Military Books

I was a REMF who worked in intel activities at the lowest to the highest levels from January 1966 to August 1970, with my last assignment tasked to SOG. Mostly unofficially, but some officially, I supplied intel to units like Donahue's. There were a very few other units like his so his was not the "only" real guerrilla force in Vietnam. I eagerly supported these men in anyway I could, to include "midnight requisitioning" things they wanted or needed from Saigon. Donahue writes well and gives the reader a very close up view of the war at the very pointed end of the spear. I could not put the book down until I finished the last page. Master Sergeant, US Army Retired, VN War 66-70 & 71-73.

I have read dozens of non-fiction Vietnam books, trying to gain every perspective. Donohue provides a view somewhat different from many others in that his unit successfully combines US commanders with Cambodian nationals. As other reviewers have related it is the gripping tale of a significant engagement, but with emphasis on the relationships and interactions between men from vastly different cultural backgrounds. I have to admit, in places I questioned whether conversations or details were representative of actual events, or if they were modified as a vehicle to convey patrol SOP (for example) for the benefit of an unenlightened reader. Those impressions were easily overpowered by Donahue's story of the courage and tenacity of the men in his unit, and their dedication to and affection for each other regardless of nationality. As in so many outfits, individual personalities became critical to the success of the mission as well as the care of the unit's dead and wounded both during the battle and in the aftermath. It is a tale well told and will remain on my bookshelf.

Most of the writing I have read from first person accounts of war in Vietnam were either poorly written (ie. We Were Soldiers) or just plain boring and just didn't give you the sense of being there (ie Lest We Forget). Not the case here as Jim is a great writer. He lights up all of the senses on yet another Blackjack suicide mission and really puts you in the jungle. This may sound silly but I wish there was a scratch and sniff part of the book so you can really get what the smell of cut foliage and spent gun powder smell like, or burning napalm, burning flesh and rotting humas.

SPOILER ALERT: Skip the next paragraph if you want to find out what happens on your own.

On this mission it was basic recon of looking for stuff to blow up such as base camps or finding pockets of NVA/VC in the thick triple canopy jungle. MGF manages to spot some communication wires in the jungle indicating at least a regimental size enemy. Recon platoon manages to get spotted when all hell breaks loose and the 4 platoon company sized Mobile Guerrilla Force must retreat back to a small hill that was crossed a short time ago, set up a defensive perimeter around the hill, slug it out with the multiple regimental sized VC and wait for the Mike Force to bail them out resulting in an all day firefight. I personally (which means you free to disagree) equate this book to being the Vietnam version of Black Hawk Down with the exception that MGF didn't screw up. Its a great conclusion to the MFG trilogy as Jim simply falls asleep at a hospital after finally being medivaced from receiving an near fatal head wound.

SPOILERS END HERE

This book is not the typical mud, blood and tears of most Vietnam writings. In fact, there are some parts that will have you laughing (such as when Jim and Bob go to investigate a hut that the VC had just left about as soon as 5 minutes ago...oh the look on Bob's face : D). I will have to take back part of that last statement though as one of Jim's dear friends dies in this one and Jim struggles vainly to save him...not much you can do when their brains are on the ground. Its a good mix of emotions from on the edge of your seat action thrill, to having a good laugh, to being sadden by loss.

The Mobile Guerrilla Force trilogy that Jim writes would make an excellent movie that would show American led forces handing the VC's butts to them, which is historically correct through attrition. We didn't loose...we left. Its like our team was up by 2 touchdowns with about 5 minutes in the 4th quarter and we left. Someone must write a script and hand it to Oliver Stone...PLEASE!!!

Blackjack 34 is a sequel to another book (Backjack-33) about an earlier USSF Mobile Guerrilla Force operation to find and engage VC in the eastern 3 corps area. I certainly support the five star reviews of the earlier reviewers. Unless you were there, you cannot begin to really understand or appreciate what these SF soldiers went thru, but the book helps. Read both of them to get the full value of their operations and experiences.

