A Library Like No Other...

Title: The Phantom Patrol Authors: James R. Benn

Series: 19 of Billy Boyle WWII ISBN: 9781641295437 Rating: ★★★★★

Subject: Books.Fiction.Military.WW2.James Benn, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.WW2.Fiction.James Benn

Description: An investigation into a gang of Nazi-affiliated art thieves leads Billy Boyle and his comrades directly into the line of fire at the catastrophic Battle of the Bulge. Winter 1944: Months after the Liberation of France, ex-Boston cop Billy Boyle finds himself in a Paris reeling from the carnage it has endured but hopeful that an end to war is in sight. When Billy finds a rare piece of artwork after a tense shoot-out in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, he thinks it could be connected to the Syndicat du Renard, a shadowy network of Nazi sympathizers known to be smuggling stolen artwork out of France. Trailing the Syndicat, Billy discovers that someone with a high level of communications clearance—someone in the Phantom regiment of the British Army—may be using his position to aid the thieves. Billy, determined to stop the abettor, heads up to the frontlines where he experiences a last-ditch battle against overwhelming odds. There, the ruinous Battle of the Bulge unfurls in the Ardennes Forest. Can Billy and his team survive the bracing onslaught and return the stolen artwork to its rightful protectors?

My Review: Yet another great Billy Boyle book!

I'm always delighted to see who he brings into each story and this one had such a fascinating mix of characters that kept popping up!

The case this time was a little bit of a swirling ball of confusion at times, and when it felt like it went off the rails, or tacked on, or even had a bit of a deus ex machina weirdness to it, Benn was able to really find a way to make it work into the whole overarching narrative. It was also really nice to see dead ends in the case, things that seemed major turning into something minor/inconsequential. Authors rarely due this for brevity's sake and yet it's really what investigators spend most of their time on!

One thing that Benn does really well is convey the feelings and emotional toll incidents have on a single subject and wide spread. Previously broaching the topics of the Holocaust and the Katyn Forest massacre, this book once again shows the horrors of the Holocaust in a new way, as well as torturing Boyle with more and more of the worst historical experiences the war had to offer.

For those familiar with the war, there are certain names - people and places - that are mentioned throughout the book that foreshadow the later chapters events. And while you may know what is coming, trust that Benn does a great job covering them and their importance.

Title: Fading Away: An Aging Vietnam Infantry Veteran's Remembrances Authors: Charles Schwabe

ISBN: 9781495445149 Rating ★★★★ Subject Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Advisor

Description: An aging Vietnam infantry veteran's remembrances of two combat tours to Vietnam, firts to advise South Vietnamese Army units and them to command an American infantry rifle company. The author examines why he went and his emotions in looking back.

My Review: Fading away is an interesting book of two tours in Vietnam, with a good part of it spent in the safety of the rear areas as a staff officer. His first tour as an advisor is the highlight of his writing, as he gives you both a sense of the Vietnamese people he worked with, the ones he befriended, what life was like in the village he was assigned, and the ups and downs of being an advisor to them.

His writing really shines when he tells the story of the old man in the river, and of some of the patrols and incidents that occurred. His ability to paint the scene, tell the story, and impart the emotional aspects of it really do come through the page well. There is one scene about witnessing an incident that hangs heavy over the entire book once you've read it, and I think the author did a good job in sharing that incident from his perspective.

His second tour with the 82nd is almost more about caretaking and the cast of characters he encountered, whether it was his own boss or the ARVN Airborne unit leader he was attached to. It was stories about the theft of a jeep, and little things like that that stood out, with not much else of note in that quiet time.

