THE CULMINATION a new beginning by Gwen Plano

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MWSA Review
The Culmination: a new beginning is the third book in The Contract thriller trilogy by Gwen M. Plano. Despite being written in the present tense, it is a gripping, engaging mystery that fares well as a stand-alone book. From the first chapter surrounding an assassination attempt on an Air Force base in California, this story grabbed my attention. The Culmination has everything: interesting characters, romantic love stories, international intrigue, and politics. Ms. Plano details the interplay among the leaders of countries facing off against each other during negotiations to craft a denuclearization agreement. The actions, reactions, and apparent motivations of each foreign leader are fascinating to read as the events unfold resulting in a murderous turn. In the midst of personal and international struggles, an unlikely but captivating, romance blossoms.

The President of the United States becomes physically incapacitated and Vice-President Margaret Adler is sworn in as the new leader. With the advice of the former president, Adler has to determine who she can trust within the cabinet and staff during a difficult world situation while establishing credibility and trustworthiness among fellow world leaders. It’s up to President Adler to form alliances and avoid massive destruction during what appears to be the beginning of World War III. Adler and the Joint Chiefs, along with other freedom-loving nations, work together to save the world from absolute biological and nuclear destruction at the hands of the Chinese and their evil allies. 

Although the author seems to lack a clear understanding of weapons systems and military authority, she weaves a compelling white-knuckle tale from beginning to end climaxing in a nefarious attack in the Middle East. The Culmination is an exciting read.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
The Culmination, a new beginning is the third book in The Contract thriller series. After an assassination attempt on an Air Force base in northern California, tensions mount. Heads of state meet to craft a denuclearization agreement. The meetings between these nuclear powers take a murderous turn. A nefarious conspiracy re-emerges and leads the characters into the heart of the Middle East, where they encounter the unexpected and find a reason for hope.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN-13: 978-1-947893-89-4, ISBN-13: 978-1-947893-91-7, ISBN-13: 978-1-947893-92-4

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller

Number of Pages: 292

dd 214 by W. Joseph O'Connell

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MWSA Review
A DD 214 is the Department of Defense form one receives upon separation or discharge from the US military. Most recipients also recognize it as a document signifying a significant change in their lives. W. Joseph O’Connell’s dd 214—rendered in lower case in the book’s title—is an entertaining and thought-provoking work of fiction. The book focuses on the very real and daunting challenges faced by someone retiring from the military and contemplating his future as a civilian.

dd 214’s two main characters are long-time friends who share the experience of military service. And as the main character approaches the end of his military career, the two decide to embark on a journey of celebration and discovery. As the story progresses, we learn that they’re clever enough to contemplate life’s oddities and challenges, honest enough to share life events like innocent teenagers, yet bold enough to set out on a series of short and potentially dangerous odysseys. All the while, they’re anesthetized by a near-constant buzz afforded by a never-ending supply of top-grade weed, or as the main character calls it, “the anamorphic filter of marijuana.” Perhaps this helps them remain oblivious to their shortcomings. 

Through his first-person narration, we learn that the main character, whose name we never learn, has quite a resume. He ran a side “business,” allowing his fellow soldiers to cheat on their military drug tests while also selling them narcotics. During his road trip, he is willfully ignorant of his friend transporting drugs across state lines for sale and has few if any qualms about having sex with an under-aged girl. He also seems unconcerned about remaining detached from his children from a long-ago failed marriage. Still, despite the main character and his friend Zeke’s manifest flaws, the reader is captivated by their travails and ruminations—almost as if they were O’Connell’s versions of Butch and Sundance.

The main character is drawn to communist Cuba and upset about Agent Orange. He often voices contempt for a corrupt government typified by the “ATF goons” who intrude “against the rights of individuals and especially the Fourth Amendment” during the siege of the Branch Davidians in Waco.  In response, he toys with becoming a revolutionary or maybe visiting the prison from which Timothy Leary escaped in 1970. At one point, he contemplates his future and imagines three possible outcomes: suicide or being locked up in either a jail or a “looney bin.” In the end, the reader won’t know his name or his fate. However, despite his many foibles, the author allows us to feel his pain and wish him well in his ongoing struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. 

Review by John Cathcart (February 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
A washed up soldier and his buddy take a road trip from California to Texas in a rental car full of guns and drugs. What could go wrong? Along the way, they encounter revolutionaries, survivalists, jailbait, and a bounty hunter. Their karmic journey across the American West is a search for wisdom and an escape from society, so long as they don't get caught.

ISBN/ASIN: ASIN : B08KMHM6Q3, ISBN-13 : 979-8694584029

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Literary Fiction

Number of Pages: 246

American Cyberscape: Trials and the Path to Trust by Mari K Eder

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MWSA Review
American Cyberscape: Trials and the Path to Trust by Mari K. Eder is a treatise on the state of disinformation in America today. Referring to the phenomenon as the Information Apocalypse, Eder sets forth a convincing case that our society has devolved into a frightening lack of trust, leaving us at odds with one another. The disinformation leaves Americans distrustful of the government, the media, non-government organizations, and—to a lesser extent—businesses.

