2020

The Jøssing Affair by J. L. Oakley

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MWSA Review

The Jossing Affair by J.L. Oakley brings the reader into a lesser-known part of World War II, the work of the Norwegian Resistance during Norway’s occupation by Germany. Readers will appreciate the depth and breadth of research which informs the 500+ page novel, and its clever use of German and Norwegian language throughout amplifies the sense of conflict between invader and defender, and the stifled humanity within the German ranks.  

The story details efforts of the extensive network of men and women who undermined the occupation forces and moved supplies and people to safety. The book also brings to life the brutality of some of the German command, the deadly effect of Norwegian traitors, and the underlying conflict between serving the Reich and having compassion and morality.  

Oakley provides the reader with a satisfying historical novel, filled with details about the German occupation, the Norwegian countryside, and its cities. I was particularly struck by the way the details were worked comfortably into the narrative. For instance, before a meeting between Resistance members in a church, one character reminisces briefly about a childhood visit and an important event that took place there.   

Hitler had decided that the blonde and blue-eyed Norwegians were part of the master Aryan race, and should be preserved in general for breeding stock. German troops occupied the country. But with absolute power, many Germans treated its citizens with contempt and harmed them with impunity. The consequences for Resistance members who were caught were savage; Oakley does not shy away from detailing these, creating a genuine sense of danger and high stakes from start to finish. Throughout the book, we see many different forms of bravery and resistance. In a particularly chilling scene, two women volunteer themselves for rape, to protect a young girl and other townswomen from harm. The torture of patriots is also described. 

The many characters were well-designed, their motivations and backgrounds slowly revealed over the course of the novel. Even minor characters had some depth, and surprising minor and major plot twists kept the novel from falling into predictability. The underlying love story mirrors the broader conflict between doing whatever is necessary in war and following gentler feelings of love, compassion, and trust.  

Even after Hitler's suicide, the Germans continued to cling to Norway. We see their desperate last moves, the restraint showed by the Norwegians in arresting rather than killing German war criminals, and the resolution of the love story.  

The Jossing Affair is a complex read, one which will provide the reader with a deeper understanding of the costs of war for all involved. 

​Review by Barb Evenson (July 2020)​

 

Author's Synopsis

British-trained Norwegian intelligence agent Tore Haugland has enough worries when he is sent to a tiny fishing hamlet on the west coast of Norway to set up a line to receive arms and agents from England via the “Shetland Bus.” Posing as a deaf fisherman, his mission is complicated when he falls in love with Anna Fromme, the German widow of an old family friend. Accused of betraying her husband, she has a small daughter and secrets of her own. Though the Allies have liberated France and the Netherlands, the most zealous of the Nazis hang on in Norway, sending out agents to disembowel local resistance groups. If Haugland fails it could not only cost him his life, but those of the fishermen who have joined him. When Haugland is betrayed and left for dead, he will not only have to find the one who betrayed him and destroyed his network, but also prove that the one he loved was not the informer.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0997323702,  B01D8XL7PM
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 546

The Custer Conspiracy by Dennis Koller

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MWSA Review

The Custer Conspiracy by Dennis Koller is a fun read with an interesting historical what-if twist. The book is largely plot driven in the present day, with the motivation for the thriller reaching forward in time from the Battle of Little Bighorn, or Custer’s last stand. When Matt Conroy (San Francisco Police Department homicide investigator Tom McGuire’s good friend) is killed, Tom is allowed to join the FBI investigation until they are told to stand down. Refusing to let it go, Tom works with a CIA agent, military personnel, and former military members to uncover a far-reaching conspiracy and catch the killer. The team struggles to get in front of the continued mayhem, as one of the team members is captured and held for ransom. This is a fast-paced story that takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of events, and kept me engaged up until the solving of the initial murder and disposition of the murderer. The epilogue provides information on how the Custer conspiracy developed, but for me, it took a back seat to the present-day investigation and chase. 

Since this is the third in the Tom McGuire series, the focus is primarily on his character development, but it would have been nice to more fully explore the female protagonist, Katelyn, rather than portraying her as a ravishingly fabulous CIA agent who would use sex to obtain info from an American citizen. Meanwhile, the book kept me interested and paging swiftly to the end.

Review by Betsy Beard (July 2020) 

 

Author's Synopsis

A week after uncovering the secret of what really happened at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, history professor Matt Conway was lying in a morgue with the back of his head blown off.

SFPD homicide inspector Tom McGuire, a long-time friend of Conroy's, volunteers to assist the FBI in bringing the killer to justice. The FBI, however, is ordered to stand down for "national security" reasons.

They thought that would be the end of it. They were wrong.

Tom McGuire was not about to stand down. Not for anyone, not for any reason. That decision put him in the crosshairs of one of the world's most secretive, and therefore most dangerous, organizations. It's rich and powerful members will stop at nothing to make sure their 144-year-old secret remains hidden. 

