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Climbing the Rough Side of the Mountain: The Extraordinary Story of Love, Civil Rights, and Labor Activism
by Norman HillThe remarkable story of a couple who came together during the civil rights movement and made fighting for equality and civil and workers&’ rights their purpose for more than sixty years, overcoming adversity—with the strength of their love and commitment—to bring about meaningful change. &“A chronicle of lives of unwavering dedication. Now in their 80s, labor and civil rights activists Norman and Velma Hill recount more than six decades of struggles, triumphs, and frustrations in their tireless work as &‘crusaders for democracy.&’... An inspiring joint memoir.&” —Kirkus ReviewsWhen Velma Murphy was knocked unconscious by a brick thrown by a man from an angry white mob and was carried away by Norman Hill, it was the beginning of a six-decade-long love story and the turmoil, excitement, and struggle for civil rights and labor movements. In Climbing the Rough Side of the Mountain, the Hills reflect upon their more than half a century of fighting to make America realize the best of itself.Through profound conversations between the two, Velma and Norman Hill share their earliest memories of facing racial segregation in the 1960s, working with Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, and A. Philip Randolph, crossing paths with Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael. They also reveal how they kept white supremacists like David Duke from taking office, organized workers into unions, met with Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and continued to work tirelessly, fighting the good fight and successfully challenging power with truth.
Cardiac Cowboys: The Heroic Invention of Heart Surgery
by Gerald ImberCardiac Cowboys is the dramatic story of five deeply flawed geniuses who together—and in competition with each other—invented open-heart surgery against all conventional medical wisdom and saved millions of lives.A decade after World War II, there was still no such thing as open-heart surgery, and yet half a million Americans were dying from heart disease every year. One in a hundred children would suffer and die from congenital heart disease as well, and doctors did little other than predict their deaths. After the first daring operation in 1954 and through the next three decades, five heroic surgeons braved the scorn of their peers, withstood fierce desperation, and faced possible death in order to devise procedures that would save overwhelming numbers of those doomed children and provide hope for a new life to all manner of heart-failing individuals. Devising and mastering heart transplants and bypass surgery, they invented artificial heart valves, the lifesaving pacemaker, and worked toward the holy grail of an artificial heart as their private and professional lives imploded. The story of the Cardiac Cowboys, their outsized personalities, and often self-destructive behavior is a saga more thrilling and exhilarating than fiction.
Reverend Ike: An Extraordinary Life of Influence
by Mark Victor Hansen Xavier EikerenkoetterThe unlikely and sometimes harrowing journey of an iconic evangelist, known to millions as simply Reverend Ike, will draw you into his remarkable story of rising from extreme poverty and leading millions of poor Blacks to unprecedented financial success, independence, and joyful living by understanding the profound Biblical promises of prosperity.Lovingly known by his ardent and enthusiastic followers as Reverend Ike, Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II touched millions of lives. He presented people with a new way to think about themselves, about life, and about all the riches of health, happiness, joy, love, success, prosperity, and money that could be theirs—if they only understood the principles that he had come to understand. These were the very transformational principles he taught to the hungry hearts, souls, and minds who showed up at his church meetings, workshops, and radio or TV broadcasts each week. Ike&’s early life was full of family drama, opposition, and extreme poverty. Still, he refused to follow the prevailing belief—even within his own family and community—that Black people were here to suffer. Rev. Ike embodied his work and his purpose to raise others up to a better life. In truth, he was a perfect example of the power of faith in action. He overcame the odds by rising above obscurity and transforming himself to a place of great significance. Around the world, individuals were touched in countless ways and lifted out of poverty, anger, hopelessness, and depression. As Ike&’s ministry grew, his calling captured the attention and devotion of millions. Compared frequently to the internationally revered Reverend Billy Graham, Reverend Ike became one of the most widely known and heard inspirational prosperity teachers of his generation.
