The Biography Shelf

White Flag
Judy L. Mandel
Legacy Book Press
https://legacybookpress.com
9781737592631, $14.99, PB, 284pp

https://www.amazon.com/White-Flag-Judy-L-Mandel/dp/1737592630

Synopsis: Cheryl said many times that "I'm done with that life, I'll never =
go back to it." But she did. When her Aunt Judy finds her in jail after two=
years of thinking she may be dead, she hopes and prays this is a second ch= ance for her niece. Her sensitive, funny, bookworm niece. Her big sister's = eldest daughter, the sister who has since died.

And through writing "White Flag", author Judy L. Mandel finds that it didn'=
t start with Cheryl, but that the tentacles of trauma explored in her first=
book "Replacement Child" have grabbed hold of her niece too. She struggles=
with being powerless to help Cheryl, and she discovers that transgeneratio= nal trauma and epigenetics may have started this avalanche of pain. She won= ders why some people can recover from addiction, and others cannot. Why som=
e are able to raise their white flag of surrender.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "White Flag"=
will have a special affinity for readers with an interest in memoirs and b= iographies of those who have had to deal with being members of (and recover= ing from) dysfunctional families. While unreservedly recommended for commun= ity and academic library Memoir/Biography collections, it should be noted f=
or personal reading lists that "White Flag" is also available in a digital = book format (Kindle, $4.99).

Editorial Note: Judy Mandel (https://www.asja.org/member/judy-mandel) began=
as a reporter. She later worked in public relations and advertising and so= mehow found herself in corporate communications at various insurance compan= ies, where she earned a living for 20 years. Her first memoir, "Replacement=
Child", grew out of early essays and the promise she made to her family to=
tell the story.

The Yank
John Crawley
Melville House
46 John Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
https://www.mhpbooks.com
9781612199849, $28.99, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Yank-Story-Former-Marine-Republican/dp/1612199844

Synopsis: The Irish "Troubles" were at a murderous fever pitch when John Cr= awley volunteered for the IRA. Bloody Friday, Bloody Sunday, the bombing of=
the British Houses of Parliament, and other deadly incidents had recently = unfolded or were about to. Civilian casualties were as common as those of t=
he British soldiers, Republican militants (who wanted the UK out of Norther=
n Ireland), and Unionist police and militants (who wanted to remain in the = UK), engaged in seemingly constant gun battles and car bombing throughout N= orthern Ireland. The death toll numbered over 1,000.

The IRA split over how to react between the old-line IRA, and the new Provi= sional IRA -- the Provos, mostly impassioned young men who were not hesitan=
t to resort to violence.

With the publication of "The Yank: The True Story of a Former US Marine in = the Irish Republican Army", a powerful, brutally honest, no-holds-barred re= counting of John Crawley's personal experience, details, first, the gruelin=
g challenges of his Marine Corps training, then how he put his hard-earned = munitions and demolitions skills to use back in Ireland in service of the P= rovos.

This memoir is a compelling story that will see him running guns with notor= ious American mobster (and secret IRA fundraiser) Whitey Bulger; running, u= nder cover of night, from safe house to safe house in the Irish countryside=
, one step ahead of British troops; being captured, imprisoned, and being p= art of a mass escape attempt; fending off a recruitment offer from the CIA;=
and being one of the masterminds behind a campaign to take out London's el= ectrical system.

Along the way, Crawley is blisteringly candid about the memorable people he=
worked with, including behind-the-scenes portrayals of revered IRA leader = Martin McGuinness, and of the psychopathic Whitey Bulger, as well as others=
in the Boston IRA support network. There are vivid portraits of colleagues=
and enemies, and Crawley is unflinching in his commentary on IRA leadershi=
p and their tactics, both military and political.

Through it all comes the steadfast voice of a man on a mission, providing a=
n evocative, detailed, and passionate recounting of where that mission led = him and why -- as well as why, to this day, he remains ready to serve.

Critique: A compelling, compulsive, page turner of a true life memoir that = reads with all the drama of finely crafted action/adventure fiction, John C= arwley's "The Yank: The True Story of a Former US Marine in the Irish Repub= lican Army" is a certain and unreservedly recommended addition to personal,=
community, and academic library American Biography/Memoir collections. Of = special value to readers with an interest in the history of the IRA, White = Bulgar, and Irish- British conflict that the current Brexit departure from = the European Union threatens to renew, it should be noted that "The Yank: T=
he True Story of a Former US Marine in the Irish Republican Army" is also a= vailable in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: John Crawley was born in New York to Irish immigrant parent=
s, and moved to Ireland as a young teenager to attend school. Inspired ther=
e by the struggle for Irish freedom against British rule in the North of Ir= eland, he returned to America to receive military training in an elite, spe= cial forces "Recon" unit of the US Marine Corps. Afterwards, he returned to=
Ireland to volunteer for the IRA and conducted many missions, including gu= n-running from the US, working with Boston criminal head Whitey Bulger. Cra= wley would be captured and imprisoned twice, both in Ireland and in England=
, while on major missions, done in both times by informers. He is now retir=
ed and married with a family, and lives in County Monaghan, Ireland. He rem= ains as committed as ever to the ending of British rule in Ireland and the = establishment of a united Irish Republic.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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Midwest Book Review
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