-Titulo Original : Turning Stones My Days And Nights With Children At Risk A Caseworkers Story-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: About the Author Marc Parent is the author of Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize as well as a New Visions nominee and a NEBA Honorary Selection, and Believing It All: What My Children Taught Me About Trout Fishing, Jelly Toast, and Life. He has written for The New York Times and USA Today, among other publications. Why does an infant die of malnutrition? Why does an eight-year-old hold a knife to his brothers throat? Or a mother push her cherished daughter twenty-three floors to her death? Marc Parent, a city caseworker, searched the streets--and his heart--for the answers, and shares them in this powerful, vivid, beautifully written book.WITH A NEW AFTERWORD BY THE AUTHOR From the Inside Flap Why does an infant die of malnutrition? Why does an eight-year-old hold a knife to his brothers throat? Or a mother push her cherished daughter twenty-three floors to her death? Marc Parent, a city caseworker, searched the streets--and his heart--for the answers, and shares them in this powerful, vivid, beautifully written book.WITH A NEW AFTERWORD BY THE AUTHOR From the Back Cover Why does an infant die of malnutrition? Why does an eight-year-old hold a knife to his brothers throat? Or a mother push her cherished daughter twenty-three floors to her death? Marc Parent, a city caseworker, searched the streets--and his heart--for the answers, and shares them in this powerful, vivid, beautifully written book. WITH A NEW AFTERWORD BY THE AUTHO...

-Titulo Original : Queens Of The Conquest Englands Medieval Queens Book One-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: In the first volume of an exciting new series, bestselling author Alison Weir brings the dramatic reigns of England’s medieval queens to life. The lives of England’s medieval queens were packed with incident-love, intrigue, betrayal, adultery, and warfare-but their stories have been largely obscured by centuries of myth and omission. Now esteemed biographer Alison Weir provides a fresh perspective and restores these women to their rightful place in history. Spanning the years from the Norman conquest in 1066 to the dawn of a new era in 1154, when Henry II succeeded to the throne and Eleanor of Aquitaine, the first Plantagenet queen, was crowned, this epic book brings to vivid life five women, including: Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, the first Norman king; Matilda of Scotland, revered as “the common mother of all England”; and Empress Maud, England’s first female ruler, whose son King Henry II would go on to found the Plantagenet dynasty. More than those who came before or after them, these Norman consorts were recognized as equal sharers in sovereignty. Without the support of their wives, the Norman kings could not have ruled their disparate dominions as effectively. Drawing from the most reliable contemporary sources, Weir skillfully strips away centuries of romantic lore to share a balanced and authentic take on the importance of these female monarchs. What emerges is a seamless royal saga, an all-encompassing portrait of English medieval queenship, and a sweeping panorama of British history. Praise for Queens of the Conquest“Best-selling author [Alison] Weir pens another readable, well-researched English history, the first in a proposed four-volume series on England’s medieval queens. . . . Weir’s research skills and storytelling ability combine beautifully to tell a fascinating story supported by excellent historical research. Fans of her fiction and nonfiction will enjoy this latest work.”-Library Journal (starred review) “Another sound feminist resurrection by a seasoned historian . . . Though Norman queens were largely unknowable, leave it to this prolific historical biographer to bring them to life. . . . As usual, Weir is meticulous in her research.”-Kirkus Reviews Review “Best-selling author [Alison] Weir pens another readable, well-researched English history, the first in a proposed four-volume series on England’s medieval queens. . . . Weir’s research skills and storytelling ability combine beautifully to tell a fascinating story supported by excellent historical research. Fans of her fiction and nonfiction will enjoy this latest work.”-Library Journal (starred review) “Another sound feminist resurrection by a seasoned historian . . . Though Norman queens were largely unknowable, leave it to this prolific historical biographer to bring them to life. . . . As usual, Weir is meticulous in her research.”-Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Alison Weir The Lost Tudor Princess “This is a substantial, detailed biography of a fascinating woman who lived her extraordinary life to the full, taking desperate chances for love and for ambition. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in the powerful women of the Tudor period.”-Philippa Gregory, The Washington Post “Weir balances historical data with emotional speculation to illuminate the ferocious dynastic ambitions and will to power that earned her subject a place in the spotlight.”-The New York Times Book Review Elizabeth of York “Weir tells Elizabeth’s story well. . . . She is a meticulous scholar. . . . Most important, Weir sincerely admires her subject, doing honor to an almost forgotten queen.”-The New York Times Book Review “In Weir’s skillful hands, Elizabeth of York returns to us, full-bodied and three-dimensional. This is a must-read for Tudor fans!”-Historical Novels Review Mary Boleyn “This nuanced, smart, and assertive biography reclaims the life of a Tudor matriarch.”-Publishers Weekly “Weir has achieved the env...

-Titulo Original : The Lost Tudor Princess The Life Of Lady Margaret Douglas-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE INDEPENDENT * From bestselling author and acclaimed historian Alison Weir comes the first biography of Margaret Douglas, the beautiful, cunning niece of Henry VIII of England who used her sharp intelligence and covert power to influence the succession after the death of Elizabeth I. Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a queen, her father an earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin, and grandmother of monarchs. Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was an important figure in Tudor England, yet today, while her contemporaries-Anne Boleyn, Mary, Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I-have achieved celebrity status, she is largely forgotten. Margaret’s life was steeped in intrigue, drama, and tragedy-from her auspicious birth in 1530 to her parents’ bitter divorce, from her ill-fated love affairs to her appointment as lady-in-waiting for four of Henry’s six wives. In an age when women were expected to stay out of the political arena, alluring and tempestuous Margaret helped orchestrate one of the most notorious marriages of the sixteenth century: that of her son Lord Darnley to Mary, Queen of Scots. Margaret defiantly warred with two queens-Mary, and Elizabeth of England-and was instrumental in securing the Stuart ascension to the throne of England for her grandson, James VI. The life of Margaret Douglas spans five reigns and provides many missing links between the Tudor and Stuart dynasties. Drawing on decades of research and myriad original sources-including many of Margaret’s surviving letters-Alison Weir brings this captivating character out of the shadows and presents a strong, capable woman who operated effectively and fearlessly at the very highest levels of power.Praise for The Lost Tudor Princess “This is a substantial, detailed biography of a fascinating woman who lived her extraordinary life to the full, taking desperate chances for love and for ambition. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in the powerful women of the Tudor period.”-Philippa Gregory, The Washington Post “Tackling the family from an unexpected angle, Weir offers a blow-by-blow account of six decades of palace intrigue. . . . Weir balances historical data with emotional speculation to illuminate the ferocious dynastic ambitions and will to power that earned her subject a place in the spotlight.”-The New York Times Book Review Review “This is a substantial, detailed biography of a fascinating woman who lived her extraordinary life to the full, taking desperate chances for love and for ambition. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in the powerful women of the Tudor period.”-Philippa Gregory, The Washington Post “Tackling the family from an unexpected angle, [Alison] Weir offers a blow-by-blow account of six decades of palace intrigue. . . . Weir balances historical data with emotional speculation to illuminate the ferocious dynastic ambitions and will to power that earned her subject a place in the spotlight.”-The New York Times Book Review About the Author Alison Weir is the New York Times bestselling author of several historical biographies, including Elizabeth of York, Mary Boleyn, The Lady in the Tower, Mistress of the Monarchy, Henry VIII, Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Life of Elizabeth I, and The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and the novels The Marriage Game, A Dangerous Inheritance, Captive Queen, The Lady Elizabeth, and Innocent Traitor. She lives in Surrey, England, with her husband. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. CHAPTER 1“A Fair Young Lady”Margaret Tudor was the eldest daughter of Henry VII, the first Tudor King of England, and his Queen, Elizabeth, heiress of the royal House of York. She had been born in November 1489 and was just thirteen when, in 1503, in the interest of forging good relations with Scotland, England’s traditional enemy, she had b...

-Titulo Original : The Third Eye-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: About the Author T. Lobsang Rampa linked the East to the West better than any other writer in history. His accounts of a multitude of spiritual, occult, and psychic phenomenon can be found in such works as The Third Eye, The Hermit, Chapters of Life, The Rampa Story, Feeding the Flame, My Visit to Venus, Tibetan Sage, and Twilight. T. Lobsang Rampa was preordained to be a Tibetan priest, a sign from the stars that could not be ignored. When he left his wealthy home to enter the monastery, his heart was filled with trepidation, with only a slight knowledge of the rigorous spiritual training and physical ordeal that awaited him . . . .This is his story, a hauntingly beautiful and deeply inspiring journey of awakening within Chakpori Lamasery, the temple of Tibetan medicine. It is a moving tale of passage through the mystic arts of astral projection, crystal gazing, aura deciphering, meditation, and more, a spiritual guide of enlightenment and discovery through the opening of the all-powerful, the all-knowing . . . .Fascinates the reader! -- Miami Herald From the Inside Flap ampa was preordained to be a Tibetan priest, a sign from the stars that could not be ignored. When he left his wealthy home to enter the monastery, his heart was filled with trepidation, with only a slight knowledge of the rigorous spiritual training and physical ordeal that awaited him . . . .This is his story, a hauntingly beautiful and deeply inspiring journey of awakening within Chakpori Lamasery, the temple of Tibetan medicine. It is a moving tale of passage through the mystic arts of astral projection, crystal gazing, aura deciphering, meditation, and more, a spiritual guide of enlightenment and discovery through the opening of the all-powerful, the all-knowing . . . .Fascinates the reader! -- Miami Herald From the Back Cover T. Lobsang Rampa was preordained to be a Tibetan priest, a sign from the stars that could not be ignored. When he left his wealthy home to enter the monastery, his heart was filled with trepidation, with only a slight knowledge of the rigorous spiritual training and physical ordeal that awaited him . . . .This is his story, a hauntingly beautiful and deeply inspiring journey of awakening within Chakpori Lamasery, the temple of Tibetan medicine. It is a moving tale of passage through the mystic arts of astral projection, crystal gazing, aura deciphering, meditation, and more, a spiritual guide of enlightenment and discovery through the opening of the all-powerful, the all-knowing . . . .Fascinates the reader! -- Miami Heral...

