History

Truman and MacArthur: Adversaries for a Common Cause

Title: Truman and MacArthur: Adversaries for a Common Cause
Author: Donald J. Farinacci
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Reviewer: Bill McDonald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0557409020

The author's purpose in writing this book was to tell a story of events which occurred during a brief but momentous period in American history, involving two extraordinary men, President Harry S. Truman and General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur. The story tells of their interaction during a time of grave national crisis, how they veered badly off course and ultimately collided head-on. It was a collision which both altered the course of history and irreparably changed their personal destinies.

What is related here is first and foremost a human story, but one that plays out against the panorama of the Korean War--a nasty, brutish and fearsome slice of hell where what was at stake was nothing less than the determination of whether the Communist Sino-Soviet alliance would gain dominion by force over large regions of the continent of Asia or be contained and held in check by a coalition of United Nations Forces led by the United States.

As the drama unfolded during a critical period of approximately ten months in 1950 and 1951, the all-pervasive tension holding the principal players in its grip was the ever-present threat of nuclear war looming over all of humankind.

Other larger-than-life personalities also emerge in this epic tale and are interspersed with the two main characters. They include Eighth Army Commander Matthew B. Ridgway, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall, South Korean President Syngman Rhee, NATO Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ambassador Averell Harriman, Army General Walton W. Walker, Marine General O.P. Smith, Army Chief of Staff J. Lawton Collins, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Omar Bradley, and Marine Colonel "Chesty" Puller. Every one of them played an integral role in the drama and some of them such as Ridgway, Acheson, Marshall and Eisenhower actually changed the course of history. But, the overarching giants of this tale are Truman and MacArthur. Their saga of 1950-1951 underscores the fact that no matter what the magnitude of events, history is still primarily a collection of stories about people.

This is one of those stories--one that is part of the larger framework of the forty-five year-long Cold War, but one that is surpassed in importance by none other in that singularly perilous epoch of world history.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Farinacci, Donald

Riding a Donkey Backwards Through Afghanistan

Title: Riding a Donkey Backwards Through Afghanistan
Author: Mick Simonelli
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Reviewer: Hodge Wood

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1934937924

A behind-the-scenes account of America's critical effort to build an Afghanistan National Army. Written from the unique vantage point of the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, this book reveals the inside story of the United States' army-building efforts. As the first comptroller responsible for funding the Afghanistan National Army, Mick earned the Bronze Star Medal while spending $400 million taxpayer dollars and planning the spending for $2.1 billion more.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Simonelli, Mick

Book of War, The

Title: The Book of War
Author: Dwight Jon Zimmerman
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Joyce Faulkner

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

Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers: Throughout human history, violent conflict has been a fact of life. To know the history of war is to know human history. The Book of War recounts landmark battles that shaped civilizations from 1274 B.C. up to the present day. Organized chronologically, this fascinating survey details pivotal military events from early empires through to modern warfare. It also reveals their immediate impact and importance to history. Each entry spans two pages, with concise text and stunning images for each battle. Interspersed throughout the book are essays on innovations, strategies, or leaders that have changed the way war has been waged.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Zimmerman, Dwight Jon

Vietnam Trilogy: Vol. 3 War Trauma: Lessons Unlearned from Vietnam to Iraq, A

Title: A Vietnam Trilogy: Vol. 3 War Trauma: Lessons Unlearned from Vietnam to Iraq
Author: Raymond Monsour Scurfield
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Reviewer: Joyce Gilmour

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

"War Trauma" concludes "A Vietnam Trilogy," in which a nationally-renowned authority on post-traumatic stress disorder reveals the psychiatric impact of war on soldiers and veterans, which is denied or minimized by government and the military. Through efforts to treat veterans of past conflicts he illustrates the inevitability of lifelong psychiatric scars from today s conflicts as well.

Scurfield draws on the experience of prior wars for valuable insights to help people who are now in the military or in the healing professions, and their families and communities, to deal with today s realities of combat and its aftermath.

This book studies the psychiatric impact of war on soldiers and veterans, and their familiesm and uses the experience of veterans of earlier wars to help people who are now in the military or in the healing professions, and their families and communities, to deal with today s realities of combat and its aftermath.
The effects go on for decades after the violence occurred, and we are still just learning to understand the depth and variety of problems it can cause. Further, Scurfield documents his proven innovative therapies for treating PTSD.

This volume also looks at what military and mental health professionals should have learned from the Vietnam War in order to better protect Americans in later conflicts and to help them recover afterwards. The Persian Gulf War, for instance, had an immense impact on veterans of all wars. The author was a national faculty member for joint VA-DOD training programs to enhance mental health response readiness for receiving anticipated medical and psychiatric casualties from the Persian Gulf War. What he found was a resurgence of selective amnesia and denial about the true impact of war.

Scurfield notes, "Chillingly, what happened in Vietnam in 1968-69 regarding psychiatric casualties has enormous parallels to what is happening today regarding US psychiatric casualties from the Iraq War."

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Scurfield, Raymond

Vietnam Trilogy: Vol. 2 Healing Journeys: Study Abroad with Vietnam Veterans, A

Title: A Vietnam Trilogy: Vol. 2 Healing Journeys: Study Abroad with Vietnam Veterans
Author: Raymond Monsour Scurfield
Genre: Non-Fiction
Reviewer: Joyce Gilmour

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 087586404X

Synopsis of the book, submitted by the author.

Author(s) Mentioned: 
Scurfield, Raymond

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