Title: Sunday Bloody Sunday: A Soldier's War in Northern Ireland, Rhodesia, Mozambique and Iraq Authors: Gregory Michael Budd & Jake Harper-Ronald

ISBN: 9798858120445 Rating: ★★★★★

Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Africa.Mozambique, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Africa.Rhodesia, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Africa.Zimbabwe, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Europe.Northern Ireland Troubles, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Infantry.UK.British Army, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Middle East-SWA.Iraq.OIF.Mercs, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.SpecOps.Rhodesian.SAS, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.SpecOps.Rhodesian.Selous Scouts

Description: Gold is forged in fire. Men in the furnace of adversity… Step into the extraordinary life of Jake Harper-Ronald, a man whose childhood dream of becoming a soldier led him on an unparalleled journey. In 1966, he fulfilled his ambition as a conscript in the Royal Rhodesia Regiment, only to embark on a series of adventures that most soldiers can only imagine. From early days in the elite Parachute Regiment in the UK to his pivotal role as the official photographer during the infamous 'Bloody Sunday' in Northern Ireland, Jake's path was one of courage and resilience. He left an indelible mark on history, capturing iconic moments through his lens that still resonate today. Returning to Rhodesia in 1974, Jake's journey continued with the ultra-tough SAS and the Selous Scouts. His daring cross-border raids and contributions as a professional soldier showcased his unwavering commitment. Despite facing the trials of combat, he persevered, even transitioning to a top-secret Special Branch callsign and later joining Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation. Jake's remarkable story unfolded further as he operated as an intelligence agent for global powers such as South Africa, Britain, and the US. His path was not without challenges; accusations of treason led to his time in solitary confinement at Goromonzi Detention Centre. Undeterred, he emerged from adversity, and in 1989, MI6 enlisted his expertise to train and lead militias combating Renamo in Mozambique. His efforts were so impactful that his Special Forces unit was integrated into Mozambique's National Army. Witnessing the harrowing realities of Mozambique, Jake's journey came full circle as he returned to Zimbabwe and ventured into the private security sector and then on to private military contracting in Iraq. Despite his health declining, his resolve remained unshaken until his passing in 2007 at the age of 59. Immerse yourself in an incredible narrative of bravery, sacrifice, and tenacity as 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' chronicles the awe-inspiring life of Jake Harper-Ronald. This is more than a biography; it's a testament to the indomitable spirit of a true soldier and a captivating journey that will leave you inspired and in awe. Read It Now!

My Review: This is a book about a man who was always THERE, or THERE adjacent, or knew the people who were right THERE. From his days with 1 PARA during Operation Banner, to his time with the SAS and Selous Scouts Recce Troop, his time locked up in Goromonzi, to his final years in Mozambique and Iraq, Jake was really in the thick of it time and time again.

You'll see a lot of people talk about his overcoming adversity, his struggles, or focus on his actions and incidents, and it's all there, page after page. If you want to know what selection was like, the physical and mental toughness required, if you want to know what the contact and firefights, an interesting view of the Paras in NI, and SAS operations across the borders, this book has it in spades.

But what Budd was able to write about that sets this book apart, was the more personal aspects. His two marriages, his feelings toward Rhodesia as a nation, staying on and working for the new government in Zimbabwe and more. To read the chapter on the election night and about Mugabe's slaughter of the Matabele cuts right to the bone and is raw in its emotion. To read the chapter about his time in Goromonzi is incredibly difficult to read because of its detail and horrors. More importantly, Budd and Jake never shy away from the trauma and its effects on him after that. How much that changed him, how much he continued to suffer because of that.

This is a man who killed, who had so many friends killed, who saw atrocities, and isn't shy about talking about an incident that he was ashamed to have partaken in. And a man who stayed, even when so many others left, who knew his faults and admitted them while sometimes trying to blame the stresses of the job, but accepted much of the responsibility for the things he did. Which is why that chapter on Goromonzi hits home so hard. As he succinctly put it, he was always willing to pay the price for the things he did, but to be tortured and destroyed in so many ways for something that someone else did, for something he was innocent of… that was too much to handle, too much to endure, and yet… he did. He survived, but surviving doesn't mean you aren't affected, don't carry the wounds and scars, and doesn't mean you are the same person you were before.

