Flashing Saber: Three Years in Vietnam


Matthew Brennan - 1985
    The Blues, as they were called, were perpetually understrength and considered to be acceptable losses in hopeless situations—but their amazingly successful record proved otherwise.A firsthand account of mortal combat with the Ninth Cavalry, Flashing Saber is the remarkable story of the brave men who served in the First Air Cavalry Division's reconnaissance squadron. Included is an account of an air-ground raid that overran a regimental command post and killed more high-ranking enemy officers than any similar engagement of the war. The story begins when a teenager, an Eagle Scout and West Point Prep School student, goes to Vietnam in 1965. Motivated by patriotism and the desire to see combat firsthand, Brennan volunteers for front line duty and spends years as an artillery forward observer and infantryman. Promoted to sergeant and then to lieutenant, Brennan participates in hundreds of assault landings.An expansion and careful reworking of his previous work, Brennan's War, published in 1985, and in the vein of classic memoirs by Johnnie Clark and Frederick Downs, Flashing Saberis a harrowing firsthand account of life and death in war, one filled with breathtaking details about a renowned unit.

Lee and His Men at Gettysburg: The Death of a Nation


Clifford Dowdey - 1958
    history. With vivid and breathtaking detail, Lee and His Men at Gettysburg is both a historical work and an honorary ode to the almost fifty thousand soldiers who died at the fields of Pennsylvania. Written with an emphasis on the Confederate forces, the book captures the brilliance and frustration of a general forced to contend with overwhelming odds and in-competent subordinates. Dowdey not only presents the facts of war, but brings to life the cast of characters that defined this singular moment in American history.

One Man's War


Joe Nethercott - 2013
    Within months he was driving big lorries and cranes in the Battle of Britain, recovering crashed planes. He went on to the North African Western Desert, Egypt, Libya, Tunis and El Alamein. From there to Italy: Naples, Monte Cassino, invasion of Sicily. Then Corsica followed by France, landing near St Tropez in the D-Day of the South. Finally after four years abroad, back to the UK, a wedding and release from the RAF. Along the way he was blown up, bombed, burnt, and ill.He was not one of the commanders, or the shooting and bombing action heroes. He was responsible for the transport that contributed to everything else being possible. He tells of the problems in organising vehicles, keeping them on the road, repairing, bodging, cannibalising, improvising and inventing. This is the not often heard voice of an ordinary young bloke going through a terrible time, and doing what he could. That surely makes him a hero too.

Over and Out


James F. Jordan - 2013
    A first hand account of my tour of duty in Vietnam.

When Duty Calls


Leighton Harding - 2011
    William Calvert was an exception to the rule. His advancement was due solely to his actions against the enemy. As Admiral the Earl St. Vincent said of him. “Luck! It has nothing to do with luck. I don’t consider being wounded three times in as many years as luck! No this young man plans meticulously, trains and exercises his crew to the highest degree, and then it is a matter of bravery and innovation!”“Like a young Nelson without the vanity!” Added Admiral Gambier.The French Revolution is in progress and Britain awaits war. 17 year old William Calvert joins the Royal Navy as a Master’s Mate. This is the Navy of the time of Nelson. Already fully trained in Navigation and Seamanship by his late Merchant Captain and Owner father, Will soon proves his worth.When the Master falls ill and the second Master is sent to another ship, Will deputises as Master on a 74 gun ship-of-the-line. The Squadron soon becomes aware of Will’s outstanding ability, when with a hurricane threatened; as a result of his precautions his ship comes through the storm with the least damage. Promoted to Master he also saves his ship during a full gale in the Atlantic. Back in Britain, with the country at war, Will is sent as Master to the frigate Artful. Although injured he finds himself the sole officer on the quarterdeck at the moment the frigate is about to engage two French frigates.Promoted to Lieutenant he joins HMS Victory where he is noticed by Admiral Lord Jervis. After the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, Will is sent back to Britain, where with the Admiral’s strong recommendation; he is appointed Commander of the schooner Snipe. A ship to become famous for its daring exploits.

8,000 Miles: Part 1: A World Apart


Sean P. Thomas - 2017
    While unconscious, the world has fallen apart and he finds himself alone and unaware that a virus has spread across the globe and has turned a majority of the population into undead monsters. After he realizes that the world he knew no longer exists, his one motivation for survival is to get back to his wife Angie and son Sam who are 8,000 miles away in West Texas. John has to figure out how to make an impossible journey across the globe absent modern infrastructure, all while battling flesh eating zombies, hostile survivors, thirst, starvation, and nature itself. He has no idea if his family survived the apocalypse, but he will travel 8,000 miles to find out. In part one of this series, John struggles to escape Afghanistan with a group of fellow survivors. They are challenged with traveling across a foreign and hostile land with little understanding of the extent of the zombie apocalypse. The group charges ahead into the unknown, with the hope that they may one day be reunited with their families back home. Meanwhile, Angie encounters her own challenges back in the United States. She struggles to keep her son safe while desperately seeking a sanctuary, where they can survive the apocalypse.

B-24 Co-Pilot: First Lieutenant John F. Lance


Kathryn Lance - 2016
    A short book detailing: The most terrifying missions: The first mission to Balikpapan, an important Japanese fuel depot, and why it was considered impossible to achieve. Coping with boredom and fear: How joking and calculating survival odds helped deal with the realities. The snafus: The time a temporary Group Commander tried to bomb the US Seventh Fleet. True stories from a man who was there--as dictated toward the end of his life.

