Title search results
Showing 101 - 120 of 3958 items
Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road
By Kate Harris. 2019
"Every day on a bike trip is like the one before--but it is also completely different, or perhaps you are…
different, woken up in new ways by the mile."As a teenager, Kate Harris realized that the career she most craved--that of a generalist explorer, equal parts swashbuckler and philosopher--had gone extinct. From her small-town home in Ontario, it seemed as if Marco Polo, Magellan and their like had long ago mapped the whole earth. So she vowed to become a scientist and go to Mars. To pass the time before she could launch into outer space, Kate set off by bicycle down a short section of the fabled Silk Road with her childhood friend Mel Yule, then settled down to study at Oxford and MIT. Eventually the truth dawned on her: an explorer, in any day and age, is by definition the kind of person who refuses to live between the lines. And Harris had soared most fully out of bounds right here on Earth, travelling a bygone trading route on her bicycle. So she quit the laboratory and hit the Silk Road again with Mel, this time determined to bike it from the beginning to end. Like Rebecca Solnit and Pico Iyer before her, Kate Harris offers a travel narrative at once exuberant and meditative, wry and rapturous. Weaving adventure and deep reflection with the history of science and exploration, Lands of Lost Borders explores the nature of limits and the wildness of a world that, like the self and like the stars, can never be fully mapped.Child Soldiers: Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front
By Myriam Denov. 2010
Tragically, violence and armed conflict have become commonplace in the lives of many children around the world. Not only have…
millions of children been forced to witness war and its atrocities, but many are drawn into conflict as active participants. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Sierra Leone during its 11-year civil war. Drawing upon in-depth interviews and focus groups with former child soldiers of Sierra Leone's rebel Revolutionary United Front, Myriam Denov compassionately examines how child soldiers are initiated into the complex world of violence and armed conflict. She also explores the ways in which the children leave this world of violence and the challenges they face when trying to renegotiate their lives and self-concepts in the aftermath of war. The narratives of the Sierra Leonean youth demonstrate that their life histories defy the narrow and limiting portrayals presented by the media and popular discourse.Kodoku: Sailing Alone Across the Pacific
By Kaoru Ogimi, Takuichi Ito, Kenichi Horie. 1964
Kodoku is the true story of a young Japanese sailor whose fascination with the art of sailing led him on…
a solo trans-Pacific journey.First described in a best-selling Japanese book, then an internationally acclaimed motion picture, Kodoku is the full record of the background, conception, preparation, and execution of this daring, yet carefully planned adventure. It includes not only the full text of his original log, but also his supplementary comments, adding detail and highlight to the day-to-day experiences recorded in the log.Also included are charts, plans, and a diagram comparing some of the more noteworthy craft that sailed the open seas in the past. The 61 photographs, including 43 taken by Horie himself during the trip, add a vivid touch to this fascinating story of courage, tenacity, adventure, and humor.John McCain: An American Odyssey
By Robert Timberg. 1999
Robert Timberg, an award-winning Washington journalist, is a 1964 U. S. Naval Academy graduate and a Marine veteran of the…
Vietnam war. He was The Baltimore Sun's White House correspondent during the Reagan presidency.Fahim Speaks
By Fahim Fazli, Michael Moffett. 1985
Fahim Fazli is a man of two worlds: Afghanistan, the country of his birth, and America, the nation he adopted…
and learned to love. He's also a man who escaped oppression, found his dream profession, and then paid it forward by returning to Afghanistan as an interpreter with the US. Marines. When Fahim speaks, the story he tells is harrowing, fascinating, and inspiring. Born and raised in Kabul, Fahim saw his country and family torn apart by revolution and civil war. Dodging Afghan authorities and informers with his father and brother, Fahim made his way across the border to Pakistan and then to America. After reuniting with his mother, sisters, and one brother, he moved to California with dreams of an acting career. After fifteen turbulent years that included two unsuccessful arranged marriages to Afghan brides, he finally qualified for membership in the Screen Actors Guild--and found true American love. Though Fahim's California life was happy and rewarding, he kept thinking about the battlefields of Afghanistan. Haunted by a desire to serve his adopted country, he became a combat linguist. While other interpreters opted for safe assignments, Fahim chose one of the most dangerous: working with the Leathernecks in embattled Helmand Province, where his outgoing personality and deep cultural understanding made him a favorite of both marines and local Afghans--and a pariah to the Taliban, who put a price on his head. Fahim Speaks is an inspiring story of perseverance and patriotism--and of the special love that one man developed for his adopted country.The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father
By John Harlin III. 2007
In the 1960s an American named John Harlin II changed the face of Alpine climbing. Gutsy and gorgeous - he…
was known as 'the blond god' - Harlin successfully summitted some of the most treacherous mountains in Europe. But it was the North Face of the Eiger that became Harlin's obsession. Living with his wife and two children in Leysin, Switzerland, he spent countless hours planning to climb, waiting to climb, and attempting to climb the massive vertical face. It was the Eiger direct - the direttissima - with which John Harlin was particularly obsessed. He wanted to be the first to complete it, and everyone in the Alpine world knew it. John Harlin III was nine years old when his father made another attempt on a direct ascent of the notorious Eiger. Harlin had put together a terrific team and, despite unending storms, he was poised for the summit dash. It was the moment he had long waited for. When Harlin's rope broke, 2,000 feet from the summit, he plummeted 4,000 feet to his death. In the shadow of tragedy, young John Harlin III came of age possessed with the very same passion for risk that drove his father. But he had also promised his mother, a beautiful and brilliant young widow, that he would not be an Alpine climber. Harlin moved from Europe to America, and, with an insatiable sense of wanderlust, he revelled in downhill skiing and rock-climbing. For years he successfully denied the siren call of the mountain that killed his father. But in 2005, John Harlin could resist no longer. With his nine-year-old daughter, Siena - his very age at the time of his father's death - and with an IMAX Theatre filmmaking crew watching, Harlin set off towards the Eiger.Access to Behavioral Health Care for Geographically Remote Service Members and Dependents in the U.S.
