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Luciano's Luck
by Jack HigginsFrom the New York Times–bestselling author of The Eagle Has Landed and Dark Justice comes the World War II legend of American gangster Charles &“Lucky&” Luciano. It&’s 1943 and war is raging. The key to America and the Allies&’ first assault on Nazi-occupied Europe is the island of Sicily. But it is unknown whether the Sicilian people are willing to rise up and fight alongside the Allies. To secure their help, the US military turns to imprisoned mobster Lucky Luciano—the one man with the connections to the all-powerful Sicilian mafia that could change the course of the war in Italy. The price for his help? Nothing short of a full pardon. Sent in secret to Sicily, Luciano must use every bit of guile and ruthlessness he has to convince his underworld brethren to make a stand against the fascists who have overrun their land. If successful, his mission will pave the way for a full-scale invasion of Italy and aid the Allies in breaking Hitler&’s grip on Italy. But if he fails, the price in blood will be higher than anyone can imagine—and Luciano&’s will be the first spilled. For decades, author Jack Higgins has kept millions of readers around the world glued to the page with his breakneck pacing and shocking plot twists. Here, he takes the true story of the near-alliance between the US government and the mob during World War II to an explosive climax.
Lucian’s Laughing Gods: Religion, Philosophy, and Popular Culture in the Roman East
by Inger NI KuinNo comic author from the ancient world features the gods as often as Lucian of Samosata, yet the meaning of his works remain contested. He is either seen as undermining the gods and criticizing religion through his humor, or as not engaging with religion at all, featuring the gods as literary characters. His humor was traditionally viewed as a symptom of decreased religiosity, but that model of religious decline in the second century CE has been invalidated by ancient historians. Understanding these works now requires understanding what it means to imagine as laughing and laughable gods who are worshipped in everyday cult. In Lucian's Laughing Gods, author Inger N. I. Kuin argues that in ancient Greek thought, comedic depictions of divinities were not necessarily desacralizing. In religion, laughter was accommodated to such an extent as to actually be constituent of some ritual practices, and the gods were imagined either to reciprocate or push back against human laughter—they were never deflated by it. Lucian uses the gods as comic characters, but in doing so, he does not automatically negate their power. Instead, with his depiction of the gods and of how they relate to humans—frivolous, insecure, callous—Lucian challenges the dominant theologies of his day as he refuses to interpret the gods as ethical models. This book contextualizes Lucian’s comedic performances in the intellectual life of the second century CE Roman East broadly, including philosophy, early Christian thought, and popular culture (dance, fables, standard jokes, etc.). His texts are analyzed as providing a window onto non-elite attitudes and experiences, and methodologies from religious studies and the sociology of religion are used to conceptualize Lucian’s engagement with the religiosity of his contemporaries.
Lucie Aubrac: The French Resistance Heroine Who Outwitted the Gestapo
by Siân ReesBrilliant, intensely political, and inseparable for nearly 70 years, Lucie Aubrac and her husband, Raymond, are legendary figures of the French Resistance. Founding leaders of Libération-Sud, one of the most important resistance movements in France, they ran the underground newspaper Libération and served as couriers, arms carriers, and saboteurs. In 1943, when the Gestapo imprisoned Raymond, Lucie engineered a daring escape plan that brought her face to face with feared Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie. When Raymond was arrested again, Lucie mounted a second astonishing rescue, ambushing the prison van that was transporting him. For the post-war generation, the Aubracs were heroes. However, in 1983, Klaus Barbie made the bombshell claim that the Aubracs had become informers in 1943, betraying their comrades. Although later discredited, the allegations raised questions around the many embellishments and inconsistencies in the tales Lucie weaved around herself. Who was Lucie Aubrac? What did she really do in 1943? Siân Rees's penetrating account--the first English-language biography of this extraordinary woman--provides a long-needed corrective to Lucie Aubrac's own admittedly "impressionistic" memoir and a fascinating exploration of the intersection of history, legend, and mythologizing.
