Military Books

How Walter Dean Myers ever dreamed up a picture book of the Vietnam War is beyond me. I immediately wanted to read it and buy it. It turned out to be very good and contains imagery of the scariness of war. It avoids gore but people do die and soldiers do kill. Haunting.

"Patrol" by Walter Myers is a great book. The main charactor doesn't have a name in this book. Anyways, he is in the forsests of Vietnam during the vietnam war. He is slowly walking through the woulds and than he hears gun shots. He dives to the ground and and looks for the opponent. People who would like this book are kids to adults. Adults would like it because they can remember the war that was going on when they were a kid. Kids would enjoy it because a lot of times kids like to play as if they were army men fighting in a war.Thise book is Historical Fiction because the war happend but not this particular scene.

This book has different types of pictures. The pictures are a bunch of picturesf cut out and put on one piece of paper. I think this army book is a great book for kids to understand what it feels like to be in a war.
The writting of this book is also unique because it is a type of poem writting form. This book is easy to read and understand. Kids should read this book if they are interested in war stuff and if they don't like to read long books.

Boom! A granade went off next to my buddy and sent him flying back to his death. Could I be next thought the brave soldier? Patrol is about the Veitnam War and a soldier who is very cautious about his surroundings. This book is very mysterious because you don't know what will happen to the soldier. He is constantly thinking about his family and how his death could come to him.
He is trapped in the middle of the Vietnamise forests and is lost with his buddies. They have a long maze of problems ahead of them including how they get back home. This book is good if you are a follower of this war or if you like stories that always are mysterious and are hard to guess what is going to happen. It is a picture book but that doesn't mean that is isn't good. Patrol is a mix of mystery and heroic. The author, Walter Dean Myers, realy knows how to make a great book for children.
I enjoied reading the book Patrol so I think you will too! Don't get too caught up in the pictures because they are awsome. If you are looking for an awsome picture book to just read then this is for you.

Patrol
Patrol is about a soldier in war looking for the enemy and doing what he is told. War makes the main character relies what he could loose and what he could gain. The captain never let up on the main character and never lets the platoon or him rest. Even when they are fired upon the captain tells them to shoot and keep moving. The main character calls in a bomber and the gun battle is over but that's not the end to the book.

I've been studying the life of Lawrence nearly all of my own 50 years, since I was thirteen. I've read and reread all I could find about him, especially his own Seven Pillars of Wisdom. How refreshing it was to read Professor Mack's excellent book which covers so much more than I'd ever found before and with surprisingly brilliant insight. A fresh look at this enigmatic figure with modern eyes and a richer understanding. A great read.

I have now read several books both on T.E. Lawrence, the Middle East, World War I and English governmental history. This is by far the best biography on T.E. Lawrence and the situation in the Middle East that I have read. John Mack did an outstanding job of researching Lawrence for this book. One of the most interesting sections of the book was reading the endnotes. They provide even more information about Mack's research as well as to clarify some previous misstatements about Lawrence.

Although Lawrence suffered greatly from depression and other disorders he was a truly great man. That he was able to be an outstanding friend to so many people while enduring personal suffering is amazing. John Mack portrays Lawrence in an honest light which actually makes Lawrence and his achievements all the more spectacular because of his personal struggles.

John Mack's biography shows us that great people are not perfect nor does their greatness make them happy. He also shows that people who, if truth were know, live outside of societies norms can do world changing things and be loved by society. Lawrence seemed to have been very accepting of all people, other than himself.

To call Lawrence's life tragic in some way diminishes his accomplishments. Was Lawrence a great man because of his problems or in spite of his problems? I think that Lawrence was capable of being a legend because of his problems. The psychological struggles he endured were who he was. Society is so quick to discount a person because of psychological problems, whether they are great people or not. If society were honest with itself, it would realize that everyone has some problem or other. Some, as Lawrence was, are open (relatively) and honest about their problems while most choose to act as if they don't exist.

Winston Churchill, a contemporary of Lawrence's, also suffered greatly from depression and probably some other things as well. Churchill was also hero and a legend and was largely responsible for keeping the world free from Nazi Germany when few noticed the threat or appropriately dealt with it.

It appears to me, that the greater the leader and the more astounding his or her abilities, the more "different" they are from what society believes is normal. A good thought to ponder.

John Mack does an excellent job of providing a well-documented biography of T.E. Lawrence as well as an outline of his psychological makeup. Mack does not claim to understand Lawrence or to explain every behavior. I had expected to read more of a detailed psychological report and was, at first, a bit disappointed. However, the longer I read the more apparent it was that Mack was portraying Lawrence's personality through an accurate telling of his story rather than trying to lecture on "who Lawrence really was" and "why he did everything he did". John Mack also did not fall into the overly Freudian theory that Lawrence did everything because of sex. Sex obviously played a role in his psychology but did not appear to be the overriding theme.

For years, I have studied the life and works of T. E. Lawrence. My research has lead me across the pages of hundreds of books including his own Seven Pillars of Wisdom, but the best biography and analysis of Lawrence I have yet encountered is A Prince of Our Disorder.

Dr. Mack's thorough examination and explanation of the effect of Lawrence's childhood on his adult life and mentality is brilliant. Instead of merely stating his opinions, he touches on those of other biographers as well and then proceeds to state how and why he feels they are accurate or inaccurate, providing quotes from military reports, other Lawrence books, interviews with Lawrence's relatives and friends, and Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

If you read A Prince of Our Disorder, I can almost 100% gaurantee that you will have a better understanding of Lawrence's personal role in the Hejaz Campaign and the lasting effects of his experiences in Arabia on him physically and psychologically. Thankfully, it is beautifully written, and not at all confusing.

From the moment Mack "introduces" you to Lawrence you will have a desire to learn more about him, and as Mack walks you through his troubled life, you will feel pity and awe for this untouchable man.

I think that A Prince of Our Disorder clarifies the line between the legend of the indestructable, hero-Lawrence and the lost, soul-searching man Lawrence really was.