My Right Hand to Goodness: The Life and Times of Crazy Dale Varnam
by Lynn Cook BetzMost wonder how Dale Varnam stayed alive. Dale wonders why.Back in the eighties, the quaint fishing village of Varnamtown, North Carolina—full of zany Southern characters—got rich, and so did town clown Dale Varnam, who perfected his own brand of crazy. Dale rose to the top of the heap in the drug smuggling biz, helping the town&’s livelihood of shrimping go to pot. Although it&’s not big enough to be on most maps, Varnamtown became the second busiest port of entry for illegal drugs on the Eastern Seaboard. Dale Varnam&’s misfit persona contradicts any preconceived notions of an international drug smuggler. His &“good ol&’ southern redneck persona&” belies his past…and oh, what a past! During the 1980s, Dale Varnam was newspaper fodder. He was depicted as a &“show-off,&” &“hot dog,&” and &“homicidal nut case,&” until &“armed career criminal&” became the headline. The prankster extraordinaire now lives in a junkyard morphing into a grandiose roadside attraction of sorts called Ft. Apache, where a sign reads &“A crazy place blessed by God&’s Grace.&” How did Dale get here from what he was? It took two Dales—not just one. &“New Dale&” dusts off &“Old Dale,&” who danced with the devil for over twenty years. Between the Dales were ten years he considers a &“vacation.&” As an informant, he helped bring more than one hundred and fifty of those involved to grand juries resulting in over eighty indictments. Many in Varnamtown succumbed to smuggling. This story does not leave them out; secrets are replaced by revelations, forgiveness, and healing. Forever changed, these God-fearing southern folks got caught up in crime, then caught, before eventually returning to their lives. The widespread corruption of law enforcement and politicians unfurls its tentacles through Dale&’s tales. From courting Manuel Noriega and Pablo Escobar to selling cocaine to Disney characters, from Playboy Bunnies mowing his yard to jungle labs where preserved tongues rested in jars, jaw-dropping events punctuate Dale&’s story from beginning to end.
Love Your Neighbor: A Spiritual Defense of Capitalism and Freedom in a Hostile Age
by Ralph C. StayerLove Your Neighbor makes the case for capitalism as the only system that can end poverty, solve intractable crises, and increase human flourishing.Love Your Neighbor builds on the National Best Seller Flight of the Buffalo by Ralph Stayer with James Belasco. Ralph's story and experience transformed the business world. It offers a bold and straightforward plan for rethinking leadership—still taught in business schools and leadership seminars worldwide. Finally, after decades of more experience, Love Your Neighbor delivers the sequel that readers demanded. Love Your Neighbor is the fruit of that patience—and thirty years of reflection and leadership. As the longtime CEO of Johnsonville Foods, Ralph learned to let his workers lead. Love Your Neighbor shows that the real secret behind Johnsonville's success was a conscious decision to align the company's practices with God's plan for human flourishing. Love Your Neighbor defends and champions capitalism which continues to be under attack in America—and why faith-informed capitalism is the only vehicle that can bring prosperity and purpose to everyone. Love Your Neighbor goes beyond that of another pretty sermon—it's a blueprint for transformation based on Ralph's decades of experience as one of America's most successful CEOs. It provides a moral foundation for capitalism during a time of challenge and crisis, demonstrating its vast superiority over socialism and other fallen economic systems. Ralph's experience at Johnsonville Foods points to a proud and unapologetic conviction in capitalism that serves God, builds strong communities, and embodies what it means to love your neighbor.
The Emerging Populist Majority
by Troy M. Olson Gavin M. WaxThe Emerging Populist Majority analyzes America&’s political future and changing coalitions through long-term and emerging trends across demography, geography, and ideology.America is on a new rendezvous with destiny…at least that&’s what co-authors Troy M. Olson and Gavin M. Wax explore in The Emerging Populist Majority. With confounding consensus narratives in our media and culture, and building on Donald Trump&’s historical upset in the 2016 presidential election, Olson and Wax make the case that the populist revolt remaking American politics is merely at the midfield point. Furthermore, they argue that this revolt is poised to continue long-term, and more recent trends predict that populism will become the major political movement in America for the remainder of the twenty-first century. Building on the late 1960s tradition when Kevin P. Phillips accurately predicted the next generation of Republican dominance at the presidential level, and considering the forecasted coalition of the ascendent that found its way through the electoral process in the 2006 midterm wave and election of Barack Obama in 2008, The Emerging Populist Majority exists both in that tradition and sets itself apart. Casting doubt and scrutiny on realignments and the traditionally agreed-upon narrative about them, this book is an exploration of the elite corridors of American society. Leaving no stone unturned, this analytical dive into the past, present, and future of America&’s changing electorate and emerging coalitional makeup running through its two major parties has something for the politically obsessed across the divide, at home, and abroad.
Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis
by Greg WrennA dazzling, evidence-based account of one man&’s quest to heal from complex PTSD by turning to endangered coral reefs and psychedelic plants after traditional therapies failed—and his awakening to the need for us to heal the planet as well.Professor Greg Wrenn likes to tell his nature-writing students, &“The ecological is personal, and the personal is ecological.&” What he&’s never told them is how he&’s lived out those correspondences to heal from childhood abuse at the hands of his mother. Weaving together memoir and cutting-edge science, Mothership is not just a queer coming-of-age story. It&’s a deeply researched account of how coral reefs and a psychedelic tea called ayahuasca helped Greg heal from complex PTSD—a disorder of trust, which makes the very act of bonding with someone else panic-inducing. From the tide pools in Florida where he grew up, to Indonesia&’s Raja Ampat archipelago and the Amazon rainforest, this is his search for wholeness when talk therapy and pharmaceuticals did little to help. Along the way, as his ecological conscience wakes up, he takes readers underwater to the last pristine reefs on earth, and into the psyche.Written with prophetic urgency, Mothership ultimately asks if doses of nature will be enough to save us before it&’s too late.
Mudslingers: A True Story of Aerial Firefighting (An American Origins Story)
by Tim SheehyThe unique history of aerial firefighting as seen through the eyes of a pilot, former Navy SEAL, and current owner of one of the most successful aerial firefighting companies in the world.Blending historical context and first-person narrative, Mudslingers tells the dramatic and colorful story of aerial firefighting in America, as seen through the eyes of a decorated former Navy SEAL, US Naval Academy graduate, firefighting pilot, and businessman who founded Montana-based Bridger Aerospace, one of the most successful aerial firefighting teams in the world. Part narrative nonfiction, part memoir, Mudslingers is a riveting account of one person&’s journey from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq to the front lines of a different but no less important battle on the home front—the war against the escalating threat of wildfire. From the early days of the B-17 to the modern fleets of the twenty-first century, Tim Sheehy will take you on a ride through the history of aerial firefighting—the most hazardous and demanding aviation mission in the world. Mudslingers is a rollicking read, an enlightening journey, and a call to action for anyone who believes wildfires are not only one of the greatest threats facing modern civilization but a threat that has long been underestimated, misunderstood, and poorly addressed, despite repeated examples of bravery and innovation by those who choose to do battle with the flames. Indeed, save for a few historic military engagements in the twentieth century, there is not a sustained aviation mission anywhere that comes close to encompassing the danger, precision, and unforgiving nature of aerial firefighting. In telling this story, Sheehy takes readers into the cockpit and into the lives of his fellow pilots—past and present—as they struggle with the seemingly never-ending threat of wildfires. One hundred percent of author proceeds from this book are donated to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation and the United Aerial Firefighters Association.
Bringing Adam Smith into the American Home: A Case Against Home Ownership
by Jack Ryan John TamnyGet ready to have everything you&’ve ever believed about housing and homeownership challenged.In Bringing Adam Smith into the American Home, authors Jack Ryan and John Tamny make a powerful case that the purchase of a home slows wealth attainment—rendering owners immobile in ways that further restrain their wealth chances—and that the act of homeownership deprives owners of the time and ability to do what they do best, which further dampens individual economic achievement.Thanks to the residential real estate pricing cartel, homeownership has become so costly that it has erected wildly expensive barriers to the very mobility that powers so much individual prosperity. As the cartel prospers, homebuyers and sellers alike suffer its rigidity.Ryan and Tamny call for the evisceration of realtor commissions—the only price in all of capitalism that has not come down even a little over the decades despite capitalism&’s brilliant track record of bringing down the price of everything. Ryan, owner of a national residential realty business, recognizes that the very commissions realtors cling to are paradoxically harming them, all the while discreetly but powerfully shrinking prosperity for everyone else.In a book chock-full of insights from Adam Smith, author of the greatest economics book ever written, Ryan and Tamny make their highly original argument available for all as they reveal the truth about the housing market and homeownership.