Title: North SAR Authors: Gerry Carroll

Series: 1 of SAR ISBN: 9780671731830

Rating: ★★★★★

Subject: Books.Fiction.Military.Vietnam, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Fiction

Description: The riveting national bestseller--"a zinger of an adventure . . . chock full of the real stuff" (Stephen Coonts)--as seen through the eyes of the Navy Combat SAR (Search and Rescue) helicopter pilots who flew many of the most dangerous missions of the war. Tom Clancy, who provides the introduction, calls North S.A.R. "the best novel I have ever read".

My Review: I read this book back when it first came out and loved it. The writing, the humor, the characters, and the tension kept me hooked from start to finish. The author really knew what he was writing about, and most importantly, how to tell a story that interwove so many different people, from the highest of admirals, to the lowliest of junior officers all while enmeshing them into the stress of the last bit of America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Title: In This Valley There Are Tigers Authors: Charles McDonald

ISBN: 9781508819004 Rating: ★★★★

Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.ARVN.Airborne Division, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.Green Berets, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.Green Berets.Project Delta, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Advisor, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Infantry

Description: In 1964, Charles A. McDonald was at Camp Khe Sanh before the first wholesale introduction of North Vietnamese Army troops onto the battlefield against U.S. forces. For twenty-four years in war and peace, McDonald served his country in its elite units as an Airborne Infantryman and Special Forces soldier. He trained and armed Bru tribesmen, Chinese mercenaries, Vietmamese Airborne and Special Forces troops. Stories as seen through his eyes "In This Valley There Are Tigers", McDonald tells a narrative of the personal violence and desperate suicide attacks in combat with vivid detail as it was from his own perspective during his three year experience in the Second Indochina War. He was there!

My Review: Charles McDonald writes like few others do - and that is both a good and a bad thing!

Let's get the negative out of the way, this book is an absolute SLOG to get through that a good editor should have been able to tighten up and clean up. But at the same time, doing so would have removed one of the things that makes this book so unique! McDonald tells the story of his three tours in Vietnam, starting with his last one as an advisor to the ARVN 7th Airborne battalion, followed up by his first tour with team A-322 in 1964 at Khe Sanh, and finally his middle tour split between Project Delta B-52 and the 1/327th 101st Airborne.

He flows back and forth between his own experiences, the experiences of others, and as a 3rd person historical narrator of events. When he is telling the stories of others, you often get much more detail of who / what / when, whereas when he is telling his own stories, you get stream of consciousness writing explicit with minutiae and details… what things smelled like, what he heard, what he was feeling. You get a lot of stories about bugs and birds and animals, about dew and the weather, you rarely ever hear a name or explanation of who he is serving with, and so many story elements are lost in all of the commentary about the cicadas and the mosquitos and the noises and the smells.

It's a slog to get through but at the same time, it's powerful to to experience these events through his eyes and thoughts in a way few authors bother to do.

Title: Thunderbird Lounge Authors: Robert J. Brandt

ISBN: 9781412244831 Rating: ★★★★★ Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Aviation.US Army.Helos.Slicks, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.US Army.Advisor

Description: This is a story as seen through the eyes of one 1st Lieutenant Army aviator, during the early US military commitment to support the Republic of South Vietnam in its counter-insugency operations against North Vietnam's campaign to reunite Vietnam under communist rule. It depicts the daily life of these soldiers and aviation crew members as they went about proving the importance of the helicopter in modern warfare. Describes in detail how the helicopter was employed, puts you in the pilot's seat, death and humor, frustrations encountered, and a tribute to those soldiers and airmen who paid the ultimate price.

