The Homefront

From a distance, Michael and Joleen Zarkades seem to have it all: a solid dependable marriage, two exciting careers, and children they adore. But after twelve years together, the couple has lost their way. They are unhappy and edging towards divorce. Then the Iraq war starts and an unexpected deployment will tear their already fragile family apart, sending one of them deep into harm's way and leaving the other at home, waiting for news. When the worst happens, each must face their darkest fear and fight for the future of their family. An intimate look at the inner landscape of a disintegrating marriage and a dramatic exploration of the price of war on a single American family. Home Front is a provocative and timely portrait of hope, honour, loss, forgiveness and the elusive nature of love.

Based on interviews with abuse survivors, their family and friends, and support services professionals, S.D. Haley (anthropology, Red Deer College, Alberta, Canada) and Braun-Haley, who has a background in journalism, define the abuse problem; examine its societal stigma and impact; follow women through the "breaking away" process; and offer solutions based on a long-term view of domestic peacekeeping. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Set in rural Wisconsin during 1944-1945, this story centers around Maggie Wentworth, a wife, mother and farmer who struggles to keep her life in balance after her physically abusive husband is shipped to Europe during WWII. She has to deal with the challenges of an aging father, a young son, and the temptation of an attractive German POW.

Set during World War II, this novel tells the story of a young girl who realizes what matters most in the face of the realities of war.

A gripping adventure set in the world of the epic videogame Home is where the war is America may be reeling from endless recessions and crippling oil wars, but hack reporter Ben Walker never expected to see his homeland invaded and occupied by a reunified Korea—now a formidable world power under Kim Jong-il’s dictator son. The enemy’s massive cyberattack is followed by the detonation of an electromagnetic pulse that destroys technology across the United States. Communications, weapons, and defense systems are rendered useless; thousands perish as vehicles suddenly lose power and passenger jets plummet to the ground. Fleeing the chaos of Los Angeles, Walker discovers that although America’s military has been scattered, its fighting spirit remains. Walker joins the soldiers as they head east across the desert, battling Korean patrols—and soon finds his own mission. Walker reinvents himself as the Voice of Freedom, broadcasting information and enemy positions to civilian Resistance cells via guerrilla radio. But Walker’s broadcasts have also reached the ears of the enemy. Korea dispatches its deadliest warrior to hunt the Voice of Freedom and crush the ever-growing Resistance before it can mount a new war for American liberty.

Without trial and without due process, the United States government locked up nearly all of those citizens and longtime residents who were of Japanese descent during World War II. Ten concentration camps were set up across the country to confine over 120,000 inmates. Almost 20,000 of them were shipped to the only two camps in the segregated South—Jerome and Rohwer in Arkansas—locations that put them right in the heart of a much older, long-festering system of racist oppression. The first history of these Arkansas camps, Concentration Camps on the Home Front is an eye-opening account of the inmates’ experiences and a searing examination of American imperialism and racist hysteria. While the basic facts of Japanese-American incarceration are well known, John Howard’s extensive research gives voice to those whose stories have been forgotten or ignored. He highlights the roles of women, first-generation immigrants, and those who forcefully resisted their incarceration by speaking out against dangerous working conditions and white racism. In addition to this overlooked history of dissent, Howard also exposes the government’s aggressive campaign to Americanize the inmates and even convert them to Christianity. After the war ended, this movement culminated in the dispersal of the prisoners across the nation in a calculated effort to break up ethnic enclaves. Howard’s re-creation of life in the camps is powerful, provocative, and disturbing. Concentration Camps on the Home Front rewrites a notorious chapter in American history—a shameful story that nonetheless speaks to the strength of human resilience in the face of even the most grievous injustices.

A “fascinating” look at hardship, heroism, and civilian life in England during the Great War (World War One Illustrated). The truth about the sacrifice and suffering among British civilians during World War I is rarely discussed. In this book, people who were there speak about experiences and events that have remained buried for decades. Their testimony shows the same candor and courage we have become accustomed to hearing from military veterans of this war. Those interviewed include a survivor of a Zeppelin raid in 1915; a Welsh munitions worker recruited as a girl; and a woman rescued from a bombed school after five days. There are also accounts of rural famine, bereavement, and the effects on families back home—and even the story of a woman who planned to kill her family to save them further suffering.

Kimble examines the U.S. Treasury’s eight war bond drives that raised over $185 billion—the largest single domestic propaganda campaign known to that time. The campaign enlisted such figures as Judy Garland, Norman Rockwell, Irving Berlin, and Donald Duck to cultivate national morale and convince Americans to buy war bonds.

Includes primary sources on defense workers, women during the war, conscientious objectors, scrap metal collection and recycling, racial issues on the homefront, and civil defense.