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Tough Choices
by Carly FiorinaThe New York Times bestseller by the most talked about woman in American business. For five and a half years, Carly Fiorina led Hewlett-Packard through major internal changes, the worst technology slump in decades, and the most controversial merger in high-tech history. Yet just as things were about to turn around, she was abruptly fired, making front-page news around the world. Fiorina has been the subject of endless debate and speculation. But she has never spoken publicly about crucial details of her time at HP, about the mysterious circumstances of her firing, or about many other aspects of her landmark career. Until now. In this extraordinarily candid memoir, she reveals the private person behind the public persona. She shares her triumphs and failures, her deepest fears and most painful confrontations. She shows us what it was like to be an ambitious young woman at stodgy old AT&T and then a fast- track executive during the spin-off of Lucent Technologies. Above all, she describes how she drove the transformation of legendary but deeply troubled HP, in the face of fierce opposition. One of Fiorina?s big themes is that ?in the end business isn?t just about numbers; it?s about people.? This book goes beyond the caricature of the ?powerful woman executive? to show who she really is and what the rest of us?male or female, in business or not?can learn from the tough choices she made along the way.
Tough Enough (Fountas & Pinnell Classroom, Guided Reading Grade 4)
by Catherine Friend Ron MazellanCould I Be a Farmer? I'd been bitten by a duck, chased by sheep, and kicked by goats. It was time to find out if I was tough enough for this job. NIMAC-sourced textbook
Tough Girl: Lessons in Courage and Heart from Olympic Gold to the Camino de Santiago
by Carolyn WoodA coming-of-age memoir of a young swimmer's triumphs and heartbreaks on the path to winning Olympic gold at age 14. Some 50 years later, author Carolyn Wood embarks on a solo pilgrimage to walk the 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago in an attempt to reclaim her "inner tough girl" as she reflects on coming out as gay in the 1970s after a brief marriage and motherhood, and the disillusionment and loss she experiences when her 30-year relationship suddenly ends. After several failed attempts at learning to swim, young Carolyn Wood finally conquers her fears and dives into unknown waters. By 1958 she sets a goal to make the 1960 Olympic team and, along with teammates and competitors, begins the arduous road to Rome. Losses, pain, fear, and fatigue accompany the rambunctious athlete as she finds her way through athletic training, school, and dealing with social gender expectations as she realizes she's gay. Tough Girl artfully weaves Wood's life story around the tale of her long walk on the Camino de Santiago, an effort to tap into her tough girl resilience so she can begin to accept the end of her long marriage. The ups and downs of Carolyn's childhood road to the Olympics as well as her journey on the Camino, will thrill and inspire readers.
Tough Guys Do Dance
by David WintersDavid Winters has produced and directed over 80 feature films and over 200 television shows and TV movies, and is recognized as nothing short of an icon in the entertainment industry. In Tough Guys Do Dance, David shares many fascinating and, at times, jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes stories regarding his associations with some of the biggest names in show business—names like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, and Michael Jackson, to name a few. It is filled with personal stories of David&’s life that at times may seem hard to imagine and is told with David&’s personal voice and real-life humility in a way that only he could tell. David&’s work in the legendary Broadway show and film West Side Story inspired millions of boys and men alike to embrace the art of dance and truly showed them that &“tough guys do dance&”! Whether you are a student of dancing or an aspiring actor or producer, this book will prove to be one of the most entertaining reads you will ever experience.
Tough Jews: Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams
by Richard CohenAward-winning writer Rich Cohen excavates the real stories behind the legend of infamous criminal enforcers Murder, Inc. and contemplates the question: Where did the tough Jews go?In 1930s Brooklyn, there lived a breed of men who now exist only in legend and in the memories of a few old-timers: Jewish gangsters, fearless thugs with nicknames like Kid Twist Reles and Pittsburgh Phil Strauss. Growing up in Brownsville, they made their way from street fights to underworld power, becoming the execution squad for a national crime syndicate. Murder Inc. did for organized crime what Henry Ford did for the automobile, and Tough Jews is the first in-depth portrait of these men, a thrilling glimpse at the muscle that made possible the success of gangster statesmen such as Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, and Lucky Luciano. For Rich Cohen, who grew up in suburban Illinois in the 1980s taunted by the stereotype of Jews as book-reading rule followers, the very idea of the Jewish gangster was a relief; for once, a Jew in jail did not have to be a white collar criminal. With a clear eye and a comic sensibility, Cohen looks beyond the blood and ultimately encounters each of these ruthless killers’ matzo-ball heart. Tough Jews shows what can happen when a member of the tribe combines brains, heart, and a dangerous determination never to back down.
Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy (Columbia Studies in Contemporary American History)
by Richard KahlenbergIn Woody Allen's 1973 film, Sleeper, a character wakes up in the future to learn that civilization was destroyed when "a man by the name of Albert Shanker got hold of a nuclear warhead." Shanker was condemned by many when he shut down the New York City school system in the bitter strikes of 1967 and 1968, and he was denounced for stirring up animosity between black parents and Jewish teachers. Later, however, he built alliances with blacks, and at the time of his death in 1997, such figures as Bill Clinton celebrated Shanker for being an educational reformer, a champion of equality, and a promoter of democracy abroad. Shanker lived the lives of several men bound into one. In his early years, he was the "George Washington of the teaching profession," helping to found modern teacher unionism. During the 1980s, as head of the American Federation of Teachers, he became the nation's leading education reformer. Shanker supported initiatives for high education standards and accountability, teacher-led charter schools, and a system of "peer review" to weed out inadequate teachers. Throughout his life, Shanker also fought for "tough liberalism," an ideology favoring public education and trade unions but also colorblind policies and a robust anticommunism-all of which, Shanker believed, were vital to a commitment to democracy. Although he had a coherent worldview, Shanker was a complex individual. He began his career as a pacifist but evolved into a leading defense and foreign policy hawk. He was an intellectual and a populist; a gifted speaker who failed at small talk; a liberal whose biggest enemies were often on the left; a talented writer who had to pay to have his ideas published; and a gruff unionist who enjoyed shopping and detested sports. Richard D. Kahlenberg's biography is the first to offer a complete narrative of one of the most important voices in public education and American politics in the last half century. At a time when liberals are accused of not knowing what they stand for, Tough Liberal illuminates an engaging figure who suggested an alternative liberal path.
Tough Love: A Wyoming Childhood
by Kate MeadowsThe extremes of life in rural Wyoming can be a challenge when dogged preparation for harsh winters can mean the difference between life and death, and where glorious summers seem to reward the survivors. For Kate Meadows it was a conundrum. Growing up in a small town, surrounded by magnificent mountains and trout filled rivers may sound like heaven to many, but if the concept of "wild" frightens you, it can be a struggle to fit into that landscape. Some children would have been delighted by the sight of a moose at the corner of their yard on a cold winter night. Kate was frightened. She never took to hunting or horses. The outdoors and its wild creatures--at the core of her family and the generations before her--at once fascinated her and provided the means to overcome her fears while instilling in her a hearty respect for a raw and sometimes merciless landscape. So what's a girl to do when she's torn between the desire to escape to "civilization," yet so tightly bound by the invisible but unbreakable chains of love? Kate Meadows has deftly captured her struggle to find her place in a world where she just didn't fit in. Here she recounts her childhood experiences and conveys the emotions that saw her through a defining part of her life. It's a story that resonates with everyone, and a story no one will be able to forget.
Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For
by Susan RiceRecalling pivotal moments from her dynamic career on the front lines of American diplomacy and foreign policy, Susan E. Rice—National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama and US Ambassador to the United Nations—reveals her surprising story with unflinching candor in this New York Times bestseller.Mother, wife, scholar, diplomat, and fierce champion of American interests and values, Susan Rice powerfully connects the personal and the professional. Taught early, with tough love, how to compete and excel as an African American woman in settings where people of color are few, Susan now shares the wisdom she learned along the way. Laying bare the family struggles that shaped her early life in Washington, DC, she also examines the ancestral legacies that influenced her. Rice&’s elders—immigrants on one side and descendants of slaves on the other—had high expectations that each generation would rise. And rise they did, but not without paying it forward—in uniform and in the pulpit, as educators, community leaders, and public servants. Susan too rose rapidly. She served throughout the Clinton administration, becoming one of the nation&’s youngest assistant secretaries of state and, later, one of President Obama&’s most trusted advisors. Rice provides an insider&’s account of some of the most complex issues confronting the United States over three decades, ranging from &“Black Hawk Down&” in Somalia to the genocide in Rwanda and the East Africa embassy bombings in the late 1990s, and from conflicts in Libya and Syria to the Ebola epidemic, a secret channel to Iran, and the opening to Cuba during the Obama years. With unmatched insight and characteristic bluntness, she reveals previously untold stories behind recent national security challenges, including confrontations with Russia and China, the war against ISIS, the struggle to contain the fallout from Edward Snowden&’s NSA leaks, the U.S. response to Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the surreal transition to the Trump administration. Although you might think you know Susan Rice—whose name became synonymous with Benghazi following her Sunday news show appearances after the deadly 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya—now, through these pages, you truly will know her for the first time. Often mischaracterized by both political opponents and champions, Rice emerges as neither a villain nor a victim, but a strong, resilient, compassionate leader. Intimate, sometimes humorous, but always candid, Tough Love makes an urgent appeal to the American public to bridge our dangerous domestic divides in order to preserve our democracy and sustain our global leadership.
