Miracles of the American Revolution, by Larkin Spivey

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MWSA Review

The author's theme in this book is that God's hand was manifest in The American Revolution.  He presents his case with a detailed array of facts and circumstances concerning the battles, the generals, the men and the founding fathers of the Revolution.  In brief biological sketches he describes Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Witherspoon and Madison as men of strong spirituality, though some of them were non-sectarian in their beliefs, choosing a type of deism over any one faith.  To Mr. Spivey, it was only by the grace of God that men of such brilliance, courage and strength of character were bestowed upon the colonies---all coming together to conceptualize the American revolutionary experiment and then implement it.  He takes it a step further by describing George Washington as the perfect man to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and that his being on the scene and available at the right place and time was an act of providence rather than luck.   So too was God's hand present in the major battles of the Revolutionary War, argues Spivey, otherwise one cannot logically explain how George Washington could possibly have held his rag- tag army together to produce a resounding victory at Boston Harbor against the numerically superior, better trained and better equipped British forces.   Washington's forces always seemed to be in grave peril and on the brink of collapse, only to snare victory from defeat at places like Boston, Trenton and Princeton, which according to the author could never have happened without divine intervention. That Washington's Army, under siege at Brooklyn Heights, could have escaped across the East River, like the British Army at Dunkirk did two centuries later, could not have come to pass without God's help.   Whether one accepts Mr. Spivey's premise or not, Miracles of The American Revolution is an historically accurate, entertaining, thorough and well-written work of non-fiction.

Reviewed by: Donald Farinacci (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

This provocative account of the American Revolution offers historical evidence that the hand of God was at work during the pivotal era of America s founding. Author Larkin Spivey, a respected military historian, shows how a series of remarkable and miraculous occurrences laid the foundations for the Republic. With compelling facts and interpretations, this portrait of early America is both amazing and uplifting.

Staff Monkeys, by Peter Clark

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MWSA Review

OK, you are standing in the book store doing the same thing I do “scanning a book” deciding to buy or not. You see it is written like a diary/journal and decide to place it quickly back on the shelf.

Your loss! Military or not sit down in a nearby chair and read the first ten pages or so and you will be up at the counter paying for what will become a favorite read. Written clearly with tongue in cheek and filled with loud laughter this “diary/journal” of LTC Peter Clark’s experiences in the military will have you laughing all the way through it.

If you were in the military you will identify rapidly with what happens to him and around him. If you have never been in the military you will easily identify much of this with your work experiences. Clark has a unique, almost twisted sense of humor and I look forward to his next effort

Winner of the MWSA's Honorable Mention Award for 2012

Reviewed by: jim greenwald (July 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Staff Monkeys is not a typical military war journal; it is a chronological and humorous accounting of a former stockbroker's observations during his military deployments from April 2005 through September 2009. After being recalled to the Army, Peter Clark served in East Africa as well as numerous Middle East hot spots. After his deployment to Africa, the fun and games were just beginning for Peter and over the next few years found himself in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kyrgyzstan. What the Army didn't know, or overlooked, was that Peter had a sharp sense of humor and wasn't afraid to use it. War is a very serious business, yet strange and comical events do occur and US Army Staff Monkey, LTC Peter Clark, a modern day Bill Mauldin, tells about them in a most entertaining way.

The Hidden Legacy of World War II by Carol Schultz Vento

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MWSA Review

In Chapter Ten of Carol Schultz Vento's book, The Hidden Legacy of World War II: A Daughter's Journey of Discovery, there's a poem by Carbon Leaf and a quote from C.S. Lewis -- both exploring a sobering thought, "I thought I was the only one."

Carol Vento is the daughter of Arthur "Dutch" Schultz, a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne who saw the worst of the fighting in Europe and who became known to the world through the work of historians Conelius Ryan and Stephen Ambrose. Like many of us born to combat veterans in the late 1940s, Carol knew that Tom Brokaw's idealistic description of the "Greatest Generation" wasn't true for many of the war-weary soldiers who came home in 1945. She knew it because she saw how her much-adored father suffered - and how his traumas impacted her life and that of her mother and sister.

The lively teenaged boy who Carol's mother Mitzi knew before he went to war in 1942 did not return. The Dutch Schultz who she married in December of 1945 was anxious, eager to start a family of his own -- and a fledgling alcoholic. His nightmares crowded out the joy of their honeymoon and confused his young bride. She left him only to discover a few weeks later that she was pregnant, prompting her return to the marriage. They tried so hard to be happy -- but like many other young families in those days, life was complicated.

Carol describes her father's struggle to find work -- afterall, what had he done during the war that translated to business in Philadelphia? To support them, Dutch went back into the Army -- but Mitzi, the daughter of Italian imigrants who valued family togetherness, didn't want the nomadic life of a military wife. She returned to Pennsylvania -- and eventually, Dutch did too. Carol writes about the times that her father was with them -- and about the times he didn't come home. He drank. He lost jobs. He overextended his finances. Then -- inevitably, Mitzi and Dutch divorced. The passion that saw them through the war years wasn't enough to sustain their relationship in peacetime.

While researching this powerful book, Carol Vento found psychological material that wasn't available in the 1950s and 60s when she was growing up with a traumatized father and a fractured family. No one knew what to do with men who couldn't hold down a job, who startled when a car backfired, who wouldn't sit with their backs to windows -- who tried to smother ugly memories with work or booze or women -- or violence. Over the course of her adult relationship with Dutch, Carol struggled to accept and love him -- warts and all. But what was this condition with no name that tormented him and destroyed their family? Why was he so sad sometimes? Why did little things enrage him? Why did he withdraw emotionally from her for weeks or months -- and then chastise her for abandoning him? Why? Carol wondered if she had been born to a different man - a Dutch Schultz who had never jumped out of a plane into enemy territory -- would she be a different person too? Was her father's emotional fragility catchy? In searching for the answers to those questions, she found others like her -- with stories of their own. Carol was not the only one!

As a child of a World War II combat veteran myself, I did think I was the only one to catch my father, gun in hand, "guarding" our house in the middle of the night. I thought I was the only one compelled to cower below the picture window lest the "Japs" shoot us in the middle of 1950s suburbia. I knew I was the only kid whose daddy drove his car off a cliff into the branches of a tree and then disentangled himself and staggered home -- still so drunk he could hardly stand. And surely, I was the only twelve-year-old to hold a tough Marine, while he sobbed into my shoulder terrible stories about those damned caves on Iwo. Years later, I chose a life partner whose father was too young for World War I and too old for World War II. My husband grew up hearing about how to grow vegetables and how to fix trucks -- not about young boys dying on a black beach. When he was drafted during the Vietnam War, I went to pieces. I couldn't bear to see the things in his eyes that I saw in my dad's.

