destroy her once and for all. However, two factors arise which stand in their way.
First, America’s new president, Jake O’Connor, believes in returning America to the people, and soon the country is rallying around his simple message. America’s spirit is reborn. Second, this president believes in restoring America’s military dominance and gives free reign to young technological minds to push the limits of technology on the battlefield. They soon come up with what may be a “wonder weapon.” America’s arsenal is ready.
The now hostile UN plans a two-prong invasion of the United States, with Germany pushing through Canada and China attacking via Mexico. Friendless, America is left only with her rebuilding military, its new techno-toy, and the spirit of her citizens. Will it be enough?
Fans of Tom Clancy, Harold Coyle, and Dale Brown will love this book. The science is sound, the characters colorful, and ending more than satisfying.
Review by Rob Ballister (May 2025) 

Author's Synopsis

#1 Amazon Bestseller, Political Fiction

A pivotal election revives freedom and self-governance in America, sending shockwaves across the globe and rattling four rival powers—European socialists, Chinese communists, Islamic radicals, and avaricious Russian leaders.

With dreams of world domination fading, they set aside differences and forge an alliance. Not to simply defeat America, but—with the help of a devastating new weapon—to erase it from the earth.

Outnumbered and alone, America answers with its own revolutionary weapon. But machines, no matter how intelligent, won’t be enough. Once again, survival will depend on something older. Something deeper.

The unbreakable American spirit.

In dimly lit halls of power, shadowy intrigues unfold. On sunlit battlefields, selfless heroism burns bright. Across North America, war rages from the frozen tundra of Alaska to the red clay of Alabama, from the mountains of Montana to the scorching deserts of Mexico.

If America falls, the free world falls with her.

A great generation will be needed. But can America still produce greatness?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 543

Word Count: 153,790

Note: Audiobook version coming out by April 2025

Unknowable Minds: Philosophical Insights on AI and Autonomous Weapons by Mark Bailey

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MWSA Review

Unknowable Minds: Philosophical Insights on AI and Autonomous Weapons is written by Mark Bailey. Although the author has chosen not to list his academic credentials, he describes himself as an academic researcher who explores the impact of technology on national security at a university that serves the United States Intelligence Community. This is an academic piece written “to help people who may not be AI practitioners better understand how AI works and the risks that AI poses from a complex system perspective.” (P 15)

With extensive endnotes and bibliography, Bailey expresses his concerns through AI theory, philosophy, and mathematics, focusing on large-scale national security implications of AI. He clearly explains the differences between fully autonomous (no human intervention) and semi autonomous systems, with the latter broken further into those with a human IN the loop and those with a supervisor who can intervene, known as being ON the loop. A human in the loop is a gatekeeper who must make a positive decision in order for the system to act. Bailey then applies these lessons to warfare and global dynamics.

He has a simple message: It’s impossible to know how advanced autonomous AI will make decisions, and it’s unlikely to make decisions that humans would make. Therefore, we should “abandon our inclination to seek greater technology simply for its own sake, as well as our tendency to succumb to the pressures of global competition.” (p 155)

Review by Nancy Kauffman (April 2025)

 

Author's Synopsis

Imagine that in the cold heart of a secret military facility, a new form of intelligence awakens. It is a synthetic mind born from intricate algorithms and complex computations, operating in ways unfathomable to its human creators. Charged with safeguarding national security, this intelligence orchestrates strategies that defy human ethics and laws of war, leaving its creators both awed and unnerved. Unknowable Minds delves into the unsettling reality of entrusting our safety to an intelligence that lacks human essence. As we navigate the Age of Artificial Intelligence, these systems - powering everything from our smartphones to military defenses - remain inherently opaque and unpredictable. The book explores how AI differs from any technology we've ever developed, its inherent complexities, and the profound risks it poses to our future. Drawing on philosophy, AI theory, and national security insights, this book offers a thought-provoking examination of AI's potential and peril. From the complexities of neural networks to the unpredictable nature of emergent behaviors, Unknowable Minds challenges us to rethink our relationship with AI and its role in the theater of global security. Can we control an unknowable intellect, or will it redefine human existence? As we stand on the precipice of unprecedented technological advancement, understanding and navigating the unknowable minds of artificial intelligences become a quest fraught with extraordinary challenges and existential questions.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference

Number of Pages: 236

Word Count: 50,000

Rescue Run: Capt. Jake Rogers' Daring Return to Occupied Europe by John Winn Miller

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MWSA Review

John Winn Miller’s Rescue Run, is a sequel to award-winning, The Hunt for the Peggy C. Rescue Run does not disappoint the reader in providing a thrilling story of spies, double agents, and danger during World War II.

