The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans; by Barbara Walsh

MWSA Review
Barbara Elizabeth Walsh's wonderfully illustrated book,The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans brings the origin of red poppies used to commemorate fallen soldiers to today's children.

Layne Johnson's beautifully painted illustrations add detail, color, and definition to Barbara Elizabeth Walsh's narrative around a compassionate woman who felt she couldn't do enough to honor veterans. She lived her life always wanting “to do more” for the men and women who gave so much.

The Poppy Lady is an informative read. Johnson's frame-worthy illustrations bring to life a determined woman whose life goal created a symbol in the red poppy still acknowledged and revered.  
Reviewed by: Sandra Miller Linhart

Author's Synopsis
When American soldiers entered World War I, Moina Belle Michael, a schoolteacher from Georgia, knew she had to act. Some of the soldiers were her students and friends. Almost single-handedly, Moina worked to establish the red poppy as the symbol to honor and remember soldiers. And she devoted the rest of her life to making sure the symbol would last forever. Thanks to her hard work, that symbol remains strong today. Author Barbara Elizabeth Walsh and artist Layne Johnson worked with experts, primary documents, and Moina's great-nieces to better understand Moina's determination to honor the war veterans.

A portion of the book's proceeds will support the National Military Family Association's Operation Purple®, which benefits children of the U.S. military.

Brightness From The Shadows; by Jon M. Nelson

MWSA Review
In his book, Brightness from the Shadows, Jon M Nelson has given us complicated, intimate visions of the what being a part of the human race is really all about - that we're truly one with each other; so very much alike even with all of our differences.

This compilation of uplifting and positive poetry questions the limits and labels we place on ourselves and our fellow humans.  It reaches out to explore why we treat others in a way less than loving.
Reviewed by: Sandra Miller Linhart

Author's Synopsis
"We're all unique in our own way, But we're all human at the end of the day. Too many people seem to lose sight, That's why there's always a conflict or fight." This is just one of the many passages in this book that tries to bring home the point that we are all part of the human race. Think of all of the problems that the world faces today, and imagine if someone wrote poems to address these issues and tried to make a difference with them. Brightness from the Shadows is a collection of poetry attempting to do just that. There is something within the pages of Brightness from the Shadows that anyone and everyone can relate to in some way. The goal of this book is to inspire mankind to be something better.

Never Forget (Love in the Fleet); by Heather Ashby

MWSA Review
Heather Ashby has a goal when she writes.  It is a simple one: to entertain.  Her book, Never Forget, Love in the Fleet Book 3, does that and does it well.

This is not a typical book review for me. It is my first romance novel. It was like going to a "chick-flick" with my wife and thoroughly enjoying the experience. Ashby writes for adult readers and does it very well. 

Never Forget is invigorating in many ways and totally entertaining. Ms. Ashby includes adventure, a love for the military, and the supernatural in a wonderful way, crossing genres successfully.  Her book is appealing to a broad audience of readers and I heartily recommend it. 
Reviewer: Mike Mullins
 

Author's Synopsis
With 7.5 tons of World Trade Center steel melted into her bow, what if there are more souls aboard the USS New York than the sailors and Marines stationed there? And what if those souls can help the troops defeat al-Qaeda this time?
 
When Gwyn Pritchard reports aboard the USS New York, she's the only person who sees 9/11 spirits roaming the decks. As the sole survivor of an IED blast, Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Adam Connor is wrestling with his own haunted past, but when he learns Gwyn is seeing ghosts aboard their ship, he becomes her confidant...and her lover.
 
Passions rise to fever pitch when the New York rushes to liberate hostages in North Africa. Can the spirits provide the right intelligence for the Marines to save the prisoners? Can Gwyn help the ghosts move on to the light? And can Adam and Gwyn find the love they've searched the world over for? 
 
Book 3 of the "Love in the Fleet" Series, which includes: FORGET ME NOT, FORGIVE AND FORGET, and NEVER FORGET

Damned Yankee: The Story of a Marriage; by Carolyn Schriber

MWSA Review
The market for fiction related to the American Civil War seems to be growing, but it is rare to encounter a writer who decides to focus almost completely on the “home front” aspect of the war years. This is what Carolyn Schriber has chosen to do in setting her tale in South Carolina, by looking at a family whose patriarch, Jonathan Grenville, is a New England-born teacher who married the daughter of a well-to-do Deep South landowner, and as a result suspected by almost everyone as somehow “disloyal to the cause.” This tension, Schriber underscores, becomes especially trying during the war.  It happens because there were many “causes” in the conflict – love of country, love of state, loyalty to family and friends, individual conscience (for Grenville is quietly ashamed that his wife’s family own slaves). This is just to name a few.  

This book is not an action-oriented tale of battlefield and comradeship. It is instead a thoughtful narrative, driven by dialogue between and among the characters as the war begins and continues in all its challenges and emergencies; these strains that the war placed on the civilians, becomes the heart of this story. What action exists in the book is usually related in letters the family members receive from relatives and friends in the Confederate Army. The Battle of Secessionville, when Union forces attempted to capture Charleston, South Carolina, is described in a letter as a hail of “shot and cannonball,” until the ammunition ran out, at which point the Rebs seize “every loose item to use as a projectile.” In this way the point is made that the South bankrupted its resources in the war.

The pains of the war are told more in discussions of the events like the steady decline of food supplies in the South (the Grenvilles tirelessly tend their vegetable gardens to hold back hunger). The inevitable decline of the South is told quickly in the last pages, which makes a nice metaphor for the painful defeat that no one wanted to face or dwell on.

