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.

Letters From Long Binh, by Randy Mixter

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MWSA Review
Just another book about Vietnam? Wait; don’t dismiss this memoir out of hand. Every experience is different and every soldier has both a shared and a unique vision of that experience and Randy Mixtertells an honest and humorous story of his time in Vietnam in Letters From Long Binh. 

Memories change over the years for most, for soldiers they are forever part of their life. So many stories of those so young can start saying “I boarded the plane.” If thoughts or ideas existed about easy and heroes they ended with wheels down. 

In sharing his memories through the letters of that time in his life Mixter has opened the door into his and many Veterans lives. From the mundane day to day to the absolutely frightening he shares it all. Adding humor into the telling makes it easier for Veterans to read.

History buffs and those that simply do not understand what it is like to serve in country need to read this. It will definitely open their eyes.

One phrase keeps banging around in my head, remembering how many times I have heard it, reminded after all these years by Letters From Long Binh “You’ll be fine.” 


Reviewed by: Jim Greenwald (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

I boarded the plane to Vietnam at exactly midnight on January 1st, 1967. I was a 19 year old soldier with pen and paper in hand. I began to write.  

“Letters from Long Binh" gives the reader an honest appraisal of the everyday life of an MP in Vietnam. Sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous, but always gripping, the book is written with a deep sense of respect for his fellow brothers-in-arms in a war-torn county.” Lou Fantauzzi - Vietnam 1966-67

Surviving Serendipity, by Lawrence Enders

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MWSA Review

Lawrence J. Enders had done a wonderful job of writing his story inSurviving Serendipity.  His goal in life was to be a stable, hometown physician.  He ended up being drafted and serving in the U.S. Air Force as a flight surgeon for twenty-three years.  He retired as a colonel and accomplished being a doctor, pilot, medical administrator, and military officer. He shares many “serendipitous” events, which lead to interactions with astronauts, Russian spies, Hollywood stars, an acquitted multiple murderer, the John F. Kennedy family, a Nazi war-crimes scientist, etc. Dr. Enders served in seventy-five missions in Southeast Asia. He has lived quite the life!

 Many of Dr. Ender’s experiences do seem unreal, and family members and friends encouraged him to write his book, for that very reason.  In one year, Enders was selected by NASA on loan from the Air Force, was involved with a daring sea rescue, and helped with the delivery of Jacqueline Kennedy’s baby. And that was just one year of his life. More than once he heard the words, “Have I got a deal for you!” 

 I would like to share a quote from Lawrence Enders from the end of his book: “We may not be able to choose the parents to whom we are born, or indeed, where we are born. We may not be able to choose how or when we will die. But we can all choose how we live!” Webster’s defines “serendipity” as “an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally.”  Read about many serendipitous happenings in the life of Lawrence Enders in Surviving Serendipity.

Reviewed by: Joyce Gilmour (October 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

Lawrence J. Enders, a cadet at Cretin High School, St. Paul, Minnesota and Dr. Enders today. 

Follow Me, by Elizabeth Carroll Foster

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MWSA Review

This is a memoir of a woman who became the wife of an Army officer and pilot. As a young bride, she was clueless as to the demands that would be placed upon her. She felt ill-prepared for the nomadic lifestyle and her frequent moves from pillar to post while raising four children. In spite of that, she succeeded.

 In the Preface, she writes, “Military life is hard for anyone who experiences it, whether of short duration or over many years. Yet, as difficult as frequent moves, school changes, goodbyes and long separations are, it is a life of travels to places outside of one’s dreams, of making new friends, and many, many fun times. It is a life of building memories to be unwrapped and relived years later.”

 She recalls “We traveled across the United States, lived in Pakistan, toured in India andItaly with four youngsters and a dog … my first airplane ride was with a new baby dosed for teething. Four babies were born in five years.”

 Foster also observes “After twenty-five years as the spouse of a U.S. Army officer, I think I know a thing or two about military wives. They are full of grit.”

 She notes that military wives have much in common, regardless of the branch of service. Conditioned to be strong, they show endurance. When life gets hard, they may sit down and cry, but not for long. There is always another move to make, another house to turn into a home. And during tragedies, they share food, tend the deceased’s children, and put the house in order for a grieving friend.

 Foster’s book includes photos which help the reader feel a connection to the author and her family. Her story will resonate with many who have lived a life in the military. It may even inspire envy in those civilians who have never had the opportunity to travel to exotic places.

 This book is entertaining, enlightening, and honest. It is a testament to the bravery and courage of the distaff side of military life, and a validation of their many sacrifices. As Foster so aptly asserts, “Military wives accept the life that’s dealt them.”

 There’s no doubt, our country needs military wives. They are the nurturers, the healers, the bedrock and the heart of America. Very highly recommended reading.