Lucifer's Court: A Heretic's Journey in Search of the Light Bringers
by Otto RahnRahn’s personal diary from his travels as occult investigator for the Third Reich • First English translation of the author’s journeys in search of a Nordic equivalent to Mt. Sinai • Explains why Lucifer the Light Bringer, god of the heretics, is a positive figure Otto Rahn’s lifelong search for the Grail brought him to the attention of the SS leader Himmler, who shared his esoteric interests. Induced by Himmler to become the chief investigator of the occult for the Nazis, Rahn traveled throughout Europe--from Spain to Iceland--in the mid 1930s pursuing leads to the Grail and other mysteries. Lucifer’s Court is the travel diary he kept while searching for “the ghosts of the pagans and heretics who were [his] ancestors.” It was during this time that Rahn grasped the positive role Lucifer plays in these forbidden religions as the bearer of true illumination, similar to Apollo and other sun gods in pagan worship.This journey was also one of self-discovery for Rahn. He found such a faithful echo of his own innermost beliefs in the lives of the heretics of the past that he eventually called himself a Cathar and nurtured ambitions of restoring that faith, which had been cruelly destroyed in the fires of the Inquisition. His journeys on assignment for the Reich--including researching an alleged entrance to Hollow Earth in Iceland and searching for the true mission of Lucifer in the caves of southern France that served as refuge for the Cathars during the Inquisition--also led to his disenchantment with his employers and his mysterious death in the mountains after his break with the Nazis.
Lucifer's Harvest (The Ninth Chronicle of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon
by Mel StarrKing Charles of France has announced that he is confiscating Aquitaine, and Prince Edward has sent for knights and men at arms from England to assist him in opposing the French king. Lord Gilbert Talbot is required to provide five knights, twelve squires, and twenty archers and men at arms, and wishes his surgeon - Hugh de Singleton - to travel with the party, while Hugh's wife Kate will oversee the castle. Among the party will be Sir Simon Trillowe, Hugh's old nemesis and Kate's former suitor, who had once set fire to Hugh's house. After a brawl on the streets of Oxford Sir Simon had nearly lost an ear; Hugh had sewn it back on but it had healed crooked, and Simon blamed Hugh for the disfigurement. Finding himself in the same party, Hugh resolves not to turn his back on the knight - but it is Sir Simon who should not have turned his back.
Lucifer's Legacy: The Meaning of Asymmetry
by Frank Close"This is Frank Close's masterpiece -- his best book, and one of the very best introductions to physics for the layperson. Close is a master expositor." -- The (London) Sunday Times"Close's writing is beguiling, mingling personal and historical anecdote with carefully measured doses of exposition in such a way as to guide the reader painlessly into rather deep intellectual waters." -- Nature "Life, intrinsically related to asymmetries, is the theme of this book, and Close offers us an absorbing and scientifically correct account of symmetry and its deep implications." -- CERN CourierThis thought-provoking work by a physicist and popular science writer explores the origins of asymmetry from the molecular level to that of the universe at large. Frank Close takes the readers on a tour of asymmetry that ranges from the development of human embryos to the mysterious Higgs boson, or "God particle," and ongoing research at Switzerland's CERN laboratory.
Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball
by Kathleen BradyEveryone loved Lucy, the scheming, madcap redhead who ruled television for more than twenty years. In life, however, Lucille Ball presented a far more complex and contradictory personality than was ever embodied by the television Lucy. In Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball Kathleen Brady presents the actress as a fully rounded human being, often at odds with the image she presented as an entertainment icon. Brady has gone far beyond the typical celebrity biography to present a funny, unflinching and ultimately moving portrait of Lucille Ball as a performing artist, daughter, mother, friend, colleague, and television mogul. Many think they know the story of Lucille Ball's life, but Brady provides new details and a fresh perspective on this complex woman through a wealth of anecdotes and firsthand accounts. Lucille Ball is revealed not only as a television archetype and influential icon of postwar American culture, but as a driven yet fragile human being who spent her life struggling to create of life of normalcy, but ultimately failed--even as she succeeded in bringing laughter of millions of fans. In researching Lucille, Brady interviewed more than 150 people from her hometown to Hollywood. She spoke with her grade school classmates, and those like Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rodgers who met her when she arrived in Hollywood in the 1930s. She gained insights from those who knew her before her fame and from those she loved throughout her life. Film, radio and television history come to life with the appearances on these pages of such greats as The Marx Brothers, Buster Keaton, Louis B. Mayer, and of course Desi Arnaz, who march and pratfall through the pages of this outstanding biography.