Carol Vento found "boomers" with shockingly similar experiences. They had kept quiet about them -- as was proper in those days -- and like me, they are finally talking and writing about those sad, secret times. Carol describes us with the clarity of one who has been there. In many of our families, the roles of parent and child were sometimes reversed. Some of us left home early - compelled by circumstance and bewilderment. We took refuge in achievement -- or rebellion. We questioned the societal beliefs of parents who were clearly not happy. And we felt the pressure of their fears even if we didn't understand them. 

The Hidden Legacy of World War II is intense, scholarly -- and passionate. I read it in a single afternoon - chewing my lower lip and muttering to myself. Twice I had to wipe tears off my cheek -- once when Carol describes the loss of her younger sister and again, in a strange deja vu fugue -- when she tells a story about Dutch's long-lost paratrooper boots.

As a species, we are wired to survive -- but survival has a price. War leaves wounds that are slow to heal and often fester. As for those of us who are now in our 60s and who dealt with the infection all of our lives, Carol's work explains a lot but changes nothing. While it's comforting to know that there are others out there who grew up with sorrow and crazy, it's heartbreaking too. No one should know what that feels like. I have to hope that the door Carol dared open will prompt new studies to help families deal with veterans who are in trouble -- and help their children as well.

Reviewed by: Joyce Faulkner (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Daughters, fathers and war – three words seldom used together. In The Hidden Legacy of World War II: A Daughter’s Journey of Discovery, Carol Schultz Vento weaves life with her paratrooper father into the larger narrative of World War II and the homecoming of the Greatest Generation. The book describes the seldom told story of how the war trauma of World War II impacted one family. This personal story is combined with the author’s thorough research and investigation of the reality for those World War II veterans who could not forget the horrors of war. This nonfiction work fills in the missing pieces of the commonly accepted societal view of World War II veterans as stoic and unwavering, a true but incomplete portrait of that generation of warrior.

Military Fly Moms, by Linda Maloney

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MWSA Review

Linda Maloney knows her subject when she writes of women who balance the career of military flying and motherhood. The author herself was one of the first to fly combat missions after the law allowing women to do so went into effect in 1993. Not so coincidently, she also happens to be the mother of two boys.

Passionately devoted to her career and family, Maloney records the stories of others women likewise who dared to dream big. The book is divided along service lines: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Each account is unique, but they all share two things in common, a love of flying and family.

Being a woman balancing a career and a family isn’t easy even in civilian life, but being a pilot, navigator, flight instructor, etc., in the military sometimes with a husband who may or not be deployed at the same station with you, is daunting to say the least. Many had to face male prejudice and military restrictions, such as initially limiting women to non-combat flight. Some had physical limitations, wearing eyeglasses, for example, or becoming pregnant, or watched others dropped from training programs (men and women) because they could not physically cope with the rigors of flying. Nor were women spared the worst case scenarios, crashes and even death. Maloney pays touching tribute to a friend, Kara, whose F-14 didn’t make landing on the USS Lincoln and was the sole crew member who didn’t survive. Equally fitting is Maloney’s dedication to Lieutenant Commander Barbara Rainey, an aircraft instructor who was killed while training a pilot, leaving two young daughters behind.

No matter the odds or risks, these are intimate accounts of women who wanted to serve their country in a particular way—by flying. Some came from military backgrounds, which made their career choice easy. Some came from horse farms. Some joined the military to finance their educations. Some went to Annapolis. Some became Chief Warrant officers, other lieutenant colonels or Rear Admirals. Some dreamed of flying before entering the service, others afterwards. There was no one set path to their goal. Yet all had the ambition, brains, and courage to endure rigorous training programs, peace and war deployments, separations from family, and yes, pregnancy and career. It is interesting to note how different branches of the service deal with pregnancy. It is even more interesting to note how these with coped with the demands of pregnancy and children. Some kept on flying, others took ground posts, and others resigned their commissions. Nor is there any right or wrong approach to their solutions. Each suited the exigencies of their particular situation.

What sets the book apart are the special touches Maloney adds. Each woman gives two pieces of advice, her insights from parenting and her comment on her career. The Little Flybys, quotes from some of their children at the end of the book, are endearing. “No, Zoli, only girls can fly,” says a four-year-old to her younger brother. Perhaps not, but fly they certainly can!

Reviewed by: Barbara Peacock (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Military Fly Moms is a gorgeous coffee-table book with a collection of true stories by seventy women who shared the same two dreams—becoming a military aviator, and being a mom. The first few women, who, in the seventies, took their places in the world of all-male military aviation, paved the way for other women to follow. From flying during the Cold War to rescue missions during Hurricane Katrina to flying in combat during the current war on terror, these gutsy women—our nation’s sisters, daughters, neighbors, friends, and, yes, even moms—have done it all. Illustrated throughout with 75 stunning color photos, Military Fly Moms depicts women aviators in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard alongside their helicopters, transport aircraft, or fighter planes, as well as highlighting their families. These stories and their accompanying photographs weave a beautiful tapestry, passing on a lasting legacy to inspire future generations to reach for their dreams

You Can’t Outsource Weight Loss, by Ed Boullianne

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MWSA Review

I am the proud owner of a complete library of diretary how to's -- from the original Weight Watcher's materials from the 1960s to Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type to The Exchange Diet they gave me when I was diagnosed with diabetes. Sitting on my Kindle at this very moment are the Glycemic Load Diet, the Low GI Diet Revolution, and Dr. Atkins NEW Diet Revolution. I've got a full complement of exercise routines from Denise Austin to Richard Simmons  -- on cassette tapes, Beta, VHS, DVD, MP3, and On Demand. I have kicked boxed with Billy Blanks and practiced Tai Chi with Master Rothrock. I have ballet slippers, cross trainers, walking shoes, anti-gravity sandals, and a pair of dusty cowboy boots for boot-scootin' boogying. I have three bicycles -- a road bike, a mountain bike, and a hybrid. I have devices that I wear on my wrists, across my chest, around my tummy, and over my thighs. I have hand weights, free weights, dumb bells, stretch bands, yoga mats, step benches (2) and a chi machine. I eat leafy green vegetables and I tolerate fruit. I keep flax oil capsules in my purse next to my Sensa Shaker because I hate eating anything that once lived in water. I check my blood sugar twice a week or until I run out of lancets, whichever comes first. On good days, I check my heart rate to make sure I am in my target zone while jogging in place during Top Chef Texas. On bad days, I eat Top Chef-Just-Desserts-Truffles and take a nap. With one of my 8 8oz glasses of water that I drink each day, I gulp down pills for blood pressure, water retention,  and tiny designer aspirin tablets -- just in case. I have memberships at Curves and Bally's and I would have had one at LA Fitness except some crazy guy broke in and shot up the place.

