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The Cuckoo (Under the Northern Sky #3)
by Leo CarewTwo fierce armies collide in the finale of the Under the Northern Sky trilogy, a thrilling and savagely visceral epic fantasy from Leo Carew, an author who "will remind readers of George R. R. Martin, David Gemmell, or . . . Joe Abercrombie." (Booklist)Albion continues to be divided by revolt and bloodshed, as alliances collapse and are made anew.Driven obsessively for glory, the upstart Bellamus and his exiled queen Aramilla are marshalling resistance and building a powerful army.Returning to the Hindrunn, Keturah is forced to fend for herself, battling enemies on all sides just when she is most in need of a place of safety.And all the while, the young Black Lord must deal not only with the aftermath of a great betrayal, but the cold shadow of the Kryptea, threatening to destroy everything he has fought for...For more from Leo Carew, check out:The WolfThe SpiderThe Cuckoo
The Cuckoo (Under the Northern Sky)
by Leo CarewLeo Carew's much-lauded UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY trilogy draws to its spellbinding conclusion...Albion continues to be divided by revolt and bloodshed, as alliances collapse and are made anew.Driven obsessively for glory, the upstart Bellamus and his exiled queen Aramilla are marshalling resistance and building a powerful army.Returning to the Hindrunn, Keturah is forced to fend for herself, battling enemies on all sides just when she is most in need of a place of safety.And all the while, the young Black Lord must deal not only with the aftermath of a great betrayal, but the cold shadow of the Kryptea, threatening to destroy everything he has fought for...WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE BREATHTAKING WORK OF LEO CAREW:'The next George RR Martin' - Mail on Sunday'Imagine Game of Thrones rewritten by John le Carré ... A marvellously accomplished debut' - Guardian'Full of dark conspiracies, larger-than-life characters, and tense battles' - Paul Hoffman, author of The Left Hand of God
The Cuckoo (Under the Northern Sky)
by Leo CarewLeo Carew's much-lauded UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY trilogy draws to its spellbinding conclusion...Albion continues to be divided by revolt and bloodshed, as alliances collapse and are made anew.Driven obsessively for glory, the upstart Bellamus and his exiled queen Aramilla are marshalling resistance and building a powerful army.Returning to the Hindrunn, Keturah is forced to fend for herself, battling enemies on all sides just when she is most in need of a place of safety.And all the while, the young Black Lord must deal not only with the aftermath of a great betrayal, but the cold shadow of the Kryptea, threatening to destroy everything he has fought for...WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE BREATHTAKING WORK OF LEO CAREW:'The next George RR Martin' - Mail on Sunday'Imagine Game of Thrones rewritten by John le Carré ... A marvellously accomplished debut' - Guardian'Full of dark conspiracies, larger-than-life characters, and tense battles' - Paul Hoffman, author of The Left Hand of God(P)2021 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
The Cuckoo's Egg
by Clifford StollWhen computers exist hacker's coexist. Cliff Stoll found that his system was being used by someone else. It took a while for him to realize that there was a hacker behind it. So he decided to unwind the mystery by some undercover work.
The Cult of the Victim-Veteran: MAGA Fantasies in Lost-war America
by Jerry LembckeThe Cult of the Victim-Veteran explores the pool of American post- Vietnam War angst that rightists began plying in the 1980s. Ronald Reagan’s 1984 proclamation of a new "Morning in America" encoded the war as the moment of the nation’s fall from grace; it was the meme plagiarized by Donald Trump for his "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) slogan. The national funk tapped for right- wing revanchism was psychologized when George H.W. Bush appropriated post- Vietnam syndrome, the diagnostic forerunner to post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to memorialize the military accomplishments in the Persian Gulf War of 1990–1991—we had "kicked the Vietnam Syndrome." America was a victim- nation, its trauma emblemized by PTSD-stricken veterans whose war mission had been lost on the home front, cast aside, even spat on, upon return home. In this book we see the long historical threads woven for MAGA: the twining of traditional and modern ways of knowing that imbues war trauma with political and cultural properties that complicate its diagnostic use; the post- World War I disclosure that many shellshock patients had never been exposed to exploding shells, and the use of wounded- veteran imagery to fan the flames of German fascism; the cultural necessity of reimaging antiwar Vietnam veterans as psychiatric casualties that calls forth a new diagnostic category, PTSD; the derivatizing of PTSD for traumatic brain injury, Agent Orange, and moral injury; and the victim- veteran figure as metaphor for a wounded America, for which MAGA is the remedy.
