DailyLit: Military Books

Band of Sisters

by Kirsten Holmstedt

Description

In Iraq, the front line is everywhere...and everywhere in Iraq, women in the U.S. military fight. More than 155,000 of them have served in Iraq since 2003—4 times the number of women sent to Desert Storm in 1991—and more than 430 have been wounded and over 70 killed, almost twice the number of U.S. military women killed in action in Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm combined.

But should women be in combat? Do they have what it takes to be warriors? Compelling questions once...but empty questions now, because more than ever, American women are in combat, and they are warriors. The real question is: What is their experience of war? We haven't heard their stories—until now.

Band of Sisters presents 12 of these amazing and often heart-wrenching stories of American women in the frontlines:

Accounts from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines
America's first female pilot to be shot down and survive
The U.S. military's first black female pilot in combat
A 21-year-old turret gunner defending a convoy
Two military policewomen in a firefight
A nurse struggling to save lives, including her own

Extended Copyright Information

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055.

Previously published by Stackpole Books.

Sample Installment

Scorpion Down

by Ed Offley

Description

One Navy admiral called it "one of the greatest unsolved sea mysteries of our era." To this day, the U.S. Navy officially describes it as an inexplicable accident. For decades, the real story of the disaster has eluded journalists, historians, and the family members of the lost crew. But a small handful of Navy and government officials knew the truth from the very beginning: The sinking of the USS Scorpion and its crew of 99 men on May 22, 1968, was an act of war. In this major work of historical reporting, Ed Offley reveals that the sinking of the USS Scorpion has never been a mystery, but rather a secret buried by the U.S. government in a frantic attempt to keep the Cold War from turning into a hot war. The Soviets had torpedoed the Scorpion in reprisal for the destruction of the Soviet missile sub K-129, which the Americans had sunk in the Pacific just ten weeks earlier. But why does the U.S. Navy continue to hide the real story of what happened on that fateful day in 1968? In Scorpion Down, military reporter Ed Offley tells the true story of the USS Scorpion for the first time and dramatically recounts a little-known episode that nearly brought about World War III. And he conclusively demonstrates that the Navy's official account of the Scorpion incident—from the frantic open-ocean hunt for the wreckage to a court of inquiry's final conclusions—is nothing more than a carefully constructed series of lies.

Praise for Scorpion Down:

". . . this well-told narrative history holds much appeal for naval historians and conspiracy buffs."
—Publishers Weekly

"Based on 25 years of research, which included investigating declassified navy documents, Offley reveals details of the events that led to the vessel's sinking and the cover-up that followed. He has written a searing account of this tragedy at sea."
—Booklist

"Offley . . . has put together an astoundingly detailed picture of the last cruise of a nuclear attack submarine. The USS Scorpion, with a crew of 99, was reported lost on May 27, 1968."
—Library Journal

"Here's the payoff when a veteran military affairs correspondent spends almost a quarter century investigating one of the greatest mysteries in U.S. Naval submarine history. A meticulously researched, gripping narrative that draws you in with the first sentence. Read Scorpion Down and prepare to be jarred."
—Douglas Waller, author of Big Red: Inside the Secret World of a Trident Nuclear Submarine

About the Author

Ed Offley has been a military reporting specialist for newspapers and online publications since 1981, including the Ledger-Star in Norfolk, Virginia, and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Stripes.com, and Defensewatch magazine. He is currently Military Reporter for the News Herald in Panama City, Florida. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Offley served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. He lives in Panama City Beach, Florida, with his wife Karen T. Conrad.

Extended Copyright Information

Previously published by Basic Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover design by Eric Fuentecilla.
Cover photograph copyright Bettmann/CORBIS.

Sample Installment

From Baghdad With Love

by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman

Description

When Marines enter an abandoned house in Fallujah, Iraq, and hear a suspicious noise, they clench their weapons, edge around the corner, and prepare to open fire. What they find during the U.S -led attack on the "most dangerous city on Earth," however, is not an insurgent bent on revenge, but a tiny puppy left behind when most of the city's population fled before the bombing. Despite military law that forbids the keeping of pets, the Marines de-flea the pup with kerosene, de-worm him with chewing tobacco, and fill him up on Meals Ready to Eat.