Over the years, I've given my business to Weight Watchers (both in person and online), a Bariatric Clinic that gave me vitamin B shots and amphetamines, and Nutrisystem. I even lost weight taking placebos during a medical study that paid me $50 to show up once a month for 8 months. I've fallen asleep to positive reinforcments, hypnotic suggestions, and electronic crickets.

The result? Over the last 12 years, I've gained and lost the same 40 pounds 4 times...and to accomodate that, I keep my closet stocked with the same pair of black pants in size 8,10,12, and 14. Let's face it -- depending on your point of view, I am desperate, determined, or dedicated -- and maybe a little intense.

Actually, I'm the perfect audience for Ed Boullianne's book, You Can't Outsource Weight Loss But You Can Lose Weight and Be Thin Forever. He relies on the basic principles of weight loss -- eat less, move more -- and discusses the mathematics of the process for those who don't have 40 diet books in the attic. Like many authors before him, Boullianne agrees that we aren't the same and so what works for some folks won't work for others. He has broken us foodies down into three basic categories -- the "Whats," the "Whys," and the "How Muches." (After reading his definitions, I'm pretty sure I fit into all of those categories.) Once you know who you are and have defined your problem, he encourages you to face some basic truths. The only truth that I felt like facing last night was the one that says, "Don't make lifestyle or diet changes tha you con't intend to keep for life."

I got a kick out of that one -- because I've left a long trail of abandoned principles in my wake. Human beings can be reprogrammed. I know, I've reprogrammed myself at least a hundred times so far.  Seems like man's war with food goes ever onwards -- whether we believe we have found the X marking the spot or not . 

While Ed Boullianne's ideas aren't new, his enthusastic perspective is. I enjoyed the read and passed on the Chicken Parm at Papa Gallo's this afternoon. I'm not sure if renewed commitment or guilt made that happen. I did celebrate with a maple bar though -- and used it to salute Boullianne's courage of his convictions. 

If you are only going to buy one Diet Book, this is the one -- because it's well-researched and thought-out, because you can get it right on your kindle or tablet, and because the only thing I CAN do forever is try. And that is the sordid truth of my relationship with food.

Reviewed by: Joyce Faulkner (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

You Can't Outsource* Weight Loss...But You Can Lose Weight and Be Thin Forever! (* With a pill or meal delivered to your door.) Retired Navy Captain and former combat jet aviator, Ed Boullianne was devastated by the tragedy of his 46-year old sister's death. He was determined to discover why so many Americans like his sister suffer from obesity and poor health. Her early death became the catalyst for his successful weight loss journey and for sharing what he's learned with others struggling to achieve permanent weight loss. You Can't Outsource Weight Loss provides a no-nonsense way to lose weight and keep it off. This straight-forward guide doesn't recommend gimmicky diets or require super-human willpower. Ed has successfully maintained his ideal weight for over seven years, even while eating pizza and drinking wine. He distills confusing, contradictory information and dispels the abounding misinformation about weight loss. He provides a practical, do-able guide for your own weight loss journey with research-based facts, personal examples, useful charts, "green, yellow, and red light" foods, easily implemented practices and hilarious cartoons. Ed initially thought weight loss would be easy, approaching it with the resolute determination of a "can-do" pilot. But like so many of us in the United States, he found it challenging. He tried various methods to quickly lose weight without really understanding the fundamentals of how the human body works. Instinctively, he knew he had to know more and learned how to approach weight loss in a holistic sense. You Can't Outsource Weight Loss... shares what he learned about weight loss and healthy living as he realized that weight loss is one of the few areas of your life that can't be outsourced. You Can't Outsource Weight Loss explains why many of us unwittingly sabotage our weight loss due to the myriad of misinformation promoted by food advertising and the "weight loss world." Ed demonstrates how to achieve permanent weight loss and true wellness in modern day America by focusing on five key areas for success. He helps you customize your own weight loss plan, starting with self-awareness and how to first implement the easy steps. With this guide, you too can navigate your way through a successful weight loss journey and keep it off forever!

DOD Security Clearances & Contract Guidebook, by Jeffrey W. Bennett

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MWSA Review

Jeffrey Bennett’s comprehensive guide gives defense contractors all the information they need to establish and maintain a successful security program. He pulls together information from Presidential Executive Orders and regulations from numerous government agencies. Readers will learn how to appoint and train a facility security officer, navigate the security clearance process, win contracts dealing with classified information, and how to secure and protect that information.

Bennett’s expertise comes through on every page as he explains in clear language the sometimes arcane world of classified contract work for the government. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in working as a defense contractor, and especially to facility security officers.

Reviewed by: Edward Cox (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Can you keep a secret? Do you know how to get and maintain a personnel clearance (PCL) or facility clearance (FCL)? Turn your passion for business into performing classified work for Uncle Sam. Get a security clearance and perform classified work. What DoD Contractors Need to Know about Their Need to Know It's tough to focus on both creating a company to last and performing under strict government guidelines. Getting classified contracts, requesting security clearances and remaining compliant are all vital to a cleared contractor's success.

     But...Just one mistake can cost a defense contractor current and future contracts. Until now, there has been no one place to find everything you need to know about security clearances. Many defense contractors and employees don't understand how to get their clearances and compete for classified work. The DoD Security Clearance and Contracts Guidebook brings together information from Presidential Executive Orders, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) and other regulations to demonstrate how to establish and maintain a successful security program.

     Whether you are part of a business or an employee, this book will demonstrate both the security clearance process and how to perform on classified contracts. The DoD Security Clearance and Contracts Guidebook helps cleared contractors understand the security clearance process and develop award winning security programs to win and keep classified contracts. It is a good companion for all seasoned and novice defense contractors, Facility Security Officers (FSO) and the college student.

     With the DoD Security Clearance and Contracts Guidebook, Defense contractors now have a resource to confidently pursue classified contracts. This book is complete with: Step by step guide demonstrating how to meet requirements for security clearances Description of senior leader responsibilities in security cleared facilities Comprehensive list 0f Cleared contractor administrative responsibilities Method for reducing costs associated with protecting classified information and NISPOM requirements Description of award winning FSO qualities DoD Security Clearance and Contracts Guidebook demonstrates how cleared contractors can protect program information through: Building award winning security programs Understanding international operations Improving Defense Security Services (DSS) inspection results Winning the Cogswell award DoD Security Clearance and Contracts Guidebook contains expansive discussion on how security professionals and FSOs can: Build skills as a security specialist or FSO Gain access to valuable resources for security programs Prepare for the ISP Certification exam Students will: Improve understanding of national security Learn new career opportunities Have a valuable resource for homeland security studies.

