Non-combatants Books
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Place At The End Of The World
Book SynopsisA collection of essays from the frontline from the acclaimed war correspondentTrade Review'Few writers can match her evocations of individual suffering in wartime.' * Newsweek *'A gifted and humane reporter with a novelist's eye for detail.' * Literary Review *'One of our generation's finest foreign correspondents.' * Daily Telegraph *'Di Giovanni is superb - an extraordinarily brave war correspondent and a wonderful writer as well.' * William Shawcross *
£15.29
The University of Alabama Press Pulpits of the Lost Cause
Book SynopsisCompares the faith and politics of former Confederate chaplains during the Reconstruction period, and argues for some counterintuitive understandings of their beliefs and practices in the post-war period.
£44.60
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Gardener of Lashkar Gah
Book SynopsisBeautifully researched and deeply moving, [this book] brought me to tears more than once -- John Simpson, The GuardianFirst-class...exhaustively researched and sensitively written -- The TimesThe extraordinary true story of the Afghans who risked their lives for usThe sudden withdrawal of British and American troops from Afghanistan in 2021, ended the 20 year war on terror, yet it also left Afghanistan to be reconquered by the Taliban. As violence and religious fundamentalism once again overwhelmed the region, thousands of Afghans who loyally served the British and American armies were left behind.This is the story of what happened to them when the West leftThe Gardener of Lashkar Gah follows the extraordinary journey of Shaista Gul, a kind former-policeman who built a beautiful garden inside a military base in Helmand Province that became famous as a calm oasis for soldiers with troubled mindsTrade Review'[Larisa Brown's] account of what happened to one particular family – the father, who used to tend the gardens in a British compound at Lashkar Gah base, his son who worked with British soldiers as an interpreter, and the rest of their relatives – is beautifully researched and deeply moving, her account brought me to tears more than once...an important story' -- John Simpson * The Guardian *'Exhaustively researched and sensitively written, The Gardener of Lashkar Gah is a first-class account of one family's struggle to survive the West's ill-fated and ultimately futile war in Afghanistan.' -- The TimesLarisa Brown's storytelling is vivid and compelling, painting a powerful picture of the tragic plight of our Afghan allies. It is an essential story that will define the memory of British involvement in Afghanistan for generations to come. -- Levison Wood, explorer and author of Escape from Kabul“A brilliant, compelling book that chronicles the human stories behind military intervention in the Middle East and gives the heroes among the Afghan interpreters and other local partners of Western forces the place in history they deserve. A major addition to the history of our operations in the shadow of the Hindu Kush.” -- General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIASitting in the garden in Lash was one of the few places life felt almost normal in Helmand. The roses brought humanity to a harsh environment and a moment of peace in a brutal war. The family who made that space went mostly unnoticed to the soldiers who needed the oasis. Larisa has brought them to the fore and told a story that speaks of so many who served alongside us and who were left homeless by the withdrawal. This is a beautiful book which reminded me of the pain and hope we shared, and the courage and humanity of those we served alongside. In the years gone by I often wondered what happened to that garden and those who tended it. So much we left behind has been lost and trampled, knowing this family’s struggles speaks of so many unknowns and unnamed. -- Tom Tugendhat, former officer, former chair of the foreign affairs select committee and current Minister for SecurityIn the best tradition of intelligent campaigning journalism, with sympathy and insight, Larisa Brown tells the story of one Afghan interpreter and his family abandoned by the British – how many more are there? She exposes the hypocrisy of successive governments that made promises to brave Afghans only to abandon them. -- Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor Channel 4 News, author of In ExtremisFrom gardens and guns on Afghan front lines to desks of major powers, this book reveals what it’s like to live and die in war. A journalist’s eye and an advocate’s empathy illuminates the steep price paid by Afghans who sided with Britain. -- Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International CorrespondentA moving book [...] ably depicts the plight of those who opposed a brutal regime alongside Western forces and still await reprieve. -- Kirkus Reviews
£22.50
University of North Texas Press,U.S. Duty to Serve, Duty to Conscience: The Story of
Book SynopsisDespite all that has been written about Vietnam, the story of the 1-A-O conscientious objector, who agreed to put on a uni-form and serve in the field without weapons rather than accept alternative service outside the military, has received scarce atten-tion. This joint memoir by two 1-A-O combat medics, James C. Kearney and William H. Clamurro, represents a unique approach to the subject. It is a blend of their personal narratives—with select Vietnam poems by Clamurro—to illustrate noncombatant objection as a unique and relatively unknown form of Vietnam War protest. Both men initially met during training and then served as frontline medics in separate units “outside the wire” in Vietnam. Clamurro was assigned to a tank company in Tay Ninh province next to the Cambodian border, before reassignment to an aid station with the 1st Air Cavalry. Kearney served first as a medic with an artillery battery in the 1st Infantry Division, then as a convoy medic during the Cambodian invasion with the 25th Infantry Division, and finally as a Medevac medic with the 1st Air Cavalry. In this capacity Kearney was seriously wounded during a “hot hoist” in February 1971 and ended up being treated by his friend Clamurro back at base. Because of their status as “a new breed of conscientious objector”—i.e., more political than religious in their convictions—the authors’ experience of the Vietnam War differed fundamentally from that of their fellow draftees and contrasted even with the great majority of their fellow 1-A-O medics, whose conscientious objector status was largely or entirely faith-based.
£27.96
Casemate Publishers Clearing the Way: U.S. Army Engineers in World
Book SynopsisQuite simply, without engineers the U.S. Army would have been unable to fight World War II. The men of the Corps of Engineers, with the strength of more than 700 battalions mobilised during World War II, were tasked with every imaginable engineering challenge. In rear areas and back in the United States they built the facilities essential for everyday military life: showers, toilets, barrack blocks, military hospitals, training camps, storage depots, and much more. To keep logistics flowing to the front, they constructed or repaired thousands of miles of roads and bridges, plus built airfields to support Allied strategic and tactical air operations. Engineers also created endless chains of defensive positions, from simple trench systems to complex bunker networks, as well as retrieving damaged vehicles and equipment from still-contested battlefields. Combat engineers, meanwhile, occupied some of the most dangerous frontline roles in the American armed forces. Heavily armed with demolitions and weapons, plus weighed down by engineering tools and even driving armoured bulldozers, they were tasked with destroying enemy strongpoints, bridges, equipment, vehicles and many other obstacles to the advance, in both overland and amphibious operations.Building the Battlefield: Tactics and Techniques of U.S. Army Engineers in World War II brings together an exceptional collection of primary sources from engineering field manuals, technical manuals, and other official publications. They provide a detailed insight into the work and skills of the U.S. Army engineers, including building a field fortification, laying and defusing mines, making a contested river crossing, or camouflaging a defensive position properly. Through these texts, we gain practical insight into the exceptional individuals who often combined first-rate infantry fighting skills with engineering skill and problem-solving ingenuity.
£21.25
