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Undercover: Operazione Julie - La Verità
by Stephen BentleySi dice che l'Operazione Julie sia la >. Questa è la storia vera di uno di solo quattro detective sotto-copertura dell'Operazione Julie. L'Operazione Julie è ancora oggi il punto di riferimento per tutte le operazioni sotto-copertura e gli addestramenti britannici. Nel 2011 la BBC ha affermato che questa grandiosa ed unica operazione di polizia fu l'inizio della guerra contro le droghe. Stephen Bentley era uno dei quattro detective sotto-copertura coinvolti nell'Operazione Julie, uno dei più grandi colpi antidroga del mondo. Assieme al suo partner sotto-copertura, si infiltrò nella gang producente circa il 90% dell'LSD nel mondo e scoprì una trama per importare copiose quantità di cocaina boliviana nel Regno Unito. La malavita conobbe l'autore come Steve Jackson. Come riuscì ad infiltrarsi con successo nelle due gang? Dovette fare uso di droghe? E come lo influenzò >? Scoprite le risposte ed entrate nella mente di Steve Jackson, detective sotto-copertura. Un affascinante, diretto, onesto resoconto di un insider che in realtà era un outsider... un racconto di avidità oltraggiosa, lussuria, violenza e prodezza di pochi uomini che avevano un obiettivo ammirevole e di come lo gestirono. Una prospettiva dall'interno del traffico di droga, raccontata con fascino, intelligenza e in certi casi con umorismo da un uomo talentuoso, particolarmente qualificato a raccontare la storia vera, che più di tutti era un decente uomo onesto. Semplicemente una bella lettura. - Estratto di una recensione.
Undercover Policing and the Corrupt Secret Society Within
by Garry Rogers Keith PotterA former police officer reveals all in a shocking autobiography “detailing his time undercover amongst some of the UK’s toughest criminals” (Daily Mirror).Garry Rogers played a key role in one of the UK’s most successful undercover policing operations, targeting the football hooliganism which blighted the domestic and international game. From Old Trafford to Turkey and Sweden to Sardinia, this working class lad turned undercover cop infiltrated some of the most notorious hooligan gangs at club and England level as part of Greater Manchester Police’s groundbreaking Omega Unit.When the force extended its undercover policing operations to target serious and violent crime, it was Garry who gained the trust of armed robbers, drug dealers and a murderer securing the evidence to take them off the streets, often for many years.But after five years at the cutting edge of covert operations, and with a new, inexperienced and ultimately corrupt officer in charge of the unit, Garry found himself dangerously exposed to violent criminals living just minutes from his family home. And when he turned to the force for support he was met with a wall of silence, accusations, and what one chief constable later described as a Masonic conspiracy that eventually pushed him out of the job after 28 years. Now he’s determined to tell his story—the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Undercover Policing and the Corrupt Secret Society Within
by Garry Rogers Keith PotterA former police officer reveals all in a shocking autobiography “detailing his time undercover amongst some of the UK’s toughest criminals” (Daily Mirror).Garry Rogers played a key role in one of the UK’s most successful undercover policing operations, targeting the football hooliganism which blighted the domestic and international game. From Old Trafford to Turkey and Sweden to Sardinia, this working class lad turned undercover cop infiltrated some of the most notorious hooligan gangs at club and England level as part of Greater Manchester Police’s groundbreaking Omega Unit.When the force extended its undercover policing operations to target serious and violent crime, it was Garry who gained the trust of armed robbers, drug dealers and a murderer securing the evidence to take them off the streets, often for many years.But after five years at the cutting edge of covert operations, and with a new, inexperienced and ultimately corrupt officer in charge of the unit, Garry found himself dangerously exposed to violent criminals living just minutes from his family home. And when he turned to the force for support he was met with a wall of silence, accusations, and what one chief constable later described as a Masonic conspiracy that eventually pushed him out of the job after 28 years. Now he’s determined to tell his story—the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Undercurrent: Tank Commander Cadet in the Yom Kippur War
