Non-Fiction

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: The 101 All-Time Best Quotes About Finding Financial Success
Author: Randall Filbert
Genre: Non-Fiction, How To, Inspirational
Reviewer: Joyce Faulkner

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): B004Z8S6WC

The 101 All-Time Best Quotes About Finding Financial Success is the quintessential "must have" pocket guide to remind yourself that, you too, can find financial success. This Book is full of fiscal wisdom from the mouths of geniuses who have managed to succinctly capture complex financial theories and ideas and condense them into modest expressions that have withstood the tests of time.

Perhaps the best known and most frequently quoted legend of fiscal prowess is Benjamin Franklin. He was a hard working and innovative man and was one of America's earliest rags-to-riches successes. It has been well documented that, while a man of great wealth, he lived well below his means and championed frugality. His work ethic and innovative spirit made Franklin a self-made man and he was quick to point out that "He that rises late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night, while laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him."

You will find great wisdom and insight within these pages. If you can find a way to internalize some of these sayings, I implore you to do so. I have found inspiration in these quotes and I hope that you do as well!

Title: Ten Months in Iran
Author: John F. Simpson
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Carmen Stenholm

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 097550990X

This is an account of the developments in Iran prior to the 1978 collapse of the Shah's government. It details the civil and political conditions that led to the collapse and subsequent anarchy. It answers to the question of why Iran is now our enemy when, at the time, it was our best friend and a stabilizing force in that area of the world.

He gives you an idea of what went wrong in our foreign policy that caused the loss of Iran to religious fanatics and he points a finger at the person responsible for losing Iran's friendship and support. He worked for Bell Helicopter in Isfahan, Iran as a cobra test pilot. The story begins with a vivid account of his final trip through the city of Isfahan amidst gunfights between soldiers and rioters. On his return home, the author was stunned to learn that many of the people he knew had been executed by the cleric dictator Ayatollah Khomeini.

Title: Coyote Jack: Drawing Meaning from Life and Vietnam--A Memoir
Author: Jack Lyndon Thomas
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Charles E. Gibbs

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0965984311

Coyote Jack overlays a fascinating exposition of life and death in the most enigmatic of American conflicts with an individual's struggle to free himself from the enemy that stands ready to thwart a full and authentic life. Through Jack, we live in sandbag bunkers, bathe out of wells, and dodge booby traps, as he learns the privations and landmines of his personal life are as complex as the clashing cultures and divisive politics that created, and ended the war in Vietnam.

Thomas was an Infantry Lieutenant who lived and fought with South Vietnamese Regional and Popular Forces.

Title: Beyond Duty: Life on the Frontline in Iraq
Author: Shannon Meehan and Roger Thompson
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Dave Brown

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0745635865

Under the blazing Iraqi sun in the summer of 2007, Shannon Meehan, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, ordered a strike that would take the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians. He thought he was doing the right thing. He thought he was protecting his men. He thought that he would only kill the enemy, but in the ruins of the strike, he discovers his mistake and uncovers a tragedy.

For most of his deployment in Iraq, Lt. Meehan felt that he had been made for a life in the military. A tank commander, he worked in the violent Diyala Province, successfully fighting the insurgency by various Sunni and Shia factions. He was celebrated by his senior officers and decorated with medals. But when the U.S. surge to retake Iraq in 2006 and 2007 finally pushed into Baqubah, a town virtually entirely controlled by al Qaida, Meehan would make the decision that would change his life.

This is the true story of one soldier's attempt to reconcile what he has done with what he felt he had to do. Stark and devastating, it recounts first-hand the reality of a new type of warfare that remains largely unspoken and forgotten on the frontlines of Iraq.