U.S. special forces experience varied widely in Vietnam. The A Teams, the Greek letter projects, the MIKE Forces, and MAC-V-SOG all fought different fights of a large and very complex war. Within those units, none was more unique than Donohue's, which morphed from an A Team on a mobile guerrilla mission, into the B-36 Special Task Force, much later into the B-36 MIKE Force. Donohue describes the early days, when the window of opportunity for mobile guerrilla operations against the NVA and VC Main Force regiments was wide open. If you want to know what it was like to be with a small band of American special forces (and one Australian), leading companies of Cambodian nationalist rebels from the Khmer Serai against one half of their ancient enemy, then this is one of two books you must read. This is a war of companies against battalions, out well beyond the range of artillery where American forces were not allowed to go, where junior sergeants functioned as platoon leaders during the heavy fighting, and then quickly morphed into medics and radio operators. Read this, and Donohue's Blackjack-33, and you'll have enjoyed some of the finest combat writing to come out of the 5th Special Forces Group.

Ned Begay, a six year old kid, who had to leave his Navajo home, in America and join a boarding school, had to learn the English language and the American ways. In the boarding school, he was not allowed to speak his native language and if he did, there were consequences. Japan was one of the most powerful countries, at that time. Soon Japan started attacking America and World War 2 began. Marine recruiters started looking for Navajos to join the Marines. Ned Begay joined the Marines. He was a code talker, who was not allowed to tell anyone, not even his own family. He would send and receive messages in a secret code. The code was extremely difficult to learn and only a Navajo could learn it. For every letter in the English Alphabet, a Navajo word was assigned. After a lot of practice of the code, Ned was shipped to Hawaii, to battle the Japanese. They had to take an exercise on the big island of Hawaii to experience all kinds of terrains. They had to cross a desert, on foot, in two days and everyone had only one bottle of water. By second day, everybody had collapsed, and only the Navajos had water left. The Navajos were nothing but the best. They had to write a letter to the Colonel to get some drinking water in the desert. After a few days, Hawaii was filled with blood, and dead bodies. Read the book, to find out what happens next. I liked the book " Code Talker " because of the facts that are in the book. One fact I learned was Japan took food from the poor and gave them to their Army. The food was donated to Japan by America, before the war.

Ned Begay, a six year old kid, who had to leave his Navajo home, in America and join a boarding school, had to learn the English language and the American ways. In the boarding school, he was not allowed to speak his native language and if he did, there were consequences. Japan was one of the most powerful countries, at that time. Soon Japan started attacking America and World War 2 began. Marine recruiters started looking for Navajos to join the Marines. Ned Begay joined the Marines. He was a code talker, who was not allowed to tell anyone, not even his own family. He would send and receive messages in a secret code. The code was extremely difficult to learn and only a Navajo could learn it. For every letter in the English Alphabet, a Navajo word was assigned. After a lot of practice of the code, Ned was shipped to Hawaii, to battle the Japanese. They had to take an exercise on the big island of Hawaii to experience all kinds of terrains. They had to cross a desert, on foot, in two days and everyone had only one bottle of water. By second day, everybody had collapsed, and only the Navajos had water left. The Navajos were nothing but the best. They had to write a letter to the Colonel to get some drinking water in the desert. After a few days, Hawaii was filled with blood, and dead bodies. Read the book, to find out what happens next. I liked the book " Code Talker " because of the facts that are in the book. One fact I learned was Japan took food from the poor and gave them to their Army. The food was donated to Japan by America, before the war.

This is a great book. Not much else to say. 5 stars!! especially if you are into fictional stories based on real historical events!

We read this book aloud while on a driving vacation through Navajo country in New Mexico and Arizona. My children (girl 10, boy 8 and girl 5) were completely enthralled with both the story and the insight into the Navajo people. Although a work of fiction, the book reads very convincingly as a memoir. The author succeeds admirably in relating the cultural challenges faced by patriotic Native Americans serving in the military as well a giving a non-romanticized portrayal of the realities faced by the soldiers who waged battle in the Pacific. We particularly appreciated the lighter moments -- one tale of boot-camp swimming "lessons" had the kids screaming with laughter. A great read pure and simple, but also one with good lessons to be learned.

Bruchac has created a terrific historic novel that has enough action for young male adults and enough history and research to appeal to an adult audience. Bruchac does a wonderful job of giving a sense of the complexities of growing up on a Navajo reservation in the first half of the book. The irony of a nation trying to wipe out the Navajo language but using it as a crucial means of communication during 20th century wars should not be lost on the reader while reading the second half of the book. Bruchac's narrator tells this tale in an even-keeled, even-tempered manner. The reader is allowed to gain his own sense of injustice our nation has inflicted upon its Native American population. Bruchac's description of the progression of America's involvement in World War II's Pacific campaign is well laid-out and dramatically presented. Highly recommended.

