Biography: historical, political and military Books

Book SynopsisIn the dark days of World War I, when flying machines, radio, and electronics were infant technologies, the first remotely controlled experimental aircraft took to the skies and unmanned radio controlled 40-foot high-speed Motor Torpedo Boats ploughed the seas in Britain. Developed by the British Army’s Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy these prototype weapons stemmed from an early form of television demonstrated before the war by Prof. A. M. Low. The remote control systems for these aircraft and boats were invented at RFC Secret Experimental Works commanded by Prof. Low, which was part of the organization of ‘back-room boys’ in the Munitions Inventions Department. These audacious projects of Low and his contemporaries led to the hundreds of remotely controlled Queen Bee aerial targets in the 1930s and hence to all the machines that we now call ‘drones'.Starting well before WWI and, for the lucky ones, extending well beyond it, the lives of Archibald Low and many of his contemporaries were extraordinary as were the times they lived through. They witnessed many dawns, the coming of the oil and plastics age and of domestic electricity. They experienced vast social improvements and the pasturing of the working horse in favor of motor transport. They were around for the first epic aircraft flights and with the aid of the very technologies that had enabled the development of drones, they saw air travel transformed from the precarious to the routine. It is astonishing that the origins of the first drones are not common knowledge in Britain and that the achievement of these maverick inventors is not commemorated.

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Book SynopsisWilliam Gregory, "Greg," to all, was born into a sharecropper's life in the hills of northcentral Tennessee. From the back of a mule-drawn plow, Greg learned the value of resilience and the importance of living a determined life. Refusing to accept a life of continued poverty, Gregy sought and found a way out - a work-study college program that made it possible to leave farming behind him forever.While at college, Greg completed the Civilian Pilot Training Program and was subsequently accepted into the Army's pilot training program. Earning his wings in 1942, Greg became a P-38 combat pilot and served in North Africa during the summer of 1943 - a critical time when the Luftwaffe was still a potent threat, and America had begun the march northward from the Mediterranean into Europe proper.Following the war, Greg served with a B-29 unit, then transitioned to the new, red-hot B-47 strategic bomber. In his frequent deployments, he was always assigned the same target in the Soviet Union - Tblisi, Stalin's home town. While a B-47 pilot, Greg was selected to join America's first high-altitude program - the Black Knights. Flying RB-57D aircraft, Greg and his team flew peripheral "ferret" missions around the Soviet Union and its satellites, collecting critical order-of-battle data so desperately needed by the Air Force at that time. When that program neared its design end, and following the Gary Powers shoot-down over the Soviet Union, Greg was assigned to command of the CIA's U-2 unit at Edwards AFB. It was during that five-year command that Greg and his team provided critical overflight intelligence, including during the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam build-up. He found time to also become one of the first to fly U-2s off aircraft carriers in a demonstration project.Following his U-2 command, Greg attended the National War College, was assigned to the reconnaissance office at the Pentagon, and then was named Vice-Commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). Greg retired from the Air Force in 1972.Trade ReviewBooks following pilots’ careers can become rather familiar to the avid aviation enthusiast/reader, but occasionally a real gem comes along and this is one of them. * Air Forces Monthly *...this is a fine addition to the growing body of high-quality literature on Cold War aerial reconnaissance. * The Aviation Historian 21/04/2021 *

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Book Synopsis"To those outside the military, and even to those serving, the rank structure can sometimes be over simplified. It appears that we rack and stack everyone in the organization, and the person with the most rank “wins”—he or she is in charge, and everyone else has to follow orders that flow from the top. While there is certainly benefit in adhering to a chain of command, the interaction between the various ranks up and down that chain, officer and enlisted, becomes the connective tissue that creates a cohesive, successful organization inside of which good decisions and high morale thrive. The most senior member of a unit has the responsibility—and the honor—of leading. But to be successful, the planning and decision-making at the top must reflect a thorough understanding of the strengths at every level of the organization, for it is the enlisted leaders who will ultimately execute those plans in battle, and win."—Foreword by General Peter Pace, U.S. Marine Corps, 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.This book brings together the stories of six former senior enlisted advisors to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Each tells in their own words how they got their start, how mentors encouraged them along the way, and how they eventually became the highest-ranking enlisted member in their respective service."With invaluable lessons this is a book for junior service members, senior enlisted leaders, officers, but also for those with no connection to the military.“Books on leadership are many, but none are as practical, clear, and proven as Breaching the Summit. Sure to be of value to every level of military leader, it is equally relevant and valuable to leaders in government, in businesses of every size, and in every boardroom. The uniquely experienced, gifted, and tested authors have led, inspired, and mentored thousands in their extraordinary careers of service to our nation. They lived, observed, and led from the most junior ranks to the pinnacle of military service - they walked the talk. This book should be at the very top of every leader’s list, to be read and reread.” — Adm. Gary Roughead, U.S. Navy (retired)Chief of Naval Operations (2007–2011)“Six outstanding American military leaders served our nation admirably and now share their life experiences and the leadership lessons they learned. This book is a must-read for all service members - both enlisted and officer - aspiring to be successful leaders in uniform and beyond. Thank you to each of the authors for selflessly sharing their experiences and insights on leadership and life.” — Gen. Frank J. Grass, U.S. Army (retired), 27th Chief of the National Guard Bureau (2012–2016)“These extraordinary enlisted leaders have ‘walked the talk,’ and we should listen. Senior noncommissioned officers are the backbone of the finest armed forces in the world. This book shows why.” — Adm. Thad W. Allen, U.S. Coast Guard (retired), 23rd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard (2006–2010)“A collection of personal vignettes that teach practical leadership lessons, Breaching the Summit is a must-read for leaders at all levels. The authors have served as their services’ highest-ranking noncommissioned officers and are the epitome of the U.S. military’s professional, all-volunteer force.” — Gen. Ed Eberhart, U.S. Air Force (retired), Commander, NORAD/USNORTHCOM (2002–2005), CEO, Armed Forces Benefit Association“The stories in this book are riveting, powerful, and, best of all, true. The leaders who share their stories shaped our armed forces to be the greatest in the history of our nation. I had the privilege of working very closely with Jim and Paula Roy for over two years. They represent the very finest examples of great parents, humble and inspirational leaders, and compassionate partners, and they showed us all how to have fun while performing at the very highest levels of command.” — Adm. Timothy J. Keating, U.S. Navy (retired), Commander, NORAD/USNORTHCOM (2004–2007), USPACOM (2007–2009)“This book is a catalyst to renew the reader’s commitment to reach and exceed their potential—personally and professionally—while also taking joy in fulfilling their respective duties and responsibilities.” — Col. Paul H. Atterbury, U.S. Marine Corps (retired), Judge Advocate (1994–2014)“I found this book inspiring, interesting, and instructive. Six remarkably accomplished authors share their powerful personal narratives, and their diverse and compelling stories lift up essential leadership lessons for us all, whether military or civilian. If you are anywhere along the continuum of leadership—from leading yourself to leading organizations—and want to become a better leader, read this book!” — Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown, U.S. Coast Guard (retired), Assistant Secretary of Commerce (2010–2014)“Of all the books I’ve read on military leadership, this is one of the absolute best. It’s a great opportunity to learn from some of our nation’s top enlisted leaders—a must-read for all service members.” — Chief Master Sgt. W. Allen Usry, U.S. Air Force (retired), Command Senior Enlisted Leader, NORAD/USNORTHCOM (2009–2011)“Breaching the Summit is a motivating and inspiring read. The life lessons and stories shared will serve readers from any walk of life. The wisdom of these senior enlisted leaders in our U.S. military, tempered with their great sense of humility, reaffirms what makes our nation great. The advice these remarkable patriots have given has personally and professionally benefited me.” — Chief Master Sgt. James A. Cody, U.S. Air Force (retired), 17th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (2013–2017)“Breaching the Summit is a must-read for those in leadership, those striving to become leaders, or those who want to become a better version of themselves. You will learn traits you want to possess, traits you already have and have forgotten, and traits that will guide you through your own leadership. You will connect and reminisce through the stories that helped mold these average individuals to become six of our top enlisted military leaders. Learn from their lessons of leadership as you become familiar with who they were before they became who they are now.” — Pam Swan, Director, Military Relations for Veterans United Home Loans“Brilliantly illustrating the concept ‘grow where you’re planted,’ Breaching the Summit highlights six disparate individuals’ adaptation of the basic tenets of leadership on their journey to the top of their respective services. Whether you are just beginning your own journey, or merely searching for additional inspiration to refine your own leadership style, the principles stressed in these pages provide a solid foundation for success.” — Force Master Chief Johnny Walker, U.S. Navy (retired), Naval Education and Training Command (2007–2009), MCPON Executive Assistant (2009–2011)“Written by proven senior enlisted leaders, Breaching the Summit is a compendium of personal and professional experiences that distills success for all who choose the life of servant leadership in our military.” — Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Ripka, U.S. Army (retired), Command Senior Enlisted Leader, USJFCOM/USAFRICOM (2007–2011)“Breaching the Summit is an insightful, informative walk through the phases of an enlisted career from some of the most successful leaders in modern history. This is a must-read primer for anyone on a journey through the ranks of our glorious military. Read this book. Learn from the real-life lessons that molded some of our greatest enlisted leaders.” — Chief Master Sgt. John M. Harris, U.S. Air National Guard (retired), Command Chief Master Sergeant, Louisiana ANG (2006–2010), President, EANGUS“I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is not just for the ‘seasoned’ leader - anyone can relate to these lessons, no matter their level of leadership. I felt as though I were sitting in a Leadership 101 symposium!” — Fleet Master Chief April Beldo, U.S. Navy (retired)Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education Command (2013–2017)“As I’m passing 10 years since I left my own naval service behind, I am amazed at how the leadership truths in this book apply to any industry, not just the military. Making sure everyone knows their individual role in the unit’s success, take the time to get the little things right, coach each other up, down, and all around, and all the other lessons. MCPON West said it best: don’t just take care of your crew, challenge them to grow and be ready to take the reins. This book is not just for practitioners of the art of war—it is for anyone who wants to lead their organization to excellence!” — Capt. Bob Schuetz, U.S. Navy (retired), Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff, COMSUBPAC (2006–2008), Plant GM, Columbia Generating Station“CMSAF Roy’s anecdote of re-digging the water line in Michigan at age 10 was a foretaste of his sense of duty and doing the right things right throughout his AF career. His is a life well lived that resulted in Airmen being well led—including this one.” — Lt. Gen. Loren M. Reno, U.S. Air Force (retired), Deputy Chief of Staff, USAF Logistics, Installations and Mission Support (2009–2012)“MCPOCG Skip Bowen has a truly remarkable legacy of principled leadership built over an incredible career in the Coast Guard. His story, and the stories of the other leaders who reached the top positions in our military, are inspiring examples of linking personal and organizational success from the entry level to the summit. This book is a great read!” — Vice Adm. David P. Pekoske, U.S. Coast Guard (retired), Vice Commandant, USCG (2009–2010), Administrator, TSA“What an amazing opportunity to read about these great leaders! MCPON Rick West’s story shines light onto his sacrifice and compassion for the U.S. Sailor. Mentor, motivator, and total compassion describe MCPON West. His understanding of tactical and strategic level of knowledge provided excellence across the fleet. Most importantly, he is a chief’s chief who connected and continues to connect with the CPO Mess at large.” — Fleet Master Chief Susan Whitman, U.S. Navy (retired), U.S. Pacific Fleet (2015–2018)“This book offers exceptional insight into what has shaped some of the finest senior enlisted leaders in modern history. Through easy-to-follow stories, Breaching the Summit showcases the impact small life events have in developing leaders. This team of authors has captured service-specific leadership challenges that have significance in today’s joint warfighting environment, and I would consider Breaching the Summit a must-read for officers and senior enlisted looking to lead the military into the future.” — Fleet Master Chief Mark Rudes, U.S. Navy (retired), Senior Enlisted Leader, PACOM (2012–2016)“Breaching the Summit is a colorful and compelling look at the formative years, experiences, and philosophies behind our nation’s preeminent senior enlisted leaders. America’s faith in and empowerment of its enlisted corps has long been recognized as our true strategic advantage when it comes to military success at sea, in the air, and on land. Preston, Barrett, West, Roy, Jelinski-Hall, and Bowen show how humble beginnings and solid, consistent principles fueled their journeys and struck a chord with a generation of troops inclined to question the motives and methods of leadership. A must-read for anyone seeking insight on how to get the most out of people, or for anyone who doubts the tenacity of our young men and women wearing the uniform today.” — Command Master Chief Scott Fleming, U.S. Navy (retired), Joint Task Force Guantanamo, MCPON Executive Assistant (2011–2013)“From their humble beginnings to the pinnacle of their careers as the most senior noncommissioned officers of the U.S. Armed Forces, nowhere else will you find a compilation of lessons learned like those included here. These six senior enlisted leaders provide insights from which service members of all ages and ranks can learn, and that can serve as guides to a successful military career. I am proud to have served alongside these fine NCOs.” — Command Sgt. Maj. Richard J. Burch, U.S. Army (retired), 9th Command Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard (2010–2012)“With stories from the lives and experiences of six of our top enlisted military leaders, Breaching the Summit offers the gift of leadership honing. This book is not only a must–read for current and future military leaders, but for those in the civilian sector as well. These warriors allow you to experience their personal stories of highs and lows on their way to the top enlisted leadership billet of each military branch. Though different in the challenges they faced, they are the same in telling the reason for their successes. Patton once said: ‘Your character is defined by how high you bounce when you hit bottom.’ Each chapter illustrates how they took challenges head on and bounced to the pinnacle position of their respective professions. They suffered the pain of discipline to not suffer the pain of regret. I have added this to my professional library of leadership and urge all leaders - present and future - to do the same.” — 1st Sgt. Mark Gordon, U.S. Marine Corps (retired), Subject matter expert for combat profiling, Camp Lejeune“Whenever a new initiative was considered, I knew no one had their finger on the pulse of the fleet like the MCPON and the SGTMAJ of the USMC. The troops see in these senior enlisted leaders a role model, parental figure, and most importantly, their potential best selves. Their hard-earned insights have value for any aspiring leader in any walk of life. HOOYAH!” — Juan Garcia, 17th Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Manpower and Reserve Affairs (2009–2016)“Breaching the Summit is an amazing blend of leadership lessons from six very successful military leaders who started in humble beginnings and advanced to the highest levels of the enlisted corps. Their ability to weave personal and professional insights on their journey to mastering their tradecraft and leadership skills provides a blueprint of success for others. The evolutionary journey of learning leadership, practicing leadership, and then executing leadership is highlighted through their experiences. For those just starting their leadership journey and those who are seasoned leaders, there is much to be learned in this book.” — Chief Master Sgt. Steve McDonald, U.S. Air Force (retired), Command Chief, Air Combat Command (2014–2017)“It has been my pleasure to be associated with CMSAF James Roy for the last 25 years, beginning on the island of Guam, where he led the CE ‘dirt boyz’ in support of that critical infrastructure mission. Chief Roy possessed a keen insight into personal leadership then, which served our squadron well through five typhoon encounters and continued to serve him well throughout his successful military career, culminating as the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. I’m proud to have played a small part in such a superb leader’s life.” — Col. D. H. “Scott” Showers, U.S. Air Force (retired), Commander, 36th Civil Engineer Squadron, Andersen AFB, Guam (1994–1996)“Breaching the Summit gives a rare glimpse into the lives of leaders who served in the highest enlisted positions in the U.S. military. A must-read for any leader who’d like to make a difference in their organization—there’s more common ground than you might think! Problem solvers, influencers, getting pushed out of their comfort zones, and passing it along were a few chunks that jumped out at me. Bravo on this collaboration of some AWESOME human beings!” — Chief Master Sgt. Marty Klukas, U.S. Air Force (retired), Command Senior Enlisted Leader, USTRANSCOM (2011-2014)“MCPON Rick West’s leadership style is more than a pillar from which many grew their naval careers—his motivation to challenge yourself is the foundation by which I continue to live and approach complex situations. His ability to build a cohesive, winning team is second to none. HOOYAH COB!” — Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Rich Hawkins, U.S. Navy (retired), Captain, Delta Air Lines“The U.S. military has long been a preeminent organization for producing leaders of exceptional capability and character. The authors of this book are among the best the military has to offer. It comes as no surprise that their thoughts would be insightful and well worth the attention of both aspiring and experienced leaders from all backgrounds and areas of interest.” — Mike Watt, CEO, Scientific Research CorporationTable of ContentsForeword Editor's Note Kenneth O. Preston, 13th Sergeant Major of the Army Micheal P. Barrett, 17th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Rick D. West, 12th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James A. Roy, CMSAF Air Force Denise M. Jelinski-Hall, 3rd Senior Enlisted Advisor to the National Guard Bureau Charles W. "Skip" Bowen, 10th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Afterword