Thus begins the dramatic rescue attempt of a dog named Lava and Lava's rescue of at least one Marine, Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman, from the emotional ravages of war. From hardened Marines to war-time journalists to endangered Iraqi citizens, From Baghdad, With Love tells an unforgettable true story of an unlikely band of heroes who learn unexpected lessons about life, death, and war from a mangy little flea-ridden refugee.

Quotes

"With humor and heart, Kopelman relates how, in the midst of battle in Fallujah, Iraq, his Marine battalion - the 'Lava Dogs' - saves a starving mutt. Armed with the fighting spirit of the Marines who adopt him, spunky Lava supplies unconditional love, morale boosts, and a great read."
— Julia Szabo, New York Post

"More than a canine escape tale, this is also the story of how Lava changed Kopelman and affected his feelings about the war."
— San Diego Magazine

"... sure to please dog-lovers."
— Kirkus

&qupt;... one of handful of heartwarming tales to emerge from the war in Iraq."
— USA Today

Extended Copyright Information

Initial publication by The Lyons Press,
an imprint of The Globe Pequot Press

Sample Installment

Miracle at Belleau Wood: The Birth of the Modern U.S. Marine Corps

by Alan Axelrod

Description

This book covers a little-known but crucial chapter of WWI history. Although created by the Continental Congress in 1775, the Marine Corps was regarded as a marginal force, their nickname of "bellhops" bestowed upon them by Gen. Pershing in reference to their fancy uniforms. But in June of 1918, as the Germans advanced upon Paris, the exhausted French were flagging. The British were stretched just as thin. The Americans were on their way, but roads were impassible due to months of bombing and thousands of desperately fleeing civilians. Only one group of fighters was within striking distance to hold the line, so the Allies reluctantly sent in the Marines.

The battle, stunning in its concentration and intensity, was the furnace from which the modern US Marine Corps emerged as America's fiercest and most effective fighting elite. Collectively, under command of the Marine officers, and singly, as fighters separated in the dense Belleau Wood, the tiny band of 200 proved their mettle. Axelrod's account shows both the large, strategic picture, and the telling details that make this an intensely suspenseful work of military history that reads like a novel.

Quotes

"Readers depressed after four years of ambiguity in Iraq may cheer up at this chronicle of a battle in a ware in which our allies appreciated us, and the enemy fought according to the rules."
— Kirkus

"Alan Axelrod has perfectly captured the embodiment of U.S. Marines and their unparalleled Esprit de Corps in his new book, 'Miracle at Belleau Wood.' As a former Marine, I find Axelrod's descriptions of the combat in that bloody battle for which the Corps became legendary -- and which is the foundation of its mythic lore -- compelling and gut-wrenching. Axelrod's re-telling of the tales -- some from the letters, diaries and personal accounting of those who fought there -- more than does justice to Marines at Bois de la Brigade de Marine, as Belleau Wood became known to honor the Devil Dogs who fought and died there. More heroes and legends grew from Belleau Wood than from any other battle in the Corps's history. The names ring out in Axelrod's book -- Daly, Blanchfield, Lee. Legends one and all. Axelrod brings it all to life for the reader. Though a historical accounting of the battle, 'Miracle at Belleau Wood' puts the reader in the front row -- 'inches of real estate were purchased with gallons of blood' -- as you witness the heroism and ups and downs endured by the Marines as they defeated the Germans at overwhelming odds. As Axelrod writes, '...created...in 1775, the United States Marine Corps was born in that French forest...in 1918.' A must read!"
— Jay Kopelman, author From Baghdad with Love, and a former Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps

Extended Copyright Information

Originally published by The Lyons Press.
The Lyons Press is an imprint of The Globe Pequot Press.

Sample Installment