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A Rolling Stone Angers The Boss

The news media have been abuzz all week with stories about Gen. Stanley McChrystal's trip "to the woodshed." He meets today with President Obama to be rebuked for remarks critical of the administration and its Afghanistan strategy, as reported in Rolling Stone.

In retrospect, Gen. McChrystal might have done better to just let Annie Leibovitz photograph him with his shirt off and limit his comments to the Taylor Swift-Kanye West affair while steering clear of more political controversies. The article, "Runaway General," will be in the issue of RS for July 8-22, which hits newsstands this Friday. You can read it online here.

The growing consensus seems to be that McChrystal's comments may very well lose him his job as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

A segment on today's Morning Edition from NPR featured Tom Ricks, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author and Senior Fellow with the Center for a New American Security. Ricks expressed his opinion that the president, having attributed poor judgment to McChrystal, is now obliged to relieve him of command. You can hear the NPR segment here.

Ricks is author of two titles dealing with U.S. military policy abroad -- Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (2006) and The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008 (2009). Both are produced by Penguin Audiobooks and are available on Playaway.

In 2000, Ricks received the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting as part of a team of writers at the Wall Street Journal responsible for a series on ways in which the U.S. military might have to change to meet 21st-century demands. He was also part of a Washington Post team that won a Pulitzer in 2002 for reporting on the start of the ongoing war on terror. Fiasco was a finalist for the Pulitzer in 2007.

As Americans look for answers to our ongoing dilemmas in the Middle East and Central Asia, books by Ricks and others offer important context and thoughtful analysis. Other recent titles of similar significance are Ahmed Rashid's Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia (2008, Brilliance Audio) and, most recently, Sebastian Junger's much-anticipated War, a first-person account of being intermittently embedded over the course of 14 months with the Army's 173rd Airborne brigade in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. 

War is not a policy book per se, but it presents an unflinching look at what American forces are up against on a daily basis in Afghanistan. The audio edition (from Hachette Audio) is narrated by the author and also features a bonus interview with Junger.

An interesting companion to Junger's book is Greg Mortenson's Stones into Schools from Blackstone Audio. Mortenson picks up where his first book, the mega-best-selling Three Cups of Tea (also available on Playaway from Tantor Audio), left off -- with his foray into Waziristan, the remote mountainous region of northwest Pakistan. Bordering on some of the most troubled areas of Afghanistan, the truth is that this area is not closely associated with either country and is probably best understood on its own terms.  Mortenson knows the region and the people well.

Whether Gen. McChrystal keeps his job or not, these areas of the world are likely to be trouble spots for a long time to come. Audiobook listeners looking for a deeper understanding of these parts of the world and their issues would do well to explore these titles.

Post Script:  In the time it took to write this post, Gen. McChrystal lost his job and has been replaced by Gen. David Petraeus -- all the more reason to study up with some of these books.

I'll be at ALA Annual in Washington, D.C. with the rest of the Playaway team this weekend. If you'll be attending, come visit us at Booth #1337.

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Posted by David Perrotta, MLIS
Playaway Senior Content Strategist
Twitter: david_perrotta

Invasion of Tarawa on NPR's Morning Edition 4 Great Audio Titles About War in the Pacific

Yesterday's Morning Edition from NPR [March 22, 2010] featured a story on Major Norman Hatch, USMC (retired), who served as combat cameraman during the Marines' amphibious assault landing at Tarawa atoll in the South Pacific in November 1943.

Hatch's footage was used to make With The Marines at Tarawa, a short film that shocked the civilian public and thereby helped galvanize support for the war effort. It marked the first time that Americans had seen such graphic footage of the fighting, the wounded, and the dead.  The film won an Academy Award in 1945.

The NPR story reflects a resurgence of interest in the Pacific war, sparked in part by the current HBO 10-part miniseries, The Pacific.

I wrote about the battle of Tarawa (and the film that Hatch made possible) last November when we released Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa by Joseph H. Alexander.  Alexander's book is considered the definitive account of the Tarawa landing, which was the first major Allied assault of the Pacific War and a crucial test of the then-unproven strategy of amphibious war-fighting.  The title is a Playaway audio exclusive.

You can find my original post here. If you missed the NPR story, you can listen to it online.  The NPR site also has the complete video of With The Marines At Tarawa as well as a brief video interview with Norman Hatch from the U.S. Naval Institute's "Americans At War" series.

The U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association sponsors a "Norman Hatch Combat Photography Award."  Read their bio of the photographer here. 

And by the way, the book that served as the basis of the HBO series -- Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific by Robert Leckie -- launches on Playaway May 1, 2010. 

Other Playaway titles about the Pacific war include: 

Hero of the Pacific by James Brady -- the story of Marine Gunnery Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone, expertly narrated by the gifted Grover Gardner.

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, available on Playaway from Recorded Books.

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Posted by David Perrotta, MLIS
Playaway Senior Content Strategist
Twitter: david_perrotta

Coming Home From War - Not Always Easy

As Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom enter their 8th and 9th years respectively, hundreds of thousands of American troops -- reservists and regular service members -- have served one or more tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and neighboring countries.

Like participants in all wars, many of these service members find themselves in highly stressful -- even traumatic -- situations. And the effects of exposure to the stress and trauma can linger long after they've left the war zone behind. For many returning service members, homecoming turns out to be considerably more difficult and complicated than expected.

