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The Education of Lieutenant Kerrey
By Gregory L. Vistica. 2003
The Education of Lieutenant Kerrey is an incredible story and a modern morality tale about a man of compassion and…
promise trapped by a horrible secret.On the night of February 25, 1969, an inexperienced, 25-year-old lieutenant, Bob Kerrey, led a commando raid on an isolated hamlet called Thanh Phong in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. While witnesses and official records give varying accounts, one thing is certain: around midnight, Kerrey and his men killed nearly two dozen unarmed women and children. What happened that night and why? It's a terrible secret that Kerrey has borne for more than thirty years. Kerrey went on to do heroic things in Vietnam and later as a politician. Since World War II, he is only Medal of Honor winner to sit as a member of Congress. In many ways, Kerrey's life following that tragic mission has been a struggle for redemption.So is Bob Kerrey a war hero or war criminal? Gregory L. Vistica, who uncovered the Thanh Phong atrocities in a widely-praised cover story for The New York Times Magazine, searches the entire span of Kerrey's life to answer that question.. From his rural boyhood in Nebraska, to his gut wrenching Navy SEAL training, to his aborted run for President, Kerrey's life will become a vehicle for understanding the Vietnam generation shaped in the 50s and sharpened by the tumultuous 60s.Operation Dark Heart tells the story of what really went on—and what went wrong—in Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer led…
a black-ops team on the forefront of the military efforts to block the Taliban's resurgence.For a moment he saw us winning the war. Then the military brass got involved. He witnessed firsthand the tipping point, when what seemed like certain victory turned into failure.This wasn't the first time he had seen bureaucracy stand in the way of national security. He had participated in Able Danger, the aborted intelligence operation that identified many of the future 9/11 terrorists but failed to pursue them. His attempt to reveal the truth to the 9/11 Commission would not go over well with the higher-ups.Operation Dark Heart made headlines when the Department of Defense bought the entire unredacted first printing. The book's revised second printing includes redactions, which, according to The New York Times, "offer a rare glimpse behind the bureaucratic veil that clocks information the government considers too important for public airing." But most importantly, Operation Dark Heart remains a stirring indictment against military bureaucracy and a culture of cover-ups.Foundations for a Humanitarian Economy: Re-thinking Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy (ISSN)
By William D. Bishop. 2022
The modern global economy and discipline of economics place mathematical calculation above human concern. However, a re-reading of Boethius’ The…
Consolation of Philosophy can positively highlight the contrast in values and spirit of the early medieval European world with our own scientific age.This book discusses the historical and cultural contexts that influenced Boethius’ writing and explores how Consolation offers a radically different understanding of economic concepts: wealth from inner happiness and virtues, poverty from hoarding outer possessions, self-sufficiency in the greater whole, enlightenment through misfortune, and development as fruition from the Good. These economic considerations resonate with a range of heterodox economic perspectives, such as Ecological and Buddhist Economics. The fundamental revaluations gained through Boethius pose a critique of mainstream neoclassical and neoliberal economics: to consumerism, avarice, growth and technology fetishism, and market rationality. These economic foundations resonate into a time when global crises raise the question of fundamental human priorities, offering alternatives to an ever-expanding industrial market economy designed for profit, and helping to avoid irrevocable socio-ecological disasters. The issues raised and questioned in this book will be of significant interest to readers with concern for pluralist approaches to economics, philosophy, classics, ancient history and theology.Three Wise Men: A Navy SEAL, a Green Beret, and How Their Marine Brother Became a War's Sole Survivor
By Beau Wise, Tom Sileo. 2021
From Beau Wise and Tom Sileo comes Three Wise Men, an incredible memoir of family, service and sacrifice by a…
Marine who lost both his brothers in combat—becoming the only "Sole Survivor" during the war in Afghanistan.Three Wise Men details the fate of three brothers intertwined when they voluntarily enlisted in defending their homeland after the devastating 9/11 attacks. Their extraordinary tale unfurls the severe toll of the Afghan war, particularly on a single family, underscoring the profound significance of the sacrifice and the indomitable resilience of a family's courage.While serving in Afghanistan, US Navy SEAL veteran and CIA contractor Jeremy Wise was killed in an al Qaeda suicide bombing that devastated the US intelligence community. Less than three years later, US Army Green Beret sniper Ben Wise was fatally wounded after volunteering for a dangerous assignment during a firefight with the Taliban. Ben was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, while Jeremy received the Intelligence Star—one of the rarest awards bestowed by the U.S. government—and also a star on the CIA’s Memorial Wall.The legacy of their sacrifice lives on in Beau Wise's account, the only “Sole Survivor” pulled from the battlefield, forging an enduring testament to the value of loyalty, service, and familial bonds.Hurricane over the Jungle: 120 Days Fighting the Japanese Onslaught in 1942