By Dionne Barnes-Proby, Grant N. Marshall, Yashodhara Rana, Ryan Andrew Brown, Lisa Miyashiro, Coreen Farris, Harold Alan Pincus, Phoenix Voorhies, Karen Chan Osilla, Joshua Breslau, Teague Ruder, Katherine Pfrommer, David M. Adamson. 2014
Concerns about access to behavioral health care for military service members and their dependents living in geographically remote locations prompted…
research into how many in this population are remote and the effects of this distance on their use of behavioral health care. The authors conducted geospatial and longitudinal analyses to answer these questions and reviewed current policies and programs to determine barriers and possible solutions.Sleep in the Military: Promoting Healthy Sleep Among U.S. Servicemembers
By Michael P. Fisher, Regina A. Shih, Paul S. Steinberg, Eric Pedersen, Wendy M. Troxel, Lily Geyer, Beth Ann Griffin, Ann C. Haas, Jeremy R. Kurz. 2015
Given the unprecedented demands on the U. S. military since 2001 and the risks posed by stress and trauma, there…
has been growing concern about the prevalence and consequences of sleep problems. This first-ever comprehensive review of military sleep-related policies and programs, evidence-based interventions, and barriers to achieving healthy sleep offers a detailed set of actionable recommendations for improving sleep across the force.Four captivating and richly detailed Civil War histories from a New York Times–bestselling author. Award-winning author Burke Davis writes with…
“an eye for narrative detail that turns history into storytelling” in these four classic Civil War narratives (The New York Times Book Review). The Long Surrender: Though Jefferson Davis had planned to escape to Cuba after General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, a $100,000 bounty was placed on his head. This “marvelous” and “wonderfully written” account chronicles the Confederate president’s flight, capture, and imprisonment—while offering a panoramic history of the last days of the Confederacy (Denver Post). Sherman’s March: Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s infamous “March to the Sea” was a crucial turning point in the Civil War. Weaving together hundreds of eyewitness accounts, this riveting history is “bound to startle and inform even students of Civil War literature” (The New York Times). To Appomattox: Drawing on a wide array of firsthand accounts—from soldiers and commanders as well as ordinary citizens—Davis offers a “masterful” and intimately detailed account of the last nine days of the Civil War, from the Siege of Petersburg to the fateful meeting between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House (The Christian Science Monitor). They Called Him Stonewall: Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was an innovative battlefield strategist who struck terror in the hearts of Union army commanders and inspired Confederate soldiers to victory after victory in the early days of the Civil War. Based on a wealth of first-person sources, including Jackson’s private papers and correspondences, this New York Times bestseller paints “as definitive a picture of Jackson, the officer, and of his generalship, as anyone can hope to read” (Kirkus Reviews).The Last Torpedo Flyers
By Mark Ryan, Arthur Aldridge. 2013
Imagine you are an RAF torpedo pilot in World War Two, sent on missions so dangerous that you're later likened…
to the Kamikaze. Suicide wasn't a recognised part of the objective for British airmen, yet some pilots felt they had accepted certain death just by climbing into their cockpits. There were times in 1942 when Arthur Aldridge felt like this. At the age of 19, this courageous young man had quit his studies at Oxford to volunteer for the RAF. He flew his Bristol Beaufort like there was no tomorrow - a realistic assumption, after seeing his best friend die in flames at the end of 1941. Aldridge was awarded a DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) for his bravery on the same strike on a German cargo ship during which he lost a wing tip by flying too close to the deck. He was equally lucky to survive his squadron's chaotic torpedo attack on the giants of Hitler's maritime fleet during the notorious Channel Dash, which saw 40 RAF planes shot down. As 1942 wore on, and the stress became intolerable, Aldridge and his Cockney gunner Bill Carroll held their nerve, and 'Arty' was awarded a Bar to his DFC for sinking two enemy ships off Malta and rescuing a fellow pilot while wounded, as his own Beaufort took four shells. Malta was saved by the skin of its teeth, Rommel denied vital supplies in North Africa, and the course of the war was turned. Aldridge was still only 21 years old. Now both 91, but firm friends as ever, Aldridge and Carroll are two of the last torpedo airmen who deserve their place in history alongside our heroic Spitfire pilots. Their story vividly captures the comradeship that existed between men pushed by war to their very limit.The Bremer Detail: Protecting the Most Threatened Man in the World
By John M. Del Vecchio, Frank Gallagher. 2004
Baghdad, 2003: An elite group of private security contractors is charged with protecting the American who rules Iraq In May…
