Armchair Warriors

This book is a history of public information and personal ideas, specifically ideas about war and the military over the last century. It examines the interplay between popular media coverage of the nation’s wars and the perceptions of ordinary Americans regarding military issues. Armchair Warriors begins with the premise that the press provided most Americans with their primary source of insight into the practical military problems confronting the United States. In a nation where military service was the exception rather than the rule, the public relied on news outlets to make sense of what war “really” was. Such articles and editorials not only celebrated the country’s successes in war, but also attempted to explain its setbacks, as well as the perils and opportunities that lay ahead.The American people responded to this abundance of information by taking an active role in the intellectual aspects of the nation’s military effort.Often encouraged by various media sources, ordinary citizens produced a wealth of proposals aimed at solving particular tactical or strategic conundrums.These armchair warriors often sidestepped the press, and sought to bring their ideas directly before those entrusted with directing U.S. armed forces.Together, the media accounts of military issues and the practical-minded suggestions from the masses constitute a heretofore unexamined nationaldialogue about one of the most important aspects of U.S. history.

This volume illustrates the role of language in political action by analyzing the discourse of various British and US institutions on the war in Iraq. It combines quantitative methods, based on a sophisticated modular corpus in order to identify regularly occurring lexical and semantic patterns, and qualitative context-based discourse analysis.

Going to War overturns conventional views of the role of public opinion, the armed forces, parliamentarians, NGOs and writers in the formation of British debates about impending wars. It shows the pressures and the reasons which have led to Britain's involvement in so many conflicts.

A Companion to the War Film contains 27 original essays that examine all aspects of the genre, from the traditional war film, to the new global nature of conflicts, and the diverse formats that war stories assume in today’s digital culture. Includes new works from experienced and emerging scholars that expand the scope of the genre by applying fresh theoretical approaches and archival resources to the study of the war film Moves beyond the limited confines of “the combat film” to cover home-front films, international and foreign language films, and a range of conflicts and time periods Addresses complex questions of gender, race, forced internment, international terrorism, and war protest in films such as Full Metal Jacket, Good Kill, Grace is Gone, Gran Torino, The Messenger, Snow Falling on Cedars, So Proudly We Hail, Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, Tender Comrade, and Zero Dark Thirty Provides a nuanced vision of war film that brings the genre firmly into the 21st Century and points the way for exciting future scholarship

Not all war heroes have had their stories told. Many lived and died in anonymity. Uncommon Warrior, the sequel to Michael’s Messengers, continues to recount the many extraordinary World War II accomplishments of ordinary airmen during the Battle of Britain and the liberation of Europe. Jack Meadows, a Polish born, naturalized American, embodies the countless acts of selfless courage as a fighter pilot. He symbolizes the untold stories of airmen who flew both conventional and unconventional operations. As a 19-year old naturalized American, Jack returned to his native Poland to fly with the Polish Air Force in 1939. He fled to England where he became the RAF’s leading ace and the youngest wing commander. He led the RAF’s Polish Air Force wing in 1943 and the Allied air forces’ elimination of the Luftwaffe threat over Normandy prior to D-Day. Jack’s successes in the skies over England and Europe were not matched by his life on the ground. His attempts to find true love were thwarted when the women in his life abandoned him or met an untimely demise. He fought personal demons by taking risks beyond the norm, even for a combat pilot. The end of the war should have been the beginning of Jack’s new life. He finally found his true love, was engaged to be married, and had an unlimited future as a political figure in his adopted country; Great Britain. But fate stepped in again to thwart Jack’s quest for love and tranquility.

Explores the ominous campaign to change a nation's definition of itself

He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.--Sun Tzu The revered secrets of the Samurai code kishido are strictly for the strong of heart. The Way of the Warrior is a series of lessons that Jotaro's martial-arts master passed on to him, as well as teaching virtues embedded in all traditional martial ways. Demanding unquestionable ethics and unconditional chivalry, kishido embraces both Eastern and Western customs and practices, and is essential knowledge for strong-willed warriors on the battlefield--and in the boardroom. Renowned practitioner Jotaro takes you step by step through the Samurai code, illuminating topics such as: Fudoshin: courage without recklessness, Koji: the secrets of the master texts Ichigo, Ichie: the Power of One Natsukusa: skill combined with experience creates a master Kotan: the simplicity of every action when the mind and the body are in balance . . .and much more. A word of caution: This knowledge is to be used for academic study ONLY. "Jotaro's lessons can be applied with devastating effectiveness." --Dr. Haha Lung, author of Mind Penetration