Lucio Ponzio: L'Aquila della Repubblica
by Michael A. PonzioDopo una brillante carriera militare agli ordini di Cesare, Lucio Ponzio Aquila è eletto tribuno della plebe, in rappresentanza della gente comune e si oppone al potere dittatoriale di Cesare. Il libro narra le imprese di Aquila, un tribune romano eletto dalla gente comune (i plebei) e la sua lotta contro la dittatura di Cesare. Sebbene Ponzio Pilato sia noto per il suo ruolo nella Bibbia, meno conosciuti sono I personaggi storici che hanno avuto lo stesso nome di famiglia “Ponzio” e che sono rappresentati in una serie di romanzi storici della serie Lover of the Sea (L’Amante del Mare). Il primo romanzo della serie, “Lucio Ponzio: L’Aquila della Repubblica”, si svolge durante la lotta di Giulio Cesare per la conquista del potere, alcune generazioni prima della nascita di Ponzio Pilato. Da giovane, Lucio Ponzio Aquila si innamora della figlia di Cicerone. Dopo una brillante carriera militare, viene eletto come tribuno della plebe. Aquila, fervente sostenitore della Repubblica Romana, si unisce ai cospiratori che progettano di assassinare Cesare…
Lucius D. Clay: An American Life
by Jean Edward SmithSoldier, statesman, logistical genius: Lucius D. Clay was one of that generation of giants who dedicated their lives to the service of this country, acting with ironclad integrity and selflessness to win a global war and secure a lasting peace. A member of the Army's elite Corps of Engineers, he was tapped by FDR in 1940 to head up a crash program of airport construction and then, in 1942, Roosevelt named him to run wartime military procurement. For three years, Clay oversaw the requirements of an eight-million-man army, setting priorities, negotiating contracts, monitoring production schedules and R&D, coordinating military Lend-Lease, disposing of surplus property-all without a breath of scandal. It was an unprecedented job performed to Clay's rigorous high standards. As Eliot Janeway wrote: "No appointment was more strategic or more fortunate."If, as head of military procurement, Clay was in effect the nation's economic czar, his job as Military Governor of a devastated Germany was, as John J. McCloy has phrased it, "the nearest thing to a Roman proconsulship the modern world afforded." In 1945, Germany was in ruins, its political and legal structures a shambles, its leadership suspect. Clay had to deal with everything from de-Nazification to quarrelsome allies, from feeding a starving people to processing vast numbers of homeless and displaced. Above all, he had to convince a doubting American public and a hostile State Department that German recovery was essential to the stability of Europe. In doing so, he was to clash repeatedly with Marshall, Kennan, Bohlen, and Dulles not only on how to treat the Germans but also on how to deal with the Russians. In 1949, Clay stepped down as Military Governor of Germany and Commander of U.S. Forces in Europe. He left behind a country well on the way to full recovery. And if Germany is today both a bulwark of stability and an economic and political success story, much of the credit is due to Clay and his driving vision.Lucius Clay went on to play key roles in business and politics, advising and working with presidents of both parties and putting his enormous organizing skills and reputation to good use on behalf of his country, whether he was helping run Eisenhower's 1952 campaign, heading up the federal highway program, raising the ransom money for the Bay of Pigs prisoners, or boosting morale in Berlin in the face of the Wall. The Berliners in turn never forgot their debt to Clay. At the foot of his West Point grave, they placed a simple stone tablet: Wir Danken Dem Bewahrer Unserer Freiheit- We Thank the Defender of Our Freedom.
