Book Reviews

Title: The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp
Author: Michael Volkin
Genre: Non-Fiction, How-To
Reviewer: Bill McDonald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1932714111

As anyone who has undergone the transition from civilian to soldier will tell you, basic training is a lot tougher and more challenging than any recruit can imagine. Michael Volkin discovered that fact soon after 9-11, when his personal vow to serve my country convinced him to enlist in the U.S. Army.

As Volkin quickly discovered, he was utterly unprepared for the new world of the military, "a completely different environment full of unknown exercises and acronyms, where can't eat or talk without permission. Volkin began taking notes on everything and anything with the hope that no one else would have to go through basic training like I did completely unarmed with knowledge that would have eased my transition into the military and allowed me to be more successful.

During Operation Enduring/Iraqi Freedom, Volkin organized his notes, interviewed hundreds of other soldiers, and began to write. The result is The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook, a unique and utterly indispensable guide to successfully coping with and thriving in today's military.

The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook is a comprehensive, practical, and easy-to-follow survival guide written specifically for every new or prospective recruit about to enter any branch of the armed forces. Volkin's book offers step-by-step instructions and solutions, including helpful charts and graphics, for how to prepare both physically and mentally for boot camp. It includes a special eight-week fitness program specifically designed to improve your fitness test scores, specific study guides, an instructional How to"chapter, a list of what to bring (and not to bring) to basic training, tips for success, and much more.

The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook was written by a soldier for men and women who want to become soldiers. No one should enter boot camp without having read this book.

Title: The Power and the Glory
Author: William C. Hammond
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: John Cathcart

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1612510523

This third novel in William C. Hammond's nautical fiction series is set in the late 1790s during the Quasi-War with France and offers readers a thrilling look at the new American Navy during the Age of Fighting Sail. Following in the wake of his previous novels, A Matter of Honor and For Love of Country, it features the adventures of the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts, and an ever-expanding cast of characters some real, some fictional that includes Lt. Richard Cutler along with Capt. Thomas Truxtun, Capt. Silas Talbot, and other naval heroes personifying the best of American honor and courage as they confront French pirates off the coast of Nantucket and heavily armed French frigates in the Caribbean.

Hammond packs his book with electrifying sea battles and daring challenges to French colonial rule in Haiti and the West Indies. He also offers fascinating glimpses into everyday life of the era, from the bedroom of the Cutler clapboard home in Hingham, to the family's sugar cane plantation in Barbados, to Adm. Sir Hyde Parker's flagship in Jamaica. And at the center of all the excitement, passion and intrigue are two of the finest frigates ever constructed, USS Constellation and her sister ship, USS Constitution. Lauded for his careful research, attention to detail, and thorough knowledge of the ways of the sea, Hammond brings history alive while telling a rollicking good tale.

Title: From 'Nam With Love
Author: Lloyd A. King
Genre: Poetry, Book of Poetry
Reviewer: Bill McDonald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): ISBN / EAN

A book of poetry about the author's experiences in Vietnam. Through poetry and illustrations, King tells the story of the combat soldier. He takes us from day one to day 365 captivating us with all the emotion and heartbreak of war. Both insightful and inspirational, Lloyd strikes a chord in the human heart.

Title: Battlelines
Author: LtCol David B. Brown, USMC (Ret), Tiffany Brown Holmes
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Bill McDonald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0595366953

“In Battlelines, Lieutenant Colonel Dave Brown and his daughter, Tiffany, have captured the reality of war. Their chronicle of comradeship forged in the crucible of combat is a must-read for anyone who cares about soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who fight our country’s battles.”
—Oliver L. North, Lieutenant Colonel, USMC (Ret.)
“Battlelines…is a tribute to the brave Marines of Fox Company, 2/5, who fought in some of the sharpest battles of the war. I fought alongside Dave Brown and his Marines, and can attest to the courage and tenacity displayed by the men of Fox Company.”

—Martin L. Brandtner, Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret.)

“Battlelines is a superb memoir on human behavior and the raw emotions felt by those who must constantly face the dangers of either closing or defending that last 600 meters against an aggressive, determined, and often-unseen enemy. Implicit in the telling is a portrait of unsurpassed courage, steadfastness, and a sense of mutual affection for one another that can only be derived from men who find themselves together under fire.”
—O. K. Steele, Major General, USMC (Ret.)

Title: Boys of '67: From Vietnam to Iraq, the Extraordinary Story of a Few Good Men
Author: Charles Jones
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewer: Bill McDonald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): ISBN / EAN

At once a gritty, intimate account of combat, an inside look at military leadership in a turbulent era at home and abroad, and a sweeping saga of the modern-day United States Marine Corps, Boys of 67 tells the story of a trio of extraordinary Marines. James Jones rose to become the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Ray E-Tool Smith saw combat in Grenada and Beirut in 1983. Marty Steele reshaped the Marines tank forces. Together, they represent a generation of Marines who met unprecedented challenges and made the Corps America s premier fighting force.