Drawn into a labyrinth of conspiracies over a century old. Tom McGuire has just walked into his worst nightmares.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN 9780998080802
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 338

Money Eater: Bernard Otto Kuehn by Valarie J. Anderson

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MWSA Review

Money Eater is an account of a minor but still important person in pre-war Hawaii. It is an outstanding overview of a person who could have been a dangerous spy if he hadn't been such a lazy grifter. The book is well documented and deserves a place on my book shelf. It is a short book, which leaves one feeling like there could be more: more information on his son in Germany; more about his wife, step daughter and son’s activities in Hawaii; and at least some information on his exile in Argentina after the war until his return to Germany. But it’s a very good history of a man who managed to pocket quite a bit of money from Germany and Japan. It is easy to dislike Kuehn, not for his espionage activities but for his "playing" spy while supplying no real tangible intelligence. I'll definitely be thumbing through this again. My only complaints are the photos could be larger and a map of his area of operations would be helpful.

Review by John Ira Russell (June 2020)


Author's Synopsis

The Money Eater exposes the depth of Japan’s espionage effort before the Pearl Harbor attack. Sleeper agent Bernard Otto Kuehn, uses his children and hides the truth from his gullible wife for money and ill-begotten fame.  Take a journey into America’s past and into the heart of a narcissist.

ISBN/ASIN: B07R8R7MVT,1072957647
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 95

When Heroes Flew by Buzz Bernard

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MWSA Review

H.W. “Buzz” Bernard scores with his new novel, When Heroes Flew. In August of 1943, the Allies undertake Operation Tidal Wave to restrict the flow of petroleum products to the German army in hopes of ending the war. To do so, they decide on a complex plan that uses high altitude bombers dropping explosives from tree-top level in hopes of catching the German defenses off guard. The plan requires hundreds of brave men, and one brave woman, and they all won’t make it home. Opposing them is the Luftwaffe, depleted by casualties but still willing to fight. Who lives and who dies will be decided by airmanship, guts, and just plain luck.

I particularly liked how the author wove two personal stories into this very well done work. On one side is Captain Al Lycoming, the commander of a B-24 Liberator crew flying the mission. On the other, Hauptmann (Captain) Egon Richter, a squadron commander for some very junior German fighter pilots. Lycoming’s crew and Richter’s squadron fight it out in the skies over the Ionian Sea, but Bernard does a tremendous job of focusing on the people in the fight, not just the aircraft.

The author also did extensive research to make sure the feel of flying a B-24 comes through, and the technical details are spot on for both the American and German aircraft. There is plenty of action, solid characters, and thought provoking moments regarding morality in warfare. All in all, a difficult book to put down. Fans of World War II, specifically aviation, or fans of historical combat fiction will enjoy this book. Well written and highly recommended.

Review by Rob Ballister (June 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

For B-24 bomber pilot Al Lycoming, the mission was history in the making. For Women’s Airforce Service Pilot Vivian Wright, it was a chance to put her skills to the ultimate test...and share in the burden of combat.

Dispatched to Benghazi on mysterious orders, Al Lycoming finds nearly 200 other B-24 bombers being assembled...and a top secret assignment that will catapult them all into seemingly impenetrable Nazi defenses.

Their mission: a daring low-level attack on Hitler’s extensive oil refineries.

But when his co-pilot falls ill at the last moment, Al secretly finds help from an unlikely source—Vivian.

Together, the two fly towards dark skies filled with enemy flak and fighters...and into the pages of history.

With perspectives from American and German pilots alike, When Heroes Flew weaves together one of the most dangerous and incredible aerial operations of World War Two with a riveting tale of bravery, suspense, and self-sacrifice.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1951249977, 978-1951249984, B0849QV396
Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle, Audiobook
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 286

Bernard Montgomery's Art of War by Zita Steele

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MWSA Review

Author and military historian Zita Steele certainly did her homework in giving us Bernard Montgomery's Art of War. Not a biography, although the book lets the reader know quite a bit about the man, this is a well organized compilation of Montgomery's thoughts and writings on his approach to war. Montgomery served as a young British officer during World War I and then later as a top general in World War II. He was also a student of warfare, believing that to be really good at leading in war, one had to be an expert on past masters of the art. Steele organized Montgomery's views and beliefs in ten chapters, each focused on a different topic. These topics include his core principles, approaches to battle, the spirit of the warrior, battle management, and more. Montgomery's teachings should be mandatory reading material for all young officers, and this book can give you a quick primer. I recommend it.

Review by Bob Doerr (June 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

This book is a complete guide to the military philosophy of one of Great Britain's most successful military leaders, Bernard Law Montgomery. Arranged in the style of Sun Tzu's "Art of War" and "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi, the book presents core principles written by Montgomery on his approach to the art of war in a single concise volume.

A seasoned combat veteran, accomplished writer, and victorious general, Montgomery dedicated his life to the study and mastery of military arts. The many topics covered include his beliefs and teachings on morale, leadership, and fighting techniques. The book features a detailed introduction to Montgomery's career and philosophy by author Zita Steele, with information highlighting his regiment, experiences, achievements and command style. Illustrated with photos, it also features a reading list of books recommended by Montgomery, an avid military historian.

Released for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, "Bernard Montgomery's Art of War" contains useful instructions and reflections for anyone interested in military science, leadership, politics or history. It also can be used as a lifestyle guide.

"This book brings Monty up with the great leaders of history, his contribution to the final Victory in WWII has never been really appreciated and this book rights that wrong. The leadership chapters should be strongly recommended for any future military leader (or politician) and military historian. As a former soldier I can related to many of the leadership aspects mentioned in the book, the things I did right or wrong!" - Major David Seeney, Retired, late Royal Warwickshire Regiment and Airborne Forces, Chairman of Friends of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museum (Royal Warwickshire)

ISBN/ASIN: B088BGKMG4, 1941184359, 978-1941184356
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 212

The Last Word by Ron Miner

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MWSA Review

In Ron Miner’s The Last Word, the author guides the reader on a fact-filled journey into personal remembrances of long-ago battles in an era before most of us were born—deftly describing places we have only read about in history books. 