Lucius Verus and the Roman Defence of the East
by M.C. Bishop&“The first biography of Marcus Aurelius&’ adopted brother and co-emperor . . . a valuable read for anyone with an interest in Roman history.&”—The NYMAS Review Lucius Verus is one of the least regarded Roman emperors, despite the fact that he was co-ruler with his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius for nine years until his untimely death. The later sources were strangely hostile to him and modern writers tend to dismiss him, but contemporary writings shine a more favorable light on his accomplishments. His handling of military affairs, particularly the conflict with Parthia after their invasions of Armenia and Syria, deserves a new consideration in the light of a careful reassessment of all the available source material. This volume looks at the upbringing of the boy who lost two fathers, acquired a brother, had his name changed twice, became a general overnight, and commanded the army that defeated one of Rome&’s greatest foes in the 2nd century AD. His rise to power is placed in the context of Rome&’s campaigns in the East and the part played by all—from the ordinary soldiers up to the aristocracy who commanded them—in making Lucius Verus&’s Parthian Wars a success. &“Bishop&’s background is in Roman military archaeology, and where the details of Roman warfare are concerned, he knows his subject matter backwards and forwards . . . For those who wish to understand how the Roman commanders fighting under Verus achieved success in the East, Bishop&’s book can be heartily recommended.&”—Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Luck Be A Lady: Rules for the Reckless 4 (Rules for the Reckless #5)
by Meredith DuranMeredith Duran returns with another witty, humorous and smart romance in the fourth book of her Rules for the Reckless series. Fans of Julia Quinn, Jane Feather and Eloisa James will delight in Meredith's trademark headstrong heroine, cunning hero and tale of deep emotional intensity!Enter Eveleigh's Auction Rooms at your own risk. Prepare to part with your fortune...and lose your heart.They call her the Ice Queen. Catherine Everleigh is London's loveliest heiress, but a bitter lesson in heartbreak has taught her to keep to herself. All she desires is her birthright - the auction house that was mercilessly stolen from her. To win this war, she'll need a powerful ally. Who better than infamous crime lord Nicholas O'Shea? A marriage of convenience will serve them both.Having conquered the city's underworld, Nick seeks a new challenge. Marrying Catherine will give him the guise of legitimacy and access to her elite world - no one need know he's coveted her for a year now. Their arrangement is strictly business, free from the weakness of love. Seduction, however, is an altogether different matter - an enticing game that he's determined she'll play, and what's more, enjoy... Want more Rules for the Reckless? Don't miss Your Wicked Heart or Fool Me Twice.
Luck Be a Lady: Rules For The Reckless 4 (ebook) Luck Be A Lady (Rules for the Reckless #4)
by Meredith DuranRomance sizzles between a famous heiress and an infamous crime lord in this fourth sexy novel in the Rules for the Reckless series from the USA TODAY bestselling author of Fool Me Twice.THE WALLFLOWER They call her the “Ice Queen.” Catherine Everleigh is London’s loveliest heiress, but a bitter lesson in heartbreak has taught her to keep to herself. All she wants is her birthright—the auction house that was stolen from her. To win this war, she’ll need a powerful ally. Who better than infamous and merciless crime lord Nicholas O’Shea? A marriage of convenience will no doubt serve them both. THE CRIME LORD Having conquered the city’s underworld, Nick seeks a new challenge. Marrying Catherine will give him the appearance of legitimacy—and access to her world of the law-abiding elite. No one needs to know he’s coveted Catherine for a year now—their arrangement is strictly business, free from the troubling weaknesses of love. Seduction, however, is a different matter—an enticing game he means to ensure she enjoys, whether she wishes to or not. . . .
Luck Of The Devil
by Elizabeth KeysHER SECRET LOVERWastrel, gambler, and ne'er-do-well. . .handsome Garrett Lynch has a wicked reputation and every woman knows it. Can it be possible that he is also the man known only as The Green Dragon, secretly fighting for Ireland against rampant English injustice? Garrett takes no prisoners and answers no questions—until a mission of utmost importance requires him to enlist the aid of the beautiful Maura Fitzgerald. . .Maura has a mission of her own: to educate impoverished Irish country girls. Does the dashing Mr. Lynch think he can simply walk into her life and her school and do as he pleases? She has half a mind to throw the selfish scoundrel out—until Garrett takes her in his arms. She cannot say no to such fiery passion. . .or his love. . .
