"Moonlight, Missiles, and
Moana" is enduring, excellent, and historically important.
"Moonlight, Missiles, and Moana" (ISBN: 1413773230) by Stephen B.
Gladish begins, "The
ocean breeze ruffled Moana's eyebrows, soothing her cheekbones with
its moist caresses and gentle sighs like a nurturing mother."
As an exceptional and nurturing author Stephen Gladish pens a story
that delivers real character
study, classic adventure and romance during tense military times set
against the stunning beauty of the South Pacific. As the author
says, "The plot for MMM came easily because it was based on settings
and events and characters which I encountered and journaled about
while on duty in 1962 out in the Pacific with a mobile weather
squadron in the Air Force. I focused on the adventures of three
characters. As a Thoreauvian, I wanted my readers to experience a
proverbial return to paradise--with the flora and fauna and
lifestyle of American Samoa in its last days of innocence as an
island archipelago."
The main characters in "Moonlight, Missiles, and Moana" are Chance
and Moana. As the author details, "Moana is a composite of three
Polynesian girls I knew: Lotu-translated as the act of worship,
Mavis, and Talani. Lotu was a past love and romance interest, sweet,
shy, young, religious and innocent. Mavis was older, more
sophisticated, a singer and dancer, with the willowy frame and
social exuberance who attracted many men. Talani was a sultry singer
who had separated from her Marine husband and loved to go swimming,
boating, picnicking, and singing on the beach with any group of
Samoan girls and American servicemen. All three of these women were
enchanting to me and seemed to be the archetypal island
goddess--women Gauguin wrote about and painted-the ones I dreamed
about and wrote about in my journals."
Stephen Gladish is a fiction and nonfiction writer and teacher of
writing at Pima Community College in Arizona. He worked as a teacher
and career counselor in the Ohio and Arizona Department of
Corrections' Education Programs for twenty years, forming the
inspiration for the anthology, Freedom of Vision, which he is
editing and preparing to market with author-editor Robert Yehling.
He has written education books, and numerous literary essays based
upon his lifelong love of the teachings of mystical masters such as
Emanuel Swedenborg and Henry David Thoreau. One of two state
finalists for the Arizona Correctional Education Association's
Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, Stephen has seen
many inmates achieve academic and literary successes beyond the
public's wildest expectations. Now, he sets about bringing his own
dream to life: A novel drawn in part from his own experiences in the
Samoan Islands.
"Moonlight, Missiles, and Moana" is enduring, excellent and
historically important. As the book ends we read, "He walked away,
taking his island dreams with him." "Moonlight, Missiles, and Moana"
is a standout, fabulous and marvelous piece of literature. Every
reader will walk away satisfied and fulfilled from this book but
this book/story will never walk away from the reader.
Publisher: PublishAmerica (June 13, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1413773230
ISBN-13: 978-1413773231
Pageonelit.com Book Reviews
Stephen came of age in a proud family tradition of serving one's
country: a Marine in WWI, his
father became a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy during WWII,
serving in the far Pacific. Stephen served from 1959-1963 in the
USAF, following his father's footsteps, predominantly with the
fabled 6th Weather Squadron (Mobile). During his stint, he spent
many months in American Samoa and Nevada. He took special interest
in the people, the natural surroundings, and their spiritual and
metaphysical components wherever he was stationed. A lifelong
follower of eminent scientist, mystic, and revelator Emanuel
Swedenborg, and graduate of The Academy Boys' School, he returned
from the Air Force to become a Junior College Honors Graduate of
Bryn Athyn College in Pennsylvania. As a student of American History
and Literature, including History and Literature of the American
Indian, he earned his B.A. in English Literature with Honors at the
University of Illinois, and his M.A. in American Literature at
Northwestern University. He began his academic career in 1967 as a
College and University Writing Faculty at Elgin Community College
and then Northern Arizona University. He earned an M. Ed in
Counseling and Guidance at the University of Arizona, and began
twenty years teaching and counseling in the Ohio and Arizona state
penitentiaries, beginning with Urbana University in Ohio.
Now retired from the University and Prison System, Stephen continues
to teach writing half-time at Pima Community College. Stephen enjoys
promoting "Moonlight, Missiles, and Moana", the first in a trilogy
of Young Adult Inspirational Fiction, and revising future titles
including "Mustang Fever" and "Tornado Alley".
Happily married to his college sweetheart, Betsy, for forty years
and counting, Stephen is the proud father of two daughters-with full
families and careers-and two adventurous sons, both First
Lieutenants currently distinguishing themselves on active duty in
the U. S. Army. http://www.stephenbgladish.com