Captain Jake Rogers commands a U.S. Liberty ship in the North Atlantic with some of his crew from the sunken Peggy C. They end up in Ireland after their vessel is shipwrecked in rugged seas. Finding that Nazis have arrested the father of Miriam Maduro, the love of his life, Jake springs into action to free her father before he is sent to a concentration camp and certain death, only to find that Miriam is there with the same agenda.

Jake contacts the resistance to help him. Without knowing who to trust, Jake and his crew must avoid the ruthless bounty hunters, the SS, the Gestapo, and French gangsters. Passed from resistance group to resistance group to make their way out of Nazi-occupied Europe, the ragtag group finds their lives endangered every minute of the journey.

Although Rescue Run is the second book in a series, it can be read alone and is full of edgy adventure and danger. John Winn Miller has skillfully penned another historical fiction action-packed page-turner. I can’t wait for the next book.

Review by Nancy Panko (April 2025)

 

Author's Synopsis

In an exciting new adventure, Capt. Jake Rogers returns to the North Atlantic as commander of a U.S. Liberty ship with some of his crew from the sunken Peggy C. But disaster strikes, and they end up shipwrecked in Ireland. There Rogers learns from Dutch sailors that the Nazis have arrested the father of the love of his life, Miriam Maduro, and are about to deport him to a concentration camp.

They sneak back into Holland aboard a gun-running ship from neutral Ireland and make contact with a resistance group to help them. Everything goes according to plan until a shocking discovery leaves them stranded in Holland and forces them to flee for their lives across Nazi-occupied Europe.

They struggle to find other resistance groups and escape organizations to help them. But informants, imposters, and double agents are everywhere. And with a huge reward on their heads, they can never be sure who to trust. 

To make matters worse, a giant Dutch bounty hunter is in hot pursuit. The utterly ruthless, one-armed, former detective is desperate for the reward. He has no qualms about beating information out of people or working with–and sometimes double-crossing–Nazi officials, French gangsters, and even a suspected serial killer. 

In this deeply researched thriller, full of real historical figures, Rogers and crew make one breathtaking escape after another. Using disguises, fake documents, subterfuge, and sometimes force, they slowly make their way toward safety in Spain. But as they get close to their goal, another shocking surprise blocks their way. 

As they are backed into a corner, Rogers comes up with one more crazy scheme to save them. It is one that has almost no chance of succeeding.

Format(s) for review: Kindle Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 426

Word Count: 117000

Healing Veteran Moral Injury: Using Metaphor and Story to Foster Hope and Connection by Pat Pernicano and Kerry Haynes

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MWSA Review

The power of literature to promote change in individuals and community has long been recognized. Reading or viewing art takes us out of our current situation and places us in other worlds. Returning to the everyday, we bring a perspective from that other world to bear on ourselves, making alternatives more available. Pat Pernicano and Kerry Haynes’s Healing Veteran Moral Injury: Using Metaphor and Story to Foster Hope and Connection builds on that fundamental premise.

The focus on veterans’ experiences that lead to trauma and moral injury is therefore appropriate in this guide to the process of healing. One should not forget, however, that injuries and recovery go on in our larger society as well. The accumulation of instances of events that emotionally handicap veterans should also not lead to the conclusion that all veterans face moral injury. Some who find their values contradicted in military experience and become “stuck” can achieve recovery on their own or with the help of close friends and family.

The many case studies of individual experience in this study, however, document the need for programs to be available in established agencies, private as well as in government. The accounts of change brought about by reading or writing alternative narratives is convincing. Bringing individuals to accept help is, of course, a key challenge; but that, too, is consistently addressed.

