Books with author Mark Garrison

Guts 'n Gunships has maintained a top spot on the Amazon bestseller page since 2015. It reached the number one spot for all of non-fiction on Amazon, and was ranked number eleven for all Kindle books. It was a #4 bestseller on the Wall Street Journal bestsellers list and was listed on USA Today's bestseller list as well.Straight from college, to the US Army, to command pilot of a four-ton gunship with a four-man crew in Vietnam. From college chess games to a game of life and death. It was surreal to say the least. In this book I pour my heart out and bare my soul to tell you what that was like, from basic to Vietnam and back.SynopsisIn the summer of 1967, Mark Garrison had dropped out of college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, just before entering his third year. He had run out of money and had to work for a while. These were the days before the lottery and the draft soon came calling. In order to somewhat control his own future, he enlisted in the U.S. Army’s helicopter flight school program. Little did he know that this adventure would be the most profound experience of his life.Garrison flew hundreds of missions for the 119th AHC, stationed in the Central Highlands at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was awarded twenty-five Air Medals, four campaign Bronze Stars, and The Distinguished Flying Cross among numerous other awards. His narrative takes you through the whole process, from basic training, flight school, flying combat in Vietnam, and his return to the United States. His description includes many incidents in combat flight, including being hit by rocket-propelled grenades and being on fire in the air, over hundreds if not thousands of enemy troops. But this is not all. He elaborates on the daily lives, emotions, and nuances of the pilots and what they considered their mission to be.GUTS 'N GUNSHIPS is a must read if you are to have a realistic understanding of what flying helicopters in Vietnam combat was all about.Review“Mark Garrison’s Guts 'N Gunships is more than just another Vietnam flashback. It is a portal which will transport readers to a most painful American experience. These were definitely goodbye times in America and the author bares his soul with his narrative.The author reveals how he, his friends and family, like millions of other Americans were sucked into the Vietnam whirlwind while the nation’s leaders wrestled with a domino theory pressed upon the nation by think tanks tied to the military industrial complex.Guts 'N Gunships follows Garrison’s true life story of being on the short list for the draft, and then going all in by signing up for helicopter pilot training. After just a few months training, he found himself in the mountains of Vietnam flying Huey helicopters into small holes in the triple canopy jungle. He had been assigned to duty with the Crocodiles and Alligators of the 119th Assault Helicopter Company, just a few short miles from the dreaded Ho Chi Minh Trail.His one-year recounting of his numbered days there is painted with blood, pathos and hilarious incidents, stemming from hard drinking and furious nap of the earth flying, while the helicopters were blown apart with the pilots and crews in them.Most uplifting of all is the author’s first person accounting of a unit of pilots who saw the American mission failing but renewed vows among themselves that they would give the enemy no quarter and would cut no corners in their attempts to bring home alive every American they possibly could.No one has ever before addressed the American helicopter pilot experience in the way Garrison does.” —Ron Gawthorp

Straight from college, to the US Army, to command pilot of a four ton gunship with a four man crew in Vietnam. From college chess games to a game of life and death. It was surreal to say the least. In this book I pour my heart out and bare my soul to tell you what that was like, from basic to Vietnam and back. Synopsis In the summer of 1967, Mark Garrison had dropped out of college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, just before entering his third year. He had run out of money and had to work for a while. These were the days before the lottery and the draft soon came calling. In order to somewhat control his own future, he enlisted in the U.S. Army’s helicopter flight school program. Little did he know that this adventure would be the most profound experience of his life. Garrison flew hundreds of missions for the 119th AHC, stationed in the Central Highlands at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was awarded twenty-five Air Medals, four campaign Bronze Stars, and The Distinguished Flying Cross among numerous other awards. His narrative takes you through the whole process, from basic training, flight school, flying combat in Vietnam, and his return to the United States. His description includes many incidents in combat flight, including being hit by rocket propelled grenades and being on fire in the air, over hundreds if not thousands of enemy troops. But this is not all. He elaborates on the daily lives, emotions, and nuances of the pilots and what they considered their mission to be. GUTS 'N GUNSHIPS is a must read if you are to have a realistic understanding of what flying helicopters in Vietnam combat was all about. Review “Mark Garrison’s Guts 'N Gunships is more than just another Vietnam flashback. It is a portal which will transport readers to a most painful American experience. These were definitely goodbye times in America and the author bares his soul with his narrative. The author reveals how he, his friends and family, like millions of other Americans were sucked into the Vietnam whirlwind while the nation’s leaders wrestled with a domino theory pressed upon the nation by think tanks tied to the military industrial complex. Guts 'N Gunships follows Garrison’s true life story of being on the short list for the draft, and then going all in by signing up for helicopter pilot training. After just a few months training, he found himself in the mountains of Vietnam flying Huey helicopters into small holes in the triple canopy jungle. He had been assigned to duty with the Crocodiles and Alligators of the 119th Assault Helicopter Company, just a few short miles from the dreaded Ho Chi Minh Trail. His one year recounting of his numbered days there is painted with blood, pathos and hilarious incidents, stemming from hard drinking and furious nap of the earth flying, while the helicopters were blown apart with the pilots and crews in them. Most uplifting of all is the author’s first person accounting of a unit of pilots who saw the American mission failing but renewed vows among themselves that they would give the enemy no quarter and would cut no corners in their attempts to bring home alive every American they possibly could. No one has ever before addressed the American helicopter pilot experience in the way Garrison does.” —Ron Gawthorp

