Being there . . . for four newly published military titles (four arrived within five days last week),two dealing with complex World War II subjects, the other two with more contemporarymilitary issues – – and, just in time for Christmas purchases, as this reviewer has been urgingreaders to do issue after issue: buy all four, wrap them as one in a box, place under the tree forYuletide morning. Yes, agreed, a bit too soon to promote as monumental literary achievements,but certainly deserving 5 ½” for stacking vertically next to each other in every cultivated homelibrary. Each of the four titles announced and introduced here will achieve extraordinary criticalacclaim, but because of that general readership across America, Canada, and Germany.All four carefully reviewed and highly recommended by Don DeNevi as one gift . . .“THE STRATEGISTS — Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler – – How War Made Themand How They Made War”, by Phillips Payson O’Brien. Dutton, an imprint of Penguin RandomHouse, 530 pages, 6 ¼”x 9 ¼”, hardcover, $35. Also available as an eBook. Visit, Dutton.“CASSINO ’44 – – The Brutal Battle for Rome”, by James Holland. Atlantic Monthly Press, animprint of Grove Atlantic, 612 pages, 6 ¼”x 9 ¼”, hardcover, $35. Visit, groveatlantic.com.Publication date: November 12, 2024.Just arrived in the past week from CASEMATE PUBLISHERS, Military History/Iraq and Nam, twosoon-to-be hailed “literary achievements”, just as certain as “The Strategists” and “Cassino ‘44”already are . . . .“VALHALLA BOYS – Marine Recon Sniper in Iraq”, by Brennan Morton. CASEMATE PUBLISHERS,Pennsylvania & Yorkshire, Copyright 1/25, 228 pages, hardcover, 4 pages of photos 6 ¼” x 9 ¼”,$34.95. Visit, www.casematepublishers.com.“BREAK CONTACT CONTINUE MISSION, A novel woven with the threads of many missionsacross the fence”, by Raymond D. Harris. CASEMATE PUBLISHERS, Pennsylvania & Yorkshire,2024, 288 pages, hardcover, no photos, 6 ¼” x 9 ¼” $34.95. Visit,www.casematepublishers.com.“The Strategists” is biographical, and in more ways than introducing its readers to thefascinating connections between Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler, especiallyduring World War II. It is the biography of a generation as reflected in the life of one man at atime whose profession placed him wherever history was being made. Author Phillips PaysonO’Brien knows his subjects well, describing them with vivid reality as they move through thepages of this book.Of Course, James Holland’s latest, ”Cassino ‘44”, needs little introduction for most WorldWar II buffs, enthusiasts, and aficionados. Not only are they well-aware of his ability to researchand write, but millions of listeners continue to listen to his BBC WWII podcast, “We Have Waysof Making You Talk.” Here, he relates the fierce final fighting months of the crucial Italian
Campaign. Following in the footsteps of his superlative, “Sicily ’43 – The First Assault Fortress
Europe”, “Cassino ‘44” – – The Brutal Battle for Rome”, is even better! One who has read any ofhis other 23 titles, seven of them novels, knows his ability to place the reader at the core of themajor activity with such intimacy you often feel like bawling. No question about James Holland:he genuinely qualifies as one of America’s three best WWII writers.Casemate Publishers have corralled most of the nation’s best writers, i.e., fiction, RaymondD. Harris; non-fiction, Brennan Morton. In “Valhalla Boys – – Marine Recon Sniper in Iraq”,Brennan tells the story of a young Marine recon sniper who navigates the harrowingcomplexities of unconventional warfare in Iraq, post-2006. With their motto “Swift, Silent,Deadly”, the Marine operators of the 2 nd Reconnaissance Battalion were trained, for the mostpart, in unconventional warfare, meaning they were tasked with holding and securing sectionsof the dessert countryside. They faced insurgents who were adapting their tactics to kill asmany Coalition soldiers as possible using IEDs. “It was a terrifying new phase of the war whereevery disturbed patch of dirt, every piece of rubbish, every civilian acting oddly, could meaninstant death. Into this cauldron of hate, I entered and wrote about these experiences to sharewith the home front,” Brennan wrote after the war. His immersive memoir takes you throughhis selection and training, including his first patrols. Again, you’re invited to be privy, side byside, to his adventures.In “Break Contact – Continue Mission”, we have a suspenseful first novel published in 1990,considered a classic then, considered even better now. Thus, we enter the realm of the MilitaryAssistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observation Group. These small, tight recon teams– each comprising three U.S. soldiers and five to seven indigenous allies – – undertook some ofthe most hazardous missions of the war. Behind the lines, they worked for hours in the VietCong area to gather as much information as time allowed. The casualties were extraordinarilyhigh, the accolades few. Updated 35 years later, Harris again convinces: “You are present,reader, side by side with me, fully alive and vivid observant. One missed step and we die
together.”
