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 contemporary
military issues – – and, just in time for Christmas purchases, as this reviewer has been urging
readers to do issue after issue: buy all four, wrap them as one in a box, place under the tree for
Yuletide 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 home
library. Each of the four titles announced and introduced here will achieve extraordinary critical
acclaim, 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 Them
and How They Made War”, by Phillips Payson O’Brien. Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random
House, 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, an
imprint 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, two
soon-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 missions
across 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 the
fascinating connections between Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler, especially
during World War II. It is the biography of a generation as reflected in the life of one man at a
time whose profession placed him wherever history was being made. Author Phillips Payson
O’Brien knows his subjects well, describing them with vivid reality as they move through the
pages of this book.
Of Course, James Holland’s latest, ”Cassino ‘44”, needs little introduction for most World
War II buffs, enthusiasts, and aficionados. Not only are they well-aware of his ability to research
and write, but millions of listeners continue to listen to his BBC WWII podcast, “We Have Ways
of 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 of
his other 23 titles, seven of them novels, knows his ability to place the reader at the core of the
major 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, Raymond
D. 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 harrowing
complexities 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 most
part, in unconventional warfare, meaning they were tasked with holding and securing sections
of the dessert countryside. They faced insurgents who were adapting their tactics to kill as
many Coalition soldiers as possible using IEDs. “It was a terrifying new phase of the war where
every disturbed patch of dirt, every piece of rubbish, every civilian acting oddly, could mean
instant death. Into this cauldron of hate, I entered and wrote about these experiences to share
with the home front,” Brennan wrote after the war. His immersive memoir takes you through
his selection and training, including his first patrols. Again, you’re invited to be privy, side by
side, 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 Military
Assistance 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 of
the most hazardous missions of the war. Behind the lines, they worked for hours in the Viet
Cong area to gather as much information as time allowed. The casualties were extraordinarily
high, 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.”
