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7 Leadership Lessons of D-Day: Lessons from the Longest Day—June 6, 1944
by John Antal<p>“Drawing universal truths from urgent battlefield crises, the author provides a terrific guide and training tool for leaders at all levels” (Ralph Peters, New York Times–bestselling author).<p> <p>The odds were against the Allies on June 6, 1944. The task ahead of the paratroopers who jumped over Normandy and the soldiers who waded ashore onto the beaches, all under fire, was colossal. In such circumstances, good leadership can be the deciding factor of victory or defeat. This book is about the extraordinary leadership of seven men who led American soldiers on D-Day and the days that followed. Some of them, like Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., and Lt. Dick Winters, are well known, while others are barely a footnote in the history books.<p> <p>This book is not a full history of D-Day, nor does it cover the heroic leadership shown by men in the armies of the Allies or members of the French Resistance, who also participated in the Normandy assault and battles for the lodgment areas. It is, however, a primer on how you can lead today, no matter what your occupation or role in life, by learning from the leadership of these seven figures.<p> <p>A critical task for every leader is to understand what leadership is. Socrates once said that you cannot understand something unless you can first define it in your own words. This book provides the reader with the means to define leadership by telling seven dramatic, immersive, and memorable stories that the reader will never forget.<p>
7 Leadership Lessons of the American Revolution: The Founding Fathers, Liberty, and the Struggle for Independence
by John Antal<p>“A leadership book written by a real leader! . . . eminently useful for those ‘in command’ of organizations of any kind. A stimulating five-star work” (Ralph Peters, New York Times–bestselling author).<p> <p>This book tells the dramatic story of seven defining leadership moments from the American Revolution, as well as providing case studies that can improve your leadership at home, business, in your community, in the military, or in government.<p> <p>Leadership is not about position, it is about influence. You can be a leader no matter what your rank or position. It is not about power, it is about selflessness. You cannot be a good leader unless you can also be a good follower. Good leaders don’t shine, they reflect. Lessons like these are the core of this book. The stories in this book are about leaders who were challenged at all corners, adapted, improvised and overcame. The tales of leaders like Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Henry Knox, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington, to name a few, are stories you will want to know and tell. These leaders knew how to push teams to succeed under the toughest conditions. These stories will come alive on the pages of this book to fuel your leadership fire and make you a better leader in any endeavor. Learn how they secured our liberty so you can transform today into a better tomorrow.<p>
700 Sundays
by Billy CrystalActor and comedian Billy Crystal has forged a highly successful career by portraying other people in movies like When Harry Met Sally...and City Slickers. But in 700 Sundays, a memoir based on his one-man Broadway play of the same name, Crystal tells his own story, dissecting an often complex relationship with his father and how that relationship resonated in other aspects of his life. His father, Jack Crystal was an influential jazz concert promoter and operated an influential jazz record label, affording his son an opportunity to tell stories of being taken to his first movie by Billie Holliday and seeing his grandmother suggest that Louis Armstrong simply "try coughing it up." But Jack died when his son was fifteen years old, soon after a forever-unresolved argument between the two, leaving Billy to cope with crushing grief while simultaneously and perhaps ironically trying to launch a career in comedy. This lends 700 Sundays much needed gravity in a volume that is packed with zingy one-liners and whimsical observations that serve to illustrate the comedy career Crystal forged, while also providing some decent laughs. Interestingly, there is very little reference to the better known accomplishments of Crystal's Hollywood career as the author chooses to focus instead on the seemingly mundane but highly entertaining aspects of his Long Island roots. Though 700 Sundays (the name comes from Crystal's estimation of how many Sundays he got to spend with his father) is packaged here in book form, it reads like a piece of theater and, more specifically, like a selection of memories about a father, lovingly and touchingly re-told by his loving son. --John Moe
703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life
by Nancy MakinA moving, funny, tongue-in-cheek, and deadly serious story about how one woman lost and found herself by going online. Nancy Makin weighed an astounding 703 pounds in May 2000. She was forty-five years old and had diabetes and heart disease. Thanks in equal parts to shame and logistics, she'd been homebound for a dozen years. But all that changed after a gift from her sister: a computer. A technophobe, Nancy ignored it for months, until finally boredom and curiosity pushed her into cyberspace. And there, in a chat room, she found the friendliness, the support, and even the love she'd been missing for so long. Nobody flinched when Nancy spoke up; people treated her with the same respect accorded to everybody else. Thanks to these emotional connections, Nancy's life was transformed. She followed no diet plan; no pills, potions or ab-crunching exercises played a part. There was no silver bullet, no magical, elusive ingredient-and yet today Nancy has lost more than 530 pounds. Nancy's tale is one of redemption, a story of reevaluating her worth and insisting she had value simply because she was human. It will show a growing America that life is sweet and always worth living.