By Terence Kelly. 2005
The author and WWII fighter pilot offers a firsthand look at an RAF squadron&’s harrowing fate in this candid combat…
memoir. Before he became a prolific author of history and fiction, Terence Kelly served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, flying Hawker Hurricanes in combat against the Japanese. Hurricanes Over the Jungle is Kelly&’s personal account of what happened to the twenty-two pilots of No. 258 Squadron, RAF, after leaving Scotland in late October 1941. One hundred and twenty days later, all those who had not been killed became prisoners of the Japanese. This heartbreaking story takes readers to the final defense of Singapore and then on to Sumatra and Java. In his vivid narrative, Kelly recaptures the atmosphere of squadron life, the bitter aerial engagements with the Japanese enemy, and the hostile jungle terrain over which they fought. For its honest depiction of front line combat, and its criticism of British and Allied failures that resulted in lost lives, Hurricane Over the Jungle offers an important perspective on the Pacific Theater of World War II.Freedom in the Air: A Czech Flyer and his Aircrew Dog
By Hamish Ross. 2015
&“Deals with a little-known aspect of the war . . . alongside the moving story of one man&’s relationship with…
a very special animal.&”—Sqn Ldr Paul Scott, Spirit of the Air This biography tells of the life of Václav Robert Bozděch, a Czech airman who escaped from the Nazi invasion, fought with the French and finally arrived in Britain to fly as an air-gunner with the RAF during World War II. He returned to his homeland after World War II but escaped back to the UK again when the communists gained control. Again he joined the RAF and rose to the rank of Warrant Officer. The unique part of this is that from his time in France, throughout World War II and until halfway through his second tour with the RAF, Bozděch was inseparable from his Alsatian dog, Antis, who became famous and was awarded a dog equivalent to the VC. Antis flew with his owner on many bomber raids, became the squadron mascot and was officially a serving RAF dog. He played an amazing part in the second escape from the Czech communist regime, when Bozděch was lucky to make it over the border to the US zone in Germany. &“The main hero of the book is not Bozděch himself, but his Alsatian, Antis . . . This book makes clear the extent of wartime and post-war suffering endured by Czechs and others fulfilling their roles in the overall search for freedom.&”—Aircraft Owner & Pilot &“This absorbing account of flying in WWII is based on the inseparable bond between man and dog. It is a moving story with humor and sadness. A Great Read that is Highly Recommended.&”—FiretrenchDangerous Frontiers: Campaigning in Somaliland & Oman
By Bryan Ray. 2008
In Part 1 of his book the author describes his life as a young officer in the Somaliland Scouts in…
the (then) British Protectorate of Somaliland. At that time tribal quarrels, generally over water, were taking place in the troubled strip of country between the Protectorate and Ethiopia; the Ogaden. It was the Scouts' difficult task to keep the warring clansmen apart. It gives a vivid account of a nineteen-year-old in command of Somali troops in a fascinating and unpredictable country.The second part of the book deals with the Author's second period of service with Muslims, a quarter of a century later. This time in the Southern Province of Oman—Dhofar. Here he commanded the Northern Frontier Regiment of the Sultan's Armed Force in a limited but fierce war against Communist Insurgents. It shows how the tide was turned against a brave enemy fighting on their home ground—the savage wadis and cliffs of the jebel.Dangerous Frontiers will appeal to a wide audience, including those interesting in military and world history and in those two little known areas—the Horn of Africa and Southern Oman. In both campaigns it reflects the mutual liking and respect that the handful of British officers had for their Muslim soldiers and the soldiers for their leaders. It is written with humor and an understanding of other cultures.I Was Hitler's Chauffeur: The Memoir of Erich Kempka
By Erich Kempka. 2012
&“An insider view of Hitler&’s closest circles, providing an invaluable account of the final months of the war&” (History of…