Title: Uniforms of the French Foreign Legion 1831-1981 Authors: Windrow, Martin

Title: The French Foreign Legion Authors: Martin Windrow

Series: 17 of Osprey - Men-At-Arms ISBN: 9781472806369

Rating: ★★★★

Title: French Foreign Legion 1872-1914 Authors: Martin Windrow

Series: 461 of Osprey - Men-At-Arms ISBN: 9780850458497

Rating: ★★★★★

Title: A Soldier of the Legion: An Englishman’s Adventures under the French Flag in Algeria and Tonquin Authors: George Manington Rating: ★★★★★ Subject: Books.Military.18th-19th Century.Africa.Algeria, Books.Military.18th-19th Century.Asia.French Indochina, Books.Military.18th-19th Century.Europe.France.FFL

Description: An educated gentleman, Mr Manington has given an insight into the unusual experiences of an Englishman in the French Foreign Legion, such as no ordinary “mercenary” could have done. Most of the narrative deals with Tonquin, and the fighting there against the rebels in their forest fastnesses. Incidentally, in giving an account of his friendship for the native sergeant, Doy-Tho, the author has been able to impart to the pages of the book an Oriental atmosphere that we think will prove attractive to the reader.

My Review: Such an incredible book! That's literally the feeling I'm left with after reading the last page. While I have read multiple books on the French occupation of Indochina, and especially the fights in the Red River Valley, they were all books written today based on multiple sources and gave one a thousand foot birds eye strategic view of the experience. Manington's first person account, written shortly after his return from Tonkin, is an absolutely incredible primary source material to go beyond that. As the description details, you not only get to understand what happened, but experience what it was like to live in that climate, to learn about the people and colored prejudices of the author and his experiences with natives and colonials alike, and read his thoughts, feelings, and what stood out to him day in and day out, on the ground and in the mud and in the heat and cold.

Whether it was in battle or in the hospital fighting malaria, he never fails to paint vivid pictures of the experience in a way that brings you right then and there. He doesn't just tell you what happened, but fills each page with a flourish of imagery, thoughts, and emotions, while telling detailed stories of those around him and those who colorful figures he served with.

Title: French Foreign Légionnaire 1890–1914 Authors: Martin Windrow

Series: 157 of Osprey - Warrior ISBN: 9781849084222 Rating: ★★★★★

Subject Books.Military.18th-19th Century.Africa.Algeria, Books.Military.18th-19th Century.Asia.French Indochina, Books.Military.18th-19th Century.Europe.France.FFL, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Africa.Algeria, Books.Military.Series.Osprey.Warrior

Title: Hollywood Station Authors: Joseph Wambaugh

Series: 1 of Hollywood Station ISBN: 9780446401241 Rating: ★★★ Subject: Books.Fiction.Crime.Wambaugh

Description: For a cop, a night on the job means killing time and trying not to get killed. If you're a cop in Hollywood Division, it also means dealing with the most overwrought, desperate, and deluded criminals anywhere. When you're patrolling Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards, neither a good reputation nor the lessons of scandals past will help you keep your cool, your sanity, or your life when things heat up.The robbery of a Hollywood jewelry store, complete with masks and a hand grenade, quickly connects to a Russian nightclub, an undercover operation gone bloodily wrong, and a cluelessly ambitious pair of tweakers. Putting the pieces together are the sergeant they call the Oracle and his squad of street cops. There's Budgie Polk, a twenty-something firecracker with a four-month-old at home, and Wesley Drubb, a rich boy who joined the force seeking thrills. Fausto Gamboa is the tetchy veteran, and Hollywood Nate is the one who never shuts up about movies. They spend their days in patrol cars and their nights in the underbelly of a city that never sleeps. From their headquarters at Hollywood Station, they see the glamour city for what it is: a field of land mines, where the mundane is dangerous and the dangerous is mundane.

Title: Never Without Heroes: Marine Third Reconnaissance Battalion in Vietnam, 1965-70 Authors: Lawrence C. Vetter Jr.