The authors point out that Moral Injury (MI) is not a diagnosis, but a condition. It is also to be distinguished from PTSD. While treatments for the two may overlap, this book focuses on the condition, less commonly understood and deserving recognition as a separate issue facing many veterans. While the examples of male MI tend to involve battle conditions and female MI often involve sexual assault, the book makes clear the causes are not exclusive to either gender.

Key components to healing MI include acceptance, forgiveness, guilt, blame, responsibility, confession, forgiveness, and sharing. There are worksheets for self-evaluation of these factors, and group activities to encourage acceptance of the condition and undertake recovery. A story about a cracked bowl illustrates brokenness and the possible paths to healing and returning to a productive life. Graphics like the "responsibility pie" also encourage itemizing the factors in moral injury and identifying those outside anyone’s control. Restoring wholeness requires patience after the typically lengthy time of denial and the acceptance of appropriate guilt.

The book includes extensive notes to scholarship on symptoms, reaction, and therapy of MI and related issues, particularly helpful to specialists in the field but also reassuring to anyone questioning the relevance of the condition to their own life.

Review by Michael Lund (May, 2025)
 

Author's Synopsis

Healing Veteran Moral Injury highlights the importance of story and metaphor in the change process and in trauma-related work.

Grounded in evidence-based practice and replete with clear, down-to-earth examples that foster empathy and understanding, Healing Veteran Moral Injury illustrates the ways in which building a sense of community can help restore trust and meaning-making. Chapters illustrate the power of stories and metaphors and help Veterans identify strategies for healing moral injury and posttraumatic growth. Clinicians and Veterans will come away from this book with tools for building connections, accepting what they cannot change, and developing a more accurate perception of responsibility.

Healing Veteran Moral Injury is intended both for mental health professionals and Veterans themselves as a tool for breaking the silence, pointing other Veterans toward hope and healing, and telling stories of moral pain with fortitude and courage.

Format(s) for review: Paper & Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—How to/Business

Number of Pages: 202

Word Count: 73288

The Gangs of Santa Fe by A. Michael Hibner

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MWSA Review

The Gangs of Santa Fe by A. Michael Hibner tells the story of Nazario Alvarid as he struggled with life in the small town of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the late 19th century. The gangs fought not with knives and guns but with words and votes, although shootings did occur, often for personal reasons. Zario was an intelligent young man and a hard worker. He made money as a runner for both parties because he was known to be honest and discreet. He completed college and became a successful businessman, but he also had to fight for his life, which eventually put him in the penitentiary for a period of time.

The story is narrated by the main character Zario, and the reader will feel that he is listening to an older person telling the story in his own words. A large part of the book involves a trial which he attends, since he is a runner for both the prosecution and the defense.

In the Acknowledgements section, the author notes that everyone named actually existed; every murder, shooting, and trial happened as chronicled. Then the author made the connections between the various people to create an interesting story.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (April 2025)

 

Author's Synopsis

Life in Santa Fe in the late nineteenth century for young Nazario Alarid is interesting to say the least. His dad, Canuto, a political force in Santa Fe, introduces Nazario to Billy the Kid in the Santa Fe jail. Nazario decides to walk the strait and narrow, to not be like Billy, but things don’t always go the way one plans…

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 247

Word Count: 63,099

Red Lines by James Bultema

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MWSA Review

Red Lines by James Bultema describes the US response to Iran’s attack on Independence Hall, crossing a red line that the US does not tolerate. In the air, on the ground, on the sea, and under the sea, the US demonstrates not only its might in terms of people but also technology. The Iranian forces are also well trained and have many technologically advanced weapons. This is no walk in the park for the US troops.

In addition to having Iran as the antagonist, the other difference in this book is the use of AI in so many ways. Cyberwarfare is exercised by both sides in ways you may not have thought about. The battle scenes are realistic. Chapter 4 especially outlines the strengths and weaknesses of both the US and Iran. The book makes clear that modern warfare is complex, and communication is strategically important.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (March 2025)

Author Synopsis

From seven-time award-winning author James Bultema, Red Lines is the third explosive installment in the Sea of Red series, plunging readers into the heart of a modern military war between the United States and Iran.

After a devastating attack on a symbol of American freedom by radicalized domestic Hezbollah terrorists, the US finds itself on the brink of war. Tensions escalate as retaliatory strikes lead to a high-stakes confrontation that reverberates across the globe.