Reviewed by: Charlene Rubush (September 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

On September 6, 1949, the author was a bride and clueless as to the twists and turns her life would take as the wife of a US Army officer. Her husband served sixteen months at the end of WWII and completed his three-year obligation in the reserve forces. Meantime, he tried to complete college and enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard while at the University of Oklahoma. The Guard unit was recalled to service with the 45th Division at the outbreak of the Korean War.

Elizabeth was ill-prepared for the kind of life she would experience as a military wife, the frequent moves from pillar to post while rearing four children, the separations from her husband, and parting from her friends and making new ones. Without a support system, she learned that military wives depended on each other.

It wasn't an easy life, but it offered many exciting adventures and presented friendships in many places. Her children adapted well to the nomadic lifestyle, despite transferring from school to school in midterm. Would she have made the commitment had she known what it entailed? She would have because it was a life of wonderful adventures shared with her husband, her children, their dog, and many, many friends.

G-Day, Rendezvous with Eagles, by Stephen D. Wiehe

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MWSA Review

Too few books have been written about the first Gulf War—Desert Shield and Desert Storm-- overshadowed, no doubt, by the current war in the Gulf region—Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. But to make sense of the latter, it is important to understand the former.

Author Stephen D. Wiehe does a great job of telling the story of that first war as he witnessed it while a forward observer with the 502nd“Strike” Brigade Infantry Regiment, a vital part of the 101st Airborne Division’s lead brigade task force in the liberation of Kuwait. These are the troops who stood in the gap of President George H.W. Bush’s “Line in the Sand.”

Wiehe’s motivation for writing the book was to create an accurate document of his unit’s history that could be used as reference material for future generations. He did that quite successfully with his research that included excerpts of documents and plenty of maps placed throughout the book to orient the reader unfamiliar with locations in that part of the world.

But while the book focuses on the 502nd, it is also able to tell the story of the greater war which was probably the experience of most American troops deployed there. The reader is taken on the journey from training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to the sandstorms and freezing temperatures of the Kuwaiti desert with gas masks always at the ready. Grueling walks carrying a hundred pound rucksack across rolling mounds of sands, avoiding enemy and hidden minefields, put the reader in the middle of what that short war was like. Hard to believe it has been 20 years.

I learned, or should I say, relearned a lot of history of that first conflict and that’s what I enjoy reading in such a book.  It is easy to forget, and perhaps too easy to falsely remember, why we went to Kuwait.

G-Day: Rendezvous With Eagles is a good read. Wiehe lays out a great story with facts he has meticulously researched.

Reviewed by: Gail Chatfield (December 2011)

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Author's Synopsis

When I started my research, the twenty plus years that had passed began to shrink. By the end of the project, the events that changed my life two decades ago seemed like yesterday. The reconnection with old friends was well worth the time it took to put the book together. 

In working on our unit history, I found very little about our important missions and objectives during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  I was amazed that the units themselves had very little information regarding our objectives and the reasons for them.  In a day when the internet and cell phones are everywhere, including the front lines of combat, there is a rich and living commentary written by the troops as they live it.  But, just a few decades ago during Desert Storm, there were no blogs, satellite radio or internet.  When it comes to Desert Storm there is a void in the written history. Our children would be hard pressed to put all of the pieces together.   My goal when I started writing G-Day was to create a factual, historical document that all of us could be proud of and that could be used as a reference for future generations.When visiting with Dr. John O'Brien, Chief Historian at the Don F. Pratt Museum at Fort Campbell, I told him I didn't want this to turn into a book of "fish stories" or a compilation of war tales that are told so many times over the years that they gradually become the truth.   

There are some great books written by accomplished authors who give us a great view of the "big picture" in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  In writing this book, my hope is that it will help you see, and appreciate, the day to day activities of the soldiers who were there and how they fit into the "bigger picture."  

In Our Duffel Bags, by Richard C. Geschke & Robert A. Toto

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MWSA Review

Wow! The man who was ordered to go to Vietnam against his desires wrote this poem! This passage is key to the flow of this book and the bond of friendship between the co-authors that exists to this day. In the same chapter he writes: It has taken me almost forty years to recollect what I’ve experienced, and it is very difficult to write about oneself in an objective way. I was again in the soup and now I had another “boss” who was angry with me… (P.100)

These men are real and attempt to put it all in perspective as their hopes are dashed and anxieties tighten on rational thinking. At that moment, I was mad, feeling that the military was nothing but a political battlefield played by small-minded people who took advantage of their subordinates. If the subordinates did not “play ball,” the ball was taken away, no matter how good or competent they were. (P.101)

Combat Vets will appreciate the candor and frankness of the authors. Some things about war never change. Some people walk around as “combat vets” without ever really having an idea that a war is going on. Geschke’s words could be my own words with a few changes. It seemed so strange to me that these army personnel were drawing the same combat pay that I was drawing. It didn’t seem right forty-one years ago, and it still doesn’t seem right now, but it was a fact: They were in a different world than we were dealing with in the fields of Vietnam (Iraq, or Afghanistan). (P.158)

Geschke and Toto challenge our status quo in how we understand and approach wars. There is an uncomfortable air about their insights and open-ended conclusions. However, speaking as a combat chaplain who has actually been in the soup of Iraq, I believe they are spot on. The two of them should be expert advisors because they would hold all soldiers and citizens accountable, including me.

