San Francisco Chronicle reporter and marine veteran Koopman was embedded in the Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, during the most recent war in Iraq. He enjoyed a close working relationship with the CO, the battalion sergeant major, and several other members of the battalion. This didn't destroy his ability to distance himself from aspects of the military that he never liked, or from political judgments on the war. The combination of embedding and prior service did give him a rare perspective on the gritty (literally, when a sandstorm blew up) details of ground combat in Iraq and how the modern American marine relates to his buddies, his enemies, and his family back home. The conclusion of the book offers equally rare material on the nation-building efforts that continue, with sympathy for both the U.S. military and most shades of Iraqi opinion.—ALA Booklist

(Hardcover)

"'Everytown, USA' follows one man's race against the clock, to save his community's military past before time closes the door. Albion, Indiana, an even mix of farms and factories, serves as the backdrop. Not unlike any other similarly-sized town in the Midwest, or country for that matter, Albion has a story to tell. Its citizens battled at Gettysburg, stormed Normandy's beaches, froze at the Cosin Reservoir, slopped through the Mekong Delta and fought for Iraqi freedom. But few knew of them, even in their own hometown. Author, Michael McCoy pledged to change all that."--Jacket.

In Casting Forward, naturalist, educator, and writer Steve Ramirez takes the reader on a yearlong journey fly fishing all of the major rivers of the Texas Hill Country. This is a story of the resilience of nature and the best of human nature. It is the story of a living, breathing place where the footprints of dinosaurs, conquistadors, and Comanches have mingled just beneath the clear spring-fed waters. This book is an impassioned plea for the survival of this landscape and its biodiversity, and for a new ethic in how we treat fish, nature, and each other.