In this provocative and timely book, Middle East expert LeeSmith overturns long-held Western myths and assumptions about theArab world, offering advice for America’s future success in theregion. Seeking the motivation behind the September 11 attacks, Smithmoved to Cairo, where he discovered that the standard explanation—aclash of East and West—was simply not the case. Middle Eastconflicts have little to do with Israel, the United States, or theWest in general, but are endemic to the region. According toSmith’s “Strong Horse Doctrine,” the Arab world naturally alignsitself with strength, power, and violence. He argues that Americamust be the strong horse in order to reclaim its role there, andthat only by understanding the nature of the region’s ancientconflict can we succeed.

The only Major League ballplayer whose baseball card is ondisplay at the headquarters of the CIA, Moe Berg has the singulardistinction of having both a 15-year career as a catcher for suchteams as the New York Robins and the Chicago White Sox and that ofa spy for the OSS during World War II. Here, Dawidoff provides "acareful and sympathetic biography" (Chicago Sun-Times) of thisenigmatic man. Photos.

Mike May spent his life crashing through. Blinded at agethree, he defied expectations by breaking world records in downhillspeed skiing, joining the CIA, and becoming a successful inventor,entrepreneur, and family man. He had never yearned for vision.Then, in 1999, a chance encounter brought startling news: arevolutionary stem cell transplant surgery could restore May’svision. It would allow him to drive, to read, to see his children’sfaces. But the procedure was filled with gambles, some of themdeadly, others beyond May’s wildest dreams. Beautifully written andthrillingly told, Crashing Through is a journey of suspense,daring, romance, and insight into the mysteries of vision and thebrain. Robert Kurson gives us a fascinating account of one man’schoice to explore what it means to see–and to truly live.NAMED ONEOF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

In The Breakthrough , veteran journalist Gwen Ifillsurveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on theimpact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential victory andintroducing the emerging young African American politicians forginga bold new path to political power. Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during theCivil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men andwomen who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominentleaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor DevalPatrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama (allinterviewed for this book), and also covers numerous up-and-comingfigures from across the nation. Drawing on exclusive interviewswith power brokers such as President Obama, former Secretary ofState Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, hisson Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., and many others, as well as herown razor-sharp observations an

Using information and techniques gathered by the InternationalSpy Museum and an ex-CIA agent, this book shows how the tricks andmethods used by spies can be incorporated into everyday life, suchas how to hide valuables in your home or how to avoid carjacking orpickpockets.

A gripping and unforgettable true story of bravery andpatriotism in the face of bitter hatred. Abraham Bolden was a young African American Secret Service agentin Chicago when he was asked by John F. Kennedy himself to join theWhite House Secret Service detail. For Bolden, it was a dream cometrue–and an encouraging sign of the charismatic president’s visionfor a new America. But the dream quickly turned sour. Bolden found himself regularlysubjected to open hostility and blatant racism, and he was appalledby the White House team’s irresponsible approach to security. Inthe wake of JFK’s assassination, Bolden sought to expose theagency’s negligence, only to find himself the victim of a sinisterconspiracy. The Echo from Dealey Plaza is the story of the terribleprice paid by one man for his commitment to truth and justice.

You've heard of the SEALs. . . . now meet their bloodbrothers! The Official United States Air Force Elite Workout: An OfficialFive Star Fitness Guide Featuring: Running ? Swimming ? Weight Training ? O'Course ?Calisthenics ? and much more! Known as the PJ's and the CCT's, the pararescuemen and combatcontrol technicians are the elite forces of the United States AirForce. PJ's, whose motto is "that others may live", routinely go inharm's way to bring back downed pilots and crewmembers. CCT's,"first to fight", are responsible to enter hostile territory aheadof the rest and establish safe landing sites for arrivingforces. Their self-sacrificing efforts are heroic. Their training isintense, exciting, and before this book, little known. Now for thevery first time, their powerful training techniques are brought tolight in this profusely illustrated and documentedpresentation. Includes sections on: stretching, weight training, calisthenics,running, swimming, rope climbing, e