The troops fighting the two current wars face certain challenges not encountered by participants in prior wars:

• Multiple deployments have become commonplace.
• The line between combat troops and support personnel has been blurred.  With no clear "front," everyone sent to the war zone -- even those safe inside supposed "green zones" -- faces 24-hour-a-day risks and stressors from suicide attacks, roadside bombs, and other threats.
• And more than at an other time in history, large numbers of women are deployed, and they and their families sometimes find themselves challenged by issues that go beyond those traditionally faced by men.

In After the War Zone -- a Playaway exclusive released earlier this week -- authors Matthew Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., and Laurie Slone, Ph.D., offer a highly practical guide to homecoming for both service members and their loved ones.

Both of the authors are affiliated with the VA National Center for PTSD (where Friedman serves as Executive Director and Slone as Associate Director for Research and Education). And both also serve on the faculty of the Dartmouth Medical School.

It's a book that can be read by service members and their families both before and after deployment.

An awful lot of service members are already familiar with Playaway, since, through the Department of Defense's Family Morale Welfare and Recreation Program, we send over 16,000 units a month directly to troops in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan. (See my earlier posting on this program.) So don't be surprised if some of these service members show up at your library looking for Playaways once they've returned home.  After the War Zone -- both the print and the Playaway editions -- would be an excellent additon to any public library collection. Library Journal called it "essential for all libraries."  In addition to helpful suggestions for military personnel, it can also be of use to first responders and other people engaged in high-risk, high-stress professions.

In a similar vein, Playaway also offers Down Range: to Iraq and Back by Bridget Cantrell and Chuck Dean. Cantrell, a Ph.D. psychologist who has worked with thousands of deploying and returning service members, and Dean, a Vietnam combat veteran and former Army Ranger drill instructor, offer insight and advice on the homecoming process with particular emphasis on the specific challenges faced by those who serve in Iraq.

Down Range has been distributed to troops in the field through the MWR program and is also available free of charge to military families through the Military OneSource website.

And later this year, look for two more titles on Playaway from Dr. Cantrell -- Souls Under Siege: The Effects of Multiple Troop Deployment and How to Weather the Storm and Once a Warrior - Wired for Life (co-authored with Chuck Dean).

For more information about Bridget Cantrell, visit Hearts Toward Home International.

An interesting interview with Matthew Friedman on Vermont Public Radio is available here.

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Posted by David Perrotta, MLIS
Playaway Senior Content Strategist
Twitter: david_perrotta

Military Personnel Appreciate Playaway

Playaway is very popular with members of all four branches of the U.S. military.  Each month, by arrangement with the Department of Defense's Family Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program, we send approximately 16,000 Playaway units directly into the hands of troops in the field in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The titles selected range from literary classics and military reading list titles, to contemporary best-sellers, to Middle-Eastern language learning programs, to stress relief and relaxation.

Playaways are also available at no cost to families of enlisted military personnel through the Department of Defense's Military OneSource website.

For deployed troops, Playaway can seem like a godsend -- providing much-needed distraction, entertainment, education, and relaxation in environments where Internet access and even electricity are not givens.

So don't be surprised if returning service men and women and their loved ones come walking into your library already familiar with and enthusiastic about Playaway.

Meanwhile, Playaways are also becoming very popular on military base libraries around the world.  One of our favorite contacts is Sabrina Honda, of Hurlburt Field Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach, FL.  Sabrina was the 2006 recipient of the Special Library Association's "Federal Library Technician of the Year" award.  Here she is on Miltary OneSource's "TroopTube," starring as Commando Librarian, complete with cammo bookcart.  See her spring into action the moment she receives an "information distress call".  [Note the cameo appearance by the Playaway edition of The Kite Runner.]

  http://www.trooptube.tv/videos/1957

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Posted by David Perrotta, MLIS
Playaway Sr. Manager for Content Strategy

Remembering the War in the PacificUtmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa(Playaway Exclusive)

Veteran's Day approaches, and on Nov 1 Playaway releases Utmost Savagery: the Three Days of Tarawa by Col. Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (retired).  This book is considered the definitive account of the first major amphibious assault landing of WWII -- "Operation Galvanic," the battle for the Japanese stronghold on Betio island in the Tarawa atoll (part of the Gilbert Island chain) in November 1943. 

Though horrifically bloody, the operation was an indispensable prelude to later amphibious operations -- at Normandy in 1944 and in the Pacific Theater right up until VJ Day.

Since its publication in 1995, Utmost Savagery has been included in the reading list of the U.S. Marine Commandant's Professional Reading Program.  This is the first audio version of the work, and it was produced by Playaway as part of our ongoing effort to provide all four branches of the U.S. military with relevant content in a high-quality, portable, simple and immediate format.

For those not familiar with the details of the war in the Pacific, the book offers an eye-opening account of the unprecedented scale and brutality of the fighting and the incredible valor, heroism, and sacrifice of the participants.  It's not just for "war buffs" but for any serious student of the 20th Century.

After you listen to Utmost Savagery you should take a look at With The Marines at Tarawa -- a 20-minute documentary film about the battle released in 1944 and mentioned in the book.   It's a fascinating document on many levels.  A skillfully constructed propaganda piece that accentuates the positive, the film also broke new ground by using actual combat footage, and it presented the American public with a far more graphic depiction of war than had ever before been seen.  It won the Academy Award for best documentary in 1945 and had a considerable effect on public opinion. 

The entire film can be streamed or downloaded for free from the Internet Archive.  Just go to:
     http://archive.org/details/WiththeMarinesatTarawa

It can also be streamed via YouTube in two parts:
     Part 1

     Part 2