by Amir Bega"This fascinating memoir recounts the experience of Amir as a young soldier, caught up in the chaos and violence of the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. It vividly retells the constant fighting through the entire war as the initially overconfident Israeli military learns hard lessons and regains its balance to take the fight to its enemies." — Military Heritage Magazine Tank commander cadet Amir Bega is about to leave training for the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur when a surprise attack on Israel by Egyptian and Syrian forces upends this peaceful reprieve, throwing the teenager into an unexpected war. A war in which the confidence and complacency of the Israeli army led to disaster. Believing himself well-trained and the Israeli army unstoppable, Bega struggles to accept the horrifying events surrounding him. His battalion was annihilated in one of the first combats by new anti-tank weaponry. He survived and joined a reserve unit, with which he fought to stop the Egyptian army from advancing beyond the first line of defense, all through the war’s end. In this realm of death and destruction, Bega comes face to face with the conflicts between the reality of war, his core beliefs, and his basic ideology. As the war progresses, he deals with the horrific losses of both those around him and his own innocence. Tank after tank that he joins is destroyed or damaged, and he is seen as a bad omen by those still alive. Gnawed by survivor guilt, the young soldier agrees to go on a sole perilous mission to rescue an army technical unit surrounded by Egyptian commandos. This captivating first-hand account, as viewed through the eyes of the young soldier, conveys the heavy toll of the Yom Kippur War and its impact on the people of Israel. Ultimately, Undercurrent is a story about survival, friendship, humanity, duty, and honor.
Undercurrent: A Cornish Memoir of Poverty, Nature and Resilience
by Natasha Carthew'At times roaring and visceral, in turn gentle and embracing, always driven by hope and determination' RAYNOR WINN 'Haunting and powerful' KATE MOSSE To grow up in rural poverty is to fight for life before you can walk.Natasha Carthew was born into a world that sat alongside picture-postcard Cornwall, one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people's lives, and wealth converged with poverty on sandy beaches.In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the beauty of the landscape, and in the mobile library she found her means of escape. In Undercurrent she returns to the cliff paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature.This is a journey through place, and a vivid story of hope, beauty and fierce resilience.'Marvellous, moving and mesmerising' ANITA SETHI 'A story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice' DAMIAN BARR
Undercurrent: A Cornish Memoir of Poverty, Nature and Resilience
by Natasha CarthewThere's a Cornish saying that nothing is left behind in an autumnal tide, the powerful tug between the sun and the equator makes the water surface stronger, and it pulls and builds until we are left with what is known as great tides - but as I stand here on my childhood beach someplace in my 40s, all I can see is the stretch of grey rocks and sand where the ebb has come and gone.Natasha Carthew grew up in rural poverty in Cornwall, battling limited opportunities, precarious resources, escalating property prices, isolation and a community marked by the ravages of inequality. Her world existed alongside the postcard picture Cornwall, where wealth and privilege converged on sandy beaches and expensive second homes.In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the beauty of the landscape, and in the mobile library she found her means of escape. In her first non-fiction audiobook she returns to the cliff-paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature.Undercurrent is part-memoir, part-investigation, part love-letter to Cornwall. It is a vivid, powerful exploration of rural poverty, and the often devastating impact of living without the means or support to build a future. This is a journey through place, and a story of hope, beauty, and fierce resilience.(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
The Undercurrents: A Story of Berlin
by Kirsty BellHumane, thought provoking, and moving, this hybrid literary portrait of a place makes the case for radical close readings: of ourselves, our cities, and our histories.The Undercurrents is a dazzling work of biography, memoir, and cultural criticism told from a precise vantage point: a stately nineteenth-century house on Berlin&’s Landwehr Canal, a site at the center of great historical changes, but also smaller domestic ones. The view from this house offers a ringside seat onto the city&’s theater of action. The building has stood on the banks of the canal since 1869, its feet in the West but looking East, right into the heart of a metropolis in the making, on a terrain inscribed indelibly with trauma. When her marriage breaks down, Kirsty Bell—a British-American art critic, adrift in her midforties—becomes fixated on the history of her building and of her adoptive city. Taking the view from her apartment window as her starting point, she turns to the lives of the house&’s various inhabitants, to accounts penned by Walter Benjamin, Rosa Luxemburg, and Gabriele Tergit, and to the female protagonists in the works of Theodor Fontane, Irmgard Keun, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. A new cultural topography of Berlin emerges, one which taps into energetic undercurrents to recover untold or forgotten stories beneath the city&’s familiar narratives.