Taxocracy: What You Don't Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life
by Scott HodgeTaxocracy: What You Don&’t Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life won&’t help you lower your tax bill, but it will help you understand how politicians use taxes to influence our lives, how taxes harm the economy, and why we need a simpler tax system.Did you ever wonder why the costs of health care, housing, and college tuition keep going up? Or how your neighbor could afford that fancy electric car? Or why there are so many hard seltzers on the market? Your first guess might not be &“taxes,&” but they play a big role. We live in a world ruled by taxes—a taxocracy. History is full of misguided tax policies that led to &“see-through&” buildings, tax-free attics, three-wheeled cars, women in children&’s clothing, and baked chips to go along with our hard seltzer. Written by former Tax Foundation CEO Scott Hodge, Taxocracy: What You Don&’t Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life uses amusing lessons from past tax policies gone wrong to explore how the US tax code caused serious consequences, affecting how we get our health insurance, the price of a college education, what car we buy, where we bank, and, in some cases, even when we die. Taxocracy outlines economic principles for designing a tax code that doesn&’t rule our daily lives—a tax code that promotes economic growth, free-enterprise, and takes the politics out of tax policy.
The Setback Cycle: How Defining Moments Can Move Us Forward
by Amy ShoenthalForbes contributor Amy Shoenthal&’s revolutionary strategies for working through life&’s inevitable setbacks, supported by research and personal stories from today&’s most prolific founders, leaders, and experts.How do you know if you&’re going through a setback? And once you realize you&’re in one, how do you work through it? Some of the world&’s most prominent leaders attribute their setbacks to the reason they found success. Their lowest moments paved the way for their creative rebirth. Through the four phases of The Setback Cycle—Establish, Embrace, Explore, and Emerge—Amy Shoenthal guides readers on how to make sense of their experiences, gain clarity on what comes next, and move confidently into future endeavors. That framework, developed through research and conversations with scholars, psychologists, neuroscientists, and executive coaches is supported through the deeply personal stories of founders and leaders like fashion icons Stacy London and Norma Kamali, fitness instructors Robin Arzón and Kendall Toole, chef Palak Patel, non-binary beauty influencer Cyrus Veyssi, and inspirational founders like Cate Luzio, Erica Taylor, Amanda Goetz, and more. Whether you&’re stuck in a rut after a breakup or trying to navigate an unexpected professional transition, The Setback Cycle offers guidance on how to take yourself through your toughest moments and forge a stronger path forward.
Little Avalanches: A Memoir
by Becky EllisA daughter&’s quest for truth. A soldier&’s fight for survival. Their shared search for understanding.Little Avalanches is a gorgeously written memoir of breathtaking scope that propels readers from the beaches of California in the early &‘70s to the battlefields of World War II. As a young girl, Becky is forced to hide from phantom Nazis, subjected to dental procedures without pain medication, and torn from her mother again and again. Growing up in the shadow of her father&’s PTSD, she wants to know what is wrong but knows not to ask. Her father won&’t talk about being a Timberwolf, a unit of specially trained night fighters that went into combat first and experienced a 300 percent casualty rate. He returns home with thirteen medals, including a Silver Star, and becomes a doctor and well-respected member of the community, but is haunted by his past. Seeing only his explosive and often dangerous personality, Becky distances herself from the man she wants to love. Yet on the eve of his ninetieth birthday, when Becky looks at the vulnerable man he&’s become, something shifts, and she asks about the war. He breaks seventy years of silence, offering an unfiltered account of war without glory and revealing the extent of the trauma he&’s endured. She spends the next several years interviewing, researching, and ultimately understanding the demons she inherited. Because his story is incomplete without hers, and hers is inconceivable without his, Ellis offers both, as well as their year-long aching conversation marked by moments of redeeming grace. With compassionate, unflinching writing, Little Avalanches reminds us that we are profoundly shaped by the secrets we keep and forever changed by the stories we share.
American Doom Loop: Dispatches from a Troubled Nation, 1980s–2020s
by Dale MaharidgeMuch of the contemporary crazy can be traced to the 1980s—America of the 2020s is living with the cultural shapeshifting rooted in that decade.Americans lived in a different reality in 1980: Vermont was the only state that let residents carry a concealed firearm without a permit. Twenty-four states now allow this—and numerous other gun laws have fallen by the wayside. When police were accused of wrongdoing, the default answer from society&’s arbiters—courts, politicians, newspaper editors—was: &“The police wouldn&’t lie.&” Editors steered clear of stories about rape and sexual violence. The word &“homeless&” wasn&’t in common use. The fabric of the middle class had not yet begun fraying. America of the 2020s is living with cultural shapeshifting rooted in the 1980s. History, of course, is not a snapshot—it&’s a film. To understand the United States today, we have to know the 1980s. American Doom Loop chronicles the first part of that moving picture, then brings the story forward. As a newspaper journalist, Dale Maharidge had a front-row seat to this decade, immersed in disparate worlds. He was in the Philippines during the last days of Dictator Ferdinand Marcos, witnessing the US lose a critical piece of its empire dating to the Spanish–American War; he traveled to Central America where the East-West conflict was playing out by proxy; he smuggled a Salvadoran family marked by death squads, driving them through trackless desert to the US border; he embedded with a group that was a precursor to the Oath Keepers; and he investigated police, who kept trying to get him fired. Through it all, Maharidge gained an invaluable view of a complicated decade that offers insight into our society today.