The year is 2038. Reporter Dan Callahan, from the small-town Winona Bulletin, is assigned to interview the last known surviving veteran of World War II:  112-year-old Navy aviation machinist/gunner Owen Trimbel. As he makes the three-hundred-mile trip across the state in his iCar with his artificial intelligence assistant Samantha, Dan wonders why he was chosen and not some fancy hot-shot journalist from the big Minnesota dailies. 

Dan has done his research, and his questions are ready for the interviewee. But he is not prepared for who awaits him. Owen is far from a frail, run-of-the-mill centenarian. From the beginning, Dan is mesmerized by the stories woven from this remarkable warrior’s memory—witnessing the attack on Pearl Harbor and enlisting at age 15, transiting the Panama Canal on a troopship, flying onboard the Navy’s Catalinas with the famed Black Cat Squadron and later the B-24 Liberator, and traveling throughout the Pacific Theatre. Owen shares his warm and often heart-wrenching personal life experiences—tapping into emotions that had been locked away for many years. He revels in the joy and love he has for his wife, daughter, and his rural Minnesota upbringing. Dan soon realizes he has been given a unique gift, and his respect and admiration for the older man grows stronger with each conversation. 

Miner has done a masterful job in transporting the reader on the ride of a lifetime—an exceedingly long and rich lifetime. His characters are likable, real, and well-developed. The details in Owen’s stories are vivid, and his language colorful and humorous. Despite some minor technical glitches, readers will devour the tale until its unexpected end.    

Review by Sandi Cathcart (July 2020)


 

Author's Synopsis

A small town journalist is tasked with the most important assignment of his life––a conversation with the last surviving World War II veteran.  And the man is willing to talk.  

Gleaned from real life filmed interviews with ten squadron members, this novel is a poignant tale of a life well lived, and an evocative legacy of rescue missions and night flight from New Guinea to the Mariana Islands of World War II’s South Pacific.

Dan Callahan’s next three days take him on a pilgrimage of over one hundred years in the life of Owen Trimbel, a Great Depression-era Minnesota farm boy.  Owen’s story begins with an unforgettable visit to an uncle’s home near Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Over the next hours and days, he enchants Dan with his collective wisdom, humor, and philosophy––from the intricacies of attaching a plow to a mule to firing the .50 caliber machine guns from his PBY Catalina’s waist hatches. 

Dan soon realizes that he currently occupies a rare instant in the trajectory of history: he can actually speak with an individual who lived the World War II experience––and it is something that will end with Owen.  

The Last Word takes us on missions over an endless sea, lacing together stories of duty, friendship, responsibility, and ninety-year-old secrets.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-578-67537-4
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 275

The Birdhouse Man by Rick DeStefanis

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MWSA Review

The Birdhouse Man by Rick Destefanis is an interesting, well written story that brings together a Vietnam veteran, an Iraq War veteran, and his daughter. In many ways, all three are now alone in life. Sam, a veteran of the Vietnam War is a widower and lives alone. Claire, the Iraq War veteran's daughter, is a college student whose mother and grandfather have passed away. Her father suffers from a traumatic brain injury and abandoned the family when Claire was young. He is homeless, and his whereabouts are unknown. Claire convinces Sam to help her with her college thesis on the Vietnam War, something her grandfather was doing until he passed away. In doing so, Sam opens up and faces the memories of many combat experiences he had not talked about in years. Claire develops a better understanding of what her grandfather and Sam went through during the war. During the interviews, Sam convinces Claire that they should look for her father. This is a good book that brings to light the hardship of combat and its aftermath. I recommend it. 

Review by Bob Doerr (July 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

Sam Walker pulls no punches when he tells his Vietnam War story to college journalism student, Claire Cunningham. As Sam shares his unapologetic and unvarnished viewpoint, he begins to suspect Claire’s thesis work isn’t her only reason for interviewing him. When his tale unfolds, the seventy-three-year-old veteran and the young woman discover they are both grappling with questions, loss, and loneliness, but believe that together they may find some answers to help bring the closure that has eluded them.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-7331833-4-5
Book Format(s): Hard cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 332

At Daddy's Hands: Courage Knows No Age by Jacob Paul Patchen

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MWSA Review

​Author Jacob Paul Patchen has given us a soul-searching story in his book, At Daddy's Hands, Courage Knows No Age.

This is a story of a family suffering physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the husband and father. Author Patchen, an experienced case manager in a mental and behavioral health facility for adjudicated youths, has applied his knowledge and work experience in writing this book. He has seen this in the real world. Although a work of fiction, the book brings home the brutal reality of life in a home ruled by a monster. It also addresses the harsh reality of a society and a legal system where proving such abuse can often be hard. Once the entire family is broken, can there be any escape? In many ways, this was a hard book for me to read. I knew it was a work of fiction, but my heart still went out to this family. This book covers a topic many of us don't want to face, but we need to. I recommend this book.