The Underdog: How I Survived the World's Most Outlandish Competitions
by Joshua DavisJoshua Davis had a dream. He dreamt of being the best. It didn't really matter what he was the best at, he just wanted to be number one, the big enchilada, to say that he had made it. This is how it began: Josh was driving through the Mojave Desert one day when he saw a sign for the American arm-wrestling championship - all comers welcome. He decided to enter. He came fourth, out of four, but this was enough to secure him a place on Team USA and the chance of a show-down with the 'Russian Ripper' at the world championships in Poland (that didn't end very well either). But Josh had tasted the dizzy rush of competition and wanted more. And more turned out to be the most outlandish contests in the world - from bull fighting in Spain and backward running in Italy, to sumo wrestling and the World Sauna Championship in Finland. Joshua's quest is by turns hilarious, harrowing and a little insane, but it is also inspiring - because, after all, every underdog deserves his day.
The Underdogs: Children, Dogs, and the Power of Unconditional Love
by Melissa Fay GreeneFrom two-time National Book Award nominee Melissa Fay Greene comes a profound and surprising account of dogs on the front lines of rescuing both children and adults from the trenches of grief, emotional, physical, and cognitive disability, and post-traumatic stress disorder.The Underdogs tells the story of Karen Shirk, felled at age twenty-four by a neuromuscular disease and facing life as a ventilator-dependent, immobile patient, who was turned down by every service dog agency in the country because she was "too disabled." Her nurse encouraged her to tone down the suicidal thoughts, find a puppy, and raise her own service dog. Karen did this, and Ben, a German shepherd, dragged her back into life. "How many people are stranded like I was," she wondered, "who would lead productive lives if only they had a dog?"A thousand state-of-the-art dogs later, Karen Shirk's service dog academy, 4 Paws for Ability, is restoring broken children and their families to life. Long shunned by scientists as a manmade, synthetic species, and oft- referred to as "Man's Best Friend" almost patronizingly, dogs are finally paid respectful attention by a new generation of neuroscientists and animal behaviorists. Melissa Fay Greene weaves the latest scientific discoveries about our co-evolution with dogs with Karen's story and a few exquisitely rendered stories of suffering children and their heartbroken families.Written with characteristic insight, humanity, humor, and irrepressible joy, what could have been merely touching is a penetrating, compassionate exploration of larger questions: about our attachment to dogs, what constitutes a productive life, and what can be accomplished with unconditional love.
Underfoot In Show Business
by Helene HanffIn her spirited, witty and vastly entertaining memoir, Helene Hanff recalls her ingenuous attempts to crash Broadway in the early forties as one of “the other 999.”Naive, nearsighted, frequently penniless but hopelessly stagestruck, she found her life governed by Flanagan’s Law: “No matter what happens to you, it’s unexpected.” Therefore, as a prize-winning Theatre Guild protégée with a brilliant future, Helene naturally found that all the producers who were going to produce her plays didn’t, and all the agents who were going to sell her plays couldn’t.Together with her best friend Maxine, an aspiring actress consigned to playing the comedy-ingénue in plays that regularly folded after five performances, she cultivated the “delicate, illegal art of getting everything for nothing”—from free seats to every Broadway show and neighborhood movie and borrowed outfits from Saks to voice lessons for Maxine and Greek lessons for Helene. To keep body and soul together until Broadway fame arrived, they devised an economic survival system that embraced such unlikely jobs as taking street-corner.Reviews — “Miss Hanff, having a good memory and a lively sense of humor, has composed a theater sketch that is realistic as well as hilarious....One of the most amusing recent theater books about the Broadway theater.”—Brooks Atkinson“A delightful book by an irrepressible author....What really lifts the book to a high level of entertainment is the sparkling humor. To describe the incidents wouldn’t do justice to the book’s charm which comes from the style of writing and Miss Hanff’s boundless optimism.”—Library Journal“A gay and entertaining book which also has substance.”—Boston Herald“Hilarious and highly successful. If you need cheering up, this is it. Here’s hoping Miss Hanff finds more failures to write books about.”—Columbus Dispatch
Underground: A Novel
