Fiction

Title: The Iron Triangle
Author: Joe Rhinehart
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
Reviewer: Frank Evans

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1419680269

The Iron Triangle is set during the Vietnam War Era and is about a young Lieutenant and his romance with a Korean girl. This romance is followed by his deployment to Vietnam; where he is forced to confront both the enemies of democracy as well as the enemy within. This novel encompasses both love and war in a brilliant fashion; intertwining the two opposites to make a compelling and captivating story that will be sure to keep anyone on the edge of their seat. This novel is written in such great detail that it literally takes you to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. The author's expertise on guerilla warfare makes this novel a must read for any military commander or personnel. The author goes into great detail about setting up both live and automatic ambushes; in addition, the author goes into the minutia of the physical and mental anguish a soldier experiences during war.

Title: The MOP
Author: David M. Salkin
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: Joyce Faulkner

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1608363856

Washington, D.C., is a world of acronyms. FBI, CIA, NSA, DOD, the list goes on. Unlike the rest, the MOP doesn’t stand for anything. It is simply the name given to the small, top-secret team of American agents within the government that answers to only one man, the Director of the CIA. The Director of the CIA, risking perjury and personal liability, will deny, to his death, the existence of such an organization. Every president of the United States since Reagan knew that there was “something” out there, to be used at the discretion of the Director of the CIA, but none ever asked. There are some things that even the president of the United States of America doesn’t want to know. And so long as you like to sleep safely in your bed at night, you don’t want to know either. When it gets messy, you better get out the mop.

Title: The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa: With E. D. Swinton's "The Defence of Duffer's Drift"
Author: Michael L. Burgoyne and Albert J. Marckwardt
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: Bob Flournoy

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0226080935

Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003 the U.S. military found itself in a battle with a lethal and adaptive insurgency, where the divisions between enemy and ally were ambiguous at best, and working with the local population was essential for day-to-day survival. From the lessons they learned during multiple tours of duty in Iraq, two American veterans have penned The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa, an instructional parable of counterinsurgency that addresses the myriad of difficulties associated with war in the postmodern era.

In this tactical primer based on the military classic The Defence of Duffer's Drift, a young officer deployed for the first time in Iraq receives ground-level lessons about urban combat, communications technology, and high-powered weaponry in an environment where policy meets reality. Over the course of six dreams, the inexperienced soldier fights the same battle again and again, learning each time--the hard way--which false assumptions and misconceptions he needs to discard in order to help his men avoid being killed or captured. As the protagonist struggles with his missions and grapples with the consequences of his mistakes, he develops a keen understanding of counterinsurgency fundamentals and the potential pitfalls of working with the native population.

Accompanied here by the original novella that inspired it, The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa offers an invaluable resource for cadets and junior military leaders seeking to master counterinsurgency warfare--as well as general readers seeking a deeper understanding of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just as its predecessor has been a hallmark of military instruction, The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa will draw the road map for counterinsurgency in the postmodern world.

Title: Righteous Rescue: Heroism that Healed a Hurting Nation
Author: John L. Rothdiener
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: Don Arndt

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1449703852

The year is 2010 and deep in the jungle of Vietnam are six POWs left over from the Vietnam War. They resemble the walking dead, each awaiting his final demise. They no longer had the strength to attempt an escape. After forty years is there still hope in a rescue? Has the American people and the government forgotten them? What plan does the Vietnamese Guard have for these six men? Why has General Yo kept them alive for so long and why were they never released? What has happened to their loved ones at home and do they still wait for them or has all hope of their return died out? And what about their faith in God. Had their unanswered prayers meant that even God has abandoned them?

Righteous Rescue is a gripping account of sacrifice and patriotism, responsibility and conviction. Rothdiener skillfully captures the memories of an unpopular war, and the hope of bringing together a nation after forty years.

Title: Pilots and Normal People: Short stories from a different attitude
Author: Walt Shiel
Genre: Fiction, Collection
Reviewer: Mary Sullivan

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 097465535X

Is it really possible to forget a prejudice ingrained during war? Does death really close the door to life? Can a grounded pilot find another way to return to the sky? Are physical laws the same throughout the universe? Is aviation mostly intellect or mostly emotion? Are criminals just as smart as the law-abiding? Can one man fight back against society's increasing crudeness? Do space explorers really need a spaceship? These and many other intriguing questions are explored in this eclectic collection of short fiction by Walt Shiel, which includes the award-winning "Remember."