The Cultural Cold War in Western Europe, 1945-60 (Studies in Intelligence)
by Giles Scott-Smith Hans KrabbendamThe idea of the Cold War as a propaganda contest as opposed to a military conflict is being increasingly accepted. This has led to a re-evaluation of the relationship between economic policies, political agendas and cultural activities in Western Europe post 1945.This book provides an important cross-section of case studies that highlight the connections between overt/covert activities and cultural/political agendas during the early Cold War. It therefore provides a valuable bridge between diplomatic and intelligence research and represents an important contribution towards our understanding of the significance and consequences of this linkage for the shaping of post-war democratic societies.
The Cultural History of War in the Twentieth Century and After (Elements in Modern Wars)
by Jay WinterThis Element is a user's guide to the cultural history of warfare since 1914. It provides summaries of the basic questions historians have posed in what is now a truly global field of research. It is divided into three parts. The first provides an introduction to the cultural history of the state, focusing on the institutions of violence, both political and military, as well as introducing the key concept of the civilianization of war. The second part addresses civil society at war. It asks the question as to how do men and women try to make sense and attach meaning to the violence and cruelty of war. It also explores commemoration, religious life, humanitarianism, painting, cinema and the visual arts, and war literature and testimony. The third part explores the family, gender and migration in wartime, and shows how modern war continues to transform the world in which we live today.
The Culture of Defeat: On National Trauma, Mourning, and Recovery
by Wolfgang Schivelbusch Jefferson ChaseHow defeated nations have handled it.
The Culture of Defeat: On National Trauma, Mourning, and Recovery
by Wolfgang SchivelbuschA fascinating look at history's losers-the myths they create to cope with defeat and the steps they take never to be vanquished againHistory may be written by the victors, Wolfgang Schivelbusch argues in his brilliant and provocative book, but the losers often have the final word. Focusing on three seminal cases of modern warfare-the South after the Civil War, France in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War, and Germany following World War I-Schivelbusch reveals the complex psychological and cultural reactions of vanquished nations to the experience of military defeat.Drawing on responses from every level of society, Schivelbusch shows how conquered societies question the foundations of their identities and strive to emulate the victors: the South to become a "better North," the French to militarize their schools on the Prussian model, the Germans to adopt all things American. He charts the losers' paradoxical equation of military failure with cultural superiority as they generate myths to glorify their pasts and explain their losses: the nostalgic "plantation legend" after the fall of the Confederacy; the cult of Joan of Arc in vanquished France; the fiction of the stab in the back by "foreign" elements in postwar Germany. From cathartic epidemics of "dance madness" to the revolutions that so often follow battlefield humiliation, Schivelbusch finds remarkable similarities across cultures.Eloquently and vibrantly told, The Culture of Defeat is a tour de force that opens new territory for historical inquiry.
The Culture of Military Organizations
by Williamson Murray Peter R. MansoorCulture has an enormous influence on military organizations and their success or failure in war. Cultural biases often result in unstated assumptions that have a deep impact on the making of strategy, operational planning, doctrinal creation, and the organization and training of armed forces. Except in unique circumstances culture grows slowly, embedding so deeply that members often act unconsciously according to its dictates. Of all the factors that are involved in military effectiveness, culture is perhaps the most important. Yet, it also remains the most difficult to describe and understand, because it entails so many external factors that impinge, warp, and distort its formation and continuities. The sixteen case studies in this volume examine the culture of armies, navies, and air forces from the Civil War to the Iraq War and how and why culture affected their performance in the ultimate arbitration of war.