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Book SynopsisBorn Betsy Bowen into grinding poverty, the woman who reinvented herself as Eliza Jumel was raised in a brothel, indentured as a servant, and confined to a workhouse when her mother was in jail. Seizing opportunities and readjusting facts to achieve the security and status she so desperately craved, she obtained a fortune from her first husband, a French merchant, and nearly lost it to her second, the notorious vice president Aaron Burr. Divorcing Burr promptly amid lurid charges of adultery, she lived on triumphantly to the age of ninety, astutely managing her property and public persona.By the end of her life, “Madame Jumel” was one of New York’s richest women, with servants of her own, an art collection, an elegant mansion, a summer home in Saratoga Springs, and several hundred acres of land. After her death, a titanic battle over her estate went all the way to the United States Supreme Court . . . twice.As the feud over her fortune riveted the nation, family members told of a woman who earned the gratitude of Napoleon I and shone at the courts of Louis XVIII and Charles X. Their opponents painted a different picture, of a prostitute who bore George Washington’s illegitimate son, a wife who defrauded her husband and perhaps even plotted his death. Now Eliza Jumel’s real story—so unique that it surpasses any invention—has finally been told.Trade Review"Before Horatio Alger, there was Eliza Jumel. Her story has long been mired in mystery, scandal, innuendo, and outright fabrication. No more. Margaret Oppenheimer's deeply researched, trans-Atlantic biography moves Eliza Jumel from the shadowy margins to the central events of turn-of-the-nineteenth-century France and the United States. The Remarkable Rise of Eliza Jumel is just thata remarkable work of history." Timothy J. Gilfoyle, professor of history, Loyola University Chicago, associate editor, Journal of Urban History"An engaging and thoroughly researched account of the spectacular rags-to-riches rise of Eliza Jumel." Meryl Gordon, author of Mrs. Astor Regrets and The Phantom of Fifth Avenue"A true story that needs no invention, The Remarkable Rise of Eliza Jumel is a vivid narrative of the sacrifices that a woman makes as she acquires and holds onto a fortune in early America." Bill Dedman, coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Empty Mansions"Oppenheimer vibrantly recreates Eliza Jumel's rise from poverty to affluence, skillfully peeling away generations of rumors about this intelligent and resourceful woman." Publishers Weekly"[I]deal for researchers, history fans, or general readers interested in women's history, gender roles, or 19th-century New York society." Library Journal"Readers who thrive on stories about strong, independent women will find a kindred soul in Eliza Jumel." The New York Journal of Books"Presented in novel-like fashion, the book will appeal to all audiences. The narrative is punctuated with valuable information about cultural, economic, and political life in the US and France during that time, making it a useful primer on the era." Choice

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Book Synopsis“My dear Uncle Charles,” twenty-two-year-old Genevieve de Gaulle wrote on May 6, 1943. “Maybe you have already heard about the different events affecting the family.” The general’s brother Pierre had been taken by the Gestapo; his brother Xavier, Genevieve’s father, had escaped to Switzerland. Genevieve asked her uncle where she could be most useful—France? England? A French territory? When no response came immediately, she decided to stay in France to help carry out his call to resist the Nazis.Based on interviews with family members, former associates, prominent historians, and never-before-seen papers written by Genevieve de Gaulle, The General’s Niece is the first English-language biography of Charles de Gaulle’s niece, confidante, and daughter figure, Genevieve, to whom the legendary French general and president dedicated his war memoirs.Journalist Paige Bowers leads readers through the remarkable life of this young woman who risked death to become one of the most devoted foot soldiers of the French resistance. Beginning with small acts of defiance such as tearing down swastikas and pro-Vichy posters, she eventually ferried arms and false letters of transit to fellow resistants and edited and distributed the nation’s largest underground newspaper, until she was arrested and sent to the infamous Ravensbuck concentration camp. The General’s Niece reveals the horrors the young de Gaulle witnessed and endured there that could have broken her spirit but instead inspired her many remaining years of activism on behalf of former prisoners and of France’s neediest citizens.Finally emerging from the shadow of her famous uncle, the life of this little-known de Gaulle adds a fascinating layer to the history of the second world war, including the French resistance, the horrors of and unshakeable bonds formed at Ravensbruck, and the issues facing postwar France and its leaders.Trade Review"Paige Bowers is an emerging talent in narrative nonfiction/history, an intellectually curious reporter who has the ability to tell rich, well-researched stories about some of history's most fascinating people and events." Aminda Marques Gonzalez, executive editor of Miami Herald , member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, and former Miami bureau chief of People"This is such an inspiring story, written with clarity and conviction. Paige Bowers's excellent biography reveals Geneviève de Gaulle as one of the bravest and most dignified among young French resisters. At last, women who resisted the Nazis in France are being given the long-overdue recognition they deserve." Anne Sebba, author of Les Parisiennes"At once exhilarating and heartbreaking, captivating and horrifying, Bowers's account of Geneviève de Gaulle's journey from cautious defiance to full-blown resistance operative, through the horror of a concentration camp, to the even longer fight for a modern, egalitarian France is a timely, much-needed story of patriotism, courage, and the all-too-often ignored role of women in twentieth-century history." Bill Lascher, author of Eve of a Hundred Midnights"This stirring biography is a worthy epitaph for a woman who passionately believed that France should never forget its cherished values of justice and fraternity." Ronald C. Rosbottom, author of When Paris Went Dark"Paige Bowers delivers a story that is alternately pulse pounding and heart wrenching. With elegant style, Bowers gives Geneviève de Gaulle an independent identity, restoring her to her proper place in history." Theresa Kaminski, author of Angels of the Underground"A resistance fighter deported to Ravensbrück, Geneviève de Gaulle Anthonioz maintained her sanity through solidarity with her fellow female prisoners. After her return to France, she exorcised the psychological scars of her internment by dedicating herself to working with the unjustly marginalized. This book reminds one that a compassionate humanity is possible even in the face of unimaginable brutality. The General's Niece is essential reading." Rosemary Sullivan, author of Stalin's Daughter"An important and accessible addition to the always popular WWII history collection." Booklist

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Book SynopsisAs thoroughly examined as the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln have been, virtually no attention has been paid to the life of the Union cavalryman who killed John Wilkes Booth, an odd character named Boston Corbett. Corbett became an instant celebrity whose peculiarities made him the object of fascination and derision. A hatter by trade, he was likely poisoned by the mercury then used in the manufacturing process. He was one of the first volunteers to join the US Army in the early days of the Civil War, a path that would land him first in the notorious Andersonville prison camp and eventually in the squadron that cornered Booth in a Virginia barn. The Madman and the Assassin is the first full-length biography of Boston Corbett, a man thrust into the spotlight during a national news event—an unwelcome transformation from anonymity to celebrity.

