Casablanca: Declassified


Book Description

Casablanca in the 1950s was a hotbed of secrets and intelligence gathering between the old world and the new. The hot war for the independence of Morocco and the Cold War between the United States and Russia were simultaneously being fought. The French were battling the Moroccan United Liberation Front, who sought independence from France. The United States had a nuclear-weapons presence in Morocco as a deterrent to the Soviet Union's aspirations during the Cold War. Set in the hypnotic vistas of North Africa and Europe, Casablanca: Declassified puts a human face on this confluence of powers and cultures, as it follows the exploits of individual American (CIA), French, Moroccan, and Soviet intelligence personnel (KGB), each jostling to get the upper hand in the high-stake games of diplomacy, international intrigue, suspense, spying, and romance. While two American airmen maintain complex nuclear weapons just below the surface, a Soviet spy network devises an ingenious way to infiltrate their base and gather intelligence on American nuclear capabilities. Meanwhile, the French attaché knows his nation's imperial days in Morocco are numbered, but along with his American CIA friend continues to use their charm in pursuit of an American jazz singer. Smoked-filled nightclubs, colorful Berber tribesman riding camels in the desert, unspoiled Casablanca beaches, postwar Italy and Germany, bar brawls in Gibraltar, Spanish bullfights, and airplane dogfights in the skies are just some of the dynamic landscapes of Casablanca: Declassified. Together, they offer a rare glimpse into the special and secret character of time and place that has been all but forgotten, yet whose legacy continues to reverberate to this day. For more great reads go to: www.drglennmcosh.com "An easy, enjoyable read which proves that times have not changed too much in the world of national conflicts and spying." -Emilia McCusker, Former Air Force Intelligence










Torchwood Declassified


Book Description

Torchwood started its life on television as a spin-off from Doctor Who, bringing Captain Jack to join new colleagues in a television series that quickly established itself as fresh and watchable television. It's fourth series, subtitled 'Miracle Day', continued its move from the niche channel of BBC3 to metamorphose into an international production between the BBC and the US network Starz. Torchwood has continued to entertain, provoke and attract large audiences and an expanding fandom. This is the first critical celebration of Torchwood across it four series, considering issues of representation, the fandom that surrounds the show and its complex, institutional contexts. Focusing in particular on how the meanings and understandings of cult television have shifted and become subject to technological, industry and marketing changes in recent years, Torchwood Declassified explores topics including the show's aesthetics and branding, its use of tropes from the horror genre, vast tie-in merchandise, status as a spin off, the nature of a celebrity that is both cult and mainstream, as well as the use of sound and music and of cult writers, and Torchwood's connection to place and location. The book will appeal to fans of the series, researchers and scholars, and anyone interested in ongoing questions over what cult television is, what it means, and why it continues to be of importance.










Love, Bill


Book Description

"There's a bit of everyone's family in this moving and heartwarming journey. I know that Janet has been hungering to write this story her whole life, and I'm happy to report: she done good!" -Paul Reiser, Actor, Author, and Comedian "Seemingly ordinary, yet eloquent love letters sent to a GI's future wife during wartime, proved to be a never-imagined godsend for their yet-to-be-born daughter. Not only did they lead Jan on a quest to bond with the father she lost at a young age, but they offer us a deeper insight into every soldier's struggle amidst the chaos of war to hold on to his dream of returning to the life and loves he left behind. It's a story that captured my heart... a marvelous work." -Captain Louis Matjasko, USN Retired; Executive Director, Circle of Change Veterans Dog Program "Identity and memory are the universal themes that bind human experience and fuel the quest to understand the past from a very personal perspective. Being able to touch actual artifacts that are precious family heirlooms, gives meaning to our very existence as daughters and sons, as witnesses to history, and as human beings. They give us unexpected road maps that reveal not just the greater geographical world around us, but the hidden chambers within our own hearts. A box of letters inspired Krulick-Belin to bravely embark upon this journey of longing. Using her keen curatorial eye and art historian's sleuthing abilities, she discovered the father she barely knew, and in turn, her own place in the world. We are privileged to travel alongside her on this odyssey she so generously shares." -Marissa Roth, Pulitzer Prize winning Photojournalist, Documentary Photographer (One Person Crying: Women and War), and Writer. "Krulick-Belin does an impressive job of placing her father's experiences in North Africa, a theatre of WWII that is little known or understood, in historical perspective. In addition, she helps shine a spotlight on her father's Jewish identity as a U.S. soldier serving in North Africa and the Mediterranean, his contacts with the local Jewish populations, and his desire to enlist in the struggle against Nazi Germany despite his age. An interesting work about a daughter's discovery of both her father as well as her own heritage." -Lawrence Bell, Executive Director, Arizona Jewish Historical Society "Jan researched the history, culture, and religions of North Africa, while looking through a very personal lens to rediscover her father. She tells a compelling story particularly for those interested in the North African campaign of World War II, and those interested in the Moroccan Jewish community." -Robert J. Silverman, U.S. Director of Muslim-Jewish Relations, American Jewish Committee; Former Senior Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State