Behind the Shoulder Pads: Tales I Tell My Friends
by Joan Collins&“I&’ve had many amazing adventures in my life. Some stories, though, I have only ever shared with my friends.… Until now!&”Dame Joan Collins has always believed that one should retain some mystery in life and hide a knowing smile behind one&’s shoulder pads. In her new book, she returns in dazzling form to share her most memorable moments from her eclectic and vibrant life—in and out of the limelight. Behind the Shoulder Pads will take you on a spectacular journey from her early years as a young star in Hollywood to stamping her stilettos in Dynasty; from the glittering heights of Saint-Tropez to the busy Oscars seasons in LA over the years. Joan writes movingly about her adventures with and grief for her sister, Jackie, delves deeper into the ups and downs of love and relationships, and discusses her happiness with husband Percy. Filled with a cast of household names and Hollywood icons, Behind the Shoulder Pads is a spectacularly entertaining tour de force bound to delight and shock in equal measures. Hilarious, intimate, and completely spellbinding, Joan invites you into her life like never before, sharing the stories she only tells her closest friends.
Passion Struck: Twelve Powerful Principles to Unlock Your Purpose and Ignite Your Most Intentional Life
by John R. MilesInside of you resides an intentional life without limits. The time has come to awaken it.Are you living intentionally, with purpose and passion? Are you embracing the flame that ignites within you, or are you evading it? Will your future self be proud of your story, or do you yearn for something more? We all have personal limits that apply to different areas of our lives, such as creating abundance, making changes to our health or body, overcoming recurring patterns of self-sabotage, or simply believing in ourselves. However, we can tap into our unlimited potential when we push ourselves beyond these limitations. Once we let go of our doubts, we can begin to have faith in our new life. By intentionally acting as if it&’s attainable, we can gradually transform into the embodiment of that belief. John R. Miles—entrepreneur, award-winning podcast host, former U.S. Navy officer, and Fortune 50 senior executive—reveals his groundbreaking discoveries that allow you to reshape your past and create an empowered and limitless future through authentic and candid personal stories. Alongside these narratives are twelve science-based principles on mindset and behavior that Miles discovered by examining and interviewing successful professionals such as Marc Benioff, David Rubenstein, Katy Milkman, Bernie Marcus, Uri Levine, Marshall Goldsmith, Robin Sharma, Susan Cain, Shawn Springs, Thaddeus Bullard, Elon Musk, Susan Wojcicki, Dwayne &“The Rock&” Johnson, Navy SEALs, astronaut Chris Cassidy, and General Stanley McChrystal. In this book, you will learn how to: Create a meaningful mission that will enhance your life's purpose from Square founder Jim McKelvey Identify the root causes of self-doubt and overcome fears that are holding you back from Oprah Winfrey Transform the way you lead from General McChrystal and the Honorable Keith Krach, former Under Secretary of State Unleash your potential by taking purposeful actions toward achieving your dreams from Astronaut Captain Wendy Lawrence Transform the world around you by harnessing the power of adaptability from Jeff Bezos With the help of the insights and strategies presented in Passion Struck, you can craft the life you truly desire and make it a reality. Are you ready? It&’s time to live life Passion Struck.
Standing His Ground: The Inside Story of Ron Desantis's Rise and Battle for Freedom
by Richard CorcoranContrary to what the mainstream media has claimed, Florida under Ron DeSantis has become the home for freedom and individual liberty.At the onset of the pandemic, political leaders throughout the country were forced to quickly make significant decisions about how they would govern under extraordinary circumstances. A number of these decisions simply required instinct—they just had to come from the gut. There was little, if any, precedent to examine, and hardly any time for the usual gambits to test potential solutions. One person became a household name and a national hero for having made what proved to be the best decisions over and over: Ron DeSantis, the 46th governor of Florida. However, not surprisingly, his success also begot wrath. A patriot to millions of everyday Americans is often a &“tyrant&” to progressive elites. Other than perhaps former President Donald Trump, DeSantis was and remains the most vilified elected official in media, politics, entertainment, academia, and now the corporate world. Conservatives know full well this means he hit the bullseye. Now that more than two years have passed, the American people are able to clearly see whose decisions struck the proper balance between liberty and safety. There&’s no denying that DeSantis&’s influence soared as the world watched him successfully steer his state step by step through one of the greatest periods of turmoil and uncertainty in modern history. While many other states floundered, Florida didn&’t just survive—it flourished.