In a game of cat and mouse, submarines prowl the depths, fighter jets streak across the skies, and warships clash in an epic struggle for dominance. With advanced weaponry and strategic cunning, both sides push the boundaries of warfare, drawing the world's superpowers into a conflict that threatens global stability.

With the future of international order hanging in the balance, Red Lines takes readers on a relentless journey through the complexities of modern warfare and the far-reaching consequences of a single, violent act.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 410

Word Count: 75,765

Author's Synopsis

The Only Ones Left by KE Jennings

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MWSA Review

The Only Ones Left is an intriguing and, at times, thrilling story of a woman and her young son who believe they are the last people on Earth after everyone, including her husband, disappears without explanation.

It is not a new plot (see The Twilight Zone Episode 1, Season 1, "Where is Everyone"), but it provides some unique twists with a nod to modern times. Malia is trying to live as normal a life as possible despite their circumstances. There are some chill-inducing encounters with "Shadow Man" and the red-eyed crow. When Malia is contacted by one other survivor of the apocalypse, an online relationship develops. Ian lives in Australia, Malia in the U.S. Ian has to figure out how to travel halfway around the world to reach her. I was stunned by the ending, as it left a lot for the reader to interpret and provided more questions than answers.
This was a dark thriller that was a good read...but left me a bit in the dark. Perhaps there is a sequel in the works.

Review by James Elsener (March 2025)
 

Author's Synopsis

Malia lives with Cole, her little boy. They are always together and live a very quiet life because absolutely everyone else in the world has gone, including Malia's beloved husband Josh. Malia can't think too deeply about what has happened, or why she and Cole are the only people left on the planet. The thought scares her, so she lives what she perceives to be a 'normal' existence until one day, she is messaged by someone on defunct social media channels. In a desperate attempt to connect to this man, Malia strikes up an online friendship with Ian, in Australia. That's when even more strange and unnatural things start to happen. Dark entities and crows begin to threaten Malia and Cole's very existence, which Malia desperately tries to cling onto while Ian is trying to get to her and her son. Will he make it? Will Malia and Cole survive and who are the dark entities that threaten then only ones left?

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 208

Word Count: 62805

The Black Raven's Song by Macklin Grey

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MWSA Review

The Black Raven's Song by Macklin Grey is fast-moving international thriller that any thriller fan should enjoy. Author Grey's protagonist, Chase Harper, is a former U.S. military special forces soldier who finds himself unexpectedly thrown into a hunt to find a kidnapped friend. Little does he suspect that the kidnapping is related to some stolen enriched uranium and a North Korean plot to get itself out of a terrible famine or go to war trying. Most of the book is set in or around exotic Singapore. A nuclear explosion, helicopters, submarines, gangsters, and North Korean assassins all team up to take the reader on quite the reading journey. Chase Harper is a protagonist who is easy to cheer for. I enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it.

Review by Bob Doerr (May 2025)
 

Author's Synopsis

An anonymous threat, a catastrophic explosion, and a deadly race against time all collide at once.

After a nuclear bomb devastates St. Petersburg, Russia, killing hundreds of thousands and plunging the global economy into chaos, the world teeters on the brink of disaster. Amidst the turmoil, Chase Harper is sent to Singapore to salvage his company’s future. But fate has other plans for the former mercenary haunted by the recent loss of his wife and daughter. When North Korean assassins kidnap his closest friends to use as leverage in an attempt to seize mysterious cargo traveling across the Indian Ocean, Chase is dragged back into a world he desperately tried to leave behind. Intent on rescuing those he holds dear, Chase must confront his buried demons and reawaken his deadly skills.

