The Making of a Soldier

Lt. Col. George Powers

History, Memoir, Vietnam

$15.80

The Making of a Soldier  is the life story of a man who believed, from his youth that he was gifted as a soldier to rise to the highest rank as a Commissioned Officer; who volunteered to learn his craft through Ranger School, Airborne School, and the John F. Kennedy Warfare School,  eventually becoming a Master Parachutist; who was called upon to serve thirty months in combat in Vietnam as an Infantry Officer; whose life was dramatically changed by encountering  his God in flight above the Delta en-route from Can Tho to Saigon in an Air America aircraft. God spoke to him in an unmistakably direct, though inaudible voice, an invitation to change the focus of his life career. The book seeks to show how God is at work developing many of us into spiritual soldiers, warriors who are invited to serve in His Army, often with far less prestige and fame than is experienced in the military services. And amazingly, as the author discovered, God uses much of the lessons learned by the military in a parallel spiritual application to advance His Kingdom on the earth.

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Retribution

by John R. Schembra

Fiction

$13.99

There is a vigilante killer loose in San Francisco, and when the court system fails, he doles out his own brand of justice.

Inspector Vince Torelli has handled some of San Francisco’s worst homicides, but this case has him baffled. It seemed that no matter what he did, the suspect stayed one step ahead of him. The killer seemed to know what Inspector Torelli’s next move would be. Hell, the false clues and trail the killer planted kept him chasing shadows, leading him away from the real killer.

Who is the Retribution Killer, and would Vince survive long enough to solve his most difficult case?

Winner of the Military Writers Society of America 2007 Silver Medal for excellence in writing

REVIEW:

John Schembra has written a follow up to the adventures of Vince Torelli.  However, this does not take place in Vietnam like John's first novel, "M.P."  Torelli has returned home and now is an inspector with the San Francisco Police  Department where he gets involved in a serial killer investigation and the search for the "Retribution" Killer.  The author's 30 years of being a police officer shines through in the book.  It's rich with detail, especially when describing the horrendous crimes and crime scenes.  These particular things are very vivid to the reader.  It's more an expose' on our disintegrating, over-burdened court system where deals are made leaving the men who do the work in the field stressed out at the results.
I liked this book a lot, and its a definite compliment to his first book about Vince.  The author leaves you hanging in this one.  What will be Vince's next move?  Will he also succumb to the folly that is justice?  It will be interesting to see how the author follows this up.  In his third book?  Hope so. -- Jim Stewart. Author of The Ghosts of Vietnam, Brawley PD, San Diego Schools PD (Retired) Website- Military Police of the Vietnam War 

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The Last Farewell: A journey of the heart

By Edmund Burke O’Connell. Co-authored by Julie Whitman Jones and Thomas J. Sullivan, Jr.
Non-Fiction, WW2

Paperback- $21.99

Hardback- $31.99

The Last Farewell, a posthumous wartime
memoir set against the rich, colorful landscape of historic Florence and Northern Italy, tenderly recalls one soldier’s love story through the viewfinder of a still and motion picture camera during the Italian campaign of the Second World War.

An unlikely luncheon date during a lull in the summer 1944 liberation of Florence leads Edmund Burke O’Connell, an Army motion picture photographer with the U.S. Army's 196th Signal Photo Company to meet an
attractive English-speaking Florentine, Tina Calamai. Their friendship steadily blossoms into love as her family’s 15th century Medici villa, the Villa Calamai, becomes his wartime base of operations.
 

REVIEWS:

“This well-written and researched, romantic memoir, richly embellished with photographs and additional historical material, is a must read. My 80-something mother read it in one sitting, saying not only was it a riveting story, it brought back for her many memories of World War II and gave her new insights into a war that affected a generation.” -- Elaine Larsen, Editor and Publisher, Pacifica Tribune

 "Mesmerizing tale traversing the war-torn confines of Tuscany. Well-written, with brilliant photographs. Read it over an obliging chianti and two helpings of tiramisu." - Tom Gollo

 "An intimate snapshot in an important age, painstakingly researched." -- Alan Wald

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Rob Ballister

Naval Officer, Author of  GOD DOES HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR

Recipient of the MWSA 2007 Gold Medal for Humor

MWSA Webmaster 2007

Member of the MWSA Board of Directors

Book Reviewer