703
by Nancy MakinNancy Makin weighed an astounding 703 pounds in May 2000. She was forty-five years old and had diabetes and heart disease. Thanks in equal parts to shame and logistics, she'd been homebound for a dozen years. All that changed after her sister gave her a computer. Nancy ignored it for months, until finally boredom and curiosity pushed her into cyberspace. And there, in a chat room, she found the friendliness, the support, and even the love she'd been missing for so long. Nobody flinched when Nancy spoke up; people treated her with the same respect accorded to everybody else. Thanks to these emotional connections, Nancy's life was transformed. She followed no diet plan - no pills, potions or ab-crunching exercises played a part. There was no silver bullet, no magical, elusive ingredient, and yet today Nancy has lost more than 530 pounds. A moving, funny, tongue-in-cheek, and deadly serious story, Nancy's tale is one of redemption, and of reevaluating her worth.
72 Hours
by Frank PopeThe Royal Navy's dramatic race to save the crew of a trapped Russian submarine.5 August 2005. On a secret mission to an underwater military installation 30 miles off the coast of Kamchatka, Russian Navy submersible AS-28 ran into a web of cables and stuck fast. With 600 feet of freezing water above them, there was no escape for the seven crew. Trapped in a titanium tomb, all they could do was wait as their air supply slowly dwindled.For more than 24 hours the Russian Navy tried to reach them. Finally - still haunted by the loss of the nuclear submarine Kursk five years before - they requested international assistance. On the other side of the world Commander Ian Riches, leader of the Royal Navy's Submarine Rescue Service, got the call: there was a sub down.With the expertise and specialist equipment available to him Riches knew his team had a chance to save the men, but Kamchatka was at the very limit of their range and time was running out. As the Royal Navy prepared to deploy to Russia's Pacific coast aboard a giant Royal Air Force C-17 airlifter, rescue teams from the United States and Japan also scrambled to reach the area.On board AS-28 the Russian crew shut down all non-essential systems, climbed into thick thermal suits to keep the bone-chilling damp at bay and waited, desperate to eke out the stale, thin air inside the pressure hull of their craft. But as the first of them began to drift in and out of consciousness, they knew the end was close. They started writing their farewells.72 HOURS tells the extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat and real-life story of one of the most dramatic rescue missions of recent years.
72 Hours
by Frank PopeThe Royal Navy's dramatic race to save the crew of a trapped Russian submarine.5 August 2005. On a secret mission to an underwater military installation 30 miles off the coast of Kamchatka, Russian Navy submersible AS-28 ran into a web of cables and stuck fast. With 600 feet of freezing water above them, there was no escape for the seven crew. Trapped in a titanium tomb, all they could do was wait as their air supply slowly dwindled.For more than 24 hours the Russian Navy tried to reach them. Finally - still haunted by the loss of the nuclear submarine Kursk five years before - they requested international assistance. On the other side of the world Commander Ian Riches, leader of the Royal Navy's Submarine Rescue Service, got the call: there was a sub down.With the expertise and specialist equipment available to him Riches knew his team had a chance to save the men, but Kamchatka was at the very limit of their range and time was running out. As the Royal Navy prepared to deploy to Russia's Pacific coast aboard a giant Royal Air Force C-17 airlifter, rescue teams from the United States and Japan also scrambled to reach the area.On board AS-28 the Russian crew shut down all non-essential systems, climbed into thick thermal suits to keep the bone-chilling damp at bay and waited, desperate to eke out the stale, thin air inside the pressure hull of their craft. But as the first of them began to drift in and out of consciousness, they knew the end was close. They started writing their farewells.72 HOURS tells the extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat and real-life story of one of the most dramatic rescue missions of recent years.