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Book Synopsis2015 Internation Latino Book Awards Honorable Mention for Best Biography in English Known for her beauty and angelic voice, Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo, la Belle CrÉole, was a Cuban-born star of nineteenth-century Parisian society. She befriended aristocrats and artists alike, including Balzac, Baron de Rothschild, Rossini, and the opera diva La Malibran.A daughter of the creole aristocracy, Mercedes led a tumultuous life, leaving her native Havana as a teenager to join her mother in the heart of Madrid’s elite society. As Napoleon swept Spain into the Peninsular War, Mercedes’ family remained at the center of the storm, and her marriage to French general Christophe-Antoine Merlin tied her fortunes to France. Arriving in Paris in the aftermath of the French defeat, she re-created her life, ultimately hosting the city’s premier musical salon. Acknowledged as one of the greatest amateur sopranos of her day, she nurtured artistic careers and daringly paved the way for well-born singers to publicly perform in lavish philanthropic concerts. Beyond her musical renown, Mercedes achieved fame as a writer. Her memoirs and travel writings introduced European audiences to nineteenth-century Cuban society and contributed to the debate over slavery. Scholars still quote her descriptions of Havana life and recognize her as Cuba’s earliest female author.Mercedes epitomized an unusually modern life, straddling cultures and celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. Her memoirs, travel writings, and very personal correspondence serve as the basis for this first-ever English-language biography of the passionate and adventuresome Belle CrÉole.Trade Review"García-Lapuerta captures the reader's imagination with vivid details of Mercedes's life in Cuba, Madrid, and Paris. García-Lapuerta's beautifully written account of La Belle Créole illuminates lesser-known aspects of 19th-century transatlantic culture and the roles powerful women were able to play in it." -- Publishers Weekly" La Belle Cr é ole is an extraordinary tale of a beautiful, warm-hearted woman born into the fabulous wealth of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Cuban aristocracy. Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo (later Countess Merlin) nevertheless found the strength to assert her independence and carve out her own place in the world. In this meticulously researched, fascinating book, Alina García-Lapuerta not only introduces us to an inspiring heroine but shows us what biography at its best can do." --Jehanne Wake, author of Princess Louise: Queen Victoria's Unconventional Daughter and Sisters of Fortune: America's Caton Sisters at Home and Abroad"A fascinating book about a charming personality who deserves to be remembered." --Hugh Thomas, author of The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440-1870 and Conquest: Cortes, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico"This work marks the first full-length English-language biography of the countess and draws upon her letters, memoirs, and contemporary news accounts to make a highly readable story. An influential biography that will captivate readers of all types." -- Library Journal"Garcia provides a comprehensive and critical account of the life, work and environment of a singular woman whose impact reverberated on both sides of the Atlantic." -- EFE"Alina Garcia-Lapuerta has pulled the most interesting times out of Mercedes varied past and brought to life a captivating woman who was ahead of her time." --Stephanie's Book Reviews"Garcia-Lapuerta's passion for the subject is palpable. After I read her marvelous La Belle Créole I can admit, Mercedes reached across time and seduced me too ---- her story reads like a great romance novel." LostPastRemembered"La Belle Créole" is a welcome book, one that adds a colorful brush stroke or two to our image of the early and mid-19th century." Wall Street Journal

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Book SynopsisThe year 1938–39 was when Hitler set out on the road of pre-war bloodless conquests, which led to the actual shooting combat over Poland in September 1939. Both willing and unwilling, Hermann Goering was his main acolyte in achieving the peaceful military occupations of Austria and the Czech–German Sudetenland in 1938, followed by that of Bohemia and Moravia, plus Memel in 1939.¶ Prior to this, Goering played perhaps the key role in the Nazi overthrow of the Third Reich’s conservative military and foreign services, being named field marshal as his reward. Having helped Franco win the Spanish Civil War, Goering’s Air Force Legion Kondor also returned home victorious, having acquired valuable air war experience in aces, aircraft, and tactics, which served Goering well in the first phase of World War II. A major factor in making the Allies back down to Germany at the infamous Munich Pact Conference, Goering’s Luftwaffe was the key bargaining chip that gained these unprecedented territorial acquisitions for Hitler—all without a shot being fired. He also helped achieve alliances with Fascist Slovakia and Italy.

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive, fully up-to-date biography of Vladimir Putin, woven into the tumultuous saga of Russia over the last sixty years Vladimir Putin is the world's most dangerous man. Alone among world leaders, he has the power to reduce the United States and Europe to ashes in a nuclear firestorm and has threatened to do so. He invades his neighbors, most recently Ukraine, meddles in western elections, and orders assassinations inside and outside Russia. His regime is autocratic and deeply corrupt. But that is only half the story.Unflinching, hard-hitting, and objective, Philip Short's biography gives us the whole tale, up to the present day. To the fullest extent anyone has yet been able, Short cracks open the strongman's thick carapace to reveal the man underneath those bare-chested horseback rides. In this deeply researched account, readers meet the Putin who slept in the same room as his parents until he was twenty-five years old, who backed out of his wedding right beforehand, and who learned English in order to be able to talk to George W. Bush.Vladimir Putin is wreaking havoc in Europe, threatening global peace and stability and exposing his fellow citizens to devastating economic countermeasures. Yet puzzlingly many Russians continue to support him. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the many facets of the man behind the mask that Putin wears on the world stage.Drawing on almost two hundred interviews conducted over eight years in Russia, the United States, and Europe and on source material in more than a dozen languages, Putin will be the last word for years to come.

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Book Synopsis“In this fraught time of cutthroat business and financial dealings, racial animosity, and heartless political leaders, Dave’s remarkable story has lessons for us all.” —Jalen Rose, former professional basketball player, current analyst for ESPN A narrative of chance and purpose that touches all corners of society to tell the improbable tale of one man looking for something greater. A young, Black kid from one of the poorest sections of Washington, D.C., despite being legally blind in one eye, develops into a Hall of Famer. A rookie bank teller rises to become a business leader. A once-reluctant political neophyte answers the call to become mayor of Detroit and establishes a mentoring program for Black teens that serves as a model for the nation. All of these stories belong to one man: Dave Bing. In Attacking the Rim, Bing shares this multifaceted personal saga with a rare combination of modesty, moxie, and self-belief. Reflecting on his playing days with the Pistons, Bullets, and Celtics, Bing takes readers inside the exciting world of pro basketball at the moment when sensational athletes were turning a low-budget game into a high-powered, multimillion-dollar entertainment spectacle. From inside the Detroit mayor’s office, he offers a firsthand look at the city’s monumental challenges, including debt, corruption, unemployment, infrastructure, and the daily choices between the lesser of evils. And finally, he takes us through the mentoring foundation he’s created, cutting through the red tape of charitable work to achieve fundamental change in the young men of Detroit. Dave Bing’s story is one of unbelievable perseverance and success, and in it he shares the lessons for personal growth and excellence he’s learned along the way. Trade Review"Dave's story is one of overcoming hardship, maximizing opportunities, and constantly giving to those who are in need. It's a story, I am sure you, like me, will find inspiring." -- Mike Tirico, American sportscaster working for NBC

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Book SynopsisUSBBY Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities Colonial Dames of America Book AwardALA/Amelia Bloomer Book ListNCSS Notable Trade BookBank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year“An excellent beginner’s resource for biography, U.S. history, and women’s studies.” —Kirkus ReviewsHere is the powerful and inspiring biography of Dorothea Lange, one of the founders of documentary photography.After a childhood bout of polio left her with a limp, all Dorothea Lange wanted to do was disappear. But her desire not to be seen helped her learn how to blend into the background and observe. With a passion for the artistic life, and in spite of her family''s disapproval, Lange pursued her dream to become a photographer and focused her lens on the previously unseen victims of the Great Depression. This poetic biography tells the emotional story of Lange''s life and includes a gallery of her photographs, an author''s note, a timeline, and a bibliography.

