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Showing 1 - 12 of 12 items
By Robert Mason. 1942
A stunning book about the right stuff in the wrong war. As a child, Robert Mason dreamed of levitating. As…
a young man, he dreamed of flying helicopters - and the U. S. Army gave him his chance. They sent him to Vietnam where, between August 1965 and July 1966, he flew more than 1,000 assault missions. In Chickenhawk, Robert Mason gives us a devastating bird's eye-view of that war in all its horror, as he experiences the accelerating terror, the increasingly desperate courage of a man 'acting out the role of a hero long after he realises that the conduct of the war is insane,' says the New York Times, 'And we can't stop ourselves from identifying with it. 'By William Manchester. 1978
Inspiring, outrageous... A thundering paradox of a man. Douglas MacArthur, one of only five men in history to have achieved…
the rank of General of the United States Army. He served in World Wars I, II, and the Korean War, and is famous for stating that "in war, there is no substitute for victory." AMERICAN CAESAR exaines the exemplary army career, the stunning successes (and lapses) on the battlefield, and the turbulent private life of the soldier-hero whose mystery and appeal created a uniquely American legend.By Michael A. Messner. 2019
Over the last few decades, as the United States has become embroiled in foreign war after foreign war, some of…
the most vocal activists for peace have been veterans. These veterans for peace come from all different races, classes, regions, and generations. What common motivations unite them and fuel their activism? Guys Like Me introduces us to five ordinary men who have done extraordinary work as peace activists: World War II veteran Ernie Sanchez, Korean War veteran Woody Powell, Vietnam veteran Gregory Ross, Gulf War veteran Daniel Craig, and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Jonathan Hutto. Acclaimed sociologist Michael Messner offers rich profiles of each man, recounting what led him to join the armed forces, what he experienced when fighting overseas, and the guilt and trauma he experienced upon returning home. He reveals how the pain and horror of the battlefront motivated these onetime warriors to reconcile with former enemies, get involved as political activists, and help younger generations of soldiers. Guys Like Me is an inspiring multigenerational saga of men who were physically or psychically wounded by war, but are committed to healing themselves and others, forging a path to justice, and replacing endless war with lasting peaceBy Siegfried Sassoon. 2018
This autobiographical novel of the eminent English poet, Siegfried Sassoon was first published in 1936. Following on from Memoirs of…
a Fox-Hunting Man (1928) and Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (1930), Sassoon’s third and final instalment, Sherston’s Progress, is set in an asylum for shell-shocked officers, and deals with the author’s final acceptance of these realities, and ultimately to resolve his emotional turmoil.Sassoon’s fluid, sensitive prose, the fine perceptions of the poet, is spoken here in the voice of the average man. With charm and humor and quiet understatement, he has managed to articulate the hidden feelings of any sensitive man who in the normal course of his life is suddenly exposed to the nightmare of war.A gripping finale to the trilogy.By Siegfried Sassoon. 1975
This autobiographical novel of the eminent English poet, Siegfried Sassoon was first published in 1927. Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man…
is a fond reminiscence of boyhood and adolescence set against the background of the author’s rural English home. Full of the scent of leather and the huntsman cries on a frosty autumn morning, the scene is set as the world moves slowly towards war.Sassoon’s fluid, sensitive prose, the fine perceptions of the poet is spoken here in the voice of the average man, complete with charm and humor and quiet understatement.A thoroughly enjoyable and memorable read!By Ben Mckelvey, Deng Thiak Adut. 2017
The true story of Deng Adut - Sudanese child soldier, refugee, man of hope - for readers aged 12+.Deng Adut's…
family were farmers in South Sudan when a brutal civil war altered his life forever. At six years old, his mother was told she had to give him up to fight. At the age most Australian children are starting school, Deng was conscripted into the Sudan People's Liberation Army. He began a harsh, relentless military training that saw this young boy trained to use an AK-47 and sent into battle. He lost the right to be a child. He lost the right to learn.The things Deng saw over those years will stay with him forever. He suffered from cholera, malaria and numerous other debilitating illnesses but still he had to fight. A child soldier is expected to kill or be killed and Deng almost died a number of times. He survived being shot in the back. The desperation and loneliness was overwhelming. He thought he was all alone. But Deng was rescued from war by his brother John. Hidden in the back of a truck, he was smuggled out of Sudan and into Kenya. Here he lived in refugee camps until he was befriended by an Australian couple. With their help and the support of the UN, Deng Adut came to Australia as a refugee. Despite physical injuries and mental trauma he grabbed the chance to make a new life. He worked in a local service station and learnt English watching The Wiggles. He taught himself to read and started studying at TAFE. In 2005 he enrolled in a Bachelor of Law at Western Sydney University. He became the first person in his family to graduate from university. This is an inspiring story of a man who has overcome deadly adversity to become a lawyer and committed worker for the disenfranchised, helping refugees in Western Sydney. It is an important reminder of the power of compassion and the benefit to us all when we open our doors and our hearts to fleeing war, persecution and trauma.By John David Mann, Brandon Webb. 2015
By James Bradley. 2003
This acclaimed bestseller brilliantly illuminates a hidden piece of World War II history as it tells the harrowing true story…
of nine American airmen shot down in the Pacific. One of them, George H. W. Bush, was miraculously rescued. The fate of the others--an explosive 60-year-old secret--is revealed for the first time in FLYBOYS.By Adam Makos. 2015