2003 President George W. Bush appointed Paul Bremer as presidential envoy to Iraq. Bremer banned the Ba'ath party and dismantled the Iraqi army, which made him the prime target for dozens of insurgent and terrorist groups. Assigned to protect him during his grueling sixteen-hour days were Blackwater security expert Frank Gallagher and a team of former Marines, SEALs, and other defense professionals. When they arrived, Baghdad was set to explode. As the insurgency gathered strength Bremer and the men who guarded him faced death daily. They were not in the military, but Gallagher and his team were on the front lines of the Iraq War. This fascinating memoir takes the reader deep behind the scenes of a highly dangerous profession.This ebook includes ten pages of action photos from the author's time in Baghdad.Reaping the Whirlwind
By Nigel Cawthorne. 2011
This title offers an amazing insight into the events of World War II through the eyes of those who fought…
against the Allied forces in all theatres of the war. It features many previously unpublished accounts of the war from German and Japanese soldiers, civilians and military leaders. It covers every major arena of the war: Europe; the German invasion of Russia; Rommel's Afrika Korps; and, the Pacific war between Japan and force of the US, Australia and New Zealand.Tales from the Front Line - D-Day
By Jonathan Bastable. 2011
Tales From the Front Line - D Day is a chronicle of the build-up and aftermath of the most decisive…
battle of World War II, told through the tales of the extraordinary participants who recorded their experiences in letters or diaries, or recounted them after the event. Tales From the Front Line - D-Day commemorates the bravery and skill of generals, frontline soldiers, statesmen and civilians. Jonathan Bastable has skillfully woven disparate tales into a compelling narrative of one of the key events in the twentieth century. You will find that this is the most personal account to date of the day s events.Suicide Postvention in the Department of Defense: Evidence, Policies and Procedures, and Perspectives of Loss Survivors
By Rajeev Ramchand, Dionne Barnes-Proby, Gail Fisher, Lynsay Ayer, Karen Chan Osilla, Samuel Wertheimer. 2015
A review of the scientific evidence on suicide postvention (organizational responses to prevent additional suicides and help loss survivors cope),…
guidance for other types of organizations, and the perspectives of the family and friends of service members who have died by suicide provide insights that may help the U. S. Department of Defense formulate its own policies and programs in a practical and efficient way.Cousteau
By Axel Madsen. 1986
One of the most influential men of the twentieth century, Jacques Cousteau was an eco-emissary whose own life of derring-do…
brought him fame and the means to proselytize his cause. Ecologist, adventurer, celebrity, businessman--Cousteau was a brilliant and complex individual, and Madsen's biography captures him in style. Madsen, who knew the Cousteau family for over two decades, interviewed Cousteau personally for this book.Amazing Colonists - A Short eBook
By Charles Margerison. 2012
Colonists are often defined as people who moved from a civilized country to a non-civilized country to form new communities…
modelled on their old country. The Amazing People Club would like to introduce you to five amazing people who embarked upon great adventurous journeys, in some cases not always voluntarily. Discover how they adapted to new worlds and cultures as they share their stories of survival and success. Be inspired by Anne Burras, the maidservant who became the first founding colonial mother of America - she is one of the most important women in the history of the USA. Follow in the footsteps of Cecil Rhodes, who despite ill health went from cotton farmer to diamond magnate and founder of the state of Rhodesia. Join Christopher Columbus, Samuel de Champlain and Susannah Holmes on their voyages to explore undiscovered worlds. Gain insights into what motivated these amazing explorers and colonists, and how they battled to form civilized communities. Be inspired by their notable achievements which have had major influences on the world as it is today. Each story comes to life through BioViews®. These are short biographical narratives, similar to interviews. They provide an easy way of learning about amazing people who made major contributions and changed our world.The Student's Life of Washington; Con: For Young Persons and for the Use of Schools
By Washington Irving. 2012
Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 - November 28, 1859) was an American author of the early 19th century. Best known…
for his short stories The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip van Winkle (both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon), he was also a prolific essayist, biographer and historian. Irving and James Fenimore Cooper were the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and Irving is said to have encouraged authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe. Irving was also the U.S. minister to Spain 1842-1846.Yamamoto Isoroku
By Adam Hook, Mark Stille. 2012
Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku was the defining Japanese naval commander of World War II. Although by no means part of the…