Dr. John Mack's study of Lawrence is one of the most absorbing reads I've ever enjoyed in my lifetime. As Irving Howe wrote, "What finally draws one to Lawrence, making him not merely an exceptional figure, but a representative man of our century, is his courage and vulnerability in bearing the burden of consciousness." The impact that the trial by fire in Arabia appears to have had on his post-war life is shocking, and teaches us once again not to envy our great heroes. Lawrence wrote of General Allenby that great men cannot be judged by ordinary standards, anymore than the sharpness of the bow of an ocean liner can be judged by the sharpness of a razor. After reading "A Prince of Our Disorder," I recognize now that Lawrence was probably thinking of himself while writing those kind words about his former master, asking that he not be be judged by his hidden afflictions, torments, and self-doubts, all the while laying out those same imperfections for all the world to read. Lawrence warned us,"The documents are liars ... No man ever yet tried to write down the entire truth of any action in which he has been engaged." No man is truly capable of understanding his own subconscious motivations, but I doubt that anyone has ever struggled harder than Lawrence to achieve self-understanding. We will have to try to read between the lines, learn what we can, and apply that knowledge to enrich our own poor lives.

So sad for all of us that our leaders are not of the same introspective type. Dr. Mack comments in his introduction that "The destructive leader, and the eagerness of a large segment of the population to identify with him, comprise one of the central threats -- if not the greatest threat -- that faces human society. There is perhaps an increasing unwillingness to entrust our well-being and our lives to individuals and characters we do not understand and whose ultimate purposes we are ignorant of." Let's hope so.

Jeremy Wilson's massive biography "Lawrence of Arabia" may better satisfy military readers interested in extensive contemporary document citations, and includes much more detail on Lawrence's Cairo years. Wilson also has a better set of photographs. The 1922 Oxford full text of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom," edited by Jeremy and Nicole Wilson and available from Castle Hill Press in the UK, is most highly recommended to all who find "T.E.L." fascinating.

While searching for literature on the man in the movie `Lawrence of Arabia', otherwise unknown to me other than knowing him as the brother of D.H. Lawrence, I stumbled across this most authoritative biography on the man who David Lean so magnificently portrayed in his film. He is one of the men who could be placed in par with other great leaders of Britain during the early part of the 20th century.

While Lawrence's autobiography, `Seven Pillars of Wisdom' gives gory picture of his life in the desert and his adventurous war campaigns, Mack's book gives more insight into the man's psyche just as Judith Brown did on Gandhi in her book `Gandhi - A Prisoner of hope'. His many questionable traits (exhibitionism, homosexual tendancies, overemphasis of his achievements) are wonderfully analyzed with information gleaned from tons of historical materials. While the west looked at him as a great war commander (though some question his contributions during the great desert wars), the east, even the people who worked with him, do not consider him as a man who helped Arabs gain their freedom from Turks other than agreeing to the fact that he helped king Faisel in wars.

Lawrence's genius is considered twined with his behavioral disorder, a not so common association among people who have schizophrenic symptoms except may be for rare cases of autistic geniuses like Peter Guthrie (not the Scottish mathematician but a not so well-known artist). There have been debates during his later years as whether Lawrence was in fact an autistic. At any rate, as reflected in one of his most famous quotes, he was a `dangerous' daydreamer who dreamt with open eyes and made things happen unlike night dreamers who dream in their dusty recesses of their minds only to wake up in the morning to see they are vain.

T.E. Lawrence's life and his untimely death (by motorbike accident) left us with lot of questions as who was he and what was he doing in the middle east and what made him to completely depart from the politics of middle east and lead a secluded life of 23 years in the Royal Air Force (not forgetting his contributions to the invention of new types of speed boats). His appearances in Arab's traditional attire in Versailles during 1919 Paris Peace Conference with the King Faisel and with other western dignitaries draw a stark similarity with Gandhi's appearance in loin cloth and shawl during the Round Table Conference at London. Though Faisal trusted him as his benevolent, he did not entrust Lawrence completely as he always thought him as a British spy.

I would suggest anyone who is inquisitive of T.E. Lawrence, also see David Lean's much acclaimed epic motion picture `Lawrence of Arabia'. If the movie `Lawrence of Arabia' captivated me, Mack's biography enthralled me with its abundance of well researched information. As with any other great men, Lawrence's life also is worth researching into. And these biographers are the ones who make legends live and help sustain the new generations' interest on these great people. A great biographical work!

Mere coincidence or not, John E. Mack died of a car accident in New York in 2004.

Well-written cautionary tale of eight amateurish Nazi saboteurs sent to the US by submarine in 1942. One of the two groups landed on Long Island, and were immediately spotted by a Coast Guard watchman. Not to worry, both the would-be spies and the Coast Guard botched events so royally that the spies got away, but then the spy leader called the FBI to turn the group in the next day!

The second group of four faired somewhat better, landing in Florida and making their way to Chicago and New York before being captured based on the rambling 250-page confession the Long Island leader gave to the FBI. Within two weeks all eight were in custody.

Dobbs writes a tight, concise, fast-moving narrative, that frames the bizarre and unusual aspects of the planning, capture, and trial, while dealing with the contemporary and current legal and political issues of how to deal with plain-clothes spies trying to cause pain and suffering in the United States.

Truth is certainly stranger and more entertaining than fiction in this case. This fast paced account of the 8 man team of Nazis sent to sabotage the US railyway system during WWII is so colorfully told, it's like a movie. The fact that it's a true story makes it all the more fascinating.

Famous figures like FDR and J Edgar Hoover and not so famous ones like Atty General Biddle and the German conspirators, all come to live and the stories (in this age of the Patriot Act, public paranoia and prisoner abuse scandals) are especially relevent in today's political climate.

Thoroughly enjoyable and informative read for buffds of both history and spy stories.

One of the first actually enjoyable nonfiction books I have ever read. A moving, suspenseful, accurate tale by Michael Dobbs - totally worth reading no matter what!
After reading it, I changed the subject of my paper to Operation Pastorius because of the wealth of knowledge I had about it from reading this enjoyable book!

I'm still not quite sure why I liked this book so much. Let me just say Dobbs does a terrific job (aided by some very detailed sources) of outlining a story that is bizarre, funny, and strangely compelling. It's one of those books where you keep coming across events so strange you have to tell someone about them. Also, it's quite timely, as some of the legislation that came out of the Operation Pastorius trials is currently being used to the hilt by the Bush administration, even though the key Supreme Court justice in those decisions later said he regretted them.

If you like it, I would also recommend "In Harm's Way" by Douglas Stanton, about the Indianapolis disaster. That's more of a horror story than a comedy, but it also is filled with historical ironies and well-delineated characters.