Review​ by Bob Doerr​ (June 2020)​

 

Author's Synopsis

In public, Jim Handler is a well-respected, small-town hero, and homicide detective who solved the case of the Will’s Creek Massacre. But at home, in the shadows, Jim’s childhood demons come alive to feast upon his family in the form of sexual, physical, and mental abuse.

But his three teenage children have had enough. They have devised a plan for redemption.

Empowered by the legal system’s lack of accountability, a judge who offers a quiet and meager plea deal to save face, Jim feels enabled to do whatever he wants to his family. With no one to keep Jim in check, this cycle of sexual and physical abuse is rampant. It is up to Nikki, Tyler, and Ally to end the evil that is devouring the Handler family.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1684333448, B07T939VCP, B086V4BP2F
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, Audiobook
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 151

You Are Always With Me: A Poem for Those at Home When a Loved One Deploys by Daniel Berry, Illustrator: Brian Azhar

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review

You Are Always With Me by Daniel L. Berry is a little gem of a book, offering in lyrical rhyming couplets and charming illustrations a sort of love letter to a child separated from a parent on deployment. Beginning and ending with the words, “You are always with me,” the poem addresses the variety of emotions the child might feel—such as uncertainty, sadness, guilt, fear, and loneliness—and offers gentle reminders of how thoughts and dreams and letters and phone calls can help those who are physically separated stay emotionally connected. The illustrations by Brian Azhar are warmly appealing. The muted colors—greens, blues, browns, golds—add to the quiet, contemplative quality of the poem. The characters, illustrated as animals instead of humans, are easy for anyone to identify with. The varied physical expressions and gestures of the two main characters—sweet-faced but by no means saccharine-sweet rabbits—convey the emotions named in the text. The book is somewhat limited by the illustrations of the narrator, which limit the parent-figure to a father, and a slightly jarring rhythm caused by the varying numbers of syllables in the couplets (which, however, slow reading could smooth over). All in all, this is a wonderful book to read aloud to a young child separated from a parent. And it’s a book an eager child will undoubtedly memorize and “read” along with, time after time.

Review by Nancy Arbuthnot (June 2020)


Author's Synopsis

A beautifully illustrated children’s book designed to help deployed service members, and the deployed civilians who support them, connect with their loved-ones.

Written by an author who has worked in support of the military overseas, “You Are Always With Me” is an illustrated rhyming poem intended for those at home when a service member or civilian deploys. The poem reassures those encountering this separation by addressing the emotions they often feel: 

- Abandonment
- Anger
- Confusion
- Sadness
- Fear for their deployed loved one

“You Are Always With Me” depicts two cartoon rabbits, one leaving for deployment, and the other staying home. The book contains a personalized dedication page, and is a perfect gift for any loved-one coping with separation during deployment, to include:

- Children
- Husband or wife
- Girlfriend or boyfriend
- Niece or nephew

Although many women service members deploy, as do many civilians, most of the books on this subject are intended for families of male soldiers.  “You are Always With Me” is unique in that it is appropriate for any branch of service, and any age, race, or gender.

From deployment through homecoming, this book is indispensable in helping those who serve bridge the distance to connect in a meaningful way with those they love.

ISBN/ASIN: 9781734718102, 9781734718126
Book Format(s): Softcover, hardcover
Review Genre: Children & Young Adult—Picture Book
Number of Pages: 24

The Brownsville Texas Incident of 1906: The True and Tragic Story of a Black Battalion's Wrongful Disgrace and Ultimate Redemption by Lt Colonel Ret William Baker, Foreword: Dr. Bettye Foster Baker

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review

Lieutenant Colonel (ret) William Baker’s The Brownsville Texas Incident of 1906 is a thought provoking and educational work about the injustice done to 167 black soldiers in 1906, and one man’s fight to bring them some modicum of justice.

In 1906, a battalion of the 25th infantry regiment, an all black unit (except for the officers), was posted to Fort Brown, in Brownsville, Texas. The unit had a proud history, and had seen combat and fought heroically in the Philippines and in Cuba, but Texas wanted no part of them. The men were subjected to discrimination almost immediately. Then, on a dark night, several raiders shot up the town and everyone swore the black soldiers committed the act. Six investigations in total were conducted, but they were all racially biased, and President Teddy Roosevelt drummed out all 167 black soldiers with dishonorable discharges. The men had no trial, no chance to face their accusers, and all the evidence that could exonerate them was dismissed.

Seventy years later, LtCol Baker, working in the Army’s Equal Opportunity Office, had a chance to do something about it. Despite opposition and an attitude by some to “let sleeping dogs lie,” Baker worked tirelessly to clear the soldiers’ names and get some sort of compensation to those still living and their widows.

I appreciated how the author broke the book into two parts. First, he constructed a plausible re-enactment of what happened that evening from documents and research, making the event much more interesting than if he had just relayed it third person. The second part is told in first person as he relates what he had to do to get justice for the soldiers. Sadly, the author died weeks after completing the manuscript and did not see it published.

This is a great story of moral courage and eventual justice. Those interested in the history of race relations in the military and social justice in general will find this compelling.

Review by Rob Ballister (July 2020)
 

Author's Synopsis

Terror at Midnight

At Midnight, August 13, 1906, unidentified bandits raid the town of Brownsville, Texas, where the First Battalion, Twenty-fifth Infantry of the United States Army, a unit of 167 black men, is stationed at Fort Brown. The raiders unleash a 10-minute barrage of bullets that kills a young bartender, wounds a police lieutenant, breaks windows, studs the sides of houses, fells a horse out from under its rider and causes wide-spread panic among the white townspeople.