-Titulo Original : Me Stories Of My Life-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: A NEW YORK TIMES Notable Book of the Year “In her book about her life, Miss Hepburn insists that that woman in the movies was not her at all. ‘I’m not going to hide behind you anymore,’ she says. ‘Who are you anyway? Youre not me.’ Sure she is. The woman in the book is cocky, fearless, smart, capable, and human, on screen and off.”-Anna Quindlen, The New York TimesAdmired and beloved by movie audiences for more than sixty years, four-time Academy Award winner Katharine Hepburn is an American classic and an extraordinary, enduring presence on the international cultural scene. Yet her private life has been obscured by mystery. Now Miss Hepburn breaks her long-kept silence in this absorbing and provocative memoir.With characteristic gusto and candor, Katharine Hepburn reflects on the events, people, and places that have shaped her life-her childhood and family, her early days in New York, and her experiences with political activism. She talks about the ups and downs of her career, her long friendship with Spencer Tracy, and of course, her close collaborations with several of the leading actors, directors, and producers of the past half century. Illustrated with 165 photographs from family archives, many of which have never been published, it is an unforgettable portrait of Katharine Hepburn as we have not seen her before.“It is the understanding heart revealed just before the final curtain that makes us fall in love with Katharine Hepburn.”-The New York Times Book Review From the Inside Flap Admired and beloved by movie audiences for over sixty years, four-time Academy Award-winner Katharine Hepburn is an American classic. Now Miss Hepburn breaks her long-kept silence about her private life in this absorbing and provocative memoir.A NEW YORK TIMES Notable Book of the YearA Book-of-the-Month-Club Main SelectionFrom the Paperback edition. From the Back Cover Admired and beloved by movie audiences for over sixty years, four-time Academy Award-winner Katharine Hepburn is an American classic. Now Miss Hepburn breaks her long-kept silence about her private life in this absorbing and provocative memoir. A NEW YORK TIMES Notable Book of the Year A Book-of-the-Month-Club Main Selection From the Paperback edition. About the Author Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) is considered to be one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history. Over the course of her six-decade career, she won a total of four Academy Awards for Best Actress. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Parents Before I tell you anything about myself, I would like to tell you, or at least identify for you, the world into which I was born. My background. I mean of course my mother-my father. My two parents. Mother died when I was forty-odd. Dad died when I was fifty-odd. Thus I had them as my … Well, they were always for over forty years-there. They were mine. From where I stood: Dad at the left of the fireplace. Mother at the right of the fireplace. Tea every day at five. They were the world into which I was born. My background. My mother: Katharine Martha Houghton was born February 2, 1878. She was the daughter of Caroline Garlinghouse and Alfred Augustus Houghton. Alfred Houghton was the younger brother of Amory Houghton, who was the head of the Corning Glass Company. It started in Cambridge, Massachusetts, moved to Brooklyn and ended in Corning, New York. Alfred’s first wife had died leaving him a daughter, Mary. He then married Caroline Garlinghouse. They had three daughters-Katharine, Edith, Marion. Alfred and his wife were happy. They were financially comfortable. Not rich. Not poor. He played the violin-she played the piano. They were interested in Robert Ingersoll, “the great agnostic,” and went to all his lectures. They had abandoned the recognized church. Alfred was about twenty years older than Caroline. Apparently his relationship with his older brother A...

-Titulo Original : First Force Recon Company Sunrise At Midnight-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: In 1st Force Recon you performed at a very high level of proficiency. Or you died. . . .In 1969, First Lieutenant Bill Peters and the Force Recon Marines had one of the most difficult, dangerous assignments in Vietnam. From the DMZ to the Central Highlands, their job was to provide strategic and operational intelligence to insure the security of American units as the withdrawal of the troops progressed.Making perilous helicopter inserts deep in the Que Son Mountains, where the constant chatter of AK-47 rifle fire left no doubt who was in charge, Peters and the other men of 1st Force Recon Company risked their lives every day in six-man teams, never knowing whether they would live to see the sunset. Peterss accounts of silently watching huge movements of heavily armed NVA regulars, prisoner snatches, sudden-death ambushes, and extracts from fiercely fought firefights vividly capture the realities of Recon Marine warfare, and offer a gritty tribute to the courage, heroism, and sacrifice of the U. S. Marines. . . . From the Inside Flap Recon you performed at a very high level of proficiency. Or you died. . . .In 1969, First Lieutenant Bill Peters and the Force Recon Marines had one of the most difficult, dangerous assignments in Vietnam. From the DMZ to the Central Highlands, their job was to provide strategic and operational intelligence to insure the security of American units as the withdrawal of the troops progressed.Making perilous helicopter inserts deep in the Que Son Mountains, where the constant chatter of AK-47 rifle fire left no doubt who was in charge, Peters and the other men of 1st Force Recon Company risked their lives every day in six-man teams, never knowing whether they would live to see the sunset. Peterss accounts of silently watching huge movements of heavily armed NVA regulars, prisoner snatches, sudden-death ambushes, and extracts from fiercely fought firefights vividly capture the realities of Recon Marine warfare, and offer a gritty tribute to the courage, heroism, and sacrifice From the Back Cover In 1st Force Recon you performed at a very high level of proficiency. Or you died. . . . In 1969, First Lieutenant Bill Peters and the Force Recon Marines had one of the most difficult, dangerous assignments in Vietnam. From the DMZ to the Central Highlands, their job was to provide strategic and operational intelligence to insure the security of American units as the withdrawal of the troops progressed. Making perilous helicopter inserts deep in the Que Son Mountains, where the constant chatter of AK-47 rifle fire left no doubt who was in charge, Peters and the other men of 1st Force Recon Company risked their lives every day in six-man teams, never knowing whether they would live to see the sunset. Peterss accounts of silently watching huge movements of heavily armed NVA regulars, prisoner snatches, sudden-death ambushes, and extracts from fiercely fought firefights vividly capture the realities of Recon Marine warfare, and offer a gritty tribute to the courage, heroism, and sacrifice of the U. S. Marines. . . . About the Author Dr. Bill Peters was born and raised forty miles east of San Francisco in the Livermore Valley. He attended San Francisco State University in the late sixties, where he was a star linebacker for their Far Western Conference championship football team. In 1967, Peters joined the San Francisco State football coaching staff and helped the nationally ranked team capture a postseason bowl game victory.Bill Peters was commissioned in the Marines via Officer Candidate School. After completing the Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, in 1969, he was assigned to Vietnam as a Force Recon platoon commander, where he conducted twenty-three long-range patrols in enemy-controlled territory. His personal awards include a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, one with V (for valor), and a Purple Heart.In addition to a B.A. degree from San Francisco St...