The Culture of War
by Martin Van CreveldA respected scholar of military history and an expert on strategy, Martin van Creveld recently explored the modern world's shifting method of combat in The Changing Face of War. Now, in The Culture of War, he argues that there is much more to war than just soldiers killing one another for whatever reason.War has always been a topic of deep intrigue. Fighting itself can be a source of great, perhaps even the greatest, joy; out of this joy and fascination an entire culture has grown-from the war paint of tribal warriors to today's "tiger suits," from Julius Caesar's red cloak to Douglas McArthur's pipe, from the decorative shields of ancient Greece to today's nose art, and from the invention of chess around 600 A.D. to the most modern combat simulators. The culture of war has its own traditions, laws and customs, rituals, ceremonies, music, art, literature, and monuments since the beginning of civilization.Throughout the ages, the culture of war has usually been highly esteemed. Not so in today's advanced countries, which tend either to mock it ("military intelligence is to intelligence what military music is to music") or to denounce it as "militaristic." This provocative book, the first of its kind, sets out to show how wrongheaded, and even dangerous, such attitudes are. The Culture of War argues that men and women, contrary to the hopes of some, are just as fascinated by war today as they have been in the past. A military that has lost touch with the culture of war is doomed not merely to defeat but to disintegration.Innovative, authoritative, and riveting, this is a major work by one of the world's greatest and most insightful military historians. From the Hardcover edition.
The Culture of the Cold War (The American Moment)
by Stephen J. Whitfield"Without the Cold War, what's the point of being an American?" As if in answer to this poignant question from John Updike's Rabbit at Rest, Stephen Whitfield examines the impact of the Cold War—and its dramatic ending—on American culture in an updated version of his highly acclaimed study. In a new epilogue to this second edition, he extends his analysis from the McCarthyism of the 1950s, including its effects on the American and European intelligensia, to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and beyond. Whitfield treats his subject matter with the eye of a historian, reminding the reader that the Cold War is now a thing of the past. His treatment underscores the importance of the Cold War to our national identity and forces the reader to ask, Where do we go from here? The question is especially crucial for the Cold War historian, Whitfield argues. His new epilogue is partly a guide for new historians to tackle the complexities of Cold War studies.
The Cunning of History: The Holocaust and the American Future
by Richard L. RubensteinTheologian Richard L. Rubenstein writes of the Holocaust, why it happened, why it happened when it did, and why it may happen again and again."Few books possess the power to leave the reader with the feeling of awareness that we call a sense of revelation. The Cunning of History seems to me to be one of these . . . Rubenstein is forcing us to reinterpret the meaning of Auschwitz—especially, though not exclusively, from the standpoint of its existence as part of a continuum of slavery that has been engrafted for centuries onto the very body of Western civilization. Therefore, in the process of destroying the myth and the preconception, he is making us see that that encampment of death and suffering may have been more horrible than we had ever imagined. It was slavery in its ultimate embodiment. He is making us understand that the etiology of Auschwitz—to some, a diabolical, perhaps freakish excrescence, which vanished from the face of the earth with the destruction of the crematoria in 1945—is actually embedded deeply in a cultural tradition that stretches back to the Middle Passage from the coast of Africa, and beyond, to the enforced servitude in ancient Greece and Rome. Rubenstein is saying that we ignore this linkage, and the existence of the sleeping virus in the bloodstream of civilization, at risk of our future." — William Styron, from the Introduction.