President Theodore Roosevelt charged that all 167 black soldiers were responsible for the carnage. The men signed affidavits swearing their innocence, yet were subsequently discharged without honor and without trial. Their pain and suffering did not end with that humiliation. They also lost their pensions and were barred from any future government service.

Worst of all, they were forever stigmatized with the dishonor of a crime they never committed—a tragic mistake that set Colonel Baker on a decades-long quest for justice. When Americans are charged with the commission of a crime, they are entitled to a trial and all of the rights associated therewith. Innocence before guilt. Due process of law. These basics of constitutional protection cannot, should not, be superseded by anyone, including the President of the United States. In addition, the underlying theme of redemptive justice—craving it, pursuing it and finally getting it—flows throughout this book. It is never too late to correct injustice.

This story, chronicled here in three sections, illustrates that powerful truth. Together, they form the chronicle of Colonel Baker’s fight to exonerate the innocent, and the ultimate triumph of justice denied.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-943267-71-2, 978-1-943267-92-7
Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 504

No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor by Christian Bussler

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MWSA Review

No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor: A Memoir of a Mortuary Affairs Marine by GySgt L. Christian Bussler (Ret.) is a memoir covering the Marine Reservist author’s three deployments in Iraq. Each deployment is given separate billing, resulting in three parts to the book.

Part One details Bussler’s first deployment to Iraq in 2003 at the tip of the spear. It covers the time from notification that he is being activated to the time he returns home. Volunteering for a second deployment in 2004, Bussler returns to Iraq (Part Two), where he is subsequently wounded in action. Part Three details the third deployment for which Bussler volunteered in 2005. In this deployment, Bussler more fully explains the job of the Mortuary Affairs military specialty. His best writing can be seen in his relationship to the angels (deceased service members) he prepares for transit back home to the United States. This portion of the book is breathtakingly vulnerable and intensely emotional, displaying a deep thought process that was compelling and insightful.

The author is adept at setting the scene and describing events, so much so that sometimes the reader feels he is there in the blistering heat, amid the uncertainty, frustration, and grief. Included photos help to set the scene and convey the deep respect the author has for those who have died in combat. A final proofread would have caught many of the errors I noted in this otherwise stellar work. 

Review by Betsy Beard (July 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

A truly unforgettable autobiographical account of war from a brand new perspective, one of a Marine Reservist assigned to recover fallen US service members off of the battlefields of Iraq and send them home with honor. This superbly written and gripping story begins a few months before the Iraq war in 2002 where Christian Bussler worked as an everyday postal letter carrier in Springfield, Ohio. With a single phone call, his life is thrust onto the world stage as an active participant on the frontlines of the war torn desert battlefields of Iraq. Christian’s descriptions of his experiences are so vividly yet tastefully written, the reader could easily visualize a despotic regime crumble before him, or accompany his foot patrol down the streets of terrorist held cities, feel the sweat run down your face as his team searches for the fallen on the streets of Ramadi, and feel the deep sorrow of his loss after he learns of the death of a friend. These are the true stories that are never spoken, written by a Marine who was there, to return the fallen home with honor. 

ISBN/ASIN: 9781546604938, 1546604936
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, Audiobook
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 514

My Purple Heart by Frank Taylor

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MWSA Review

My Purple Heart presents a relevant history of Vietnam from the 19th century that crosses a Southern boy’s unanticipated path to Vietnam. In this memoir, college educated author, F.E. Taylor—married and employed in his field of study—abruptly faces the draft right before his 23rd birthday. His fate includes the fight in Vietnam and return home. In subsequent decades, Taylor only spoke about the war experience once in fifty years. 

The book is dedicated to those who wrote him and sent packages while he was in the war and hospital. They and other readers will find a buried treasure, filled with researched history and an almost forgotten warrior's plight. 

Review by Hodge Wood (June 2020)

Author's Synopsis

A WWII baby, growing up during the Cold War unknowably trains to be a warrior, is surprised when drafted to fight in Vietnam.

Disillusioned by what he experienced he makes on statement about the War and remained silent for fifty years.

The story ends as he looks back to gain understanding about himself and the War,

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-73265-390-0
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 270

Cobra Talon by Patrick Sydor

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MWSA Review

Cobra Talon is a compelling look into the Vietnam era through the experience of an author who was there with the US Air Force as a combat security policeman. Vietnam era—but not Vietnam: Like many Air Force personnel at the time, author Patrick Sydor served in Thailand, where excessive eating, too much drinking, and drug use leading to addiction was commonplace. The characters are well drawn, but the narrative doesn't leave out the lives lost and frightening battles engaged in, including the rescue attempt on USS Mayaguez, a real American container ship that had been seized by the Cambodian Khmer Rouge in May 1975. Pop culture references such as this serve to add the "historical" to the genre historical fiction.

One of the centerpieces of this true-to-life wartime narrative are the counterpoints in main character Nick Parker's love life. Professed as a Christian and in love with his girlfriend back home, Nick eventually succumbs to the classic military-in-Thailand lifestyle, including a local girlfriend with whom he's also in love and an affection for
recreational drugs. This creates a dissonance in his emotions that results in him dividing his love in two directions with no clear way home. Once he's injured in battle and sent home as a medical casualty, his decision is made for him. But a reader wonders legitimately how it might have worked out differently if he'd stayed in Thailand longer.

