Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed L.A. Music Journalist chronicles Thomas Wictor's ten years in the Los Angeles music industry and his quest to free himself from the past. Ostensibly a memoir, Ghosts also asks - and possibly answers - provocative questions about fate, destiny, and life after death. The book is structured as a collection of anthologies rather than a continuous narrative; the seven anthologies detailing Wictor's failed career are separated by six interludes with the "Collateral Ghost," one of the most brilliant, yet unsuccessful, musicians who ever played - former Frank Zappa bassist Scott Thunes. Thomas Wictor's experiences include multiple failures across multiple spectra and an endless series of coincidences that always returned him to the notion that there is a Plan. Losing nearly everything he loved gave the author clarity, enabling him to see patterns of guidance and sustenance visible everywhere once he was no longer blinded by rage and negativity. This clarity exorcised Thomas Wictor and brought him peace of mind, which allowed him to transform the anger over what he lost into gratitude for what he once had. Written with profane humor and no self-pity, Ghosts and Ballyhoo includes previously unpublished articles, excerpts from interview transcripts personal correspondence, and photos.

German Flamethrower Pioneers of World War I is the definitive reference on the topic. Lavishly illustrated, its main sources are the history of the flamethrower regiment, written by its former commander; a manual of assault-troop and flamethrower tactics, by a former flamethrower officer; and the death book published by veterans of the flamethrower regiment. Prewar, wartime, and postwar developments are covered, along with detailed descriptions of weapons, tactics, and epic flame battles. New information, such as the combat use of an aircraft-mounted flamethrower, is included. Includes over 300 photographs and illustrations, most previously unpublished.

This book covers the organization, tactics, weapons, equipment, orders of battle, and uniforms of official and unofficial units, from early raiding parties to formal assault battalions. Rare photos depict badges and insignia not previously known, while primary documents describing regulations and training are provided in their entirety. New information on the origin of shock tactics is presented, gleaned from German archives and not previously published in English. Specific operations on all fronts are included, along with extracts from German army manuals for shock-troop arms such as flamethrowers, mortars, machine guns, grenade launchers, assault artillery, and tanks.

Lavishly illustrated with rare photos and diagrams, this book describes in unprecedented detail the history, weapons, equipment, tactics, and uniforms of all the flamethrower troops fielded by both sides during World War I, and is the only book in any language devoted entirely to the topic. The book draws on primary sources such as classified flamethrower manuals, unit diaries, military correspondence, and personal memoirs, with much of the material previously unpublished. For the first time in English the flame-warfare efforts of Russia and Bulgaria are presented. Select flamethrower attacks are documented, as well as complete technical data on weaponry including weight, range, duration, pressure, capacity, oil mixtures, and color schemes. Also described are all known models of flamethrower used by the combatants. Additional weapons such as incendiary grenades, fire tubes, oil projectors, and side arms are also featured.

"Chasing the Last Whale" is a novel about rage. Elliot Finell-an angry, maimed young man-meets Trey Gillespie, who is even angrier and more crippled in body and soul. They become friends, despite their utterly dissimilar backgrounds, temperaments, and worldviews. Elliot's rage has cost him his health, his relationship with his family, and the love of his life, a moody Southerner with a secret. While navigating his strange friendship with Trey, Elliot tries to heal his damaged body. He finds that despite Trey's negativity, this "evil Okie medicine man" somehow gives Elliot the strength to carry on.

When Trey suffers a crisis, he turns to Elliot with a request. Elliot can't agree to help. In response, Trey commits a desperate act that triggers a memory Elliot has long repressed. Suddenly aware of the truth about himself, Elliot must decide if he will maintain the anger that has become habitual, the main component of his identity. By understanding what has really crippled him, he's finally able to see how it has damaged so many others: his lost love, his family, the beautiful young woman who is his implacable nemesis, his ambiguous British friend, and of course Trey, a nuclear reactor of rage, suffering, and bitterness.

Clarity leaves Elliot faced with the most agonizing choices of his life.

"Chasing the Last Whale" examines intent and outcome. What constitutes a crime? How does victimhood end? Can mercy be immoral? Is love a choice?Does trauma always destroy? And can almost any subject be made funny?"

"Hallucinabulia: the Dream Diary of an Unintended Solitarian" is a document of disaster and recovery. The third volume in the "Ghosts" Trilogy, it joins "Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed L.A. Music Journalist" and "Chasing the Last Whale, " a fictional black comedy about love and suicide in contemporary, wartime America.

Like its two companion titles, "Hallucinabulia" explores the theme of overcoming a deeply traumatic past by transforming anger over loss into gratitude for what once was. Plagued by chronic nightmares until an incurable illness finally allowed him to achieve happiness, Wictor published this very private record in order to bear witness, banish, and entertain. The healing power of laughter is again demonstrated and affirmed.

Wictor's near-perfect recall allowed him to capture some of the most off-kilter, frightening, strange, and funny imagery that a twisted imagination could ever devise. The diary-divided into twelve chapters organized by subject matter-provides context to the memoir and the novel by presenting the nocturnal battles the author fought with his demons, as well as the salvation that his angels conferred. Straight from Wictor's subconscious, the dialog, bizarre scenery, and outlandish situations are preserved in the form of intricately detailed short stories.

The characters introduced in "Ghosts and Ballyhoo" and romanticized in "Chasing the Last Whale" are finally set free in "Hallucinabulia, " being no longer bound by law, nature, or even reality. The result is a book that travels an arc from incomprehensibly brutal to indestructibly optimistic, as intense evil gives way to infinite beauty and good.

From the chaotic world of music journalism comes this collection of unabridged, unexpurgated interviews with four of the brightest, most influential and complex pop and rock musicians alive: Gene Simmons of Kiss, Peter Hook of New Order, Jerry Casale of Devo, and Scott Thunes of Frank Zappa fame. They are all bass players and they are all plainspoken, profane, stressed out, caustic, antagonistic and on occasion so belligerent they are prepared to engage in psychological warfare with their interviewer. Each interview is illustrated with striking, often candid photographs, and includes an introduction and a postscript. ..".the ultimate reason I liked this book was because of the very interesting circumstances of the interviews themselves. These people are almost impossible to get a hold of, let alone interview." - YourFlesh