In June of 1942, two 4-man teams of Nazi saboteurs exited U-boats onto American beaches in Florida and Long Island, NY. All of the eight had previously spent time in America. Indeed, one had spent twenty years in the U.S., and another, a naturalized American citizen, had spent seventeen since the age of five. Returning to the Third Reich for various reasons, they volunteered to return to the U.S. and sabotage that country's war effort by striking at its aluminum production plants. Each team hit the beach with a supply of explosives and $90,000 cash for expenses. Two weeks later, they were all in FBI custody. All were tried by a military tribunal and found guilty. Six of the eight were quickly executed by electrocution; two were imprisoned for the war's duration and eventually returned to Germany.

A friend of one of the saboteurs, who'd also been offered the chance to join the mission but declined, said:

"In Germany ... everything was rationed. Nobody in his right mind was going to go from a country like that to a country with everything, like America, and start blowing things up. You'd have to be nuts."

That statement just about says it in a nutshell because even though Hoover and his FBI trumpeted their foiling of the plot as the greatest victory for America since Yorktown and the former just about wet his pants in an effort to grab all the credit for (chiefly) himself and his G-men, the eight conspirators resembled more an expanded clone of the Three Stooges, and their fourteen days on the loose were a farce. Glad to be free of Germany's wartime belt tightening, they started spending their cash on food, clothes, drink, women, and, in one case, a new car. A couple of them looked up family members, wives, and former girlfriends. There didn't seem to be any great urgency to get down to the business of "blowing things up". In the meantime, the leader of the Long Island four, George Dasch, was off spilling his guts to the Feds. Though SABOTEURS: THE NAZI RAID ON AMERICA is well written and documented, one wonders why author Michael Dobbs bothered. Perhaps a clue lies in Michael's assertion that:

"One of the lessons of the saboteur affair is that it is very difficult to fight a war and respect legal niceties at the same time."

In the seventy-six pages of the book dealing with the invaders' trial and punishment, Dobbs goes to commendable lengths to describe how the accused were denied the right of habeas corpus, an abridgement not seen since Abraham Lincoln suspended such during the Civil War. Oh, and by the way, the handling of the saboteurs' case by the U.S. government is apparently the legal basis for its trying of al-Qaeda terrorists before military tribunals post-9/11.

SABOTEURS seems less about the abortive "raid" on America than an essay on its legal system when severely stressed - or perceived to be stressed - by outside forces. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is reflected in the statement by Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist in a 1999 speech, and which is quoted towards the end of this volume:

"While we would not want to subscribe to the full sweep of the Latin maxim INTER ARMA SILENT LEGIS (In a time of war, the laws are silent), perhaps we can accept the proposition that, though the laws are not silent in wartime, they speak with a muted voice."

For a book that eventually got made into a Steve McQueen movie I was very surprised by the depth of this book.

McKenna does an excellent job of portraying China in transition, told from the points of view of the sailors on the USS San Pablo and from the missionaries at China Light, people whose world is literally shattered. The first part of the book focuses on the protagonist, Jake Holman, as he learns to adjust to life onboard the tiny San Pablo after having transferred from the Pacific Fleet. Everything is going to be perfect, he is going to have his own engine, his own engine room and be able to run it the way he wants to. Except that's not how it is on the San Pablo - most of the engineering work is done by coolies, cheap contract laborers who make their living by skimming off the ship's supplies. Coolies cook, clean, iron uniforms, swab the decks, maintain the engine and do all of the menial work leaving the crew to drill, and drill and drill and drill. The paper tiger of the San Pablo's small crew and it's three pound cannon is the only force guarding American interests - missionaries, factories, mines and more, this far up the Yangtze and appearances have to be maintained no matter how ultimately ineffective the reality may be.

By the second part of the book the Chinese have seen through it. The armies of Chiang Kai-Shek marching under the "gearwheel" flag of the Kuomintang are marching north towards the Yangtze while Bolshevist forces are working and agitating along the northern banks of the river. At first the coolies start skimming more and more off the top, and then they abandon the ship, running overboard and swimming towards a blockade of sampans that have started to surround and harass the ship every day. China is awakening to a sense of self-identity that had been suppressed for a very long time and the men of the San Pablo are despised relics of the old China, an abused and tortured China with no sense of pride or self-worth.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for the crew to deal with is the fact that the people they are supposed to be protecting, largely missionaries, are full supporters of the Kuomintang. When the San Pablo is told to stand back and only defend American lives, not American property, it is because of the missionaries who have gone home and lobbied for American non-involvement in China. The reader feels the frustration, anger and demoralization of the crew as they are curtailed repeatedly from executing what is supposed to be their primary purpose - protection of American interests. The Chinese have also learned how to make paper tigers of their own from their Russian advisors and waste no time in churning out propaganda and sometimes outright lies about the San Pablo and their men. There is no place for the men of the San Pablo towards the end of the book - their country has for all intents and purposes abandoned them and there is no place in this new, alien China they find themselves in.


One last thing I will mention is that that most readers will be sent running for a dictionary of mechanical engineering by about fifteen pages in. I learned more about steam and marine engines reading this book than I ever expected to.

The Sand Pebbles is a wonderful, edgy, sweeping, panoramic novel, to be sure, and I highly recommend it for all those reasons. But one aspect of it makes it an unexpectedly valuable historical statement. It concerns the sailors of a US Navy vessel patrolling the upper reaches of China's Yangtze River in 1925 and....

Excuse me? Hello? There were US Navy vessels a thousand miles inside China? In 1925? In the heyday of "isolationism?" During the supposedly minimalist administration of "Silent Cal" Coolidge? Can you imagine the equivalent, were the tables turned: that some foreign power might assert its "right" to protect its expatriate nationals by permanently stationing gunboats on the Ohio between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh? The arrogance of it (and its undoubted cost to the US taxpayer) is staggering.

If highlighting this absurdity was any part of author McKenna's immediate intention, it's not apparent. He was too great an artist to flog any political point-of-vew. But his realism requires him to portray the ambivalence of the sailors on the front line of this policy, the rigidly-repressed doubts of the captain, the hostility of some of the putative beneficiaries, the cheerful advantage taken of it by a few, and the stubborn resistance to alternatives or change everywhere.