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Book SynopsisLes Payne, the renowned Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist, embarked in 1990 on a nearly thirty-year-long quest to interview anyone he could find who had actually known Malcolm X—all living siblings of the Malcolm Little family, classmates, street friends, cellmates, Nation of Islam figures, FBI moles and cops, and political leaders around the world. His goal was ambitious: to transform what would become over a hundred hours of interviews into an unprecedented portrait of Malcolm X, one that would separate fact from fiction. The result is this historic biography that conjures a never-before-seen world of its protagonist, a work whose title is inspired by a phrase Malcolm X used when he saw his Hartford followers stir with purpose, as if the dead were truly arising, to overcome the obstacles of racism. Setting Malcolm’s life not only within the Nation of Islam but against the larger backdrop of American history, the book traces the life of one of the twentieth century’s most politically relevant figures “from street criminal to devoted moralist and revolutionary.” In tracing Malcolm X’s life from his Nebraska birth in 1925 to his Harlem assassination in 1965, Payne provides searing vignettes culled from Malcolm’s Depression-era youth, describing the influence of his Garveyite parents: his father, Earl, a circuit-riding preacher who was run over by a street car in Lansing, Michigan, in 1929, and his mother, Louise, who continued to instill black pride in her children after Earl’s death. Filling each chapter with resonant drama, Payne follows Malcolm’s exploits as a petty criminal in Boston and Harlem in the 1930s and early 1940s to his religious awakening and conversion to the Nation of Islam in a Massachusetts penitentiary. With a biographer’s unwavering determination, Payne corrects the historical record and delivers extraordinary revelations—from the unmasking of the mysterious NOI founder “Fard Muhammad,” who preceded Elijah Muhammad; to a hair-rising scene, conveyed in cinematic detail, of Malcolm and Minister Jeremiah X Shabazz’s 1961 clandestine meeting with the KKK; to a minute-by-minute account of Malcolm X’s murder at the Audubon Ballroom. Introduced by Payne’s daughter and primary researcher, Tamara Payne, who, following her father’s death, heroically completed the biography, The Dead Are Arising is a penetrating and riveting work that affirms the centrality of Malcolm X to the African American freedom struggle.Trade Review"The definitive biography of Malcolm X.... A book that contextualizes race in America prior to Malcolm's birth, takes an in-depth, nuanced, unflinching look at Malcolm's life, and then explores his death and its aftermath, all backed by 28 years of research.... An incredibly complete picture of Malcolm's life. More than a biography of a man, this is a narrative about a man that constantly places him in the contexts of his country, his family, and his inner world.... Payne uses historical events to offer readers a clear, unwavering look at the state of the nation.... The quality of the writing is superb and the book contains a wealth of gems that make the narrative unforgettable.... Les Payne was an outstanding researcher, and so is Tamara Payne, who worked to see this book finished after Les Payne's death. Malcolm X is still a powerful, influential figure, and getting this definitive biography, which sometimes corrects the historical record (and even corrects some dates and facts on Malcolm's autobiography) feels necessary and timely given today's racial unrest. In fact, this biography isn't just important; it should be required reading." -- Gabino Iglesias - NPR"Malcolm’s presence is beautifully rendered...Nobody has written a more poetic account...Payne also shows how enthralling it was to watch Malcolm improvise and argue. In this scene and others, we are exposed to Malcolm’s teachings within the rhythm of Payne’s masterly storytelling." -- Michael P. Jeffries - New York Times Book Review"Fascinating and essential.... [Payne] adds invaluably to our understanding of Malcolm’s story." -- Mark Whitaker - Washington Post"Masterfully, [Payne] wove together the memories of friends, family, acquaintances, informants, and adversaries into a rich tapestry from which emerges the portrait of a complex individual working to make change in a society also full of contradictions. The book, which ultimately took more than three decades to produce, was completed after Payne’s 2018 death by his daughter and primary researcher, Tamara Payne, who also contributed the book’s introduction...[Payne's] meticulous recovery of Malcolm’s youth adds a new dimension to Malcolm’s less familiar 'origins story'....By giving a second life to a historical Malcolm, Les Payne’s timely biography illustrates something really important. It reminds us that those making history often do so by having the courage and conviction to act in spite of their limitations; their legacy can survive and continue to inspire even the deconstruction of the myths we build around them or the ones they construct themselves." -- Yohuru Williams - Boston Globe"Payne frequently revises or expands the historical record, offering the most detailed new account of Malcolm’s early years; the clearest argument yet (with new sources) that Earl Little, Malcolm’s father, died in an accident and not in a racist murder; the revelation that Shorty (the friend played by Spike Lee in the movie) is actually a composite; a deep dive into Malcolm’s ill-advised meeting with the Ku Klux Klan; and intriguing specifics on the assassination and its aftermath." -- Stuart Miller - Los Angeles Times"Masterful... The Dead Are Arising is a meticulously researched, compassionately rendered, and fiercely analytical examination of the radical revolutionary as a human being." -- Kerri Greenidge - The Atlantic"The Dead Are Arising, a new biography of Malcolm X, is timely. But perhaps this sobering book’s clearest message is that it will always be timely, because the story it narrates is timeless.... Les and Tamara Payne are especially good in detailing these early years of delinquency and rebirth. Like Robert Caro’s life of Lyndon Johnson, The Dead Are Arising delves deeply into the wider context of Malcolm’s world.... The book shows better than any previous biography the extent to which the NOI’s outlook was rooted in Marcus Garvey’s ‘Back to Africa’ movement of the 1920s.... Malcolm was uneasy about sitting down with white supremacists, but he’d been ordered to do so by ‘the Messenger’ Elijah Muhammad.... The encounter, covered in a riveting 63-page chapter that’s based on a wealth of new evidence, is the Paynes’ showstopper." -- Andrew Preston - The Spectator"The Dead Are Arising sets out to provide a much fuller picture of the life and death of Malcolm X, drawing on interviews with his friends and family to assess his contribution in the context of the times. The book is based on decades of painstaking research by Les Payne, who died before it was completed, and his daughter Tamara.... It is as much a history of US race relations as it is a biography of the black revolutionary.... The Dead Are Arising rightly sees Malcolm’s split from the cult-like Nation of Islam as inevitable, given the organisation’s reactionary political stances." -- Kehinde Andrews - The Guardian"[The Dead Are Arising is] the most lyrical and complete biography of this uniquely brilliant American ever written. This book is a great read, full of original insights about an elusive figure rendered deeply human." -- David Blight, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom"Monumental. . . Payne’s richly detailed account is based on hundreds of interviews with Malcolm X’s family members, childhood friends, cellmates, allies, and enemies, and meticulously tracks his journey from Omaha. . . to his emergence as the Nation of Islam’s ‘most gifted and successful proselytizer and demander of justice,’ and his assassination in 1965. Along the way, Payne folds in incisive portraits of [major] figures. . . An extraordinary and essential portrait of the man behind the icon." -- Library Journal, starred review"Comprehensive, timely life of the renowned activist and his circuitous rise to prominence. . . . Payne delivers considerable news not just in recounting unknown episodes of Malcolm’s early years, but also in reconstructing events during his time as a devotee of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad . . . Payne’s accounts of the consequences that rupture and Malcolm’s assassination at the hands of a ‘goon squad’ with ties to the FBI and CIA are eye-opening, and they add a new dimension to our understanding of Malcolm X’s last years. . . . A superb biography and an essential addition to the library of African American political engagement." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review"Pulitzer winner Payne (1941–2018) spent nearly 30 years researching and writing this monumental biography of human rights activist Malcolm X. Completed by his daughter and researcher, Payne’s richly detailed account is based on hundreds of interviews with Malcolm X’s family members, childhood friends, cellmates, allies, and enemies, and meticulously tracks his journey from Omaha, Neb., where he was born Malcolm Little in 1925, through his teenage pot dealing in East Lansing, Mich., and street criminal days in Boston and Harlem, to his emergence as the Nation of Islam’s “most gifted and successful proselytizer and demander of justice,” and his assassination in 1965. Along the way, Payne folds in incisive portraits of such major figures as Marcus Garvey, whose teachings on racial uplift Malcolm X’s parents followed; Moorish Science Temple leader Noble Drew Ali, whose follower, Fard Muhammad, founded the Nation of Islam; and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Payne also documents the radio dramas and jazz music Malcolm X listened to, reveals how a clandestine meeting with the Georgia Ku Klux Klan in 1961 contributed to his break from the Nation of Islam, and interviews two men wrongly imprisoned for his murder. The result is an extraordinary and essential portrait of the man behind the icon." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review"Les Payne has written a biography of this African American icon that sets a new standard for investigative journalism." -- DeWayne Wickham, founding dean of Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism & Communication"Monumental and absorbing... peers into the gaps left by Malcolm X’s autobiography, taking us more deeply into the intimate details of his life, work and death. In vivid detail, Payne retells the events leading up to Malcolm X’s assassination, offering fresh information about those involved. The Dead Are Arising is essential reading.... captur[ing] the vibrant voice of a revolutionary whose words resonate powerfully in our own times." -- Henry L. Carrigan Jr., BookPage, starred review"Meticulously researched and masterfully reported, this chronicle offers fresh insights and disturbing revelations that, among other things, strengthen the case for government complicity in the murder of Malcolm X. . . . A gripping read . . . [and] a worthy companion to Malcolm’s famed autobiography." -- Nathan McCall, author of Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America"The Dead Are Arising. . . will become the definitive biography of Malcolm X." -- Ray Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State"A brilliant and indispensable depiction of the life of Malcolm X. . . . Using the fruits of decades of interviews, [Payne] brings new information and perspectives on one of the most fascinating, and often misunderstood, figures in American history." -- Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello, winner of the Pulitzer Prize"Payne’s storytelling weave[s] an epic tale of Malcolm’s exuberant life, his tragic death, and the Phoenix-like legacy." -- Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of Harlem Nocturne"The result of nearly three decades of investigative reporting, The Dead Are Arising is an essential new biography of one of the most compelling political figures of the twentieth century." -- Jill Lepore, author of These Truths"No one who wishes to reckon with the life of this man, one of the most important African American figures of the twentieth century can afford to forgo this account." -- Howard W. French, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisOvershadowed by both his brilliant father and the brash and bold Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams has long been dismissed as an aloof intellectual. Viciously assailed by Jackson and his populist mobs for being both slippery and effete, Adams nevertheless recovered from defeat in 1828’s presidential election to lead the nation as a lonely Massachusetts congressman in the fight against slavery. Award-winning historian William J. Cooper’s “balanced, wellsourced, and accessible work” (Publishers Weekly) demonstrates that Adams should be considered our lost Founding Father, his moral and political vision the final link to the visionaries who created our nation. With his heroic arguments in the Amistad trial forever memorialized, Adams stood strong against the expansion of slavery that would send the nation hurtling into war. This “well-crafted” (William McFeely) biography reveals Adams to be one of the most battered, but courageous and inspirational, politicians in American history.Trade Review"In this illuminating new look at John Quincy Adams, the distinguished historian William J. Cooper gives us a vivid and convincing account of one of the most significant—but too often overlooked—figures in our history. Long obscured by the towering shadow of his father’s generation on one side and by Andrew Jackson on the other, our sixth president merits more study and credit. In these pages, Cooper gives him both." -- Jon Meacham, author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power"There is a certain urgency to new studies of presidents of the republic. William Cooper’s well-crafted life of John Quincy Adams, a learned and well-trained president with a conscience touching the moral questions of his day, admirably fits that bill." -- William McFeely, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Grant: A Biography"John Quincy Adams was a world traveler and full-throated nationalist, primed from youth for a life in politics. His path to success was marred by a cold, forbidding character that he could not shake. The Lost Founding Father is as nimble and inviting to readers as its subject was dense and ill-disposed to company." -- Andrew Burstein, author of Jefferson’s Secrets and The Passions of Andrew Jackson"As he did in his prize-winning biography of Jefferson Davis, William J. Cooper here brilliantly balances a perceptive portrait of John Quincy Adams’s personal life and character…with an astute and compelling analysis of his decades-long public career. The result is another first-class performance." -- Michael Holt, author of The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party"Cooper’s balanced, well-sourced, and accessible work focuses on a rarely examined yet pivotal period in American history." -- Publisher's Weekly

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Book SynopsisIn the 1820s, two families, unknown to each other, worked on farms in the American wilderness. It seemed unlikely that the families would ever meet—and yet, they did. The son of one family, the famed actor John Wilkes Booth, killed the son of the other, President Abraham Lincoln, in the most significant assassination in American history. The murder, however, did not come without warning—in fact, it had been foretold. In the Houses of Their Dead is the first book of the many thousands written about Lincoln to focus on the president’s fascination with Spiritualism, and to demonstrate how it linked him, uncannily, to the man who would kill him. Abraham Lincoln is usually seen as a rational, empirically-minded man, yet as acclaimed scholar and biographer Terry Alford reveals, he was also deeply superstitious and drawn to the irrational. Like millions of other Americans, including the Booths, Lincoln and his wife, Mary, suffered repeated personal tragedies, and turned for solace to Spiritualism, a new practice sweeping the nation that held that the dead were nearby and could be contacted by the living. Remarkably, the Lincolns and the Booths even used the same mediums, including Charles Colchester, a specialist in “blood writing” whom Mary first brought to her husband, and who warned the president after listening to the ravings of another of his clients, John Wilkes Booth. Alford’s expansive, richly-textured chronicle follows the two families across the nineteenth century, uncovering new facts and stories about Abraham and Mary while drawing indelible portraits of the Booths—from patriarch Julius, a famous actor in his own right, to brother Edwin, the most talented member of the family and a man who feared peacock feathers, to their confidant Adam Badeau, who would become, strangely, the ghostwriter for President Ulysses S. Grant. At every turn, Alford shows that despite the progress of the age—the glass hypodermic syringe, electromagnetic induction, and much more—death remained ever-present, and thus it was only rational for millions of Americans, from the president on down, to cling to beliefs that seem anything but. A novelistic narrative of two exceptional American families set against the convulsions their times, In the Houses of Their Dead ultimately leads us to consider how ghost stories helped shape the nation.Trade Review"Absorbing... Alford does a fine job of describing the Booths and their circle... Alford’s revelation of this and other connections between the Booths and the Lincolns is what distinguishes In the Houses of Their Dead from previous studies of spiritualism in the Lincoln White House... Alford ranges widely into the personal backgrounds of Lincoln and the Booth family, opening new vistas on both. His book is made up of many interwoven threads—neglected biographical facts, events of the Civil War, and acting styles—connected in varied ways to superstition or the afterlife... Alford’s portrayal of John Wilkes Booth is interestingly complex... [and] gives vivid accounts of the murder in Ford’s Theatre and the manhunt for Booth." -- David S. Reynolds - New York Review of Books"[E]ntertaining . . . worth reading for its wealth of Ripley’s Believe It or Not characters and their foibles." -- Dennis Drabelle - Washington Post"A lively study of two wildly disparate clans." -- Leah Greenblatt - New York Times Book Review"[Alford] packs the narrative with intriguing if little-known historical figures and strange coincidences. This unusual portrait of two famously intertwined families fascinates." -- Publishers Weekly"Alford introduces readers to many spiritualist-devoted characters who held influential posts in both military and government. This may hold special appeal for fans of George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo (2017), since it provides factual background for the popular novel." -- Mark Knoblauch - Booklist

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Book SynopsisPraised as a “superb scholarly achievement” (Foreign Policy), The Road Not Taken confirms Max Boot’s role as a “master chronicler” (Washington Times) of American military affairs. Through dozens of interviews and never-before-seen documents, Boot rescues Edward Lansdale (1908–1987) from historical ignominy to “restore a sense of proportion” to this “political Svengali, or ‘Lawrence of Asia’ ”(The New Yorker). Boot demonstrates how Lansdale, the man said to be the fictional model for Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, pioneered a “hearts and minds” diplomacy, first in the Philippines and then in Vietnam. Bringing a tragic complexity to Lansdale and a nuanced analysis to his visionary foreign policy, Boot suggests Vietnam could have been different had we only listened. With contemporary reverberations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, The Road Not Taken is a “judicious and absorbing” (New York Times Book Review) biography of lasting historical consequence.Trade Review"The Road Not Taken is an impressive work, an epic and elegant biography based on voluminous archival sources. It belongs to a genre of books that takes a seemingly obscure hero and uses his story as a vehicle to capture a whole era... The Road Not Taken gives a vivid portrait of a remarkable man and intelligently challenges the lazy assumption that failed wars are destined to fail or that failure, if it comes, cannot be saved from the worst possible outcome." -- Robert D. Kaplan, Wall Street Journal"Judicious and absorbing.... Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, brings solid credentials to this enterprise. . . . Here he draws on a range of material, official and personal.... What emerges is a picture of a man who from an early point possessed an unusual ability to relate to other people, a stereotypically American can-do optimism, an impatience with bureaucracy and a fascination with psychological warfare." -- Fredrik Logevall, New York Times Book Review"Max Boot capably and readably tracks the fascinating but ultimately depressing trajectory of this shadowy figure, who, as a murky undercover operative and a literary and cinematic avatar, looms over or lurks behind some of the crucial moments in U.S. foreign policy in the decades following World War II, culminating in its greatest disaster." -- James G. Hershberg, Washington Post"Max Boot has now put Lansdale back where he belongs, at the center of the story of the war.... [H]is book is the product of serious scholarship, not ideology. Boot has scoured the archives and found intriguing new material.... The Road Not Taken is an admiring but also critical biography; it invites many quibbles but rewards the reader with an engrossing portrait of a unique figure who defied the bureaucratic values of the institutions in which he served." -- Robert G. Kaiser, New York Review of Books"A brilliant, extremely well-written book about a forgotten figure who was one of the most extraordinary and utterly unorthodox espionage agents in history." -- Steve Forbes, Forbes"The Road Not Taken... is expansive and detailed, it is well written, and it sheds light on a good deal about U.S. covert activities in postwar Southeast Asia.... [Boot] believes that Lansdale’s approach was the wiser one, but he is cautious in his analysis of what went wrong." -- Louis Menand, The New Yorker"Edward Lansdale is probably the greatest cold warrior that most Americans have never heard of. Max Boot has written a fascinating account of how this California college humorist, frat boy and advertising executive evolved into a counterinsurgency expert before the term was even coined. . . . This book should be read in Baghdad and Kabul, not only by Americans, but by local leaders." -- Gary Anderson, Washington Times"Deeply researched and evenhanded, The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam is a superb scholarly achievement.... [Boot] comes at Lansdale having already written two major books of small wars and counterinsurgency, a solid foundation that he takes to a new level here with rigorous research and dogged investigation into little-known corners of Lansdale’s life." -- Carter Malkasian, Foreign Policy"In this fine portrait of Edward Lansdale, Max Boot adds to his well-deserved reputation as being among the most insightful and productive of contemporary historians. This is a superb book." -- Lewis Sorley, National Review"A brilliant biography of the life—and a riveting description of the times—of Edward Lansdale, one of the most significant figures in post-World War II Philippines and then in Vietnam.... The Road Not Taken not only tells Edward Lansdale’s story with novelistic verve but also situates it wonderfully in the context of his tumultuous experiences—and offers important lessons for the present day." -- General David Petraeus