This book covers the day to day experiences of a recruit going through recruit training. Having
been a Marine for 20 years and also a drill instructor, thoroughly enjoyed this book by GySgt Price.
If your a Marine, it will bring back memories of boot camp, and if your not a Marine, read it and enjoy it anyway.

OUTSTANDING Great Read FOR ALL MARINES BRINGS BACK MEMORIES FOR ANY MARINE TO GO THROUGH PARRIS ISLAND

This book is phenomenal for any one considering the USMC, for those who are a Marine and for those who know a Marine. It really allows one to experience the mental anguish of a recruit at bootcamp. It should be a mandatory read for all potential recruits!

This book did okay at capturing what boot camp was like, but didn't really shed any new light on anything. Also, I've read a lot of memoirs that came across as balanced, but this one was a bit too self-serving.

"Boot" or "Making Marines" made for a better read.

This summer i leave for San Deigo, for boot camp. After reading this AMAZING book, i am now even more motivated and pumped to become a MARINE!! This book is great for anyone planning on joining, or anyone that knows somebody in the Marines.

Awesome,Awesome,Awesome.I could not put this book down! Need more stars for this one...

WOW!!!!! Not since James Webb's "Fields of Fire" have I read a Nam novel of this caliber. It was fantastic. One of those books that just keep you up late at night reading it. The story of Ensign William Stuart, USNR, a ROTC officer who starts out on an old converted aircraft carrier off the coast of Nam and then eventually becomes the leader of a naval gunfire spotting team. They have some incredible firefights with the VC and NVA. The guys on the team are well developed characters: Bobby, an angry black athlete drafted by the NY Giants AND the US Army so he enlists in the Marines; Moser, a big dumb gunner's mate who carries an old Browning .50 caliber machine gun with him in the bush; Hunter, who burns with revenge after his Vietnamese girlfriend is murdered. Leading them all is Stuart, a very gifted officer whose wife writes him a Dear John letter while he is in de Nam which just tears him apart. He is so cool under fire he earns the nickname "Ice." The book concludes with a visit back to The World where protesters meet Stuart at the airport and spatter him with red paint to symbolize blood and call him a baby killer. Brought back some really bad memories of that time in our country's history for this old vet. Great dialogue between the members of the fire team as they discuss the meaning of the war, racial differences, etc. I guess I just cannot say enough good things about this book. I loved it. You should read it.

Like the protagonist, I was a Naval line officer who served first on a ship off the Vietnam coast, then attended Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training, and then served an extended tour in-country, all at almost precisely the same time as Lieb's LT Stuart. I was completely absorbed in this book, and it brought back a hundred memories.

I thought I was part of a very narrow audience who would appreciate it. I see that all 15 prior reviewers gave it the full five stars. I salute those who got so much satisfaction out of it, and I have no quarrel with their high rating.

The reason I give it only four stars is that I don't think the literary quality quite lives up that of classics like "Fields of Fire", "The Things They Carried" and "Dispatches". The plotting is a little too formulaic and the writing is all on the nose.

But for anyone on the fence, do by all means read it. Entirely worthwhile.

I am unable to put into words how touching this book was. I have never read a book that portrays that era in our history in better form. His writing on combat could only be written by experience. It also discribed the protesters in proper form. I wonder as these people approach their waning years why they are not very quick to recall their years of student protest. The good and valored men were dying in those paddys. They sometimes admit it with some educated statement of how they were trying to help their poor brothers in Vietnam. The facts were well discribed in this book they were in most opinions traitors. anyone that served would feel this way. Yes, there are 50,000 names of American Patriots on that wall, they gave all so the protesters have had a good life.This book should be mandatory in High School but would never be because the protesters are the academic leaders. Semper Fi.

I found that this book was very intense to read. I finished it in 4 days of reading. I find it very interesting that the author would pick Rufus Hood to dedicate this book to. I was with Rufus the day he was killed. Rest in piece Rufus.

One of the best books about Vietnam I have read! It reminds me of a kinder gentler version of Caputo's Rumor of War. It has the feel of what it was like for an average soldier to be there without the blood and vulgarity of Caputo. If you like blood and guts memoirs then look elsewhere but if you are looking for a coming of age story about a young man who goes off to War, then you will love The Ghosts of Vietnam.

This is an excellent book, a poignant, sometimes funny, realistic, and down to earth honest look at growing up in rural America, and going to war.

Jim gives us a rare look at the Vietnam war from a different point of view, with insights that will engage a broad spectrum of readers, especially those of us who were there!