The Cunningham Papers: Volume II: The Triumph of Allied Sea Power 1942–1946
by Michael SimpsonFollowing America's entry into World War Two, there was a necessity for the Royal Navy to strengthen co-operation with the United States Navy. Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham's brief term as head of the British Admiralty Delegation in Washington was to endear him to the Americans so much so that they proposed him as Allied Naval Commander of the Expeditionary Force which was to invade North Africa in November 1942. In October 1943, Cunningham was summoned to replace the dying Pound as First Sea Lord, a position he held until his retirement from active service in June 1946. In that time he presided over the invasion of Normandy, operations in the Mediterranean, the sinking of the Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, the defeat of the late surge of U-boat activity, the British Pacific Fleet, and the problems of manpower, the futures of the Royal Marines and the Fleer Air Arm, and the conversion of the Royal Navy from its swollen wartime strength to a much-reduced peacetime cadre. Cunningham remained concerned over the future of the country's defence and that of the Royal Navy and he was able to speak in major defence debates in the House of Lords. He died suddenly in 1963 and was buried at sea. Cunningham was one of Britain's great sailors, a worthy successor to Nelson, whom he admired and many of whose qualities he displayed. This second volume of Cunningham's papers covers the period of his life described above. It includes official documents but also many letters to his family and brother-officers that exhibit his feelings, as well as his illuminating diary entries from April 1944 onwards.
The Cure for Drowning
by Loghan PaylorEvocative, magical and luminously written, The Cure for Drowning is not only a brilliant, boundary-pushing love story but a Canadian historical novel that boldly centres queer and non-binary characters in unprecedented ways.Born Kathleen to an immigrant Irish farming family in southern Ontario, Kit McNair has been a troublesome changeling since, at ten, they fell through the river ice and drowned—only to be nursed back to life by their mother's Celtic magic. A daredevil in boy's clothes, Kit chafes at every aspect of a farmgirl's life, driving that same mother to distraction with worry about where Kit will ever fit in. When Rebekah Kromer, an elegant German-Canadian doctor's daughter, moves to town with her parents in April 1939, Rebekah has no doubt as to who 19-year-old Kit is. Soon she and Kit, and Kit's older brother, Landon, are drawn tight in a love triangle that will tear them and their families apart, and send each of them off on a separate path to war. Landon signs up for the Navy. Kit, now known as Christopher, joins the Royal Air Force, becoming a bomber navigator relied on for his luck and courage. Rebekah serves with naval intelligence in Halifax, until one more collision with Landon changes the course of her life and draws her back to the McNair farm—a place where she'd once known love. Fallen on even harder times, the McNairs welcome all the help she is able to give, and she believes she has found peace at last. Until, with the war over, Kit and Landon return home.Told in the vivid, unforgettable voices of Kit and Rebekah, The Cure for Drowning is a powerfully engrossing novel that imagines a history that is truer than true.
The Curse of Anne Boleyn
by C. C. Humphreys"If you like Bernard Conwell's Grail Quest series, you'll love The French Executioner and The Curse of Anne Boleyn. To my mind Cornwell is good, but Humphreys is better."--Sally Zigmund, Historical Novels Review (UK)From the masterful C.C. Humphreys comes the captivating sequel to The French ExecutionerNearly twenty years have passed since Anne Boleyn died at the hands of her slayer and savior, Jean Rombaud. All he wants is to forget his sword-wielding days and live happily with his family. Yet her distinctive six-fingered hand, stolen at her death--and all the dark power it represents--still compels evil men to seek it out.When Jean's son, Gianni, joins the Inquisition in Rome and betrays all his father worked for, Jean discovers that time alone cannot take him--or his son--far from his past. But he never expected his whole family, especially his beloved daughter Anne, to become caught up once more in the tragic queen's terrible legacy.From the savagery of way in Italy to the streets of London and Paris and the wilds of North America, The Curse of Anne Boleyn sweeps readers into a thrilling story that puts love, loyalty, and family to the ultimate test."With The French Executioner, Humphreys established himself as a quality purveyor of historical detail and vigorous action...This unusual story line is dispatched with consummate skill."--Good Books Guide (UK)
The Curse of Pietro Houdini: A Novel