Teaming up with an unlikely ally, he is thrust into a high-stakes operation to stop a madman intent on unleashing a catastrophic attack that could kill millions. Together, they must navigate a treacherous web of international intrigue and deadly conspiracies. With everything on the line, Chase faces a harrowing choice: become the killer he once was or risk losing all that he holds dear. If he fails, the last remnants of his shattered family will die, along with countless others.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime

Number of Pages: 349

Word Count: 116,000

Women Warriors - The Hidden Spies of WWII by Donna Pedace

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MWSA Review

Women Warriors: The Hidden Spies of WWII by Donna Pedace chronicles the exploits of fifty women spies who either parachuted into France, or arrived by boat, to help the French and British Resistance thwart the occupying Germans. Author Pedace gives faces, names, and backgrounds to these brave souls, some of whom were tortured and executed by the enemy. Each showed incredible courage, ingenuity, and sacrifice in working with the resistance movements in France.
More than once, a woman spy passed through a German checkpoint with explosives in a basket or radio parts sewn into the hem of a skirt. One female spy rode a train with a backpack of hidden grenades while a German officer sat next to her. Each woman was trained to maintain her composure under duress, and it worked.

Out of fifty women spies, eleven were executed while they were prisoners in concentration camps. Two died of disease while in a camp. Others were captured and tortured but survived the war. All the women showed incredible courage, and Nazi records show that not one of them gave the Germans any classified information, even when they faced  certain death.

Odette Sansom, imprisoned and tortured by the Gestapo when serving with the French Resistance Movement, said of the other captured female agents she met while in prisons in France and Germany: “We were all young, we were all different, but we all had the feeling in the beginning that we were doing this to be helpful. That was why we went into it.”

Kudos to author Donna Pedace. Women Warriors is a well-documented, accurate account of women in history who made a difference under harrowing conditions.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2025)

 

Author's Synopsis

The stories of the 52 female agents trained and sent into France by the Special Operation Executive (SOE). They were a widely diverse group of women by age, education, economic background, and motivation. But all had the goal of freeing France from German occupation. Of the 52 women who went to France, eleven (11) were executed while prisoners in concentration camps, and two (2) died of disease in the camps. Others were captured and tortured but survived the war. All showed incredible courage, and Nazi records show that not one of the captured women gave the Germans any classified information – even when they faced a certain death.

Behind the veil of secrecy, not yet raised by the Air Ministry, there are great stories of courage and endurance. For the agent has no status, no friendly uniform or consul to rely on. With her friends, she is outside the law — until it catches up with her.

Written by Squadron Leader William Simpson, Distinguished Flying Cross, regarding the female SOE agents in March 1945.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 328

Word Count: 123,171

One of Four by Travis Davis

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MWSA Review

One of Four by Travis Davis is a historical fiction novel that gives us a view of World War One through the eyes of an unknown American soldier. While in France on a post-high school graduation trip, Alex Grover, traveling with his retired U.S. Army father, discovers an anonymous U.S. World War One soldier’s diary hidden in an old Bible in a Paris book shop.

Intrigued by the soldier’s diary entries on the horrors, honor, and camaraderie of serving in combat, the father and son alter their vacation itinerary and follow some of the soldier’s wartime journey through several French battlefields of 1917 to 1918. As they travel, father and son grow closer after their separation imposed by the parents’ divorce, and the son is given glimpses of his father’s participation in combat.

One of the strengths of the book is its unique premise, giving voice to one of the over 4,400 U.S. soldiers, marines, and sailors still listed as missing in action from World War One. The story highlights how soldiers' bodies would simply “disappear” after being struck by high-explosive artillery rounds or lost when submerged into whole fields of muddy shell craters. The diary entries ring with authenticity and express the mixed emotions of a young man from the early 20th century leaving his home to fight on European battlefields. At the same time, the father and son characters have less depth, and their existence and interactions seem to serve more as a framework for the story laid out in the diary entries.

As someone familiar with the current state of U.S. World War One missing, whose identification is now only pursued by private organizations and individuals and not our government, I found that the book brought to life the forlorn agony of the soldier’s wife, living out her life never truly knowing what happened to her loved one.

One of Four has an interesting premise and a well-crafted character in the unknown soldier. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy realistic, somber stories of World War One and the plight of soldiers in combat in any war.

Review by Terry Lloyd (April 2025)
 

Author's Synopsis

From New York Harbor to the battlefields of France, relive World War One through the eyes of an unknown soldier, as told through his diary. See how the 100-year-old diary brings a father and his estranged son back together by retracing his experiences fighting in the battlefields of France in 1917 - 1918 to his final resting place—the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 210

Word Count: 67,551