-Titulo Original : Pathfinder First In, Last Out A Memoir Of Vietnam-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: December 1967: Richard Burns had just arrived in Vietnam as part of the fourteen-man 101st Pathfinder Detachment. Within just one month, during a holiday called Tet, the Communists would launch the largest single attack of the war--and he would be right in the thick of it. . . .In Vietnam, Richard Burns operated in live-or-die situations, risking his life so that other men could keep theirs. As a Pathfinder--all too often alone in the middle of a hot LZ--he guided in helicopters disembarking troops, directed medevacs to retrieve the wounded, and organized extractions. As well as parachuting into areas and supervising the clearing of landing zones, Pathfinders acted as air-traffic controllers, keeping call signs, frequencies, and aircraft locations in their heads as they orchestrated takeoffs and landings, often under heavy enemy fire.From Bien Hoa to Song Be to the deadly A Shau Valley, Burns recounts the battles that won him the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and numerous other decorations. This is the first and only book by a Pathfinder in Vietnam . . . or anywhere else. From the Inside Flap 7: Richard Burns had just arrived in Vietnam as part of the fourteen-man 101st Pathfinder Detachment. Within just one month, during a holiday called Tet, the Communists would launch the largest single attack of the war--and he would be right in the thick of it. . . .In Vietnam, Richard Burns operated in live-or-die situations, risking his life so that other men could keep theirs. As a Pathfinder--all too often alone in the middle of a hot LZ--he guided in helicopters disembarking troops, directed medevacs to retrieve the wounded, and organized extractions. As well as parachuting into areas and supervising the clearing of landing zones, Pathfinders acted as air-traffic controllers, keeping call signs, frequencies, and aircraft locations in their heads as they orchestrated takeoffs and landings, often under heavy enemy fire.From Bien Hoa to Song Be to the deadly A Shau Valley, Burns recounts the battles that won him the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and numerous oth From the Back Cover December 1967: Richard Burns had just arrived in Vietnam as part of the fourteen-man 101st Pathfinder Detachment. Within just one month, during a holiday called Tet, the Communists would launch the largest single attack of the war--and he would be right in the thick of it. . . . In Vietnam, Richard Burns operated in live-or-die situations, risking his life so that other men could keep theirs. As a Pathfinder--all too often alone in the middle of a hot LZ--he guided in helicopters disembarking troops, directed medevacs to retrieve the wounded, and organized extractions. As well as parachuting into areas and supervising the clearing of landing zones, Pathfinders acted as air-traffic controllers, keeping call signs, frequencies, and aircraft locations in their heads as they orchestrated takeoffs and landings, often under heavy enemy fire. From Bien Hoa to Song Be to the deadly A Shau Valley, Burns recounts the battles that won him the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and numerous other decorations. This is the first and only book by a Pathfinder in Vietnam . . . or anywhere else. About the Author Richard C. Burns retired from the army as a master sergeant, E-8. He completed two combat tours in Vietnam, serving as a Pathfinder with the 101st Airborne Division and the 1st Air Cavalry Division. He conducted Pathfinder operations for infantry and recon units, supported an element of Special Forces, and was attached to the 1st Vietnamese Airborne Division. After a stint as a recruiter in his native New England, he spent the bulk of his twenty-year military career in Special Forces. His training includes Pathfinder Course, Jumpmaster Course, Vietnam (MACV) Recondo School, and Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC): Light and Heavy Weapons. He has received numerous decorations, inclu...

-Titulo Original : Into The Storm Two Ships, A Deadly Hurricane, And An Epic Battle For Survival-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: “An intense, immersive deep dive into a wild, dangerous, and unknown world, written with the pace and appeal of a great thriller. This is nonfiction at its very best.”-Lee ChildThe true story of two doomed ships and a daring search-and-rescue operation that shines a light on the elite Coast Guard swimmers trained for the most dangerous ocean missions In late September 2015, Hurricane Joaquin swept past the Bahamas and swallowed a pair of cargo vessels in its destructive path: El Faro, a 790-foot American behemoth with a crew of thirty-three, and the Minouche, a 230-foot freighter with a dozen sailors aboard. From the parallel stories of these ships and their final journeys, Tristram Korten weaves a remarkable tale of two veteran sea captains from very different worlds, the harrowing ordeals of their desperate crews, and the Coast Guard’s extraordinary battle against a storm that defied prediction. When the Coast Guard received word from Captain Renelo Gelera that the Minouche was taking on water on the night of October 1, the servicemen on duty helicoptered through Joaquin to the sinking ship. Rescue swimmer Ben Cournia dropped into the sea-in the middle of a raging tropical cyclone, in the dark-and churned through the monstrous swells, loading survivors into a rescue basket dangling from the helicopter as its pilot struggled against the tempest. With pulsating narrative skill in the tradition of Sebastian Junger and Jon Krakauer, Korten recounts the heroic efforts by Cournia and his fellow guardsmen to haul the Minouche’s crew to safety. Tragically, things would not go as well for Captain Michael Davidson and El Faro. Despite exhaustive searching by her would-be rescuers, the loss of the vessel became the largest U.S. maritime disaster in decades. As Korten narrates the ships’ fates, with insights drawn from insider access to crew members, Coast Guard teams, and their families, he delivers a moving and propulsive story of men in peril, the international brotherhood of mariners, and the breathtaking power of nature.Praise for Into the Storm“The story [Tristram] Korten tells is impressively multifaceted, exploring everything from timely issues such as climate change to timeless themes such as man’s struggle against the ocean’s fury.”-Miami New Times “Into the Storm is a triumph of reporting and you-are-there writing that becomes a deeper tale-with more implications about our own lives-with every chapter.”-Robert Kurson, New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Divers Review “Spectacular in every way-an intense, immersive deep dive into a wild, dangerous, and unknown world, written with the pace and appeal of a great thriller . . . This is nonfiction at its very best.”-Lee Child, #1 New York Timesbestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels“The story [Tristram] Korten tells is impressively multifaceted, exploring everything from timely issues such as climate change to timeless themes such as man’s struggle against the ocean’s fury.”-Miami New Times “Korten does an excellent job of describing the nearly indescribable power and ferocity of major hurricanes. . . . Korten brings readers inside the world of the rescue crews whose incredible courage so often makes the difference between life and death in catastrophes like this one. . . . Into the Storm reads like more than just the chronicle of one maritime disaster-and may be a warning claxon against the possibility of more such disasters coming this hurricane season.”-Open Letters Review “Readers of ocean drama will snap up Korten’s work. . . . [He] gets to tell a complete story; impressively, he keeps it suspenseful.”-The Free Lance-Star “An incredible story and a first-rate adventure . . . Tristram Korten delivers us into a thrilling and dangerous world, strapping us in beside everyday heroes who confront forces of nature even Hollywood can’t re-create. Into the Storm is a triumph of reporting and you-are-there writing that becomes a deeper ...

-Titulo Original : Lrrp Team Leader A Memoir Of Vietnam-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: For the LRRPs, courage was a way of lifeVietnam, 1968. All of Sergeant John Burfords missions with F Company, 58th Infantry were deep in hostile territory. As leader of a six-man LRRP team, he found the enemy, staged ambushes, called in precision strikes, and rescued downed pilots. The lives of the entire team depended on his leadership and their combined skill and guts. A single mistake-a moment of panic-could mean death for everyone.Whether describing ambushes in the dreaded A Shau Valley or popping smoke to call in artillery only yards away from his position, Burford demonstrates the stuff the LRRPs are made of-the bravery, daring, and sheer guts that make the LRRPs true heroes. . . . From the Inside Flap 8. All of Sergeant John Burfords missions with F Company, 58th Infantry were deep in hostile territory. As leader of a six-man LRRP team, he found the enemy, staged ambushes, called in precision strikes, and rescued downed pilots. The lives of the entire team depended on his leadership and their combined skill and guts. A single mistake--a moment of panic--could mean death for everyone. From the Back Cover Vietnam, 1968. All of Sergeant John Burfords missions with F Company, 58th Infantry were deep in hostile territory. As leader of a six-man LRRP team, he found the enemy, staged ambushes, called in precision strikes, and rescued downed pilots. The lives of the entire team depended on his leadership and their combined skill and guts. A single mistake--a moment of panic--could mean death for everyone. About the Author Sergeant John Burford was the leader of F Company, 58th Infantry during the Vietnam War. He is the author of LRRP Team Leader: A Memoir of Vietnam. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. CHAPTER 1 I always jump when my name is called on a PA system, and this time was no different. I don’t think I will ever get used to being paged. I finished my conversation with George Reed, we shook hands, and I walked up to the show office. I told the girl behind the desk that I was John Burford. She said she had an important message for me, and handed me a slip of paper. I took it, said thanks, and went out to the hallway. Written on the paper was-It’s Friday, call C. D. Burford at work NOW!!-I headed for the pay phones lining the wall to call my brother. He wanted to know why I hadn’t called earlier in the week. I said I was sorry but I had gotten busy and the time just got away from me. I told him I had everything under control and I’d be leaving the show in about two hours. He wanted to be sure I could get to Newark, so I ran it down for him again. I’d take the bus to La Guardia Airport, catch the airport shuttle over to the Newark Airport, and call him when I got to Newark so he could come and pick me up. We said goodbye, and I hurried back to the floor of the show to see a few more friends before I left. I was excited. I hadn’t seen my brother and his family in five years, and this show had worked out just right. When I heard Butch Lahmann, the owner of American Specialty, was having a truck accessory and 4×4 trade show in New York City, I knew I could take some time to visit with my brother. I’d been looking forward to getting to his house all week, and to make sure I had the time to visit after the show, I booked a Saturday afternoon flight back to Georgia. I had been a “manufacturer’s representative” for six years, and trade shows were always a busy time. I went back to the hospitality room to see who was still around before I headed back to the booth. I had three booths to visit before I could leave the show, but I worked the eight southern states, and I didn’t expect to see very many of my customers up here. What I needed to do was get in touch with more people who made 4×4 accessories, and this was the best time to do it. The two hours till closing time went by quickly, but I managed to see the people I needed to see. Whe...