by Derek B. MillerFrom the Dagger Award–winning author of Norwegian by Night comes a vivid, thrilling, and moving World War II art-heist-adventure tale where enemies become heroes, allies become villains, and a child learns what it means to become an adult—for fans of All the Light We Cannot See.August, 1943. Fourteen-year-old Massimo is all alone. Newly orphaned and fleeing from Rome after surviving the American bombing raid that killed his parents, Massimo is attacked by thugs and finds himself bloodied at the base of the Montecassino. It is there in the Benedictine abbey&’s shadow that a charismatic and cryptic man calling himself Pietro Houdini, the self-proclaimed &“Master Artist and confidante of the Vatican,&” rescues Massimo and brings him up the mountain to serve as his assistant in preserving the treasures that lay within the monastery walls. But can Massimo believe what Pietro is saying, particularly when Massimo has secrets too? Who is this extraordinary man? When it becomes evident that Montecassino will soon become the front line in the war, Pietro Houdini and Massimo execute a plan to smuggle three priceless Titian paintings to safety down the mountain. They are joined by a nurse concealing a nefarious past, a café owner turned murderer, a wounded but chipper German soldier, and a pair of lovers along with their injured mule, Ferrari. Together they will lie, cheat, steal, fight, kill, and sin their way through battlefields to survive, all while smuggling the Renaissance masterpieces and the bag full of ancient Greek gold they have rescued from the &“safe keeping&” of the Germans. Heartfelt, powerfully engaging, and in the tradition of City of Thieves by David Benioff, The Curse of Pietro Houdini is a work of storytelling bravado: a thrilling action-packed adventure heist, an imaginative chronicle of forgotten history, and a philosophical coming-of-age epic where a child navigates one of the most enigmatic and morally complex fronts of World War II and lives to tell the tale.
The Cursed Friend: A Novel
by Beatrice Salvioni"Bloody, unapologetic, and wild ... I loved it!" —Naomi Krupitsky, New York Times bestselling author of The Family "The Cursed Friend grabs the reader’s attention and doesn’t let go ... a magnetic coming-of-age story" —Laura Spence-Ash, bestselling author of Beyond That, the Sea For readers of Adriana Trigiani, Susan Meissner, and Elena Ferrante, an unbreakable, life-changing friendship will lead two young girls from different worlds to rebel against the injustice they face in 1930s ItalyIt is 1936, and in the small Italian city of Monza, on the pebbled bank of the Lambro, two frantic girls scramble to bury a body—the dead son of the city's most prominent fascist. Soon, they will find their fierce friendship put to the ultimate test.A year earlier, Francesca Strada, the well-mannered daughter of a bourgeois family, dreams of a life beyond provincial conformity. From afar she spies on Maddalena, the town’s rebellious outcast—whom neighbors call “the Cursed One”—and whose indomitable spirit fascinates her. Then, one day, escaping the vigilant eye of her parents, Francesca finds herself caught in her first-ever lie while trying to protect Maddalena. Soon, the two are inseparable. Maddalena teaches Francesca to defy animals, to overcome her fear of blood, and to recognize her body as something alive and present.But as tensions escalate and an atmosphere of suspicion, corruption, and discontent settles over the town, the friends become increasingly aware that as girls, they’re not as free as they wish to be. Confronted by a vicious act of violence, Maddalena and Francesca must rely on each other to defend what they have forged together. Set against the backdrop of the Abyssinian War, The Cursed Friend is a timeless tale of female friendship, navigating loss and adolescence, and finding the courage to speak out against the silence of a harsh, uncompromising world.Translated from the Italian by Elena Pala
The Curtain Falls: Last Days Of The Third Reich
by Count Eric Audley Emil Lewenhaupt Folke BernadotteCOUNT FOLKE BERNADOTTE attracted the whole world's attention during the hectic months that preceded the total collapse of the Third Reich and the capitulation of the German forces. About the middle of February 1945 he set out from Sweden for Germany to try to establish contact with Heinrich Himmler and induce him to allow all Danes and Norwegians in German concentration camps to be transported to Sweden for internment until the end of the war.In this book, which is based on his own notes and reports, Count Bernadotte describes his various missions, which were repeated up to the very day of the surrender, his meetings with Himmler and other leading figures of the Nazi regime, and gives Intimate close-ups of the events and the weird atmosphere in which the last act of the drama of the Third Reich was played. He explains, further, how his project, which originally had had a purely humanitarian character, developed a political one of great importance when, long past the eleventh hour, he was asked to convey, via the Swedish Government, Himmler's offer of surrender to the western Powers.After the war, Bernadotte was unanimously chosen by the victorious powers to be the United Nations Security Council mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1947-1948. He was assassinated in Jerusalem in 1948 by members of the underground Zionist group Lehi while pursuing his official duties.