72 Hours
by Frank Pope5 August 2005. On a secret mission to an underwater military installation 30 miles off the coast of Kamchatka, Russian Navy submersible AS-28 ran into a web of cables and stuck fast. With 600 feet of freezing water above them, there was no escape for the seven crew. Trapped in a titanium tomb, all they could do was wait as their air supply slowly dwindled.For more than 24 hours the Russian Navy tried to reach them. Finally - still haunted by the loss of the nuclear submarine Kursk five years before - they requested international assistance. On the other side of the world Commander Ian Riches, leader of the Royal Navy's Submarine Rescue Service, got the call: there was a sub down.With the expertise and specialist equipment available to him Riches knew his team had a chance to save the men, but Kamchatka was at the very limit of their range and time was running out.As the Royal Navy prepared to deploy to Russia's Pacific coast aboard a giant Royal Air Force C-17 airlifter, rescue teams from the United States and Japan also scrambled to reach the area.On board AS-28 the Russian crew shut down all non-essential systems, climbed into thick thermal suits to keep the bone-chilling damp at bay and waited, desperate to eke out the stale, thin air inside the pressure hull of their craft. But as the first of them began to drift in and out of consciousness, they knew the end was close. They started writing their farewells.72 HOURS tells the extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat and real-life story of one of the most dramatic rescue missions of recent years.Read by Sean Barrett(p) 2012 Isis Publishing Ltd
'74 and Sunny
by A. J. BenzaA surprisingly tender coming-of-age story of a close-knit yet tough Sicilian-American family that accepts and welcomes a young boy struggling to understand himself--by the former Daily News (New York) gossip columnist and E! television host.A.J. Benza's distinctive blend of wit, dry humor, and genuine tenderness shines through this candid, compelling memoir about the summer of 1974 when his shy, effeminate cousin comes to live with A.J.'s family, which is dominated by his short-tempered, outspoken, hyper-masculine father. At its core, A.J.'s story is about learning that "being exactly who you were meant to be is the only thing that matters." Through anecdotes of fishing with his father, playing tackle football, and conquering neighborhood bullies, he tells a story of triumph and acceptance, of a loving but rough around the edges family that puts aside its prejudices to welcome with open arms a young boy struggling to understand his sexuality and ultimately accept himself. In a sometimes raw and always endearing voice, '74 and Sunny is a revelatory account of a life-defining summer on Long Island, when tolerance wins over ignorance, family neutralizes fear, and love triumphs over all. For anyone who's navigated the choppy seas of adolescence, this story about redefining what it means to be a man, and learning to accept those whom we might fail to understand will surely resonate.