In America’s battle against al-Qaeda and their allies, thegoal of the Navy SEALs is to be the best guns in thefight—stealthy, effective, professional, and lethal. Here for thefirst time is a SEAL insider’s battle history of these SpecialOperations warriors in the war on terrorism. “Down range” is what SEALs in Afghanistan and Iraq call theirarea of operations. In this new mode of warfare, “down range” canrefer to anything from tracking roving bands of al-Qaeda on aremote mountain trail in Afghanistan to taking down an armedcompound in Tikrit and rousting holdouts from Saddam Hussein’sregime. It could mean interdicting insurgents smuggling car-bombexplosives over the Iraqi-Syrian border or silently boarding afreighter on the high seas at night to enforce an embargo. In otherwords, “down range” could be anywhere, anytime, under anyconditions. In Down Range , author Dick Couch, himself a former Navy SEALand CIA case officer, uses his unprecedented access to bring thereader firs

From its earliest days, America served as an arena for therevolutions in alternative spirituality that eventually swept theglobe. Esoteric philosophies and personas—from Freemasonry toSpiritualism, from Madame H. P. Blavatsky to EdgarCayce—dramatically altered the nation’s culture, politics, andreligion. Yet the mystical roots of our identity are often ignoredor overlooked. Opening a new window on the past, OccultAmerica presents a dramatic, pioneering study of the esotericundercurrents of our history and their profound impact acrossmodern life.

The wide ranging adventures of outdoorsman, naturalist andU.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, are collected in this anthologyof African safaris, ranch life in the American West, and a perilfilled trip down Brazil's legendary River of Doubt.

“This is a thriller, a page-turner, a probing look into theinner workings of the assassination squads that Israel mobilizedafter the Munich massacre.” –David K. Shipler, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Arab andJew “Gratitude is due to Mr. Klein for his painstaking . . . book, thebest one could possibly hope for.” –Walter Lacquer, The Wall Street Journal Award-winning journalist Aaron J. Klein tells, for the firsttime, the complete story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre andthe Israeli counterterrorism operation it spawned. Withunprecedented access to Mossad agents and an nparalleled knowledgeof Israeli intelligence, Klein peels back the layers of myth andmisinformation that have permeated previous books, films, andmagazine articles about the “shadow war” against Black Septemberand other related terrorist groups. In this riveting account,long-held secrets are finally revealed, including who was killedand who was not, how it was done, which targets were hit and whichwere m

Start your workout today with the US Navy SEALs! The Official United States Navy SEAL Workout presents an accuratedocumentation of the demanding physical training (or P.T., as it'sknown in military circles) that students encounter at BUD/S. Thephysical expectations of BUD/S graduates are awesome...but they areachievable, as this book demonstrates. You'll learn what it's like to be a SEAL in this incredible bookthat brings together the fitness requirements, history, andtraditions of the US Navy SEALs. Whether you're seriously intoexercising or just want to start a personal fitness program, youcan follow this All-American workout to strengthen and tone yourentire body! You'll find: * Workouts you can perform at home, the gym or on the road * Tips on stretching, lower and upper body workouts, andabdominal workouts * Intense photos of SEALs as they prepare for missions around theworld * What it takes to become a Navy SEAL ...and more!

Jefferson Davis is one of the most complex and controversialfigures in American political history (and the man whom Oscar Wildewanted to meet more than anyone when he made his tour of the UnitedStates). Elected president of the Confederacy and later accused ofparticipating in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he is asource of ongoing dissension between northerners and southerners.This volume, the first of its kind, is a selected collection of hiswritings culled in large part from the authoritative Papers ofJefferson Davis , a multivolume edition of his letters andspeeches published by the Louisiana State University Press, andincludes thirteen documents from manu* collections and oneprivately held document that have never before appeared in a modernscholarly edition. From letters as a college student to his sister,to major speeches on the Constitution, slavery, and sectionalissues, to his farewell to the U.S. Senate, to his inauguraladdress as Confederate president, to letters from prison to hiswif

In this groundbreaking book, Joe Scarborough tells RepublicanParty bosses what they don’t want to hear, explains why Democratsare making matters so much worse, and then shows leaders of bothparties the way forward. The Last Best Hope draws on the forgotten genius of conservatismto offer a road map for the movement and the country. Delivering asearing indictment of the political leaders who have led us astray,Scarborough inspires conservatives to reclaim their heritage bydrawing upon the strength of the movement’s rich history.