War). Erich Kempka served as Adolf Hitler&’s personal driver from 1934 through to the Führer&’s dramatic suicide in 1945. His candid memoirs offer a unique eyewitness account of events leading up to and during the war, culminating in those dark final days in the Führer&’s headquarters, deep under the shattered city of Berlin. He begins by describing his duties as a member of Hitler&’s personal staff in the years preceding the war, driving the Führer throughout Germany and abroad, and accompanying him to rallies. The crux of his memoir, however, covers his life with Hitler in the Berlin Führerbunker. Crucially, Kempka witnessed Hitler&’s marriage to Eva Braun and his last dinner and personal farewell to all those present, before he and his wife committed suicide. Hitler&’s final order to Kempka was that he have ready enough petrol to burn him and his wife. Under constant Soviet artillery fire, Kempka, Linge, and others poured petrol over the bodies and burnt them. The account concludes with Kempka&’s hazardous escape out of a burning Berlin more than 800 kilometers through Allied-occupied Germany, his arrest, and interrogation before being sent to serve as a witness at Nuremburg.Expedition to Disaster: The Athenian Mission to Sicily 415 BC
By Philip Matyszak. 2012
This thrillingly vivid history recounts a pivotal battle of the Peloponnesian War, bringing the drama and personalities of the Sicilian…
Expedition to life. The Athenian expedition to conquer Sicily was one of the most significant military events of the classical period. At the time, Athens was locked in a decades-long struggle with Sparta for mastery of the Greek world. The expedition to Sicily was intended to win Athens the extra money and resources needed to crush the Spartans. With the aid of new archaeological discoveries, Expedition to Disaster reconstructs the mission, and the ensuing siege, in greater detail than ever before. The cast of characters includes Alcibiades, the flamboyant, charismatic young aristocrat; Nicias, the ageing, reluctant commander of the ill-fated expedition, and Gylippus, the grim Spartan general sent to command the defense of Syracuse. It was he who turned the tables on the Athenian invaders. They were surrounded, besieged, and forced to ask for mercy from a man who had none. Philip Matyszak's combination of thorough research and gripping narrative presents an episode of ancient history packed with colorful characters and dramatic tension.Having driven the British and Indian Forces out of Burma in 1942, General Mutaguchi, Commanding the 15th Japanese Army, was…
obsessed by the conquest of India. In 1944 the British 14th Army, under its commander General Slim, drew back to the Imphal Plain, before Mutaguchis impending offensive. To the north, however, the entire Japanese 31 Division had crossed the Chindwin and, on April 5, arrived at the hill-station and road junction of Kohima, cutting off Imphal except by air, from the supply point at Dimpapur.Kohima was initially manned by only 266 men of the Assam Regiment and a few hundred convalescents and administrative troops. They were joined, on April 5, by 440 men of the Fourth Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment, straight from the Battle of Arakan.In pouring rain, under continual bombardment, this tiny garrison held the assaults of thirteen thousand Japanese troops in hand-to-hand combat for sixteen days, an action described by Mountbatten as probably one of the greatest battles in history ... in effect the Battle of Burma, naked, unparalleled heroism, the British/Indian Thermopylae.Bomber Command: Live to Die Another Day June 1942–Summer 1943 (Bomber Command)
By Martin W. Bowman. 2012
This massive work provides a comprehensive insight to the experiences of Bomber Commands pilots and aircrew throughout WWII. From the…
early wartime years when the RAFs first attempts to avenge Germanys onslaught were bedeviled by poor navigation and inaccurate bombing, to the last winning onslaught that finally tamed Hitler in his Berlin lair, these volumes trace the true experiences of the men who flew the bombers. Hundreds of firsthand accounts are punctuated by the authors background information that puts each narrative into wartime perspective. Every aspect of Bomber Command's operational duties are covered; day and night bombing, precision low-level strikes, mass raids and operations throughout all wartime theaters. Contributions are from RAF personnel who flew the Commands different aircraft from the early Blenheims and Stirlings to the later Lancasters and Mosquitoes.Each volume is full of accounts that tell of the camaraderie amongst the crews, moments of sheer terror and the stoic humor that provided the critical bond. The five volumes of this work provide the most vivid and comprehensive work on the outstanding part played by RAF Bomber Command and their vital role in the destruction of the Third Reich.Chinese Hordes and Human Waves: A Personal Perspective of the Korean War, 1950–1953
By Brigadier Brian Parritt, General Mike Swindells. 2011
The North Koreans attack on their Southern neighbors shocked and surprised the World. The conflict rapidly escalated with China soon…
heavily involved on one side and the United States and United Nations on the other.The author, then a young Gunner officer, found himself in the midst of this very nasty war. He describes first hand what it was like to be at the infamous Battle of the Hook, where UN troops held off massed attacks by the Communists. Few outside the war zone realized just how horrific conditions were.As a qualified Chinese interpreter and, later, a senior military intelligence officer, Parritt is well placed to analyze why the Commonwealth got involved, the mistakes and successes and the extreme risk that the war represented.This is not only a fine memoir but a unique insight into a forgotten War.Ian Fleming's Secret War
By Craig Cabell. 2016
While his extravagant and glamorous lifestyle is well known, little has been published concerning Ian Fleming's contribution during the Second…