Thanks Jim for the memories!

First-time author Jim Stewart has written a raw and powerful memoir of his years in Vietnam and his life. Unlike many of the current Vietnam-era memoirs, Stewart's uncommonly poignant and well-written story details his four years in the `Nam without the blood, gore, or trauma so popular today. This is the story of a young man's coming of age and maturing as a human being while simultaneously dealing with a war, a callous family `back in the world', and his first real love and long-term relationship.

Stewart takes us back to his childhood, where he grew up in a poor but loving household, and how he tried re-create it with his young Vietnamese girlfriend, Mai. In the midst of the Tet Offensive and the later collapse of the country, Stewart and Mai strive for normalcy in the insanity of Vietnam towards the end of the war. His relaxed yet detailed writing style allows the reader to begin to understand what it was like to live and work in Saigon, both for a Vietnamese and an American; even such insignificant events as shopping and taking a taxi turn must be pre-planned, and Stewart draws the reader directly into the traffic with him.

While the author was an MP instead of an infantryman and therefore believes himself possibly fortunate not seen any actual combat, his book is not really about the fighting in Vietnam; it's a story of the author, his dad, Per, Mai, and Phuong - and it's a story well worth reading. Highly recommended !!

Jim Stewart's remarkable memoir "The Ghost of Viet Nam" is a gut wrenching true story about a boy's rights-of-passage to manhood. Stewart's descriptions of life and love in Viet Nam breathe life into the story of Military Police action across the war torn country. The excellent narrative rings with truth and humor as Stewart relays his four years in country and the devastating effect on his personal life. I recommend "The Ghost of Viet Nam" as a well written and authoritative. It provides a unique perspective on the effects of a long forgotten war.

[...]

I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it. I like how the author described his childhood and took us with him on a realistic account of his life in Vietnam. Few authors have been able to do this without getting political. I felt for his loss of his daughter and how these past ghosts stayed with him for so many years. A lessor man would have forgotten all about his girlfired in Vietnam and went on with his life. Jim carried with him his past and he did something about it. It was a great read and I highly recommend it. I too served in combat in Vietnam and know what he wrote about to be true and unusuallly frank. LT. Charles E. Gibb, Ph.D. USN Ret.

As a well traveled German, living in America the Country of my choice, Henry's Journey brought back fond memories of England, Africa and India. I was much moved by the German subplot.As I was born in postwar Germany, I am always asking myself "would I have been a Henry or a Henrietta? I just wished, there would have been more Henrys or Churchills and this era would not still be such a shadow on my conscience. The twist at the end definitely brings us all back to the dangers we face today.
I particularly liked Henry's reaction to the racial discrimination he had to endure himself, and instead of faltering he rose above it.
Stephen Maitland-Lewis is a wonderful story teller, skillfully introducing real historic events throughout the book. One has to remind oneself that the main characters are just fiction. Brilliant! (Henry could be a great role model for today's times.)
I am looking forward to what this author can next produce.

As a well traveled German, living in America the Country of my choice, Henry's Journey brought back fond memories of England, Africa and India. I was much moved by the German Subplot. AS I was born in postwar Germany, I am always asking myself "would I have been a Henry or a Henrietta? I just wished, there would have been more Henrys or Churchills and this era would not still be such a shadow on my conscience. The twist at the end definitely brings us all back to the dangers we face today.

I particularly liked Henry's reaction to the racial discrimination he had to endure himself, and instead of faltering he rose above it.
Stephen Maitland-Lewis is a wonderful story teller, skillfully introducing real historic events throughout the book. One has to remind oneself that the main characters are just fiction. Brilliant! (Henry could be a great role model for today's times.)
I am looking forward to what this author can NEXT produce.

I love finding a new author. I love it even more when I can honestly say that I look forward to their next book! I read on the average a book every two or three days and if it dosen't capture me in the first 3 chapters I remind myself to pass on any future dealings with said author. Stephen Maitland Lewis has what it takes to grab you and hold you until you find yourself reading the last line of the last chapter! Cheers.

The author of "Hero On Three Continents" is a true mastermind. He writes in a charismatic text, with a focus on detail. Hero on three continents is a "must read!"

A friend recently purchased this book online in the US. He said it was the best book he'd read in years and sent me his copy to read. I have to say that if anything his comments were an understatement.This is as good, well-written and researched novel as I have ever read. I consider it a masterpiece. A new star is on the horizon and I hope he writes another book soon

Being the wife of a combat Marine I really learned alot from Doc's book. I read the book all the way through and this is a book that is alive. Our heroes sacrifice so much for us and if it wasn't for them we would not have our freedom. Doc, thank you for helping me understand more about PTSD and what y'all went through. I don't give this book a 5 star rating , I give it a 10 star rating.