Nationally syndicated talk-radio host and noted film criticMichael Medved has taken an extraordinary journey from liberalactivist to outspoken conservative. Along the way he has earnedmillions of admirers—and more than his share of enemies—with hisdisarming wit and slashing arguments on issues of pop culture andpolitics. In the candid, illuminating Right Turns, Medved chronicles thelessons and adventures that changed him from a Vietnam protestleader to an optimistic promoter of American patriotism, fromsecularism to religion, from adventurous single guy to dotinghusband and father. He skewers leftist orthodoxy, revealing why theRight is right and why his former colleagues on the Left remainhopelessly wrong on every cultural, political, and socialissue.

In Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, PaulLettow explores the depth and sophistication of President RonaldReagan’s commitment to ridding humankind permanently of the threatof nuclear war. Lettow’s narrative spans the start of Reagan’s presidency and the1986 Reykjavík summit between Reagan and Soviet leader MikhailGorbachev, during which America’s Strategic Defense Initiative(SDI) was a defining issue. Lettow reveals SDI for what it was: afull-on assault against nuclear weapons waged as much throughpolicy as through ideology. While cabinet members and advisersplayed significant roles in guiding American defense policy, it wasReagan himself who presided over every element, large and small, ofthis paradigm shift in U.S. diplomacy. Lettow conducted interviews with several former Reaganadministration officials, and he draws upon the vast body ofdeclassified security documents from the Reagan presidency; much ofwhat he quotes from these documents appears publicly here for

On July 26, 1996, the United States Supreme Court nullifiedthe single-sex admissions policy of the Virginia MilitaryInstitute, the last all-male military college in America. Capturingthe voices of female and male cadets, administrators, faculty, andalumni, Laura Brodie tells the story of the Institute's intenseplanning for the inclusion of women and the problems and triumphsof the first year of coeducation.

Crush the Cell demolishes, with simple logic, the edifice offalse “terror punditry” that has been laid, brick by brick,since9/11. A veteran of special ops, international diplomacy,andbruising clasheswith federal lawenforcement agencies,MichaelSheehan delivers in this book a two-part message:First,thatwe’vewasted—and are continuing towaste—billions ofdollarson thewrong protectivemeasures, and second, that knowingthebad guys’nextmove is paramount. Here, Sheehan showswhydefensivefortresses don’t work, but offensive operational intelligencedoes.He peels back themystery surrounding terrorist cells,explains justhow“terror experts”andmembers of themedia areplaying into theterrorists’ hands…and provides perhaps the clearest picture yet ofwhat modern terror-fighting is all about.

March 23, 2003: U.S. Marines from the Task Force Tarawa arecaught up in one of the most unexpected battles of the Iraq War.What started off as a routine maneuver to secure two key bridges inthe town of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq degenerated into anightmarish twenty-four-hour urban clash in which eighteen youngMarines lost their lives and more than thirty-five others werewounded. It was the single heaviest loss suffered by the U.S.military during the initial combat phase of the war. On that fateful day, Marines came across the burned-out remains ofa U.S. Army convoy that had been ambushed by Saddam Hussein’sforces outside Nasiriyah. In an attempt to rescue the missingsoldiers and seize the bridges before the Iraqis could destroythem, the Marines decided to advance their attack on the city bytwenty-four hours. What happened next is a gripping and gruesometale of military blunders, tragedy, and heroism. Huge M1 tanks leading the attack were rendered ineffective whenthey became mired in an open sewer. Then a