"The Sand Pebbles" is an interesting and entertaining novel set in China circa 1925. China is governed by feuding warlords, and its foreign trade is dominated by foreign "treaty powers" including the USA, Japan, and the leading European nations, all of which maintain strong naval and marine forces in China to maintain their positions and protect foreign persons and property.

The novel takes place on an obsolete, barely functioning American river gunboat, the "San Pablo," known to her crew as the "Sand Pebble." The protagonist, Jake Holman, is an engineer-crewman aboard the Sand Pebble. Jake has a passion for mastering the ship's engines, but initially is frustrated by the fact that aboard the Sand Pebble each American sailor has a Chinese coolie understudy who in fact does almost all of the work aboard ship. The Sand Pebble crewmen have delegated almost all of the ship's routine to a shadow crew of Chinese coolies, and do very little actual work. Jake's frustration with the coolie-understudy system and his attempt to fit in with the Sand Pebble crew are part of the main theme of the novel.

The real story of "The Sand Pebbles" is, however, the emergence of China as a modern nation. The Kuomantang Chinese Nationalist movement is becoming ascendant in China as the novel unfolds, and it seeks to sweep away foreign influence, and the warlord system that has kept China weak and divided. The officers and crew of the "Sand Pebble," in common with the other foreign military forces, must deal with this new movement, which seeks to change Old China, which had seemed eternally unchangeable. The slow understanding by the foreigners, including the Sand Pebble, that this change is real and something that must be dealt with, is the real story in the novel.

Author McKenna does a masterful job of presenting China as it was in the 1920s, together with life in the American gunboat navy of those times. This is a novel rich with detail and atmosphere. Both the American and Chinese protagonists are presented with dignity and insight, making this a very interesting read. While the storyline of crewman Holman is interesting enough, this is only an excuse to tell the real story--the transformation of China.

This novel will reward the patient reader. I personally found it engrossing and entertaining. Recommended.

Some weeks ago, I was playing channel flip on the telly, and came across an old movie on a cable station. Happily, I caught it at just the begining, and settled in to watch this tale of American Navy men aboard a rickety gunboat in China. In fact, I was interested enough to find a copy of the book that the film was based on and happily settled in to read.

The Sand Pebbles tells the story of the San Pablo, a creaky, none too sturdy gunboat from the Spanish-American war cruising the rivers and lakes in Hunan Province in China. Much like the boat, the crew isn't much too look at either; under the command of Lt. Collins, they're a rough lot, at the very bottom of the barrel. Into this world comes Jake Holman, another American seaman, who has come to the San Pablo to find a place where he can fit in, without the annoyance of the petty demands that the Navy sets on their crewmen.

As Holman finds out very quickly, he doesn't fit in very well at first. For one thing, there's the system of letting the local chinese coolies do all of the work, while the crew merely sits back and, well there's a lot of topside drills. Holman hates it, being one of those sorts who would rather be with his beloved engines than around other people. It's a trait that instantly sets him apart from everyone else in the crew. They don't care what's going on, just so long as they don't have to do much, have good chow and clean quarters, with on board coolies to do the laundry and give daily shaves, and liberty now and then. They grumble a bit, but it's friendly jibbing -- they know they have it good here, with a fine soft perch, and are collectively known as the Sand Pebbles.

But Holman -- it's not so good. He almost immediately gets into a fight with the coolie who is running the black gang in the engine room, with consequences that will have much more serious repercussions later. He takes another coolie, Po-Han, who has promise, trying to teach him the inner workings of the ship's engines, but a lack of communication skills make it nearly impossible. Holman struggles to fit in, but it not easy.

We also get to met other crewmen, from Frenchy Burgoyne who is smitten by a delicate Chinese girl that he could never marry; Red Dog Shanahan, perpetual troublemaker and wise-mouth; Lynch, one of the petty officers with a Russian woman tucked away in Hankow. Finally there are the missionaries at China White, a nearby religious outpost. Holman is attracted to Miss Eckart, a young woman that he is drawn to despite the deep wide of culture and morality that separates them. For a while, everything seems to be settling in place, but all too soon, revolution is growing and soon the San Pablo will be right in the middle of it all.

I have to say, I was really impressed with the book. Author Richard McKenna takes the time to create a world that is very alien to most of his readers, and his own knowledge from serving with the US Navy gives the details of living on board a gunboat an authentic flavour. While many readers will be offended by the slang and abuse that is very misogynist and racist, it also brings forward a past that most of us never knew. McKenna is simply writing about the world as it was at the time -- where other nations and races were viewed with outright suspicision and no one worried much if such terms as 'slant eye,' 'Slopehead' or 'chink' was hurled about. But McKenna is also careful in how he does it as well -- the reader will find themselves being rather unsettled as they read, and left to decide for themselves if times have really changed much in the last forty years since this novel was published. In any case, it is certainly a very good read, with plenty of introspection, action, and the day to day lives of men who are being forced into a untenable situation and one that may have no survivors.

I recommend this one for any one interested in military history, China in the 1920's, or just want a good story about bravery and heroism in a desperate time.

In this new edition, Robert Shenk provides an introduction that talks about Richard McKenna's own adventures serving in China with the US Navy, his attempts to write after leaving military service (he wrote science fiction at first), and then the experiences that brought around writing The Sand Pebbles. The book is now published by the Naval Institute Press as a Bluejacket Edition, a collection of books that focus on naval and military subjects.

It really doesn't matter about your attitudes about war with this one; instead it focuses on the people who work hard and serve, sometimes in awful places and situations and explore their lives and thoughts, and how they survive. It's just about a five star read, and I was left with quite a few questions and thoughts myself once I had finished it. It's a very different sort of novel than what is being published today, without the hyperaggressive macho of most military thrillers today, and one that feels and sounds realistic.

Five stars. Highly recommended.

Old China Hand had a meaning during the early 20th Century. Jake Holman, primary American character of this book is an old China hand. He's a sailor on an American gunboat, a part of the multi-national forces cruising the interior waters of a China in the throes of unrest, warlordism, rebellion, turbulence and chaos created by the downfall of the Manchu Dynasty and the Boxer Rebellion.

Jake's navy is one that resembles the post-WWII US Army in most of Asia prior to Vietnam in some ways. Asians do the unpleasant and difficult chores as houseboys and other types of assistants, to the point of imposing a dependence on them and degradation of competence of the Americans. Those who love Chinese history, those who love historical fiction, those who served in the Far East and remember, almost anyone can appreciate this classic work of (greater than) historical fiction.

