In one of Heinlein's most controversial best-sellers, a recruit in a future world is sent through the toughest boot camp in the Universe to join the Terran Mobile Infantry in battle against mankind's most alarming enemy.
Juan Rico signed up with the Federal Reserve on a lark, but despite the hardships and rigorous training, he finds himself determined to make it as a cap trooper. In boot camp he learns how to become a soldier, but it is in war that he will learn why.
Many consider this Hugo Award-winning book to be Heinlein's best. Forget the battle scenes and the high-tech weapons; this is Heinlein in his element, talking people and politics.
Jeff "Del" DelGuidice was proud of his assignment to the research submarine The Unicorn. But his mission had barely begun when the vessel was sucked into a mysterious undersea void where time stood still—-before being propelled forward through the centuries. The crew surfaced in a strange, magical world changed forever by nuclear holocaust. Here a race of angelic beings had taken pity on the remnants of humankind, offering a chosen few a precious second chance.
Thus, the Isle of Hope was raised from the poisoned seas and set like a jewel in Earth's ravaged crown. But the jewel had a flaw, a dark vein of evil. For a sinister expert of the mystical arts had embraced the forbidden third magic, the most deadly sorcery of all. Only Del could defeat it—-a hero sworn to peace and fated to wield the dazzling power of the fourth magic.
Though many perished in the dark times past, a precious few survivors escaped, fleeing certain doom to find a dazzling, dangerous land of wonder. Here wizards and witches inhabited forests spun from enchantment and towers of celestial beauty. But in this place of promised safety, the Black Warlock was rising from the ashes of defeat—-with an insatiable lust to dominate the world.
Square in the path of peril was Rhiannon, the gently reared daughter of the Emerald Witch. As hamlets from the Crystal Mountains to Avalon fell before the fury of the Black Warlock, the young witch sensed a sudden call; strange, terrifying powers tingled within her body. Now Rhiannon had to summon these new, untested abilities to stop the ancient warlock, an enemy who had long since mastered the forces of the universe and bent them to his diabolical will.
Bestselling author R. A. Salvatore's masterful fantasy epic reaches dazzling new heights of imagination and adventure in this unforgettable continuation of the timeless tale of good versus evil begun in Echoes of the Fourth Magic and continued in The Witch's Daughter.
Twice the combined might of Ynis Aielle's greatest heroes and wizards has hurled back the demon armies of Morgan Thalasi. Always the BlackWarlock has rebounded, stronger and more evil. But never has he wielded such power as now. With the Staff of Death, Thalasi can raise a new army from out of the very ground—-soldiers who cannot be killed because they are already dead.
As the Black Warlock and his fearsome general—-the foul wraith that was once Hollis Mitchell—-prepare a devastating attack, the humans and elves of Ynis Aielle are staggered by a fresh calamity. The beautiful Rhiannon, daughter of the Emerald Witch, has been captured by Mitchell and given over to his dark master. Now the last hope of defeating Thalasi—-and Rhiannon's last hope as well—-lies at the heart of a mountain that is guarded by a dragon as old as the world itself.
New York Times best-selling master of fantasy Tracy Hickman and his wife, author Laura Hickman, offer the first book in a major, new, dragon-laden epic fantasy.
The Bronze Canticles is an expansive new saga chronicling the world-altering changes that take place as three connected universes—the Human world, the Goblin world, and the Faery world—are slowly drawn together.
In Book One, Mystic Warrior, young Galen Arvad, a human with magical powers, must avoid the ritual that puts those with such talents to death. It seems that in the eyes of the community, magic is a sign of lunacy, and in a yearly ritual the local “crazies” are offered up to the Dragon Priests. Galen is suddenly captured and imprisoned. Now, as Galen’s wife, Berkita, and his friend, Cephas the dwarf, set off to rescue him, Galen learns of the fate that awaits him, a fate far worse than even his own death.
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Over 1 million Americans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past four years, but fewer than 500 from this group have earned a Silver Star, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, or the Medal of Honor. Those who have been awarded these distinguished honors all demonstrated an extraordinary courage under fire in the worst of circumstances.
These Americans come from all branches of the military. They also come from all over the country and all walks of life, representing the entire spectrum of races and creeds. But what unites them are their deeds of consummate bravery, beyond the call of duty. Heroes Among Us tells their extraordinary true stories of valor, honor, and sacrifice.
When Kurt Cobain died by his own hand in April 1994, it was an act of will that typified his short, angry, inspired life. Veteran music journalist Charles R. Cross fuses his intimate knowledge of the Seattle music scene with his deep compassion for his subject in this extraordinary story of artistic brilliance and the pain that extinguished it. Based on more than four hundred interviews; four years of research; exclusive access to Cobain’s unpublished diaries, lyrics, and family photos; and a wealth of documentation, Heavier Than Heaven traces Cobain’s life from his early days in a double-wide trailer outside of Aberdeen, Washington, to his rise to fame, success, and the adulation of a generation.