Tough Luck: Sid Luckman, Murder, Inc., and the Rise of the Modern NFL
by R. D. Rosen“Rosen artfully blends fascinating tales of the rise of the National Football League with the bloody demise of the mob.” —Bill Geist, New York Times–bestselling authorIn 1935, as eighteen-year-old Sid Luckman made headlines across New York City for his high school football exploits at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, his father, Meyer Luckman, was making headlines for the gangland murder of his own brother-in-law. Amazingly, when Sid became a star at Columbia and a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback in Chicago, all of it while Meyer Luckman served twenty-years-to-life in Sing Sing Prison, the connection between sports celebrity son and mobster father was studiously ignored by the press and ultimately overlooked for eight decades.Tough Luck traces two simultaneous historical developments through a single immigrant family in Depression-era New York: the rise of the National Football League led by the dynastic Chicago Bears and the demise—triggered by Meyer Luckman’s crime and initial coverup—of the Brooklyn labor rackets and Louis Lepke’s infamous organization Murder, Inc. Filled with colorful characters, it memorably evokes an era of vicious Brooklyn mobsters and undefeated Monsters of the Midway, a time when the media kept their mouths shut and the soft-spoken son of a murderer could become a beloved legend with a hidden past.“Remarkable . . . Artfully organized and deeply researched . . . This [secret] is finally being told, respectfully and stylishly.” —Chicago Tribune“This is a great and beautifully written untold story.” —Gay Talese, New York Times–bestselling author“A fascinating story of the NFL, its growth, and one of its star players. And it is more than just a sports biography.” —Illinois Times
Tough Mothers: Amazing Stories of History's Mightiest Matriarchs
by Jason PorathThe author of Rejected Princesses returns with an inspiring, fully illustrated guide that brings together the fiercest mothers in history—real life matriarchs who gave everything to protect all they loved.Mothers possess the "maternal instinct"—an innate fierceness that drives them to nurture, safeguard, fight, and sacrifice for the most important things that matter to them. For some mothers, it’s their children. For others, it’s artistic expression, invention, social cause, or even a nation that they helped to birth. In Tough Mothers, Jason Porath brings his wisdom and wit to bear on fifty fascinating matriarchs.In concise, deeply researched vignettes, accompanied by charming illustrations, Porath illuminates these fearsome women, explores their lives, and pays tribute to their accomplishments. Here are famous women as well as lesser known figures from around the globe who have left their indelible mark as they changed the course of history, including:The Mother Who Sued to Save Her Children from Slavery—Sojourner TruthThe Mother of Rock n’ Roll—Sister Rosetta TharpeThe Mother of Holocaust Children—Irena SendlerThe Mothers of The Dominican Republic—The Mirabal SistersThe Mother of Yemen’s Golden Age—Arwa al-SulayhiA celebration of motherhood and female achievement, Tough Mothers reminds us of the power of women to transform our lives and our world.
Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good
by Kevin SmithThat Kevin Smith? The guy who did “Clerks” a million years ago? Didn’t they bounce his fat ass off a plane once? What could you possibly learn from the director of “Cop Out”? How about this: he changed filmmaking forever when he was twenty-three, and since then, he’s done whatever the hell he wants. He makes movies, writes comics, owns a store, and now he’s built a podcasting empire with his friends and family, including a wife who’s way out of his league. So here’s some tough shit: Kevin Smith has cracked the code. Or, he’s just cracked. Tough Sh*t is the dirty business that Kevin has been digesting for 41 years and now, he’s ready to put it in your hands. Smear this shit all over yourself, because this is your blueprint (or brownprint) for success. Kev takes you through some big moments in his life to help you live your days in as Gretzky a fashion as you can: going where the puck is gonna be. Read all about how a zero like Smith managed to make ten movies with no discernible talent, and how when he had everything he thought he’d ever want, he decided to blow up his own career. Along the way, Kev shares stories about folks who inspired him (like George Carlin), folks who befuddled him (like Bruce Willis), and folks who let him jerk off onto their legs (like his beloved wife, Jen). So make this your daily reader. Hell, read it on the toilet if you want. Just make sure you grab the bowl and push, because you’re about to take one Tough Sh*t. .
Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You're the F-ing Worst
by Laura BelgrayDiscover a brutally honest, hilarious, and relatable account of being a late bloomer on the dating scene, trying to master adulthood, and embracing your inner dork: "a hilarious, must-read permission slip to be 100% you" (Marie Forleo, #1 New York Times bestselling author). What does it take to grow up cool and popular, master adulthood, fast track your success, and always be your best? Laura Belgray wouldn&’t know. Her wildly relatable coming-of-age stories include hate-following her 6th grade bully on social media decades later; moving home post-college to measure her self-worth in hookups with Upper West Side bartenders; dating a sociopathic man-baby; proving herself in the early &‘90s at New York&’s coolest magazine (as the world&’s worst intern); falling for get-rich-quick schemes on the Internet; and, most of all, saying &“tough titties&” to the supposed-to&’s in life: driving a car, being on time, handing in your paperwork, learning to roast a chicken, and having kids. Peppered with cutting insights on our confusing, self-helpy culture that calls hair removal &“self care&” and tells us to give our 110% but also to give zero f*cks, Tough Titties will leave you feeling better about, well, everything. Let&’s face it: we&’re all tired of shame-spiraling after being told what to do when we know we&’re not going to do any of it.Tough Titties is one big permission slip to be a dork, a sometimes-unspiritual slacker, a late bloomer and, ultimately, 100% yourself. It&’ll also have you snort-laughing in public and tapping whoever&’s nearby to say, &“Lemme read you one more part!&” Which is annoying, but tough titties.
Tough Women Adventure Stories: Stories of Grit, Courage and Determination
by Jenny ToughThe badass adventurers in this collection are all fearless, intelligent, compassionate and curious about the world – and they all happen to be female. From arctic expeditions and endurance races to wingsuit flying and mountain climbing, they have set the bar high for what women are capable of. These are their inspiring stories.
Tough Women Adventure Stories: Stories of Grit, Courage and Determination
by Jenny ToughThe badass adventurers in this collection are all fearless, intelligent, compassionate and curious about the world – and they all happen to be female. From arctic expeditions and endurance races to wingsuit flying and mountain climbing, they have set the bar high for what women are capable of. These are their inspiring stories.
Tougher Than Bullets: The Heroic Tale of a Black Watch Survivor of the Korean War
by Harold Davis Paul SmithAs Harold Davis fell under heavy machine-gun fire, his body riddled with bullet wounds and life seemingly slipping away from him, he could not have realised that he was one of the Korean War’s more fortunate soldiers. American medics sprang into action and, against all odds, saved the plucky young Scot, a man who proved tougher than the bullets the brutal enemy showered him with.Unlike tens of thousands of those who fought in Korea in the 1950s, he lived to tell the tale of his horrific experiences on the front line. Now, for the first time, the Black Watch hero shares his vivid and harrowing memories.A man of tremendous grit and determination, Davis was pieced back together during almost two years in hospital. He defied doctors to return to his pre-war career as a professional footballer, building a reputation as one of Scotland’s most feared and revered defenders at Rangers FC.
The Toughest Show on Earth: My Rise and Reign at the Metropolitan Opera
by Joseph Volpe Charles MichenerA fascinating, anecdote-filled behind-the-scenes look at more than forty years of the highlights, successes, and day-to-day inner workings—all about productions, the divas, and backstage dramas—of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, by Joseph Volpe, the only general manager to have risen through the ranks. This book is the story of Volpe’s years leading up to those at the Met, from his first job as a stagehand at the Morosco Theater to the odd jobs he picked up moonlighting: setting up a searchlight or laying down a red carpet for a movie premiere, changing titles on the marquees at the Astor, Victor, and Paramount theaters. It is his Met years—from apprentice carpenter to general manager—that give us a story about New York and the business of culture. Volpe looks at the Met today, an institution full of vast egos and complicated politics, as well as its glittering past—the old Met at Thirty-ninth and Broadway, and the political and artistic intrigues that exploded around its move to Lincoln Center. With stunning candor, he writes about the general managers he worked under, including Rudolf Bing and Anthony Bliss; his own embattled rise to the top; the maneuverings of the blue-chip board; his bad-cop, good-cop collaboration with the conductor James Levine; and his masterful approach to making a family of such highly charged artist-stars as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Teresa Stratas, and Renée Fleming, and such visionary directors as Franco Zeffirelli, Robert Wilson, and Julie Taymor.