-Titulo Original : Unbroken (movie Tie-in Edition) A World War Ii Story Of Survival, Resilience, And Redemption-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The incredible true story of survival and salvation that is the basis for two major motion pictures: 2014’s Unbroken and the upcoming Unbroken: Path to Redemption.On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.Praise for Unbroken “Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”-The Wall Street Journal “[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”-New York “Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”-People “A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.”-The Washington Post “Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.”-The New York Times Book Review “Marvelous . . . Unbroken is wonderful twice over, for the tale it tells and for the way it’s told. . . . It manages maximum velocity with no loss of subtlety.”-Newsweek “Moving and, yes, inspirational . . . [Laura] Hillenbrand’s unforgettable book . . . deserve[s] pride of place alongside the best works of literature that chart the complications and the hard-won triumphs of so-called ordinary Americans and their extraordinary time.”-Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air “Hillenbrand . . . tells [this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.”-Time“Unbroken is too much book to hope for: a hellride of a story in the grip of the one writer who can handle it.”-Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run Review “Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”-The Wall Street Journal “[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”-New York “Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”-People “A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.”-The Washington Post “Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.”-The New York Times Book Review...

-Titulo Original : Mary, Queen Of Scots, And The Murder Of Lord Darnley-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: Review “Conspiracy, treason, perjury, and forgery, along with . . . political assassination, and several deadly sins . . . While Ms. Weir does not stint on the sensational details, she is above all a historian and dogged researcher. She sifts through sources, which were often compromised, and thinks like a forensics expert.” -The Wall Street Journal “One of the most intriguing murder mysteries in European history . . . No stone is left unturned in Weir’s investigation, and . . . her book is as dramatic as witnessing firsthand the most riveting court case.” -Booklist (boxed and starred review) “The finest historian of English monarchical succession writing now is Alison Weir. . . . Her assiduousness and informed judgment are precisely what make her a writer to trust.” -The Boston Globe “Alison Weir has perfected the art of bringing history to life.” -Chicago Tribune Handsome, accomplished, and charming, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, staked his claim to the English throne by marrying Mary Stuart, who herself claimed to be the Queen of England. It was not long before Mary discovered that her new husband was interested only in securing sovereign power for himself. Then, on February 10, 1567, an explosion at his lodgings left Darnley dead; the intrigue thickened after it was discovered that he had apparently been suffocated before the blast. After an exhaustive reevaluation of the source material, Alison Weir has come up with a solution to this enduring mystery. Employing her gift for vivid characterization and gripping storytelling, Weir has written one of her most engaging excursions yet into Britain’s bloodstained, power-obsessed past. From the Inside Flap Handsome, accomplished, and charming, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, staked his claim to the English throne by marrying Mary Stuart, who herself claimed to be the Queen of England. It was not long before Mary discovered that her new husband was interested only in securing sovereign power for himself. Then, on February 10, 1567, an explosion at his lodgings left Darnley dead; the intrigue thickened after it was discovered that he had apparently been suffocated before the blast. After an exhaustive reevaluation of the source material, Alison Weir has come up with a solution to this enduring mystery. Employing her gift for vivid characterization and gripping storytelling, Weir has written one of her most engaging excursions yet into Britain?s bloodstained, power-obsessed past. From the Back Cover Handsome, accomplished, and charming, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, staked his claim to the English throne by marrying Mary Stuart, who herself claimed to be the Queen of England. It was not long before Mary discovered that her new husband was interested only in securing sovereign power for himself. Then, on February 10, 1567, an explosion at his lodgings left Darnley dead; the intrigue thickened after it was discovered that he had apparently been suffocated before the blast. After an exhaustive reevaluation of the source material, Alison Weir has come up with a solution to this enduring mystery. Employing her gift for vivid characterization and gripping storytelling, Weir has written one of her most engaging excursions yet into Britains bloodstained, power-obsessed past. About the Author Alison Weir is the author of four other books on English history, including Eleanor of Aquitaine. She lives outside London with her husband and two children...

-Titulo Original : Unfinished A Memoir-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In this thoughtful and revealing memoir, readers will accompany one of the world’s most recognizable women on her journey of self-discovery.“I have always felt that life is a solitary journey, that we are each on a train, riding through our hours, our days, our years. We get on alone, we leave alone, and the decisions we make as we travel on the train are our responsibility alone.”A remarkable life story rooted in two different worlds, Unfinished offers insights into Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s childhood in India; her formative teenage years in the United States; and her return to India, where against all odds as a newcomer to the pageant world, she won the national and international beauty competitions that launched her global acting career. Whether reflecting on her nomadic early years or the challenges she has faced as she has doggedly pursued her calling, Priyanka shares her challenges and triumphs with warmth and honesty. The result is a book that is philosophical, sassy, inspiring, bold, and rebellious. Just like the author herself. From her dual-continent twenty-year-long career as an actor and producer to her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, from losing her beloved father to cancer to marrying Nick Jonas, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s story will inspire a generation around the world to gather their courage, embrace their ambition, and commit to the hard work of following their dreams. Review “Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s memoir, Unfinished, is a moving story of her rise to fame. . . . [A] deeply open and honest account of her experience navigating life in the public eye, as well as the extreme hard work and dedication she put into her career . . . Her writing is open, engaging, and full of energy. She writes, it seems, to connect. . . . Even those who are not already fans of Chopra Jonas will find reason to enjoy her story, one that chronicles a deep love of family and culture and a passion for standing up for what you believe in.”-Associated Press “[Chopra Jonas] reflects on how she catapulted herself into America’s entertainment industry with her charisma and resilience . . . [Unfinished] exemplifies how she persisted in the face of her detractors.”-USA Today “Actor and producer Chopra Jonas’s memoir captures the excitement of an Indian teenager launched into fame and moving rapidly from a national to an international stage. . . . Chopra Jonas weaves in her personal struggles and family tragedies, thus revealing the depth behind her self-assurance and resilience.”-Booklist “A lively memoir from a hardworking entertainer.”-Kirkus Reviews About the Author Priyanka Chopra Jonas is a multi-award-winning actor and producer and one of the most recognized personalities in the world. A former Miss World, she made her movie debut in 2002 and has appeared in more than sixty films produced in India and the United States. In 2015 she made history as the first Indian-born actor to lead an American network TV series when she starred in the ABC drama Quantico. For her work during her longtime association with UNICEF, Chopra Jonas was awarded the prestigious Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award in 2019. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Nick, and Diana, Gino, and Panda, their three dogs. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. PrefaceI’m sitting in a meditative pose. In Sanskrit it’s called Sukhasana, or “Happy Pose.” Spine straight, shins crossed, shoulders pulled back, and chest pulled upward, I’m taking slow, focused breaths to bring all my attention to my center. The slow breathing calms my mind so that I can now tackle life’s challenges.Kidding.I am, in reality, likely sitting on the set of my latest film project, or on a plane, or slumped in a hair and makeup chair. My breathing is erratic from the four espresso shots I’ve inhaled in the past half hour while simultaneously wolfing down some form of comfort food that’s probably not the ...

-Titulo Original : The Children Of Henry Viii-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: “Fascinating . . . Alison Weir does full justice to the subject.”-The Philadelphia InquirerAt his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second wife Anne Boleyn; and his young great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey. In this riveting account Alison Weir paints a unique portrait of these extraordinary rulers, examining their intricate relationships to each other and to history. She traces the tumult that followed Henrys death, from the brief intrigue-filled reigns of the boy king Edward VI and the fragile Lady Jane Grey, to the savagery of Bloody Mary, and finally the accession of the politically adroit Elizabeth I.As always, Weir offers a fresh perspective on a period that has spawned many of the most enduring myths in English history, combining the best of the historians and the biographers art.“Like anthropology, history and biography can demonstrate unfamiliar ways of feeling and being. Alison Weirs sympathetic collective biography, The Children of Henry VIII does just that, reminding us that human nature has changed--and for the better. . . . Weir imparts movement and coherence while re-creating the suspense her characters endured and the suffering they inflicted.”-The New York Times Book Review Review Like anthropology, history and biography can demonstrate unfamiliar ways of feeling and being. Alison Weirs sympathetic collective biography, The Children of Henry VIII does just that, reminding us that human nature has changed -- and for the better....Weir imparts movement and coherence while re-creating the suspense her characters endured and the suffering they inflicted.-- The New York Times Book Review From the Publisher Alison Weir succeeds in doing what very few writers of history ever have -- she makes it live. Her unraveling of the intricate intrigues and power-plays that surrounded Henrys unfortunate children Mary, Elizabeth and Edward -- and his young heir Lady Jane Grey reads like a suspense novel. This is history as it should be written. --Margaret Sanborn/Publicity From the Inside Flap Fascinating . . . Alison Weir does full justice to the subject.--The Philadelphia Inquirer At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second wife Anne Boleyn; and his young great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey. In this riveting account Alison Weir paints a unique portrait of these extraordinary rulers, examining their intricate relationships to each other and to history. She traces the tumult that followed Henrys death, from the brief intrigue-filled reigns of the boy king Edward VI and the fragile Lady Jane Grey, to the savagery of Bloody Mary, and finally the accession of the politically adroit Elizabeth I. As always, Weir offers a fresh perspective on a period that has spawned many of the most enduring myths in English history, combining the best of the historians and the biographers art. Like anthropology, history and biography can demonstrate unfamiliar ways of feeling and being. Alison Weirs sympathetic collective biography, The Children of Henry VIII does just that, reminding us that human nature has changed--and for the better. . . . Weir imparts movement and coherence while re-creating the suspense her characters endured and the suffering they inflicted.--The New York Times Book Review From the Back Cover At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife, Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second w...