Many Genres One Craft: Lessons in Writing, by Lynn Salsi

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MWSA Review

“Fiction,” an Australian author noted, “is life with the dull bits left out.”   There are few, if any, dull bits in Many Genres, the compilation of essays that the editors, Arnzen and Miller, have assembled to advise would-be storytellers.  The some four dozen writers in this book, linked by their association as faculty and graduates of the respected MFA writing program at Seton Hall University, include such well-knowns as Anne Harris, David Morrell, Tess Gerritsen, Nancy Kress, John DeChancie, and Tim Waggoner.  They, and the many others, offer up very helpful advice on plotting, characterization, dialogue, research -- all the elements necessary to create compelling and winning stories and novels. 

The genres represented include adventure, suspense, romance, science fiction, horror, fantasy, and young adult story lines.  This pervasive coverage is rewarding, and often entertaining as well – “write what you love,” advises Rachael Pruitt; but if what you love is Arthurian fantasy, how can you “write what you know”?  The answer is research, more research and hard work.  The volume is filled with examples of just about every form of fiction, so the beginning novelist can draw on such a wide variety of writing styles, he or she can begin find the style that best suits his own inclinations. The collective suggestions are so useful, in fact, that non-fiction writers can learn much from the book to enliven their own narratives. 

Taken as a whole, the book is extremely useful, and recommended to MWSA members.  There is however one drawback in Many Genres, particularly for MWSA members -- there is no specific specialist in military fiction represented among these authors.  It would be a good idea for aspiring military fiction writers to supplement the book by looking as well at the varied styles of such successful authors as David L. Robbins, Jeff Shaara, Eric Flint, and Steven Pressfield.

Reviewed by: Terry L. Shoptaugh  (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Well-known authors affiliated with Seton Hill University's MFA program offer advice on how to write successful genre novels.

The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese by Carolyn Schriber

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MWSA Review

I'm not a fan of "how to" books. That's not to say I don't buy them and read them, but there are very few in my library that were really worth the price. So I looked at this title and thought, "Another tome on self-publishing? What more is there to say? I've been working this row going on 10 years now. It's about carrying through on things I already know, not about learning something new."  

As it turns out, The Second Mouse had a lot to teach this old rat. It's terrific for newbies too, but don't think that because you've been around the hamster wheel a few times, you know all the bases. As they have been saying for at least a half a century now, "The times, they are a changing." It's a new game and a new field.

First, Ms. Schriber goes into the evaporating snobbery about self-publishing. Blanket statements about book delivery options are more and more founded in ignorance of the emerging markets. The industry is moving so quickly that a clever independent author who knows what she or he is doing can keep up much faster than one contractually committed to hard-to-turn titanic organizations. 

Ms. Schriber sets out to share her experience in creating a quality book in a reasonable timeframe and effectively marketing it on the internet as well as in traditional markets. She covers many helpful topics in a very few pages – from grammar to business bank accounts.

The subject that I found most helpful was about a tool I had long considered unavailable – an authoring package for MAC computers called "Scrivener."  As I am a PC person, dealing with PC people, I just pushed my nose against the glass for a brief moment and then went back to my whirling wheel.

There's a saying that I hate. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." It was the bane of my life as an engineer. The fact is, experience can work against you. If you try something and it doesn't work or isn't available, you tend to accept existing tools as your lot in life. However, after reading The Second Mouse and Ms. Schriber's glowing comments about Scrivener, I rethought my tool kit and checked out my options. There's been lots of new authoring tools for PC in the last couple of years. I browsed through them for five hours last night. None excited me and then, on a whim, I checked out Scrivener. To my delight I discovered that there is now a PC version. Hallelujah!

I know this may seem like a strange review for The Second Mouse, but there is truly something for everyone in this clever little book. If you plan on buying just one – this is it.

Reviewed by: Joyce Faulkner (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

You've heard the expression, "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." Which would you prefer? You are probably not terribly fond of worms. You don't even want to think about what the first mouse gets.

What does this have to do with self-publishing? Quite a lot, actually. The publishing industry has undergone something of a seismic shift in the past year. If you follow internet discussions about traditional publishing, you'll find authors being urged to make the shift to ebooks and self-publishing, because that's where the "cheese" is.

Perhaps so, but the shift is not an easy one. The self-publishing option is full of traps for unwary little mice who jump into the fray without the necessary understanding of what all is involved. Carolyn Schriber’s first self-published historical novel, Beyond All Price, was on life support for nearly a year. Then it made a spectacular recovery, winning two book awards and remaining on some of Amazon Kindle's "Top 100 Bestseller " lists for nearly two months. That was her piece of the cheese.

Now she is willing to share her story. She blogged about her experiences, starting with the first decision about self-publication. She kept track of her success and failures. She offered snippets of advice to other would-be writers. Now all those crumbs of information come together in an anecdotal account of what she learned and what you, too, need to know in order to get your piece of the cheese. 

The Frugal Book Promoter, by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

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MWSA Review

         “How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher” exactly describes what this book is about. The cost may be either in dollars or in time, but the reader knows by the end of this book that promotion is now an essential part of the writer’s life, that it is possible to accomplish, and that it can even be fun! 

     The “Frugal Book Promoter” is realistic, and the suggestions are do-able; it starts by defining terms so we all literally start on the same page, spelling out what to do. Then it guides us through the cost of entering high-profile events, and the hidden costs of “free events.” Thorough, comprehensive lists of strategies are given to reach any targeted audience, starting with the promotional materials needed.  Just what does one have to write about one’s completed masterpiece? No problem, an invaluable step by step guide to writing a complete media kit is supplied.
             
    Getting discouraged promoting on your own?  Carolyn is your anecdote; she gives lists and lists of what to do- to get unstuck, or what to do when first steps have failed and produced little effect.  Sometimes the author is like a chatty friend, repeating ideas until they are drummed into your head. I liked this because new ways of thinking did stick in my brain.

      This book was like having a personal coach. And as with any decision-making process involving choices, you end up knowing a little bit more about yourself. Ms. Howard-Johnson explains her own version of a “world wide web”; i.e, a positive view of the world helping those who help oneself, and others. With a fresh breath of advice, the reader is encoraged to assess their own individual definition of success, which hopefully includes ethical decision-making, cooperation and contributions to a larger community.

    This 400+ pg book is easy to use: subjects are divided into sections, then chaptors. There is an Appendix where visuals give examples of complete media kits, advertising, and a few simple displays. Most impressive is the 14 page index! You will not need another book in this genre. Buy a paper copy, go grab your highlighter, and start reading!

Reviewed by: Nancy E. Rial  (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

The second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter is an updated version of the multi award-winning first edition. It has been expanded to include simple ways to promote books using newer technology, always considering promotion and marketing techniques that are easy on the pocketbook and frugal of time. It also includes a multitude of ways for authors and publishers to promote the so-called hard-to-promote genres.

The award-winning author of poetry and fiction draws on a lifetime of experience in journalism, public relations, retailing, marketing, and the marketing of her own books to give authors the basics they need for do-it-yourself promotion and fun, effective approaches that haven't been stirred and warmed over, techniques that will rocket their books to bestselling lists.

