Books published by Gradina Books

The U.S. maritime industry hit rock bottom starting in the early 1980's, right around the time the author was graduating from the California Maritime Academy. Even in his yearbook it warned about how bad things were--it was a time of cost cutting, reduced wages, desperate shipping companies and a lack of jobs. Eventually he made his way out to sea as both an able-bodied seaman and a third mate. He saw first-hand what it was like out there; from the crazy captains to the weary sailors, and from the bad food to the dangerous working conditions. This book covers it all, and while the ships he sailed on were all scrapped long ago, the stories of the industry and what it took to make it, are remembered. This is his story.

So many people died during World War Two, why did it have to happen? They'd heard reports earlier giving the total number of war victims in Yugoslavia as 1,750,000 citizens--a figure confirmed by Radio-Belgrade. This number compared to the announcement of 16,500 Germans killed or missing in their country, revealed a staggering disproportion never before recorded in human history. Such as it was, the question as to what the war was really about--and who'd won it--remained unanswered. Certainly Yugoslavia couldn't call it a victory with the loss of 106 citizens for every German lost.This book tells that story.