Biography

Title: Margaret Mahler: A biography of the psychoanalyst
Author: Alma Bond
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewer: Buddy Cox

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0786433558

Margaret Mahler was from a young age intrigued by the theories of Sigmund Freud and Hungarian psychoanalysts such as Sandor Ferenzci, with whom she became acquainted while a student in Budapest. Forced to flee Europe and rising anti-Semitism, Margaret and her husband, Paul, came to the United States in 1938. It was after this move that Mahler performed her most significant research and developed concepts such as the ground-breaking theory of separation-individuation, an idea which was given credence by Mahler's own relationship with her father.

This volume details the life and work of Margaret Mahler focusing on her life's ambition--her psychoanalytical work. Her experiences with the Philadelphia Institute and her definitive research through the Masters Children's Clinic are also discussed.

USA Book News Best Books Award Finalist and Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award Finalist

Title: A Forgotten Soldier: The Life and Times of MG Harry Hill Bandholtz
Author: Patrick V. Garland
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewer: Buddy Cox

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0741451891

A Forgotten Soldier is the life story of a career soldier who gave 37 years to his country. Thrust into a variety of challenging situations, he performed magnificently, but his rewards were not always forthcoming. This humble man achieved much, consorted with heads of state and royalty, but after his death the country he served well turned its back on him. Today foreign governments remember him more.

Title: My Friends & Heroes
Author: Allen F. Hooker
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
ISBN 978-1-61663-223-6
Reviewed by: Joyce M. Gilmour

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1616632232

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

Title: Women in the United States Armed Forces: A Guide to the Issues (Contemporary Military, Strategic, and Security Issues)
Author: Darlene Iskra
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewer: Paul Decker

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0313374953

Women in the United States Armed Forces: A Guide to the Issues covers over a century of accomplishments of military women, from the Civil War to the current wars in the Middle East. Readers will learn, for example, that during World War II, 565 women in the Women’s Army Corps stationed in the Pacific theater received combat decorations, proving that women had the courage, strength, and stamina to perform in a combat environment. They will also learn that, perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t until the mid- to late 1970s that women had their first opportunities to serve at sea and as aviators (crew as well as pilots), albeit on noncombatant ships and aircraft. The book’s final four chapters discuss the issues that continue to plague women in the military, including sexual harassment, noting that women’s performance in America’s two-front wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made a positive difference in attitudes. The handbook closes with an epilogue that is at once a summary of the issues and a call for action.

Title: Grey Eminence: Fox Conner and the Art of Mentorship
Author: Edward Cox
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewer: Joyce Gilmour

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1581072031

To those who have heard of him, Fox Conner's name is synonymous with mentorship. He is the "grey eminence" within the Army whose influence helped to shape the careers of George Patton, George Marshall, and, most notably, President Eisenhower. What little is known about Conner comes primarily through stories about his relationship with Eisenhower, but little is known about Fox Conner himself. After a career that spanned four decades, this master strategist ordered all of his papers and journals burned. Because of this, most of what is known about Conner is oblique, as a passing reference in the memoirs of other great men. This book combines existing scholarship with long-forgotten references and unpublished original sources to achieve a more comprehensive picture of this dedicated public servant. The portrait that emerges provides a four-step model for developing strategic leaders that still holds true today. First and foremost, Conner was a master of his craft. Secondly, he recognized and recruited talented subordinates. Then he encouraged and challenged these protégés to develop their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. Finally he wasn't afraid to break the rules of the organization to do it. Here, for the first time ever, is the story of Major General Fox Conner.