Yes! It was a privilege to serve. And it was an honor to review this book. The authors did more than survive the Vietnam era; they thrived and blossomed. And I might add, they inspired this chaplain. Well done!

Reviewed by: Ron Camarda (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

DECEMBER 28, 2011 - First Lieutenant Richard C. Geschke and Lieutenant Robert A. Toto co-authored a book sparking emotions and revealing buried memories of the Vietnam War within the book titled In Our Duffel Bags, just published by iUniverse.

Both men are longtime service buddies as well as friends and it is through
this book they share the sometimes harrowing events encountered during their service in the “War with no purpose; no mission statement.” This
narrative book uniquely conveys each man’s first hand experiences as
soldiers serving in the US Army during the Vietnam War era and their
transition to civilian life afterwards.

“I did not realize that I had PTSD, until I started to cry while I was out
walking near my home” said Robert Toto during a recent interview. “This
book became part of my therapy.” As for Richard Geschke, his memories came about differently as he said, “It wasn’t until I had a vivid dream of
reality about a trip down the Hai Van Pass which occurred forty years ago
that the thoughts of not only Vietnam but of my entire army experience came
to my foremost thoughts. I immediately put them on paper, starting with the
chapter titled “Going My Way” and followed by the chapter titled “Was
That Forty-One or Forty-two Rockets?” Both men entered the military through the ROTC program which put them in as an officer once completing college. “During our day there were protests, draft card burnings and a very lively debate about the merits of the war.

Today, because we have an all volunteer army, the regular population is more or less mute on the war. Current debates about the wars are timid in
comparison to the Vietnam era,” said Richard Geschke. Aside from the political unrest our country was going through, these men each had their battles with society dealing with the stigma of serving the country in a war which was shunned by their peers. For Robert Toto, “It was difficult being in grad school once I was discharged. The undergraduate students really had no clue of what military life was.” Richard Geschke commented, “Vietnam was a different era altogether, with the protests and the divisive politics of the times.” He summarized, “I didn’t make military policy, and all I did was to serve my country in an honorable way!”

The stories within In Our Duffel Bags are written in a down to earth manner
using language that makes it easy to relate to the storytellers. This is the
type of book that can be a captivating read for those wanting to indulge in
the mindsets of young men forced into becoming soldiers during a war in which no one wanted to fight.

In the Gray Area, by Seth Folsom

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MWSA Review

In every war there exists a behind the scenes force that is for the most part invisible to the public. There are no movies made of this subculture of warriors who quietly train and serve alongside host country forces, but their contribution is enormous, dangerous, and crucial to the hoped for success of the strategic mission. During the Vietnam War Americans served by the thousands in the Military Assistance Command (MACV), advising, and leading the South Vietnamese army. U.S. forces slogged through the jungles and mountains, with American men, in American units, while MACV soldiers did the same thing imbedded with South Vietnamese forces. The stress, and uncertainty of such combat duty was measurably more mentally and emotionally demanding, being in harm’s way with an alien culture whose motives were frequently suspect.

Such has been the duty of American advisers once again in Afghanistan, and Iraq. Appropriately named "The Gray Area", this spooky part of the war where religious fanaticism is capable of turning who you thought were your friends against you in a heartbeat, is a vital element in the chemistry of success in both theaters. The author does a masterful job of illuminating the challenges, and dangers of such duty via his own service performing this critical job. His challenges, frustrations, and affection for his charges are illuminated in his graphic, deadly, and sometimes humorous reflections on the demands placed upon our shadow warriors who face the daily challenges of impacting and directing a culture to a desired end that may or may not be achievable.

Reviewed by: Bob Flournoy (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

In the Gray Area builds on Seth Folsom s earlier award-winning memoir, The Highway War. In February 2008 Major Folsom was deployed again to Iraq as the leader of a U.S. Marine advisor team embedded with an Iraqi army infantry battalion. The realities of the Marines mission is frankly addressed by Folsom in this new work as he reflects on challenges they and their Iraqi counterparts faced in their struggle to gain control of al-Anbar province. He explores the bonds he formed with his men, the Outlanders, and the tenuous relationships forged between the American and Iraqi soldiers whose cultures were so vastly different. The author creates a compelling picture of the obstacles faced by both as they lived, ate, and fought side-by-side. 