Damned Yankee is a fine tale of the war from the perspective of the overlooked bystanders who bear no arms but suffer equally from the ravages of the conflict. It is recommended to anyone who enjoys Civil War fiction.
Reviewed by Terry Shoptaugh
 

Author's Synopsis
These are the people you don’t read about in history books.

A Harvard-educated New Englander. He was welcomed as a teacher by a school for apprentices in Charleston, South Carolina. But when his history lessons about the founding of America clashed with the pro-secession rhetoric of local slave-owners, he was out of a job. Can he find a way to reconcile his abolitionist sentiments with the practical need to support his family in a region whose economy is based on slavery? 

A wealthy Southern belle. She has always believed that her ancestors were benevolent slave-owners and that they treated their slaves with dignity and respect. Now she has inherited the family plantations, only to see the institution of slavery come under attack as an unmitigated evil. The coming of the Civil War threatens her land, her children, her marriage, and the values that have always sustained her. How much will she be willing to sacrifice in order to help her family survive?

A female slave. She was given to her mistress when they were both very small because they shared a common grandfather – a fact that everyone knew and no one talked about. The war offers her a promise of freedom as well as the prospect of a bittersweet separation from her beloved cousin. Will the bonds of family stretch or break?

A Confederate soldier. He supported secession and eagerly volunteered for the Army, 
believing, like most young men, that he was invincible. And like too many of those young men, he was wounded and taken prisoner. The aftermath of his war experience left him with wounds far deeper than those that caused the amputation of his leg. Can he conquer the pain, the flashbacks, the disability, and the nightmares that keep him incapacitated and unable to return to his former life?

The newly-weds. The couple married in haste, realizing that the coming of war might mean a long period of separation. But the young wife did not expect to receive a black-bordered letter telling her that her husband had been killed in battle. Now she faces life in wartime as a widow and the mother of newborn twins. She can return to her family or seek to make a a new life for herself. Which way will she turn?

The children. Uprooted from their home and school by a series of family disasters, they face an uncertain future. The teenage boy gives up his dream of becoming a dairy farmer. With tears streaming down his face, he begs his cows to run away because Confederate soldiers are confiscating all cattle as food for the army. His brothers and sisters struggle to adapt to new conditions of poverty, hunger, and hard work. And they watch with fear as those circumstances threaten the stability of their parents’ marriage. Will the family stay together or scatter as their friends and neighbors have done? 

An educated ex-slave. Despite his free status, he realizes that freedom is just a word -- meaningless without respect in the eyes of the community and without the ability to interact on an equal basis with those who once were his owners. Will his freedom really liberate him or will it destroy him?

America’s Civil War was more than a political disaster. It was a human tragedy, and everyone – North and South, young and old, black and white, rich and poor – everyone was caught up in that broken world. Yet somehow the victims held on to the hope that love for one another could mend the tears in the fabric of their lives. These are their stories.

By What is Sure to Follow: A PTSD Odyssey; by Donald N Burton

MWSA Review
 
In By What is Sure to Follow, Donald N. Burton pens a striking and provocative tale of one marine’s journey from carefree college student to highly trained jungle killer to PTSD-suffering vet.  He moves quickly, draws in the reader, and then blindsides him.  

The main character is Luke Simms, a student  who isn’t trying hard enough and loses his full time college deferment, resulting in a draft notice.  Rather than become fodder for the Army, the athletic Simms decides to enlist in the Marine Corps in order to have some say about where he ends up.  Finding a home in the USMC, he excels and earns a spot in their most elite unit, Force Reconnaissance, or Recon.  In the jungles of Vietnam, Luke is transformed into “Eyes,” a highly trained and exceptionally lethal team leader.  But in finding his niche he may have lost himself, and may also lose his mind in the process.

Combat vets from any conflict will probably find a lot in common with “Eyes,” and will likely relate to a lot of what goes on in the book.  The book, at times, is emotionally charged and portrays very well the brotherhood of arms. It is thought-provoking but can be emotionally exhausting at times.
Review by Rob Ballister

Author's Synopsis
Ex-Marine Force Recon Luke Sims is a veteran of two wars: Vietnam and the one inside his head. He's spent the last fourteen years attending self-help group sessions at a local Veterans' Center to help him be normal, to cope with the memories and trauma of his tour of duty. On the outside he seems fine. But looks can deceive and it's not long before Luke goes to war with his incredible skill set against his inner demons and the depth of his pain is at last revealed-with deadly consequences.    

Based on actual in-country events of uncommon valor, unbelievable luck and supreme dedication to brethren, By What Is Sure To Follow: A PTSD Odyssey dramatically follows one veteran's path, chronicling unknown exploits into North Vietnam during the early years of the Vietnam War. With stark realism, it reveals the potentially devastating aftereffects of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) on those who go to war and painfully decries the failure of a nation to protect and heal its warriors when they come home broken.

The Court-Martial of Benedict Arnold; by Richard McMahon

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MWSA Review
The Court-Martial of Benedict Arnold by Richard McMahon is a historical novel that depicts what might have happened if Benedict Arnold had been captured and given the opportunity to explain to a panel of his military peers why he planned to help the British during the Revolutionary War. It includes a military trial where Arnold is allowed to offer explanation and context while being represented by a reluctant fictional attorney. By moving from the trial arena to the outside world, the reader also is given insight into the minds of Arnold’s contemporaries.

Genuine letters and documents are used through the book, and the beginning of the book lists a cast of characters. The epilogue tells us what happened to the people and places in this novel – even to the fictional characters (who are clearly identified in the epilogue).

Lovers of historical fiction and courtroom drama are in for a treat in this well researched and well written novel that examines the era of the American Revolutionary War. What if Benedict Arnold had not escaped and had instead been brought to trial? The courtroom developments bring out the best in Arnold while clearly explaining why he changed sides during the war.