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Book SynopsisFintan O’Toole was born in the year the revolution began. It was 1958, and the Irish government—in despair, because all the young people were leaving—opened the country to foreign investment and popular culture. So began a decades-long, ongoing experiment with Irish national identity. In We Don’t Know Ourselves, O’Toole, one of the Anglophone world’s most consummate stylists, weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary “backwater” to an almost totally open society—perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history. Born to a working-class family in the Dublin suburbs, O’Toole served as an altar boy and attended a Christian Brothers school, much as his forebears did. He was enthralled by American Westerns suddenly appearing on Irish television, which were not that far from his own experience, given that Ireland’s main export was beef and it was still not unknown for herds of cattle to clatter down Dublin’s streets. Yet the Westerns were a sign of what was to come. O’Toole narrates the once unthinkable collapse of the all-powerful Catholic Church, brought down by scandal and by the activism of ordinary Irish, women in particular. He relates the horrific violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led most Irish to reject violent nationalism. In O’Toole’s telling, America became a lodestar, from John F. Kennedy’s 1963 visit, when the soon-to-be martyred American president was welcomed as a native son, to the emergence of the Irish technology sector in the late 1990s, driven by American corporations, which set Ireland on the path toward particular disaster during the 2008 financial crisis. A remarkably compassionate yet exacting observer, O’Toole in coruscating prose captures the peculiar Irish habit of “deliberate unknowing,” which allowed myths of national greatness to persist even as the foundations were crumbling. Forty years in the making, We Don’t Know Ourselves is a landmark work, a memoir and a national history that ultimately reveals how the two modes are entwined for all of us.Trade Review"O’Toole, a prolific essayist and critic, calls this inventive narrative 'a personal history of modern Ireland' — an ambitious project, but one he pulls off with élan. Charting six decades of Irish history against his own life, O’Toole manages to both deftly illustrate a country in drastic flux, and include a sly, self-deprecating biography that infuses his sociology with humor and pathos. You’ll be educated, yes — about increasing secularism, the Celtic tiger, human rights — but you’ll also be wildly, uproariously entertained by a gifted raconteur at the height of his powers." -- New York Times Book Review, 10 Best Books of 2022"In a book that is at once intimate and deeply reported—sharp in its judgments and its humor—Ireland’s finest journalist chronicles his country’s painful emergence into the modern world. Stand-alone chapters (on emigration, schools, television, contraception) form a coherent arc: from O’Toole’s childhood in working-class, tradition-bound Dublin to his reporting on Ireland’s overwhelming embrace of same-sex marriage by referendum. Two figures illustrate what Ireland has had to overcome. One is Archbishop John Charles McQuaid, the fastidious, imperious prelate who controlled Catholic life from the 1940s up to the early 1970s. McQuaid turned a blind eye to the abuse of young children by priests (and was himself later accused of abuse), epitomizing a Church that, O’Toole writes, had “successfully disabled a society’s capacity to think for itself about right and wrong.” The other is Charles Haughey, the three-time taoiseach, or prime minister, first elected in the late 1970s. Deeply corrupt, loyal to his own hypocrisy, Haughey lived like “an Ascendancy squire” while pressing to maintain bans on abortion and divorce. Central to We Don’t Know Ourselves is the uneasy coexistence of opposites: of an inward-looking past and an outward-looking present, of knowledge and denial." -- The Atlantic, 10 Best Books of 2022"Amazing. It feels special to me." -- Ian McEwan"[O’Toole] develop[s] a narrative swagger as compelling as any novel’s. His working-class Dublin background — his father, Sammy, was a bus conductor and his mother, Mary, worked in a cigarette factory — opens onto a sort of narrative everywhere. The tiny grows epic. The local becomes universal. We skip from year to year, from story to story, from tile-piece to an eventual mosaic . . . O’Toole writes brilliantly and compellingly of the dark times, but he is graceful enough to know that there is humor and light in the cracks. There is a touch of Eduardo Galeano in the way he can settle on a telling phrase. . . . But the real accomplishment of this book is that it achieves a conscious form of history-telling, a personal hybrid that feels distinctly honest and humble at the same time. O’Toole has not invented the form, but he comes close to perfecting it." -- Colum McCann, New York Times Book Review, cover review"[L]ike reading a great tragicomic Irish novel, rich in memoir and record, calamity and critique. The book contains funny and terrible things, details and episodes so pungent that they must surely have been stolen from a fantastical artificer like Flann O’Brien . . . [O’Toole] beautifully tells the private story of his childhood and youth . . . His great gift is his extremely intelligent, mortally relentless critical examination, and here he studies nothing less than the past and the present of his own nation . . . James Joyce’s Stephen Dedalus promised to forge in the smithy of his soul the uncreated conscience of his race; less Parnassian than Dedalus but just as angry as Joyce, O’Toole tells the story of how his race, at last breaking the fetters of religion and superstition, created its own conscience." -- James Wood - The New Yorker"Splendid... Lively... An aversion to reality is, indeed, a poor prophylactic as Mr. O’Toole’s survey of six decades—1958 to 2018—demonstrates... All of which is elucidated with the acuity and sardonic wit that we might expect from this veteran journalist and critic... The overall tone is irreverent, yet never glib... Each episode is also cannily decoded thanks to Mr. O’Toole’s appetite for intricacies—personal, political and statistical—and his eye for idiosyncrasy.... For all its weight, this is a buoyant work. And the leavening agent is, to a large extent, Mr. O’Toole’s own story, which he relates with novelistic flair." -- Anna Mundow - Wall Street Journal"Masterful . . . O’Toole’s sweeping, intimate book covers a lifetime of Ireland’s history . . . Books about modern Ireland abound—the Irish love their words; isn’t that what people say? They include magisterial scholarship (the works of R. F. Foster), searing fiction (Edna O’Brien’s The Country Girls, John McGahern’s The Dark), and episodic recollections with a sharpened edge (John Banville’s recent Time Pieces). O’Toole’s We Don’t Know Ourselves is in a category all its own, a blend of reporting, history, analysis, and argument, explored through the lens of the author’s sensibility and experience . . . . We Don’t Know Ourselves is astonishing in its range. . . . The chapters move forward chronologically. What unites them all is O’Toole’s moral presence and literary voice: throughout, a sly, understated humor; when needed, passion and even anger. In the end, surveying what Ireland has become during his lifetime, he manages an optimistic note, one that is not merely asserted but earned. . . . I came away from We Don’t Know Ourselves seeing modern Ireland more convincingly portrayed and explained than ever before. I wish I understood modern America half as well." -- Cullen Murphy - The Atlantic"A landmark history.... Leavened by the brilliance of O'Toole's insights and wit, and by the story of his own life, which he expertly intertwines into a larger historical narrative... [He] sees the country's shift with an eye that is simultaneously critical and compassionate... O'Toole's is a wildly ambitious project, one that accounts for inevitable partiality precisely through this invocation of the personal. It is a winning gambit." -- Claire Messud - Harper's"Engrossing... With deep research, a journalistic eye for detail, and a series of revealing personal anecdotes, he paints a vivid and affecting portrait of Irish life, touching on politics, religion, economics, and pop culture. The result is a comprehensive work of social criticism that tells the story of a country that was once so fixated on maintaining an idealized vision of its past that it almost gave up on the prospect of a better future.... We Don’t Know Ourselves is a powerful book, not just for what it says about Ireland, but for what it has to teach us about national identity in general. It’s a lesson that feels particularly relevant in the United States today." -- Michael Patrick Brady - Boston Globe"[M]asterly, fascinating . . . O’Toole, a journalist, historian and academic, is Ireland’s pre-eminent public intellectual . . . We Don't Know Ourselves is surely his masterpiece, a long detailed and beautifully executed study . . . O’Toole has a marvelously sharp eye for the illuminating fact, the telling anecdote, the overlooked or forgotten piece of history; but he also has a poet's gift for figurative language." -- John Banville - Times Literary Supplement"[S]parkling . . . we encounter O’Toole as a Zelig-like figure with an amusingly personal chain of connections to the great events and characters . . . the quiet heroes of We Don’t Know Ourselves are the Irish people, who O’Toole shows to have been ahead of their political and spiritual leaders in being ready to face the contradictions that underpinned national life . . . an uplifting, almost playful read, with suggestive analysis lying beneath skillful vignettes." -- Caoimhe Nic Dháibhéid - Financial Times"The centenary of Irish independence has inspired a flood of writing. Among the many traditional histories and current political commentaries, this book stands out. It charts the extraordinary economic, social, and political transformation of Ireland since 1958, the year the author was born... The author, perhaps Ireland’s foremost public intellectual, employs a unique combination of intimately personal narrative, piquant facts and figures, and sharp (often ironic) commentary to describe the experience of this transformation." -- Andrew Moravcsik - Foreign Affairs"This powerful book is a lucid, highly informative amalgam of memoir, national history, economic, social and cultural observation, and behind-the-scenes political intelligence. . . . [O’Toole’s] narrative has the color and movement of a novel, with subplots and villains aplenty." -- Katherine A. Powers - Minneapolis Star Tribune"Reading Fintan O’Toole’s transporting We Don’t Know Ourselves is an experience close to hunger; even at 600-plus pages, there is so much richness here you want to gulp it right down.... It’s an epic story that O’Toole tells through both sweeping narratives and intimate detail.... While O’Toole laces into some targets with icy sarcasm, he is overall a generous and sympathetic observer, with an appreciation for human inconsistency. If this was not the case, could he have written so eloquently about the totemic slab of cheese known as Riverdance?" -- Chris Barsanti - Popmatters"O’Toole unpacks this truth with passion and smouldering rage. Although set an ocean away, the book holds lessons, about national self-delusion and its repercussions, that are relevant here.... We Don’t Know Ourselves is a masterpiece of perceptive analysis, made accessible by personal anecdotes and clear, passionate prose.... This timely book reminds us how unknown knowns have a way of eventually becoming known knowns, how buried children often find a way to speak from the grave." -- David Dunne - Literary Review of Canada"Fintan O’Toole introduced me to a different Ireland in his masterful We Don’t Know Ourselves.... O’Toole demonstrates sharp writing and gifted story telling talents... He puts the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland into a nuanced context reserved for a skilled journalist with a keen, experienced eye.... O’Toole reinforces his insights with a wide range of reporting.... After reading We Don’t Know Ourselves, I placed it on my bookshelf with a deeper understanding of myself and my origins." -- James O'Shea - National Book Review