-Titulo Original : Under And Alone The True Story Of The Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated Americas Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: In 1998, William Queen was a veteran law enforcement agent with a lifelong love of motorcycles and a lack of patience with paperwork. When a “confidential informant” made contact with his boss at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, offering to take an agent inside the San Fernando chapter of the Mongols (the scourge of Southern California, and one of the most dangerous gangs in America), Queen jumped at the chance, not realizing that he was kicking-starting the most extensive undercover operation inside an outlaw motorcycle gang in the history of American law enforcement. Nor did Queen suspect that he would penetrate the gang so successfully that he would become a fully “patched-in” member, eventually rising through their ranks to the office of treasurer, where he had unprecedented access to evidence of their criminal activity. After Queen spent twenty-eight months as “Billy St. John,” the bearded, beer-swilling, Harley-riding gang-banger, the truth of his identity became blurry, even to himself.During his initial “prospecting” phase, Queen was at the mercy of crank-fueled criminal psychopaths who sought to have him test his mettle and prove his fealty by any means necessary, from selling (and doing) drugs, to arms trafficking, stealing motorcycles, driving getaway cars, and, in one shocking instance, stitching up the face of a Mongol “ol’ lady” after a particularly brutal beating at the hands of her boyfriend.Yet despite the constant criminality of the gang, for whom planning cop killings and gang rapes were business as usual, Queen also came to see the genuine camaraderie they shared. When his lengthy undercover work totally isolated Queen from family, his friends, and ATF colleagues, the Mongols felt like the only family he had left. “I had no doubt these guys genuinely loved Billy St. John and would have laid down their lives for him. But they wouldn’t hesitate to murder Billy Queen.”From Queen’s first sleight of hand with a line of methamphetamine in front of him and a knife at his throat, to the fearsome face-off with their decades-old enemy, the Hell’s Angels (a brawl that left three bikers dead), to the heartbreaking scene of a father ostracized at Parents’ Night because his deranged-outlaw appearance precluded any interaction with regular citizens, Under and Alone is a breathless, adrenaline-charged read that puts you on the street with some of the most dangerous men in America and with the law enforcement agents who risk everything to bring them in. Review Advance praise for Under and Alone“Under and Alone is the dangerous and fascinating true story of an undercover ATF agent and the psychological price he was made to pay for his courageous work.”-Joseph Wambaugh, bestselling author of The Onion Field“A riveting story of a one-of-a-kind officer that takes you to the deepest and most dangerous part of undercover work. Highly recommended.”-Joseph Pistone, author of Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia “Top-shelf adventure . . . packed with great intensity . . . a dark and twisted world, fully realized. Don’t be surprised if it runs to bestsellerdom.”-Kirkus Reviews From the Back Cover In 1998, William Queen was a veteran law enforcement agent with a lifelong love of motorcycles and a lack of patience with paperwork. When a confidential informant made contact with his boss at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, offering to take an agent inside the San Fernando chapter of the Mongols (the scourge of Southern California, and one of the most dangerous gangs in America), Queen jumped at the chance, not realizing that he was kicking-starting the most extensive undercover operation inside an outlaw motorcycle gang in the history of American law enforcement. Nor did Queen suspect that he would penetrate the gang so successfully that he would become a fully patched-in member, eventually rising through their ranks to the office of treasurer, where he h...

-Titulo Original : Mary Boleyn The Mistress Of Kings-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: About the Author Alison Weir is the New York Times bestselling author of many historical biographies, including The Lady in the Tower, Mistress of the Monarchy, Henry VIII, Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Life of Elizabeth I, and The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and of the novels Captive Queen, Innocent Traitor, and The Lady Elizabeth. She lives in Surrey, England, with her husband. NATIONAL BESTSELLER * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE New York Times bestselling author and noted British historian Alison Weir gives us the first full-scale, in-depth biography of Mary Boleyn, sister to Queen Anne as well as mistress to Anne’s husband, Henry VIII-and one of the most misunderstood figures of the Tudor age. Making use of extensive original research, Weir shares revelations on the ambitious Boleyn family and the likely nature of the relationship between the Boleyn sisters. Unraveling the truth about Mary’s much-vaunted notoriety at the French court and her relations with King François I, Weir also explores Mary’s role at the English court and how she became Henry VIII’s lover. She tracks the probable course of their affair and investigates the truth behind Mary’s notorious reputation. With new and compelling evidence, Weir presents the most conclusive answer to date on the paternity of Mary’s children, long speculated to have been Henry VIII’s progeny. Alison Weir pieces together a life steeped in mystery and misfortune, debunking centuries-old myths to give us the truth about Mary Boleyn, the so-called “great and infamous whore.” Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more. Review “This nuanced, smart, and assertive biography reclaims the life of a Tudor matriarch.”-Publishers Weekly “Weir has achieved the enviable skill of blending the necessary forensic and analytical tasks of academia with the passionate engagement that avocational history lovers crave.”-Bookreporter “Top-notch . . . This book further proves that [Weir] is a historian of the highest caliber.”-Washington Independent Review of Books “Weir matches her usual professional skills in research and interpretation to her customary, felicitous style.”-Booklist Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1The Eldest DaughterBlickling Hall, one of Englands greatest Jacobean showpiece mansions, lies not two miles northwest of Aylsham in Norfolk. It is a beautiful place, surrounded by woods, farms, sweeping parkland and gardens- gardens that were old in the fifteenth century, and which once surrounded the fifteenth century moated manor house of the Boleyn family, the predecessor of the present building. That house is long gone, but it was in its day the cradle of a remarkable dynasty; and here, in those ancient gardens, and within the mellow, red-brick gabled house, in the dawning years of the sixteenth century, the three children who were its brightest scions once played in the spacious and halcyon summers of their early childhood, long before they made their dramatic debut on the stage of history: Anne Boleyn, who would one day become Queen of England; her brother George Boleyn, who would also court fame and glory, but who would ultimately share his sisters tragic and brutal fate; and their sister Mary Boleyn, who would become the mistress of kings, and gain a notoriety that is almost certainly undeserved.Blickling was where the Boleyn siblings lives probably began, the protective setting for their infant years, nestling in the broad, rolling landscape of Norfolk, circled by a wilderness of woodland sprinkled with myriad flowers such as bluebells, meadowsweet, loosestrife, and marsh orchids, and swept by the eastern winds. Norfolk was the land that shaped them, that remote corner of England that had grown prosperous through the wool-cloth trade, its chief city, Norwich-which lay just a few miles to the south-being second in size only to London...

-Titulo Original : Diary Of An Airborne Ranger A Lrrps Year In The Combat Zone-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. IntroductionDiary of an Airborne Ranger is indeed a unique literarywork. It is the day-by-day story of a nineteen-year-oldyouths one-year odyssey into manhood. It is uniquebecause it is not written in the perspective of an agingveteran recalling his warrior years through memories andrecollections softened and mellowed by the ravages oftime. Frank Johnsons diary is the compelling andrefreshingly honest portrayal of a young mans introductionto war, with all the fearless bravado, unquestionedpatriotism, intense loyalty, raw courage, and lost innocencethat one can get only from being there. There areno pretenses here. What you see is exactly what you get.When Frank Johnson arrived in South Vietnam in thefall of 1969, the war, for all intents and purposes, hadalready peaked. Vietnamization was the new buzz word,and Richard Nixon was keeping his promise by announcingtroop withdrawals and a reduction in U.S. forces. Tothose of us who were there, the first indications of an armybetrayed were just beginning to surface. No longer wasthere talk of defeating the enemy and achieving a just andfinal victory. Withdrawing with honor and grace becamean acceptable alternative. To those young men just arrivingin-country came the impossible task of covering our withdrawal. They knew that they would never savor the laurelsof total victory. There would be no parades, nor would theybe welcomed home in the end. They knew all of this, yetthey still volunteered to perform this impossible task.Their actual mission was threefold: 1) to keep theenemy at bay by continuing to carry out offensive operations;2) to provide for a smooth and orderly transition ofU.S. weapons and equipment to our allies, along with thetraining and support to enable them to deploy it; and 3) toavoid alarming our allies by having them discover thatthey were in all actuality being abandoned.Under these somewhat stressful conditions, FrankJohnson and his teammates were ordered to take the warto the enemy. Unlike their predecessors, the long-rangereconnaissance patrollers whose primary mission was togather intelligence, the Rangers were told to go out andinitiate contact with the enemy. The army doctrine behindthis gross misuse of five- to twelve-man reconnaissanceteams was the doctrine of force multipliers. Simplyput, this meant to do more and risk less with smallernumbers of soldiers. The obvious benefit to our side wasexperiencing fewer friendly casualties while still maintainingan acceptable attrition rate among enemy personnel.The detriment was solely to the soldiers tasked toaccept the risk. Remember, this was an increasinglyunpopular war back home. Frank Johnson and his fellowRangers were just such soldiers.As you read through the pages of this amazing work youwill find yourself wondering, Why did they keep goingback out and doing what they did? The answer will surpriseyou. You see, it was not that same sense of duty andhonor that had brought many of them into the service. Itwas not the same patriotism that had inspired their fathersand grandfathers before them. And it was definitely notpower nor the promise of wealth that sent these young meninto harms way, day after day, even when they knew thewar was already lost. Why then, you ask? Well, let me tellyou! It was camaraderie, the love that one teammate has foranother. It was their motto, Rangers dont leave Rangersbehind! This was not only their motto, but the guidingforce that dictated their ethics, their courage, and their loyaltyto one another. Can you understand the power of suchfeelings . . . the emotion? It is a powerful motivator.Throughout Frank Johnsons diary, the recurring themeof camaraderie, brotherly love, and living up to the Rangermotto is demonstrated. This was a glorious thing that allwarriors experienced to some degree or another during theVietnam War, perhaps to a greater extent among the small,elite special-operations unit...