740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building
by Michael GrossFor seventy-five years, it's been Manhattan's richest apartment building, and one of the most lusted-after addresses in the world. One apartment had 37 rooms, 14 bathrooms, 43 closets, 11 working fireplaces, a private elevator, and his-and-hers saunas; another at one time had a live-in service staff of 16. To this day, it is steeped in the purest luxury, the kind most of us could only imagine, until now. The last great building to go up along New York's Gold Coast, construction on 740 Park finished in 1930. Since then, 740 has been home to an ever-evolving cadre of our wealthiest and most powerful families, some of America's (and the world's) oldest money--the kind attached to names like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Bouvier, Chrysler, Niarchos, Houghton, and Harkness--and some whose names evoke the excesses of today's monied elite: Kravis, Koch, Bronfman, Perelman, Steinberg, and Schwarzman. All along, the building has housed titans of industry, political power brokers, international royalty, fabulous scam-artists, and even the lowest scoundrels.The book begins with the tumultuous story of the building's construction. Conceived in the bubbling financial, artistic, and social cauldron of 1920's Manhattan, 740 Park rose to its dizzying heights as the stock market plunged in 1929--the building was in dire financial straits before the first apartments were sold. The builders include the architectural genius Rosario Candela, the scheming businessman James T. Lee (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's grandfather), and a raft of financiers, many of whom were little more than white-collar crooks and grand-scale hustlers. Once finished, 740 became a magnet for the richest, oldest families in the country: the Brewsters, descendents of the leader of the Plymouth Colony; the socially-registered Bordens, Hoppins, Scovilles, Thornes, and Schermerhorns; and top executives of the Chase Bank, American Express, and U.S. Rubber. Outside the walls of 740 Park, these were the people shaping America culturally and economically. Within those walls, they were indulging in all of the Seven Deadly Sins. As the social climate evolved throughout the last century, so did 740 Park: after World War II, the building's rulers eased their more restrictive policies and began allowing Jews (though not to this day African Americans) to reside within their hallowed walls. Nowadays, it is full to bursting with new money, people whose fortunes, though freshly-made, are large enough to buy their way in. At its core this book is a social history of the American rich, and how the locus of power and influence has shifted haltingly from old bloodlines to new money. But it's also much more than that: filled with meaty, startling, often tragic stories of the people who lived behind 740's walls, the book gives us an unprecedented access to worlds of wealth, privilege, and extraordinary folly that are usually hidden behind a scrim of money and influence. This is, truly, how the other half--or at least the other one hundredth of one percent--lives.
747: Creating the World's First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation
by Jay Spenser Joe SutterThis is the thrilling story behind "the Queen of the Skies"--the Boeing 747--as told by Joe Sutter, one of the most celebrated engineers of the twentieth century, who spearheaded its design and construction. Born in 1921 in Seattle, Sutter grew up on a hilltop overlooking the Boeing plant and flying field. It was a thrilling era of open cockpits, silk scarves, leather helmets, and goggles. After serving in World War 2, Sutter joined Boeing, then a small company, eager to build airplanes. In July 1965, he was asked to lead the large Boeing team designing the new 747. Pan Am wanted a new airliner as quickly as possible. This all-new transport had to be far bigger than anything in service or even on anybody's drawing board. To make it fly, Sutter and his team would have to push far beyond the technological boundaries of the late 1960s. Could it be done? Almost everything about the 747 would be unprecedented. Its cabin would be so wide that it would need two aisles. Its horizontal tail would be bigger than the wings of most airliners ever built. Jet engines big enough to lift it off the ground didn't yet exist. Runways at the world's airports couldn't handle it, and neither could Boeing's factories. They had to erect the world's largest building just to produce it. A truly mammoth undertaking, the 747 became one of the most successful airplane models ever. Sutter's vivid narrative takes us back to a time when American technology was cutting-edge--the 747, came on the market the same year that men first set foot on the moon--and jet travel was still glamorous and new. With wit and warmth, he gives an insider's sense of the larger-than-life-size personalities and the tensions in the aeronautical world. Ultimately, 747 is an inspiring story of grit and glory.
747
by Joe Sutter Jay Spenser747 is the thrilling story behind "the Queen of the Skies"-the Boeing 747-as told by Joe Sutter, one of the most celebrated engineers of the twentieth century, who spearheaded its design and construction. Sutter's vivid narrative takes us back to a time when American technology was cutting-edge and jet travel was still glamorous and new. With wit and warmth, he gives an insider's sense of the larger than life-size personalities-and the tensions-in the aeronautical world.