For readers of Unbroken comes an unforgettable tale of courage from America's "forgotten war" in Korea, by the New York…
Times bestselling author of A Higher Call. Devotion tells the inspirational story of the U.S. Navy's most famous aviator duo, Lieutenant Tom Hudner and Ensign Jesse Brown, and the Marines they fought to defend. A white New Englander from the country-club scene, Tom passed up Harvard to fly fighters for his country. An African American sharecropper's son from Mississippi, Jesse became the navy's first black carrier pilot, defending a nation that wouldn't even serve him in a bar. While much of America remained divided by segregation, Jesse and Tom joined forces as wingmen in Fighter Squadron 32. Adam Makos takes us into the cockpit as these bold young aviators cut their teeth at the world's most dangerous job--landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier—a line of work that Jesse's young wife, Daisy, struggles to accept. Deployed to the Mediterranean, Tom and Jesse meet the Fleet Marines, boys like PFC "Red" Parkinson, a farm kid from the Catskills. In between war games in the sun, the young men revel on the Riviera, partying with millionaires and even befriending the Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Taylor. Then comes the war no one expected, in faraway Korea. Devotion takes us soaring overhead with Tom and Jesse, and into the foxholes with Red and the Marines as they battle a North Korean invasion. As the fury of the fighting escalates and the Marines are cornered at the Chosin Reservoir, Tom and Jesse fly, guns blazing, to try and save them. When one of the duo is shot down behind enemy lines and pinned in his burning plane, the other faces an unthinkable choice: watch his friend die or attempt history's most audacious one-man rescue mission. A tug-at-the-heartstrings tale of bravery and selflessness, Devotion asks: How far would you go to save a friend? New York Times BestsellerBy Barbara Bush, Dava Guerin, Kevin Ferris, Andrea Arden. 2018
Experience firsthand the inspiring and heartwarming bonds between wounded veterans and their service and companion animals."Vets and Pets tells fifteen…
emotional and entertaining stories of the incredible bonds between wounded warriors, veterans, and other service members and their service and companion animals. Whether these special relationships are with dogs, cats, horses, pigs, or even birds of prey, readers will discover how these remarkable animals help veterans return to civilian life and live independently while simultaneously bringing joy and confidence into their lives. Tyler struggled to adjust to civilian life after losing both of his legs in Afghanistan, until he met his intelligent and willfully disobedient red European Doberman pinscher, Apollo. Vietnam veteran Patrick regained a sense of well-being and hope through the study of birds of prey. Max the horse has helped numerous veterans learn to trust, improve their communication, and increase their self-confidence and self-esteem. Mandi discovered that the intelligence and unconditional love of pigs were exactly what she needed to heal from an abusive past and a disappointing army-training injury. These are just a few of the uplifting stories that are featured in this striking collection. In addition to exploring the unique, lifelong bonds that can develop between veterans and their animal companions, Vets and Pets spotlights extraordinary nonprofits that unite wounded warriors with service and companion animals, including Pets for Patriots, Hooves Marching for Mercy, Horses Helping Heroes, and Avian Veteran Alliance, among others. A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to Pets for Patriots.By Charlotte Madison. 2010
My fingers close around the trigger. I pause for a split second to think about the bullets I am about…
to spray across the ground. After today, I'll no longer be the new girl.'Captain Charlotte Madison is blonde, beautiful and flies Apache helicopters for a living. She has completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan and is currently fighting on the frontline in her third. DRESSED TO KILL shows us what life is like for a girl in a resolutely male-dominated environment. But she isn't just a woman in a man's world, she's a woman women aspire to be - glamorous as well as brave, and beating the men at their own game. Only a tiny percentage of people can multi-task to the extreme level the aircraft demands, and most airmen who try to qualify as an Apache pilot fail. Full of the exciting, adrenaline-filled action that has made other military memoirs so successful, DRESSED TO KILL is also unique. A highly intelligent and brilliant young woman, Charlotte is Britain's first female Apache pilot, and the first British female pilot to kill in an Apache. We have, quite simply, never seen the landscape of 21st-century frontline conflict from a perspective like hers. DRESSED TO KILL will appeal to anyone interested in current affairs, but it will also speak to a whole generation of young women who will relate to 27-year-old Charlotte in a way they never imagined possible.By Ross Phares. 1999
For the greater part of the first half of the eighteenth century, Louis Juchereau de St. Denis was the guiding…
force on the Louisiana-Texas frontier. It is probable that no other man exercised such a determining influence over so long a period in the early affairs of Louisiana and Texas. His rare talents served a vital and peculiar need for colonial France in a critical and most formative period.Published accounts of St. Denis have been as inconsistent as the documents of his lifetime and by their very nature, as prejudiced. Interpretations of him have run the gamut from patriot to traitor, from saint to scoundrel. This was a period of heated rivalries. The French slanted their records according to their purposes and prejudices. The Spanish, with equally human weaknesses and zeal, did likewise. Furthermore, the commercial company which administered the affairs of the Louisiana colony was often at variance with the home government. . . . St. Denis, on [the author's] first study of conflicting records, appeared to be a most puzzling and inconsistent character operating against an unintelligible background. However, after many years of research and study on the subject, the author sees him as a character of rather consistently fixed purposes and principles.-from the Preface