Toughing It Out: From Silver Slippers to Combat Boots
by Claire ReedEscaping a pampered life of privilege, Claire Reed plunged into the heady activist days of the sixties, first as an anti-nuclear demonstrator and then as a key player on Bella Abzug's political team and in the civil rights movement. An insider's memoir of life on the front lines during one of the most transformative eras for women.
Toujours Provence (Vintage Departures Ser.)
by Peter MaylePeter Mayle follows up "A Year in Provence" with this second book of his experiences living in the South of France.
The Tour: A Life Between the Lines
by Bill StainesFor more than 35 years Bill Staines has traveled the highways and byways of North America, playing his music in colleges, coffeehouses, concert halls, and folk song societies. He is one of America's quintessential troubadours, logging almost 70,000 miles a year on the open road. The Tour is not only a collection of characters, consequences, and experiences, it is- perhaps more importantly-an offering up of some of the wisdom gamed from life between the lines.
The Tour According to G: My Journey to the Yellow Jersey
by Geraint ThomasThe inspirational inside story from the 2018 Tour de France and Sports Personality of the Year winner"This year G was the strongest rider, and he finally had Lady Luck on his side. An unstoppable combination" Chris Froome"I understood what Geraint's win meant: for him, for me, for the team, and for Wales, too" Dave Brailsford"Wow!" Thierry HenryFor years Geraint Thomas appeared blessed with extraordinary talent but jinxed at the greatest bike race in the world: twice an Olympic gold medallist on the track, Commonwealth champion, yet at the Tour de France a victim of crashes, bad luck and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his team-mates. In the summer of 2018, that curse was blown away in spectacular fashion - from the cobbles of the north and the iconic mountain climbs of the Alps to the brutal slopes of the Pyrenees and, finally, the Champs-Elysees in Paris. As a boy, G had run home from school on summer afternoons to watch the Tour on television. This July, across twenty-one stages and three weeks, and under constant attack from his rivals, he made the race his own.With insight from the key characters around Geraint, this is the inside story of one of the most thrilling and heart-warming tales in sport. Not only can nice guys come first - they can win the biggest prize of all.
The Tour According to G: My Journey to the Yellow Jersey
by Geraint Thomas"This year G was the strongest rider, and he finally had Lady Luck on his side. An unstoppable combination" --Chris Froome"I understand what Geraint's win meant: for him, for me, for the team, and for Wales, too" --Dave Brailsford"Wow" --Thierry HenryFor years Geraint Thomas appeared blessed with extraordinary talent but jinxed at the greatest bike race in the world: twice Olympic gold medalist on the track, Commonwealth champion, yet at the Tour de France a victim of crashes, bad luck, and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his teammates.In the Summer of 2018, that curse was blown away in spectacular fashion--from the cobbles of the north and the iconic mountain climbs of the Alps to the brutal slopes of the Pyrenees, and finally, the Champs-Elysees in Paris. As a boy, G had run home from school of summer afternoons to watch the Tour on television. This past July, across 21 stages and three weeks, and under constant attack from his rivals, he made the race his own.With insight from the key characters around Geraint, this is the inside-story of one of the most thrilling and heart-warming tales in sport.Not only can nice guys come first--they can win the biggest prize of all.