75 Beats to a Happy Heart
by Jackie Madden HaughAs a little girl, Jackie Madden Haugh was taught by her parents that there were two types of heartbeats: one that served as the life force within the physical frame, sending blood and oxygen to all parts of the body, and another that resided in the spirit, a mystical pulse that nourished the soul. But, it wasn’t until Jackie became a caregiver to both her parents in their declining years, and suffered through a divorce, hat she discovered the true way to feed the soul was by living a life in constant gratitude. Being thankful for all the wonders in life is easy, that takes no effort. But, when we’re appreciative for the challenges and heartbreaks thrown our way, for those are our lessons, we’re lead down the winding road to our great becoming; who we were born to be. 75 Beats to a Happy Heart are universal inspirational, funny, and tender short stories from Jackie’s column in the Los Altos Town Crier. By looking for joy in the minutia of her days; those special moments that make a heart pause and reflect, Jackie found the rhythmic, spiritual tapping, that beating pulse that nurtured and fed her soul.
8 Seconds of Courage: A Soldier's Story from Immigrant to the Medal of Honor
by Flo Groberg Tom SileoIn an inspiring story of valor and the making of a hero, Florent Groberg—who grew up in France and emigrated to the US—becomes the first immigrant in forty years to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor after he tackled a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.Florent &“Flo&” Groberg was born in the suburbs of Paris and moved to the US with his family in middle school. He became a naturalized citizen in 2001. After attending the University of Maryland, he joined the US Army and twice deployed to Afghanistan. In August of 2012, Flo was guarding a high-level US-Afghan delegation and noticed someone suspicious: a local man stumbling toward his patrol. Flo reacted quickly and ran to tackle the man—who was wearing a suicide vest. Four people died in the subsequent explosion, but many others were spared. Flo himself spent the next three years undergoing surgeries at Walter Reed Medical Center, and in 2015 he was given the nation&’s highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor—the first immigrant to be so recognized since the Vietnam War. What prepares a soldier for those critical moments in combat? 8 Seconds of Courage tells Flo&’s story from his childhood in France to his decision to enlist and the grueling training he underwent at US Army Ranger School. As a field commander on the front lines in Afghanistan he formed close and lasting bonds with his fellow soldiers. It was this powerful sense of responsibility that compelled him to take action to save lives, even at the risk of his own. &“Flo&’s incredible tale of bravery and service is also a stark reminder that for many of our warriors, coming home is not the end of the fight. Flo finds a way to live…Truly an inspiration&” (Jon Stewart). In his own words, Flo provides that essential insight into his selfless act while remembering his four fallen brothers in arms. 8 Seconds of Courage is a story of heroism, sacrifice, and camaraderie in wartime.
Los 80 años de Sofía: Esposa, madre y abuela
by Jaime PeñafielCoincidiendo con la celebración de su ochenta aniversario, Jaime Peñafiel desvela un recorrido íntimo y personal repleto de fotografías familiares de la reina más sufridora, pero a la vez más querida por la opinión pública. Peñafiel repasa los acontecimientos más importantes de Sofía en su papel más desconocido: el de esposa, madre y abuela. Ochenta años dan para mucho: alegrías y llantos, momentos felices y otros no tan gozosos... Pero, sobre todo, es una buena ocasión para repasar lo vivido. Doña Sofía, reina emérita de España y, sin duda, el miembro más querido de la Familia Real española, tiene pocos motivos para celebrar su aniversario: sin apenas contacto con su marido, soporta como puede la humillación del destierro de su hija Cristina y el encarcelamiento de su yerno Iñaki Urdangarin. Y, por si no fuera suficiente, la relación con sus nietas Leonor y Sofía no es todo lo idílica que cabría esperar, como se demostró en el triste episodio de la catedral de Mallorca, que no lograron borrar con el paripé que la reina Letizia y la propia Sofía protagonizaron unos días después, simulando ser la familia ideal a las puertas del hospital adonde habían acudido para visitar a don Juan Carlos. Jaime Peñafiel, uno de los periodistas que mejor conoce a la soberana, nos repasa, capítulo a capítulo, la historia de su vida, una vida que poco tiene que ver con la de las reinas y princesas de los cuentos de hadas.