-Titulo Original : We Two Victoria And Albert Rulers, Partners, Rivals-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER[A] delectable double bio . . . Talk about Victoria’s secret. . . . A fascinating portrait of a genuine love match, but one in which the partners dealt with surprisingly modern issues.” -USA TodayIt was the most influential marriage of the nineteenth century-and one of history’ s most enduring love stories. Traditional biographies tell us that Queen Victoria inherited the throne as a naive teenager, when the British Empire was at the height of its power, and seemed doomed to find failure as a monarch and misery as a woman until she married her German cousin Albert and accepted him as her lord and master. Now renowned chronicler Gillian Gill turns this familiar story on its head, revealing a strong, feisty queen and a brilliant, fragile prince working together to build a family based on support, trust, and fidelity, qualities neither had seen much of as children. The love affair that emerges is far more captivating, complex, and relevant than that depicted in any previous account. The epic relationship began poorly. The cousins first met as teenagers for a few brief, awkward, chaperoned weeks in 1836. At seventeen, charming rather than beautiful, Victoria already “showed signs of wanting her own way.” Albert, the boy who had been groomed for her since birth, was chubby, self-absorbed, and showed no interest in girls, let alone this princess. So when they met again in 1839 as queen and presumed prince-consort-to-be, neither had particularly high hopes. But the queen was delighted to discover a grown man, refined, accomplished, and whiskered. “Albert is beautiful!” Victoria wrote, and she proposed just three days later.As Gill reveals, Victoria and Albert entered their marriage longing for intimate companionship, yet each was determined to be the ruler. This dynamic would continue through the years-each spouse, headstrong and impassioned, eager to lead the marriage on his or her own terms. For two decades, Victoria and Albert engaged in a very public contest for dominance. Against all odds, the marriage succeeded, but it was always a work in progress. And in the end, it was Albert’s early death that set the Queen free to create the myth of her marriage as a peaceful idyll and her husband as Galahad, pure and perfect. As Gill shows, the marriage of Victoria and Albert was great not because it was perfect but because it was passionate and complicated. Wonderfully nuanced, surprising, often acerbic-and informed by revealing excerpts from the pair’s journals and letters-We Two is a revolutionary portrait of a queen and her prince, a fascinating modern perspective on a couple who have become a legend. Review “Gillian Gill has written a superbly accessible account of the marriage of Queen Victoria and Albert of Saxe-Coburg. She makes us understand that it was a union constantly pulled between two contradictory imperatives: the need for the Queen to be supreme head of state and Albert her subject, and the requirement that the nineteenth-century wife should be her husbands subordinate in every way. Gill grippingly recounts the tensions and negotiations between Victoria and Albert, both in politics and in intimate and domestic life, as they tried to reconcile this contradiction. She is particularly good on the couples later life and their relationships with their many children. Her book is the story not just of a marriage and a family but also of the way in which Victoria appeared to grant Albert precedence but ultimately came to control the relationship. After Alberts early death Victoria set about creating an enduring legend of her marriage and inevitably emerged as both heroine and victor. Gill skillfully shows exactly how she did it.”-Stella Tillyard, author of A Royal Affair and The Aristocrats Every marriage is a balancing act. In this absorbing book, Gillian Gill shows how the royal couple counterpoised their partnership-and their passion-for twenty-one years while b...

-Titulo Original : United Thoughts On Finding Common Ground And Advancing The Common Good-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * United States Senator Cory Booker makes the case that the virtues of empathy, responsibility, and action must guide our nation toward a brighter future. Raised in northern New Jersey, Cory Booker went to Stanford University on a football scholarship, accepted a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, then studied at Yale Law School. Graduating from Yale, his options were limitless. He chose public service. He chose to move to a rough neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, where he worked as a tenants’ rights lawyer before winning a seat on the City Council. In 2006, he was elected mayor, and for more than seven years he was the public face of an American city that had gone decades with too little positive national attention and investment. In 2013, Booker became the first African American elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate. In United, Cory Booker draws on personal experience to issue a stirring call to reorient our nation and our politics around the principles of compassion and solidarity. He speaks of rising above despair to engage with hope, pursuing our shared mission, and embracing our common destiny. Here is his account of his own political education, the moments-some entertaining, some heartbreaking, all of them enlightening-that have shaped his civic vision. Here are the lessons Booker learned from the remarkable people who inspired him to serve, men and women whose example fueled his desire to create opportunities for others. Here also are his observations on the issues he cares about most deeply, from race and crime and the crisis of mass incarceration to economic and environmental justice. “Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word,” Booker writes in this galvanizing book. In a world where we too easily lose touch with our neighbors, he argues, we must remember that we all rise or fall together-and that we must move beyond mere tolerance for one another toward a deeper connection: love.Praise for United “An exceedingly good book, and an important book, and a reminder of what makes Booker an important and, through it all, a promising public figure.”-PolitickerNJ “What sets Senator Booker’s work apart from that of similar political books is that it seeks to elevate discourse rather than bring down opponents of the opposite partisan persuasion. This is a refreshing take, one that is truly worthy of study and contemplation.”-The Huffington Post Review “An exceedingly good book, and an important book, and a reminder of what makes [Cory] Booker an important and, through it all, a promising public figure.”-PolitickerNJ “What sets Senator Booker’s work apart from that of similar political books is that it seeks to elevate discourse rather than bring down opponents of the opposite partisan persuasion. This is a refreshing take, one that is truly worthy of study and contemplation.”-The Huffington Post About the Author Cory Booker is the junior United States senator from New Jersey. He was born in Washington, D.C., and his parents, who both worked for IBM, later relocated the family to Harrington Park, New Jersey. A star high school athlete, Booker received a football scholarship to Stanford University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He then attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar before earning his law degree from Yale University. Booker won a special election to fill the term of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg to become New Jersey’s first African American senator and only the twenty-first person in American history to ascend directly from mayor to senator. Booker lives in Newark’s Central Ward. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1 A Conspiracy of Love Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go. -James Baldwin I hate Henry Louis Gates Jr. Okay, I don’t, I lov...

-Titulo Original : Spending The Holidays With People I Want To Punch In The Throat Yuletide S, Ho-ho-humblebraggers, And Other Seasonal Scourges-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: For fans of Laurie Notaro and Jenny Lawson comes an uproarious and oddly endearing essay collection for anyone trying to survive the holidays in one piece.When it comes to time-honored holiday traditions, Jen Mann pulls no punchesIn this hilariously irreverent collection of essays, Jen Mann, nationally bestselling author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat, turns her mordant wit on the holidays. On Mann’s naughty list: mothers who go way overboard with their Elf on the Shelf, overzealous carolers who can’t take a hint, and people who write their Christmas cards in the third person (“Joyce is enjoying Bunko. Yeah, Joyce, we know you wrote this letter.”). And on her nice list . . . well, she’s working on that one. Here, no celebration is off-limits. The essays include:* You Can Keep Your Cookies, I’m Just Here for the Booze* Nice Halloween Costume. Was Skank Sold Out?* Why You Won’t Be Invited to Our Chinese New Year PartyFrom hosting an ill-fated Chinese New Year party, to receiving horrible gifts from her husband on Mother’s Day, to reluctantly telling her son the truth about the Easter Bunny, Mann knows the challenge of navigating the holidays while keeping her sanity intact. And even if she can’t get out of attending another Christmas cookie exchange, at least she can try again next year.Praise for Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat “Mann’s writing has transcended from witty anecdotes and complaints to notable satire. Hidden among the many laugh-out-loud zingers are lessons on how we relate to each other, and how ridiculous parenting culture has become.”-Associated Press “Following the success of her first book, she is now punching throats at holidays, starting from her being age two and continuing to the present, where she is a harried mother bemoaning not just Christmas but all holidays. . . . Harried holiday haters will chuckle and perhaps see themselves somewhere in Mann’s lifetime dislike of and misbehavior during America’s increasingly commercialized celebrations.”-Booklist “The cure for my cold holiday spirit this year is the sidesplitting new book by Jen Mann. . . . Mann delivers her signature punch lines and sharp critique on the oftentimes ridiculous shenanigans of the modern family. Her ability to make an otherwise boring subject come alive with colorful personalities, biting sarcasm, and impressively astute observations on suburban culture is what makes Mann so much fun to read and so easy to relate to.”-The Huffington Post “A lighthearted, laugh-out-loud book . . . with a feel of peeking into a diary.”-Mommy’s Memorandum “It really does make you laugh out loud.”-Shooting Stars Mag “A quick and delightful read that you can sneak in right before bed or when the kids are finally napping.”-FangirlNation “Grab a cup of hot cocoa, sit back and enjoy Jen’s latest collection of humorous rants dissecting the ‘most wonderful time’ of the year. She unleashes her biting wit and hilarious opinions on everything from cookie exchanges to annual humblebrag Christmas letters from overachieving moms to horrifying Christmases of her childhood.”-Creating Serenity “[Mann] has really mastered the short story format. . . . She packs the maximum amount of funny into the fewest words, and many of these essays are downright hilarious. . . . If you’ve read and liked her other books, you will definitely want to read this one, too.”-Bug Bug Book Reviews Review “[Jen] Mann’s writing has transcended from witty anecdotes and complaints to notable satire. Hidden among the many laugh-out-loud zingers are lessons on how we relate to each other, and how ridiculous parenting culture has become.”-Associated Press “Following the success of her first book, she is now punching throats at holidays, starting from her being age two and continuing to the present, where she is a harried mother bemoaning not just Christmas but all holidays. . . . Harried holiday haters will chuckle and pe...