In the summer of 1967, Mark Garrison had dropped out of college at Southern Illinois University just before entering his third year. He had run out of money and had to work for a while. These were the days before the lottery and the draft soon came calling. In order to somewhat control his own future, he enlisted in the US Army's helicopter flight school program. Little did he know that this adventure would be the most profound experience of his life. Garrison flew hundreds of missions for the 119th AHC, stationed in the Central Highlands at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was awarded 25 Air Medals, four campaign Bronze Stars, and The Distinguished Flying Cross, among numerous other awards. His narrative takes you through the whole process, from basic training, flight school, flying combat in Vietnam, and his return to the United States. His description includes many incidents in combat flight, including being hit by rocket propelled grenades and being on fire in the air, over hundreds if not thousands of enemy troops. But this is not all. He elaborates on the daily lives, emotions, and nuances of the pilots and what they considered their mission to be. Guts 'N Gunships is a must listen if you are to have a realistic understanding of what flying helicopters in Vietnam combat was all about.

Straight from college, to the US Army, to command pilot of a four ton gunship with a four man crew in Vietnam. From college chess games to a game of life and death. It was surreal to say the least. In this book I pour my heart out and bare my soul to tell you what that was like, from basic to Vietnam and back. Synopsis In the summer of 1967, Mark Garrison had dropped out of college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, just before entering his third year. He had run out of money and had to work for a while. These were the days before the lottery and the draft soon came calling. In order to somewhat control his own future, he enlisted in the U.S. Army’s helicopter flight school program. Little did he know that this adventure would be the most profound experience of his life. Garrison flew hundreds of missions for the 119th AHC, stationed in the Central Highlands at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, Vietnam. He was awarded twenty-five Air Medals, four campaign Bronze Stars, and The Distinguished Flying Cross among numerous other awards. His narrative takes you through the whole process, from basic training, flight school, flying combat in Vietnam, and his return to the United States. His description includes many incidents in combat flight, including being hit by rocket propelled grenades and being on fire in the air, over hundreds if not thousands of enemy troops. But this is not all. He elaborates on the daily lives, emotions, and nuances of the pilots and what they considered their mission to be. GUTS 'N GUNSHIPS is a must read if you are to have a realistic understanding of what flying helicopters in Vietnam combat was all about. Review “Mark Garrison’s Guts 'N Gunships is more than just another Vietnam flashback. It is a portal which will transport readers to a most painful American experience. These were definitely goodbye times in America and the author bares his soul with his narrative. The author reveals how he, his friends and family, like millions of other Americans were sucked into the Vietnam whirlwind while the nation’s leaders wrestled with a domino theory pressed upon the nation by think tanks tied to the military industrial complex. Guts 'N Gunships follows Garrison’s true life story of being on the short list for the draft, and then going all in by signing up for helicopter pilot training. After just a few months training, he found himself in the mountains of Vietnam flying Huey helicopters into small holes in the triple canopy jungle. He had been assigned to duty with the Crocodiles and Alligators of the 119th Assault Helicopter Company, just a few short miles from the dreaded Ho Chi Minh Trail. His one year recounting of his numbered days there is painted with blood, pathos and hilarious incidents, stemming from hard drinking and furious nap of the earth flying, while the helicopters were blown apart with the pilots and crews in them. Most uplifting of all is the author’s first person accounting of a unit of pilots who saw the American mission failing but renewed vows among themselves that they would give the enemy no quarter and would cut no corners in their attempts to bring home alive every American they possibly could. No one has ever before addressed the American helicopter pilot experience in the way Garrison does.” —Ron Gawthorp