MWSA Reviewer: Nancy Kauffman

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Author's Synopsis

Benedict Arnold was the most notorious traitor in American history. Entrusted with the defense of West Point by George Washington during the Revolutionary War, he attempted to surrender it to the British. The conspiracy, had it succeeded, would probably have been the death knell for the American cause. Fortunately, his treachery was discovered at the last moment. Warned of the plot’s failure, Arnold just barely evaded capture and escaped to British lines.

But what if Arnold had been captured by the Americans and tried by court-martial for treason? What would his defense have been? Would we have learned what prompted this man, a true hero of the war’s early days, to suddenly turn on his country? 

In The Court-Martial of Benedict Arnold, America’s most infamous traitor defends himself before a panel of his peers, claiming that the entire event was an enemy plot to discredit him and thus undermine the American cause. This is also the story of Joshua Thorne, a conflicted officer in the Judge Advocate General Corps, who has been given the task of defending Arnold. Thorne is depressed by the role he is required to play in prosecuting soldiers for offenses caused mainly by the failure of Congress to feed and pay them. He has started to drink heavily, and is beginning to question his loyalty to the quest for America’s independence. His life is further complicated when his defense of Arnold places his love affair with Amelia Martin at risk. Amy, a school mistress and fierce patriot, detests Arnold as a traitor, and is distressed by Thorne’s growing alliance with him.

Currents: Corrales Writing Group 2015 Anthology; by Patricia Walkow,‎ Christina Allen,‎ Maureen Cooke ,‎ Sandi Hoover,‎ Thomas Neiman,‎ James John Tritten

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MWSA Review
In their third anthology, titled Currents, the Corrales Writing Group once again showcases their exceptional and varied talents.  

The book is divided into four sections (humor, fiction, essay, and memoir), and among the twenty-three different stories, anyone will find multiple works that speak to them.  My favorite section was the fiction offering, and I especially enjoyed the gritty “Bête Noire,” one of the best crime stories I have read, short or otherwise.  “The Moist End of the Earth,” was also highly enjoyable and very surprising with its erotic undertones.

This talented group has something for every taste, and fans of variety and short stories/works will definitely enjoy this book.
MWSA Reviewer: Rob Ballister  
 

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Author's Synopsis

Currents is an anthology of work from the Corrales Writing Group for the year 2015. It includes humor, fiction, essays and memoir.

Spy of Richmond; by Jocelyn Green

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MWSA Review
In Spy of Richmond by Jocelyn Green we meet Sophie Kent, daughter of Richmond newspaper magnate (and slaveholder) Preston Kent. Set in the war-torn capital of the Confederacy, this fourth installment of the Heroines behind the Lines series begins in 1863 and follows the Kent family through the fall of Richmond and beyond. 

Sophie, behind her father’s back and clearly against his will, has been writing articles for her father’s newspaper using a man’s nom de plume. Because she was schooled in Philadelphia, her sympathies are clearly with freeing America from the scourge of slavery, while her loyalties are tied to family, friends, community, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

The book is written mostly from Sophie’s point of view and details her struggle to reconcile what she feels is right regarding an end to slavery with her loyalty to the South.
She begins her efforts by visiting Libby Prison in Richmond and attempting to aid and feed Yankee soldiers held within its horrific confines. She volunteers in the hospital treating Union soldiers, justifying it under the guise of hoping that somewhere in the North similar women are tending Confederate soldiers in prisons there. Her efforts broaden until she is helping prisoners escape, aiding slaves in their bid for freedom, and feeding information about Confederate troop movements to Northern spies. 

Some of the characters in Spy of Richmond first appeared in earlier books in the series, so it would be helpful to read the books in order for greater clarity.
MWSA Reviewer: Betsy Beard

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Author's Synopsis
Trust none. Risk all.

Richmond, Virginia, 1863. Compelled to atone for the sins of her slaveholding father, Union loyalist Sophie Kent risks everything to help end the war from within the Confederate capital and abolish slavery forever. But she can't do it alone. 

Former slave Bella Jamison sacrifices her freedom to come to Richmond, where her Union soldier husband is imprisoned, and her twin sister still lives in bondage in Sophie's home. Though it may cost them their lives, they work with Sophie to betray Rebel authorities. Harrison Caldwell, a Northern freelance journalist who escorts Bella to Richmond, infiltrates the War Department as a clerk-but is conscripted to defend the city's fortifications. 

As Sophie's spy network grows, she walks a tightrope of deception, using her father's position as newspaper editor and a suitor's position in the ordnance bureau for the advantage of the Union. One misstep could land her in prison, or worse. Suspicion hounds her until she barely even trusts herself. When her espionage endangers the people she loves, she makes a life-and-death gamble. 

Will she follow her convictions even though it costs her everything-and everyone-she holds dear?

Vietnam Nurse: Mending & Remembering; by Lou Eisenbrandt

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MWSA Review
A young woman trains as a nurse and goes to Nam to find her personal and professional way!

To satisfy wanderlust, Eisenbrandt chooses a nursing vocation to finish high school and the Army to “see the world” and develop her skills.  Not the norm for a young woman to go to the war zone, this VIETNAM NURSE shares her field hospital lifestyle that year in 1970.  The author narrative describes the routines and incoming patients, recreation on the China Sea, and the limited social outlets and available relationships.  