World War. In the very early days of the War, Fleming was earmarked by the Director of Naval Intelligence as his 'right hand man'. From the outset he was in the center of events, meeting with key political and military figures as well as those of exceptional intelligence, experience and courage. All this was to give him invaluable background when he came to write the Bond novels. The author has uncovered through official documentation, private papers and contacts the depth of Fleming's work in Naval Intelligence. Fascinating insights of those he worked with and details of covert trips to Europe and North Africa emerge. Fleming was closely associated with 30 Assault Unit, a crack team of Commandos who took the fight to the enemy. The book reveals both the history of 30 AU and Fleming's role.Grant: A Biography (Great Generals Series)
By John Mosier. 2006
Grant: A Biography tells of the extraordinary life and legacy of one of America's most ingenious military mindsA modest and…
unassuming man, Grant never lost a battle, leading the Union to victory over the Confederacy during the Civil War, ultimately becoming President of the reunited states. Grant revolutionized military warfare by creating new leadership tactics by integrating new technologies in classical military strategy. In this compelling biography, John Mosier reveals the man behind the military legend, showing how Grant's creativity and genius off the battlefield shaped him into one of our nation's greatest military leaders.Grant: A Biography (Great Generals Series)
By John Mosier. 2006
Grant: A Biography tells of the extraordinary life and legacy of one of America's most ingenious military mindsA modest and…
unassuming man, Grant never lost a battle, leading the Union to victory over the Confederacy during the Civil War, ultimately becoming President of the reunited states. Grant revolutionized military warfare by creating new leadership tactics by integrating new technologies in classical military strategy. In this compelling biography, John Mosier reveals the man behind the military legend, showing how Grant's creativity and genius off the battlefield shaped him into one of our nation's greatest military leaders.Eye of the Sixties: Richard Bellamy and the Transformation of Modern Art
By Judith E. Stein. 2016
In 1959, Richard Bellamy was a witty, poetry-loving beatnik on the fringe of the New York art world who was…
drawn to artists impatient for change. By 1965, he was representing Mark di Suvero, was the first to show Andy Warhol’s pop art, and pioneered the practice of “off-site” exhibitions and introduced the new genre of installation art. As a dealer, he helped discover and champion many of the innovative successors to the abstract expressionists, including Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Walter De Maria, and many others. The founder and director of the fabled Green Gallery on Fifty-Seventh Street, Bellamy thrived on the energy of the sixties. With the covert support of America’s first celebrity art collectors, Robert and Ethel Scull, Bellamy gained his footing just as pop art, minimalism, and conceptual art were taking hold and the art world was becoming a playground for millionaires. Yet as an eccentric impresario dogged by alcohol and uninterested in profits or posterity, Bellamy rarely did more than show the work he loved. As fellow dealers such as Leo Castelli and Sidney Janis capitalized on the stars he helped find, Bellamy slowly slid into obscurity, becoming the quiet man in oversize glasses in the corner of the room, a knowing and mischievous smile on his face.Born to an American father and a Chinese mother in a Cincinnati suburb, Bellamy moved to New York in his twenties and made a life for himself between the Beat orbits of Provincetown and white-glove events like the Guggenheim’s opening gala. No matter the scene, he was always considered “one of us,” partying with Norman Mailer, befriending Diane Arbus and Yoko Ono, and hosting or performing in historic Happenings. From his early days at the Hansa Gallery to his time at the Green to his later life as a private dealer, Bellamy had his finger on the pulse of the culture. Based on decades of research and on hundreds of interviews with Bellamy’s artists, friends, colleagues, and lovers, Judith E. Stein’s Eye of the Sixties rescues the legacy of the elusive art dealer and tells the story of a counterculture that became the mainstream. A tale of money, taste, loyalty, and luck, Richard Bellamy’s life is a remarkable window into the art of the twentieth century and the making of a generation’s aesthetic.--"Bellamy had an understanding of art and a very fine sense of discovery. There was nobody like him, I think. I certainly consider myself his pupil." --Leo CastelliHow About Never—Is Never Good for You?: My Life in Cartoons
By Bob Mankoff. 2014
Memoir in cartoons by the longtime cartoon editor of The New YorkerPeople tell Bob Mankoff that as the cartoon editor…