You'll also learn to write media releases, query letters and a knock 'em dead media kit--all tools that help an author find a publisher and sell their book once it's in print.

We all know that book promotion (and life!) has changed since The Frugal Book Promoter was first published in 2004--particularly in ways that have to do with the Web, but in other ways, too. As an example, the publishing world in general is more open to indie publishing now than it was then. So, this update but includes lots of information on ways to promote that were not around or were in their infancy a few short years ago. So here is what is new:

There is new information in this expanded and updated edition that answers questions like these:
·What is Carolyn's simplified method for making social networks actually work--without spending too much time away from my writing?
·How can I avoid falling into some of the scam-traps for authors?
·How can I get into one of those big tradeshows like BEA?
·What are the best "old-fashioned" ways to promote--the ones I shouldn't give up on entirely?
·There is even an updated section on how you go about writing (and publishing) an award-worthy book. And, of course, you'll find it loaded with resources you can use--but they're all updated.
·How can I use the new QR codes to promote my book to mobile users? And to others?
·What are the pitfalls of using the Web and how can I avoid them?
·What are the backdoor methods of getting reviews--even long after my book has been published?

Howard-Johnson, Carolyn

Separated by Duty, by Shellie Vandevoorde

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MWSA Review

Shellie Vandevoorde's book, Separated by Duty, United in Love, is a wonderful and comprehensive guide to long-distance relationships for military couples.  In this updated edition, Mrs. Vandevoorde addresses the concerns of both service member and spouse during every phase of a deployment from pre-deployment mind games to issues with managing homecoming expectations. 

Mrs. Vandevoorde draws on her own experiences and interviews with service members and other military spouses.  She handles even the most sensitive issues, like budgets, infidelity, and wounded warriors, with tactful, sound advice.

As an Army brat and an officer with 14 years of service and three deployments, I highly recommend this book for newly married couples and veterans alike.  Veteran military couples might think there’s nothing new in this book but they will be surprised by how much they learn. 

Reviewed by: Edward Cox (September 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Where Can You Turn. . .?

. . .when the bills are due, the kids are acting out, loneliness and doubt are creeping into your quiet hours--and you're handling it all alone? If your partner is in the military, these challenges may be the greatest that your relationship will ever face. Now is the time you need answers, resources, and understanding. This is the book that will give them to you.

Military wife and U.S. Army veteran Shellie Vandevoorde has penned a practical, compassionate guide to help military couples cope with the separation of active deployment. Now updated and expanded, Separated by Duty, United in Love is infused with her years of experience, offering sound and comforting advice from someone who's been there. Vandevoorde explores real-life issues and shares invaluable insights on the best ways to:

•  Keep the lines of communication open while your partner is away
•  Address your children's fears as you cope with your own
•  Juggle finances and other household duties
• Find the balance you desperately need
•  Cope with post-traumatic stress, injury and other challenges when a spouse returns from war
•  Utilize military resources and support groups to help yourself through the toughest times

You are not alone. Separated by Duty, United in Love gives you the tools and the encouragement you need to help your military relationship survive--and thrive.

Henry Ford’s Moving Picture Show, by Phillip W. Stewart

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MWSA Review

This attractive & well-laid out reference book with a shot from a movie on each new chapter page is for researchers & the curious about an American's passion for this new medium & the beginnings of his Motion Picture Department.

The author explains in his Preface how during the research for his next book he came upon the Henry Ford's Moving Picture Show in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). After vainly searching the Internet & catalog card files he had to resort to the paper records, all 2700 pages stored in 30 three-ring binders. Having pored through the 3500+ titles to find the films about his subject, WWI, he decided to catalog  the library, identifying them in "...an alphabetical title index and a comprehensive subject index."

In his Introduction he offers the story of these film clips & some frames of reference re: listings & brief descriptions of this treasure trove of a million+ feet of black and white 35 millimeter celluloid film: "...100 feet of 35-mm film, shot at the standard silent speed rate of 16 frames-per-second, is equal to 1 minute and 39 seconds." p.xii.

Henry Ford thought everything was worth filming: from Helen Keller "seeing" his face to children in a bath tub with a cake of soap to army athletics to bears in the woods to ostrich farms to coal mining to African basket weaving. From Olympic skiers to a driver parking on the White House lawn to a trip to Santa Fe to his family and friends to cartoons to baseball to Yosemite Valley to lumber & date farms to camping trips to....

Reviewed by: Dave Brown (August 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

This is the first volume of the HENRY FORD'S MOVING PICTURE SHOW: An Investigator's Guide to the Films Produced by the Ford Motor Company series. It focuses on the initial six years (1914-1920) of the Ford Motor Company motion picture collection that is held in the U.S. National Archives and identifies 935 films. To assist in your investigation of this historically significant film collection, two indexes are also provided--an alphabetical title index and a comprehensive subject index.

The Henry Ford's Moving Picture Show is a multi-book series of guides written to facilitate the public and professional use of the film footage in the Ford Motor Company Collection and to describe its contents in a way that has been, until now, unavailable. The volumes ultimately published under this title, catalog the surviving films produced or acquired by the Ford Motor Company between 1914 and 1954. When the U.S. National Archives accepted these historically significant films in 1963, it provided an all inclusive formal title of: Films Relating to the Ford Motor Company, the Henry Ford Family, Noted Personalities, Industry, and Numerous Americana and Other Subjects...and this pretty well sums up the visual content of the collection.

Altogether, the collection holds approximately 1.8 million feet of silent, black and white, 35-millimeter celluloid film. The main goal of Henry Ford's Moving Picture Show is to provide a useful and practical resource to the moving images of the world during the first half of the 20th Century, as seen through the camera lens of the Ford Motion Picture Department and its successor, the Ford Photographic Department. These films have superb historical value that stems from their very broad subject-matter coverage. Overall, the moving images contained in these films are truly Americana in motion.

My Friends & Heroes, by Allen F. Hooker

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MWSA Review

In My Friends & Heroes, Allen F. Hooker has put his heart and soul into sharing many stories from veteran friends and heroes. This book is a compilation of stories written from interviews of many veterans, organized around war actions and other themes such as medics, accidents, conversations with God, and overcoming adversity. Mr. Hooker put a lot of thought and time into creating this well-written compilation of stories that might have been lost without his efforts. He has done a fine job of recording what he calls “living history” while these precious veterans are still here for us to learn their stories. He encourages each and every one of us with this suggestion: “If you see someone with a hat, showing a military patch, or in uniform, ask them about it! Start a conversation with them. A history lesson may follow that will keep you spellbound.” Thank you, Mr. Hooker, for your dedication to this project, and for sharing it with us.