After her tour, Lou Eisenbrandt reflects on four return trips to Vietnam after the war ended and as she aged, with her varying feelings and impressions.  Not the normal war story, this book relates to the impact of war on a young woman and her ongoing relative success to travel and mend as much as anyone may with a scarred war background.     
MWSA Reviewer: Hodge Wood
 

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Author's Synopsis

Combining narrative and poetry, photos and documents, Lou Eisenbrandt's Vietnam Nurse tells the compelling story of how a Midwestern woman, born with a little wanderlust and a lot of courage, found herself serving as a nurse in Vietnam during some of the most dangerous and damaging stretches of the war in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During her service, Eisenbrandt encounters life-changing stories, most notably her own, as she writes in one of her poems, that spark "Songs of love and loss, of sweat drenched nights and blood smeared days." Since the war and through her many return journeys to Vietnam, Eisenbrandt shows us her deepening commitment to service, widening search for truth, and enduring creation of a life that matters.

—Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg 2009-13 Kansas Poet Laureate

Shrapnel Wounds; by Tom Crowley

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MWSA Review
Shrapnel Wounds, An Infantry Lieutenant’s Vietnam War Memoir is a well-crafted raw look at the combat experience of one soldier, which also represents the experiences of countless others. Tom Crowley’s unabashed account of his time in the military and the lifelong impact it had on him is a must read for anyone who seeks to understand the reality of combat. 

Crowley skillfully captures the struggles, heroism, fear, and loss experienced by combat soldiers of all eras. From mundane days, to tragic, senseless deaths, to equally tragic but extraordinarily heroic sacrifices, Crowley takes the reader with him. He brings the reader to boot camp and to the jungles, in a manner that is felt as opposed to just read. He shines a spotlight on the lethal consequences of arbitrary decisions and backwards bureaucracy while demonstrating the courage of the unsung heroes of war. 

This book will resonate with combat veterans, provide insight to their families, and educate the ignorant on the true cost of freedom.

Welcome Home.

MWSA Reviewer: Barbara Allen

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Author's Synopsis

Shrapnel Wounds is the combat memoir of Lieutenant Tom Crowley, an enthusiastic and highly trained U.S. Army enlistee and Officer Candidate School grad who enters combat in Vietnam in mid-1966. Highly regarded by his infantry platoon and strongly encouraged by his superiors to become a professional soldier, Crowley almost inadvertently examines the system by which career officers are shepherded through to higher and higher rank—and increasingly rejects that system over the course of his one-year combat tour.

Before the Belle; Cassius Mullen

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MWSA Review
A great read and a long-overdue recognition of a record-breaking B-24 crew during World War II.

Have you heard of the Memphis Belle? Have you seen the movie—or the 1944 documentary—of the same name? How about 12 O'Clock High? When we think of World War II bombers, why is it that the B-17 seems to be the first airplane to come to mind? You might find an answer in an article written for the January 2016 edition of the Aviation History magazine, which quotes a B-24 engineer-gunner: "The B-24 was the bomber that was mostly ignored when the history books were written." Thanks to authors Cassius Mullen and Betty Byron, and their thoroughly enjoyable book, Before the Belle, you'll have a much better appreciation for the Liberator's capabilities and its role during the war.

As a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, I was familiar with the story of the Memphis Belle. I also thought that I had a pretty good handle on daylight precision bombing—carried out primarily by the U.S. Army Air Corps—during the Second World War. Although I was familiar with the B-24 Liberator, this book made it clear that there was a great deal I didn't know about its capabilities and contributions to the war effort.

In addition to being a great read, Before the Belle also makes an important contribution by correcting the historical record—which gave the crew of the Memphis Belle credit for being the first to accomplish twenty-five combat missions in the European theater of operations. The authors correctly point out that rather than the Memphis Belle, it was the crew of a B-24 Liberator nicknamed Hot Stuff, who were the first to reach that important milestone.

After a short introduction, we follow the Hot Stuff's crew as they complete their initial training in the airplane, get their first taste of combat during anti-submarine patrols off the coast of Florida, deploy to Europe, and fly and fight their way through each of their thirty-one combat missions from October 1942 through March 1943. The descriptions of aerial combat occur in short, but action-packed, chapters covering each mission.

The authors personalize the history by creating conversations between the various crew members and other military personnel and civilians they meet. The dialog is found throughout the book and allows readers to feel like they're flying along with the crew in their B-24… or exploring London and Cairo with the Hot Stuff crewmembers during a 24-hour pass.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this unsung hero of an airplane and the brave crewmembers who flew it.
MWSA Reviewer: John Cathcart

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Author's Synopsis

On May 3, 1943, a lone American B-24 on a secret mission from Bovington airdrome in England neared the Icelandic coast bound for the United States. Captain Robert “Shine” Shannon was at the controls. He and his nine man crew of Hot Stuff had been honored two weeks earlier as being the first heavy bomber in the Eighth Air Force to complete 25 combat missions. That number was a benchmark established by the Army Air Force for bomber crews to be rotated back to the United States where the plane and its crew would tour the country to promote the war effort.

By the time Hot Stuff and its crew received word they were to rotate back to the States, they had endured not just 25 but 31 combat missions. A combat mission was defined as anytime an American aircraft came under hostile fire over enemy territory.
Hot Stuff was honored to be chosen by Lt. General Frank Andrews, commander of all American Forces in the European Theater of Operations, to fly him and his staff to Washington, D.C. After arriving in Washington he was to receive his fourth star and assume command of all Allied Forces in the European Theater of Operations. However, the accomplishments of Hot Stuff and its crew along with those of Andrews went unheralded in the annals of World War II.

Death Ship; by Joseph Badal

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MWSA Review
Joseph Badal knows how to spin a good yarn. Death Ship is the 5th book in the Danforth Saga. When Bob Danforth retires, he takes his wife, daughter-in-law and grandson on a supposedly leisurely cruise in the Ionian Sea. The cruise turns out to be anything but relaxing.