ISBN: 9780804108072 Rating ★★★★★ Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.Marine Recon, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.SpecOps.US.USMC

Description: FOUR CONGRESSIONAL MEDALS OF HONOR, THIRTEEN NAVAL CROSSES, SEVENTY-TWO SILVER STARS . . . In four and a half years in Vietnam, the Marines of the Third Reconnaissance Battalion repeatedly penetrated North Vietnamese and Vietcong sanctuaries by foot and by helicopter to find enemy forces, learn the enemy's intentions, and, when possible, bring deadly fire down on his head. Heavily armed, well-camouflaged teams of six and eight men daily exposed themselves to overwhelming enemy forces so that other Marines would have the information necessary to fight the war. It's all here: grueling, tense, and deadly recon patrols; insertions directly into NVA basecamps; last-stand defenses in the wreckage of downed helicopters; pursuit by superior North Vietnamese forces; agonizing deaths of men who valiantly put their lives on the line. NEVER WITHOUT HEROES is the first book to recount the story of a Marine reconnaissance battalion in Vietnam from the day of its arrival to its withdrawal. In Vietnam, Larry Vetter served as a platoon leader in Third Recon Battalion. He supplements his own recollections with Marine Corps records, exhaustive interviews with veterans, and correspondence to capture the bravery, and self-sacrifice of war.

Title: Born Twice: Memoir of a Special Forces SOG Warrior Authors: Dale Hanson ISBN: 9780998135366 Rating: ★★★ Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Specops.MACVSOG

Description: “Dale Hanson takes us from a northern Minnesota boyhood to the incredible stresses of U.S. special operations during the Vietnam War, the deadly world of MAC-V-SOG, the top-secret Special Forces project that conducted America’s Secret War against the Communist forces on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Shrouded in mystery and equipped with exotic weaponry, SOG operators suffered casualty rates in excess of 100% for three successive years.

Dale Hanson served with Recon Team Florida during one of the legendary missions of SOG, the killing of an enemy colonel who was carrying super-secret documents of enormous importance to the American war effort. After intense fighting, those documents were brought back by the team. Dale survived and went on to serve three tours with the legendary special operations group.

The American heartland can bring forth young men of great valor and commitment, and one such man wrote this book. To read it is to go along on a near-unbelievable story of deadly missions carried out by small Green Beret-led teams operating deep in enemy territory against all but impossible odds.” —Michael P Buckland, Special Forces SOG warrior

My Review: The author is a good writer. He's able to convey his thoughts, his ideas, and what he sees and feels to the reader in a very eloquent way. Having said that, I'm not sure I'd classify this as a great book, or even a good book. It's a decent book that covers multiple topics. The first 30%, and no that's not a typo, 30% of the book is about him growing up in Minnesota and his Christian faith. It's a lot. I'd say another 5+% of the book is just song lyrics or copied poems from others. Once again, that's a lot. There is a huge section on his convalescent leave where he travels to Greece and Africa as well. What's left is his time running recon with RT Florida, a very little snippet about 1-0 school, an interesting bit about the Siege of Ben Het, and at the end, which almost feels tacked on, you get a story from his time with the Hatchet Force, and a little bit with his time with the 219th RAC Headhunters, aka SPAFs.

The thing that tends to really grate is the wrong names used for multiple people, whether it was Capt Roesch or Baby Huey, it makes no sense how some names are 100% accurate, and others are close or not even.

Title: On Point - a Rifleman's Year in the Boonies: Vietnam 1967-1968 Authors: Roger S. Hayes

ISBN: 9780891417095 Rating: ★★★ Subject: Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Armor

Description: In a vivid, often moving chronicle of war, a Vietnam veteran recalls the year he spent "in-country" from 1967 to 1968, during the war's most memorable and decisive year.

