Point of the Spear | Military History

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Dr. Paul Gill Jr. Paul attended the University of Notre Dame and the University of Alabama School of Medicine. He practiced emergency medicine for thirty-five years and was a freelance medical writer for many of those years. His articles appeared in many outdoor magazines, and his books,  The Ragged Mountain Press Guide to Wilderness Medicine &...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Marv Truhe. Marv served as a Navy JAG lawyer and military judge during the Vietnam War. Following his military service, he was an Assistant Attorney General for South Dakota before entering private practice. He defended six of the Black sailors charged with rioting and assaults in the USS Kitty Hawk incident.  His book is called Again...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Matthew Black. Matthew is a labor and crime historian who was recruited by James P. Hoffa’s office in 2016 to author  Dave Beck - A Teamsters Life.  He has also worked as a staff writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune and has published dozens of articles on History101.com, He is a graduate of the University of Washington with an honors deg...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with Chloe Gavin Beatty. Chloe is the youngest daughter of legendary WWII general James Gavin and made the decision recently to publish her father’s WWII diary as a book. The book is called, Gavin at War: The WWII diary of Lt. General James M. Gavin.  Sign up for our twice monthly email Newsletter  SOCIAL: YouTube Twitter Facebook Website

We’ve got some outstanding guests coming up in January as we launch Season Four of Point of the Spear. Click that follow button so you don’t miss a moment. Kicking off the month we discover the covert relationship the US Government had with the Mafia to Win WWII in Operation Underworld with author Matthew Black. Then, learn the untold story of the USS Kitty Hawk race riots in Against All Tides wit...

Join Robert Child for a Special Holiday Episode Christmas 1942. We feature radio news reports from the time and clips from, Command Performance, a War Department radio broadcast to American troops around the world on Christmas Eve 1942. Our main feature is an interview with Danish author Peter Harmsen. Peter is the author of the New York Times best seller Shanghai 1937: Stalingrad on the Yangtze a...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author and living historian John Koopman III. Koopman is the most sought after living historian for his portrayal of General George Washington. In this episode Robert Child and Koopman discuss General Washington’s wartime service prior to and following the American Revolution. Since 2006 John has had the honor of portraying General George Washington in man...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Kevin Ferris. Kevin spent more than thirty years at the Philadelphia Inquirer, the last ten as a columnist. His freelance work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Weekly Standard , and the Christian Science Monitor. His book with coauthor, John Siegfried is called No Greater Love: The Story of Michael Crescenz, Philadelphia’s Only...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with combat veteran and author Ben Kesling. Ben is a Midwest correspondent for the  Wall Street Journal , where he focuses on domestic security and veterans issues. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School, and previously served as a Marine Corps infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. His book is called Bravo Company: An Afghani...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with authors David and Margaret White. David White studied history at Harvard and worked as a reporter for  The New York Times. Margaret White is a freelance researcher and editor of nonfiction book projects about scientific breakthroughs and how they have changed the course of history. Their book is called Wings of War: The World War II Fighter Plane that...

We’ve got some outstanding guests coming in December, plus Christmas Week Specials on Point of the Spear. Click that follow button so you don’t miss a moment. Kicking off the month we follow an 82nd Airborne Division Company through their deployment and return to civilian life with author Ben Kesling. Then, the story of Philadelphia’s only Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Crescenz, wi...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Buzz Bissinger. Buzz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of four books, including the New York Times bestseller Three Nights in August and Friday Night Lights , which sold two million copies and inspired the film and TV franchise. His latest book is called, The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II.   Sign u...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Ethan Chorin. Ethan is a former diplomat, senior political analyst, author, and environmental entrepreneur. From 2004 to 2006, he was one of a handful of US diplomats posted to Libya to help set up a US mission. He was in Benghazi on the night of the attack in 2012 and was nominated to succeed Christopher Stevens as ambassador to Libya. His boo...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Tom Clavin. Tom has worked as a newspaper editor, magazine writer, TV and radio commentator, and a reporter for  The New York Times . He has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and National Newspaper Association. His latest book co-written book with Bob Drury is called, The Last H...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Damien Lewis. Damien is a former war correspondent and one of the Britain’s "twenty favorite authors" as declared by World Book Day. He’s an acclaimed and award-winning author topping bestseller lists worldwide. Many of his books are currently being produced for film and television. His latest book is called, SAS Brothers in Arms: Churchill's D...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Samuel De Korte. Samuel is a graduate of Utrecht University, where he received an MA in the Cultural History of Modern Europe. He wrote his thesis about the representation of Black Americans during the Second World War in contemporary media, indicating that although they formed a substantial part of the American armed forces, they don't receive an e...

We’ve got some outstanding guests coming up in November on Point of the Spear. Click that subscribe button so you don’t miss a moment—kicking off the month the story of Churchill’’s desperadoes, the British SAS in WWII with author Damien Lewis. Then, the epic tale of a WWII Army Ranger Battalion ordered to seize a hill from the Germans and hold it till the last man in The Last Hill with author Tom...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Andrew Dubbins. Andrew is an award-winning journalist and author, based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in Alta, Los Angeles magazine, The Daily Beast, Slate, and other publications. He was named “Journalist of the Year” by the Los Angeles Press Club in 2021, and several of his narrative non-fiction stories have been o...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with U.S. Marine Sergeant and author Bill Bee. Bill enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000 and served four years with Lima Company, Third Battalion Sixth Marine Regiment as an infantry rifleman.  He completed multiple deployments to Afghanistan and one to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His cowritten book with Wills Robinson is called, The Shot: The Harrowin...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Nathalia Holt. Nathalia is the New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls, The Queens of Animation , and Cured . She has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Slate, Popular Science , PBS, and Time . Her book is called, Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Change...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Brian Walter. Brian is a retired Army officer from a combat arms branch with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and International Relations. He has been a student of the British military during the Second World War for more than 30 years. His book is called, Blue Water War: Maritime Struggle in the Mediterranean and Middle East,...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author Levi Roach. Levi studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, and is former fellow at St John's College also in Cambridge, He’s now senior lecturer at the University of Exeter. His book is called, Empires of the Normans: Conquerors of Europe. Watch our military history documentary, Weather and Warfare , FREE on Tubi the streaming service from Fox. LI...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with British historian and Sunday Times bestselling author Saul David. Saul is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham’s Humanities Research Institute. From 2009 to 2021, he was Professor of Military History at the University of Buckingham and Programme Director for Buckingham’s London-based MP...

We’ve got some great guests coming up in October on Point of the Spear Click that subscribe button, so you don’t miss a moment. Kicking off the month the story of a pioneering group of CIA female spies who changed the future of espionage with author Nathalia Holt. Then, the virtually unknown story of WWII Demolition Divers who became the Navy seals with Andrew Dubbins. And later in the month, the...

Join Robert Child for a conversation with author and retired Colonel Richard Hooker. Richard, a career Army officer, his military service included combat tours in Grenada, Somalia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, including command of a parachute brigade in Baghdad. His military service also included stints in the offices of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of the Army, and the Chief...