Reviewed by: Joyce Gilmour (2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Imagine... It's Thursday, December 4, 1941. You've just started a welding job at a secret facility inside a mountain on Oahu. As you leave the tunnel entrance on the seventh, you see Japanese torpedo planes, followed by bombers, fly by about level with you. They are diving down to attack US warships at Pearl Harbor. You are a reporter in a Blackhawk helicopter flying toward Mogadishu, Somalia. Smoke is observed from another downed helicopter, so the pilot and crew drop you off and proceed to assist the other aircraft. This same helicopter you exited is shot down--with no survivors--just a short time later. Helping others as a corpsman in Korea, you are under intense enemy fire while attending to wounded comrades. For your effort you are awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by president Dwight D. Eisenhower. My Friends & Heroes: One Veteran's Quest to Share America's Living History relates the true stories of men and women who have served our country in times of crisis. Weaving together a fabric of living history, the result of many one-on-one interviews, author Allen F. Hooker seeks to honor and record these heroes' tales, representing the millions of others to whom Americans owe a debt of gratitude.

Marcia Gates: Angel of Bataan, by Melissa Bowersock

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MWSA Review

This is the true story of a nurse, Marcia Gates, during World War II and her experiences during the battle of Bataan and three years as a prisoner of war. But it is more than that because this story also relates how the families at home were feeling- frustrated and concerned about their lack of information about Marcia and her safety.

            This book is easy to read and many will find it difficult to put down as one wants to know- does Marcia make it home? The format is also augmented by actual letters written by Marcia, other nurses and from family members to Marcia. It may be difficult for some who are so used to the modern e-mail system to even imagine the problems of letters not arriving home for months and how that effected the family who used every resource they could to get any information they could of their daughter.  The author uses these letters to carefully weave a true account of what was happening on both sides of the world.

            I found the story excited, surprised by some of the descriptions of conditions and wondered why I hadn’t heard this story before. The author has brought out one of the untold stories of World War II- about a nurse. I believe this book will have wide appeal to many audiences including: medical personnel, historians, veterans and anyone interested in good story with a happening ending.

Reviewed by: Edward Kelly (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Marcia Gates was an Army nurse and prisoner of war during WWll. As an "Angel of Bataan," she spent three years in a Japanese internment camp in the Philippines. This is her story, told through her letters and the newspaper clippings, photos and letters collected by her mother. Melissa Bowersock is the niece of Marcia Gates.

Shadow Commander, by Mike Guardia

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MWSA Review

Shadow Commander, the epic story of Donald D Blackburn, Guerilla leader and Special Forces hero, is an excellent biography of one the Army’s lesser known but very important leaders.   Facing imminent surrender in the Philippines in 1942 to the invading Japanese forces, Lieutenant Donald Blackburn made the tough decision and refused to lay down his arms.  Instead he evaded capture by fleeing deep into the jungle with another Army officer.  

Their objective was straightforward.  Join or establish guerilla forces in the inhospitable jungles of North Luzon and continue the fight against the Japanese. Implementing that plan Blackburn soon recognized would be nearly impossible. Surviving the jungle, the ravages of malaria, and evading the Japanese army took their toll.  Despite the daunting obstacles, by the time the allied forces were ready to invade and take back the Philippines, Blackburn’s guerilla forces proved to be a very valuable asset. Blackburn’s activities in World War II alone would make him a hero, but the author goes on to cite in some detail Blackburn’s other contributions in Viet Nam as well as to the evolution of Army Special Forces.

The author’s detailed accounts of Blackburn’s activities make this book a must read for anyone interested in military history, World War II, and particularly for anyone studying or who simply enjoys reading about guerilla warfare or Army Special Forces.

Reviewed by: Bob Doerr (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

The fires on Bataan burned with a primitive fury on the evening of April 9, 1942 - illuminating the white flags of surrender against the nighttime sky. Woefully outnumbered, outgunned, and ill-equipped, the battered remnants of the American-Philippine army surrendered to the forces of the Rising Sun. Yet amongst the chaos and devastation of the American defeat, Army Captain Donald D. Blackburn refused to lay down his arms.

With future SF legend Russell Volckmann, Blackburn escaped from Bataan and fled to the mountainous jungles of North Luzon, where they raised a private army of over 22,000 men against the Japanese. Once there, Blackburn organized a guerrilla regiment from among the native tribes in the Cagayan Valley. "Blackburn's Headhunters," as they came to be known, devastated the Japanese 14th Army within the eastern provinces of North Luzon and destroyed the Japanese naval base at Aparri.

After the war, Blackburn remained on active duty and played a key role in initiating Special Forces operations in Southeast Asia. In 1959, as commander of the 77th Special Forces Group, he spearheaded Operation White Star in Laos. Seven years later, Blackburn took command of the highly classified Studies and Observations Group (SOG), charged with performing secret missions now that main-force Communist incursions were on the rise.

In the wake of the CIA's disastrous Leaping Lena program, Blackburn revitalized the Special Operations campaign in South Vietnam. Sending cross-border reconnaissance teams into Laos, he discovered the clandestine networks and supply nodes of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. Taking this information directly to General Westmoreland, Blackburn received authorization to conduct full-scale operations against the NVA and Viet Cong operating along the Trail.  In combats large and small, the Communists realized they had met a master of insurgent tactics - and he was on the US side.

Following his return to the United States, Blackburn was appointed "Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities," where he was the architect of the infamous Son Tay Prison Raid. Officially termed Operation Ivory Coast (and later, Operation Kingpin), the Son Tay raid was the largest POW rescue mission - and indeed, the largest Special Forces operation - of the Vietnam War.

During a period when United States troops in Southeast Asia faced guerrilla armies on every side, it has seldom been recognized today that America had a superb covert commander of its own, his guerrilla skills honed in resistance against Japan. This book follows Donald D. Blackburn from his youthful days in combat against an Empire, through his days as a senior commander, imparting his lessons to the newly-realized ranks of America's own Special Forces.

W.I.A. (Wounded in Action), by Thomas C. Robison

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MWSA Review

Wounded in Action was written by a traumatically wounded Vietnam vet.  Written decades after his service ended, it is, accordingly, a thoughtful compilation of many years of introspection of not only the war itself, but its effect on him over 40 years since his service.  With a professional life behind him, he has taken the time to look back and put his world, with its life changing injury, in perspective. The author, T. Clement Robison, very articulately recounts his first person experiences as a LURP (Long Range Patrol) team member in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and the arduous, dangerous nature of such an assignment.  His team mates were boys like him, and hardened jungle fighters who would go out into the field in small numbers to pinpoint enemy troop movements, and infiltration routes.  For vets with similar combat experience, the author's words paint an all too familiar, chilling picture, complete with repressed sounds, smells, and emotions from so long ago.  Eighty percent of the almost 400,000 casualties (KIA and WIA) in the Vietnam War were boys 18, and 19 years old. The author was one of them. He writes beautifully for all the soldiers who did not come home, and who did, changed forever.  For decades Vietnam combat veterans have been disappointed by Hollywood's inane attempts to "interpret" their war, and while there have been some outstanding books written about those days, there are a lot of holes in the historical account that need filling in so that ultimately a complete set of works is "out there" to complete the picture for future interest. W.I.A. takes its' place on the shelf beside those few that are truly worthy.