From Publishers Weekly

In October 1967, young Roger Hayes arrived in Vietnam for a 12-month tour as a rifleman with the U.S. Army's 25th Division. The tour coincided with the most violent year of the Vietnam War for American forces. Now, some 30 years after returning to the United States, Hayes has produced a literate and thoughtful journal of his time in beautiful, embattled Vietnam. Unlike many battlefield memoirs that focus on hardship and hardware, this is a work that addresses the culture of war, and of this war in particular, through the eyes of an intelligent innocent. The battles are certainly here, but their accounts contain fresh insights into even the most familiar aspects of war. As depicted by Hayes, American soldiers attempting to retrieve the bodies of their fallen comrades are unnerved because the spirit of the enemy lingers over the battlefield even after the fighting has been over for a day. Elsewhere, we learn that the Vietcong were rumored to have dismembered G.I. corpses in order to prevent them from being reincarnated into able-bodied men who could then become soldiers. Just as intriguing, though, are episodes recounting the daily lives of American troops in Vietnam, such as the horrifying and painful "immersion foot," whereby the sole of a soldier's foot became incorporated into the fabric of his socks or his boot sole. Packed with details and curious observations, this could easily wind up on university reading lists for courses examining the culture of war. Photos. (June)

My Review: It's not a bad book, it's just that the author probably waited too long to write it after the war was over. What you get is a very good primer on the vietnam war from the perspective of an infantryman. You learn what they carried, how they did things, and you also get some interesting stories of camraderie and what they experienced. You never really feel what the author experienced though. Whether it's entering the tunnels, or being in a firefight, you are given basic elements of who/what/where, but never much more. I should also mention that for many of the biggest fights, his unit was either a blocking element and not involved, or he was wounded early and missed much, or not many words are written about them.

Title: Firefighters During the Troubles Authors: John Wilson

ISBN: 9781780732602 Rating: ★★★★★ Subject: Books.Emergency.Fire.Northern Ireland, Books.Emergency.Law Enforcement.Northern Ireland, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Europe.Northern Ireland Troubles

Description: Before the outbreak of the Troubles, a typical firefighter's year might have included call-outs to chimney fires, the occasional house fire or road accident, and - even more rarely - a large factory or hay shed fire. While a firefighting career was always inherently exciting and risky, for most firefighters moments of high drama were anything but a daily occurrence.

Then everything changed, and Northern Ireland's firefighters spent almost every day of the next thirty years racing to the scenes of atrocities, running towards the gravest danger.

In this powerful book, men and women who served in the fire service during the Troubles tell their own stories in their own words - the events that have never left them, the victims they have never forgotten, the extraordinary bond between colleagues, the emotional burden and fallout from the job.

The stories cover a uniquely challenging period for firefighters - full of exhilaration, fear, bravery and sorrow. What comes across is a universal desire to honour the uniform, to be brave when the need for courage is acute, and to be determined to cover your mate's back - no matter what.

My Review: The collection of stories chosen paint such a vivid picture of what it was like to be a firefighter during this period.

From those who shrugged it off, to those who carry both the psychological and physical wounds from calls that ranged from small fires to bombings to large conflagrations.

Title: Napalm Dreams Authors: John F. Mullins

Series: 1 of Men of Valor ISBN: 9781416503361 Rating: ★★★★★ Subject Books.Fiction.Military.Vietnam.Men of Valor, Books.Military.20th-21st Century.Asia.Vietnam War.Fiction

Description: A shattering novel of courage, heroism, and unbreakable bonds forged in the heat of battle. Green Beret Captain Finn McCulloden and his troops are having a very bad day -- even by the nightmarish standards of Vietnam. They've just been dropped into a meat grinder with orders to reinforce a Special Forces border camp that's about to be overrun by the North Vietnamese. Outnumbered twenty-to-one, beset by treachery from within, and saddled with an incompetent second-in-command, McCulloden knows that all hell is about to break loose. Through one brutal day and night McCulloden and his men fight alongside their native Montagnard allies in a pitched battle of blood and guts against an unwavering foe who never stops coming. The Green Berets can neither give up nor give in, and all will become heroes in the truest sense of the word. But one extraordinary soldier man rises above them all in an ultimate act of valor….

My Review: Wow… Mullins is an incredible author who knows how to keep a books pacing moving forward at just the right speed while juggling multiple points of view and maintaining tension until the final words are printed.