The Curtain Of Steel [Illustrated Edition]
by Rev Montague Thomas HainsselinIncludes The First World War At Sea Illustrations Pack with 189 maps, plans, and photos.Although written under anonymously, the writer of the famous quartet of famous First World War sea-reportage novels, was identified as Rev. Montague T. Hainsselin. He was appointed to the chaplaincy of the Royal Navy in 1903, although he had been almost born into the Navy having raised in Plymouth. He served on many ships in his long career, from battlecruisers to the huge superdreadnoughts in the Mediterranean, Home and Channel Fleets. During the First World War he served in the Home Fleet based in Scapa Floe and was present at the only major sea-battle of the war at Jutland. Few men were been appointed so well as the Chaplain to report the inner workings of the Royal Navy from the lowliest stoker in the boiler room to the officers commanding entire behemoths of steel. Observant and witty, Rev. Hainsselin offers a view of the Royal Navy at War that has rarely been surpassed.Reviews of IN THE NORTHERN MISTS"Nothing, so far as one can remember, gives as good an idea as this book does of life in the Royal Navy in time of war."--World. "Full of intimate touches, and full of good stories of quarter-deck and lower-deck.... The Padre is a man of infinite humour, as all truly religious men are. There is not a line of preaching in his book, an there is many a good yarn, but, for all that, it is a good book, it is a book of manliness and cleanliness and godliness. Read his one little incursion into religion, 'Strad Cords,' and you will love him for a practical muscular Christian."--Daily Express."The unnamed Padre ... tells us a great deal about the little ways of the Services, the psychology of its members, and the spirit that animates them; and always in a style so entertaining as well as sympathetic that these pages from his note-hook should prove one of the most popular and appreciated of books that the war has directly or indirectly inspired."--Scotsman.
The Curve of Binding Energy: A Journey into the Awesome and Alarming World of Theodore B. Taylor
by John McPheeThis is a book about nuclear energy both for electric power production and for bombs. In particular, it focuses on the dangers of a single person or small group obtaining the materials (most likely from some part of the nuclear power production system) to produce a bomb. The level of worry about this possibility come mainly from a particular nuclear physicist, Ted Taylor. But the sources for this book range far and wide over both the history and people involved in both nuclear bomb making and nuclear power production.
The Custom of the Army: An Outlander Novella (Outlander)
by Diana GabaldonDiana Gabaldon, bestselling author of the acclaimed Outlander series, weaves an engrossing tale of war, history, and suspense in this original novella--now available as a standalone e-book--featuring returning hero Lord John Grey.London, 1759. After a high society electric-eel party leads to a duel that ends badly, Lord John Grey feels the need to lie low for a while. Conveniently, before starting his new commission in His Majesty's army, Lord John receives an urgent summons. An old friend from the military, Charlie Carruthers, is facing court-martial in Canada, and has called upon Lord John to serve as his character witness. Grey voyages to the New World--a land rife with savages (many of them on his own side) and cleft by war--where he soon finds that he must defend not only his friend's life but his own.