At the same time, terrorists plot a major attack to garner worldwide attention. Well-planned and seemingly foolproof, the incident will have far reaching consequences, not to mention that the men behind the attack will achieve great monetary benefits.

Although Danforth is retired, he becomes involved, as the CIA and U.S. military try to anticipate the terror threat. His son Michael is a one-star general attached to Delta Force. His grandson, Robbie, is an intelligent, tech-savvy teenager. Together with the trained specialty  operatives, they seek to track down the terrorists before it is too late. While their path is often foiled by political forces, they use all the connections and resources at hand to save the lives of hundreds of thousands innocent victims.

Badal gives readers a complicated plot filled with characters that run the gamut from good to viciously evil. His writing style and use of dialogue make the story easy to follow as it twists and turns to its final conclusion. And his well-developed characters stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
MWSA Reviewer: Pat Avery

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Author's Synopsis
"Death Ship” is another suspense-filled thriller in the 45-year-long journey of the Danforth family. This fifth book in the Danforth Saga, which includes “Evil Deeds,” “Terror Cell,” “The Nostradamus Secret,” and “The Lone Wolf Agenda,” introduces Robbie Danforth, the 15-year-old son of Michael and Miriana Danforth, and the grandson of Bob and Liz Danforth.

A leisurely cruise in the Ionian Sea turns into a nightmare event when terrorists hijack a yacht with Bob, Liz, Miriana, and Robbie aboard. Although the boat’s crew, with Bob and Robbie’s help, eliminate the hijackers, there is evidence that something more significant may be in the works. 

The CIA and the U.S. military must identify what that might be and who is behind the threat, and must operate within a politically-corrupt environment in Washington, D.C. At the same time, they must disrupt the terrorist’s financing mechanism, which involves trading in securities that are highly sensitive to terrorist events.

Michael Danforth and a team of DELTA operatives are deployed from Afghanistan to Greece to assist in identifying and thwarting the threat.

“Death Ship” is another roller coaster ride of action and suspense, where good and evil battle for supremacy and everyday heroes combat evil antagonists.

The Funny Thing About War; by Al Campo

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MWSA Review
From boredom to shore leave to gun runs, this Vietnam era novel gives a day to day look at a critical period in a young seaman’s life.

In The Funny Thing About War, Al Campo describes the life of a seaman on a destroyer during the Vietnam conflict through fiction by combining his own experiences and other eye witness accounts and a bit of creativity.  Young men had to adapt not only to  the Navy’s restrictions but also cramped space, regular duty plus additional service when the ship was being refueled or receiving supplies, ship mates from various areas of the country with different cultures, and likeable comrades who sometimes shirked the harder work.  During gun runs, sleep was a rare commodity yet lives depended on attention to assigned responsibilities.  Shore leaves included a travelogue of Hong Kong.

This period of young adulthood changes people; thus the title of the novel.   
MWSA Reviewer: Nancy Kauffman

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Author's Synopsis

Meet Chris Columbo. Twenty-two years old, intelligent, well spoken—once a promising U.S. naval officer candidate. But at college, his plans and dreams are shattered by the woman he deeply loves. Disillusioned about life in general, he falls into an abyss of self-pity, resigns his ROTC scholarship, abandons his studies, drops out and embarks on a downward spiral, eventually hitting rock bottom.

But all is not lost as he receives orders to report for active duty with the U.S. Navy, an organization to which he is contractually bound. In spite of his recent opposition to the war, desperation forces him to honor the terms of his contract and he soon finds himself aboard the the USS Lawrence, a guided missile destroyer, deployed as an active participant in the Lam Son and Linebacker operations off the coasts of South and North Vietnam. 

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT WAR, an historical fiction, provides a sailor’s perspective of the Vietnam War through the exploits of Chris and his shipmates. Sometimes challenging, often humorous, Chris’s experiences will change him forever, leading him to embrace his life and future. Now, if he can just survive his final mission.

The Liberators; by Jerri Gibson McCloud

MWSA Review
Tender moments followed by horrific combat

Jerri Gibson McCloud neatly packages a love story, a family drama, and a hard-hitting shoot 'em up war action into a book that entertains and informs. At various moments, The Liberators makes one misty-eyed, sympathetic, euphoric, and cringing in horror at the vivid up-close experiences of aerial combat during World War II.

The author's knack for grouping words in a dramatic, descriptive fashion makes the reader feel he is in an airplane being shot to pieces by German fighters. While reading, one feels he is inside the airmen's minds as they fight to control fears so the mission can be completed. Your adrenaline pumps with a gunner's desperation of destroying an enemy plane before it destroys your plane. You feel the terror of watching your buddies go down in flames.
The Liberators follows Andrew Walters from telling his family he has dropped out of college to join the Army Air Force and train as a B-17 bomber pilot, to combat in Europe where he meets a hometown girlfriend serving as a Red Cross Nurse, to being shot down over Germany, and to surviving the deprivation of being a prisoner of war. Walters struggles to overcome his own insecurities as he holds his crew together, completing one harrowing mission after another until their luck runs out. Captured after being shot down, Walters faces different leadership challenges against adversaries in a POW camp.

Although the bulk of The Liberators follows the adventures of Captain Walters, his war experiences are skillfully interwoven with the different issues faced by his family back home in North Carolina and their emotions after receiving the dreaded telegram: Your son is missing in action.