Luck Theory: A Philosophical Introduction to the Mathematics of Luck (Logic, Argumentation & Reasoning #20)
by Nicholas RescherThis book is an original—the first-ever treatment of the mathematics of Luck. Setting out from the principle that luck can be measured by the gap between reasonable expectation and eventual realization, the book develops step-by-step a mathematical theory that accommodates the entire range of our pre-systematic understanding of the way in which luck functions in human affairs. In so moving from explanatory exposition to mathematical treatment, the book provides a clear and accessible account of the way in which luck assessment enters into the calculations of rational decision theory.
Luck of a Lancaster: 107 Operations, 244 Crew, 103 Killed in Action
by Gordon ThorburnNo 9 Squadron of Bomber Command converted from the Wellington to the Lancaster in August 1942. W4964 was the seventieth Lanc to arrive on squadron, in mid April 1943. She flew her first op on the 20th, by which time No 9 had lost forty-one of their Lancs to enemy action and another five had been transferred to other squadrons and lost by them. No 9 would soon lose a further thirteen of the seventy. All of the remaining eleven would be damaged, repaired, transferred to other squadrons or training units, and lost to enemy action or crashes except for three which, in some kind of retirement, would last long enough to be scrapped after the war.Only one of the seventy achieved a century of ops or anything like it: W4964 WS-J.Across all squadrons and all the war, the average life of a Lancaster was 22.75 sorties, but rather less for the front-line squadrons going to Germany three and four times a week in 1943 and '44, which was when W4964 was flying her 107 sorties, all with No 9 Squadron and all from RAF Bardney. The first was Stettin (Szczecin in modern Poland), and thereafter she went wherever 9 Squadron went, to Berlin, the Ruhr, and most of the big ops of the time such as Peenemnde and Hamburg. She was given a special character as J-Johnny Walker, still going strong and on September 15 1944, skippered by Flight Lieutenant James Douglas Melrose, her Tallboy special bomb was the only one to hit the battleship Tirpitz.During her career, well over two hundred airmen flew in J. None were killed while doing so, but ninety-six of them died in other aircraft. This is their story, and the story of one lucky Lancaster.
Luck of the Devil: Flying Swordfish in WWII
by Robert le PageRobert le Page flew with the Fleet Air Arm from 1940 to 1945, mostly in 816 Squadron flying carrier-based Fairey Swordfish. He saw action mine-laying off Cherbourg, hunting U-boats, escorting convoys in the North Atlantic and Arctic seas and covering D-Day. Much of his early war years were aboard HMS Dasher and he was lucky to be ashore when the carrier mysteriously exploded and sank in the Clyde. This decimated 816 Squadron which was eventually re-equipped and then worked up to operational readiness to fly from HMS Tracker. His story is full of insights into wartime naval flying. For example when they were tasked with finding and attacking German E Boats they found that in a headwind these powerful boats could outdistance the Stringbag. They devised a plan which was to glide as quietly as possible on their approach to the quarry and power up the engine only seconds before they attacked a plan that was unfortunately unsuccessful. Once when landing in rough weather his aircraft was waved to go round again. With throttle wide open the Swordfish struggled back into the air, but alas the tailhook snagged the top wire of the barrier protecting other parked aircraft. The author remembered staring down from the stalling aircraft to see a terror stricken fitter gazing up at him. Fortunately all survived.
Luck of the Devil: The Story of Operation Valkyrie
by Ian Kershaw'It is now time that something was done. But the man who has the courage to do something must do it in the knowledge that he will go down in German history as a traitor. If he does not, however, he will be a traitor to his own conscience' Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, July 1944The July 1944 Plot to kill Adolf Hitler was a desperate attempt by a group of senior officers to redeem Germany's honour and end the Second World War. They were heroic because they knew their chances of success were slight and that the result of their failure would undoubtedly be a terrible death. They wanted to leave a message for later generations: that there were Germans who understood the evils of Nazism and were willing to act against it. This extraordinary story is the basis for Bryan Singer's major new film Valkyrie, due to be released in February 2009. Published for the first time as a separate book, Luck of the Devil is taken from Ian Kershaw's bestselling Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis and is a brilliant account of just what happened in those fateful days at Hitler's Wolf's Lair headquarters, when his opponents came so astonishingly close to assassinating what is one of the modern era's most terrible figures.