A More Perfect Ten is a revision of Gary Garrison's pioneering book on writing and producing the 10-minute play, and it is now the most authoritative book on this emerging play form. The 10-minute play has become a regular feature of theatre companies and festivals from coast to coast, and Garrison has distilled the advice of many of those people who had been instrumental in promoting the ten minute play for the last few years.Replete with advice and tips on creating the successful 10-minute play, and cautions for avoiding the pitfalls, this new edition also includes addresses for the biggest and most important 10-minute festival opportunities, new sample 10-minute plays and questions for thought and discussion, and sample layout templates for laying out the play for submission. The savvy playwright at any level of skill can use this little book to great advantage. Plus Gary Garrison is warm, funny, irreverent, and essential.

Describes the lives and times of outstanding African Americans who were born as slaves and went on to accomplish great things: Josiah Henson, Frederick Douglas, William and Ellen Craft, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Henry Bibb, Booker T. Washington, Susie King Taylor, Nat Love, Robert Smalls, and Sojourner Truth.Describes the lives and times of outstanding African Americans who were born as slaves and went on to accomplish great things, including Josiah Henson, Frederick Douglas, and William and Ellen Craft.

Sarah and her twin brother Jon are heirs to an ancient magical realm and its most valuable treasure, an enchanted library. The library endows readers with the supernatural means of crossing into the uncharted inner-sanctum of the second dimension, inhabited with peculiar and sometimes perilous creatures. The children are emboldened with a wondrous mystical gift that no other being has ever possessed. But fate intervenes and triggers a disastrous inter-dimensional war that disrupts the fabric of time and space spanning multiple universes, tearing destiny a new and savage pathway. The two must rescue their world from a phantom hybrid alien race controlled by a demented dark-wizard, Jeremy Sermack. They will either assimilate or be exterminated. Will they be the saviors the prophets spoke of, or will they retreat to the perceived safety of their distant homeland?

Sarah and her twin brother Jon are heirs to an ancient magical realm and its most valuable treasure: an enchanted library. The library endows readers with the supernatural means of crossing into the uncharted inner sanctum of the second-dimension, inhabited with peculiar and sometimes perilous creatures. Both children are emboldened with a wondrous, mystical gift that no being has ever possessed before. But fate intervenes and triggers a disastrous war that disrupts the fabric of time and space, spanning multiple universes and tearing destiny a new and savage pathway. The two must rescue their world from a phantom hybrid alien race controlled by the demented dark wizard, Jeremy Sermack. They'll either assimilate or be exterminated. Will they be the saviors that the prophets envisioned, or will they retreat to the perceived safety of their distant homeland?

Do you want to make a difference in this world? How do you do that as a Christian you may ask? It all starts with building a relationship with our Lord and Savior. It’s more than just knowing of Him, but knowing all about Him and His expectations for us. We do this by reading and meditating the Living Word of God. Too many of us, me included, are too busy with life and what usually happens is we put the one thing that is most important and can help us in all areas of life on the back burner because the front of the stove “aka our life” is filled with far too many other things and it’s messy. So, one day the Lord spoke to me and told me it’s time to go deep. He took me through His word and revealed His truths, His direction, and His plans to me and in turn, I’ve compiled them into a series of mini-sermons. These messages have opened my eyes to the life a Christian should be living and has shown me that His word is living and can split bone and marrow, and spirit and soul. I pray this series will be a blessing to all its readers and I pray that your relationship will continuously get stronger and stronger as you progress with your life journey. God Bless you all.

• Foreword by Neil La Bute plus the Kennedy Center imprimatur• KCACTF involves more than 18,000 college students annually—and they all need a copy of this book• KCACTF plays are staged at state, regional, and national competitions, all heavily attended • Exciting new material for theater producers, playwrights, aspiring playwrights, and drama students at every levelSince 1969, the American College Theater Festival has recognized the finest work produced in college and university drama programs through state, regional, and national festivals around the country. At last, many recent competition winners have been gathered into one volume, an anthology of the work the Kennedy Center judges to be the best from our young dramatists. Entertaining, challenging, and sometimes startling, these plays introduce readers to the emerging playwrights who are sure to be the theater giants of tomorrow.