Non-Fiction

Title: Hearts and Minds: Uncovering the Wars of Ideas and Images Behind the Global War on Terror
Author: Timothy S. McWilliams
Genre: Non-Fiction Sub-Category: History
Reviewed by: Terry Shoptaugh

ISBN (for Amazon store): 1460961544

During the Global War on Terror, multiple wars of ideas and images played out as belligerents and various competing political interests sought to influence multiple public spheres toward their desired political goals. At the same time, the international media played a vital role in framing the issues, debates, and events in the arena of ideas that accompanied the conflict. These wars of ideas and images had profound effects on domestic and international public opinion, which not only influenced events and operations during the conflict, but also threatened the outcome. This study traces these wars of ideas and images from the prewar debates following September 11, 2001 through military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. It not only examines how belligerents and various competing political interests sought to shape public opinion toward their political objectives during the Global War on Terror, but also examines both media performance on the battlefield and the media’s role in shaping public opinion, policy, and events during the war. As a foundation for understanding media’s role in modern wars of ideas, this study also provides a crucial examination of media’s influence on U.S public opinion and policy during important events in U.S. history, to include a fresh examination of media performance and influence during the 1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam. This study is essential for anyone wanting to understand the wars of ideas and images that accompany military conflict and international crisis, the challenges of reporting combat, and the media’s power to influence public opinion and policy. Thoroughly researched and meticulously cited, this important multi-discipline study significantly contributes to the history and understanding to today’s conflicts.

Book Title: Separated by Duty, United in Love
Author: Shellie Vandevoorde
Reviewed by: Edward Cox
Genre: Non-fiction Sub-Category: How-to/ Business

ISBN (for Amazon store): B004W9CWPQ

Where Can You Turn. . .?
. . .when the bills are due, the kids are acting out, loneliness and doubt are creeping into your quiet hours--and you're handling it all alone? If your partner is in the military, these challenges may be the greatest that your relationship will ever face. Now is the time you need answers, resources, and understanding. This is the book that will give them to you.

Military wife and U.S. Army veteran Shellie Vandevoorde has penned a practical, compassionate guide to help military couples cope with the separation of active deployment. Now updated and expanded, Separated by Duty, United in Love is infused with her years of experience, offering sound and comforting advice from someone who's been there. Vandevoorde explores real-life issues and shares invaluable insights on the best ways to:

Keep the lines of communication open while your partner is away
Address your children's fears as you cope with your own
Juggle finances and other household duties
Find the balance you desperately need
Cope with post-traumatic stress, injury and other challenges when a spouse returns from war
Utilize military resources and support groups to help yourself through the toughest times
You are not alone. Separated by Duty, United in Love gives you the tools and the encouragement you need to help your military relationship survive--and thrive.

General book info.

ISBN (for MWSA Amazon store): 1934980714

The crime and punishment story of how Nazi SS Colonel Karl Koch and his wife Ilse ran Buchenwald, the most infamous concentration camp of Nazi Germany, where evil reigned unchecked and the inconceivable was commonplace

General book info.

ISBN (for Amazon store): 0557043336

The military leadership of Japan, dominated by the ages-old clans of the samurai class, embarked on a war in 1941 believing that the Americans and British wouldn't fight, but they also knew that Japan could not win a prolonged war. If the West didn't quit, well, the Japanese had no contingency for that. So why did Japan start a war at all? This and other questions are addressed in this new book. Other topics include: With a few exceptions, the Japanese Army was not well equipped, but was trained to attack even if the situation was hopeless; the Japanese Navy was never adequate to the task required of it in the Pacific War and the merchant fleet was even wors; the Japanese air forces suffered from acute shortages throughout the conflict that were often the result of their industrial shortcomings. Beatty and Rochwerger discuss these and many other issues in this provocative and imaginative inquiry into Japan in World War II. Photos, index.

Title: Staff Monkeys
Author: Peter Clark
Genre: Non-Fiction Sub-Category: Humor
Reviewer: jim greenwald

ISBN (for Amazon store): B004Q9TBQU

Staff Monkeys is not a typical military war journal; it is a chronological and humorous accounting of a former stockbroker's observations during his military deployments from April 2005 through September 2009. After being recalled to the Army, Peter Clark served in East Africa as well as numerous Middle East hot spots.

After his deployment to Africa, the fun and games were just beginning for Peter and over the next few years found himself in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kyrgyzstan. What the Army didn't know, or overlooked, was that Peter had a sharp sense of humor and wasn't afraid to use it.

War is a very serious business, yet strange and comical events do occur and US Army Staff Monkey, LTC Peter Clark, a modern day Bill Mauldin, tells about them in a most entertaining way.