Crisis and Chaos: Lessons from the Front Lines of the War Against COVID-19
by Jerome M. AdamsHard truths and surprising insights about our COVID-19 response from America&’s former top doctor.When COVID-19 began spreading rapidly, the world was taken by surprise. As the ensuing pandemic raged, we faced one constant—a lack of consistent, scientifically sound, and trusted information about dangers, risks, and mitigation strategies that the average person could understand and put into practice to keep themselves and their families safe. Politicians, opportunists, and agenda-driven media personalities spread misinformation for an array of purposes, leaving most of the public scratching their heads, wondering what was true and what wasn&’t. Now, the former Surgeon General of the United States—freed from the many constraints he worked under in public office—reveals critical lessons learned from both mistakes and successes overlooked during the pandemic. He explains what we need to know to create a safer environment for individuals, families, and communities, how we can respond better to the next threat, why we keep making the same mistakes, and why we must promote health equity for all. As Dr. Adams explains, the best public health policies are the ones that begin at home and come about as people in local communities work together to find solutions that fit their specific priorities and needs. Only through this bottom-up, community-driven approach will we be able to turn down the volume on the distracting noise, finally make our way out of and recover from a once-in-a-century pandemic, and prepare ourselves for inevitable future health crises.
Insurgent Hunter: Memoirs of a Navy SEAL Turned Counterinsurgent Agent in Iraq
by Jack Treadway Stephen TemplinWhen you hunt men, men will hunt you.In this epic thrill ride filled with triumph and tragedy, Jack Treadway takes readers deep into the shadows of covert warfare. As a new SEAL learning to hunt men, a clandestine mini wet submarine comes within inches of slicing and dicing him. In SEAL Team Five, he shuffles through a vomit-spewed C-130 transport plane to jump into something worse—a treacherous snowy mountain in the Korean peninsula. Then he breaks his back in a Special Mission Unit assignment and breaks away from the SEAL Teams. Jack stalks deeper into the darkness from SEAL to Office of Special Investigations (OSI) counterintelligence officer in Iraq. His most elusive prey is a high value target on the kill or capture list—an al Qaeda financier codenamed Kaiser Soze. Jack and his team remove more than a hundred enemy insurgents from the battle space. When a high-ranking Iraqi ally—who secretly works for Iran—kills three members of Jack&’s team, he wants bloody revenge.
Guns, Girls, and Greed: I Was a Blackwater Mercenary in Iraq
by Morgan LeretteGuns, Girls, and Greed is an unvarnished, behind-the-scenes, tell-all account of the scathing and dangerous life of mercenaries at war in Iraq.Experience the world of private contractors conducting high-threat missions for a nascent Iraqi government in the hopes of rebuilding after the fall of Saddam Hussein. With limited support, the men of Blackwater protected US diplomats as the country descended into sectarian violence. It was a hazardous mission complete with rockets, mortars, improvised explosive devices, and not knowing who or where the enemy was. Morgan Lerette&’s irreverently honest memoir shows the good and bad of injecting private armies into active combat zones in the name of diplomacy and digs deep into the bonds of brotherhood created by war. With gut-wrenching tragedy, dark humor, and parties that make Animal House seem like a Disney film, this memoir offers a firsthand perspective on how men act and react in war. Lerette, a private contractor employed by the notorious Blackwater in the early days of the Iraq War, pulls no punches in calling out the incompetence of both the US military and the Department of State during the collapse of Iraq. You can decide if the insertion of private contractors in Iraq assisted or detracted from the war effort and if the costs in blood and treasure were worth the carnage.