"In this brief sketch of our great Southern hero, I have endeavored to portray, amid the blaze of his matchless military genius, the unchanging rectitude of his conduct, the stern will power by which he conquered all difficulties, his firm belief in an overruling Providence, and his entire submission to the Divine Will. These traits of character were the corner-stones upon which he reared the edifice of his greatness and upon which the young people of our day will do well to build." —Mary L. Williamson
The rifle stutters in Suomi's hands. The sword-brandishing golem's left arm erupts in a spray of dry-looking particles and smoke as the man-thing spins in an incredible pirouette, more graceful by far than any wounded animal. Knocked off balance and deflected from its course by the shock of the rifle's force-packets, the towering shape slides past Suomi and on down the slope.
But it does not fall. In another moment, near the bottom, it regains full control and stops its slide. Then it turns and calmly climbs, like a mountain goat, at a fast run.
The sword, whirling and gleaming, comes toward him once again... .
Five hundred years have passed since the combined fleets of humanity met and broke the berserker armada at Stone Place. But though the human victory was total, one of the killer machines—weaponless, its star drive a ruin—managed to limp to a secret sanctuary on a planet called Hunter's World. Over the years, a new cult has arisen there, a cult dedicated to Death as the only and ultimate Good.
Dominic Cantori is an orphan. Ashamed of his situation, Dominic avoids making friends for fear of exposing his terrible secret. One day on a class trip to Ellis Island, a tour guide asks everyone about their families. Immediately, Dominic flees from the class and hides in a closet, where he falls asleep for hours.
When he wakes up, the museum is deserted. Lonely and afraid, he picks up one display telephone after another, listening to the recorded voices of immigrants who describe their lives in faraway countries and their journeys to Ellis Island. To Dominic's surprise, the voice of an old Italian immigrant speaks directly to him! And before he knows it, he's transported back in time—to Italy in 1908. There, he unlocks the door to his past, and discovers just what it feels like to be loved by his own family.
A best-selling historian's gripping account of the powerful men who controlled America's financial destiny. The Money Men is a riveting narrative, a revealing history of the men who fought over the lifeblood of American commerce and power.
At key locations across the North American continent, an invasion force is taking over communications, government, industry, and even people’s bodies. The nation is helpless to stop it because the invaders multiply far faster than they can be destroyed, controlling the mind of every unsuspecting person they encounter. Enter Sam Cavanaugh, a can-do intelligence officer for the United States’ most secret service. Cavanaugh is the only man who can stop the invaders. But to do that he’ll have to be invaded himself.
For Sopranos watchers, Godfather aficionados, and all other Mafia buffs, this is the gripping story of the birth of the Italian Mafia in America.
Before the Five Families who so notoriously dominated U.S. organized crime for a bloody half-century, there was the one-fingered, surpassingly cunning Giuseppe Morello and his murderous coterie of brothers. Born into a life of poverty in rural Sicily, Morello became an American nightmare, pioneering the bizarre initiation rituals, imaginative protection rackets, influential underworld reigns, and Mafia wars later popularized by countless books, television shows, and movies.
In The First Family, Mike Dash tells the little known story of the Morello family. He follows the birth of the Mafia in America from the 1890s to the 1920s, from the wharves of New Orleans---where Morello himself disembarked in the United States---to the streets of Little Italy. Using previously untapped secret service archives, prison records, and interviews with surviving family members, Dash brings to life the remarkable villains and unusual heroes of the Mafia's early years, from the colorful members of the Morello family to Joseph Petrosino, an Italian cop with a thick Naples accent, and William Flynn, a dogged U.S. Secret Service agent, who banded together to bring down Morello.
More than just a pulse-quickening Mafia narrative, The First Family is the first authoritative account of a particularly crucial period in American history, in which the modern American underworld was born.
Everyone loves a good ghost story. Ghosts Among Us is that and more - an incredible journey into the spirit world that sheds light on the greatest mysteries of life and death. James Van Praagh shares his knowledge and life experience about ghosts, taking a world that to many of us seems both crazy and scary and making it accessible, leading not only to understanding but even inspiration. Filled with extraordinary true ghost stories and surprising details about how ghosts actively participate in our lives, Van Praagh challenges us to question our perceptions and shows how we can live more fully by being open to the spirit world.
In today's Internet-driven world, customers have more power than ever. Through what interactive marketing expert Pete Blackshaw calls "consumer-generated media" - blogs, social networking pages, message boards, product review sites - even a single disgruntled customer can broadcast his complaints to an audience of millions. Blackshaw shows managers, marketers, and business leaders how to establish and maintain credibility for their brand by being authentic, listening and responding to customers, and forming relationships built on openness, transparency, and trust.
Filled with stories based on his experience working with Fortune 500 brands such as Toyota, Dell, Nike, Sony, General Motors, Unilever, Nestle, Southwest Airlines, and Bank of America, Blackshaw offers a clear strategy for sustaining a competitive advantage by creating enduring, loyal relationships with today's consumer.
One Christmas in Washington is the fascinating, in-depth look at one of the most crucial periods in modern history: the Washington war conference of 1941, when two proud and accomplished statesmen struggled to overcome biases, suspicion, and hubris to create what turned out to be the war-winning alliance.
The authors take a penetrating look at the high-level meetings and the scenes behind the scenes: the social events and intrigues, Churchill's booming intrusion into the daily life of the White House, the strained relationship between Churchill and Eleanor Roosevelt, and the key role played by Roosevelt's close advisor, Harry Hopkins. As with any such gathering of world leaders, high politics and low gossip contributed to the momentous events of this time.