F-4 Phantom: A Pilot's Story


Robert Prest - 2017
    One of the best military aviaton memoirs ever written’ Rowland White, author of Vulcan 607 ‘I only have to think Speed, and I am at 600 knots in seconds. Think Height and I am gazing down from a eight-mile-high perch within one minute. Think Freedom and I am wrested away from a dank, cold world, cloudbase at 300 feet, through a brief shock of cloud to emerge into a golden blue world, another dimension, crystal clear for miles and miles’ Fighter Pilot. Robert Prest had never wanted to be anything else. And even as a boy he had set his sights on flying the awesome McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom. The big, twin-engined interceptor offered an irresistible combination of charisma, power and performance. Air combat, strike, gunnery, bombing and rocketry, the F-4 was jack-of-all-trades, master of most. From the lonely pursuit of Soviet intruders out over the North Sea and strength-sapping high-g dogfights, to maintaining Quick Reaction Alert on Germany’s Eastern border, ready to scramble Battle Flight at a moment’s notice, Prest and his fellow aviators stood toe-to-toe with a powerful opponent. But the defence of the West came at a cost, and comrades in arms would pay with their lives. No other book so vividly brings to life the high-pressure, high stakes, high-speed world of an RAF fighter pilot on the Cold War frontline. But it’s more than that. In capturing a sense of the wonder and magic of flying, Prest’s book ranks aviation classics from writers like Saint-Exupéry, Richard Bach, Cecil Lewis and Ernest Gann. ‘The best book I’ve ever read about flying fast jets for the Cold War RAF. Both thrilling and elegaic, F-4 Phantom makes poetry of complex, exacting world of the fighter pilot. This is as close as you’ll ever get to flying the Phantom yourself.’ Rowland White, author of Vulcan 607 ‘What First Light does for Spitfires and the Battle of Britain, Robert Prest does for the F-4 Phantom in RAF service … Superbly written.’ Royal Aeronautical Society Insight Perfect for fans of books like Skyfaring, Apache, First Light, Tornado Down, Fate is the Hunter or Sagittarius Rising

The Confessions of a Deliveryman (The Deliveryman Series)


Lee Ball - 2011
    Hidden in the villages and towns of England reside eccentric characters of all types: sex-starved housewives, retired comedians, foul-mouthed parrots, monosyllabic children, troublesome students, even a wife-swapper or two!Twenty two hilarious stories from the world of home delivery taken from Lee's popular The Deliveryman Diaries Blog.

The Gathering Clouds


Andrew Wareham - 2019
    Young Thomas witnessed the atrocities that the Nazis had carried out in Spain and trained his pilots to show no mercy when towards the end of the book, he breached the rules to attack German planes. Published by The Electronic Book Company

Carbo and the Thief: And Other Tales of Ancient Rome


Alex Gough - 2014
    On the way he encounters many adventures, strives to solve a mysterious theft, and meets an old friend getting ready for gladiatorial combat. In other stories we visit Elissa, the evil priestess, and Vespillo, the trusty watchman, and discover more about their colourful histories. We see a young boy’s first battle, and travel all the way to the barbaric Hadrian’s Wall. These are vivid tales of ancient Rome, perfect for fans of Wallace Breem, Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane.

The Legend of White 19 (The Watson Saga #3)


Roger Maxim - 2015
    He does, but not by the path he expected. Confused records, a drunken instructor, and an ineffective squadron commander all affect Dave's future. Frustration and danger surround him. And then he's in the thick of the Battle for Okinawa, one of the most difficult invasions in history. Join Dave as he returns to the Pacific, deals with surprises and challenges ...and becomes a legend! Packed with flying excitement, this final book of The Watson Saga brings it all together!

Conroy's First Command (K Company 2)


Robert Broomall - 1994
    The station is in a quiet area, and the company commander thinks this will be a good opportunity for Lt. Tom Conroy ("K Company") to exercise his first independent command. Tom worries about whether his men, hard cases like Link Hayward, will obey him. Then Indians attack the station, and Tom's worries get a whole lot more serious.

Welcome To Dong Tam (Jayhawk Two One Book 1)


Michael Trout - 2014
    This is the first in a series of true stories about a young helicopter pilot’s tour of duty in Vietnam.

The B-58 Blunder: How the U.S. Abandoned its Best Strategic Bomber


George Holt Jr. - 2015
    This work is a case study on how the B-58 supersonic bomber came to a premature death in the U.S. military, largely because of infighting among military and civilian leaders, who failed to understand the value of this fantastic airplane. It was a technological marvel for its time and the very best pilots and navigators were chosen to fly this unique aircraft. At its maximum speed of 2.2 Mach (1,452 mph) it was 2½ times faster than the muzzle velocity of a .45 caliber bullet. It could fly faster and out turn must fighters of its day and was also capable of flying close to tree top level just below the speed of sound. It was nearly undetectable by enemy radars due to its speed and low radar cross section and was better at flying through heavy turbulence due to its solid delta wing design. It had a highly accurate navigation and bombing system. It had a capsule ejection system for the safety of the aircrew and was capable of getting airborne in only half the time required by other bombers. Told for the first time, this is the inside story that dispels the unproven myths surrounding the demise of the B-58 and why this magnificent airplane should have been saved. Its loss from the nuclear armory was a severe blow to our “Cold War” deterrence strength. The B-58 was a bomber that set the standard for fear in the heart of an enemy. Its loss was a strategic mistake. The author provides lessons learned and recommendations for military and civilian leaders, going forward, to hopefully prevent future blunders—like what happened to the B-58.