I was to young to actually know the impact that this war had on our men and women. This book by Mr McFall gets right to his heart and his feelings. It is so powerful! I believe that this book should be used in many ways to help communicate the effects that war has on an individual. God bless our men and women who have served our great country!
Thank you Mr McFall and may God continue to bless you and your family!

A combat medic lives war at its worst, and remembers every terrified scream of it.

There are the memories of those who were treated and made it home; of those whose wounds were beyond treatment despite heroic efforts.

Those memories are as fresh today as the emotions were at the time of treatment; memories of soldiers and civilians gushing blood; memories of soldiers and civilians having body parts torn and cascading into all the wrong places.

For E. Everett McFall, there are the memories of jumbled body parts and attempts to put them together to form the remains of what were once men - individual men with loved ones, hopes, talents, and dreams that dripped into the red soil or into the floor of the jungle.

There are no fancy words here. His words are direct, his pain drips off the pages and into the heart of the reader.

McFall writes from the heart. He writes from a soul splintered and haunted by 365 days that have been lived over and over and over again for the last 40 years.

We measure war in terms of dollar costs; in counts of the dead; in counts of the wounded.
But we have yet to learn to measure war in terms of lives ruined by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We have yet to learn to measure the losses of those who love those who come home with PTSD.

We have yet to learn the true face of war. E. Ernest McFall provides the reader with a vivid and heart tearing word portrait of the hideous face of war; of the plague of PTSD; of the rending of soul by survivor's guilt and questions of why am I still here when so very many others are not.

Pfc Jay E. Keck contributes his poetry to I Can Still Hear Their Cries. May I ask you to direct your attention to the last lines of his Sand Soldiers and pay heed to his admonition, as there are all kinds, as he points out in another poem, all kinds of Bogeymen contributing to PTSD - even those who should have, and in truth did, know better.


I Can Still Hear Their Cries is a story of the long, long road home. It is a tale that will speak to other Veterans who suffer PTSD. It is a tale needed by those who love those with PTSD to help them understand.

McFall tells you, loud and clear, that drugs and alcohol only bury the pain deeper, rather than excavating it and getting help to go through it to healing.

McFall notes that he is still in the process of finding his way home. It is a long road.

But I Can Still Hear Their Cries may open your eyes to the possibility that there is, in fact, a road home for you too - should you choose to come up from the dark to the Light.

Take the first step - there are many, many around to help you - just reach out - someone is there waiting to walk point for you.

Mr. McFall uses a combination of stories and poems to pull the reader into the pain and turmoil of living with PTSD. This book is a MUST READ for veterans and their families and friends who struggle to understand the scars left from battle.

We have been told the Vietnam veterans' story many times before. We've seen it in the movies, in books, on TV, and on the corners of our streets. Yet, in an intimate way, in E. Everett McFall's book, `I Can Still Hear Their Cries, Even in My Sleep,' the inner struggle of the Vietnam Vet comes home yet again. This time the reflections come from within. Having read `Born on the Fourth of July,' and seen 'Platoon,' I feel that McFall properly takes us to a new dimension, focusing on the inner torment that won't shut off.

Consisting of reflections, resources, and nearly thirty poems, he focuses on the pride, bitterness, and fragility of his service as a US Marine Hospital Corpsman in The Vietnam War from 1966-67. Whether in prose or in poetry, he won't ever let us forget their sacrifices. Noting that some have forgotten the Vets of the War, the Vets of the War have taken it home with them and can't ever forget. In detail, sometimes graphic at others subdued, he shares images of the grim reality in battle that haunt him--and probably will haunt him until death.

The title is a bare-bones description of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSD). In his introduction McFall concisely states that "It's an instant video play-back in my mind, with cranial surround sound." That playback is given a stark treatment in poems such as "Death Angel" and "Flashback". Whether drawing from elements of traditional poetry or relying on rap-like structure, the subject matter changes with the rhythm. In "Patrol on Ambush" and "The Ooorah Warrior" the repetition reflects the routine of a marine waiting for the next development in "combat hell." At other times the rhythm is more irregular to reflect the chaos and death that surround him. To round out his repertoire, "Heavenly Star" and "Brotherhood" add much needed hope to the experience.