Luck of the Draw: My Story of the Air War in Europe
by Frank MurphyThe epic true story of an American hero who flew during WWII, soon to be featured in the upcoming Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks TV Series, Masters of the Air. <p><p>Beginning on August 17, 1942, American heavy bomber crews of the Eighth Air Force took off for combat in the hostile skies over occupied Europe. The final price was staggering. 4,300 B-17s and B-24s failed to return; nearly 21,000 men were taken prisoner or interned in a neutral country, and a further 17,650 made the ultimate sacrifice. Luck of the Draw is more than a war story. It’s the incredible, inspiring story of Frank Murphy, one of the few survivors from the 100th Bombardment Group, who cheated death for months in a German POW camp after being shot out of his B-17 Flying Fortress. <p><p>Now with a new foreword written by his granddaughter Chloe Melas, of CNN, and daughter Elizabeth Murphy. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
Luck of the Titanic
by Stacey LeeFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl comes the richly imagined story of Valora and Jamie Luck, twin British-Chinese acrobats traveling aboard the Titanic on its ill-fated maiden voyage. <P><P> Valora Luck has two things: a ticket for the biggest and most luxurious ocean liner in the world, and a dream of leaving England behind and making a life for herself as a circus performer in New York. Much to her surprise though, she's turned away at the gangway; apparently, Chinese aren't allowed into America. <P><P> But Val has to get on that ship. Her twin brother Jamie, who has spent two long years at sea, is there, as is an influential circus owner, whom Val hopes to audition for. Thankfully, there's not much a trained acrobat like Val can't overcome when she puts her mind to it. <P><P> As a stowaway, Val should keep her head down and stay out of sight. But the clock is ticking and she has just seven days as the ship makes its way across the Atlantic to find Jamie, perform for the circus owner, and convince him to help get them both into America. <P><P> Then one night the unthinkable happens, and suddenly Val's dreams of a new life are crushed under the weight of the only thing that matters: survival.
Luck on My Side: The Diaries & Reflections of a Young Wartime Sailor 1939–1945
by John PalmerSir John Palmer was at sea for virtually the entire war serving in three ships. During this time he kept a secret diary of events and his reactions and emotions which we are now proud to publish. This book vividly describes the author's many wartime exploits. For the worst period of the Battle of the Atlantic, he was on convoy protection duty in the Corvette HMS Clematis and recalls the famous Christmas Day action against the mighty German battle cruiser Hipper.Sadly Sir John died very recently, after a most distinguished life.
Luckenbooth
by Jenni FaganA bold, haunting, and startlingly unique novel about the secrets we leave behind and the places that hold them long after we are gone, a &“quintessential novel of Edinburgh at its darkest.&” (Irvine Welsh)There are stories tucked away on every floor of 10 Luckenbooth Close 1910, Edinburgh. Jessie MacRae has been sent to a tenement building by her recently deceased father to bear a child for a wealthy man and his fiancée. The harrowing events that follow lead to a curse on the building and its residents—a curse that will last for the rest of the century. Over nine decades, 10 Luckenbooth Close bears witness to emblems of a changing world outside its walls. An infamous madam, a spy, a famous Beat poet, a coal miner who fears daylight, a psychic: these are some of the residents whose lives are plagued by the building's troubled history in disparate, sometimes chilling ways. The curse creeps up the nine floors as an enraged spirit world swells to the surface, desperate for the true horror of the building's longest kept secret to be heard. Luckenbooth is a bold, haunting, and dazzlingly unique novel about the stories and secrets we leave behind—and the places that hold them long after we are gone.
Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig
by Jonathan EigThe definitive account of the life and tragic death of baseball legend Lou Gehrig.Lou Gehrig was a baseball legend—the Iron Horse, the stoic New York Yankee who was the greatest first baseman in history, a man whose consecutive-games streak was ended by a horrible disease that now bears his name. But as this definitive new biography makes clear, Gehrig’s life was more complicated—and, perhaps, even more heroic—than anyone really knew. Drawing on new interviews and more than two hundred pages of previously unpublished letters to and from Gehrig, Luckiest Man gives us an intimate portrait of the man who became an American hero: his life as a shy and awkward youth growing up in New York City, his unlikely friendship with Babe Ruth (a friendship that allegedly ended over rumors that Ruth had had an affair with Gehrig’s wife), and his stellar career with the Yankees, where his consecutive-games streak stood for more than half a century. What was not previously known, however, is that symptoms of Gehrig’s affliction began appearing in 1938, earlier than is commonly acknowledged. Later, aware that he was dying, Gehrig exhibited a perseverance that was truly inspiring; he lived the last two years of his short life with the same grace and dignity with which he gave his now-famous “luckiest man” speech. Meticulously researched and elegantly written, Jonathan Eig’s Luckiest Man shows us one of the greatest baseball players of all time as we’ve never seen him before.
Lucky
by Wes TookeLouis isn't very good at playing baseball, but he knows and loves the game more than anybody. He loves the purity of the sport, the sound of the crack of a bat, and the smell of freshly cut grass in the stadium. And more than anything, he loves the New York Yankees. So when he becomes a bat boy for the team during the summer of 1961, it is a dream come true. Lucky gives readers baseline box seats to one of the most memorable seasons in sports history, and as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris compete in their legendary home-run race, Louis learns that the heroes he looks up to can teach him life lessons that will change him forever.
Lucky 666: The Impossible Mission
by Bob Drury Tom ClavinFrom the authors of the New York Times bestselling The Heart of Everything That Is and Halsey's Typhoon comes the dramatic, untold story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the War in the Pacific--but not without making the ultimate sacrifice.It is 1942, the Japanese war machine has rolled up nearly all of the Pacific Theater, and American forces are clinging to what little unconquered territory remains. While US Marines claw their way across Guadalcanal, small contingents of US Army Airmen make their way to the lonely, embattled Allied airbase on Papua New Guinea. Their mission: to defend Australia from invasion, harass Japanese supply lines, fly perilous bombing missions over enemy-held strongholds, and make reconnaissance runs to provide intelligence for America's nascent island-hopping campaign. Among these men are the pilot Captain Jay Zeamer and the bombardier Sergeant Joseph Raymond Sarnoski, whose swashbuckling reputations precede them. Zeamer, who cannot convince his superiors to give him his own plane, teams up with Sarnoski to recruit a crew of fellow misfits to rebuild a dilapidated B-17 bomber from spare parts in the base's junkyard. They christen the plane Old 666, naming it from its tail identification numbers. In June 1943, Zeamer and Sarnoski and their crew volunteer for a 1200-mile suicide mission into the heart of the Japanese Empire that may well change the course of the war--but which only one of the two friends will survive. In Lucky 666, Drury and Clavin bring to vivid life one of the last great untold stories of World War II. Featuring personal letters, diaries, US Army Air Force after-action reports, even the translated Japanese Imperial Air Force's official account of the longest dogfight in history, Lucky 666 is a tale of friendship, heroism, and sacrifice set against the horrific backdrop of vicious aerial warfare, wounded crewmates, and a white-knuckle emergency landing in the jungles of New Guinea--a must-read for anyone who loves pulse-pounding narrative nonfiction.
Lucky Bastard: A Novel
by Charles McCarryThe KGB grooms a long-lost Kennedy for an explosive assignment in this thriller by an ex-CIA agent and New York Times–bestselling spy novelist. Although in the mid-1940s no one had ever heard of JFK, Jack Adams&’s mother insisted her new son be christened John Fitzgerald. Years after his parents&’ death, Jack learns the reason for his name: a packet of photos showing his mother in bed with young John Kennedy. As a student at Columbia University, Jack demonstrates that he inherited more than JFK&’s good looks. His irresistible charisma and political instinct make him a natural campus leader, but he has his sights set on something bigger than the student council. Young Jack Adams wants to be president of the United States, and the Soviet Union is prepared to help. A KGB spy named Dmitri recruits Jack, promising him the presidency in exchange for treason. Dmitri guides Jack for decades, putting him in a position to become the largest intelligence coup in history—unless the candidate&’s libido derails him first.