I recommend The Liberators.
Review by Joe Epley, MWSA Reviewer

Author's Synopsis
Winter 1943. WWII is full blown. USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, Capt. Andrew Walters who has an unstoppable drive and undeterred command of leadership, flies his crew through horrific missions over Germany and Austria to slow the surge of the Luftwaffe and liberate people from the devastation of Hitler’s Third Reich. 

In this fast-paced debut novel, German Luftwaffe burst through clouds at 12 o’clock with blinding sun preceding them, unleashing their weapons on an out gunned—out maneuvered—overloaded B-17 on one of three treacherous missions to destroy ball bearing plants over Germany. Capt. Walters leads his crew through torturous flak, 8mm guns peppering the Flying Fortress, and 20mm cannons barreling through the plane while holding a steady course toward their initial point to release bombs on German targets. A web of bloody human debris splayed across the B-17’s windshield—an eyeball stars back at them. 

During his thirty-month journey, Capt. Walters is determined to become the man his perfectionist father can be proud of—a man alone in his secret plight, his leadership would turn frightened, petrified, ashen boys into men. 

Along the way, the Captain falls in love with a spirited Red Cross nurse from his hometown. She rescues an orphaned toddler and becomes extremely attached creating multiple problems as a result. The pilot’s family in Fayetteville, North Carolina, suffers tremendously when their son becomes Missing in Action.

Rarely does a WWII novel deal with the fears of its airmen or take you back home where the families cope by serving their country in other ways while their men fight for freedom for all. The Liberators covers it all.

The Quest of the Sultana; by J. L. Rothdiener

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MWSA Review
In The Quest of the Sultana, author J. L. Rothdiener succeeds at combining history and fiction. This Christian historical novel begins with a Northern concert pianist and a Southern belle meeting in 1859, when emotions were already running at a high pitch and war seemed a distinct possibility.
Barrett von Weber and Brooke Fortner meet at Harpers Ferry, when he rescues her from possible harm at the hands of John Brown and his sons. As they fall in love during the next year, her youngest brother displays his hatred for any Northerner and his obsession with war. 

Although Barrett appears to be simply a Christian musician, he is also an expert marksman who practices Kung Fu, an heir to a major German winery and a well-educated, multicultural student of history. He and Brooke marry in June of 1860, and are traveling in Europe when the Civil War breaks out.

Barrett feels the need to return to America where his talents are needed to train Union soldiers in the use of new weapons. Throughout the war, this fictional character crosses paths with famous historical figures, new technologies and real economic occurrences of the time.
Rothdiener stays true to history while weaving a story of two people and the people they love. The plot revolves around the New Havens Arms Company (the maker of the Henry repeating rifle), Andersonville Prison and the Sultana. His extensive research is evident in both plot and character development.

The Quest of the Sultana leaves the reader pondering the futility of war and the moral quandaries that arise as well as the atrocities and the heartaches suffered by both sides.
At Harper’s Ferry, Barrett remarks to General Robert E. Lee, “It is hard to bring the future to men who are stuck in the past.” I am still contemplating that statement.

MWSA Reviewer: 

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Author's Synopsis
HE WAS A MAN OF CHIVALRY, JUSTICE, AND LOVE...
Brooke is the daughter of a wealthy Southern landowner. Barrett is a hymnist and a renowned concert musician from the North. They’re from different worlds, but somehow fate has conspired to bring them together.

When the tensions between North and South reach the breaking point, the entire nation is swept into the struggle that will one day be known as the Civil War. Brother pitted against brother. Father against son. Families torn apart, and futures shattered beyond any hope of repair.

Now, separated by distance, and blood, and pain, Barrett and Brooke must find out if their love is stronger than war.

Mark's Special Mission at Arlington National Cemetery; by Gregory Keeney

Author's Synopsis
Strength of a Nation, Honor to Our Fallen, and Healing Through Relationships. Mark’s Special Mission in Arlington National Cemetery epitomizes the character and compassion of the United States in its commitment to honor the Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen who have given the final full measure in service to our nation.

Oink! Only in Korea!: Based on true events that happened in and around the Demilitarized Zone, Republic of Korea circa 1980; by David Osterhout

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MWSA Review
Page turner!  Incredible 1980 Korean DMZ tour of duty

Author Osterhout creates fast pace and intense action, even when freezing on guard duty in the middle of the night on a bridge.  A terrific presentation of the dangerous, sleepless Armed Forces lifestyle at what might be considered by many to be a peaceful assignment.  

The Korean DMZ is a powder keg, with frequent shootings, infiltration attempts, and American patrol minefield death and dismemberment – to name a few.  Intelligence Officer Lt. Osterhout places the reader there in 1980, in a tense page-turner of inspiring, informative grief and humor!  Excellent Army dialogue, lighter moments, and strange encounters expose the cultural tilts of life.  

This book is tightly packaged and full of incredible content with a catchy beginning and ending.  It is well written and creative, with no holes.  Author nails the military experience from this distant, isolated remote assignment that many in the service typically endure somewhere but are never appreciated for surviving… and the author barely did on this one!
I truly enjoyed this book and suggest everyone read it to get a front line view of the sacrifices of non-wartime service that normally go unrecognized. 
MWSA Reviewer: Hodge Wood

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Author's Synopsis
OinK! Only in Korea! 

In 1980, years after Vietnam and even more years before Desert Storm, America was experiencing a seventeen-year period of peace. One of the few places a young army officer could find adventure was on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea, Freedom's Frontier. The second day in-country, the lieutenant was no longer a Korean cherry boy. Hours later he found himself inside the DMZ. By the end of the week, he was wounded.