This narrative will appeal to Vietnam veterans of any service, but most especially to Air Force vets of the time who served in Thailand. For the uninitiated, there is a comprehensive glossary in the back to demystify the liberal use of acronyms and ranks. All told, a good look at a dangerous time.

Review by Daniel Charles Ross (June 2020)
 

Author's Synopsis

A fictional thriller based on true events, Cobra Talon is an action-filled tale with many poignant moments detailing the effects of war on a young, idealistic, honor-driven man and the two women who love him.

Nick Parker is plunged into the unpublished war in Thailand following alongside the Vietnam War. His assignment: develop an effective defensive strategy for a CIA/USAF radar site, a job his immediate boss expected to take on. Hostility escalates between them as Nick refuses to give up his sarcastic humor in the face of his boss’s demands.

Off duty, Nick and his friends frequent the local culture for adventure and entertainment. As a Christian, Nick is faced with the demoralizing effects of extensive injuries and the ready availability of drugs and alcohol to get through his days. Then, one of his best friends, a man under his command, commits suicide. Nick is accused of murder.

Back home, his Sunday School teaching girlfriend longs to help him while a beautiful Thai educator is there by his side. He slips further away from his roots and ideals. The final blow comes when he’s drawn into the last horrific battle of the Vietnam War to emerge barely alive. Will he ever see any of his loved ones again?

ISBN/ASIN: B07XCR8ZLH
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 274

Rice Paddy Stew and Saigon Tea by Kerry Pardue

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review

Rice Paddy Stew and Saigon Tea is a combination of verse and prose. The verse is extraordinary—heartbreaking in places, thoughtful in others. In its entirety, the book explores the impact of war that follows young soldiers home after the fighting is over, whether they are dead or alive when they make that journey. For example, the first poem, “A Brand New Day,” is determined and hopeful, ending with these lines:

“Today is a guide to build upon future days
I choose to respect life
I choose to be more loving and kind
I choose to be loving in word and deed
I choose to begin with changing me
I choose to be thankful for events in my life even PTSD
I choose by loving me.”

Certain lines make the reader smile, like in a poem called “Chris Jackson,” where the poet ponders what a friend might be doing now: “As I think of you in Heaven I know you will make the Angels blush and/St. Peter will shake his head when he hears them complain and/ All he can say is that Chris Jackson acting up again?”

There are stories about old vets and young, some who made it home and some who didn’t. Coming from a medic who tried to rescue them all, each battlefield loss is painful and the reader can feel the author’s ongoing personal connection with the many ghosts of war.

One poem is especially vivid. “In the Shadow of The Blade” is about a Huey Helicopter, #091. It begins: “We were soldiers brave and true/ Who rode upon you in our youth.” It ends with: “After fifty years it is time for both of us to rest/ We both know we did our best our story is finally complete/ For we are HOME at last.”

Other poems—like “Why Do the Good Ones Die So Young” or “Your Life Made a Difference to Me” or “Wrong Place at the Wrong Time”—make the reader put down the book for a moment and think about the ghosts who haunt this author. Perhaps the most poignant of all, “We Lost Another Corpsman/Medic Today,” will haunt his readers.

 Review by Joyce Faulkner (June 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

After leaving the Army, he tried to put Vietnam behind and lead a normal life. Though he’d go on to be outwardly successful, on the inside he battled demons of anger, guilt, traumatic memories, and inability to trust, leading eventually to getting fired and other destroyed relationships. Almost forty years later, after a breakdown and PTSD diagnosis, Kerry began to examine his torment through writing. This book is the gripping story of his experience in Vietnam and how it shaped his life for decades to come.

Being a Medic in the Infantry isn't for the faint of heart. Gunfights and medivacs are daily activities. Every decision means life or death in the heat of combat. Follow along as Doc Pardue recalls his combat tour with the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam

His journey is one of hope that help did come from many sources, the VA, his writing, going to group with other medics and corpsmen, and actively serve medic and corpsmen in leadership roles in their organizations.  He found that his service was honorable, that he did much to relieve the pain and suffering of those that he served with that were wounded. He saved lives and he held the hands of those that did not make it helping them to cross over death’s portal.

ISBN/ASIN: ASIN: B08787WG6V,  ISBN-13: 978-1477414989,  ISBN-10: 1477414983
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Poetry—Poetry Book
Number of Pages: 278

Student, Sailor, Skipper, Survivor - How WWII Transformed the Lives of Ordinary Americans by Julia Gimbel

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review

Author Julia Gimbel took her father's draft, an unpublished memoir, and expanded on it to give us her interesting book Student, Sailor, Skipper, Survivor. Her father, Robert T. McCurdy, was in college when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and like so many of his peers volunteered to join the military to help his country win the war. As a college student, he had the opportunity to enlist as an officer in the Navy. He took advantage of that and never regretted his choice. McCurdy served on a landing craft tank (LCT) in the Pacific, transporting men and equipment on and off the islands. Many of the men he returned to the larger ships were injured. McCurdy survived the war, and after a while, he began to jot down his memories of the war years. While author Gimbel's discovery of her father's memoir and war years correspondence served as the inspiration to write this book, once she got started, she realized she needed to expand her research. She researched military archives and talked to more World War Two survivors. This book is not about major military victories or the feats of heroes. Rather it takes a look at the common sailor and what life was like so far from home and so close to death. It's a good book that I recommend. 