The Tour According to G: My Journey to the Yellow Jersey
by Geraint ThomasFor years Geraint Thomas appeared blessed with extraordinary talent but jinxed at the greatest bike race in the world: twice an Olympic gold medallist on the track, Commonwealth champion, yet at the Tour de France a victim of crashes, bad luck and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his team-mates. In the summer of 2018, that curse was blown away in spectacular fashion - from the cobbles of the north and the iconic mountain climbs of the Alps to the brutal slopes of the Pyrenees and, finally, the Champs-Elysees in Paris. As a boy, G had run home from school on summer afternoons to watch the Tour on television. This July, across twenty-one stages and three weeks, and under constant attack from his rivals, he made the race his own.With insight from the key characters around Geraint, this is the inside story of one of the most thrilling and heart-warming tales in sport. Not only can nice guys come first - they can win the biggest prize of all.(P)2018 Quercus Editions Limited
Tour de Force: My history-making Tour de France
by Mark CavendishFrom illness and mental health challenges to becoming the most successful British cyclist at the age of 22, Mark Cavendish shares his inspiring account of his record-breaking rise to the top of the world's biggest cycling stage at the 2021 Tour de France.Deep down, Mark Cavendish thought he was finished. After illness, setbacks and clinical depression, the once fastest man in the world had been written off by most. And at the age of 36, even he believed his explosive cycling career would fade out with a whimper. The Manxman hadn't won a single Grand Tour stage in Italy, Spain, or France since 2016.But then came his incredible resurrection at the 2021 Tour de France. Included on the Deceuninck Quick-Step team at the very last minute, only after Sam Bennett suffered an injury, Mark set about rewriting history. He claimed back the green jersey he first wore in 2011, and his four stage victories finally saw him matching Belgian legend Eddy Merckx's all-time record of 34 Tour de France stage wins. Cycling greats are never content, and Cavendish's dogged determination and inner strength had earned him the record that few believed he could ever achieve. This is his own intimate account of that race, right from the saddle of the miracle tour.Praise for Tour de Force:"The greatest comeback in sports history." —GQ magazine"A miracle." —Eddy Merckx
Tour de Lance
by Bill StricklandLance Armstrong is a worldwide icon, indisputably one of the greatest cyclists who has ever lived. After battling cancer and becoming an inspiration to millions, Armstrong won the Tour de France a record-breaking seven consecutive years before retiring from competition in 2005. Four years later, at thirty-seven, Armstrong decided to come out of retirement and go for the win yet again. He was racing for no salary, in a season when his greatest rival--Tour de France, Tour of Italy, and Tour of Spain champion Alberto Contador--was on his own team. The twenty-five-year-old Spaniard had been handpicked by Armstrong's own mentor, Johan Bruyneel, to be his successor. Now he would be his fiercest competition. Armstrong was about to suffer like never before--and, for the first time in recent memory, appear to be human on a bicycle. After seven Tour victories--and beating cancer--did Lance Armstrong really need to prove anything? Beyond the thrill of another possible victory, what drove him to race again? What was he seeking--and would he find it? Cycling insider Bill Strickland had unprecedented access to Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, and the team. He takes readers behind the scenes during the 2009 racing season and along for the ride on the Tour de France with a dramatic mile-by-mile account. Offering a penetrating and candid glimpse into the man behind the myth, Tour de Lance goes beyond a single season or a single race to reveal the heart of the sport and the soul of the cyclist.From the Hardcover edition.
Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War
by Douglas BrinkleyCovering more than four decades, Tour of Duty is the definitive account of John Kerry's journey from war to peace. Written by acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley, this is the first full-scale, intimate account of Kerry's naval career. In writing this riveting narrative, Brinkley has drawn on extensive interviews with virtually everyone who knew Kerry well in Vietnam, including all the men still living who served under him. Kerry also entrusted to Brinkley his letters home from Vietnam and his voluminous "War Notes" -- journals, notebooks, and personal reminiscences written during and shortly after the war. This material was provided without restriction, to be used at Brinkley's discretion, and has never before been published. John Kerry enlisted in the Navy in February 1966, months before he graduated from Yale. In December 1967 Ensign Kerry was assigned to the frigate U.S.S. Gridley; after five months of service in the Pacific, with a brief stop in Vietnam, he returned to the United States and underwent training to command a Swift boat, a small craft deployed in Vietnam's rivers. In June 1968 Kerry was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade), and by the end of that year he was back in Vietnam, where he commanded, over time, two Swift boats. Throughout Tour of Duty Brinkley deftly deals with such explosive issues as U.S. atrocities in Vietnam and the bombing of Cambodia. In a series of unforgettable combat-action sequences, he recounts how Kerry won the Purple Heart three times for wounds suffered in action and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Navy's Silver Star for gallantry in action. When Kerry returned from Southeast Asia, he joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), becoming a prominent antiwar spokesperson. He challenged the Nixon administration on Capitol Hill with the antiwar movement cheering him on. As Kerry's public popularity soared in April-May 1971, the FBI considered him a subversive. Brinkley -- using new information acquired from the recently released Nixon tapes -- reveals how White House aides Charles Colson and H. R. Haldeman tried to discredit Kerry. Refusing to be intimidated, Kerry started running for public office, eventually becoming a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. But he never forgot his fallen comrades. Working with his friend Senator John McCain, he returned to Vietnam numerous times looking for MIAs and POWs. By the time Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, Kerry was the leading proponent of "normalization" of relations with Vietnam. When President Clinton officially recognized Vietnam in 1995, Kerry's three-decade-long tour of duty had at long last ended.