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Book SynopsisAs a young man living in rural Kansas in the 1940s, Charles Novak took a job with the federal government—not because he liked the work but because he heard it paid well. That job shaped his life in ways he could never have imagined. As a surveyor for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Charles was tasked with measuring the unmapped American landscape. Over the years this would take him from being eaten up by mosquitoes in Alaska, to eating steak and lobster on oil rigs in Louisiana. His career became even more adventurous when his family later hit the road with him, making their home in a caravan of trailers as the survey team traversed the nation. The measurements taken by Charles and the team eventually helped build today’s GPS technology. But such a contribution was the furthest thing from the minds of Charles and his family as they experienced life on the road during a time of astounding change in American life. From segregated trains, to Cold War military bases, and back to Kansas, Charles’s family found that home is more than a place on a map.Trade Review"A concise account of a tumultuous American journey that offers some intriguing insights for history lovers." Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisOne of the great political friendships of the modern world, as told through key moments that shaped the twenty-first centuryToday, we know US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as two of the world’s most influential leaders, together at the center of some of the biggest controversies and most impressive advancements of our time. But while their friendship has been the subject of both scrutiny and admiration, few know the full story.Taking office at the height of the 2008 global recession, Obama was keenly aware of the fractured relationship between the US and Europe. And for her part, Merkel was suspicious of the charismatic newcomer who had captivated her country.Faced with the challenges of globalization, the two often clashed over policy, but—as the first Black president and first female chancellor—they shared a belief that democracy could uplift the world. United by this conviction, they would forge a complicated but inspiring partnership.Dear Barack is a thoroughly researched document of the parallel trajectories that led to Obama and Merkel meeting on the world stage and the trials, both personal and political, that they confronted in office. At times in the leaders’ own words, the book details such events as Merkel’s historic acceptance of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and the 2013 NSA spying scandal, demonstrating the highs and lows of this extraordinary alliance.A story of camaraderie at a global scale, Dear Barack shows that it is possible for political adversaries to establish bonds of respect—and even friendship—in the service of the free world.Trade Review"Technology has linked the planet, and the need for responsible, committed, and informed leaders has never been greater. Dear Barack reflects upon this urgency as Clark brings to life the correspondences, meetings, and goals shared between two great world leaders." Tom Cochran, Obama White House & State Department Technology Advisor"This book articulately captures the epic friendship, strong partnership, and extraordinary leadership of two of the world's most remarkable politicians, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former US President Barack Obama...This book has profound life lessons and is definitely a must-read!" Kadian Davis-Owusu, Founder, TeachSomebody"Clark's book retells a fascinating and necessary chapter of U.S. relations with Germany. Dear Barack is a reminder that the U.S. can always return to the era of Obama and Merkel's companionship, and that the world would be a better place if it did." Shari Temple, Democrats Abroad Germany Voting Representative and 2008 DNC Obama delegate"These past few years have left me searching for hope, and I'm happy to find it in Dear Barack ...Clark exudes expertise, warmth, and a commitment to the subject matter." Judy Pipkin, Director of Community Services and Voter Registration, Santa Clara County Democratic Party"Clark's book offers a fresh and much needed perspective--one that highlights the necessity of communication and celebrates two trailblazing politicians. In Dear Barack , Clark demonstrates how two diverse global leaders united their missions, policies, and hopes for the world." Sergio Jimenez, San Jose City Council Member"Clark traces the friendship of Obama and Merkel in meticulous detail with charming anecdotes and expertly places their bond within the historical contexts of other world leaders' relationships...A delightful, well-researched account of two leaders' unlikely friendship." Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisFollow the fascinating story of one man’s journey into the realm of the fantastic: the CIA-sponsored psychic spies with the ability to extend their consciousness to accurately describe targets not only half a world away but to look into the future as well. It all sounded like science fiction to John Herlosky after reading an expose by former member of the CIA’s Project Stargate, Dr. David Morehouse. Two years later, skeptical but intrigued by the possibilities implied, John entered the classroom of Dr. Morehouse to find out the truth—and never looked back. Sorcerer’s Apprentice is an autobiographical account of the author’s experience learning the CIA-sponsored scientifically validated form of extrasensory perception called “remote viewing.” The book chronicles the author’s journey from interested skeptic to operational remote viewer working his first mission as well as his former life as a police officer and private military contractor. He takes you on a journey from the crushing depths and pathos of the wreck of the Titanic to the fate of a downed pilot missing for 19 years from the first Gulf War. Witness the personal turmoil as the author’s long-held beliefs clash with the powerful implications of his experiences.Trade Review"Every now and again though, albeit a rarity, a book surfaces by a literate and informed writer who has thought hard and researched harder. A work compelling and thought provoking whilst still managing to be an entertaining and engaging read." Michael C. Sullivan, poet

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Book SynopsisChristopher Fulton's journey began with the death of Evelyn Lincoln, late secretary to President John F. Kennedy. Through Lincoln, crucial evidence ended up in Christopher's hands—evidence that was going to be used to facilitate a new future for America. But the U.S. government's position was clear: that evidence had to be confiscated and classified, and the truth hidden away from the public. Christopher was sent to federal prison for years under a sealed warrant and indictment. The Inheritance, Christopher's personal narrative, shares insider information from his encounters with the Russian Government, President Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, the Clinton White House, the U.S. Justice Department, the Secret Service, and the Kennedy family themselves. It reveals the true intentions of Evelyn Lincoln and her secret promise to Robert Kennedy—and Christopher's secret promise to John F. Kennedy Jr. The Inheritance explodes with history-changing information and answers the questions Americans are still asking, while pulling them through a gauntlet of some of the worst prisons this country has to offer. This book thrillingly exposes the reality of American power, and sheds light on the dark corners of current corruption within the executive branch and the justice and prison systems.Trade Review"When Christopher Fulton buys a gold Cartier watch that belonged to JFK and was part of the original assassination materials, it sets in motion something he never saw coming. A real page-turner. This book and the information in it is simply explosive. It changes everything I thought I knew about this period in time of American history. It's shocking. A must read." -- Valerie Shampine, consumer reviewer"Christopher Fulton's personal story The Inheritance places the puzzle pieces of the Kennedy assassination in proper order, giving us all a clear mosaic. I didn't want to believe what is contained in the pages of The Inheritance , but Fulton's narrative has what most books published about the assassination of the 35th President of the United States do not: The solid Ring Of Truth." -- William Matson Law, William Law's decades of research on the Kennedy assassination has appeared in over 30 books, including Douglas Horne's Inside the Assassination Records Review Board . He has written, produced, directed, or consulted on documentaries and films like RFK, The Gathering, and Killing Kennedy"It is a page turner that rips the myth off America and shows you how desperate our government is to use lies to control us. I recommend this book. I highly recommend it. This is the best book of the year, as far as I am concerned." -- Ruth's Report, https://ruthsreport.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-inheritance-poisoned-fruit-of-jfks.html"I just finished reading this book. You should read it too. It's about how what went on then is still going on, but you don't know it until it happens to you." -- Daniel Hopsciker, author of "Barry and the Boys" and "Welcome to Terrorland""If the book, The Inheritance , is correct, then the JFK assassination was a American coup d'état -- under which we still live." -- Governor Jesse Ventura, former Governor of Minnesota, Professional Wrestler, Actor and Author

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Book Synopsis`Château Higginson’ is a vivid and absorbing account of one man's efforts to construct a building that would create “a new way for Bostonians—and Americans—to live.” Not only does Henry Lee Higginson (best known for founding the Boston Symphony Orchestra) and his housing gamble come to life, but a whole social class, indeed, all of nineteenth-century urban America, spread themselves before us in the narrative. Perspectives abound. Anecdotes enrich. Details, statistics, and little-known facts amaze. And it is written with elegance, confidence, grace, and wit. `A must-read for any lover of Boston history, any student of American urban history.’ —William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Back Bay and The Lincoln Letter.Table of ContentsConnecting Threads; Introduction; 1 Landlord Higginson; 2 “Bully Hig”; 3 Money; 4 Water, Water; 5 Hotel Agassiz; 6 The Fairchilds at Large; 7 Father and Son; 8 Horses; 9 Entertainments; 10 Outdoors; 11 Taste; 12 Clover Adams; 13 John Singer Sargent Plays the Piano; 14 The Fairchilds at Home; Acknowledgements; Endnotes; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisHal Moore, one of the most admired American combat leaders of the last 50 years, has until now been best known to the public for being portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie "We Were Soldiers." In this first-ever, fully illustrated biography, we finally learn the full story of one of America's true military heroes. A 1945 graduate of West Point, Moore's first combats occurred during the Korean War, where he fought in the battles of Old Baldy, T-Bone, and Pork Chop Hill. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, Moore commanded the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry in the first full-fledged battle between U.S. and North Vietnamese regulars. Drastically outnumbered and nearly overrun, Moore led from the front, and though losing 79 soldiers, accounted for 1,200 of the enemy before the Communists withdrew. This Battle of Ia Drang pioneered the use of "air mobile infantry" - delivering troops into battle via helicopter - which became the staple of U.S. operations for the remainder of the war. He later wrote of his experiences in the best-selling book, We Were Soldiers Once…and Young. Following his tour in Vietnam, he assumed command of the 7th Infantry Division, forward-stationed in South Korea, and in 1971, he took command of the Army Training Center at Fort Ord, California. In this capacity, he oversaw the US Army's transition from a conscript-based to an all-volunteer force. He retired as a Lieutenant General in 1977. At this writing, Hal Moore is 90 years old and living quietly in Auburn, Alabama. He graciously allowed the author interviews and granted full access to his files and collection of letters, documents, and never-before-published photographs.Trade ReviewThis is a very readable book and gives a great insight to a remarkable man. * Scale Military Modelling International Magazine 13/09/2021 *

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Book SynopsisLieutenant-General James Longstreet, commander of the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, was a brilliant tactician and strategist. Prior to the Civil War there were many technological developments, of which the rifled musket and cannon, rail transport and the telegraph were a few. In addition, the North enjoyed a great advantage in manpower and resources. Longstreet adapted to these technological changes and the disparity between the belligerents making recommendations on how the war should be fought. Longstreet made a leap of thinking to adjust to this new type of warfare. Many others did not make this leap, including Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson, Bragg, Hood and Jefferson Davis. Unfortunately, his advice was not heeded and given the weight it deserved. In contrast to many other southern generals, Longstreet advocated for defensive warfare, using entrenchments and trying to maneuver the enemy to assault his position, conserving manpower, resources and supplies.With the advent of the highly accurate and long-range rifled musket, offensive tactics became questionable and risky. This caused Longstreet to come into conflict with General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg. Longstreet opposed the Gettysburg campaign and Lee's battle plans at Gettysburg against General Meade and the Army of the Potomac. At Chickamauga, Longstreet was at odds with General Bragg on how to proceed after the stunning victory by the Army of Tennessee over Rosecrans and his forces.Longstreet was never given full authority over an army in the field. He was a pragmatic and methodical general and had his suggestions been utilized there would have been a better outcome for the South. Many historians and biographers have misunderstood Longstreet and his motives, not focusing on the total picture. This work offers a fresh and unique perspective on Lieutenant-General James Longstreet and the Civil War. This narrative takes a new viewpoint of the Civil War and the generals who tailored their designs to pursue the war, analyses Longstreet's views of the generals and the tactics and strategy they employed and examines why Longstreet proposed and urged a new type of warfare.Trade Review…multiple memoir excerpts, including a significant amount of Longstreet's memoirs. * Historical Miniatures Gaming Society 07/10/2022 *Toretta displays detailed knowledge of Longstreets’s career and of the campaigns in which he was engaged. He relies heavily on Confederate primary sources, quoting liberally from Longstreet’s own memoir… * Journal of America’s Military Past 02/11/2022 *Table of ContentsFOREWORD INTRODUCTION: Lieutenant-General James Longstreet: A Confederate Genius Reexamined CHAPTER ONE: Technological Changes and Comparison of the Antagonists: Advantage North CHAPTER TWO: Chancellorsville—To Stand Behind Our Intrenched Lines CHAPTER THREE: Prelude to Gettysburg—Skillful Use of Our Interior Lines CHAPTER FOUR: Marching towards Gettysburg—the Spy Harrison CHAPTER FIVE: Gettysburg Day One—Old Bulldog CHAPTER SIX: Gettysburg Day Two—Up the Emmetsburg Road CHAPTER SEVEN: Gettysburg Day Three—We Gained Nothing But Glory CHAPTER EIGHT: Gettysburg Day Four—A Very Taciturn and Undemonstrative Man CHAPTER NINE: Gettysburg Reconsidered—Lee’s Old Warhorse CHAPTER TEN: Chickamauga—Prologue: Western Concentration CHAPTER ELEVEN: Chickamauga—Bull of the Woods CHAPTER TWELVE: Chickamauga’s Aftermath—Longstreet is the Man CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Knoxville—They Had Few Equals And No Superiors CHAPTER FOURTEEN: East Tennessee—Strategic Importance of the Field CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Wilderness EPILOGUE: General Longstreet—Strategy and Tactics APPENDIX: Civil War Timeline