by Antanas SileikaA tragic love triangle set in a forgotten place during an invisible war. Inspired by true events, Underground tells the story of a troubled romance between Lukas and Elena, two members of the underground Lithuanian resistance movement in mid- 1940s. After shooting up a room full of Soviet government workers during their engagement party, Lukas and Elena become folk heroes to their political cause, but are forced deep into hiding in order to escape punishment for their role in the massacre. When their secret bunker is discovered, Lukas is nearly captured. Believing his beloved Elena has been killed in the raid, Lukas is forced to flee the country and the increasingly hopeless resistance movement that he has defended over the years. Finding himself stranded in Paris, Lukas tries in vain to generate some political interest in the plight of his country. Settling quietly in Europe, Lukas falls in love again, remarries, and begins his life anew. When an unexpected crisis arises back home, the tranquility of Lukas’ new life is shattered. Stealing back into his former country, Lukas embarks on the most important fight of his life. Based on true historical revelations and fragments of the author’s family history, Underground is an engaging literary thriller and love story that explores the narrow range of options open to men and women in desperate situations, when history crashes into personal desires and private life.
The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan
by Jenny NordbergAn investigative journalist uncovers a hidden custom that will transform your understanding of what it means to grow up as a girlIn Afghanistan, a culture ruled almost entirely by men, the birth of a son is cause for celebration and the arrival of a daughter is often mourned as misfortune. A bacha posh (literally translated from Dari as "dressed up like a boy") is a third kind of child - a girl temporarily raised as a boy and presented as such to the outside world. Jenny Nordberg, the reporter who broke the story of this phenomenon for the New York Times, constructs a powerful and moving account of those secretly living on the other side of a deeply segregated society where women have almost no rights and little freedom. The Underground Girls of Kabul is anchored by vivid characters who bring this remarkable story to life: Azita, a female parliamentarian who sees no other choice but to turn her fourth daughter Mehran into a boy; Zahra, the tomboy teenager who struggles with puberty and refuses her parents' attempts to turn her back into a girl; Shukria, now a married mother of three after living for twenty years as a man; and Nader, who prays with Shahed, the undercover female police officer, as they both remain in male disguise as adults. At the heart of this emotional narrative is a new perspective on the extreme sacrifices of Afghan women and girls against the violent backdrop of America's longest war. Divided into four parts, the book follows those born as the unwanted sex in Afghanistan, but who live as the socially favored gender through childhood and puberty, only to later be forced into marriage and childbirth. The Underground Girls of Kabul charts their dramatic life cycles, while examining our own history and the parallels to subversive actions of people who live under oppression everywhere.
The Underground Girls Of Kabul: The Hidden Lives of Afghan Girls Disguised as Boys
by Jenny NordbergAn Afghan woman's life expectancy is just 44 years, and her life cycle often begins and ends in disappointment: being born a girl and finally, having a daughter of her own. For some, disguising themselves as boys is the only way to get ahead.Nordberg follows women such as Azita Rafaat, a parliamentarian who once lived as a Bacha Posh, the mother of seven-year-old Mehran, who she is raising as a Bacha Posh as well, but for different reasons than in the past. There's Zahra, a teenage student living as a boy who is about to display signs of womanhood as she enters puberty. And Skukria, a hospital nurse who remained in a bacha posh disguise until she was 20, and who now has three children of her own. Exploring the historical and religious roots of this tradition, The Underground Girls of Kabul is a fascinating and moving narrative that speaks to the roots of gender.
Underground in Berlin: A Young Woman's Extraordinary Tale of Survival in the Heart of Nazi Germany
by Anthea Bell Hermann Simon Marie Jalowicz SimonA thrilling piece of undiscovered history, this is the true account of a young Jewish woman who survived World War II in Berlin. In 1941, Marie Jalowicz Simon, a nineteen-year-old Berliner, made an extraordinary decision. All around her, Jews were being rounded up for deportation, forced labor, and extermination. Marie took off her yellow star, turned her back on the Jewish community, and vanished into the city.In the years that followed, Marie lived under an assumed identity, forced to accept shelter wherever she found it. Always on the run, never certain whom she could trust, Marie moved between almost twenty different safe-houses, living with foreign workers, staunch communists, and even committed Nazis. Only her quick-witted determination and the most hair-raising strokes of luck allowed her to survive.