The Cutthroat Countess (Wicked Women of Whitechapel #3)
by Minerva SpencerPerfect for fans of Julia Quinn&’s Bridgerton books, this fresh and unique Regency-set romance series features heroines who aren&’t afraid to compete in a man&’s world. A new generation of readers will delight in this witty, thought provoking, always entertaining novel by the critically acclaimed author. Before Josephine Brown began working as a blade expert for Farnham's Fantastical Female Fayre, she'd never stayed put for long. She'd never had friends, either. Nor had she allowed herself to open her heart to a man. Yet now, as part owner of the circus, she's suddenly forming real friendships. And then there is her attraction to clever, handsome Honorable Elliot Wingate—whose life she happened to save. After forever fleeing her past, the last man she should choose is one who ferrets out secrets on behalf of King and Country . . . Elliot was fascinated by Jo &“Blade&” Brown even before he witnessed her lethal gifts, firsthand. He's never met a woman who is such an intoxicating combination of self-sufficiency, beauty, and mystery. He's never been in love before, but there is no denying he's fallen hard. Yet each time Elliot tries to get closer to Jo, she slips farther away. If he reveals what&’s in his heart, will he risk driving her away for good? As their investigation—and her feelings for Elliot—stir up Jo&’s deeply buried, extremely dangerous secrets, she'll have to decide whether to run once again, or trust somebody at last . . .Praise for Minerva Spencer&’s Wicked Women of Whitechapel series &“Spencer launches her Wicked Women of Whitechapel Regency series with an outstanding romance based in part on a real historical figure. . . . Spencer ramps up the mystery and the romance in equal measure. . . . This is sure to wow.&” –Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW &“Fans of historical romances with strong female characters in non-traditional roles and the men who aren&’t afraid to love them won&’t be disappointed by this series starter.&” –Library Journal STARRED REVIEW
The Cutting Edge: A Half Century of U. S. Fighter Aircraft R and D
by Mark A. Lorell Jennifer Gross Erik Moller Elizabeth Giddens Hugh P. LevauxThe proposition that innovation is critical in the cost-effective design and development of successful military aircraft is still subject to some debate. RAND research indicates that innovation is promoted by intense competition among three or more industry competitors. Given the critical policy importance of this issue in the current environment of drastic consolidation of the aerospace defense industry, the authors here examine the history of the major prime contractors in developing jet fighters since World War II. They make use of an extensive RAND database that includes nearly all jet fighters, fighter-attack aircraft, and bombers developed and flown by U.S. industry since 1945, as well as all related prototypes, modifications, upgrades, etc. The report concludes that (1) experience matters, because of the tendency to specialize and thus to develop system-specific expertise; (2) yet the most dramatic innovations and breakthroughs came from secondary or marginal players trying to compete with the industry leaders; and (3) dedicated military R&D conducted or directly funded by the U.S. government has been critical in the development of new higher-performance fighters and bombers.
The Cyclops Initiative
by David WellingtonTo save an innocent friend, soldier and spy Jim Chapel will risk his own life and reputation to stop a deadly conspiracy from threatening the country in this relentless, nonstop action adventure from the author of the acclaimed thrillers Chimera and The Hydra ProtocolJim Chapel pledged his life to protect his country from its enemies. But now the one-armed special forces soldier-turned-spy is on the wrong side of the law. The person he trusts most in the world, the brilliant hacker known only as Angel, is suspected of terrorism. When his boss calls for Angel's arrest, Chapel, certain it's a frame job, has only one option: to go rogue.To protect Angel--a woman he's never actually met--Chapel must clear her name. But first he has to find her before a deadly marine sniper, a drone aircraft gone feral, and the entire intelligence community closes in. With the aid of old friends and his ex-lover Julia, the search to find who framed Angel leads Chapel into the dark and lethal underbelly of the covert intelligence world . . . to a conspiracy with deep roots that shocks even this hardened veteran--and a plan that will destroy the United States as we know it if it succeeds.Praise for the Jim Chapel Mission novelsChimera"A good book, crisply written and exciting."--Booklist"The constant action and novel concept will satisfy fans of the genre."--Publishers Weekly"A good and entertaining read, first page to last."--Examiner.comThe Hydra Protocol"A very captivating political thriller. . . . Definitely a page-turner." --Military Press"The threats keep shifting, but the well-choreographed action . . . is nonstop. From Russia with Love meets Dr. Strangelove."--Kirkus Reviews"The Hydra Protocol is a fast action thriller with a lot of twists and turns. Anyone that wants to understand the fears and terror that can be brought about by having nuclear weapons fall under the wrong hands must read this book."--Blackfive.net"Whether this is your first David Wellington book or you've read and loved his work before, The Hydra Protocol is a heart-racing thriller with great sci-fi and mystery cross-over not to be missed!"--SFScope