Book Reviews

Title: Cooch
Author: Robert Cook
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: Joyce Faulkner

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0984315500

lejandro Mohammed Cuchulain, called Cooch or Alex, became a Marine at sixteen and a CIA special-operations trainee at 17. His father is a wheel-chair bound former marine and Medal of Honor winner who gives Alex advice as to how to survive in a violent world. His mother is the daughter of a Bedouin sheikh who sends a young Alex off, during his summer breaks, to experience the Bedouin life. The combination of a very young start in learning the art and craft of violence, combined with a thirst for knowledge combine to help him to become both a noted designer and user of explosives and an expert in Islamic affairs. Violent, yet thoughtful, Cooch represents the best in fast-moving, popular thrillers.

Ah, the conundrum of civilized behavior. If you deal with animals by using animal behavior against them, are you civilized for protecting the society, whatever it takes, or have you become an animal and consequently not fit to mingle in civilized society?"

Title: A Golden Weekend
Author: Larry Carello
Genre: Fiction
Reviewer: jim greenwald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0980228409

Mel Rosco and his brother Jimmy shared the same last name, but that's where the similarities ended. After years of barely getting by, Mel teetered on the brink of financial collapse. Plagued with bad luck, about all he could count on was the moral support of his wife, his kids and a handful of friends. On the contrary, life couldn't be sweeter for his older brother Jimmy, who had risen to the top of Woodland Beach's social ladder through planning, strategy and hard work. His swanky Shoreline Inn was a landmark, a place where customers waited in long lines for a table. The upcoming July 4th weekend provided both men with opportunities: Jimmy could fatten up his bank account; Mel would have one last chance to save himself. Neither man had any idea how the dramatic events of this golden weekend would change his life for ever.

Title: While You Were Away: 101 Tips for Families Experiencing Absence or Deployment
Author: Megan Egerton-Graham
Genre: Non-Fiction, How To
Reviewer: Weymouth Symmes

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0981143601

While You Were Away is concerned with coping with the extended absence of family members, either on military deployments, or, one assumes, any lengthy absence. The book is an action plan to make that absence easier on the family remaining and the individual deployed. Mostly Megan concentrates on the family at home, with a particular emphasis on families with young children.

Title: Wisconsin Iron: A Novel of the Civil War
Author: Michael Eckers
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: Don Arndt

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1453874739

Fighting in the famed Iron Brigade, Henry McCollum was already a combat veteran before his 17th birthday. This novel is about his experiences fighting to preserve the Union against the Confederate forces. From First Bull Run to Gettysburg, the Iron Brigade fought in every major eastern engagement of the American Civil War. Henry was right in the middle of it all.

Title: Chitose Road
Author: Bob Ruerhdanz

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1456418602

Chitose Road is about a strange cast of Americans stationed on the Island of Hokkaido in the 1950s involving espionage, romance, and crowded living conditions, as they learned how to interact with the Japanese culture during and after the Korean War.