But the main focus is on the indelible memories of trauma and death. "Tic Tic Tic" and "Undying Memories" are each aptly titled for their flashback resonance in waking moments that rush into consciousness. Flanking McFall's work are sample poems by fellow veteran Pfc. Jay E. Keck and anonymous poems (which is entirely appropriate given the unknown soldier element of every war). The guide ends with a short, poignant reflection and a resource guide for the veteran suffering from PTSD, including a handy guideline for filling out forms for VA claims.

Whether approached as a cathartic guide for fellow veterans or a route to vicarious appreciation from uninitiated civilians, 'I Can Still Hear Their Cries,...' is an essential portal to understanding the trauma of selfless veterans of a tragic War. Clearly by McFall's writings, the repercussions are still being fought today. If you were at the front lines of the War or at the front of the picket lines--or even too young to remember--Ernest McFall's little book will have a big impact on how you feel about those who served their country at such a fragile time in our history.

Inside Camp-X As a young boy who moved to Canada in the late 60s, I actually snuck into Camp X before it was turned over to the Fire department for controlled burns, what a historical tragedy! I had no idea of the significance of this historical site until reading Inside Camp X! This is a fascinating book about the little know realm of Secret Agents. To think that Ian Fleming trained there which led to one of the most incredible movie series of all time, James Bond, is incredible history for Canada! In fact, I was so enthralled with the character of James Bond; I named my son after the greatest actor to play the roll! And now Sean is serving in Afghanistan with US Army Intelligence - - go figure! There is so much more to Camp X than most people know! Alumni went on to become directors of the FBI, and one of its alumni went on to be one of the founders of the Green Berets! Anyone with an interest in Intelligence, espionage, and elite military operations must read this book, it all started here! All of Lynn's books are wonderful reading and I highly recommend them!

This audiobook is about the training and development of Allies spies during W.W.II. During World War II there was a Secret Camp on the Shores of Lake Ontario built Specifically for Training Allied Spies.
This Non-Fiction Audiobook "Inside Camp X" takes you from recruitment, Training, Specialty Instruction, Field work, Assignments, Missions, Captures and Life after the War.
The sole purpose of Camp X was to develop Secret Agents in every aspect of Silent Killing, Sabotage, Demolition, Weaponry and Morse Code.
Read by Michael Booth. Michael Booth , a prominent Shakespearean actor and producer in Canada.

From the moment I started reading this book I couldn't put it down until it was finished. This has to be one of the most incredible covert operations of WW2. From Sir William Stephenson's start-up operations to the closing at the end of the war, it takes the reader through the intense training, discipline, and secretive world of intelligence. And all this took place right in the Whitby/Oshawa area. Until I read this book I was totally unaware of how intriguing and historical this area was. Thank you for a well written, well researched and highly informative book.

Frances Whelan

INSIDE CAMP X
By Lynn Philip Hodgson
During World War II there was a Secret Camp on the Shores of Lake Ontario built
Specifically for Training Allied Spies. This Non-Fiction Audiobook "Inside Camp X" takes you from recruitment, Training,Specialty Instruction, Field work, Assignments, Missions, Captures and Life after the War. The sole purpose of Camp X was to develop Secret Agents in every aspect of
Silent Killing, Sabotage, Demolition, Weaponry and Morse Code.
Read by Michael Booth. Michael Booth is a prominent Shakespearean actor and
producer in Canada.

CAMP X
The true story of what went on behind the fences of
STS - 103 (Camp - X) This top secret World War II
Secret Agent Training School was strategically placed
in Canada on the shores of Lake Ontario.

As outlined in his biography The Life of Ian Fleming written by John Pearson after
the war, Fleming was required to take the same training as the Camp - X Agents
in order to realize the effect of the process and to have a better appreciation for
what the Agents endured. On one occasion, he was sent inside with orders to
shoot and kill the man he would find hiding in an upstairs bedroom.

Unbeknownst to Fleming, his intended target was in fact the Chief Instructor of
Camp - X, Major William Ewart Fairbairn, a man who, it was fabled, was so good
at his trade that he could dodge bullets! Pearson quotes William Stephenson,
Head of the British Security Co-ordination, as having said, "It was a test of nerve....
a test to decide whether he (the Agent) really was ruthless enough to kill a man
when it came down to it." According to the account, Fleming waited outside the
room for a time, then went away. "You know, I couldn't really kill a man that way."
Stephenson said Fleming apologized later. Fleming drew from this and his other
experiences with Agents from Camp - X to write his famous 'James Bond' novels.