Reviewed by: Bob Flournoy (November 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Based on actual events and set against the historical backdrop of America’s longest war, Wounded in Action tells the compelling and gripping story of courage and determination of one of the Army’s most elite combat soldiers as he faces the realities of surviving near fatal wounds and struggles to overcome the life changing devastation inflicted on his mind and body from the explosion of an enemy landmine.

Front Toward Enemy, by Barbara Allen

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MWSA Review

The author succinctly organizes the living nightmare that followed her husband and close friend’s murders while they served in Iraq – killed by a man set free.  Years of legal process failed, despite a signed but suppressed guilty plea from the accused staff sergeant who placed the claymore in the two officers’ window.  Lou and Barbara Allen’s four boys were six and under when he shipped out.  Ten days later, he was dead.  How outrageous the lack of justice.  Barbara Allen’s shattered life must have been almost impossible to capture in print and her burden even more impossible to bear.  What an honorable report of perseverance in the face of utter decimation.         

Reviewed by: Hodge Wood (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Autobiographical accounting of my experience as a survivor of Lt Louis Allen,
killed in Iraq by a fellow soldier. The personal and factual aspects of his
life and murder, the individual tried and acquitted in a botched military
court martial, and the ripple effects of the trauma on myself and my family.

From Book Jacket:

A sandstorm obscured what light lingered in Iraq’s nighttime sky as Staff Sergeant Alberto Martinez tied a claymore mine to a window grate. On the other side of the window sat Lt. Louis Allen, a husband and father of four young boys, and his good friend and Commanding Officer Captain Phillip Esposito, a West Point graduate and father of a baby girl. The men were engaged in a board game, unwinding after a hard day, when without warning the window exploded; 700 steel ball bearings erupted from the mine and hurtled inward with lethal force, obliterating everything in their kill zone.
Martinez was arrested and tried for the murders. But the military judicial
system failed, and the killer was set free.

How can American soldiers be at risk on their own base, among their fellow
soldiers? Could these murders have been prevented? Will it happen again? How can the military’s judicial system have failed so drastically, and what was the government hiding from the slain soldiers’ families?

Front Toward Enemy is a personal and factual account behind the scenes of a
case that is to the military judicial system what the O.J. Simpson case is to the civilian judicial system.

Fahim Speaks, by Fahim Fazli w/ Michael Moffett

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MWSA Review

Author Fahim Fazli blends his unique American experience with his native Afghan roots, resulting in a tasteful reader’s concoction.  He made me feel good about American society, our devotion to Afghanistan, and for the Good Warrior that never gives up or goes bad.  Fazli’s life-journey starts in Kabul and his family scatters under the oppression of the Soviets.  FAHIM SPEAKS comes from a different perspective and there are so many twists … Young Fazli lives in a Pakistani-based refugee camp that is later depicted in the 2006 movie, Charlie Wilson’s War, about the American influenced, Afghan-Soviet conflict.  Fahim Fazli is the cultural advisor on the movie set.  Life’s peculiarities are addressed in the book and they make you think ... Ironically, Fazli always wanted to be the good guy in his highly successful movie career but was typically hired as the terrorist.  I had seen him - but didn’t know - in several of my favorite films (The Unit, 24, Iron Man).  Fahim Fazli is a man of honor and courage ... A Hollywood actor in his forties and comfortably settled with his wife and daughter, Fazli chooses to pay his country back.  He volunteers to serve as an Interpreter with our Marines in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.  This book educates and cultural histories are probed.  In a graceful way, Fahim Fazli tackles delicate issues and his writing style gave me hope.  His positive attitude and likeable behavior allowed me to better understand complex concerns.  I am grateful for the encouragement.  FAHIM SPEAKS gets my highest recommendation – it’s a must read.  What a TRULY AMERICAN story of perseverance and service!      

Reviewed by: Hodge Wood (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

Fahim Fazli is a man of two worlds: Afghanistan, the country of his birth, and America, the nation he adopted and learned to love. He’s also a man who escaped oppression, found his dream profession, and then paid it all forward by returning to Afghanistan as an interpreter with the U.S. Marines. When Fahim speaks, the story he tells is harrowing, fascinating, and inspiring. Born and raised in Kabul, Fahim saw his country and family torn apart by revolution and civil war. Dodging Afghan authorities and informers with his father and brother, Fahim made his way across the border to Pakistan and then to America. After reuniting with his mother, sisters, and another brother, he moved to California with dreams of an acting career. After 15 turbulent years that included two unsuccessful arranged marriages to Afghan brides, he finally qualified for membership in the Screen Actors Guild—and found true American love. Though Fahim's California life was happy and rewarding, he kept thinking about the battlefields of Afghanistan. Haunted by a desire to serve his adopted country, he became a combat linguist. While other interpreters opted for safe assignments, Fahim chose one of the most dangerous: working with the Leathernecks in embattled Helmand Province, where his outgoing personality and deep cultural understanding made him a favorite of both Marines and local Afghans—and a pariah to the Taliban, who put a price on his head. Fahim Speaks is an inspiring story of perseverance and patriotism—and of the special love that one man developed for his adopted country.

South of Heaven, by Daniel Flores

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MWSA Review

Flores' has written a very good memoir of his service in Afghanistan, as an US Army Apache helicopter pilot.  Flores provides the reader with a compact, straight-forward account of the dangers he faced while supporting ground troops in some of the most dangerous parts of that troubled nation.  Flores’ descriptions of his flight missions are particularly well done, providing detail on how a pilot has to use the Apache to best advantage in different kinds of terrain and weather, and especially in combat.  Flores also does not stint in his reflections on how combat affected him, and how he and his fellow Army pilots reacted to the routines of serving in Afghanistan.  For contrast, each chapter opens with a brief paragraph by Flores’ wife, explaining how she and her children coped with his being overseas.  The book is well-written and illustrated with several very good photographs.  Flores gives the reader valuable insights into the ways in which the War Against Terrorism is being waged by US service personnel.

Reviewed by: Terry Shoptaugh (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

A memoir of an Army Apache helicopter pilots tour of duty in the Afghanistan war. The book follows the author's life from enlisting in the Army as an infantry soldier. Then continues as the author goes through flight school then incredibly survives a devastating crash only months after getting married. The author then continues his training until he is activated for the Afghanistan campaign, in the Global War on Terror. Believing that the only fighting is in Iraq he is then suprised and challenged at the resurgence of the Taliban and the escalating battles throughout the year, 2006. This memoir is a gripping insight to the incredible helicopter war going on in the rugged yet beautiful Hindu Kush mountains. The reader will finish this memoir with a first hand account of flying and fighting the Apache helicopter and the patriotic heroic decisions and challenges facing a husband, father and God fearing Christian in the war in Afghanistan. 