80 Influential Politicians of the Twentieth Century
by Jorge Alberto Campos García Borja Loma BarrieLives of Men and Women Fundamental in the Last Century. Biographies of Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Churchill, Fidel Castro, Mussolini, Nasser, Nixon, Ché Guevara, Francisco Pi y Margall, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Condolezza Rice, Serrano Súñer, etc.,etc.
80 Not Out: A Life in Cricket
by Dickie BirdHardly a week goes by without Dickie Bird visiting a county or Test match arena where he can keep up to date with all that is happening in the cricket world, while at the same time taking the opportunity to reflect, in the company of old friends and acquaintances, on his own colourful contribution to the sport that lasted for over half a century. Dickie remains the most famous umpire of them all and is still highly respected throughout the world. A lovable eccentric with a joyful sense of fun, he has decided, as he approaches his eightieth birthday, to recall the highlights of his life in cricket, while also providing an illuminating insight into what he has been up to since his retirement.
80 Not Out: A Life in Cricket
by Dickie Bird Mr H BirdHardly a week goes by without Dickie Bird visiting a county or Test match arena where he can keep up to date with all that is happening in the cricket world, while at the same time taking the opportunity to reflect, in the company of old friends and acquaintances, on his own colourful contribution to the sport that lasted for over half a century. Dickie remains the most famous umpire of them all and is still highly respected throughout the world. A lovable eccentric with a joyful sense of fun, he has decided, as he approaches his eightieth birthday, to recall the highlights of his life in cricket, while also providing an illuminating insight into what he has been up to since his retirement.(P)2013 Hodder & Stoughton
80 Not Out: A Life in Cricket
by Dickie BirdHardly a week goes by without Dickie Bird visiting a county or Test match arena where he can keep up to date with all that is happening in the cricket world, while at the same time taking the opportunity to reflect, in the company of old friends and acquaintances, on his own colourful contribution to the sport that lasted for over half a century. Dickie remains the most famous umpire of them all and is still highly respected throughout the world. A lovable eccentric with a joyful sense of fun, he decided, as he approached his eightieth birthday, to recall the highlights of his life in cricket, while also providing an illuminating insight into what he has been up to since his retirement.
80 políticos influentes do século XX
by Tatiana Hedeke Borja Loma BarrieVidas dos Homens e Mulheres Fundamentais no último século Biografías de Hitler, Lênin, Stalin, Churchill, Fidel Castro, Mussolini, Nasser, Nixon, Ché Guevara, Francisco Pi y Margall, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Condoleezza Rice, Serrano Súñer, etc., etc.
81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness
by Brian MurphyShortly before Christmas in 1943, five Army aviators left Alaska’s Ladd Field on a test flight. Only one ever returned: Leon Crane, a city kid from Philadelphia with little more than a parachute on his back when he bailed from his B-24 Liberator before it crashed into the Arctic. Alone in subzero temperatures, Crane managed to stay alive in the dead of the Yukon winter for nearly twelve weeks and, amazingly, walked out of the ordeal intact. 81 Days Below Zero recounts, for the first time, the full story of Crane’s remarkable saga. In a drama of staggering resolve with moments of phenomenal luck, Crane learned to survive in the Yukon’s unforgiving landscape. His is a tale of the human capacity to endure extreme conditions and intense lonelinessand emerge stronger than before.