Review by Bob Doerr (May 2020)


Author's Synopsis

Student, Sailor, Skipper, Survivor goes beyond the often-told battle stories to describe the life experiences shared by millions of Americans serving during WWII. Using her late father's journal as the framework, researcher and author Julia Gimbel fleshes out what it was like to go through accelerated officer training, set sail, and live life at sea during the tumultuous war years.

Step into the shoes of one sailor and, by extension, millions more to catch a whiff of the American spirit and determination of WWII. Learn how young Americans navigated military life and connected with their new brothers over the simple pleasure of a meal or a smoke, all while keeping their eye on the goal of returning home to resume the life they put on hold.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1645381068
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Nonfiction—History
Number of Pages: 307

House de Gracie by Dennis Maulsby

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review

Dennis Maulsby’s House de Gracie is an excellent mix of fantasy fiction and military action that will leave the reader wanting more.

Hugh de Gracie is a worn out, half-blind, shot up military officer who is out of the Army because of his injuries. He doesn’t have long to live, and so he returns to the family mansion to live out his remaining days. While home, he learns two important things. First, being home has completely cured him of any illness, and second, he has started a blood feud with the family of terrorists he killed when escaping Taliban activity. As he learns more of his family history, he realizes that the timelines don’t make sense. His father should be MUCH older than he looks. More and more, as Hugh learns that things are not what they seem, he is hurtling down a path of reckoning with a Muslim fanatic that will see much bloodshed by both families.

While I am not a fan of fantasy fiction, I am a fan of military fiction, and I love how Maulsby weaves both together to create one of the most unique stories I have ever read. The story seems perfectly plausible, even though it shatters the normal boundaries of time and the human relationship with nature. It’s very well done, and a fun read besides. I am absolutely hoping for a sequel!

Review by Rob Ballister (June 2020)


Author's Synopsis

After ten years in the U.S. Army, Major Hugh de Gracie returns to the five-hundred-year-old family mansion in New York's Adirondack Mountains. A terminal bat-borne disease caught in Afghanistan gives him very little time to reconcile with a family he rejected a decade ago. Only his pending death provides a powerful enough reason to bring him back into an isolated Gothic household of many secrets. His family and their residence -- in both mind and flesh -- are more intimately intertwined than Hugh can possibly imagine.

The illness is not the full extent of his problems. An implacable Taliban enemy made on the battlefield will attempt to destroy him, his family, and his house. Supported by wealthy Saudi interests, the enemy will force a climactic battle on his front lawn.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN: 978-1-945663-27-7, ASIN: B0843S5X5C
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Horror/Fantasy/Sci Fi
Number of Pages: 315

Saigon Summer: Corruption & Murder During/After the Tet Offensive 1968 by Robert M. Pacholik

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

Author's Synopsis

“SAIGON SUMMER: Corruption and Murder During/After the Tet Offensive 1968” is a fictionalized account of real events during the nine months and three phases of the Tet Offensive, in South Vietnam.

During and after Tet, five military photo/journalists covered the war in the rice paddies, the cities, the mountains and highlands, and all across the Mekong Delta. While fighting raged, these same enlisted men discovered that Black Marketeers based on the Saigon Docks, were stealing and selling 45 tons monthly of uniforms, weapons, equipment and supplies, GI socks, ammunition, vehicles, MOGAS and AVGAS to both sides for obscene profits.

Tasked to photograph and report about the war, these young men saw US military infantry and support units starved of equipment, and infantry men dying because of the stolen goods. Two of the five set out to find out who is running this corrupt operation, how it works, and expose it to the two major Commands that ran the US effort in Vietnam. (namely MACV, and USARV).

Through the prism of a Public information Office on the Saigon Docks, we see both US military officers and non-com sergeants who operate the Black Market on a day-to-day basis. These active-duty men censor, distort, and destroy evidence of the operation run by four American military men.

Photo/Reporters endure terrifying firefights, monsoon rainstorms, rancid mud and insects, and hardened VC/NVA troops daily. Their work is censored and distorted to show that things are going well, despite facts to the contrary. As time passes, these “photo guys” find stolen American goods in every part of the country. And a steady expansion of further Black Market activities into all four tactical zone of Vietnam, is in the works.

They also find out about phantom ships delivering non-existent AVGAS to pipelines that don’t exist, from ports that have no record of these ships ever arriving. All to enrich these insulated “Four Horsemen.”

The enlisted men are subject to (Article 15) discipline, bogus charges and trumped-up Courts Martial charges, and repeated daily harassment and physical abuse to, “go along/to get along.”

Murders follow in the path of Black Market expansion, and men on both sides fall victim to “stop at all costs, or terminate them,” and keep the Black Market ‘pipeline’ running at full speed.

You will not like SAIGON SUMMER, but every detail of this story is true, based on personal accounts and eyewitness testimony. Evil flourished in Saigon in 1968.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN#  978-0-988-1773-5-2       (for E-book)
Book Format(s): Soft cover
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 210

Plans That Made God Laugh by James Allen

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review

Captain James "Bluto" Allen, USN (Ret), has had a heck of a life. His earliest dream had always been to live that life in the air as a Naval Aviator (think "Top Gun"), and except for his unshakable Christian faith and a powerful, military-grade level of personal determination, Life itself might have veered him onto a different course. Only an inability to quit chasing his dreams is ultimately responsible for his success, and this is fully debriefed in Plans That Made God Laugh.