Underground in Berlin
by Marie Jalowicz Simon Anthea BellBy turns thrilling and terrifying, Underground in Berlin is the autobiographical account of a young Jewish woman who ripped off her yellow star and survived the war by going underground from 1942 to 1945. Berlin, 1941. Marie Jalowicz Simon, a 19-year-old Jewish woman, makes an extraordinary decision. All around her, Jews are being rounded up for deportation, forced labour and extermination. Marie decides to survive. She takes off the yellow star, turns her back on the Jewish community and vanishes into the city. In the years that follow, Marie lives under an assumed identity, moving between almost 20 different safe houses. She is forced to accept shelter wherever she can find it, and many of those she stays with expect services in return. She stays with foreign workers, committed communists and even convinced Nazis. Any false move might lead to arrest. Never certain who can be trusted and how far, it is her quick-witted determination and the most amazing and hair-raising strokes of luck that ensure her survival. Underground in Berlin is Marie's extraordinary story, told in her own voice with unflinching honesty, for the first time after more than 50 years of silence.
An Underground Life: Memoirs of a Gay Jew in Nazi Berlin (Living Out: Gay and Lesbian Autobiog)
by Gad Beck Frank HeibertThat a Jew living in Nazi Berlin survived the Holocaust at all is surprising. That he was a homosexual and a teenage leader in the resistance and yet survived is amazing. But that he endured the ongoing horror with an open heart, with love and without vitriol, and has written about it so beautifully is truly miraculous. This is Gad Beck’s story.
The Underground Railroad in Connecticut
by Horatio T. StrotherThis account of fugitive slaves traveling through Connecticut “includes many stories from descendants of the underground agents . . . a definitive work.” —Hartford CourantHere are the engrossing facts about one of the least-known aspects of Connecticut’s history—the rise, organization, and operations of the Underground Railroad, over which fugitive slaves from the South found their way to freedom. Drawing his data from published sources and, perhaps more importantly, from the still-existing oral tradition of descendants of Underground agents, Horatio Strother tells the detailed story in this book, originally published in 1962. He traces the routes from entry points such as New Haven harbor and the New York state line, through important crossroads like Brooklyn and Farmington. Revealing the dangers fugitives faced, the author also identifies the high-minded lawbreakers who operated the system—farmers and merchants, local officials and judges, at least one United States Senator, and many dedicated ministers of the Gospel. These narratives are set against the larger background of the development of slavery and abolitionism in America—conversations still relevant today.
Underneath the Lemon Tree: A Memoir of Depression and Recovery
by Mark Rice-OxleyOn paper, things looked good for Mark Rice-Oxley: wife, children, fulfilling job. But then, at his 40th birthday party, his whole world crumbled as he succumbed to depression...How many men do you know who have been through periods when their lives haven't seemed right? How badly askew were things for them? Many men suffer from depression yet it is still a subject that is taboo. Men often don't visit the doctor, or they don't want to face up to feelings of weakness and vulnerability. By telling his story, Mark Rice-Oxley hopes it will enable others to tell theirs. In this intensely moving memoir he retraces the months of his utmost despair, revisiting a landscape from which at times he felt he would never escape.Written with lyricism and poignancy, Mark captures the visceral nature of this most debilitating of illnesses with a frightening clarity, while at the same time offering a sympathetic and dispassionate view of what is happening, and perhaps why. This is not a self-help book but a memoir that is brimful of experience, understanding and hope for all those who read it. It is above all honest, touching and surprisingly optimistic.