After presenting the problems inherent in the lack of trust, Eder outlines steps that can be taken by individuals, as well as leaders to restore trust. She encourages leaders and journalists to be more truthful and more transparent. She challenges individuals to be better versed in distinguishing fact from fiction, educate themselves in the areas of social media and news outlets, and look at issues from both sides politically. Readers are encouraged to fact-check all forms of media, and especially social media, which is rife with misinformation, fake news, innuendo, character assassination, and faulty beliefs. This book should be read by all journalists, leaders, and concerned individuals from both ends of the political spectrum in order to start becoming part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Review by Betsy Beard (March 2021)

Author's Synopsis
Trust is unraveling across American institutions, affecting not only government but also news organizations, trusted sources of information and, most critically, expertise and values. The impact is not just institutional, the decay also affects individuals, families and shared norms. The very foundations of American civic culture seem increasingly at risk. All the while, technology continues to act as an accelerant, speeding up societal change and challenging our abilities to keep pace while controlling our responses. Uncovering the multivariate sources of these challenges is work that demands rigorous, ongoing investigation. As with any investigation, a solid place to start is a requirement. In American Cyberscape: Trials and the Path to Trust, Mari Eder examines the sources of decay in trust and offers solutions to lead us to firmer terrains of shared truth. By grounding the topography of cyberspace and drawing on wide-ranging expertise and experience, both scholarly and practical, American Cyberscape shows pathways to improve outcomes for everyone.

ISBN/ASIN: ISBN-10 : 1953327001, ISBN-13 : 978-1953327000

Book Format(s): Soft cover, ePub/iBook

Review Genre: Nonfiction—How to/Business

Number of Pages: 152

Tri-State Heroes of '45: Together With a Year in the Life of a West Virginia Farm Family by Rupert Pratt

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MWSA Review
In Tri-State Heroes of ’45, author Rupert Pratt collects various writings from 1945 from the tri-state corner of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia with to compile this fascinating look into history of a wartime farm family and their neighbors. Pratt provides a framework for his book with the daily journal entries of his mother and his younger 12-year-old self, focused almost entirely on domestic doings and his own present-day memories as well as commentaries on the wider world and the war. But the bulk of the book—reprints of newspaper columns devoted to local military service members from the Huntington Herald-Dispatch and Herald-Advertiser—keeps the emphasis, as Pratt intends, on “the military service of Tri-State men and women.”

The book is masterfully put together. Pratt divides it into chapters, one per month, from January 1945 to January 1946, with chapter subtitles suggesting his alternating double focus on both the home front and the war: “February: Allies Advance, Nazis Flee”; “March: Welcome Spring, High Waters”; “November: Flu, Monopoly”; “December: Troops Homeward Bound.” He includes a number of photographs and reproductions of newspaper advertisements that add considerable local color to the text. An Index of People mentioned in the book, along with the date of the reference, provides a useful way for readers to identify family members and others.

The author has done a laudable service in meticulously transcribing and reproducing a years’ worth of newspapers columns, and in so doing has offered the public a valuable research tool. His book will be most appealing to the Pratt family (who might want to skip through each chapter, reading mostly the journal entries by Pratt and his mother, along with Pratt’s commentaries) and to families and other researchers who want to know more about the wartime postings, decorations, injuries and deaths of these “tri-state heroes.” At least for one reader, the long litanies of these heroes’ names offered a surprising response: as I read through the columns devoted to the military men and women, I found myself not only moved to thanks and appreciation for their service to our country, but to a peaceful acceptance of all life offers.

Review by Nancy Arbuthnot (February 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
In Tri-State Heroes of '45: Together with a Year in the Life of a West Virginia Farm Family, Rupert Pratt shares the moments and memories woven into the fascinating history of the final year of World War II.

This compilation of local, national, and world events from 1945 showcases the diverse area where West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky converge, seen through the perspective of rural life on a little farm in Salt Rock, West Virginia.

Tri-State Heroes of '45 hangs on a framework of diary entries of Pratt’s mother, who was thirty-seven that year, while Pratt himself was the young age of twelve. Filled with echoes from the avalanche of events that defined that year, the daily life on Pratt’s small farm presents a unique mosaic that tells an unforgettable tale of faith, family, and hope on the home front.

Packed with encouraging vignettes, the book honors the military service members of the Tri-State, with “mini stories” that appeared in Huntington, West Virginia newspapers. These personalized stories shed light on the tragedies, awards, and survival in the war zones, as well as the relationships that strengthened the resilience of soldiers and civilians alike.

Residents of the Tri-State will reminisce with appreciation as they look back at the year in which their relatives and friends played a vital role in preserving our nation.

ISBN/ASIN: 13: 978-1-6312-9915-5, 13: 978-1-6312-9916-2

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography

Number of Pages: 524