Mr. Hodgsons book on the inner workings of Camp x, which till recently has been shrouded in secrecy, is a must read ...As someone that lives very close to the actual site it has opened my eyes to what Camp X was all about...Untill this book became available, even those of us that live very close to the site had no idea of the importance of Camp X...

I got it for my friend who is military. Also, i read it myself several times. He enjoyed reading it a lot, as well as other books by this author.

In the opening pages of "Inside the Aquarium" the narrator, ex-Soviet agent Viktor Suvorov, describes his first memory as a member of Soviet Military Intelligence: watching a film of an execution of a would-be defector. The officer in question was strapped into a coffin with an open lid, elevated slightly so he could see what was coming, and then traversed slowly down a conveyor belt into a blast furnace, screaming all the way.

With this gut-wrenching scene, Suvorov opens "Inside the Aquarium", his tale of how he was recruited, served, and ultimately defected from, the GRU, the military counterpart (and rival) of the communist KGB.

As an officer, Suvorov was the cream of the cream. A company commander, he participated in the "liberation" of Czechoslovakia in '68, served a tour on the General Staff and in the Spetznaz (the elite Soviet special forces) and was ultimately tapped for service with the GRU, an organization hardly anyone had heard of but whose impact could scarcely have been greater during the Cold War.

Suvorov described the mission, organization, scope and accomplishments of this massive octopus in his companion work, "Inside Soviet Military Intelligence." In sum, its mission was to recruit foreign agents, spy, and steal technology from the West using any and all means -- from bribery and blackmail to intimidation and murder.

Suvorov has many spy tales to enthrall the reader -- his physical and psychological training pitted him against condemned inmates in hand-to-hand combat, punished lapses of memory with electrical shocks, and strove to exploit his emotional pressure points at every turn, until he was for all appearances just the type of pitiless machine-man communism hoped to produce. And his field experiences in the West are an unrelenting tale of deceit, lies and ruthless manipulation. There was nothing the GRU wouldn't do to get its hands on foreign technology and the foreign agents willing to sell it. Success meant medals, promotion and respect; failure meant disgrace, torture and sometimes execution. In Intelligence, like Hollywood, you're only as good as your last job, and the mantra of Suvorov's superiors was unvaryingly: "What have you done for me today?"

The book is most effective for me, however, in conveying the mental and emotional atmosphere which living in the communist penitentiary state produced among its inmates. As a GRU agent, Suvorov had unheard-of priveleges and status, yet the unyeilding pressure to produce results "or else", the knowledge that his every word, action and even facial expression was under constant scrutiny from psychologists and superiors, and the unspoken knowledge that many of his assignments were actually tests of his willingness to betray his friends, all brought me back to Orwell's "1984." To a world where lies, cruelty, double-dealing and fear rule every moment of every day, and all human emotions except lust, cruelty and ambition are discouraged and punished.

The most emotionally difficult moments in the book for me were not the betrayals, murders and interrogations of former pals (conducted on the dreaded "conveyor", which some killed themselves to avoid experiencing) but Suvorov's knowledge that so many idiots in the West were all to willing to give up their freedom and prosperity and become knowing tools of Soviet intelligence. His incredulity and hatred of these people, who he was trained to recruit and treat kindly, is excellent proof that freedom is best appreciated by those who had to risk everything to win it. Suvorov coldly refers to communist-loving Westerners as "expletive-eaters" and this expression was shared by the whole of the GRU. They had to live in a prison: why would anyone want to do it voluntarily?

"Aquarium" (named after the nickname for GRU headquarters), should be required reading for all those daddy-financed college rebels who put on Che Guevera T-shirts and denounce Western capitalism in favor of some kind of Marxian utopia. Suvorov lived in one, and risked being thrown in a blast furnace to escape it.

In this impressive work, Viktor Suvorov, a former GRU agent, takes the reader out into the field with Soviet military intelligence. He takes the reader through the recruitment process, training, and actual field intelligence work in a manner that crackles with authenticity. After reading this work, it is impossible not to come away sobered by the discipline and dedication of the Soviets. Nor is this book irrelevant today. By all accounts the GRU is still in business, whatever it now calls itself under the Russian Republic. It is not likely that it has changed much.