This book is one you'll read more than once, probably see the movie and love it, and read the book again without feeling the least letdown. It's a gripping tale of an almost forgotten time in history. I recommend it thoroughly, whatever your reason for reading it.

This is a profoundly moving book by a Palestinian woman about the plight of her people. A work of fiction, it breathes life into the Palestinian experience of the past sixty years in a way that dry works of history cannot. It describes the frustration and misery of a people who have been denied their land, human rights, and even an accurate understanding of the injustices they have endured. Susan Abulhawa has a very descriptive vocabulary that evokes the richness of the Arabic language itself. Anyone seeking to know why the woefully intractable Arab-Israeli conflict continues to endure will learn much from this book. It is an outstanding read by a gifted, impassioned author.

I'm the daughter of Palestinian-American immigrants who came here with a hope for the future. They still tried to tell us about what they left behind, and what we're fighting for. I thought I knew pretty well what I was advocating all this time, until I bought a copy of this book. I couldn't put it down, and I've reread it 3 more times since. I truly felt that I knew what it meant to be Palestinian, and felt that I truly could understand my parents and my family for the first time. I've recommended this book to all my friends who are still confused about my mission, my culture, and my pride. Anyone who needs a real point of view of an oppressed people needs to read this book. You won't regret it.

This book is dangerously anti-Semitic and denies history. Even "Publisher's Weekly" (see above), usually very supportive, dislikes the outrageous misrepresentations of the book. I regret that more people have not pointed out the blatant prejudice and falsehood of the text in their reviews.

Susan Abulhawa's first novel created pangs in my stomach as I read her historical fiction. The Scar of David will leave a scar in the heart of anyone who reads it - as the pain and disbelief of the author's detailed account of a Palestinian family, raped by Israeli aggression and imperialism will surely mark a permanent memory to anyone who abhors injustice. Susan's characters are alive in their misery but persistent in their hope for justice while yearning for the right of return to their homeland. She is to be commended for her expert use of language and metaphor to help unravel the knots of discord that still exist in her homeland today. Dr. Pamela Allegretto-Diiulio

At no time in my life has a book had such a firm grip on my heart and soul. The most intriguing aspect of Susan Abulhawa's writing style is her innate ability to make you feel you are in every scene as a witness, resulting in a vast range of emotions including love, joy, sadness, horror, anger, forgiveness, wonderment, but never indifference. Though fictional, the characters soon become real, as if you've known, spoken, and walked with each of them. Susan Abulhawa has an exceptional talent and has given the world a beautiful gift, The Scar of David.

Thomas Desjardin has done something I would have thought impossible. He wrote a history book that I found hard to put down! His expanded research included many eye witness accounts of the battle of Little Round Top which serve to give us a clearer picture of what happeded that day. No one or even couple of people can give an accurate accounting. We all have a limited range of vision. When gathering all accounts it may seem that one contradicts the other, but it's really only a matter of perspective. We all see things differenly plus & understand it differently. This book takes nothing away from Chamberlain. It only shows he was not alone up there. I found the book fascinating & well worth reading.

I initially read this book after participating in a staff ride of the Gettysburg battlefield. My knowledge of the battle at that time came largely from Shaara's "The Killer Angels", and the subsequent film "Gettysburg". As both were meant to inspire and entertain rather than inform, I had an unrealistic understanding of the 20th Maine and its place in the struggle at Gettysburg. Thomas Desjardin's book changed that.

Well written and fast moving, "Stand Firm Ye Boys From Maine" provides excellent background information on the 20th Maine, identifies members of the Regiment beyond Chamberlain and his brother Tom, and reminds the reader that the 20th Maine's opponents at Little Round Top weren't a nameless mass of rebels, but members of a proud regiment with a strong leader all their own.

Desjardin explains the fight between the 20th Maine and the 15th Alabama in tremendous detail, with accompanying maps that enhance the narrative. More importantly, he describes the post-war growth of the Chamberlain legend, and explains the difference between Chamberlain the Man, and Chamberlain the myth. Desjardin's Chamberlain is not the battlefield intellectual who conceived an unorthodox maneuver in the face of the enemy to win the day, but an ordinary man who led from the front under extraordinary circumstances. I prefer the latter.

Students of Gettysburg will be interested in Desjardin's perspective on familiar events, and those unfamiliar with the battle will find it a great introduction to the subject. While not a history of the overall campaign, it is definitely a great starting place to learning what took place in PA over 140 years ago.

This is a well worked area of the ACW but Thomas A. Desjardin brings a fresh look to the subject. He is an excellent author and scholar, both show in his books. The book contains very good maps, photos and current status of Little Round Top, roster of the 20th Maine, 5 Appendix, notes and index. This is a very well done book that can be used as an introduction or reference.

The defense of Little Round Top by the 20th Maine Regiment on the far left of the Union lines on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, is perhaps one of the most famous small unit actions in American military history, right up there with Custer's Last Stand - except the latter lost. As the author of STAND FIRM YE BOYS FROM MAINE (SFYBFM) points out, the U.S. Army still uses the actions of the 20th Maine's commander, Col. Joshua Chamberlain, as a model of leadership under hostile fire.

Author Thomas Desjardin picks up the story of the 20th Maine in the aftermath of Chancellorsville on or about June 21 as the regiment marched north along the east slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains while Lee marched his Confederates on the west slope towards Maryland through the Shenandoah Valley. After some skirmishing at Ashby's Gap, the unit arrived in the vicinity of Gettysburg at the end of the battle's first day. Desjardin's focus is, of course, on the 20th Maine's resistance against the assaults of the15th and 47th Alabama regiments against Vincent's Spur on Little Round Top, followed by the 20th's relatively uneventful occupation of Big Round Top before being relieved. Chamberlain's command spent the third day, during Pickett's Charge, in reserve behind the front lines. The next day was spent maneuvering across the Gettysburg battlefield until, after it became apparent that the Army of Northern Virginia had decamped and was headed homeward, a pursuit was mounted through rain and mud to a final skirmish with the Rebels on Sharpsburg Pike on July 10, an event that marked the end of the Gettysburg Campaign for the boys from Maine.

Having finished with the battle itself, Desjardin examines the post-war period, during which, Little Round Top having receded in time but not in the participants' memories, bickering broke out among the survivors as various accounts of that fateful day in July, 1863 had to be reconciled with each other (or not).