Underneath the Lemon Tree: A Memoir of Depression and Recovery
by Mark Rice-OxleyOn paper, things looked good for Mark Rice-Oxley: wife, children, fulfilling job. But then, at his 40th birthday party, his whole world crumbled as he succumbed to depression...How many men do you know who have been through periods when their lives haven't seemed right? How badly askew were things for them? Many men suffer from depression yet it is still a subject that is taboo. Men often don't visit the doctor, or they don't want to face up to feelings of weakness and vulnerability. By telling his story, Mark Rice-Oxley hopes it will enable others to tell theirs. In this intensely moving memoir he retraces the months of his utmost despair, revisiting a landscape from which at times he felt he would never escape.Written with lyricism and poignancy, Mark captures the visceral nature of this most debilitating of illnesses with a frightening clarity, while at the same time offering a sympathetic and dispassionate view of what is happening, and perhaps why. This is not a self-help book but a memoir that is brimful of experience, understanding and hope for all those who read it. It is above all honest, touching and surprisingly optimistic.
Undersong
by Kathleen Winter&“A stunning, spellbinding, poetic triumph." —Toronto Star From Giller-shortlisted author Kathleen Winter (author of the bestseller Annabel): A stunning novel reimagining the lost years of misunderstood Romantic Era genius Dorothy Wordsworth.When young James Dixon, a local jack-of-all-trades recently returned from the Battle of Waterloo, meets writer Dorothy Wordsworth, he quickly realizes he&’s never met another woman anything like her. In her early thirties at the time of the meeting, Dorothy has already lived a wildly unconventional life. As her famous brother William Wordsworth&’s confidante and creative collaborator—considered by some in their circle to be the secret to his success as a poet—she has carved a seemingly idyllic existence for herself, alongside William and his wife, in England&’s Lake District. One day, Dixon is approached by William to do some handiwork around the Wordsworth estate. At William&’s urging, he takes on more and more chores—and quickly understands that his real, unspoken responsibility is to keep an eye on Dorothy, who is growing frail and melancholic. The unlikely pair of misfits form a sympathetic bond despite the sometimes troubling chasm in social class between them, and soon Dixon is the quiet witness to everyday life in Dorothy&’s family and glittering social circle, which includes literary legends Samuel Coleridge, Thomas de Quincy, William Blake, and Charles and Mary Lamb. Through the fictional James Dixon—a gentle but troubled soul, more attuned to the wonders of the garden he faithfully tends than to vexing worldly matters—we step inside the Wordsworth family, witnessing their dramatic emotional and artistic struggles, hidden traumas, private betrayals and triumphs. At the same time, Winter slowly weaves a darker, complex &“undersong&” through the novel, one as earthy and elemental as flower and tree, gradually revealing the pattern of Dorothy's rich, hidden life—that of a woman determined, against all odds, to exist on her own terms despite societal norms. But the unsettling effects of Dorothy&’s tragically repressed brilliance take their toll, and when at last her true voice finally sings out, it is so searing and bright that Dixon, compelled equally by love and grief and fear, must make an impossible choice.
Understanding Earth: Women Who Led the Way (Super SHEroes of Science) (Super SHEroes of Science)
by Nancy DickmannThis brand-new series highlights some of the major contributions women have made in the world of science.What shapes our planet? Women have been answering the question for centuries on many levels. Scientists such as Marie Curie have investigated the building blocks of matter, and the physical forces that act upon them. Geologists have studied the rocks beneath our feet by venturing dangerously close to erupting volcanoes, and have figured out what lies at Earth’s center and why its surface moves as it does. Women have also led the way in exploring the planet’s atmosphere and the causes and effects of climate change, the most urgent problem scientists are trying to solve. This book tells their stories and describes their vital contributions.
