Singing Soldiers


Book Description




Singing, Soldiering, and Sheet Music in America during the First World War


Book Description

An advertisement in the sheet music of the song “Goodbye Broadway, Hello France” (1917) announces: “Music will help win the war!” This ad hits upon an American sentiment expressed not just in advertising, but heard from other sectors of society during the American engagement in the First World War. It was an idea both imagined and practiced, from military culture to sheet music writers, about the power of music to help create a strong military and national community in the face of the conflict; it appears straightforward. Nevertheless, the published sheet music, in addition to discourse about gender, soldiering and music, evince a more complex picture of society. This book presents a study of sheet music and military singing practices in America during the First World War that critically situates them in the social discourses, including issues of segregation and suffrage, and the historical context of the war. The transfer of musical styles between the civilian and military realm was fluid because so many men were enlisted from homes with the sheet music while they were also singing songs in their military training. Close musical analysis brings the meaningful musical and lyrical expressions of this time period to the forefront of our understanding of soldier and civilian music making at this time.




Soldiers


Book Description




Walking Again


Book Description

While deployed to Afghanistan with the 428th Engineer company in 2011, Lane's Truck was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED)The explosion left hie ina coma for six weeks with 26 injuries, requiring 26 operations. He lost both legs and was given the worst possible news: he wasn't going to be able to use prosthetics or speak properly again after having a tracheotomy. "All through life, we run into negative people. They tell us who we are supposed to be, how we're. supposed to conform to. I chose not to listen to those voices of conformity and doubt and not believe the limitation the doctors and therapist had set for me in the days after the explosion. I chose to put my trust in God. In the Army, I learned never to give up, never surrender. " JP Lane Walking Again Lane a native of Ohio, hopes to give readers strength and courage through his testimony and help others find purpose in their lives, knowing that God is always on their side. He offers a candid view of how his devastating injuries affected not only him but his entire family. This heart-wrenching account of the process of learning to walk and talk again at the age of 23 is a story of hope and healing as only a double amputee can tell it. "Courage is a word we use to describe how we have our fears. But what word do we use to describe a devastating injury sustained in combat by a soldier who had already proven his courage? Justin Lane, like many other American military heroes, drew from the depths of his soul to overcome his wounds, that included the loss of both legs. To me, the word courage doesn't begin to describe how this warrior was able to face his future. Read his amazing story and find out exactly what he went through. I'm proud to call him friend." Lee Greenwood




Singing the New Nation


Book Description

Scholarly volumes have been written about the causes of the war, presenting plausible reasons for the bloodbath of the 1860s. The arguments are endless and fascinating. Every generation finds new insight into the times. What has largely been ignored is the role of songs in America’s Civil War. This book chronicles the war’s social history in terms of its seldom discussed musical side, and is told from the perspective of the South. Outmanned and outgunned during the War, the South was certainly not musically bested.










King's African Rifles


Book Description

“This comprehensive and complete history charts the story of the East Africans from their formation in 1902 through to the drawdown of the British Empire.” —Soldier Whatever one may think about the rights and wrongs of colonial rule, it is hard to deny that during the first half of the 20th century those African countries, which then came under British administration, enjoyed a period of stability which most now look back upon with a profound sense of loss. Paradoxical though it may seem, one of the bulwarks of that stability was each country’s indigenous army. Trained and officered by the British, these forces became a source of both pride and cohesion in their own country, none more so than the King’s African Rifles, founded in 1902 and probably the best known of the East African forces. In this, the first complete history of the East African forces, Malcolm Page, who himself served in the Somaliland Scouts for a number of years, has had access to much new material while researching the history of each unit from its foundation to the time of independence. Historians in several fields will be grateful to him for having put on record this very important period in the annals of both Great Britain and East Africa while the memories of many who served there were still fresh, and they themselves will perhaps be most grateful of all for this lasting tribute to the men they served and who served them, for in that shared sense of duty lay the true spirit of East African Forces.




American Magazine


Book Description




Mobilization Day


Book Description

Who are we and where on earth do we come from? Scientists have traced back human ancestry to tropical Africa and small primates living in trees. But what happened after that has been hotly debated, and the accepted explanations have led down blind alleys. By putting aside theories anchored in religion and perceived political imperatives anchored in post-World War II guilt, we can hope to obtain a more accurate understanding of human origins. That is the goal of this book. The story starts 6 million years ago, when the small and timid animal that was our forerunner (and the chimpanzee’s) still existed. The narrative follows the evolution of our ancestors from then, through their great achievements, such as learning to walk on two legs, finding a profitable use for the two hands, learning to communicate and then actually talk. As our tools evolved, so did our bodies. Then 1.8 million years ago, some of these early ‘people’ strayed into Europe, surviving in a freezing world and encountering challenges hitherto unknown. This is the incredible story of how Europeans evolved and populated Eurasia and onwards to the Americas. The story brings the reader to the Mesolithic when cultures, towns and trades that we are familiar with today started to emerge. Anyone interested in European, Eurasian or Native American ancestry should read this book to discover how we really came to be who we are: a story as gripping as traditional versions such as Adam and Eve, Popul Vuh and Gaia.