Non-Fiction

Title: Occupation and Insurgency: A Selective Examination of The Hague and Geneva Conventions on the Eastern Front, 1939-1945
Author: Colin D. Heaton
Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Reference
Reviewer: Lee Boyland

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0875866107

A cause and effect analysis of how Nazi domestic policy and philosophy as applied to Eastern European lands conquered from 1941 to 1944 affected the outcome of the war by creating an insurgency. Hitler gave implementation of Nazi policy in occupied territories a higher priority than the fight against Stalin. Nazi mistreatment of civilians turned millions of disillusioned Soviet communists, soldiers and civilians, into an efficient guerilla fighters who disrupted Wehrmacht supply and communications. Had Hitler followed the accepted rules of war, he might have won the support of the occupied population and defeated Stalin

Title: Northrop's Night Hunter: P-61 Black Widow
Author: Jeff Kolln
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1580071228

World War II changed the face of warfare forever. Now enemies were fighting and flying all night, which mandated that a fighter be developed that could carry a new technological invention aloft radar. Guided by ground stations toward the target, the P-61 would acquire an enemy aircraft with its on-board radar and close for the kill.

Northrop's Night Hunter covers the development history of the P-61 Black Widow and the radar built specifically for its use. The P-61 was the most successful Allied night fighter of the war, and flew combat in the China-Burma-India, European, and Pacific theaters of the war. This book details the aircraft's offensive and defensive systems, its operations, and covers its unique uses from missile testing to flights by the U.S. Navy.

Title: Gunships: The Story of Spooky, Shadow, Stinger and Spectre
Author: Wayne Mutza
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1580071236

Gunships: The Story of Spooky, Shadow, Stinger and Spectre tells the dramatic story of transforming military cargo transports into deadly ground-attack aircraft used by the U.S. and other countries in worldwide conflicts from the Vietnam War to the Middle East today. This comprehensive and detailed accounting of gunships begins with piston-powered, WWII-era C-47s and progresses to the four-engine turboprop C-130 Hercules, showing how gunships evolved from using 20mm miniguns to 105mm Howitzers with digital-age Battle Management Centers housed onboard. These highly effective airplanes made history by removing the safe haven of night operations from the enemy, and allowing strategic victory that might not have otherwise been possible.
Author Wayne Mutza not only carefully researched all of these aircraft and their paths to reality, but also tells the tale of the brave and persevering men who believed in this unique weapon system and who saw its development through to the end. This book features a wealth of outstanding color photographs, many of which have never before been published, and also contains detailed appendices documenting gunship production data, combat units, and aircraft losses.

Title: Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Booklet for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Genre: Non-Fiction, How To
Reviewer: Joyce Gilmour

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1450507654

An inexpensive little pop-in-your-briefcase booklet for boning up on word-trippers determined to slip into anything you writer--from a business letter to a manuscript.

Title: Crossing the Blue Code
Author: Miette Wells
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Joyce Faulkner

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 059546906X

Crossing the Blue Code is the powerful autobiography of Miette Walker, a young girl who joins the United States Air Force in pursuit of a promising career. He basic training at Lackland Air Force Base proves to be anything but basic as Walker soon finds out she has entered an alternately rigid and chaotic new world.

Crossing the Blue Code is the beginning story of Walker's difficult and sometimes horrifying experiences during her four years in the US Air Force. Harassed by her fellow recruits and discriminated against by her superiors, Walker is sometimes forced to suffer in silence for fear of the notorious "Blue Code" that keeps Security Police from breaking ranks and reporting even the most heinous crimes.