THE VIETNAM FUNNY BOOK

by Tad Foster

The Vietnam Funny Book (An Antidote to Insanity).1′ If you’re a “grunt” blistering in the sun near a village named Nhan Bien, in QuangTri Province. Republic of South Vietnam, or in Iraq or Afghanistan, to paraphrase Waylon Jennings: You’ve always been crazy; it’s kept you from going insane.

RIGHT TO KILL: A BROOKLYN TALE

by Jim McGinty

An engrossing and entertaining historical-fiction Vietnam War tale, it is set amid the anti-war times of the late 1960s, with highly detailed accounts of the combat action that only someone who has “seen the elephant” can depict. Many Marines will recall, from harsh personal experiences, or from the illustrious history of the Corps, the blood-soaked battlefields of the Que Son Valley in September 1967, Hue City, Khe Sanh, Quang Tri and other areas of 1 Corps in the northern area of the Republic of South Vietnam. McGinty lakes you right into the action.

NEXT-GENERATION HOMELAND SECURITY: NETWORK FEDERALISM AND THE COURSE TO NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS

by John Pass Morton

Next-Generation Homeland Security: Network Federalism and the Course to National Preparedness.” Positing that the 20th-century system of federal-centric governance no longer provides for American security, John Pass Morton makes the case for a next-generation homeland security transformation. He provides an inside view of the political dynamics behind the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the development of the National Preparedness System and focuses on the emerging belief that the nation must advance beyond the interagency model dominated by Washington, D.C., and the federal agencies’ security relationships with state and local governments and the private sector.

THE WAR JOURNAL

by LCDR (Ret.) James R. Sisco

The War Journal delivers a rare and valuable depiction of the adversity and hardships experienced by our Operation Desert Storm veterans. Corporal James Sisco’s real-time journal entries and never-before-seen photographs provide a first-hand account of death, betrayal, and solitude as he tries to make sense of what is going on around him…and within himself. His personal experiences reveal “critical life lessons” and a guide to navigating life’s most difficult challenges, far beyond the battlefields of Southwest Asia.

The hardships faced by the warriors in Desert Storm have gone largely unacknowledged and unappreciated. The anticipation of war combined with constant moves, a 24-7 op tempo, and erratic sleep schedules created fear and anxiety, however, it also allowed time for serious introspection.

ONE MARINE’S WAR: A COMBAT INTERPRETER’S QUEST FOR HUMANITY IN THE PACIFIC

By Gerald A. Meehl

One Marine’s War is a biographical account of Bob Sheeks, a Marine Corps language officer who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. In a conflict notorious for its racial tensions and treatment of prisoners, Sheek’s experiences serves as a reminder that humanity can prevail in even the most desperate of conflicts. With his Japanese language skills, Seeks managed to convince numerous Japanese soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender. Learning from his experiences on Tarawa, Seeks employed a variety of methods to successfully entice Japanese troops to surrender, employing them to great effect on Saipan and Tinian. In the process, he earned the Bronze Star, maintaining the respect of his fellow Marines and gaining appreciation of the Japanese POWs who survived thanks to his actions.

RADIOMAN

by Andrew Hesterman and Robert Einaudi

Veteran memoirs will always offer an invaluable perspective of the roles that individuals play within larger historical contexts, and Radioman: Twenty Five Years in the Marine Corps, by Andrew Hesterman and Robert Einaudi, offers a personal account covering an expanse of unique wartime experiences spanning Hesterman’s 25-year career—with conflicts ranging from open warfare to peacekeeping operations and counterinsurgency. Radioman is a historical account of the range of duties performed by the Marines in the most recent decades: operating a radio alongside coalition forces during the oft-forgotten Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia; participating in Operation DESERT STORM; flying helicopters in Kosovo during the tumultuous conflict in the Balkans; assisting an AC-130 with air support in the Second Battle of Fallujah while on deployment Iraq; and serving an additional deployment to Afghanistan. With Radioman, the reader engages with the experiences of a “grunt” on the ground, a pilot, and an officer working behind the scenes—demonstrating the breadth of responsibilities necessary for the Marine Corps to remain the Nation’s premier fighting force.