Hidden Soldier
Hidden Soldier

Author: Padraig O'Keeffe

Publisher: The O'Brien Press

Published: 2013-08-16

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1847176224

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Pádraig O'Keeffe joined the elite and secretive French Foreign Legion at the age of twenty, seeking a challenge that would absorb his interests and intensity. He served with the Legion in Cambodia and Bosnia, then returned to civilian life, but military habits would not allow him to settle. His need for intense excitement and extreme danger drove him back to the lifestyle he knew and loved, and using his Legion training, he became a 'hidden soldier' by opting for security missions in Iraq and Haiti. In Iraq he was the sole survivor of an ambush in no man's land between Abu Ghraib and Fallujah, the most dangerous place on earth. An intense, exciting and vivid account of extraordinary and sometimes horrific events, Hidden Soldier lifts the veil on the dark and shadowy world of security contractors and what the situation is really like in Iraq as well as other trouble spots. This bestseller also includes photographs taken by Padraig O'Keeffe while he was a Legionnaire and when he was in Iraq.

Hidden Wounds
Hidden Wounds

Author: Nate Brookshire

Publisher: Network 3000

Published: 2011-07

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 9781934266229

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April 13, 1945...The last days of WWII...Eight lone German soldiers surrendered. Instead of a POW camp, their steps took them into a shallow grave.John Dougall, an 18-year-old American soldier stood by as the murderous shots were fired. Laying there among the dead was Rudolph Haas, an officer whose death would burden John for a lifetime.John sough redemption in the rugged hills of Korea and in the swamps of Vietnam. Chaining him to remorse and guilt were the private thoughts of Haas, written carefully into the diary that John had taken from the German's body.Six decades later, fate gave John one last chance to set things right and make peace with his past.This is the story of two soldiers robbed of their happiness, yet both clinging fiercely to their honor; and the stories of their wives, as strong in heart as any warrior.The journey takes our heroes from the safety of South Carolina to the battlefields of Europe and from the frozen Siberian Gulag to the gothic cities of Bavaria. The secrets of the Journal connect them all and unbeknownst to John, spark a love that heals their hidden wounds.

Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy
Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy

Author: Nicholas E. Reynolds

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2017-03-14

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 0062440152

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A New York Times–bestseller from an intelligence insider reveals the “fascinating new research” revealing Hemingway’s hidden life in espionage (New York Review of Books). A riveting epic, Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy reveals for the first time Ernest Hemingway’s secret adventures in espionage and intelligence. While he was the historian at the CIA Museum, Nicholas Reynolds, former American intelligence officer and U.S. Marine colonel, uncovered clues suggesting the Nobel Prize-winning novelist was deeply involved in spycraft. Now Reynolds's captivating narrative “looks among the shadows and finds a Hemingway not seen before” (London Review of Books), revealing for the first time the whole story of this hidden side of Hemingway's life: his troubling recruitment by Soviet spies to work with the NKVD, the forerunner to the KGB, followed in short order by a complex set of relationships with American agencies. As he examines the links between Hemingway's work as an operative and as an author, Reynolds reveals how Hemingway's secret adventures influenced his literary output and contributed to the writer's block and mental decline that plagued him during the postwar years. Reynolds also illuminates how those same experiences played a role in some of Hemingway's greatest works, including For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea, while also adding to the burden that he carried at the end of his life and perhaps contributing to his suicide. A literary biography with the soul of an espionage thriller, Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy is essential to our understanding of one of America's most legendary authors. “Important.” —Wall Street Journal

The Steadfast Tin Soldier
The Steadfast Tin Soldier

Author: Hans Christian Andersen

Publisher: ABRAMS

Published: 2013-03-12

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 1613124988

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A beautifully illustrated version of the classic fairy tale about a tin soldier’s adventure and his love for a ballerina, retold with a twist. With her signature warmth and lyricism, Newbery winner Cynthia Rylant has crafted a new version of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a tin soldier who falls in love with a ballerina. As in the original story, the tin soldier’s love for the beautiful ballerina is thwarted by a goblin. The tin soldier is separated from the other toys and washed down a sewer, where he encounters a rat and gets swallowed by a fish, but somehow, against all odds, he manages to end up back home only to be cast into the nursery fire. Rylant adds her own twist to the end of the tale, however, for in this version, the tin soldier and the ballerina are melded to each other, rather than melted, in the heat of the fire, so they’ll never be parted again. Rylant’s expert storytelling paired with Corace’s stunning illustrations create a beautiful, unforgettable tale of everlasting love. Praise for The Steadfast Tin Soldier “Gracefully written. . . . The book’s large format gives plenty of scope for Corace’s distinctive illustrations, precise ink drawings brightened with watercolor, gouache, and acrylic paints. Sometimes brilliantly colorful and sometimes more subdued, the scenes can be crowded with dozens of toys or other visual elements, but they show up well from a distance. The subtle depictions of the goblin and his shadow are particularly fine. A softened vision of the literary fairy tale.” —Booklist “Text and illustrations weave seamlessly to create an involving, fast-paced update of a much-loved tale. Rylant's retelling is abridged, yet sprightly, and Corace’s watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and pen-and-ink illustrations add nuance and whimsy to Andersen's original.” —School Library Journal

Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier
Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier

Author: Ying Chang Compestine

Publisher: Abrams

Published: 2014-01-07

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1613125321

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In this action-packed adventure and coming-of-age story that finely weaves fact and fiction, thirteen-year-old Ming lives in a small village in Maoist China in the 1970s. His father is convinced that Emperor Qin’s tomb—and the life-size terra-cotta army created to serve and protect the emperor in the afterlife—lies hidden in the hills around them. But if Ming’s father doesn’t prove it soon, the town’s Political Officer will condemn him to the brutal labor camps. From the stories of a terra-cotta soldier who has survived through the centuries, Ming learns the history of Emperor Qin, known for building the Great Wall of China, and how and why the terra-cotta soldiers came to be. As their unlikely friendship develops, Ming experiences the mysterious tomb firsthand, braving deadly traps and witnessing the terra-cotta army in action. Most importantly, he comes to see how he can save both the terra-cotta soldiers and his father from the corrupt Political Officer and his Communist cronies. The book is illustrated with photographs of Communist Chinese village life in the 1970s, the Great Wall, and, of course, the excavated tomb with its many terra-cotta soldiers. It also features a special recipe from the story. Praise for Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier "Historical photos and Indiana Jones–style adventure enrich this tale of an unusual meeting between the Qin Dynasty and the 20th century." --Kirkus Reviews "Despite the hardships, both courageous characters work to uphold their respective duties: Shi to protect the tomb and Ming to protect the cultural legacy of China’s people. With archival art, recipes, and end notes, this title is sure to be a hit in the classroom." --Booklist

No Surrender
No Surrender

Author: Hiroo Onoda

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2013-12-04

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1612515649

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In the spring of 1974, Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda of the Japanese army made world headlines when he emerged from the Philippine jungle after a thirty-year ordeal. Hunted in turn by American troops, the Philippine police, hostile islanders, and successive Japanese search parties, Onoda had skillfully outmaneuvered all his pursuers, convinced that World War II was still being fought and that one day his fellow soldiers would return victorious. This account of those years is an epic tale of the will to survive that offers a rare glimpse of man's invincible spirit, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. A hero to his people, Onoda wrote down his experiences soon after his return to civilization. This book was translated into English the following year and has enjoyed an approving audience ever since.

Unlikely Warrior
Unlikely Warrior

Author: Georg Rauch

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2015-02-24

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 0374301425

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Previously published as The Jew with the Iron Cross: a record of survival in WWII Russia. New York: iUniverse, 2006.

A Dusty Boot Soldier Remembers
A Dusty Boot Soldier Remembers

Author: Larry A. Redmond

Publisher: Hellgate Press

Published: 2015-07

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13: 9781555717780

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"A Dusty Boot Soldier Remembers" is the personal memoir of Colonel Larry Redmond, U. S. Army (RET). It covers his 24-year military career, beginning with his commissioning as a Lieutenant of Infantry in 1962 upon graduation from Providence College to various command and staff positions with the 101st Airborne Division, 8th Special Forces Group Airborne, XVIII Airborne Corps, the 82d Airborne Division and various other special operations units. Col. Redmond did two combat tours in Vietnam and had overseas assignments that took him to Panama, Thailand, England, and Israel. Reviewers have called Col. Redmond a "true warrior and patriot" and a "superb soldier," and have hailed his book as "sincere and thrilling" and a "must read.""

No Surrender Soldier
No Surrender Soldier

Author: Christine Kohler

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013-12-02

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1440565627

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Growing up on Guam in 1972, fifteen-year-old Kiko is beset by worries: He's never kissed a girl, the popular guys get all the attention at school--but the worst part is the serious problems at home. His older brother is missing in Vietnam, his grandfather is losing it to dementia, and he just learned that his mother was raped by a Japanese soldier during World War II. It all comes together when he discovers an old man, a Japanese soldier, hiding in the jungle behind his house. It's not the same man who raped his mother, but, in his rage, Kiko cares only about protecting his family and avenging his mom--no matter what it takes. And so, a shy, peaceable boy begins to plan a murder. But how far will Kiko go to prove to himself that he's a man? Based on a true incident in history, No Surrender Soldier is the story of a boy grappling with ancient questions of courage and manhood before he can move on.