by Ann DeWitt
What if you studied a particular military General from the American Civil War era and found that the court of public opinion handed down a verdict without reviewing all of the evidence? Would you ignore the facts and go with the court of public opinion? Or would you print in your book the dormant facts in which you uncovered?
Title: The Remains of Company D: a Story of the Great War
Author: James Carl Nelson
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Reviewer: Dave Brown
ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): B0057DBJH8
Haunted by an ancestor's small tale of near-death on and salvation from a French battlefield, a journalist expands and completes his grandfather's story, following the men of Company D, 28th Infantry Regiment, US First Division through their trials at Cantigny, Soissons, St. Mihiel, the Meuse-Argonne -- and beyond.
Title: Waiting for the "Word": Recollections of my life in the United States Navy from January 25, 1943 to November 6, 1945
Author: Ulmon Bray
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Reviewer: Bill McDonald
ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1598582860
Even though the Navy provided considerable shelter for its young recruits and certainly didn't encourage individual behavior over that of the group, it expected responsible compliance with its rules and regulations whether individually or otherwise. And so it was at the age of eighteen years, three months, I entered the maze of activities designed not only to produce an able seaman, but would most certainly turn "boy" into "man." The events and accompanying experiences that occurred during the several levels of training and more than seven months of combat duty contributed to the growth of technical as well as social skills, which in the long view, might have been of much greater importance. It was the interaction with other people that created the most emorable events that are described here. The military deeds were necessary, but it was the men who supported my efforts to do my share who remain forever in the shadows of my memory.
Title: The Boys of Diamond Hill: The Lives and Civil War Letters of the Boyd Family of Abbeville County, South Carolina
Author: J. Keith Jones
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Reviewer: Joyce Faulkner
ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0786463333
In April 1861, brothers Daniel and Pressley Boyd left their farm in Abbeville County, South Carolina, to join the Confederate army. The Civil War soon swept their other brothers, William, Thomas and Andrew, as well as brother-in-law Fenton Hall into service. By the war's end, only Daniel survived. The extensive collection of letters the Boyds left behind, assembled for the first time, details their experiences across almost every theater of the war and offers commentary on many aspects of soldier life--from illness, death, and religion to friendly fire, desertion, and politics. Few families sacrificed as much to the Confederate cause as did the Boyds. Their letters remain a testament to their commitment and reveal the profound human impact of war.
Title: Mitakuye Oyasin
Author: Jim Greenwald
Genre: Poetry
Reviewer: W.H. McDonald Jr.
ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1424138884
This book is a mix of love, loss, the past, respect and survival. This planet we live on (Mother Earth) is in peril, of this no one should have any doubts. The issue is awareness, and whether we are to be part of the problem or part of the solution. What we do now will determine not simply issues of quality of life, but of life itself. If we continue to poison the air, water and seas, this home of ours will die.
He drove to work sipping coffee from a styrofoam cup, and when he finished he pitched it to the side of the road; it is only one styrofoam cup after all. It is a shame we often think of individual instead of collective concerns. For on that morning he was joined by at least a million others with the same thought.
It is time we all hugged a tree!