Book Reviews

Title: But...What If?
Author: Sandra Miller Linhart
Genre: Children's, Under 12
Reviewer: jim greenwald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0984512721

Homecomings are wonderful reunions but they can be stressful at times. Will Daddy remember me? Will I remember him? Daddy is coming home, but he's been gone a long time. Will he recognize Bean? Will Bean be able to pick Daddy out in a sea of soldiers? Being deployed is a fact of life for soldiers of all military branches. Humanitarian efforts, Operations Other than War (OOW), peaceful or wartime missions - a soldier's duty is to be there. And, when it's time to come home, sometimes the unknown can be scary.

But... What if? is a loving description of the subtle insecurities a child of a returning male soldier may have.

Title: BROTHERHOOD OF DOOM: Memoirs of a Navy Nuclear Weaponsman
Author: James S. Little
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Hodge Wood

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1601453116

BROTHERHOOD of DOOM provides a look inside a national program that was shrouded in secrecy, during the cold war. The book details the dedication and patriotism of a small group of sailors that were denied much of the liberty, and freedoms their fellow citizens enjoyed, to insure the survival of America in the event of a nuclear war. Emphasized throughout the book is the extraordinary effort by nuclear weaponsmen to handle and maintain these weapons of mass destruction with safety, and to continually strive for perfection. The book is an effort to honor the many outstanding, and colorful sailors he served with for thirty years, and to educate the American public about a national program that little is known about, a program all citizens should be thankful for. The job of navy nuclear weaponsman no longer exists, and BROTHERHOOD of DOOM is an attempt to preserve this important story of the American military.

Title: My Daddy is a Marine
Author: Alia Reese
Genre: Children 12 and below
ISBN: 97809833107
Reviewer: Jim Greenwald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 9780983313007

"American Hero Books: My Daddy is a Marine" helps the infant-preschool age child to understand and feel proud of Daddy's very important job AND helps to keep Daddy present in his/her mind while Daddy is away during training and deployment. Read, march, and bark along with our fun and simple descriptions and insert your own picture over those printed in the book to see Daddy at work as a United States Marine.

American Hero Books are for the infant to preschool age children of US Service members, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, and EMT/rescue personnel. This series is written and designed for infant through preschool age children. The books use age appropriate text, concept portrayal, and pictures. Each book is specific to a service branch and available in both a “Mommy” and “Daddy” version. Additionally American Hero Books are formatted to allow the reader to insert a photograph over each picture printed in the book, thereby creating a unique and personal product.

American Hero Books fulfill a dual purpose. They 1) give an age appropriate description of the service member’s job allowing the child to understand and feel proud of the parent, and 2) the “insert your own picture” format allows the child to hold the service member present in his/her mind which can alleviate some of the anxiety caused by separation due to training and deployment.

Title: American Secret Pusher Fighters of WWII: XP-54, XP-55, and XP-56
Author: Gerald H. Balzer
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Frank Evans

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1580071252

American Secret Pusher Fighters of World War II analyzes the state of military aircraft procurement just prior to the start of World War II. It provides insight into the difficulties encountered by America's air services in dealing with an isolationist Congress and a limited mindset in the Army, which was seemingly indifferent to the aeronautical progress being made in Europe by the British and Germans. The book then focuses on the three winners of the 1940 fighter competition - the Vultee XP-54, the Curtiss XP-55, and the Northrop XP-56. These radical designs ("Pusher" referred to having the engine in the back) used non-strategic materials and were developed in secret. At the time, the aerodynamics of these aircraft far outpaced engine development. In addition, this book details the technical difficulties of mating an advanced aircraft design with inadequate engine development.

Title: Breaking Squelch : A Vietnam Introspective
Author: Stephen D. Saunders
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Bill McDonald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0963769723

Out of the mists of a war-ravaged jungle half the world - and half a lifetime - away, Steve Saunders finds the introspection to put his Vietnam experience at rest. Breaking Squelch is an epic tale of mortal combat, of privation and suffering, of the ultimate test of young men's valor and of their civility. At times, it's punctuated with their boyish antics.