-Titulo Original : Queen Isabella Treachery, Adultery, And Murder In Medieval England-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: About the Author Alison Weir is the New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley, and several other historical biographies. She lives in Surrey with her husband and two children. In this vibrant biography, acclaimed author Alison Weir reexamines the life of Isabella of England, one of history’s most notorious and charismatic queens. Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-old daughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir to England’s throne was designed to heal old political wounds between the two countries, and in the years that followed she became an important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influence would come to last centuries. Many myths and legends have been woven around Isabella’s story, but in this first full biography in more than 150 years, Alison Weir gives a groundbreaking new perspective. Review “Gripping . . . a highly readable tour de force that brings Queen Isabella vividly to life.”-The Washington Post Book World“Insightful and compelling . . . [offers] surprise after surprise about the sensual, rather avaricious but eminently admirable Isabella.”-USA Today“[Isabella’s] story has a distinctly modern appeal. . . . Full of violent men with short tempers, conniving politicians and wildly domineering parents, it’s a period-piece melodrama that doubles as a timeless morality play.”-The New York Times Book Review“Fascinating . . . a work of extraordinary historical reporting that is rich, alive, and truly exciting.”-Tucson Citizen Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One On 20 May 1303, a solemn betrothal took place in Paris. The bride was seven years old, the groom, who was not present, nineteen. She was Isabella, the daughter of Philip IV, King of France; he, Edward of Caernarvon, Prince of Wales, the son and heir of Edward I, King of England. The Prince had sent the Earl of Lincoln and the Count of Savoy as his proxies, and during the ceremony, they formally asked the King and Queen of France for the hand of their daughter, the Lady Isabella, in marriage for the Prince of Wales. Consent was duly given, then Gilles, Archbishop of Narbonne, the presiding priest, required Isabella to plight her troth. Placing her hand in that of the Archbishop, she duly did so, giving her assent to the betrothal on condition that all the articles of the marriage treaty were fulfilled. This union had been arranged after tortuous negotiations to cement a lasting peace between those old warring enemies, England and France. Isabella’s father, Philip IV, known as Philip the Fair, was the most powerful ruler in Christendom at that time and also the most controversial. Not only had he been engaged in territorial wars with both England and Flanders for the past seven years, he had also, despite boasting the title of “Most Christian King,” become involved in a bitter conflict with the Papacy after imposing limitations on the Pope’s authority in France. This was to lead to his excommunication only months after his daughter’s betrothal. Philip’s war with Edward I was the result of a long-standing feud over England’s possessions in France. In the twelfth century, through the marriage of Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the empire of the Plantagenets, the dynasty that Henry founded, had extended from Normandy to the Pyrenees, while the royal demesne of France had been limited to the regions around Paris. By 1204, Henry’s son, King John, had lost most of the English territories, including Normandy, to the ambitious Philip II “Augustus” of France, and there were further French encroachments under John’s son Henry III, as successive French monarchs sought to broaden their domain. By the time of Edward I, all that remained of England’s lands in France was the prosperous wine-producing duchy of Gascony, the southern part of the former duchy of Aquitain...

-Titulo Original : Into The Storm Two Ships, A Deadly Hurricane, And An Epic Battle For Survival-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: “An intense, immersive deep dive into a wild, dangerous, and unknown world, written with the pace and appeal of a great thriller. This is nonfiction at its very best.”-Lee ChildThe true story of two doomed ships and a daring search-and-rescue operation that shines a light on the elite Coast Guard swimmers trained for the most dangerous ocean missions With a new epilogue about a flight on a hurricane hunter In late September 2015, Hurricane Joaquin swept past the Bahamas and swallowed a pair of cargo vessels in its destructive path: El Faro, a 790-foot American behemoth with a crew of thirty-three, and the Minouche, a 230-foot freighter with a dozen sailors aboard. From the parallel stories of these ships and their final journeys, Tristram Korten weaves a remarkable tale of two veteran sea captains from very different worlds, the harrowing ordeals of their desperate crews, and the Coast Guard’s extraordinary battle against a storm that defied prediction. When the Coast Guard received word from Captain Renelo Gelera that the Minouche was taking on water on the night of October 1, the servicemen on duty helicoptered through Joaquin to the sinking ship. Rescue swimmer Ben Cournia dropped into the sea-in the middle of a raging tropical cyclone, in the dark-and churned through the monstrous swells, loading survivors into a rescue basket dangling from the helicopter as its pilot struggled against the tempest. With pulsating narrative skill in the tradition of Sebastian Junger and Jon Krakauer, Korten recounts the heroic efforts by Cournia and his fellow guardsmen to haul the Minouche’s crew to safety. Tragically, things would not go as well for Captain Michael Davidson and El Faro. Despite exhaustive searching by her would-be rescuers, the loss of the vessel became the largest U.S. maritime disaster in decades. As Korten narrates the ships’ fates, with insights drawn from insider access to crew members, Coast Guard teams, and their families, he delivers a moving and propulsive story of men in peril, the international brotherhood of mariners, and the breathtaking power of nature.Praise for Into the Storm“The story [Tristram] Korten tells is impressively multifaceted, exploring everything from timely issues such as climate change to timeless themes such as man’s struggle against the ocean’s fury.”-Miami New Times “Into the Storm is a triumph of reporting and you-are-there writing that becomes a deeper tale-with more implications about our own lives-with every chapter.”-Robert Kurson, New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Divers Review “Spectacular in every way-an intense, immersive deep dive into a wild, dangerous, and unknown world, written with the pace and appeal of a great thriller . . . This is nonfiction at its very best.”-Lee Child, #1 New York Timesbestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels“The story [Tristram] Korten tells is impressively multifaceted, exploring everything from timely issues such as climate change to timeless themes such as man’s struggle against the ocean’s fury.”-Miami New Times “Korten does an excellent job of describing the nearly indescribable power and ferocity of major hurricanes. . . . Korten brings readers inside the world of the rescue crews whose incredible courage so often makes the difference between life and death in catastrophes like this one. . . . Into the Storm reads like more than just the chronicle of one maritime disaster-and may be a warning claxon against the possibility of more such disasters coming this hurricane season.”-Open Letters Review “Readers of ocean drama will snap up Korten’s work. . . . [He] gets to tell a complete story; impressively, he keeps it suspenseful.”-The Free Lance-Star “An incredible story and a first-rate adventure . . . Tristram Korten delivers us into a thrilling and dangerous world, strapping us in beside everyday heroes who confront forces of nature even Hollywood can’t re-create. Into the Storm is a triumph of r...