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Book SynopsisR. D. Hooker, Jr. was a combat soldier and leader in five wars. He then served as a senior Pentagon advisor and as a White House staff member in four different administrations. At the time of his retirement from the military in 2010 he was the most decorated colonel in the US Army.Beginning with his enlistment at 18 in 1975, this memoir chronicles his experiences in the post-Vietnam Army as a young paratrooper, as a West Point cadet, and as a combatant in the many military conflicts which followed. Hooker served in the invasion of Grenada, in the earliest days of the Somalia intervention, as one of the first American responders to the Rwandan genocide, with the first American units to enter both Bosnia and Kosovo, in peace-keeping operations in the Sinai desert, in the Pentagon on 9/11, and again in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rising from private to colonel, he commanded a paratroop company, battalion and brigade and served in the continental US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Southwest Asia. When not serving with troops, he taught at West Point and served in several high-level Pentagon assignments and in the White House in the administrations of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.As a gritty and accomplished combat soldier and leader of vast experience, the author's writing conveys a first-person, hands-on appreciation of the American soldier and of close combat, around the globe and through five different conflicts, in all its demanding, heroic, and often tragic dimensions. Few if any memoirs of this genre can match the narrative arc shown here. In addition, the author describes each of these campaigns from a strategic and policy perspective informed by his White House and Pentagon experiences as well as years of academic training. The juxtaposition of these contrasting perspectives is both compelling and unique.Trade ReviewHooker has crafted one of those select books in which you are not only reading his words but also hearing them as well. * Military Review *This is a phenomenal book. Hooker’s grit, determination, and courage in defending the country as well as his men is remarkable. * Manhattan Book Review 26/10/2022 *Table of Contents1 "Duty, Honor, Country" 2 "Strike Hold" 3 "Geronimo" 4 "Let's Go" 5 "H Minus!" 6 "Sky Dragons" 7 "All the Way"

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Book SynopsisTrained as a pursuit pilot but assigned to an observation squadron, the indefatigable Bill Erwin flew twice as many hours over the front lines as any other pilot in the 1st Aero Squadron. His two primary observers, Byrne Baucom and Arthur Easterbrook, were both previously Army infantry officers and deadly marksmen. It was their dedication, bravery, and courage under fire that kept them alive throughout the Château-Thierry, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne campaigns. Easterbrook scored four of his five victories while flying with Erwin, including two in one day, while Baucom scored all three of his victories with Erwin. Even after returning in shredded Salmsons, being forced down, and shot down on multiple occasions, all three remained relatively unscathed throughout the war.Erwin’s dramatic life culminated in his disappearance during the 1927 Dole Air Race, while Easterbrook became a revered figure in Washington. Revered in his home state of Texas, Baucom became a pilot in the 1920s and rose to become an instructor at an advanced flying school. He died in an aircraft crash in 1928. While Erwin became Dallas’ ‘favorite son’ in life, 3,000 people paid tributes to Baucom at his funeral, showing his immense popularity. Easterbrook was the only one of the three to survive to reach his military career potential, retiring as a brigadier general after World War II. Alan Roesler retraces the lives and careers of the three men in this new joint biography.Trade ReviewFive full color aircraft profiles are also included as well as the extensive footnotes expected from an author of Roesler's talent and experience. All in all, A Pair of Aces and a Trey is readable, enjoyable, well researched, properly illustrated and a superb addition to any enthusiast's library. * Indy Squadron Dispatch *[A]n inherently fascinating read and highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library World War I History & Biography collections. * Midwest Book Review *What makes this work so interesting is that Roesler takes this prevailing theme of aviation’s relevance for air superiority and yet retains the photographic reconnaissance mentioned in the reports. This better illustrates the aviators’ sorties those last months of 1918 when the American Expeditionary Force played a significant role. * Roads to the Great War *With so much emphasis on single-seat fighter pilot aces in World War I, it is refreshing to read about a two-seater pilot and two of his observers who scored impressive air combat triumphs . . . their full life stories are well told in this detailed and well-documented book. * Over the Front *Table of ContentsChapter One: William P. Erwin, Byrne V. Baucom & Château-Thierry Offensive Operations, July 1918 Chapter Two: Black Thursday—1st Aero Squadron and 1st Pursuit Group's Worst Day Chapter Three: St. Mihiel Operations & Easterbrook's Arrival Chapter Four: Meuse-Argonne Offensive Operations Chapter Five: The Final Assault Chapter Six: Postwar—Erwin's Early Return to Participate in America's Victory Loan Chapter Seven: "Lone Star Bill”and the Dole Air Race Chapter Eight: Career Accomplishments & Conclusions

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Book SynopsisJohn Wilson “Iron Mike” O’Daniel was one of the U.S. Army’s great fighting generals of the 20th century. He began his military career with the Delaware Militia in 1914, served on the Mexican border in 1916, received a Distinguished Service Cross in World War I, was Mark Clark’s man for hard jobs in the early days of World War II, and commanded the storied 3rd Infantry Division from Anzio to the end of the war in Europe, ending the war in Salzburg after liberating Munich, and Hitler’s Berghof and Eagle’s Nest on the Obersalzberg, Bavaria, Germany. “Iron Mike “commanded I Corps in Korea 1951–1952 and ended his career as the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam in the early days of American involvement there.LTC Stoy paints a vivid picture of this great American warrior who played an important role in World War II, became an ardent anti-Communist crusader after duty in Moscow as Military Attaché 1948–1950 as the Cold War intensified, laid the foundation for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and remained an ardent supporter of President Ngo Dinh Diem while serving as Chairman of the American Friends of Vietnam from his retirement in 1956 until 1963, shortly before Diem’s assassination.Trade ReviewTimothy Stoy has crafted a superb biography of 'Iron Mike' O’Daniel. Through exhaustive research and the use of techniques not normally seen in a biography, he has clearly told the story of O’Daniel. In doing so, he has done a great service to the public. He has exposed many to a soldier and leader who made huge contributions to the U.S. Army and to the Nation. * Military Review *Warts and all, we are introduced to the very essence of the man, a complete American warrior, one who spent more time under fire with his front-line troops than behind the safety of his office desk. * AR Gunners 04/01/2023 *Table of ContentsForeword, Major General Anthony A. Cucolo, III. Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Early Days 2. WWI 3. Nogales and the 25th Infantry Regiment 4. The Interwar Years 5. WWII - ETO and Operation Torch with the 168th Infantry Regiment 6. Arzew, Algeria; Italy - including Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, and Rome 7. France, Germany, and Austria 8. The Infantry Center and School at Fort Benning, Georgia 9. Moscow and Army Ground Forces 10. Korean War and Command of I Corps 11. Indochina and Vietnam 12. The American Friends of Vietnam and the Final Years 13. Conclusion Appendices Bibliography and Sources

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Book SynopsisThe High Ground draws on the author’s personal experiences as a combat leader to illustrate examples of successful and inspiring leadership in military organisations at all levels. Many of the essays contained in this volume focus on specific military personalities that portray effective leader behaviours in both peacetime and combat settings from the tactical to the strategic. Others describe key leadership characteristics and attributes of successful leaders, from small-unit level to the Pentagon.Throughout the author provides specific and compelling leadership advice and suggestions to new soldiers, new lieutenants, staff officers and commanders. The author served over thirty years in the post-Vietnam Army, rising from private to colonel and serving in the invasion of Grenada and in Somalia, the US response to the Rwandan genocide, in Bosnia and Kosovo, in peace-keeping operations in the Sinai, and in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He commanded a paratrooper company, battalion and brigade and served in the continental US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Southwest Asia.The High Ground describes his observations and interactions with military leaders at all levels, in battle and in garrison, to describe and portray military leader development and leader excellence in all its many and varied dimensions. Gripping and fast-paced, these leadership vignettes will carry the reader from peacetime into battle with an American Soldier.Table of ContentsForeword Skin in the Game Bear It Up, Triumphant I Live and Am a Soldier Attention to Orders! An American Hero Dignity and Respect Above All Else The Chickamauga Rule Blue Falcons The Death of Captain Kurth Stop the Dying! Queen of Battle My Friend Herb Pass It On! On Combat Leadership On the Staff Army Strong! Semper Fi! Play the Game On Battalion Command Requiem for a Sergeant Ride to the Sound of the Guns Saving Lieutenant Neumann The Man, the Myth, the Legend The Man Who Bugled The High Ground These Colors Never Run Welcome to the Army Lieutenant! Wellspring of Courage We're in Business! Why Not Me? Be Brave Sworn Officers of the Republic A Force of Nature A Simple Code

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Book SynopsisFinalist, 2020 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing AwardsSelected in 2005 by the Army to be the first airborne reconnaissance squadron, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, better known as 5-73 CAV, was formed from 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The members of the squadron were hand-selected by the squadron command team, Lieutenant Colonel Poppas and Command Sergeant Major Edgar. With just more than 400 paratroopers, they were half the size of a full-strength battalion and the smallest unit in the Panther Brigade.The squadron deployed to eastern Diyala in August, 2006. Despite their size, they were tasked with an enormous mission and were given the largest area of operations within the brigade. Appropriately for a unit known by the call sign of its CO – Headhunter – 5-73 would go on to pursue various terrorist factions including Al Qaeda in Iraq. They got results, and 5-73 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for launching the Turki Bowl campaign from November 2006 to January 2007 against insurgent groups in Diyala Province. However the toll would be heavy – the squadron lost twenty-two paratroopers during the deployment.Headhunter is a unique account of the War on Terror. It’s a soldier’s story, told by those very paratroopers who gallantly fought to tame Diyala. Based on dozens of interviews conducted by the author, the narrative describes the danger of combat, the loss of comrades and the struggles of returning from a deployment. The voice of the families left behind are also included, describing the challenges they faced, including the ultimate challenge – grappling with the death of a loved one. This book explores the human dimensions of loss and struggle and illustrates the sacrifices our service members and their loved ones make.Table of ContentsDedication Foreword Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Push Forward Chapter 2 Alpha Troop and Patrol Base Otis Chapter 3 AO Headhunter Chapter 4 Turki Bowl I Chapter 5 November 15, 2006 Chapter 6 November 16, 2006 Chapter 7 Stairway to Heaven Chapter 8 The Lost Boys of Alpha Mortars Chapter 9 Turki Shaping Operations Chapter 10 Turki Bowl II Chapter 11 Tightening the Noose Chapter 12 Hot Chow Chapter 13 Clear, Hold, Build Chapter 14 Operation 300 Chapter 15 Marathon Chapter 16 Troy Chapter 17 As Sadah—March 17, 2007 Chapter 18 Minotaur Chapter 19 Qubbah Chapter 20 Hardship of Loss Chapter 21 Long Shots & Landslide Chapter 22 April 7, 2007 Chapter 23 As Sadah—April 23, 2007 Chapter 24 We Regret to Inform You Chapter 25 Tim Cole Chapter 26 Olympus, Hoplite and Pericles Chapter 27 Church, Duran and Home Epilogue Endnotes Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisJohn Brown is a common name, but the John Brown who masterminded the failed raid at Harpers Ferry was anything but common. His failed efforts have left an imprint upon our history, and his story still swirls in controversy. Was he a madman who felt his violent solution to slavery was ordained by Providence or a heroic freedom fighter who tried to liberate the downtrodden slave? These polar opposite characterisations of the violent abolitionist have captivated Americans. The prevailing view from the time of the raid to well into the twentieth century – that his actions were the product of an unbalanced mind – has shifted to the idea that he committed courageous acts to undo a terrible injustice.The debate still rages, but not as much about his ultimate goal as the method he used in attempting to right what he considered an intolerable wrong. Are citizens justified in bypassing the normal legal or governmental processes in a violent way when they fail, in the eyes of the dissenter, to correct a wrong that touched so many? Brown's use of violence was to strike terror in the heart of slave owners, terror that Brown hoped would intimidate them to free their slaves to ensure their families' safety.Despite the differences between modern terrorist acts and Brown's own violent acts, when Brown's characteristics are compared to the definition of terrorism as set forth by scholars of terrorism, he fits the profile. Nevertheless, today Brown is a martyred hero who gave his life attempting to terminate the evil institution of human bondage. Brown's violent method of using terrorism to accomplish this is downplayed or ignored, despite being labeled by historians as America's first terrorist. The modern view of Brown has unintentionally made him a good terrorist, despite the repugnance of terrorism that makes the thought of a benevolent or good terrorist an oxymoron.This new biography covers Brown's background and the context to his decision to carry out the raid, a detailed narrative of the raid and its consequences for both those involved and America; and an exploration of the changing characterisation of Brown since his death.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1: The Making of a Terrorist 2: Launching the War of Liberation 3: Igniting the Fuse: The Attack on Harpers Ferry 4: Anguish and Travail 5: An Agitated Nation 6: The Rush to Judgment 7: Hemp Justice 8: Rehearsal for War Notes Bibliographical Comment Index

