Purple Hearts


Book Description

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM! When a soldier with a troubled past and a struggling songwriter agree to a marriage of convenience for the military benefits, neither expects much after saying “I do.” Then tragedy strikes, and the line between what’s real and what’s pretend begins to blur in this smart and surprising romance perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Jojo Moyes. Cassie Salazar and Luke Morrow couldn’t be more different. Sharp-witted Cassie works nights at a bar in Austin, Texas to make ends meet while pursuing her dream of becoming a singer/songwriter. Luke is an Army trainee, about to ship out for duty, who finds comfort in the unswerving discipline of service. But a chance encounter at Cassie’s bar changes the course of both their lives. Cassie is drowning in medical bills after being diagnosed with diabetes. When she runs into her old friend Frankie, now enlisted in the Army, she proposes a deal: she’ll marry him in exchange for better medical insurance and they can split the increased paycheck that comes with having a “family.” When Frankie declines, his attractive but frustratingly intense friend Luke volunteers to marry Cassie instead. What she doesn’t know is that he has desperate reasons of his own to get married. In this unforgettable love story, Cassie and Luke must set aside their differences to make it look like a real marriage...unless, somewhere along the way, it becomes one...




Purple Heart


Book Description

When Private Matt Duffy wakes up in an army hospital in Iraq, he's honored with a Purple Heart. But he doesn't feel like a hero. There's a memory that haunts him: an image of a young Iraqi boy as a bullet hits his chest. Matt can't shake the feeling that he was somehow involved in his death. But because of a head injury he sustained just moments after the boy was shot, Matt can't quite put all the pieces together. Eventually Matt is sent back into combat with his squad—Justin, Wolf, and Charlene—the soldiers who have become his family during his time in Iraq. He just wants to go back to being the soldier he once was. But he sees potential threats everywhere and lives in fear of not being able to pull the trigger when the time comes. In combat there is no black-and-white, and Matt soon discovers that the notion of who is guilty is very complicated indeed. National Book Award Finalist Patricia McCormick has written a visceral and compelling portrait of life in a war zone, where loyalty is valued above all, and death is terrifyingly commonplace.




Purple Hearts


Book Description

A Purple Heart is the token honor given to soldiers for their wounds, it makes, them heroes. It is the title that Nina Berman has given to her photographs of American soldiers gravely wounded in the Iraq war, who have returned home to face life away from the waving flags and heroic send-offs. The images are accompanied by first-person interviews with the soldiers, who discuss their lives, reasons for enlisting, and experience in Iraq. They provide a glimpse into the myths of warfare as glorious spectacle through the minds of young men desperate to believe in the righteousness of their actions. One soldier explains that he always wanted to be a hero. He thought the military would be fun--he would jump out of planes. He never imagined it could be ugly until he saw "Saving Private Ryan. He is now a cripple, doped up all day on pain medications, flat broke, with one kid and another on the way. Another soldier describes how he called a recruiting station after watching an MTV-style commercial for the Army on TV.,An immigrant from Pakistan, he was given his citizenship following his injury. It's a fair trade in his mind: a leg for an American passport.




Sacrifice Remembered


Book Description

During the Second World War, 291,577 men and women of the United States armed forces were killed in action in the fight against the Axis powers. Each of these service members was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart medal in recognition for the loss of their lives in the pursuit of worldwide freedom. Over the last seven decades, all but a few of these brave men and women have been forgotten. Subsequently, many of their Purple Hearts languished in attics and drawers for years before being donated to museums, surfacing at estate sales, or sold by families to people eager to rediscover their lost history. With the goal of educating and deepening the appreciation of the medal for families, historians, museums, and collectors, this book serves as a tangible reminder of ultimate sacrifice, providing a visual guide to Purple Heart medal and those who earned it. Through the biographies of over three hundred men who were awarded the Purple Heart after they were killed in action, this book conveys the meaning and importance of this medal and what it represents. Additionally, the variations, types, engraving styles, and manufacturing differences are examined at a level of detail never before published to give the reader a full appreciation of the development of the medal and how it changed over time to become the medal we know today. Sacrifice Remembered is a key reference across the historical research spectrum: from museums maintaining Purple Hearts in their collections to historians, researchers, and collectors seeking to appreciate essential details about the medal.Most importantly, families searching to discover their genealogical history will gain a better understanding of the tremendous sacrifices made by those who came before them.




Paper Hearts


Book Description

Follows the story of two girls as they forge a powerful friendship that carries them through horrific circumstances at the Auschwitz concentration camp.




