Retrieving memories of and writing about your own past can be challenging enough. Recounting someone else’s life history – enabling readers to actually see it unfold through the eyes of your subject and doing so convincingly – can be even more daunting. In writing the memoir Beggars or Angels (August 2013, Oaklight Publishing) for an amazing woman who’s lived through enough drama and hardship to fill two lifetimes, I had two main goals:

Upon reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “Outliers”, I was drawn to a passage about violence in the American South and that region’s culture of honor. He posited that this was a relic of Scots-Irish culture, particularly as it applies to the hill people who eventually settled in Appalachia area

There is much information about the war and a lot to digest. Mr. Fitz-Enz did the reader a favor by presenting his analysis in a series of short biographical chapters about key personnel in the war. Some of the key figures were competent, some simply looked for their own advancement, others took on responsibilities which they were not qualified for and caused disaster.

Please note: The prices for the post are cur­rent at the time of the post, please pay atten­tion to make sure they haven’t changed before purchase. Authors: If you’d like your book to be fea­tured on Tight­wad Tues­days please email me. A Medical Emergency, Major-General ‘Ginger’ Burston and the Army Medical Service in World War II by Ian Howie-Willis Australian soldiers and their American Allies won the land war against Japan in the Pacific islands because they were healthier than their enemies. The troops’ fighting spirit, their armaments, their naval and air support and their generals were certainly key ingredients in the Allied victory. Without good health, however, these other factors would have been nullified. Malaria, the great scourge of armies throughout history, threatened the health of the Allies and the Japanese alike. The army that could beat malaria would also defeat its military foe because troops shivering, sweating and shaking with malarial fever cannot shoot straight, let alone fight. In World War II the Allies eventually beat the Japanese — a victory based, to a large part, on the success of the Australian Army Medical Service in defeating malaria. Their Japanese counterpart never won this battle. Major-General ‘Ginger’ Burston led…

Michael O’Hanlon, author of The Wounded Giant (my thoughts), is a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, where he specializes in U.S. defense strategy, the use of military force, homeland security and American foreign policy. He is a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University, and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Books by Michael O’Hanlon Q. Why do you refer to America as “The Wounded Giant” and do you think its fair to do so? A. It is of course designed to be a colorful term but I think it’s accurate. The United States remains far and away the world’s superpower in military (and many other) terms. But it is badly hurting and its future dominance – as well as its ability to play a stabilizing role internationally — is in question. This is less from the rise of China (or anyone else) per se, than from the wounds (largely self-inflicted) from which it is currently suffering, starting with trillion dollar annual deficits and an eroding economic foundation. Q. What is the most important thing you would like readers to take away from your book? A. That the…

Just in time for Mother’s day, the pub­lisher has made avail­able one (1) copy of “Times Two” AND an unreleased advance MP3s of two of Antigone Rising’s new singles – Borrowed Time and Everywhere is Home to be given out– enter at the end of the post.As the Oscar-nominated film The Kids are Alright reflects, gay parenting, sperm donors, and alternative families are no longer a rarity in our culture. But if you can imagine Annette Benning and Julianne Moore’s characters finding out they are pregnant at the same time, with the same donor, with due dates only three days apart, you might get a sense of the real life story of Kristen Henderson and Sarah Kate Ellis (website), who document their funny and heartwarming path to parenthood in Times Two: Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made Sarah, a high-powered magazine executive, and Kristen, a laid-back rock star, fell madly in love and decided to start a family. After determining that Sarah had the better shot at pregnancy, they headed to the fertility doctor. But month after month of drug treatments, miscarriages, and heartbreak left them desperate, and they decided they’d both try at the same time. …

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z – A – Anderson, Steve – Historical fiction author talking about his ideas, research and social media. Atkin, Ann – Author of the “Flash His­tory” series talks about biographies, history and more. – B – Baer, Nadja and David Cohen – Talking about the graphic adap­ta­tion of the U.S. Con­sti­tu­tion. Belfer, Lauren – Author of “A Fierce Radi­ance” talks about research, writing and book promotions. Benn, James R. – Historical fiction author of the Billy Boyle WWII series talks about social media, cover art and more. Berger, W.K. – A published non-fiction author who decided to publish his first fiction book independently. Block, Stefan Merill – Author of “The Storm at the Door” talks about fictionalizing his grandparents’ lives, family and social media. Braude, Joseph -Author of the nonfiction book “The Honored Dead” (and several others) talks about social media, the Middle East and other subjects. Busch, Colleen Morton – Author of the nonfiction book “Fire Monks” talks about Zen, Buddhism, Social Media and fire fighting. – C – Cohen, David and Nadja Baer…