I saw the film Gettysburg (Widescreen Edition) on the Big Screen when it was released, and was greatly impressed with the leadership qualities of the Joshua Chamberlain character under fire (as portrayed by Jeff Daniels). Subsequently, I visited the Gettysburg National Military Park and stood in reverence before the monument to the 20th Maine set in the trees now covering Vincent's Spur. Therefore, the final chapter of SFYBFM, "American Legend, American Shrine", in which Desjardin puts the regiment's defense in perspective and deflates some of the mythology surrounding the action, poured a certain amount of cool water upon my adulation. As the author points out, as evidenced by Chamberlain's recollection of the event, the colonel never actually ordered "forward", but only that his men fix bayonets. With that, the Maine troops charged off down the slope on their own and the famous "right wheel" by the 20th's left was more of a ragtag pursuit after already fleeing Rebels instead of the textbook maneuver of mythology. Moreover, the entire Army of the Potomac's line, from left to right of the famous "fish hook", was never in danger of being rolled up. Had the 15th Alabama actually been able to capture and hold Vincent's Spur, it would've had to face the 83rd Pennsylvania, the regiment next to Chamberlain's, as well as the 140th New York that had just come up. Furthermore, there was only room on Little Round Top for perhaps eight artillery pieces to be aimed at the rest of General Meade's army. If all of Longstreet's cannons couldn't dislodge the Federals on Day 3 of the confrontation, eight weren't going to do it on Day 2.

The strength of SFYBFM is in the comprehensiveness of Desjardine's research, which encompassed examination of close to eighty accounts of the battle by survivors on both sides. There are twenty-two pages of Notes and a six-page Bibliography. There's a complete roster of the 20th Maine soldiers at Gettysburg, which includes each man's rank, company, hometown, age, marriage status, civilian occupation, height, and post-battle status as applicable (killed, wounded, mortally wounded, captured). In addition, Appendix One enumerates the number of combatants in the three regiments involved. Appendix Three, Four and Five list in greater detail the nature of each casualty for the 20th Maine, 15th Alabama, and 47th Alabama respectively. For example, Private Mansfield Ham of the 20th Maine is noted as having been:

"Wounded severely in side, thumb shot off."

SFYBFM includes a serviceable assortment of photos sprinkled throughout as well as a number of maps, the most useful of which depict the evolving positions of the 20th Maine and 15th Alabama as they engaged.

STAND FIRM YE BOYS FROM MAINE is an exemplary battle history. While it may refute some of the more outlandish claims of the legend, e.g. that the survival of the Union hinged on the 20th Maine's victory, it puts the supreme efforts of both sides on a human scale and not on pedestals, especially as the personalities and civilian lives, both pre- and post-war, of combatants from both sides are described. From this vantage point, the Civil War student, whether casual or serious, can better appreciate the command style of the regimental officers and the heroic fighting qualities of their men. The volume deserves prominent place on any bookshelf dedicated to the American Civil War.

Interesting book, good subject. Some people, with a degree of justification, bemoan the attention given to the 20th Maine, but I'm not one of them. What I would like to see is that same attention given to other deserving regiments as well.

This book has the advantage of being well-documented and, as far as I can tell, accurate. It has the disadvantage of being somewhat superficial in that the regiment is never put into any larger context. There are anecdotes galore, and of course there is a thorough reconstruction of the 20th Maine at Little Round Top. But the substance of the battle around them is lacking; to be fair, this is not supposed to be a book about the battle as a whole.

In short, this is a good supplementary book if you have already read a thorough account of the battle (I recommend Coddington, personally), and it's good for bits of information about the 20th Maine, so it fulfills its purpose. Subjectively, I found it a rather dry account; interesting, informative, clearly written, but somehow lacking flavor.

Excellent view on how we worked. Bill & John did and great job! Lurp Teams were the "Eyes and Ears of the Commanding General". We had many tense situations. I personally slept with my M16 on my left side, my radio phone on my right ear and my 45 on my chest- finger on the trigger thumb on the safety. Ed Zapata RTO, Team G. Thanks Bill. Never forget you guys, Bill, Dave and Arthur Bell.

An excellent read. Told in the first person, this book is very informative, interesting, exciting, and free of unnecessary embellishments. The story of the inception and development of the Rangers as told by a man who actually lived it gives one a profound appreciation of the accomplishments our military. For those of us who remember that era of our history, and how relatively primitive the equipment and weaponry of the Viet Nam era was, it underscores the high degree of technological sophistication that our fighting men and women have in these current times. We should all be thankful that America is blessed with people like the men of the Rangers, and all those who have followed.

Excellent view on how we worked. Bill & John did and great job! Lurp Teams were the "Eyes and Ears of the Commanding General". We had many tense situations. I personally slept with my M16 on my left side, my radio phone on my right ear and my 45 on my chest- finger on the trigger & thumb on the safety. Ed Zapata RTO, Team G. Thanks Bill. Never forget you guys, Bill, Dave and Arthur Bell.

This is the true story of Bill Shanahan and his two tours of duty in Vietnam. Bill and his co-author John Brackin have created a book that gives the reader a fox-hole view on a unique kind of warfare. In Vietnam at this period of time, the Army and the Marines were all engaged in large operations with big units going into battles. Meanwhile, small Ranger units began to play by another set of rules with the enemy forces. They would ambush and engage the enemy where and when they chose. Sometimes the NVA and VC had greater numbers but these silent and invisible killing forces were able to pull success after success.

The authors give the reader some rich imagery through their wording and descriptions. This story is well worth telling and it will inspire and entertain. Bill was a real hero as were the men he fought with in his Ranger unit. I believe that this book gives justice to what they did.

A highly recommended book to read; it is given our Top Rating!

I think that Bill Shanahan's is one of the very best first-hand accounts written about LRRP operations. His verbiage is not egotistical, but it does reflect the confidence with which he and his teammates and others in his unit carried out their very speciallized and unique operations. They were a fine unit and this book gives testimony to their memorable combat achievements as part of "The Herd", the 173rd Airborne Bde. This books ranks right up there with the best of Gary Linderer's series of books and other great combat narratives of the Vietnam War. He puts the reader right out there "in the bush" and explains tactics and actions in a manner even those who did not serve in a LRRP or Ranger unit can readily understand. He tells what his unit did, where they did it, how well, and "lessons learned", all in a very candid way. It is particularly good considering that this is apparently his first book. I hope more are forthcoming from him. I speak from first-hand knowlege as a former LRRP in the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. I would highly recommend "Stealth Patrol" for a valued place in anyone's library.