Keep Living
by Loreal Chanel PalmerAs long as you&’re alive and breathing, you have a say in what direction your life will take. Just keep living.After seven years of marriage, multiple miscarriages, and three beautiful children, Loreal&’s life changed in an instant when she found out that her husband, her first and only love, had a secret. At first, they embraced an untraditional solution, separating romantically but choosing to live in the same house to continue raising their children together. But ultimately, at thirty-two, Loreal would need to start over in life, find herself, and pave her own way forward. Loreal used to make decisions based on internal fear and arbitrary timelines—until life started making decisions for her. In her inspirational memoir, she decides to step up and start taking control of her own destiny. Choosing to look back and learn from her past, with new insight, Loreal draws from the wisdom of her grandmother and her own personal journey to embolden readers to take control of their futures and turn change into fuel for self-discovery. By remembering her grandmother&’s phrase, &“keep living,&” she realizes that no matter what your past looks like, you are responsible for your own future.
Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life
by David L. BahnsenWe were created to work, and our work provides unique meaning and purpose in our lives. Yet today we are living in a crisis of apathy and ignorance regarding work&’s theological and existential nature.There is no shortage of books pleading with people to work less, to find &“balance,&” to think less of career and more of the things that bring them &“happiness.&” Likewise, there is no shortage of books making the case that work matters a great deal—that good things come from fruitful labor. This book belongs in neither of those categories. In Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, David Bahnsen makes the case that our understanding of work and its role in our lives is deeply flawed—we are unmoored from what he calls &“created purpose.&” He argues that the time has come to stop tip-toeing around the issues that matter, that separating one&’s identity from what they do is demonstrably false, and that this era of alienation is for many a direct result of a low view of work. It is in work—effort, service, striving—of every kind that we discover our meaning and purpose; a significant and successful life is one rooted in full-time productivity and cultivation of God&’s created world. This book is not your normal &“defense of work&” book. Whether you are a leader, a follower, a boss, an employee, in a white collar or blue collar job, highly paid or &“just getting by,&” this book is for you. A life of meaning is right under your nose, and with it the joy and peace of a life well-lived. &“David Bahnsen is a theologically grounded, vocationally minded, and Biblically focused man with a vision to make work a gift to the world. In this book, he does just that. Combining thoughtful cultural analysis, conservative economic theory, and practical application for how to live these ideas out in the real world, I am grateful for the keen insights he lays out here. This book is a great combination of ideas and application that I think will serve many well.&” —Jon Tyson, Author, Pastor, Church of the City NYC &“Far too many of us believe that we need to work in order to be able to live, and that&’s it. We need to eat, and so we work. David Bahnsen&’s new book leans heavily in the opposite direction, meaning that God gave us the gift of life so that we might have the grace and privilege of working. Highly recommended.&” —Pastor Douglas Wilson, Christ Church
The Gift of Failure: (And I'll rethink the title if this book fails!)
by Dan BonginoDan Bongino&’s brutally honest, deeply personal, unforgettable stories about how he transformed failures into victories will enthrall, entertain, and inspire readers.In The Gift of Failure, leading conservative commentator Dan Bongino identifies failures in his life and how those failures led to bigger and better things. With the same laser-focused intensity that has made him one of America&’s most popular voices, Bongino uncompromisingly cuts to the heart of failure with a collection that is inspirational, motivational, entertaining, touching, and redemptive. The former Secret Service agent currently hosts one of the country&’s most listened to radio programs along with a top-rated podcast and the popular Fox News television show, Unfiltered. Throughout his career, Bongino has helped trailblaze a fight for free speech and free expression, garnering many national headlines for taking on some of the biggest tech companies in the world to challenge their seemingly draconian censorship policies. Along the way, through his many David vs. Goliath battles, Bongino has learned the hard way why failure matters. In The Gift of Failure, he shares, in vivid detail, many of these experiences—from high-profile, front-page stories involving the drama behind Parler and Rumble, to never-before-shared personal tales covering his childhood, the Secret Service, the media, a recent serious health battle, and much more. Bongino&’s vulnerability coupled with his trademark in-your-face, unapologetic honesty and humor help illuminate many life lessons. This is unforgettable storytelling as only Bongino can deliver. Whether you agree with him or not, there&’s something here for everyone.