Understanding Military Workforce Productivity
by Robert M. Bray Laurel L. Hourani Jason Williams Marian E. Lane Mary Ellen MarsdenFrom the stresses of repeated deployments to the difficulties of re-entry into civilian life, we are just beginning to understand how protracted conflicts, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, are affecting service members. Issues such as risky health behaviors and chemical dependence raise productivity concerns as they do with all organizations, but they also have a profound impact on the safety and readiness of troops--and by extension, the military as a whole--in life-or-death situations. Understanding Military Workforce Productivity cuts through the myths and misconceptions about the health and resilience of today's active-duty armed forces. This first-of-its-kind volume presents up-to-date findings across service branches in core health areas including illness and injury, alcohol and drug abuse, tobacco use, obesity, and mental health. The short- and long-term implications discussed relate to the quality of the lives of service members and their families, the quality and preparedness of the military as a workforce, and prevention and intervention efforts. The book: Presents data from ten large-scale health behavior surveys sponsored by the Department of Defense. Offers background context for understanding health and behavioral health and productivity among service members. Introduces a health and behavioral health model of productivity loss in the armed forces. Compares key indicators of substance abuse, health, and mental health in military and civilian populations. Reviews approaches for improving military productivity. Identifies areas for further study. Understanding Military Workforce Productivity offers a rare close-up of health issues in the services, making it an invaluable source of information for practitioners and researchers in mental health, substance abuse, health behaviors, and military behavioral health.
Understanding Pat Conroy (Understanding Contemporary American Literature)
by Catherine SeltzerAn insightful look at the life and work of the extraordinary popular Southern writer.Pat Conroy’s novels and memoirs have indelibly shaped the image of the South in the American imagination. His writing has rendered the physical landscape of the South Carolina lowcountry familiar to legions of readers, and has staked out a more complex geography as well—one defined by domestic trauma, racial anxiety, religious uncertainty, and cultural ambivalence.In Understanding Pat Conroy, Catherine Seltzer engages in a sustained consideration of Conroy and his work. The study begins with a sketch of Conroy’s biography, which, while fascinating in its own right, is employed here to illuminate many of the motifs and characters that define his work and to locate him within southern literary tradition. Seltzer then explores each of Conroy’s major works, tracing the evolution of the themes within and among each of his novels, including The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, The Prince of Tides, Beach Music, and South of Broad, and his memoirs, among them The Water Is Wide and My Losing Season.Seltzer’s insightful close readings of Conroy’s work are supplemented by interviews and archival material, shedding new light on the often-complex dynamics between text and context in Conroy’s oeuvre. More broadly, Understanding Pat Conroy explores the ways that Conroy delights in troubling the boundaries that circumscribe the literary establishment—and links his work to existing debates about the contemporary American canon.
Understanding the Beats
by Edward Halsey FosterAnalysis of the lives and works of the major writers of the Beat Generation.
Understanding the Heart: Surprising Insights into the Evolutionary Origins of Heart Disease—and Why It Matters
by Doctor Stephen Hussey“The most mind-blowing information on heart disease. . . . I consider this to be one of the best books I’ve ever read on cardiovascular health.”—Ben Greenfield, New York Times bestselling author Heart disease is the number-one killer in the world. Despite ever-advancing medical procedures and more and more powerful pharmaceutical drugs, the rate of heart disease continues to rise. According to Dr. Stephen Hussey, this is due in part to misunderstandings about how the heart really functions and how to keep it healthy. These misunderstandings result in improper medical approaches and off-target intervention therapies. As a type 1 diabetic, Dr. Hussey has always known that he was at two to four times greater risk of developing heart disease. As a result, he has dedicated his entire adult life to understanding the heart, to prevent himself from becoming a statistic. And then his worst nightmare came true. Dr. Hussey suffered a “STEMI,” a blockage in the left anterior descending artery of his heart. STEMIs are typically so fatal that they are known as “widowmakers.” Only 12 percent of those who experience them outside of a hospital setting survive. Dr. Hussey was among the lucky 12 percent, but faced a difficult decision during his recovery: follow the standard of care laid out for him by the attending cardiologist, or politely decline and apply everything he’d learned about the heart to a recovery protocol that would look massively different than what the doctors were recommending. In Understanding the Heart, Dr. Hussey shares the information that guided him through the highest-stakes decision of his life, including: A large body of research suggesting that the heart is not the main mover of blood in the body, and what that means for your overall health The evolutionary origins of the nervous system, and how these manifest today in rampant rates of heart disease Deep analysis of the widely accepted idea that saturated fat and cholesterol will clog your arteries The importance of reducing oxidative stress for a heart healthy lifestyle In Understanding the Heart, Dr. Stephen Hussey lays bare everything he has learned in his deep investigation into the heart, and guides you on a path to prevent disease in the context of a highly diseased modern world in order to enjoy lifelong good health.