The World Needs More Purple People


Book Description

#1 New York Times bestseller! Actress, producer, and parent Kristen Bell (The Good Place, Veronica Mars, Frozen) and creative director and parent Benjamin Hart have a new challenge for you and your kids: become a purple person by embracing what makes YOU special while finding common ground with those around you. What is a purple person? Great question. I mean, really great! Because purple people always ask really great questions. They bring their family, friends, and communities together, and they speak up for what’s right. They are kind and hardworking, and they love to laugh (especially at Grandpa’s funny noises)! A purple person is an everyday superhero! How do you become one? That’s the fun part! Penny Purple will lead you through the steps. Get ready to be silly, exercise your curiosity, use your voice, and be inspired. Looking to reach beyond the political divide of red and blue, Kristen Bell and Benjamin Hart have created a hilarious and joyous read-aloud that offers a wonderful message about embracing the things that bring us together as humans. This book will inspire a whole generation to paint the world purple!




Purple Hearts


Book Description

A slow burn romance with a spiritual bent. Everyone has a war story to tell. A jaded cop struggling to come to terms with her past falls for an idealistic former Marine turned cat rescuer on the crime-infested streets of west Baltimore. Hope Kennedy is a cynical Baltimore cop. Her beat is the Mondawmin area of west Baltimore-the most dangerous neighborhood in America's most dangerous city. And she's struggling-unsuccessfully-to overcome a terrible event that has come to shape her life. Hope's become angry and bitter. She's spiraling out of control. Hope has lost hope. Luke Matthews is a decorated Marine Corps combat veteran. He received the Purple Heart for a wound inflicted in Afghanistan. Now, he works as a carpenter for a nonprofit that builds homes for disabled vets. In his spare time, he volunteers with a local cat rescue. But Luke's battling his own demons. He's haunted by the war. Specifically, by a fog of war experience-a tragic accident-that has left him racked with guilt. When Hope and Luke meet in a dingy alley, it's anything but love at first sight. But a near-fatal accident a week later forges a bond. Eventually, in the middle of a cold Baltimore winter, a romance heats up. Little-by-little, Hope and Luke help one another feel alive again. But Hope doesn't know how to process her past, a past that is now jeopardizing her future. And as she and Luke get closer, she questions whether she's worthy of love. Can two wounded, badly bruised, purple hearts come together and help one another heal? Purple Hearts is not for the faint of heart. It's as gritty as the city it's set in. It's a slow burn, blue-collar romance about going the distance. And finding unconditional love at the end of the journey. And along this journey, Hope and Luke meet a memorable cast of supporting characters-a no-nonsense police sergeant who practices tough love. A colorful late-night radio DJ. A homeless Vietnam veteran. A repentant mobster. A precocious young boy who seems to be in the know. A mysterious emergency room physician. A street cat looking for his forever home. And a little girl fighting cancer. Purple Hearts is a story about life and death, joy and sorrow, laughter and tears-and ultimately, hope. All wrapped in the love of two perfectly imperfect human beings.







Unfit For Command


Book Description

"What sort of combination of hypocrite and paradox is John Kerry?" asks this heated critique of the Democratic presidential candidate’s Vietnam–era military service and antiwar activism. O’Neill, a lawyer and swift boat veteran, and Corsi, an expert on Vietnam antiwar movements, show how Kerry misrepresented his wartime exploits and is therefore incompetent to serve as commander in chief. Buttressed by interviews with Navy veterans who patrolled Vietnam’s waters, some along with Kerry, readers will discover how he exaggerated minor injuries, self-inflicted others, wrote fictitious diary entries and filed "phony" reports of his heroism under fire—all in a calculated quest to secure career-enhancing combat medals.




Purple Heart


Book Description

An affecting, insightful and warm memoir of growing up Samoan in New Zealand — and of coping with heart disease. Andrew Fiu came to Ponsonby, Auckland as a three-year-old, part of the wave of immigration from Samoa that turned Auckland's inner city suburbs into a vibrant cultural melting pot. At 14 he was misdiagnosed as having flu when in fact he had rheumatic fever, a disease endemic in Pacific Island communities. As a result of the damage to his heart he was rushed to hospital. Since that time Andrew has had five open heart surgeries, a record anywhere. He has spent so much time in hospital that he says he grew up there, experiencing tender and expert care from doctors and nurses but also enduring appalling racism. This memoir is the story of his hospital years, his clashes with his parents' traditional attitudes, the wisdom he learnt from his fellow patients and the medical miracles perfomed on his heart by famous surgeon Alan Kerr. It's the story of growing up a Pacific Islander in Auckland, a reflection on the bad old days when schools made Pacific Island children anglicise their names and hospitals did not have translators, an insight into the inter-generational tensions in Pacific Island migrant families and also a testimony to deep friendship, boundless love and bucketloads of humour. Written in a warm, personable and humorous style, this book is part of the cultural sea-change happening in New Zealand: first the play Niu Sila, then Bro'Town, No. 2 and Sione's Wedding and now the first memoir from a 40-something Samoan, written with grace, love and insight. The Weekend Herald’s Canvas magazine wrote: ‘Written with verge and humour, Purple Heart is a revelation.’ The New Zealand Listener, singled it out as one of the year’s best memoirs, praising its humour, light touch, and lack of self-pity.