of The New Yorker he has the best job in the world. Never one to beat around the bush, he explains to us, in the opening of this singular, delightfully eccentric book, that because he is also a cartoonist at the magazine he actually has two of the best jobs in the world. With the help of myriad images and his funniest, most beloved cartoons, he traces his love of the craft all the way back to his childhood, when he started doing funny drawings at the age of eight. After meeting his mother, we follow his unlikely stints as a high-school basketball star, draft dodger, and sociology grad student. Though Mankoff abandoned the study of psychology in the seventies to become a cartoonist, he recently realized that the field he abandoned could help him better understand the field he was in, and here he takes up the psychology of cartooning, analyzing why some cartoons make us laugh and others don't. He allows us into the hallowed halls of The New Yorker to show us the soup-to-nuts process of cartoon creation, giving us a detailed look not only at his own work, but that of the other talented cartoonists who keep us laughing week after week. For desert, he reveals the secrets to winning the magazine's caption contest. Throughout How About Never--Is Never Good for You?, we see his commitment to the motto "Anything worth saying is worth saying funny."Full Battle Rattle: My Story as the Longest-Serving Special Forces A-Team Soldier in American History
By Changiz Lahidji, Ralph Pezzullo. 2018
Over 100 combat missions, 24 years as a Green Beret—Full Battle Rattle tells the legend of a soldier who served…
America in every war since Vietnam.Master Sergeant Changiz Lahidji served on Special Forces A teams longer than anyone in history, completing over a hundred combat missions in Afghanistan. Changiz is a Special Forces legend. He also happens to be the first Muslim Green Beret. Changiz served this country starting with Operation Eagle Claw in 1980, when he entered Tehran on a one-man mission to spy on Iranian soldiers guarding the US Embassy where 52 US diplomats were being held hostage. Three years later, he was in Beirut, Lebanon when a suicide car bomb exploded in front of the US Embassy killing 83 people. Weeks after that, he was shot by Hezbollah terrorists on a night mission. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, he led a convoy that was ambushed on its way to Fallujah. He was clearing houses in Mogadishu, Somalia on October, 1993 when a US Black Hawk helicopter was shot down 50 feet away from him in the incident that inspired Black Hawk Down. In 2002, he dressed as a farmer and snuck into Eastern Afghanistan and located Osama Bin Laden for the CIA. Along the way, Changiz earned numerous commendations, including the Special Forces Legion of Merit, Purple Hearts, and many others. Last year he was nominated for induction in Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and cited as “the finest noncommissioned officer to ever serve in Special Forces.” His story is an amazing tale of perseverance and courage, of combat and one man’s love of his adopted country.China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors
By Frances Wood. 2007
Unifier or destroyer, law-maker or tyrant? China's First Emperor (258-210 BC) has been the subject of debate for over 2,000…
years. He gave us the name by which China is known in the West and, by his unification or elimination of six states, he created imperial China. He stressed the rule of law but suppressed all opposition, burning books and burying scholars alive. His military achievements are reflected in the astonishing terracotta soldiers—a veritable buried army—that surround his tomb, and his Great Wall still fascinates the world.Despite his achievements, however, the First Emperor has been vilified since his death. China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors describes his life and times and reflects the historical arguments over the real founder of China and one of the most important men in Chinese history.Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall
By Will Ellsworth-Jones. 2012
While hiding from the limelight, Banksy has made himself into one of the world's best-known living artists. His pieces have…
fetched millions of dollars at prestigious auction houses. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his film Exit Through the Gift Shop. Once viewed as vandalism, his work is now venerated; fans have gone so far as to dismantle the walls that he has painted on for collection and sale.But as famous as Banksy is, he is also utterly unknown—he conceals his real name, hides his face, distorts his voice, and reveals his identity to only a select few. Who is this man that has captivated millions? How did a graffiti artist from Bristol, England, find himself at the center of an artistic movement? How has someone who goes to such great lengths to keep himself hidden achieved such great notoriety? And is his anonymity a necessity to continue his vandalism—or a marketing tool to make him ever more famous?Now, in the first ever full-scale investigation of the artist, reporter Will Ellsworth-Jones pieces together the story of Banksy, building up a picture of the man and the world in which he operates. He talks to his friends and enemies, those who knew him in his early, unnoticed days, and those who have watched him try to come to terms with his newfound fame and success. And he explores the contradictions of a champion of renegade art going to greater and greater lengths to control his image and his work.Banksy offers a revealing glimpse at an enigmatic figure and a riveting account of how a self-professed vandal became an international icon—and turned the art world upside down in the process.