New audio books at CARL

The CARL just purchased nearly 400 new downloadable audio books from netLibrary that you can download and listen to on your MP3 player or desktop computer.

First time using NetLibrary? You can view an Online Demo here.

Browse a sample of these new titles:

1. Military and defense related nonfiction
2. Fiction

NetLibrary Ebook Start Guide

CARL OpenSearch Plug-Ins

If you're using Firefox 2.0 or Internet Explorer 7.0 you're probably familiar with the small browser window in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. The default search engine is either Google or Yahoo.

In addition to these you can now add CARL research tools to your array of ready search engines on your IE 7 or Firefox 2.0 browser. On this Web page just hit the drop-down menu next to the search box in your browser window and you can add our CARL Catalog, CARL Digital Library, Praeger Security International or JSTOR search engines to your Firefox or IE 7 browser. This will allow you to search our library resources directly from your browser's search box.

OpenSearch

New at CARL: 15 Stars by Stanley Weintraub

Check our holdings at CARL: "15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall - Three Generals Who Saved the American Century"

Summary: "In the closing days of World War II, America looked up to three five-star generals as its greatest heroes. George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Douglas MacArthur personified victory, from the Pentagon to Normandy to the Far East. Counterparts and on occasion competitors, they had leapfrogged each other, sometimes stonewalled each other, even supported and protected each other throughout their celebrated careers. In the public mind they stood for glamour, integrity, and competence. But for dramatic twists of circumstance, all three - rather than only one - might have occupied the White House." "The story of their interconnected lives opens a fascinating window onto some of the twentieth century's most crucial events, revealing the personalities behind the public images and showing how much of a difference three men can make."--BOOK JACKET.

Excerpt from the book

Related podcast:

Stanley Weintraub, author of "15 Stars: Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall - Three Generals Who Saved the American Century," interviewed by Max Boot, Senior Fellow for National Security Studies at the Council On Foreign Relations. Podcast

"The War" - Ken Burn's documentary companion website

The Veteran's History Project Companion Website to Ken Burn's "The War" documentary

From the VHP website: "As a partner with filmmaker Ken Burns and PBS on The War, the Veterans History Project (VHP) offers this special Web site to enhance the viewing experience of this epic yet intimate look at those who sacrificed so much to serve their country during World War II. Select an episode link on the left to view stories from veterans whose collections are now part of the Library of Congress...This VHP Web feature offers you a chance to experience some of the events depicted in The War, from the attack on Pearl Harbor to V-E and V-J Day, through additional interviews--as well as letters, diaries, and memoirs--found in the Veterans History Project archives. We’ve outlined topics covered in each of the seven episodes of The War."

View World War II era Newsreels covering the attack on Pearl Harbor to landings in Normandy and the final victories in Europe and the Pacific.

New at the CARL - The Al Qaeda reader

Check our holdings: The Al Qaeda reader by Raymond Ibrahim

Summary:

"Despite our tendency to dismiss Islamic extremism as profoundly irrational, al Qaeda is not without a coherent body of beliefs. As in other totalitarian movements, its leaders have rationalized their brutality in a number of published treatises. Now, for the first time, The Al Qaeda Reader gathers together the essential texts and documents that trace the origin, history, and evolution of the ideas of al-Qaeda founders Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden."--BOOK JACKET.

Related podcast

with the author on C-Span AfterWords Program Raymond Ibrahim translates key Al Qaeda documents, some previously unavailable in English, that provide a window into the thinking of radical Islam's leadership. "The Al Qaeda Reader," divided into theology and propaganda focuses on the writings of Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. Raymond Abrahim is interviewed by Lawrence Wright, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in general non-fiction for his book "The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11."

Hollywood at War - Movies at the Kansas City Public Library

There are many reasons to spend an hour or two at the beautiful Kansas City Public Library in downtown KC. Besides the huge collections they offer a terrific guest lecture series by renowned authors as well as host music jams by talented local musicians. Another popular venue is their free movie series on Saturday afternoons and Monday evenings. Their next series of movies features Hollywood at War:

From the KCPL website: "The eagerly awaited seven-part PBS documentary on World War II from director Ken Burns starts airing on September 23. In preparation, the Central Film Series showcases some of the best Hollywood movies about the war. This series is scheduled on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. and every Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the Stanley H. Durwood Film Vault at the Central Library. Hollywood at War's featured film this Saturday is Stalag 17 (1953). American Prisoners of War in a German camp suspect one of their own of spying, and all eyes are on William Holden (who served his time during the 1950s in backlot P.O.W. camps) in one of his very best performances; his portrayal here earned him an Oscar as Best Actor. (120 min.)

Visit their website to learn about the coming movie offerings.

US Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual

View online from our catalog the US Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual

This field manual/Marine Corps warfighting publication establishes doctrine (fundamental principles) for military operations in a counterinsurgency (COIN) environment.

Related podcast

Lt. Col. John Nagl, contributor and author of foreword to "The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual" interviewed by Sean Naylor. C-Span After Words - interview of LTC Nagl runs approximately 1 hour.

About this C-Span program: "Lt. Col. John Nagl helped write "The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual," which was prepared under the guidance of Gen. David Petraeus (currently leading the "surge" in Iraq). Lt. Col. Nagl, a veteran of both Opertation Desert Storm and the current war in Iraq, talks about the manual with Sean Naylor, senior writer for Army Times and the author of "Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda."

Also in the news: University of Chicago to publish the Counterinsurgency manual

counterinsurgency John Nagl

Custom Search of Army Digital Collections

Try out our new custom search engine for finding military monographs, photos, theses, oral history transcripts and other rare documents made available to the public from several Army digital repositories including the US Military Academy, Combined Arms Research Library, Army Infantry School and Center for Military History.

Research help and tips

The CARL is hosting our next brownbag on 18 September in the library learning center from 1200-1300 hours. This session will focus on tips and strategies to use in mining the best information for your research.
Here are some other quick tutorials on some tools available to you from the CARL to aid in your studies.
How do I import references from the CARL catalog into Refworks? View this interactive CARL Refworks Tutorial. (1:31)
Or review this step-by-step guide.
Be sure also to browse our directory of other online tutorials on topics ranging from doing historical research for your MMAS, discovering book reviews online, searching Stinet, Janes and Military Periscoipe databases as well as finding journals in electronic format.

La Guerra at the Kansas City Public Library

From the KCPL website: "On Tuesday, September 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 West 10th Street, the Library, in association with KCUR, will bring the contributions of Latino World War II veterans to light in the panel discussion, La Guerra. A reception will precede the discussion at 6 p.m. La Guerra will be moderated by KCUR's Sylvia Maria Gross, host of KC Currents. Her panelists include WWII veterans Roque Riojas and Bob Cotero. Riojas served from 1942-45 as a Private First Class. In his division, the 34th Infantry of the National Guard, Riojas' outfit spent 600 days in combat in Hispanic Heritage Month Event!North Africa and Italy, more than any other American unit in the war. Cotero served from 1944-48 as an Electrician Mate Third Class in the United States Navy." Reserve your seat at this event now.

US Army's strategy in Afghanistan: better anthropology

From the Chirstian Science Monitor: "Shabak Valley, Afghanistan - Evidence of how far the US Army's counterinsurgency strategy has evolved can be found in the work of a uniformed anthropologist toting a gun in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Part of a Human Terrain Team (HHT) – the first ever deployed – she speaks to hundreds of Afghan men and women to learn how they think and what they need." Full Article

Also on this CSM website listen to reporter Scott Peterson talks about this new US Army tactic in its counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan.

Google Book Search: Create your own online library

Today Google announced a new feature that lets you create your own personal library collection on Book Search. You can add your own tags or labels to help you organize your online library. This makes it easy to find particular books or to share your collections with others. The CARL has created a Google Books library of its own with multiple categories for full text titles you can read online. See what we've found and be inspired to make your own or to visit ours as we keep adding to it.

CARL Google Books Library

• Military History
• Counterinsurgency
• Classic Literature
• Leadership
• Adventure
• American History
• Biography

Browse some other sample collections

counterinsurgency military history warfare literature Google Books google

Breaching the fortress wall : understanding terrorist efforts to overcome defensive technologies

Breaching the fortress wall : understanding terrorist efforts to overcome defensive technologies

Breaching the Fortress Wall presents informative surveys of Palestinian insurgents. Jemaah Islamiyah in Asia, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, and the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Ireland.

It concludes with a chapter that, among other things, describes a set of overall strategies that terrorist organizations use to overcome defensive technologies.

Achilles, Helen, and All That... at the Kansas City Public Library

From the KCPL website: "Barry Strauss, author of The Trojan War: A New History, will discuss the lessons learned from the Trojan War and explain how those lessons might be relevant in today's political climate on Thursday, September 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Strauss will answer several questions, each relevant today, in historical context. Do we still need heroes, like Achilles, or is he out of date? In unconventional warfare, victory always requires a Trojan Horse; what's ours in Iraq? How did Odysseus bring the Greeks round from flight to fight? Politicians talk about security and honor, but why do warriors really fight?

Strauss, professor of history and classics at Cornell University, is also the author of The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece – and Western Civilization. "

Reserve your seat for this event now.