Off to War


Book Description

Canadian and American children tell what life is like when a member of their family goes off to the Iraqi or Afghanistan war, discussing the things they do to keep in touch and the significant changes in their lives that result from the separation.




Off to War


Book Description

Society of School Librarians International Honor Book Deborah Ellis has been widely praised for her gripping books portraying the plight of children in war-torn countries. Now she turns her attention closer to home, to the children whose parents are soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. In frank and revealing interviews, they talk about how this experience has marked and shaped their lives.The children, who range in age from 7 to 17, come from all over North America. They were interviewed on military bases, in the streets, in their homes and over the phone. The strength of Off to War is that the children are left to speak for themselves, with little editorial interference beyond a brief introduction. Includes a glossary, a list of organizations and websites and suggestions for further reading.




Tomas Young's War


Book Description

Tomas Young’s War is the tragic yet life affirming story of a paralyzed Iraq War veteran who spent his last ten years battling heroically with his injuries, while courageously speaking against America's wars. Based on hours of interviews with Young and those close to him, the book puts the reader alongside Young as he struggles with life as a paralyzed veteran, suffering frustration and humiliation as he attempts to reenter society and resume as normal an existence as possible. It shows his fight to balance his precarious health with his drive to speak out for veterans care and against the war, and the impact his catastrophic injuries had on his family and his relationships. This emotional and powerful book sheds light on many crucial but often overlooked issues such as veterans’ care, public attitudes toward the disabled, medical marijuana, and the terminally ill. Tomas Young’s War shares everything, as unflinchingly honest as Tomas himself: the depression, the pain, the love, and laughter . . . the life of this man whose world was turned upside down by an Iraqi bullet more than ten years ago. Throughout, it serves as a powerful testament to the true cost of war.




When the Men Go Off to War


Book Description

Collecting the nationally-recognized poems of Victoria Kelly, When the Men Go Off to War captures the hopes, anxieties, and intimacies of the military spouse during a time of war. Written over the course of her husband’s deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, these haunting poems span vast geographical distances and generations, moving between the literal and the fanciful to find community in the midst of isolation. Kelly blends lyric and narrative elements to evoke themes of loneliness and human fragility with keen insight. But ultimately, When the Men Go Off to War is a heartrending ode to enduring romance and the reclamation of a marriage tested by loss and separation.




Called to War


Book Description

The Christian radio talk show host asked the well known women’s ministry leader the question, “So what do you think about the statement that men in the church have been feminized?” Her immediate response was, “I totally disagree. Men in American have not been feminized at all…they have been emasculated. Men don’t feel a need to be more like women…they just have lost their identity as men.” This book begins with the true story told by a washed up minister whom God forgave, healed, restored, and reenlisted in his service. The real story lies, however, how a few men, discontented with the detachment of men in their church and inspired by the Holy Spirit, discovered a pathway to re-engagement as God’s man in this hour…or maybe real engagement for the very first time. Many of you, who chose to read this book, may have suffered through some potentially debilitating failures. We have much in common, my friend. In fact, I have learned to not trust a man until he has shown me his scars. Welcome to Warrior Boot Camp! The reader will take a journey through a season of breaking down and shredding of the things of this world that have insidiously crept like tendrils into our hearts and minds. We will then explore the practical military view, including strategies and tactics, that is pervasive throughout scripture, regarding our calling to engage and win the spiritual war against our three foes: The world systemThe carnal human natureThe demonic spiritual realm led by Satan The second half of the book builds up the reader with the understanding of how to dress for success in the Kingdom by “putting on” and effectively fighting in God’s armor (Ephesians 6). Warriors must be expert in weaponry and the invisible war of the Spirit is not the exception but the rule. The real hero of this Warrior saga is Gideon (Judges 6-8). We will get into his shoes as he hides in the wine press…and then into his head, and finally, his heart as he is transformed from fearful farmer to mighty warrior. Together we will explore the common threads of manhood as lived out by the greatest warrior in Israel’s history. “Called to War will most assuredly be compared with Wild at Heart and Raising a Modern Day Knight. Art Hobba’s resourcefulness takes new ground earning inclusion in this unique fellowship of unabashed Servant Warriors. Men-of-God, saddle up; you have been Called to War!”




Out of War


Book Description

Chronicles the stories of Columbian children who have lost parents, homes, schools, and any hope of day-to-day security, yet work for change and face the future with the confidence that their efforts will make a difference.







When Books Went to War


Book Description

This New York Times bestselling account of books parachuted to soldiers during WWII is a “cultural history that does much to explain modern America” (USA Today). When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned 100 million books. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops, gathering 20 million hardcover donations. Two years later, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million specially printed paperbacks designed for troops to carry in their pockets and rucksacks in every theater of war. These small, lightweight Armed Services Editions were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today. Soldiers read them while waiting to land at Normandy, in hellish trenches in the midst of battles in the Pacific, in field hospitals, and on long bombing flights. This pioneering project not only listed soldiers’ spirits, but also helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity and made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon. “A thoroughly engaging, enlightening, and often uplifting account . . . I was enthralled and moved.” — Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried “Whether or not you’re a book lover, you’ll be moved.” — Entertainment Weekly




On War


Book Description




Once a Marine


Book Description

The Silver Star–awarded marine chronicles his service in Iraq in this “transcendent memoir of military service and its personal consequences” (Ralph Peters, Lt. Col., ret., author of Looking For Trouble). In April, 2003, an AP photographer captured a striking image seen around the world of Gunny Sergeant Nick Popaditch smoking a victory cigar in his tank, the haunting statue of Saddam Hussein hovering in the background. Though immortalized in that moment as “The Cigar Marine,” Popaditch’s fighting was far from over. The following year, he fought heroically in the battle for Fallujah and suffered grievous head wounds that left him legally blind and partially deaf. But he faced the toughest fight of his life when he returned home: the battle to remain the man and Marine he was. At first, Nick fights to get back to where he was in Iraq-in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity and help his brothers in arms. Then, following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way—the Marine way—because anything less would be a betrayal of all he holds dear.