militarist clique that dominated Japanese politics in the 1930s, when war came Yamamoto was completely committed to his country's cause and planned and executed the daring pre-emptive strike on Pearl Harbor that so damaged the US Pacific Fleet and ushered in the Pacific War.Yamamoto's career in the Imperial Japanese Navy started in the early years of the 20th century and he saw service in the Russo-Japanese War, being wounded in the battle of Tsushima in 1904, before going on to study at Harvard University and serve as a naval attaché in the inter-war years, an experience that was supposed to give him a unique insight into the American psyche. Despite his opposition to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and war with China in 1937, as well as the tripartite pact with Germany and Italy, he retained his position as commander-in-chief of the combined fleet in the warlike Tojo administration and was it was in this position that he led the IJN to war in 1941.Despite the success of the Pearl Harbor operation, Yamamoto's subsequent handling of the Japanese combined fleet can be called into question. Seeking a 'decisive battle' against the US Pacific Fleet, Yamamoto took up an aggressive position in the Pacific and fought the US Navy at the battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 and the battle of Midway. Midway can be said to be Yamamoto's 'hour of destiny' as he planned and executed the battle. Though unaware that the Japanese Naval code had been broken, he fatally divided his forces, leaving them vulnerable to piecemeal destruction. The final campaign commanded by Yamamoto was that around Guadalcanal, where Yamamoto's myth of excellence will be totally laid bare. Despite a considerable numerical advantage over the Americans, Yamamoto never brought this advantage to bear. The result was a devastating defeat for the IJN and, eventually, the death of Yamamoto himself.This title will use these key campaigns to analyze Yamamoto's command style and strategies, and assess how these impacted upon the course of the war in the Pacific and Japan's chances for success.Limits of the Known
By David Roberts. 2018
A celebrated mountaineer and author searches for meaning in great adventures and explorations past and present David Roberts…
veteran mountain climber and chronicler of adventures Washington Post has spent his career documenting voyages to the most extreme landscapes on earth In Limits of the Known he reflects on humanity s and his own relationship to extreme risk Part memoir and part history this book tries to make sense of why so many have committed their lives to the desperate pursuit of adventure In the wake of his diagnosis with throat cancer Roberts seeks answers with sharp new urgency He explores his own lifelong commitment to adventuring as well as the cultural contributions of explorers throughout history What specific forms of courage and commitment did it take for Fridtjof Nansen to survive an eighteen-month journey from a record farthest north with no supplies and a single rifle during his polar expedition of 1893 96 What compelled Eric Shipton to return five times to the ridges of Mt Everest plotting the mountain s most treacherous territory years before Hillary and Tenzing s famous ascent What drove Bill Stone to dive 3 000 feet underground into North America s deepest cave What motivates the explorers we most admire who are willing to embark on perilous journeys and push the limits of the human body And what is the future of adventure in a world we have mapped and trodden from end to endTOPGUN on Wall Street: A Fighter Pilot's Unique Story--from an F-14 Tomcat to the Heart of American Business
By Patrick Robinson, Jeffery Lay. 2012
TOPGUN on Wall Streetchronicles one man's extraordinary journey from the cornfields of Ohio, to the cockpit of an F-14, to…
the boardrooms on Wall Street. Lieutenant Commander Jeffery Lay and #1New York Timesbestselling author Patrick Robinson bring a provocative, ground-breaking voice to the business landscape with a revolutionary answer for stabilizing corporate America: business-the military way. As a TOPGUN fighter pilot, Lieutenant Commander Lay perfected a tried-and-true military technique: PLAN -BRIEF - EXECUTE -DEBRIEF However, when he retired from active duty in 2006 and went to work for a subsidiary of the ill-fated Lehman Brothers, he noticed that everything about the business world was different: less efficient, awash with excuses for failure, allowance of men with tricky morals to rise to the top, self-gain overshadowing teamwork, and a devastating lack of accountability. With such deeply rooted flaws, is corporate America doomed for perpetual failure? Answer: Not if we put admirals in charge and adopt the military's tight chain of command. This game-changing thesis is interwoven with Lieutenant Commander Lay's dramatic story, including his high-intensity strike fighter aircraft landings, never-before-written details of the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN), and his heart-breaking, humbling, and inspirational battle with cancer at the peak of his military career. TOPGUN on Wall Streetis written by a leader determined to show the business world that excellence is a choice and perfection is attainable.