Emerging from an early family situation that moved him around in a military lifestyle (his father flew B-52s), Allen prospered in college and flight school, which is not to say it was easy. Indeed, Allen makes it very clear that military aviation is hard, sometimes made harder when his problems weren't his fault. A minor sketchy eye exam kept him from flying front seat in the Navy's then-premier air superiority jet fighter, the F-14 Tomcat, but he was still able to get the back seat as a naval flight officer.

The memoir is a telling narrative that, yes, details his life and times, career set-backs and progressions, and happy times and less happy times. But more than anything, Allen's faith in God and in himself overcame every obstacle until after his active Navy days, he became a civilian airline pilot at the age of 47. The tale begins a bit slowly, with the usual early years depictions of family and college life. But the story, while not a thriller, soon accelerates like an EA-6B Prowler launching hard off the bow catapult.

The phrase "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans" is attributed to movie director and comedian Woody Allen, not believed to be Captain Allen's relation. But author Allen has managed to keep his good humor and optimistic outlook throughout a readable memoir—and a life—distinguished both by his faith and by his extraordinary service.

Recommended—and a must-read for military aviators.

Review by Daniel Charles Ross (June 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” 

My plan: As long as I can remember, I wanted to fly. 

From humble beginnings in Kansas, to flying as a back-seater in a Navy carrier-based jet, to flying big spy planes and training airplanes, I forged my own path.

After many crushing defeats and unexpected victories, and combat experiences in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, I finally realized my dream of flying as a commercial airline pilot at age 47.

Plans that Made God Laugh is my story.  I’m the little guy with the big dream.

It’s an example of what you can do, with God's help, if you put your mind to it.

ISBN/ASIN: B0864YJWXB
Book Format(s): Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 475

Caribbean Cabal by Hugh Simpson

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review

Caribbean Cabal by Hugh Simpson is an action-packed, full-throated adventure story that is fast-paced and engaging. Since this is the second book in a series, it would have been helpful to have a quick summary of the story arc from the first Hap Stoner book at the beginning. If you hadn't read it, it was confusing as to how all the main characters got together and knew one another and the back story that they constantly refer to. Once you get beyond that, the story moves along well. The overall plot and the execution of the story line is a little unlikely in that all the cascading events in the story would emerge and pile on one another; but what the heck: it's fiction, and anything goes. It’s a good story to take to your den, curl up in your favorite chair, pour some Jameson over ice, and then engage in this boisterous and escapist adventure.

Review by Phil Keith (July 2020)

 

Author's Synopsis

A ruthless Central American President wants it. And he's willing to play a dangerous game of geopolitical chess with Russia and China to get it. Former LtCol Hap "Kang" Stoner owes his life to Will Kellogg and Will Kellogg owes a dangerous international banker millions of dollars. Hap and Will know where the Nazi gold cache is hidden, and they'll take every imaginable risk to seize control of it first. Russia, China, a Central American President bent on expanding his power throughout Latin and South America, collide with hap Stoner's gritty team of warriors.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-949393-04-0,978-1-949393-03-3
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 467

Alter Road by Mark James

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Click on cover image to purchase a copy

MWSA Review

Alter Road by Mark James is described by the author as a political thriller. The title refers to the road that is a border between troubled Detroit and wealthy Gross Pointe.

The 1967 Detroit riots lasted five days in the heat of the summer. The seven days of riot described in this book, set in a brutally cold winter in Detroit, were sparked by power shut-offs for non-payment, which led to many fires as residents tried to heat with dangerous gas heaters. The effects of the conditions leading up to various actions and to the riots are described from multiple viewpoints: students at Wayne State, various gangs, militia, politicians, CID, and the U.S. Army. The backdrop of the riots is critical to the story—significant unemployment, decreasing city budgets which affected infrastructure as well as the number of police available, and the huge number of abandoned homes and businesses. The death of a popular retired school teacher and her family provided the spark to set off the riots that spread to several neighborhoods and other cities in Michigan. Criminals took advantage of the chaos to kill members of other gangs, and some were smart enough to avoid any area that was being photographed by the media, knowing that after the rioters were controlled, law enforcement could use that footage. The Army’s massive numbers, equipment, and organization were finally needed to end the riots. All in all, a very disturbing examination.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (May 2020)


Author's Synopsis

After decades of deindustrialization, economic decline, income inequality, and political polarization, parts of America are a tinderbox.  In Detroit, the match is lit when the local power company routinely shuts off the electricity of households behind in their monthly payments even in the midst of an unusually brutal winter.  Thousands of households resort to portable gas and kerosene heaters, causing a spike in house fires and fire-related deaths. Following the death of a popular retired school teacher and her family, massive protests erupt.  An underfunded and undermanned police department is quickly overwhelmed, and the U.S. Army is deployed. Welcomed at first by exasperated residents, the Army soon finds itself navigating internecine conflicts, an international refugee crisis, and failing infrastructure.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-948035-41-5, 978-1-948035-42-2, B086DS52G1
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle, Audiobook
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 302