The Saltwater Highway: One Man's Journey through the International Dry Bulk Maritime Market
by Anthony R. WhitworthA captivating and informative portrait of the business of maritime dry bulk shipping.According to the International Chamber of Shipping, a global trade organization representing 80 percent of the world&’s national shipowner organizations, 90 percent of world trade moves via the oceans—yet very few people know much about the maritime shipping industry. The Saltwater Highway aims to remedy that. Anthony Whitworth&’s travels and experiences throughout the world have given him a unique perspective on how goods move around the globe on the high seas. From the time he was a young voyage accountant in Fednav, one of Canada&’s largest maritime companies, Whitworth has been captivated by this fascinating, complex, multi-faceted industry. With close to five decades primarily in the dry bulk sector of global transport, Whitworth has seen the industry grow and change to meet the challenges of supplying the world with raw materials. From the great shipyards of Asia to the high-stakes finances of some of the largest corporations in the industry, to the ongoing efforts to combat climate change, The Saltwater Highway highlights Whitworth&’s career as it follows the evolution of modern maritime shipping. Based on personal experiences and an in-depth knowledge of how this invaluable trade works, travel along the Saltwater Highway to such far-flung places as the Arctic Circle, the upper regions of the River Plate, the shores of western Scotland, and various capital cities of the world including London, Moscow, and Beijing to meet some of the people who shaped this business and to discover how maritime transportation impacts our daily lives.
Saving Our Service Academies: My Battle with, and for, the US Naval Academy to Make Thinking Officers
by Bruce FlemingOnce proud citadels of virtue, the US military academies have lost their way and are running on fumes. They need to be fixed before it&’s too late.Saving Our Service Academies covers one man&’s unrelenting thirty-year fight with the military bureaucracy to instill qualities of force and thoughtfulness in officers-to-be, to show young men how to be adults with other men and women, and to show young women how to deal with the men. Bruce Fleming has spent over thirty years teaching midshipmen and future officers at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. This position was both a dream job and a nightmare for the enthusiastic, athletic, young Fleming. He found, in the thousands of midshipmen he taught, mentored, and exercised with for three decades, a heartbreaking waste of potential, as promising officers-to-be lapsed into apathy and cynicism because of the dispiriting reality behind the gleaming facade of the Naval Academy. What happened to duty, honor, and country at Annapolis? These values have disappeared in the wake of changes in the world, such as the rise of ROTC and the increase in expense of civilian colleges (the service academies are free to the students), and in the attempt to use the service academies as experiments in trendy social engineering. A staunch advocate for military strength, Fleming shows how the smoke and mirrors of service academies produce officers who are taught to say &“SIR, YES SIR&” rather than to have the guts to say things their commanding officer doesn&’t want to hear. Is that why the US hasn&’t won a war since World War II? By writing op-eds about the waste, fraud, and abuse of government (and taxpayer) money, Fleming put a target on his back that the USNA administration used to fire him in 2018, despite being a tenured civilian professor. He was reinstated by a federal judge in 2019. The service academies are government programs that no longer fill the needs for which they were created, and so like all government programs, can be re-examined. Indeed, as Fleming argues, they teach blind obedience in officers rather than informed and respectful questioning, and so sap our military strength rather than increasing it. They need to be re-imagined not as stand-alone undergraduate institutions that wall off future officers in an increasingly untenable isolation from the country they are to defend, but either be combined with the officer commissioning sources that currently produce over 80 percent of our new officers, or re-purposed to post-civilian college training institutions.
Goodbye Hello: Processing Grief and Understanding Death through the Paranormal
by Adam BerryFrom paranormal investigator and host of Kindred Spirits Adam Berry comes Goodbye Hello, which blends supernatural and psychological research to explore the paranormal and afterlife to try and help answer big questions about the end.Death affects us all—not just at the end of our lives, but every day. And yet, it&’s one of the most feared and misunderstood things we face. But what if there was a way to know more and use that knowledge to inform our daily lives? The first of its kind, Goodbye Hello blends supernatural research with psychology to explore death and grief. Written by paranormal investigator and star of Kindred Spirits and Ghost Hunters Adam Berry, this book will not only entertain but offer comfort to those struggling to come to terms with loss, grief, and the end of life. Goodbye Hello answers questions such as: Why do spirits linger around in this world? Is there a &“light&” at the end of the tunnel? Can you connect with spirits in your dreams? How do you prepare for what&’s next? Featuring incredible stories of real people who connected with the spirits of loved ones as well as interviews with paranormal experts Amy Bruni, Chip Coffey, and many more, Goodbye Hello helps you understand where you go after this life and why some stick around. Whether you want to believe in the afterlife, don&’t believe in it at all, or just want to come to your own conclusions, Goodbye Hello is the ultimate paranormal guide for you.