Hollywood Through My Eyes, by Monica Lewis Lang

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MWSA Review

A picture driven, encyclopedic collection of Hollywood stars met and personal relationships made while the author sings and acts within America’s vintage entertainment industry.  Monica Lewis works the 1940’s nightclubs, hosts radio programs, contracts to record, acts out movie and TV roles, serves the troops in Korea with Danny Kaye, and leads a philanthropic lifestyle in Beverly Hills. Name them and Monica knew them – Ed Sullivan, Kirk Douglas, Ronald Reagan, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Bob Hope - to name just a few!  The Beatles perform on the temporary stage in the backyard and crash for the night in the living room, Paul Newman regularly plays tennis at the mansion, and friends Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis attend the author’s 1953 opening performance at the Plaza Hotel’s Persian Room in the Big Apple. The reader will enjoy the upbeat writing style and tributes to family.  If you only have a passing interest in Hollywood, this book will hook you on every page.  I highly recommend Hollywood Through My Eyes for those who would enjoy a superbly organized, guided tour down Hollywood’s historical path.

Reviewed by: Hodge Wood (November 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

HOLLYWOOD THROUGH MY EYES is the intimate portrait of "America's Singing Sweetheart": Monica Lewis. It chronicles a young girl's rise from Depression-era Chicago, through the glamour and grit of New York City's nightclub scene and live broadcasting (including the very first Ed Sullivan Show), and finally to the privileged environs of Beverly Hills as the wife of top MCA/Universal executive and producer Jennings Lang.

Follow Monica as she gets her first job with Benny Goodman, sings on the radio with Frank Sinatra, tours war-torn Korea with Danny Kaye, goes out on the town with Ronald Reagan, clowns with Red Skelton at MGM, and opens her Beverly Hills mansion to an impressive list of Who's Who including Senator Ted Kennedy, Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, Ava Gardner, Steven Spielberg, and the Beatles.

Crossing the Line, by William “Bill” Cain

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MWSA Review

Crossing the Line takes the reader on a journey to Iraq and back again. The subtitle is misleading. The story isn’t just about one soldier, his eight-month pregnant wife, his children, an embedded journalist, or even the 42nd Field Artillery Brigade faced with a deployment to a warzone that was different than any other war, and yet a war like all other wars. As the story unfolds, the reader is allowed to experience, taste and be frustrated by the absolute boredom, tedious desert buildup and the aching for home along with the adrenalin rushes of the battle. The book is personal.

Those of us who have served or deployed (and those of us who watched and prayed for a loved one go off to war and return), Bill Cain captures that incredible place where a few days of waiting seem like an endless twilight zone. As a young intelligence officer at the time, Cain gives insight about how difficult and frustrating simple communications were in 1991. Cain places letters and notes of family, peers and enlisted throughout the book in chronological order, even though many were actually received days, weeks, or months later. It seems to be effective. Bill was tortured by not knowing whether his son was born. Historically, this book is very important for us to understand a time when most communications were done by snail mail. Today it is unfathomable for us to experience a war without Skype, Facebook, or cell phones. Yet the real fear of biological and chemical warfare wreaked havoc on the troops and all of us back home. It reminded me of my first convoy in Iraq in 2004 when I was terrified, whiney and just didn’t know what was coming next. Cain does a good job in showing the differences and similarities of the two Iraq wars. If a picture is truly worth more than a thousand words, the picture of Cain just before deployment with his caption pierce our humanity: “That’s me in the holding area, Rhein Mein, trying to cope with all the emotions of the moment.”

Even after we veterans return, we notice that something is left undone. Something remains in the desert, in the loneliness of being with others, and longing for the love in our bed beside us. Lovers have lost days, weeks and months that will never ever be found. We attempt to write them in books, journals, poetry, or songs, but we seem to never finish the story that has no ending. Crossing the Line is about crossing into the place of being lost, and then taking a shot at finding our way home…even if home is now changed forever. The true war is within. It isn’t political, although it often masquerades behind the political, capitalist, or communist machines of man’s creation.

Bill and Renee’s son who was born during the Desert Storm is now almost 20 years old. Their children’s lives are forever affected by this five-month deployment to a war zone. Their choice of studies, the kind of family they grow, and their involvements with the military were and are probably profoundly affected. It was only mentioned that their oldest son served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Yes, we are soldiers and soldiers’ spouses…but our greatest love always sustains us and is victorious over any war or battle. The book left me longing for the real mark of the war in Bill’s relationship to his wife, family, and self over the years. Regrettably, Cain inadvertently puts too much emphasis on Saddam Hussein as the source of the war and evil. Much self-criticism of country and self is missing in action.

The last chapters were the most intriguing for me. Bill shares his wisdom as a seasoned colonel with his own bias that sometimes bordered on apologetics. In the chapters leading up to the “crossing of the line” I was a little bogged down by the military jargon, complaints, and tedious details of the plan of war. However, the weaving of Bill and Renee’s letters of love throughout the book kept the storyline anchored. Conclusions were based on his intimate experiences blended with his trustworthy and professional assessment in which disagreement was an option. On a few occasions his neutrality as an historian was skewed to the right, but for the most part he presented a very fair presentation. As one who went into Fallujah, Iraq in 2004 as a chaplain without this knowledge and understanding of the Gulf War, the book would be of great value for college and high school American History courses. The discussions would be lively.

When Bill writes about OIF:  “…it’s easy to see how the insurgency was initially fueled by our failure to properly account for the immediate aftermath of war.”  and “…it was clear that we had problems to solve beyond the enemy situation in Iraq.” These quotes revealed to me how crucial this book was to our growing awareness of the part we play in the wars of the world. Self-evaluation is always tough. Bill Cain was courageous in his attempt.

Bill Cain offers his own insight, craftily written to allow the reader to insert one’s own insight without negatively or positively reacting to the author. Bill is a hero for serving…especially for writing this thought provoking journey. It warrants all liberals and conservatives to read and then to come together and discuss on a back porch treating each other with profound respect and love.

This book was an honor to read. It offered me the opportunity to also go back to Iraq again to better understand what I (and those who love me) experienced. Thank you.

Reviewed by: Ron Camarda (December 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

One Soldier's Journey to Iraq and Back Again. The author's account of his participation in Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Desert Calm, as a member of the 42nd Field Artillery Brigade, 1990-91. 57 photos (mostly from private sources and most are in color; in the printed book they are B&W but are in color in the PDF), 2 maps specially commissioned for this book.