Examines the roots of an aspect of what is currently being faced in other climes and places. The author is uniquely qualified to write on the subject.

Mr Poole does it again. Another lifesaver for the troops.

Will use it in our training. If you are into tracking; check out the chapter on urban tracking, it's old techniques put in a new environment, might just save your life.

My biggest challenge in reviewing Poole's books is trying to find new ways to say essentially the same things: they are a refreshing, authoritative source of well-documented research and in-depth analysis of modern tactical warfare that are unequivocally the troops' best reference tools and the status quo's greatest threats. This book certainly continues that tradition.

The book was organized into three inter-related parts. In the first part, Poole provided a great, detailed history of the terrorist relationships between Africa and the Middle East, and the increasing influence of Eastern (Chinese) methods and presence in the Middle East. Chapter 4, "Euphrates Pipeline," which read like a detailed intelligence summary of suspected infiltration routes in the Iraq-Syria border area, was the first of three `must-read' chapters for individuals and small units deploying to Iraq.

The second part was an analysis of small unit actions and lessons from many years of African insurgency-counterinsurgency conflicts. I was especially impressed with Chapter 10, the second `must-read' chapter, which highlighted the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. In the final part, Poole shared his experienced perspectives on how to train for and win against the terrorist threats we are likely to be facing for the foreseeable future. This final part includes the final `must-read' chapter, "To Truly Win in a Place Like Iraq," from which the following quote is taken that pre-dated and predicted the kinds of successes that we are starting to see from the surge efforts in Iraq:

"...America's leaders must override their cultural impulse to "think big" and start "thinking small." It will all come down to the basics - basic 4GW [4th Generation Warfare] skills for U.S. troops and basic services for oppressed populations. That means humanitarian light infantrymen instead of infrastructure destroying and jihadist-generating smart bombs. Some squads would anchor neighborhood security through CAP [Combined Action Platoon] platoons, while others mantracked and arrested perpetrators. Only then will the cycle of violence be broken."

I look forward to the challenge of reviewing my next Poole book, but not as much as I look forward to the day when our troops and small-units get the kind of training and leadership that they deserve. Read this book to see what they are facing and how they can be victorious against our terrorist foes.

Future historians will identify John Poole as one of those clairvoyant savants of military art who told us of the threat long before it happened, exactly what we should expect, and how to train to fight it. He will also be remembered as a perceptive author whose books were read and studied by the Soldiers and Marines who fought the wars of the 21st Century but, unfortunately, not read and studied by the generals who led them. In Terrorist Trail, he has again identified the threat, their modus operandi, and where to find them. He has identified why we haven't done very well at finding and eliminating the insurgents because of the lack understanding the threat, the absence of true soldier skills, and the burden of a very heavily laden attrition mind set on the part of most of the senior officer set.

Terrorist Trail is a well researched volume based on keen insights into the Arab mind and culture. Moreover, the Trail follows the flow of foreign fighters right through the valley of the Euphrates and across the borders of Iran. This is more than just insight, it is information - nay, intelligence - from what is happening on the ground based on first hand accounts and observations. It is a detailed account which could be used as a continuity document for units in Iraq to read and understand as they rotate into these areas.

Poole takes us on a tour d' force through successful counterinsurgency (COIN) operations throughout history and in the third world - pointing out lessons that should be learned if we are to ever master COIN ops. It doesn't take a mental giant to understand that this is a primer on "how to", but if unread, the lessons have no chance of being learned. If read, the lessons have to be implemented at a level to be effectively applied. Some of Poole's recommendations might be discerned in the new Army/Marine COIN Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5, December 2006, but these similarities exist in too few areas to think they are more than serendipitous. It would take an entirely different leadership, cultural mind-set, force organization, and training to implement Poole's recommendations, and there is no significant evidence of that in the conventional U.S. Army or Marine Corps.

There is some flavor of Poole's prescriptions in Special Forces, but they too suffer from conventional generals with 2d generation thinking. Poole makes the case for decentralization of training in order to be able to create the type of army that can successfully combat the terrorists. He goes so far as to suggest: "If America's brigade commanders can't figure out how to fight more effectively at short range, they should defer to the collective wisdom of those who do it for a living - their rifle squad leaders." Such an outrageous statement, no matter how true, will provoke more of a defensive reaction by the hierarchy than the more appropriate determination to improve. One suspects that just such a thing is happening as there is now a shortage of his books in the Post and Base Exchanges. As the world situation continues to deteriorate, being good has become far more important than looking good. Poole has developed and tested a new "bottom-up" squad training method. Until more U.S. infantry units adopt it, they will continue to have problems at short range in either conventional or unconventional warfare.

Thank you, John Poole, for doing some serious research and thinking on tactics, operations, and strategy and translating that into this newest great book, Terrorist Trail.

Terrorist Trail by LTC John Poole (USMC-Ret) is one of the great books explaining how operations should be run in Iraq (and Afghanistan) to minimize damage to the local civilian population, while downgrading the ability of the insurgents to re-supply & operate. The book explains irregular warfare at it's best. How to assist the local population without having to destroy it! Unfortunately the GameBoy Generals of the Pentagon do not understand that all that glitzy billion dollar weaponry they love so much causes more damage in the long run to the war effort than it helps. They like to use a sledge-hammer to pick-off a flea.

Instead of relying on massive firepower from the air or artillery, the US military needs to go back to training troops how to become excellent at small unit infantry skills. Let the Platoon & Squad leaders with eyes on the target, knowing his unit's capability, make the decision on how to attack a positon or control a target location. Instead of investing more billions in "real time" micro-managed command & control from CentCom, invest millions in highly effective light infantry training (*See the other works by John Poole regarding infantry training) on how to ID & target insurgent controlled areas while enlisting the help of the local population.
Tracking is one of man's oldest survival skills. Early man tracked to find food & when he "evolved" tracked other men to kill them. This skill is as old as it gets for survival - except for running. The fastest man survived, the slowest was dinner. If the US military wants to survive & even thrive in an asymmetric 4th GW environment it has to evolve & change it's methodology of warfare in the coming years. Terrorist Trail explains beautifully the "how to" methodology of fighting the insurgents and winning in Iraq & in other back waters of the world. Will our current military leadership look at this work as sage advice? Highly un-likely. Most senior military leadership is looking to retire & move on to high paying jobs in the military-industrial complex (better know as Beltway Bandits)& down & dirty combat tactics just won't get them a hi-tech job!

