Two decades have now passed since the revolutions of 1989 swept through Eastern Europe and precipitated the collapse of state socialism across the region, engendering a period of massive social, economic and political transformation. This book explores the ways in which young people growing up in post-socialist Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union negotiate a range of identities and transitions in their personal lives against a backdrop of thoroughgoing transformation in their societ...

TO HELL AND BACKFor the U.S., Guadalcanal was a bloody seven-month struggle under brutal conditions against crack Japanese troops deeply entrenched and determined to fight to the death. For Charles Walker, this horrific jungle battle–one that claimed the lives of 1,600 Americans and more than 23,000 Japanese–was just the beginning. On the eve of battle, 2nd Lt. Walker was ordered back to the States for medical reasons. But there was a war to be won, and he had no intention of missi...

This book explores the changing nature of growing-up working-class in post-Soviet Russia, a country dislocated by the experience of neo-liberal economic reform. Based on extensive ethnographic research in a provincial Russian region, it follows the experiences of vocational education graduates whose colleges continue to channel them into the ailing industrial and agricultural sectors. Rather than settling for transitions into ‘poor work’, the book shows how these young men and women develo...

Are you a newcomer to computer programming?Do you want to learn a simple programming language that will get you started?Python could be the one for you!Computers are amazing tools that we would find it hard to live without since they have become a feature in almost every home. Many people, however, struggle with anything that is slightly complex and when it comes to computer programming, most would admit to being completely lost by even the thought of trying it....

A thoughtful, reflective narrative of a reluctant soldier that captures the rhythms of life in war as well as the boredom and chaos of Vietnam.At the height of the Vietnam War, Charles Carr left graduate school to serve in the army in Southeast Asia, knowing that if he didn't, another man would go—and possibly die—in his place. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 47th Infantry (Mechanized) in the northern Mekong Delta for a tour of forcing himself through r...

A story of heroism, friendship, and courage in World War 2—as seen in the award-winning HBO miniseries The Pacific.In 1944, the U.S. Marines were building the 5th Marine Division—also known as “The Spearhead”—in preparation for the invasion of the small, Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima...When Chuck Tatum began Marine boot camp, he was just a smart-aleck teenager eager to serve his country. Little did he know that he would be training under a livin...

ACROSS THE DARK ISLANDSThe War in the PacificFloyd W. RadikeBrigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret.)“I remember sitting in a foxhole on Guadalcanal in the rain. The sergeant I shared the hole with shook his head and asked me: ‘What in the hell are we doing on this godforsaken island? Why don’t we let the Japs keep this stinking rock?’ I didn’t have an answer.”The war in the Pacific has never been portrayed more honestly—or in prose more powerful—th...

As a young enlisted man, Randy Kington served on the front line with some of the first Marine combat units in Vietnam in 1965 and 1966. Kington describes his transformation from boy to man and the training that allowed him to survive nine months of some of the fiercest fighting of the Vietnam War. The good times of comradeship and of helping the underprivileged are contrasted with the life and death experiences that involved three major battles, countless ambushes, and search and destroy m...

SURVIVORThrough six grueling years of warfare, USS Russell and her gallant crew pitted their prowess against a determined enemy.From the pre-Pearl Harbor Battle of the Atlantic to the campaigns in the Pacific, She was home to warriors who fought off attacks by submarines, planes and ships. She saw them through sixteen major engagements of World War Two including the Battles of Coral Sea, Java, Midway, Savo Island, Santa Cruz, and Guadalcanal She supported the land forces thro...

"In 1963…there was no way I could have known, sitting in a classroom on that beautiful campus in Ohio, that by raising my hand I would be going to war in Vietnam and that I would see things, hear things and do things that most people cannot imagine."--James Joyce. The author was drawn into the United States Army through ROTC, and went through training to fly helicopters in combat over Vietnam. His experiences are notable because he flew both Huey "Slicks" and Huey "Gunships": the former on...

Wendell Fertig is a true WW2 American hero who deserved the Medal of Honor. Please look him up on Wikipedia.The Pacific, World War 2 novel is historical fiction, loosely based upon American guerrillas who refused to surrender, when the Philippines fell in 1942.Pearl Harbor, December 7 1941. The American Pacific Fleet is in ruins. U.S. troops surrender in late spring of 1942. Japs beat American POW'S like animals on the infamous Battan Death March. The Japs murdered thousand...

A remarkable memoir of small-unit leadership and the coming of age of a young soldier in combat in Vietnam.'"Using a lean style and a sense of pacing drawn from the tautest of novels, McDonough has produced a gripping account of his first command, a U.S. platoon taking part in the 'strategic hamlet' program. . . . Rather than present a potpourri of combat yarns. . . McDonough has focused a seasoned storyteller’s eye on the details, people, and incidents that best communicate a visc...