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
The remarkable story of a teacher who ran a grassrootscampaign for Congress . . . from her sixth-grade classroom “You can’t run for office in this country unless you’re amillionaire or you know a lot of millionaires.” This offhand remarkfrom one of her sixth-grade students dismayed public school teacherTierney Cahill. When she told the kids that in a democracy anyonecan run for office, they dared her to prove it–by running herself.She accepted their challenge on one condition: that they, herstudents, manage the campaign. A single mom with three kids and more than one job to make endsmeet, Cahill was in for a decidedly uphill battle, especially as aDemocrat in largely Republican Reno, Nevada. But Cahill had alwaysfelt a responsibility to make a positive impact on an increasinglyinequitable world. With her eager students leading the way, and awar chest of just seven thousand dollars (compared to opponentswith one hundred times the funds), Cahill not only got her name onthe ballot bu
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.
The complete American presidential inaugural addressesfeaturing historical background by a National Book Awardwinner A testament to the power of oratory, this stirring and oftensurprising collection includes all fifty-five United Statespresidential inaugural addresses, as well as a general introductionand commentary that provides historical context for each speech.Marking pivotal moments in American history, readers willlearn: ? How George Washington came to ad-lib “So help me, God” at theend of his first inaugural address ? Why Thomas Jefferson’s first inaugural address is consideredone of the finest ever delivered ? The historical background behind Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Theonly thing we have to fear is fear itself” and John F. Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what youcan do for your country.”
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.
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
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
Before September 11, 2001, one terrorist group had killed moreAmericans than any other: Hezbollah, the “Party of God.” Today itremains potentially more dangerous than even al Qaeda. Yet littlehas been known about its inner workings, past successes, and futureplans–until now. Written by an accomplished journalist and a law-enforcementexpert, Lightning Out of Lebanon is a chilling and essentialaddition to our understanding of the external and internal threatsto America. In disturbing detail, it portrays the degree to whichHezbollah has infiltrated this country and the extent to which itintends to do us harm. Formed in Lebanon by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in 1982,Hezbollah is fueled by hatred of Israel and the United States. Its1983 truck-bomb attack against the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirutkilled 241 soldiers–the largest peacetime loss ever for the U.S.military–and caused President Reagan to withdraw all troops fromLebanon. Since then, among other atrocities, Hezbollah has mu
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
“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
In The Fatal Englishman, his first work of nonfiction,Sebastian Faulks explores the lives of three remarkable men. Eachhad the seeds of greatness; each was a beacon to his generation andleft something of value behind; yet each one died tragicallyyoung. Christopher Wood, only twenty-nine when he killed himself, was apainter who lived most of his short life in the beau monde of 1920sParis, where his charm, good looks, and the dissolute life thatfollowed them sometimes frustrated his ambition and achievement asan artist. Richard Hillary was a WWII fighter pilot who wrote a classicaccount of his experiences, The Last Enemy, but died in a mysterious trainingaccident while defying doctor’s orders to stay grounded afterhorrific burn injuries; he was twenty-three. Jeremy Wolfenden, hailed by his contemporaries as the brightestEnglishman of his generation, rejected the call of academia to become a hackjournalist in Cold War Moscow. A spy, alcoholic, and openhomosexual at a time when su
"The letters provide a nostalgic timeline of American historytold through the words and feelings of Americans, from regularfolks to kings." —Star Gazette, Elmira, NY, Dec. '05 "There are more than 80 letters, reflecting both our history andour very American sense that when we speak, our president shouldlisten." —The Arizona Republic, Dec. '05 Drawn from the extensive holdings of the National Archives—whichincludes all of the Presidential libraries—these carefully chosenletters remind us that ours is a government "of the people, by thepeople, and for the people," which entitles us to make our viewsknown to our leaders. Most of the letters come from workingcitizens; others were written by notable figures: John Glenn, ElvisPresley, Walt Disney, Ho Chi Minh, Nikita Kruschev, Upton Sinclair,John Steinbeck, Robert Kennedy, and many more. Grouped thematically, the sections cover such topics as civilrights, the Cold War, physical fitness, joblessness, World War II,western expansion, and the space race. An
“I don’t own a single share of stock.” —Michael Moore Members of the liberal left exude an air of moral certitude. Theypride themselves on being selflessly committed to the highestideals and seem particularly confident of the purity of theirmotives and the evil nature of their opponents. To correct economicand social injustice, liberals support a whole litany of policiesand principles: progressive taxes, affirmative action, greaterregulation of corporations, raising the inheritance tax, strictenvironmental regulations, children’s rights, consumer rights, andmuch, much more. But do they actually live by these beliefs? Peter Schweizer decidedto investigate in depth the private lives of some prominentliberals: politicians like the Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, theKennedys, and Ralph Nader; commentators like Michael Moore, AlFranken, Noam Chomsky, and Cornel West; entertainers andphilanthropists like Barbra Streisand and George Soros. Usingeverything from real estate transactions, IRS records, courtdeposit