Non-Fiction

Title: Tear in the Desert
Author: Ron Camarda
Genre: Non-Fiction, Inspirational
Reviewer: Hodge Wood

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0615195784

Tear in the Desert is a journey into the Heart of the Iraq War with Navy Chaplain Father Ron Moses Camarda, a Roman Catholic Priest. Father Ron was recalled in July of 2004 to serve with the Marines in Bravo Surgical of 1st FSSG. He reluctantly went and received over 1500 casualties and 81 deaths in which at least 12 died as he prayed with them. Col Mike Shupp, Commanding Officer of Regimental Combat Team-1, Fallujah 2004-2005 writes an afterward, "Father Ron Camarda is one of those quiet heroes, who made a difference in so many ways. Through his enthusiasm and compassion, he strengthened and developed our moral courage to face the horrors of war. When injured physically or emotionally, his strength and commitment held us up to face each day with dignity and courage. I will never forget him or his service to the Regiment. God is Good, All the Time! Semper Fi!"
The book also begins to follow how Chaplain Camarda met with the widows, parents and friends of our fallen heroes. He concludes with the story of how he met with the widow of a Marine who died at the exact hour that she gave birth.

Title: Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives
Author: Jocelyn Green
Genre: Non-Fiction, Inspirational
Reviewer: Bill McDonald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0802452507

As a military wife, if you have ever felt overlooked and undernourished as you strive daily to meet the needs of everyone around you-in a culture that largely does not understand your stressful lifestyle-this book is for you.

Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives is not a guide to long-distance relationships or a how-to on navigating through the military culture. It does not offer "ten easy steps" for an easier, painless life. Instead, through squarely addressing the challenges you face, Faith Deployed will equip you to respond biblically to the daily struggles that threaten to wear you down.

The book is written by 15 Christian military wives from all branches of service.

Title: A Quiet Reality
Author: Emilio Marrero
Genre: Non-Fiction, Spiritual/Religious
Reviewer: jim greenwald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0788026178

A Quiet Reality is a heartwarming and hopeful story that invites you to join Chaplain Marrero in this exciting journey through Iraq as he ministered to U.S. Marines. Join him through an exhilarating tactical convoy during his first night in Iraq, through the painful ministry to the wounded and dead. Reflect with him as he ponders on this quest as a man in uniform and a pastor. Walk with him through the ancient ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's Palace in Babil and join him on an exciting quest to open biblical history to his Marines while he seeks to care for the Iraqis around him. A Quiet Reality is a hopeful commentary on a selfless quest to be true to ones faith and one's calling in the most trying of times. A wonderful Christian inspirational story that provides deep insight into how Americans and Iraqis touched one another.

Title: The Military Father: A Hands-on Guide for Deployed Dads
Author: Armin Brott
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Pat McGrath Avery

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0789210312

Fathers today play a greater role with their families and children than ever before. However, military dads and dads-to-be are often separated from their families for extended periods of time. Unfortunately, there are very few resources for military (and deployed civilian) fathers, who are looking for guidance on how to be in close touch with their families back home. THE MILITARY FATHER, written by the country's leading authority on fatherhood, will fill that gap, providing deployed dads with everything they need to know to stay (or become) involved with and connected to their family regardless of the distance that separates them.

Part I of this essential sourcebook covers pre-deployment and explores the profound effect a dad's absence will have on his spouse, his children, and himself. It also provides extensive pre-deployment checklists and detailed tips aimed at preparing the dad and his family for separation and long-distance communication. Part II, During Deployment, explains how to stay involved and connected when you're far away, and includes specific strategies and activities designed to help dads and their family remain close across time and distance. Part III, Coming Home, offers advice on post-deployment times from preparing to come home and surmounting the challenges of returning to military or civilian life. In addition, the book includes a chapter on how dads can support a spouse when she's the one being deployed, and a comprehensive listing of resources available to soldiers and their families.

Flavored with the author's trademark wit, warmth, and intelligence, this guide combines a wealth of knowledge from experts, scientific studies, and interviews with scores of military fathers and their families.

THE MILITARY FATHER includes cartoons that complement the text, solicited from deployed military or civilian fathers and family members, ranging from those on active duty to veterans.

Title: The Politics and Security of the Gulf: Anglo-American Hegemony and the Shaping of a Region
Author: Jeffrey Macris
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Bob Doerr

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0415778719

The United States and its military have fought in three hot wars in the Persian Gulf over the past generation -- the Iran-Iraq War, Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom -- but what do we know about what brought our nation to this turbulent and unforgiving region? "The Politics and Security of the Gulf," written by a Permanent Military Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, looks at two centuries of Persian Gulf history, and how the armies and navies of Great Britain and the United States have shaped the region. The book examines how both London and Washington's leaders tended to three enduring missions in the Gulf: maintaining interstate order, protecting trade, and keeping out other Great Powers. For over a century Britain did this with a relatively modest amount of power -- primarily naval -- while drawing upon its vast Indian army when needed. After World War II, however, the loss of Britain's empire ultimately forced London to withdraw, and the last of its ships and aircraft withdrew from inside the Strait of Hormuz in 1971. Offered the keys to British military bases, the Americans declined to replace the British as security guarantors for the Gulf. In the vacuum that followed, two decades of political, economic, and military chaos ensued: the 1973 oil crisis, the fall of the Shah, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that portended a possible further thrust toward the Gulf, the Iran-Iraq war, and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. After each of these foreign policy catastrophes, the United States took an incremental step toward the region. When Washington elected to set up a permanent military presence in the Gulf following 1991's Desert Storm, the U.S. essentially had assumed the same missions that the British had fulfilled in the 19th and 20th centuries: maintaining interstate order, protecting trade, and keeping out other Great Powers.