John Poole explains very clearly in Terrorist Trail who the insurgents are & where they come from, who & how are they supplied. The US military can acquire the intelligence to effectively fight & defeat the Jihadists. If you can ID the insurgent, know his mentality & fighting methodology, you can defeat him using the tactics & techniques recommended by LTC Poole in this book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone going in harm's way overseas & to anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of defeating the insurgents at their own game.

Perhaps more than any other theater of war, the Alaska/Aleutians campaign may be the least known and most misunderstood series of battles in WWII among both the general public and many history aficionados. Japanese troops on American territorial soil in and of itself is a shocker for many readers. Brian Garfield created a classic with this book first published in 1969 and periodically republished. Well written and researched, Garfield manages to keep the reader avidly engaged through all 400 plus pages. He is particularly effective at conveying the horrible weather conditions across a continent sized battlefield faced by ill-prepared troops with inadequate supplies and protective gear, grinding away on a daily basis. Brutal weather was accompanied by brutal combat both at sea and on land. Fierce fighting was the norm and both sides took heavy casualties. Still the best book of this part of WWII.
Steven Bustin, Author: How The USS Nashville CL43 Fought WWII.
Humble Heroes: How the USS Nashville CL43 Fought WWII

For many military history buffs, it is the pieces of history that remain laregely untold (or at least unheard) that hold the most appeal. Brian Garfield's dramatic--yet detailed--account of the American/Japanese chess match in the Aleutians is one of the best-written accounts of an overshadowed campaign I have yet to come across. Garfield's attention to detail, honesty, and even-handedness results in the type of read rarely found in modern military history volumes. From the mundane life of a soldier on the uninhabitable Alaskan islands to the overwhelmingly costly combat that occured on, around, and above U.S. soil, the story of the Aleutian campaign is anything but forgettable. A must-read!

Very good book! Having spent three years living in the Alutians (Adak)in the early 90's, I can't imagine the living conditions there 40 years earlier. One summer day in 1991 stands out in my memory. We were blessed with both a clear day, which are very few, and far, far between, and a Reeves Aleutian Airline's pilot that took us on a sight-seeing tour on our way out to Shemya, before heading towards Anchorage. He flew low over several islands allowing us to see the reamins of an old airstrip, a ship that had been sunk near another island, whales in the Bering sea, and gave me some memories of things not a lot of people will never see. Having read the book before this flight, it gave me an odd feeling knowing of some of the events that had taken place there years before. I think you'll enjoy reading this book,

Having served in the Aleutians durning the Cold War and part of the Vietnam War, my interest was heightened. Also, having a dear friend who was actually there from 1940 through 1945 and hearing him tell of the characters in the book was enlightening. The book was well written, well researched and gripping in its "real life" portrayal. I recommend this book to all who like to read about actual events and see their realationship to the bigger picture.

Brian Garfield's "The Thousand-Mile War", first published in 1969 and periodically reissued since, may be the definitive popular history of a largely forgotten theater of the Second World War. In a highly readable narrative account, Garfield describes the savage struggle between the United States and the Empire of Japan for control of the Aleutian Islands and the territory of Alaska.

Alaska was still a sparsely-populated territory when the Second World War broke out. General Siomon Buckner, commander of U.S. Army and Air Forces in Alaska, immediately grasped the importance of Alaska's proximity to Japan, Russia, and the U.S. West Coast. Buckner began a single-minded campaign to build military bases, airfields, and railroads in preparation for a Japanese invasion. That invasion arrived in June 1942, simultaneously with the Battle of Midway. The Japanese Navy bombed the U.S. Base at Dutch Harbor and landed troops at Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. It would take fifteen months for U.S. forces to dig them out of their strongholds.

The campaign in the Aleutians was unique in the annals of the Second World War. The United States and Japan were fighting at the extreme limit of their respective supply lines, in an area where extreme weather conditions were a third combant in the struggle. Garfield vividly describes the appalling weather conditions under which the U.S. Army Air Corps conducted thousand mile bombing raids, first against the Japanese garrisons on Attu and Kiska, then against the Japanese home islands. U.S. and Japanese ground forces suffered more casualties to the windy, cold, wet conditions than to their respective opponents. U.S. and Japanese naval forces groped for their opponents in fog-bound Aleutian waters; decisive results were rare.

Garfield's account highlights the strong personalities of leaders on both sides of the fighting, who were forced by the harsh weather and austere supply situation to be innovative in providing the means of war and in motivating their soldiers, sailors, and airmen. That military planning was often as confused as in any other conflict should come as no surprise; that U.S. forces overcame so many obstacles to be successful should be a source of inspiration, thanks to Garfield's account.

This book is highly recommended to students of the Second World War seeking an account of the fighting in Alaska, and to students of the history of Alaska seeking to understand how the Second World War changed Alaska.

I enjoyed reading Urdin on many levels. Firstly, it provided my mind with an intriguing story that the author - Parvaiz, unfolds articulately and at a fast pace. Secondly, Parvaiz' effective use of imagery transported me into the rich world of Urdin. I felt that I experienced the events first hand! All I had to do was let my imagination run with the words. Furthermore, I enjoyed Parvaiz' use of symbolism which added yet another dimension to the book.
Wherase Urdin is of great entertainment value, it offers the reader with more than just fun filled pages. Woven into the intrigue and adventure of the book, are themes such as friendship, family, religion and politics - all gently touched upon in a way that is very pertinent to contemporary life. The story coaxed me to examine my thoughts about the world I live in.
I highly recommend Urdin and eagerly look forward to the next book by Parvaiz.

A wonderfully versatile work! This book can be read for entertainment as Parvaiz takes you on an amazing journey with vivid details, or can be utilized to explore universal truths. The reader finds himself/herself in the center of an adventure so enthralling, you can't put it down. Upon closer examination, however, the reader discovers the author raising deep philosophical questions, encouraging the reader to engage in an internal dialogue with his/her beliefs. I thoroughly enjoyed the book! And would recommend it to anyo