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Book SynopsisTank commander cadet Amir Bega is about to leave training for the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur when a surprise attack on Israel by Egyptian and Syrian forces upends this peaceful reprieve, throwing the teenager into an unexpected war. A war in which the confidence and complacency of the Israeli army led to disaster.Believing himself well-trained and the Israeli army unstoppable, Bega struggles to accept the horrifying events surrounding him. His battalion was annihilated in one of the first combats by new anti-tank weaponry. He survived and joined a reserve unit, with which he fought to stop the Egyptian army from advancing beyond the first line of defense, all through the war’s end.In this realm of death and destruction, Bega comes face to face with the conflicts between the reality of war, his core beliefs, and his basic ideology. As the war progresses, he deals with the horrific losses of both those around him and his own innocence. Tank after tank that he joins is destroyed or damaged, and he is seen as a bad omen by those still alive. Gnawed by survivor guilt, the young soldier agrees to go on a sole perilous mission to rescue an army technical unit surrounded by Egyptian commandos.This captivating first-hand account, as viewed through the eyes of the young soldier, conveys the heavy toll of the Yom Kippur War and its impact on the people of Israel. Ultimately, Undercurrent is a story about survival, friendship, humanity, duty, and honour.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Toronto - Summer 2019 Chapter 2: Shivta, Israel - Oct. 5, 1973 Chapter 3: First day of Yom Kippur War - Oct. 6, 1973 Chapter 4: Facing reality - Oct. 7, 1973 Chapter 5: Break - Oct. 8, 1973 Chapter 6: New crew - Oct. 9, 1973 Chapter 7: Can it be - Oct. 10, 1973 Chapter 8: POW - Oct. 11, 1973 Chapter 9: Repair and Maintenance return to full operation – Oct. 12-13, 1973 Chapter 10: Battle to keep our defense lines – Oct. 14, 1973 Chapter 11: Preparation for crossing the Suez Canal – Oct. 15, 1973 Chapter 12: Rest and recovery – Oct. 16, 1973 Chapter 13: Ambushed – Oct. 17, 1973 Chapter 14: The crossing – Oct. 18, 1973 Chapter 15: New tank crew – Oct. 19, 1973 Chapter 16: Anti-tank stronghold – Oct. 20, 1973 Chapter 17: Rescue – hero? I am not a hero – Oct. 22, 1973 Chapter 18: Ceasefire – Oct. 24, 1973 Chapter 20: The war is over – Oct. 26, 1973

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Book Synopsis“A comprehensively researched historic document on one year’s activities for the 9th Cav and the 1st Cavalry Division, worthy of gracing their unit libraries. That the book simultaneously succeeds on the individual soldier level makes it a standout for any reader with an interest in the airmobile aspect of the Vietnam War.” - Vietnam MagazineThe Gunner and the Grunt is written in the voices of two soldiers who fought in the same battles as members of the same recon unit but from different angles. Michael Kelley, the “Gunner,” was flying in an armed helicopter above the jungle providing suppressive fire support, while Peter Burbank, the “Grunt,” was down in the jungle on foot patrol involved in fire fights with Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops.The book follows these two Boston boys from army training through deployment to the war zone and the shock of first combat missions, to helicopter air assault “Search and Destroy” operations from the Cambodian border to the sands of the South China Sea.Table of ContentsPrologue: The Lost Gunship Chapter One: High School Warriors Chapter Two: Basic Combat Training, Mike Chapter Three: Helicopter School, Mike Chapter Four: Flying Shawnee Bananas, Mike Chapter Five: Guns and Rabbits, Pete Chapter Six: airborne Infantry, Pete Chapter Seven: Going to War, Mike Chapter Eight: Aero Rifle Blues Platoon,Pete Chapter Nine: Aero Weapons Red Platoon, Mike Chapter Ten: The Bong son Campaign, Mike Chapter Eleven: The Crow's Foot Battle, Mike Chapter Twelve: Aero Scout White Platoon, Mike Chapter Thirteen: Charlie Alpha Combat assault, Pete Chapter Fourteen: Hot Rod pilot, Mike Chapter Fifteen: In Memory of our Commander Epilogue: Mike Epilogue: Pete List of Major Campaigns List of Weapons of War 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Commanders 1965-1966 Air Cavalry units in Vietnam Photo Credits Selected Bibliography

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Book SynopsisMajor General Charles A. Willoughby served as Douglas MacArthur's stalwart chief intelligence officer (G-2} for over a decade, throughout World War II and the Korean War. This first full biography examines Willoughby's shadowy origins in his native Germany, his curious arrival in the United States, and his military service in World War I, as well as his work during the interwar years as a junior diplomat, budding historian, and neophyte intelligence officer. His chance encounter with MacArthur in the mid-1930s would prove to be the genesis of a near-symbiotic relationship between the two, with significant consequences for both.Throughout his life, Willoughby identified with strong, authoritarian leaders, notably Franco, and – especially – MacArthur. The author also assesses Willoughby's performance as a professional intelligence officer both in World War II and Korea, where he is often vilified for his inaccurate assessments of enemy strength and most likely courses of action, as well as his sycophantic relationship with his commander. Willoughby is most often criticised for his failing to foresee the entry of Chinese forces into the Korean War and its impact upon the US Army and the prosecution of the war. Following MacArthur’s removal by President Truman in 1951, Willoughby retired and spent the rest of his days engaged in right-wing political activity and in staunchly defending his much-maligned boss.The legacy he left is one filled with lingering and important questions about loyalty to superiors, in civilian as well as military environments, how far that loyalty should extend, and walking the tightrope involved in telling truth to power.Table of Contents1. Of Uncertain Origins: The Early Years of “Sir Charles” 2. Willoughby in the Pacific, 1942–1945 3. Victory and the Occupation of Japan 4. The Korean War: The Curtain Rises 5. The Dragon Sharpens Its Claws 6. A Period of Miscalculations” 7. “Don't Let a Bunch of Chinese Laundrymen Stop You!” 8. "A Mishandling of Intelligence” 9. Postwar Paranoia 10. Watchman of the Republic 11. To the Grave…and Beyond Appendix 1. Dramatis Personae Appendix 2. Dates of Rank and Military Awards, Charles A. Willoughby Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe most eye-opening, and terrifying, story in Chip Reid's career as a journalist was the six weeks he spent with 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, as a correspondent for NBC News. Traveling shoulder-to-shoulder with the young Marines, he had unparalleled access, witnessing them in combat, and interviewing as many as he could persuade his bosses to put on air, allowing them to tell their war stories in their own words.It took only 22 days for the Marines of 3/5 to fight their way to Baghdad, but the effects on those who fought have lasted a lifetime. They lost a number of their own in battle, and others suffered life-threatening injuries. Of those who returned - even if they avoided physical scars - many have had to find their own way through survivor's guilt and the nightmare of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, with all its attendant miseries.Twenty years on, Chip sat down with the Marines of 3/5 once more. They told Chip inspiring stories of heroism in battle, of camaraderie and comrades lost, of patriotism and belief in mission, of recovery and success in both military and civilian life, and of the new appreciation for life that results from Post-Traumatic Growth. Visceral and searingly honest, this book is a tribute to the Marines for their service, and for the many sacrifices they made then, and that many still make today.Trade Review“Chip Reid’s Battle Scars is one Hell’va book! Reid, a CBS News National correspondent and embedded journalist with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, authored a riveting account of the 'March up' to Baghdad, Iraq in 2003. Battle Scars is Reid’s compelling personal account that captures the essence of young Marines in combat and the aftermath of their experiences twenty years later. Reid draws upon dozens of veteran interviews to tell their story in a comprehensive and exciting ground-level—in the mud—eye witness account.” —Colonel Richard D. Camp, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)“In Battle Scars, readers are treated to a vivid account of one Marine battalion’s experiences during the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the style that made him a successful broadcast journalist—and endeared him to hundreds of wives, parents and children watching his daily reports during the early days of the war—Chip Reid artfully narrates the individual stories of several Marines and corpsmen who were then part of the 3d Battalion, 5th Marines. Their accounts are gripping and at times painfully sobering; their stories, like their scars, are real. Ultimately, I hope this book offers other veterans some comfort in the realization of a shared experience, and a renewed desire to live for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.” —Lieutenant General Sam MundyTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: Mr. Magoo Goes To War Part One: From Kuwait to Baghdad at the Tip of the Spear Chapter 1: The Ground War Begins Chapter 2: First Combat Chapter 3: Two Days from Hell Chapter 4: The Battle at Devil’s Ditch Chapter 5: Winning The Hearts of the Iraqi People Chapter 7: Arrival in Baghdad Part Two: Twenty Years Later Chapter 8: Consequences of Being Trained to Kill Chapter 9: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Post-Traumatic Growth Chapter 10: Marines Tell Their Stories Of PTSD and PTG Chapter 11: Marine Families Tell Their Stories of PTSD and PTG Chapter 12: Lives Transformed by the Marines Chapter 13: Marines Who Loved It So Much They Made It a Career Chapter 14: Opinions About the Iraq War Today Chapter 15: In Memory Epilogue: An Emotional Mountaintop Reunion

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Book Synopsis“DAMN THE VALLEY” was a phrase regularly uttered by the men that spent any amount of time in the Arghandab River Valley during the deployment of 2 Fury to Afghanistan in 2009–2010. The valley has claimed bodies from the troops of Alexander the Great, the British Empire, and more recently, the Russian Army. Operating in the valley was like nothing the men could have envisaged, they called it the “meat grinder.”It was a deployment that the media didn’t talk about, and the government doesn’t acknowledge. Three of the company were KIA, more than a dozen suffered life-changing injuries, and half the company had Purple Hearts – not many modern-day deployments have a 52% casualty rate. At one point, the entire prosthetics ward at Walter Reed was full of the men who patrolled that deadly area of the world. Since their return, many of the survivors have struggled to move on with their lives, and the unit has been declared at "extraordinary risk" by the Department of Veteran Affairs.This book shares the perspective of the men that were on the ground for that deployment during the fighting season of 2010face=Calibri>.

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Book Synopsis1942 would prove crucial for the United States in the Pacific following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and a series of setbacks in the Southwest Pacific late in 1941 into 1942. As the first ship commissioned following America’s entry into World War II, the light cruiser USS Atlanta would be thrust into the Pacific fight, joining the fleet in time for the pivotal battle of Midway and on to the Guadalcanal campaign in the Southwest Pacific. Embarked was an exceptionally astute observer - Lieutenant Commander Lloyd M. Mustin - who faithfully recorded his thoughts on the conflict in a standard canvas-covered logbook.Diaries were not supposed to be kept by those serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II and for good reason—if recovered by the Japanese they would likely have revealed that the Japanese code had been broken prior to the battle of Midway. Thus Mustin’s diary is a rare day-to-day accounting of the Pacific from a very opinionated mid-grade officer.Beginning with the commissioning of the light cruiser Atlanta at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Christmas Eve 1941, Mustin covers the ship’s workups and her deployment to the Pacific in time for the Battle of Midway. It’s then on to the Southwest Pacific where the ship first engages enemy aircraft at the battle of the Eastern Solomons in late August 1942. His final entry covers the battle of Santa Cruz in late October 1942. The story is completed by an account of the battle of Guadalcanal and beyond, drawing upon Mustin’s oral history.This is a valuable document, fully interpreted to provide a better understanding of the Pacific War during that critical year.Table of ContentsPreface 1. The Naval Battle for Guadalcanal: The first night. 2. Lloyd M. Mustin 3. The Construction and Commissioning for USS Atlanta 4. The Fitting Out and Workups for USS Atlanta 5. En Route to Hawaii 6. Arrival at Pearl Harbor 7. Underway for New Caledonia 8. Layover 9. En Route Midway 10. Midway: The Pivotal Day 11. Midway: Final Blows 12. Midway Postmortem 13. Back at Pearl 14. Heading South

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