As the intelligence officer for the battalion, he knew the area around the DMZ was a dangerous place. The minefields took many casualties, small arms fire got others, and artillery short rounds claimed even more, leading up to the bizarre episode of a missing severed hand and the search for the diamond ring that was no longer on it. Even something as simple as crossing the Imjin River after the monsoons turned deadly. And then there was the most feared affliction of all, catching river blindness. It's not a disease – it's going down to the river and getting your eyes shot out.

The lieutenant's daily routine was anything but routine. The averages told the story: a shooting incident every ten days with thirty-three combat related deaths during the year. The patrols were long and cold, the guard posts were desolate, and Freedom Bridge operations droned on until enemy frogmen shattered the monotony. Peace, in that part of the world, had a unique definition. As they say, the DMZ isn't hell but you can see it from there.

Those who worked hard also played hard. The parties were so wild that they fell into the category of “that which didn't kill you made you stronger”. The eleven and a half months in Korea provided more experiences than ever expected, especially the ending, when the lieutenant's twelve-month tour was cut short in a most unusual way by a booby trap.
This 'slice of life' novel is obviously military genre and is definitely memoir-ish. The story is steeped in facts because the author is the lieutenant intelligence officer who journeyed to the Korean DMZ – and paid the price with a severe and lasting physical wound and a psychological scar that, to this day, haunts him from time to time.

This is not going to be the next great American novel and it won't win any awards. However, it is an interesting story, like the ones told around the kitchen table or over drinks. When told, people become quiet, and listen. The reader will be completely entertained and amazed at what happened to one man in the Land of the Not Quite Right.

Go to any bookstore and you will see racks of books about Vietnam, World War II and Iraq/Afghanistan. Noticeably missing are books about Korea. This is an exceptional military tale not only because it takes place in Korea, but it is also about a peacetime military and the sacrifices soldiers make even when they are not at war. OinK! Only in Korea! is a must read for a veteran and there are millions of them who have served in Korea during the time of the truce.
This book brings to people a story that should be told and will allow “the lieutenant” to finally lay his peacetime “war” to rest. 

Where Youth and Laughter Go: With "The Cutting Edge" in Afghanistan; by Seth W.B. Folsom

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MWSA Review
The IED war in Afghanistan
Lt Col Seth Folsom received a call in his small cubicle in the bowels of the Pentagon, informing him he had been selected to command the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, The Cutting Edge. Seven months later he assumed command of the battalion,  and Where Youth and Laughter Go is his memory the 3/7’s preparation and seven-month deployment to the Sangin District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. 

This was The Cutting Edge’s second deployment to Sangin, but most of the officers and NCOs were new and much had changed since their last deployment. Their mission, like that of their predecessor the 1/5, which they relieved in place, was not only to engage Taliban fighters attempting to regain control and impose their version of Shariah law, but also to stabilize the district by training local law agencies by introducing the people to democracy prior to 2012 elections. Folsom soon learned that , shuras/meetings, with Afghan government and military agencies, ANA, ANCOP, ANSF, and the AUP, not only took up his time, but were often futile – No plan survives first contact with the enemy or the ANSF. [A glossary is included to familiarize the reader with terms used by the author]

More than a memoir, Colonel Folsom’s account of the 3/7’s  mission is the heart-wrenching story of The Cutting Edge’s valiant struggle to follow our government’s strategy to introduce democracy to a people who have no concept of it and no real desire to make the changes necessary to implement it. In recalling his thoughts about Iraq, Colonel Folsom wrote, “They have to want this more than we do if this is ever going to work.” He realized this is also true of Afghanistan.

While Folsom’s recollections of Sangin are not intended to be a critique of the U.S.’s Afghanistan counterinsurgency strategy, as the story unfolds, reasons for the strategy’s failure become apparent. Afghanistan is a country of tribes with an ideology and values incompatible with Western concepts, a country where corruption is endemic and democracy is a foreign concept that is incompatible with Islamic ideology. The author comments more than once that Afghans have long memories for the past, but can only see two weeks into the future.

A book about courage, determination and dedication, Where Youth and Laughter Go is the story of young American men and a few women who followed orders and gave their all while attempting to save a people that could not understand our concept of democracy, and the responsibilities demanded by it. 
MWSA Reviewer: Lee Boyland

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Author's Synopsis

Where Youth and Laughter Go: With “The Cutting Edge” in Afghanistan completes LtCol Seth Folsom’s recounting of his personal experiences in command over a decade of war. It is the culminating chapter of a trilogy that began with The Highway War: A Marine Company Commander in Iraq in 2006 and continued with In the Gray Area: A Marine Advisor Team at War in 2010.

The chronicle of Folsom’s command of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, “The Cutting Edge,” and his harrowing deployment to Afghanistan’s volatile Sangin District presents a deeper look into the complexities and perils of modern counterinsurgency operations in America’s longest war. Charged with the daunting task of pacifying a region with a long history of violence and instability, Folsom and his Marines struggled daily to wage a dynamic campaign against the shadowy enemy force that held Sangin’s population firmly in its grip. With peace and stability always teetering on the brink of collapse, the Marines of “The Cutting Edge” confronted their own mortality as they conducted endless patrols through Sangin’s minefields while fighting to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan villagers.

No other books have been published from the perspective of a Marine infantry battalion commander in Afghanistan. It was Folsom’s job, as the unit commander, to lead his Marines under impossible circumstances. LtCol Folsom made the unusual decision to patrol with his rifle squads every day through Sangin, where his Marines dodged improvised explosive devices and sniper fire from an invisible enemy. As his tour progressed and casualties mounted, he found his objectivity evaporating and the love for his men growing. Where Youth and Laughter Go is more than a blood-and-guts war story, it is a jarring, “boots on the ground”–level examination of the myriad challenges and personal dilemmas that today’s young service members face as the United States approaches its final endgame in Afghanistan.