83 Minutes: The Doctor, the Damage, and the Shocking Death of Michael Jackson
by Matt Richards Mark LangthorneA definitive look at Michael Jackson's final minutes, revealing for the first time the shocking details behind the tragic death of one of the world's biggest pop stars.On June 25th, 2009, the world was rocked by the tragic news that Michael Jackson—the biggest and most influential music icon since Elvis Presley—had died. He was only 50 years old when paramedics pronounced him dead on arrival at a Los Angeles hospital. For weeks after his death, speculation and rumor abounded concerning the drugs in Jackson’s system and the role Conrad Murray, the singer’s personal physician, had played in the his death. In 2011, Murray was tried and convicted of involuntary manslaughter, for which he served two years in prison.Now, for the first time, readers have access to a comprehensive and truly horrifying account of the crucial moments leading up to Jackson’s demise. Drawing on court documents and testimonials, 83 Minutes presents a multi-perspective tracking of every individual involved and the part they played as the tragedy unfolded, examining forensically the mystery of the 83 minutes that elapsed from the moment Dr. Murray suggested he found Jackson not breathing to the moment the singers' lifeless body was wheeled into hospital.Evenhanded and unbiased, Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne’s account is rich with detail, including the specific cocktail of drugs employed in an attempt to keep Jackson alive and the harrowing conditions in which the troubled genius’s life ended. Included as well is the story of the legal struggle for control of Jackson’s assets that followed his death where Richards and Langthorne report that “the combined earnings of Jay Z, Taylor Swift, and Kanye West since Michael Jackson died come nowhere near the revenues Jackson has earned for his estate after his death.”Written with documentary flair, this powerful and compelling book is already emerging as the definitive account of one of the darkest hours in music history.
84 Charing Cross Road
by Helene HanffThis is a touching correspondence between Helene Hanff and the employees at a book shop on Charing Cross Road in London. It spans many years. Short but satisfying, this little book will warm your heart.
84 Charing Cross Road (Virago Modern Classics #776)
by Helene HanffINCLUDES AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE READERS'Your ad in the Saturday Review of Literature says that you specialize in out-of-print books. The phrase 'antiquarian book-sellers' scares me somewhat, as I equate 'antique' with expensive. I am a poor writer with an antiquarian taste in books and all the things I want are impossible to get over here except in very expensive rare editions, or in Barnes & Noble's grimy, marked-up schoolboy copies.'So begins the delightfully reticent love affair between Miss Helene Hanff of New York and Messrs Marks and Co, sellers of rare and secondhand books, at 84 Charing Cross Road, London. For 20 years, this outspoken New York writer and Frank Doel, a rather more restrained London bookseller carry on an increasingly touching correspondence. No doubt their letters would have continued, but in 1969, a letter informed Helene that Frank Doel had died. In the collection's penultimate entry, Helene Hanff urges a tourist friend, ''If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me. I owe it so much.'
88 Days to Kandahar
by Robert L. GrenierThe First American-Afghan War, a CIA war, was approved by President George W. Bush and directed by the author, Robert Grenier, the CIA station chief in Islamabad. Forging separate alliances with warlords, Taliban dissidents, and Pakistani intelligence, Grenier launched the "southern campaign," orchestrating the final defeat of the Taliban and Hamid Karzai's rise to power in eighty-eight chaotic days.In his gripping narrative, we meet: General Tommy Franks, who bridled at CIA control of "his" war; General "Jafar Amin," a gruff Pakistani intelligence officer who saved Grenier from committing career suicide; Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's brilliant ambassador to the US, who tried to warn her government of the al-Qa'ida threat; "Mark," the CIA operator who guided Gul Agha Shirzai to bloody victory over the Taliban; General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani, a cautious man who became the most powerful man in Pakistan, struggling with Grenier's demands while trying to protect his country; and Hamid Karzai, the puzzling anti-Taliban insurgent, a man of courage, petulance, and vacillating moods. Grenier's enemies out in front prove only slightly more lethal than the ones behind his own lines. This first war is won despite Washington bureaucrats who divert resources, deny military support, and try to undermine the only Afghan allies capable of winning. Later, as he directed the CIA's role in the Iraq War, Grenier watched the initial victory squandered. His last command was of CIA's CounterTerrorism Center (CTC), as Bush-era terrorism policies were being repudiated, as the Taliban re-emerged in Afghanistan, and as Pakistan descended into fratricidal violence.