Callsign: Spectre, by Jeff Noecker

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MWSA Review

"Callsign: Spectre" is about the author's experiences in the military. Jeff Noecker wanted to be a mechanic but ultimately became part of the gun crew of an AC-130 during the Vietnam War. He was one of the people who worked in the back to keep the guns going. His primary job was lookout. He was assigned to Thailand and patrolled the Ho Chi Minh Trail starting in the spring of 1971.

Appropriately, the cover has a picture of the plane flying at night shooting out the left side, down at the ground, with artillery exploding around it. The artist's rendition will draw in all those who functioned in similar circumstances during the Vietnam War.

Noecker's description of survival school in the PI brought back great memories for me. I also enjoyed reading about their missions which were similar to others I had heard about myself while in country. In one of the more exciting narratives, they did get hit once but managed to get their airplane back. However, it was severely damaged. Miraculously, no one on the plane was wounded.

The book is well-written and beautifully published. Vietnam veterans of the era and historians will enjoy this piece.

Reviewed by: Buddy Cox (2012)

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Author's Synopsis

This is the story of a young man from Pennsylvania who enlists in the U.S. Air Force at age 19. After three years of essential but otherwise boring duty, he is accepted into the AC-130 gunship pprogram and is assigned to a special operations unit in Southeast Asia. This book is written in a memoir format and details the duties and missions of this young man and his contemporaries as they attack supply convoys while flying at low altitude along the notorious Ho Chi Minh Trail. The story relates the good with the bad and has a special section dedicated to the "urban legends" of the time.

The Boys of Diamond Hill, by J. Keith Jones

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MWSA Review

The Boys of Diamond Hill is a handsome book. When I first received it, I spent a long time examining the cover -- and every time I picked it up, I saw another detail in the mural-like painting representing a soldier's life in the Confederacy. It is well-researched, well-documented, and beautifully presented by editor and MWSA member J. Keith Jones. If you are a scholar of the Civil War, you will rejoice as the primary materials -- letters exchanged by members of the Boyd family -- brings their experiences to life as only first-hand accounts can do. If you are a casual reader, you will be struck by the cultural and philosophical differences between the 19th and the 21st centuries in America -- and yet, how much the same we all are. Any reader will be moved by the lives of these people, farmers, caught up in the major American catastrophe of their time -- politics gone awry and turned violent. 

In the afterward, the editor comments about the emotional connection with this family he felt after the many weeks and months he spent working with their letters and researching their lives. I understood his point. As I read about the brothers' devotion to their parents, their affection for their siblings and their love for their wives and children -- I began to feel like I knew them. And when they began asking each other of news about Felton or about Andrew's well-being, even though I knew they were already dead when these words were written, I too was devastated. 

This book had to have taken an incredible amount of work. I'm sure Mr. Jones found the information in bits that had to be fitted together like an enormous jigsaw puzzle. He helps the reader along with a well-constructed index and comprehensive bibliography. I loved an appendix that explained the various cast of characters and how they were related to each other. In fact, I read that both before I tackled the letters -- and afterwards. Then, I spent hours scanning the Boyd brothers company rosters -- looking for names that I might recognize. 

This is a work to linger over -- and I did. It's a gold mine for novelists -- each letter, in and of itself, is a story with subplots and character development. I found myself reading a letter from one of the boys, reading Mr. Jones' background information, and then looking up some obscure comment or reference. I got a big kick out of how the Boyds talked so casually about the momentous things happening to them. Daniel is wounded on the second day at Gettysburg. Yet, other than to tell his father that he got hit in the leg, he doesn't explain himself further. When so much is going on, I guess it's hard to know what to mention and what let pass. Or perhaps you think you will have the rest of your life to talk about it -- or maybe you want to forget it as soon as possible.

This is perhaps the most dogeared of the books that I've received in the last few years. I will probably keep it near as reference for a story I'm planning -- or maybe just to reach back in time to touch the Boyd family once again on a rainy Saturday afternoon. 

Reviewed by: Joyce Faulkner (2011)

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Author's Synopsis

In April 1861, brothers Daniel and Pressley Boyd left their farm in Abbeville County, South Carolina, to join the Confederate army. The Civil War soon swept their other brothers, William, Thomas and Andrew, as well as brother-in-law Fenton Hall into service. By the war's end, only Daniel survived. The extensive collection of letters the Boyds left behind, assembled for the first time, details their experiences across almost every theater of the war and offers commentary on many aspects of soldier life--from illness, death, and religion to friendly fire, desertion, and politics. Few families sacrificed as much to the Confederate cause as did the Boyds. Their letters remain a testament to their commitment and reveal the profound human impact of war.