Dustoff 7-3: Saving Lives Under Fire in Afghanistan; by Erik Sabiston

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MWSA Review

A quick and thoroughly enjoyable read.
Dustoff 7-3 by Erik Sabiston will not sit unread on your bedside table for long. Instead, you'll find yourself tearing through the pages. The book focuses on a short but intense tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2010. Sabiston is pilot in command—or as he puts it, "locked in the cockpit of a big, vibrating sauna"—of a Medevac (or "Dustoff") UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. 

The book's first five words are written in all caps and set the stage for what is to follow:  I AM NOT A HERO. Although the author is documenting his own hair-raising experiences flying Medevac missions in combat, he does not dwell on his own thoughts and actions. Instead, Sabiston goes out of his way to acknowledge others, his fellow crew members and those in the line combat organizations he serves, especially the ones having "the worst day of their lives" and needing his unique set of skills. 

This book is quite realistic. So much so that the reader will be immersed in the action and introduced to all the acronyms and lingo used by Army medical evacuation units: PC, TOC, Wobbly One, Meat Servo, to mention just a few. Keeping track of it all can be a bit daunting, but worth the effort, especially when combined with the author's unique sense of humor. For example, I've read many similes for what it's like to hover a helicopter; but none quite like the author's. He likens hovering to "riding a unicycle on top of a bowling ball while juggling three rabid raccoons and reciting the alphabet backwards while you're half-drunk."

The author's sense of humor and matter-of-fact writing style combine to make his highly-skilled and dangerous job seem almost routine. He fairly easily inserts the reader into near-unbelievable situations. Despite his self-depreciating humor and understated style of writing, the author's (and the others with whom he serves) bravery and professionalism come through loud and clear in Dustoff 7-3. 

I recommend this book for readers who want to learn about today's U.S. Army Medevac mission, and especially their role in the battles taking place in Afghanistan.
MWSA Reviewer: John Cathcart

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Author's Synopsis

This book is for heroes.

Dustoff 7-3 tells the true story of four unlikely heroes in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, where medics are forced to descend on wires to reach the wounded and helicopter pilots must fight wind, weather, and enemy fire to pluck casualties from some of the world’s most difficult combat arenas. Complete opposites thrown together, cut off, and outnumbered, Chief Warrant Officer Erik Sabiston and his flight crew answered the call in a race against time, not to take lives—but to save them.

The concept of evacuating wounded soldiers by helicopter developed in the Korean War and became a staple during the war in Vietnam where heroic, unarmed chopper crews flew vital missions known to the grateful grunts on the ground as Dustoffs.

The crew of Dustoff 7-3 carried on that heroic tradition, flying over a region that had seen scores of American casualties, known among veterans as the Valley of Death. At the end of Operation Hammer Down, they had rescued 14 soldiers, made three critical supply runs, recovered two soldiers killed in action, and nearly died. It took all of three days.

Ralph The Tallest Elf; by Karl Boyd

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MWSA Review
Trouble at the North Pole

Ralph, the Tallest Elf by Karl Boyd is a whimsical Christmas tale with a serious side. Written as a poem, children of all ages will delight in the playful poetry and engaging illustrations. Along the way, they will learn some lessons in working cheerfully, respecting others, and interacting in a positive way.

It seems that Ralph, measuring at more than six feet, has taken to bullying the other elves, mocking them in song and pointing out their physical disadvantages. When Santa is away, Ralph lords it over the smaller elves, creating an atmosphere of tension and disrespect…until the Clauses discover what is going on and take measures to “even” things up.
Although written as a Christmas story, Ralph, the Tallest Elf makes for meaningful discussions year round. 
MWSA Reviewer: Betsy Beard

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Author's Synopsis
A Children's poem by Karl Boyd
Ralph, the Tallest Elf began in a very strange way. One Christmas season I purchased a t-shirt that said, "I have had it with elves up to here!" There was a line about the height of my belt. At the time, I thought it was funny, and the words to an old Christmas song kept playing in my mind, "Have yourself a merry little Christmas..." And so, much like Ralph in the poem, I changed a few words to those you will hear him sing. But then, it struck me - it wasn't funny to a short person, and how would I feel if it were me?

My mother loved to write poetry, and I guess some rubbed off, because over the next few days, I wrote "Ralph, the Tallest Elf" to redeem myself in my own eyes. To my surprise, with invaluable assistance from a good friend and editor, Joyce Gilmour, the poem took on a life of its own. I sent a copy as a Christmas gift to all those on my email list and received many replies stating how much they enjoyed the poem by sharing it with their children or grandchildren. With a little good luck, I was put in touch with Erica Missey in San Antonio, and she agreed to do the artwork you enclosed within these covers. Fantastic! With bullying being so prevalent in our schools today, I believe the message Ralph brings is told in two of my favorite lines: "You can be big, no matter your size." And "What really matter is Christmas in your heart." I hope your young ones will remember these words and the moral of "Ralph, the Tallest Elf" all through the year. Now open the cover and enjoy! - Karl Boyd

"Here Karl Boyd goes again, in his own sweet whimsical way to remind us of a lesson worth repeating. A beautiful story of how all people should be treated, with a carefully woven message that appeals to all ages. Thanks Karl for yet another treasure. - Mary Grammar, Redlands, CA

Karl Boyd is a retired US Air Force Master Sergeant. Much of Karl’s writing is taken from personal experiences while serving with the military in such locations as Bermuda, Iceland, Saudi Arabia and Hawaii, plus the Middle and Far East. Karl and his wife, Carol, now reside on the Gulf Coast of Texas where he enjoys fishing and writing.