In one particularly telling scene, during their training military intelligence agents are taken to the training camp of young Soviet athletes, who are struggling mightily and sweatily to prepare for the Olympics--working literally every waking hour. The spy trainer then says to the students words to the effect of "This is how hard those who represent our country in the field of sport must work. Did you really think you, who will represent our country in the field of intelligence, can work any less hard?" Quite a good point, when one reflects upon it.

Suvorov is an engaging writer who knows how to make his points. This book is a fascinating look into a world that many Westerners barely know exists. Highly recommended.

Suvarov, or whatever his name is, is quite a person. This book details his transition from ambitious soviet tank commander to soviet intelligence agent, and supposedly it is all true. Suvorov is so amazingly smart and thorough that if it were not true, we would never know. But thats not the point. this book is a page turner, reads like a novel, and discloses just how hard core and thorough the soviet intelligence services were, and probably are in whatever their current guise is. They were competitive, ambitious, driven, scared, talented and well organized. It would be hard to imagine building a more frightening group then the GRU. In fact, it makes you wonder how in the world anyone on the capitalist/NATO/etc side could even compete with these guys. From the fact of not even giving them guns (if you need a gun you are already done for), recruiting only agents who did not look suspicious, to keeping them frightened of the "conveyor", I doubt you will be the same after reading this book. I mean, this guy jumps naked into ant hills to get bitten by ants so he wont get sick. Entertaining and highly recommended. If you like reading something like "smileys people" --this is the flip side, soviet, and true. scary.

Suvorov takes a deep look at human nature, the Soviet intelligence arena and military intelligence in general. I believe it is a text to be studied and returned to. The following passage is the readers favorite:

"The troops were convinced that human nature was basically vicious and incorrigible. They had good reason. Every day they risked their lives and every day they had an opportunity to observe people on the brink of death. So they divided everybody into the good and the bad. A good person in their eyes was one who did not conceal the animal seated within him. But a person who tried to appear good was dangerous. The most dangerous were those who not only paraded their good qualities but who also believed within themselves they were indeed good people.

The most loathsome disgusting criminal might kill a man, ten men or even a hundred. But a criminal will never kill people by the million. Millions are killed only by those who consider themselves good."

This book is the best source on Japanese cruisers for any type of source wether its for the dedicateted historian or model enthunist. I myself am building a 4.2m model of the heavy/seaplane cruiser Mogami and by reading this book and using its exilent drawing I found out that the plan were total wrong parts copyed from other ships. Note for Modelers this is an exilent book for begining a model it includes hull profiles, profile drawings and brige cut away drawings. Put this togeather with Janusz Skulski's book Anatomy of Ships Book The Heavy Cruiser Takao and you have just about all the deatalis for an IJN cruiser.

Book is sooo HUGE that it should have been divided into 2 books. Everthing you would want to know about japanese cruisers and then some!!!!Highly recomemeded!!!

This book is easily the most complete book of it's type in the English language. Every picture, drawing and description as well as narrative fill in a huge void on this subject of Japanese Cruisers.

There is few stones left unturned by this work describing design philosophy, weapons and control systems, machinery and operational history of the designs and ships. Diagrams and photos are plentiful and are placed in the narrative extremely well.

This is the sort of work that needs time to delve in to all it has to offer the reader but the time is worth every second.

There are few adjectives that give this book it's proper due.

First thing I thought when recieving this book from our tame white van man was: that is very well packed. Till I discovered that about the whole package was the book itself.
I found it a very interesting read.
It gives a complete insight in the development history of these cruisers and show the choices made in designing these ships and the factors (technical or political) that influenced these choices.
The amount of detail is amazing. Where can you find drawings of the development of the bridge structures, even of individual ships within their classes ?
It must have been an incredible amount of work to sift through all the material that went into this book and write it up to a balanced and succesfull story about these ships.
Apart from my enthousiasm for this book it has a few small drawbacks.
Some of the drawings are printed on such a small scale that the keys are hardly readable. I would have liked some more photographs; but I very well understand the choices made, and they are certainly sufficient.
The operational histories are a bit dry and a bit to much of: and then we went there and then we went there.
What I missed was a reasoned discussion about the operational value of these ships in conflict with or in comparison with other relevant warships of their time.
But I consider them minor compared to the wealth of ordered information and relevant background as for instance the structure of the japanese navy, radar development and gun control systems. Illustrative for the quality is a nice detail as the description of the significance of the ships names.
A treat tot read, but reserve enough time to do it.

This book is EVERYTHING it is advertised to be. The term "definitive" is often overused, but not in this case.