The Home From War series continues...

... with part Six of my exploration of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan coming this Sunday, Oct. 30.
Meanwhile, just posted: The second half of John Freidah's superb video on Sean Judge and Brian Santos, two young men who served with distinction in Iraq, witnessed horrific events, and came home to very different experiences. I have served as Story Consultant on all of the videos that are part of the series, which wraps up Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011.

The horror of war

The Ambush: Day Five of my continuing seven-day Providence Journal series on the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will run on this Sunday, October 23. It's the first of two installments telling the story of Sean Judge and Brian Santos, who served in Iraq and on an August night in 2005 witnessed an incredibly horrific bloodbath of American soldiers. (Part two, their very different experiences on their return home, runs Sunday, October 30. Series concludes Sunday, November 6, with the story of a man who lost his firstborn son in an explosion in Afghanistan that killed eight Americans.)
A 15-minute video of Sean and Brain relating the events of that terrible night is now posted
on the Journal web site.
This documentary, by my Journal colleague John Freidah, is extraordinarily powerful.
Note: The warning of graphic content is justified.

200 at book launch party! And the reviews are coming in...

Some 200 people came out on a beautiful fall afternoon Oct. 16 for the launch party at Salve Regina University's Pell Center. I signed 100 books -- after that, the publisher ran out. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse spoke, along with Congressman David Cicilline; all were greatly influenced by Pell. Also speaking were grandsons Nick and Clay Pell, and Salve president Sister Gerety and Chancellor Sister Antone. I did a reading. The wine flowed and the food, including cucumber sandwiches, was scrumptious.

Meanwhile, reviews are starting to come in, including from Publisher's Weekly. They're good. Links to them can be found at the official book site's reviews page.

Upcoming events include a reading at signing at Newport's Redwood Library, Nov. 17, and a presentation at the Nov. 30 Pecha Kucha in Providence. Details soon.

Two books now on iTunes

As publishers continue deeper into electronic publishing, two of my books have made it not only onto Amazon's Kindle but also now, iTunes:

-- KING OF HEARTS, an account of the inventors of open-heart surgery, and

--- AN UNCOMMON MAN, published in October 2011.

For Kindle and other editions of my books, visit the Books page of my web site.

Party time!

Please join me this Sunday, October 16th, at Salve Regina University's Pell Center for the launch party for my eighth book, AN UNCOMMON MAN: The Life & Times of Senator Claiborne Pell.
Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse will speak, along with Salve president Sr. Jane Gerety, Salve chancellor Sr. M. Therese Antone, Congressman David Cicilline, and Nick and Clay Pell, Claiborne's grandsons. I will do a reading.
The event runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pell Center, 518 Bellevue Ave., Newport, R.I. Wine and other delights will be served. Legendary Providence Journal columnist M. Charles Bakst and other notable guests will be there.
More on the book at the UNCOMMON MAN site.