-Titulo Original : Lrrp Company Command The Cavs Lrp/rangers In Vietnam, 1968-1969-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: A gripping account of ordinary men with extraordinary courage and heroism who had one last chance to make good-and one helluva war zone to do it in. The new commander of the Company E, 52d Infantry LRRPs, Capt. George Paccerelli, was tough, but the men’s new AO was brutal. It was bad enough that the provinces of Binh Long, Phuoc Long, and Tay Ninh bordered enemy-friendly Cambodia, but their vast stretches of double- and triple-canopy jungle were also home to four crack enemy divisions, including the Viet Cong’s notorious 95C Regiment. Only the long-range patrols could deliver the critical strategic intelligence that the 1st Cav so desperately needed. Outmanned, outgunned, far from safety, these LRRPs stalked the enemy to his lair, staging bold prisoner snatches and tracking down hidden jungle bases. Hiding in ambush, surrounded by NVA, these teams either pulled off spectacular escape-and-evasion maneuvers in running firefights-or died trying. About the Author Kregg P. Jorgenson served in Vietnam with Company H, Rangers, and later with Apache Troop, the 1st Squadron of the 9th Cavalry. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and City University of Seattle. He lives in the Pacific Northwest. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. On October 18, 1968, Capt. George Paccerelli was selected to take over the 1st Air Cavalry Divisions long-range patrol company. He had been handpicked for the job because of his impressive military credentials and because an experienced captain was sorely needed in the position. George Paccerelli was experienced, and his personnel file reflected his skill and ability.He was well read, spoke several languages, and was working on his first masters degree. He was a husband and father and, best of all--at least to the decision makers--he was a professional soldier. Paccerelli had fifteen years of military experience, ten of which had been as an enlisted man. He was Airborne, Ranger, Special Forces, and Jungle School qualified, and had already served two difficult combat tours of duty. He had earned a uniform full of awards, tabs, and medals in battles in Laos, Cambodia, and the Central Highlands of South Vietnam long before he arrived in country for his third tour of duty.So when G-2, the division-level intelligence arm of the Cav, requested the names of officers qualified to command Company E, 52d Infantry (LRP), at Camp Evans, Lt. Col. Addison D. Davis, the battalion commander of the 2d of the 7th Cav, submitted Paccerellis name. After all the interviews had been conducted and the selection made, Davis was the first to let Paccerelli know of the outcome.Congratulations! Davis announced with a broad grin. Youre the lucky bastard!Until that moment, George Paccerelli had been the battalions acting S-2, intelligence officer, and he was well suited to run the shop. No one appreciated the intelligence officers slot more than someone who had had to rely on tactical information in combat. The thirty-two-year-old mustang (former enlisted man) officer had been temporarily filling the slot until a company-command position opened up in one of the battalions infantry line units, which is where he really wanted to be. Paccerelli was next in line for a combat command and looking forward to it. However, division headquarters had other ideas. Echo Company (LRP) would get priority, not that it really mattered to Paccerelli. In fact, he was genuinely pleased with the idea and saw it as a plum. The concept of small five- to six-man Lurp teams working behind the lines was one of the best ways he knew to beat the Viet Cong and their North Vietnamese commanders at their own game of guerrilla warfare, and with the immense helicopter gunship support the Cav had to offer, he was looking forward to taking command of the air mobile long-range patrol company. There wasnt a veteran Special Forces soldier who didnt subscribe to the logic of Sun-tzu, ...

-Titulo Original : Reluctant Warrior A Marines True Story Of Duty And Heroism In Vietnam-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: Review THE REAL STUFF.-- The San Diego Union-Tribune ONE OF THE BEST VIETNAM WAR STORIES IVE EVER READ, one damn good, compelling read. Its almost something out of a Clancy novel, yet its true. The best thing I can say about it is I didnt want it to end.--Col. David Hackworth, New York Times bestselling author of About FaceBy the spring of 1970, American troops were ordered to pull out of Vietnam. The Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Wild Bill Drumright, were assigned to cover the withdrawal of 1st Marine Division. The Marines of 1st RECON Bn operated in teams of six or seven men. Heavily armed, the teams fought a multitude of bitter engagements with a numerically superior and increasingly aggressive enemy.Michael C. Hodgins served in Company C, 1st RECON Bn (Rein), as a platoon leader. In powerful, graphic prose, he chronicles his experience as a patrol leader in myriad combat situations--from hasty ambush to emergency extraction to prisoner snatch to combined-arms ambush. . . .THIS MEMOIR IS GRIPPING.--American Way From the Inside Flap ONE OF THE BEST VIETNAM WAR STORIES IVE EVER READ, one damn good, compelling read. Its almost something out of a Clancy novel, yet its true. The best thing I can say about it is I didnt want it to end.--Col. David Hackworth, New York Times bestselling author of About Face By the spring of 1970, American troops were ordered to pull out of Vietnam. The Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Wild Bill Drumright, were assigned to cover the withdrawal of 1st Marine Division. The Marines of 1st RECON Bn operated in teams of six or seven men. Heavily armed, the teams fought a multitude of bitter engagements with a numerically superior and increasingly aggressive enemy. Michael C. Hodgins served in Company C, 1st RECON Bn (Rein), as a platoon leader. In powerful, graphic prose, he chronicles his experience as a patrol leader in myriad combat situations--from hasty ambush to emergency extraction to prisoner snatch to combined-arms ambush. . . . THIS MEMOIR IS GRIPPING.--American Way From the Back Cover By the spring of 1970, American troops had been ordered to pull out of Vietnam, and the Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Wild Bill Drumright, were assigned to cover the withdrawal of 1st Marine Division. The Marines of 1st RECON Bn operated in teams of six or seven men. Heavily armed, the teams fought a multitude of bitter engagements with a numerically superior and increasingly aggressive enemy. About the Author Michael C. Hodgins enlisted in the United States Marines on July 7, 1964, shortly after his eighteenth birthday. He was commissioned through the Enlisted Commissioning Program in February 1969 and, upon completion of The Basic School, assigned to 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, then deployed in South Vietnam. He served as an infantry platoon leader in Company H, 2d Battalion, 26th Marines from August 1969 to February 1970, whence he joined Company C, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division. Upon his return from Vietnam, the author served at various posts and stations as an infantry officer until resigning his commission in August 1978. He now resides in La Jolla, California, with his wife and two sons. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. CHAPTER ONE WELCOME ABOARD 3 MARCH 1970 A small army consisting of chosen troops is far better than a vast body, chiefly composed of rabble. The Hitopadesa, iii, c. 500 B.C. My ears popped repeatedly while our Boeing 707 executed a wide descending turn into the landing approach pattern for Da Nang. Bile rose in my throat as the plane lurched into a steeper descent. I swallowed hard, closed the dog-eared paperback I had been reading, and shifted in my seat to peer into space through a porthole. From my vantage poin...

-Titulo Original : Loon A Marine Story-Fabricante : Ballantine Books-Descripcion Original: “Kids like me didn’t go to Vietnam,” writes Jack McLean in his compulsively readable memoir. Raised in suburban New Jersey, he attended the Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, but decided to put college on hold. After graduation in the spring of 1966, faced with the mandatory military draft, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps for a two-year stint. “Vietnam at the time was a country, and not yet a war,” he writes. It didn’t remain that way for long.A year later, after boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, and stateside duty in Barstow, California, the Vietnam War was reaching its peak. McLean, like most available Marines, was retrained at Camp Pendleton, California, and sent to Vietnam as a grunt to serve in an infantry company in the northernmost reaches of South Vietnam. McLean’s story climaxes with the horrific three-day Battle for Landing Zone Loon in June, 1968. Fought on a remote hill in the northwestern corner of South Vietnam, McLean bore witness to the horror of war and was forever changed. He returned home six weeks later to a country largely ambivalent to his service.Written with honesty and insight, Loon is a powerful coming-of-age portrait of a boy who bears witness to some of the most tumultuous events in our history, both in Vietnam and back home. Review The battle at Loon erupts suddenly and sucks you in. Like Jack McLean, you ask: what am I doing here? The answer is: you joined the Marines and now its time to fight for your life. A gripping story of violence and dedication to survival.-Bing West, author of The Strongest TribeLoon is a saga of an infantry Marine-the decision to enlist, the intensity of the recruit, mortal combat, and finally transition back to civilian life. This beautifully written story is a must read for all combat warriors, their families, and those interested in the turbulent times surrounding the Vietnam War.-Col H.C. Barney Barnum, USMC (Ret), Medal of Honor Recipient“[This] unique tale . . . is skillfully written and will be among the classic books written about the Vietnam War.-Jan Scruggs, Esq., Founder and President, Vietnam Veterans MemorialMcLeans debut is a perceptive memoir of the Vietnam war…McLean reconstructs his time in the Marines with a sharp eye for detail and very readable- at times almost poetic-prose.-Publishers Weekly About the Author The third of four children, Jack McLean was born in Huntington, New York, on May 26, 1947. He was brought up in Summit, New Jersey, where he lived until admittance to Phillips Academy, Andover, at age fourteen. Upon graduation, McLean enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After boot camp and a year on stateside duty, he served in Vietnam with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. McLean returned to enter Harvard University in the fall of 1968 as the college’s first Vietnam veteran. After graduation, he held marketing positions in New York; Boston; Portland, Maine; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Washington, D.C. McLean is the father of three daughters and is currently the Tsien Writer in Residence in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One June 6, 1968. It had already been a long day, and dawn had yet to break. On his hands and knees, Bill Matthews scampered up over loose rocks and jumped into Bill Negron’s hole. Out of breath, he gasped, “They’re diggin’ in. They’re right in front of my hole, Skipper. I can hear ’em. ­They’re all over the fuckin’ place.” “Now, hang on, marine. Cool it. Catch your breath. Who’s digging in and where?” Negron was calm. “The gooks, for chrissake. The NVA, just like they did at Con Thien before they came through the wire, and, in case you haven’t noticed, we ain’t got no fuckin’ wire...sir.” Matthews caught his slight sarcasm and tried to temper it. Negron grabbed his radio handset and called over to the 3rd Platoon. “Charlie Three,...