The author of The Stranger Beside Me brings her brilliantly informed understanding of the sociopath to this riveting truecrime collection. Only Ann Rule, who unknowingly worked alongside the smart and charming Ted Bundy -- America's most notorious serial killer -- could lend her razor-sharp insight into these cases of the spouse, lover, family member, or helpful stranger who is totally trusted but whose lethally violent nature, though masterfully disguised, can and will kill. Featured here is the case of a Southern California family man who appeared to be the picture of healthy living with his expertise in naturopathic healing. Luring a beautiful flight attendant into a passionate affair, he swept her away to a secluded home on the Oregon coast where his jealous rages escalated, ultimately leading to a brutal sex attack in which she believed she would die. How this brave victim survived, never knowing her tormentor's whereabouts, and how he resurfaced, forcing a tragic end for all involved, makes this one of Ann Rule's most compelling narratives. Other cases include that of the woman who masterminded her husband's murder to gain his inheritance...the monstrous sadist whose prison release damaged a presidential candidate's campaign and ended in a bitter double tragedy in a quiet neighborhood three thousand miles away...the shocking DNA link between a cold-blooded crime and a cold case...and inside the horrific case of the man who crossed an ocean and several countries to stalk the Eurasian beauty who had fled from him in desperation.
About this product: In the closing months of World War II, Americans found themselves facing a new and terrifying weapon: kamikazes -- the first men to use airplanes as suicide weapons.
By the beginning of 1945, American pilots were shooting down Japanese planes more than ten to one. The Japanese had so few metals left that the military had begun using wooden coins and clay pots for hand grenades. For the first time in 800 years, Japan faced imminent invasion. As Germany faltered, the combined strength of every warring nation gathered at Japan's door. Desperate, Japan turned to its most idealistic young men -- the best and brightest college students -- and demanded of them the greatest sacrifice.
On the morning of May 11, 1945, days after the Nazi surrender, the USS Bunker Hill -- a magnificent vessel that held thousands of crewmen and the most sophisticated naval technology available -- was holding at the Pacific Theater, 70 miles off the coast of Okinawa.
At precisely 9:58 a.m., Kiyoshi Ogawa radioed in to his base at Kanoya, 350 miles from the Bunker Hill, "I found the enemy vessels." After eighteen months of training, Kiyoshi tucked a comrade's poem into his breast pocket and flew his Zero five hours across the Pacific. Now the young Japanese pilot had located his target and was on the verge of fulfilling his destiny. At 10:02.30 a.m., as he hovered above the Bunker Hill, hidden in a mass of clouds, Kiyoshi spoke his last words: "Now, I am nose-diving into the ship."
The attack killed 393 Americans and was the worst suicide attack against America until September 11. Juxtaposing Kiyoshi's story with the stories of untold heroism of the men aboard the Bunker Hill, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy details how American sailors and airmen worked together, risking their own lives to save their fellows and ultimately triumphing in their efforts to save their ship.
Drawing on years of research and firsthand interviews with both American and Japanese survivors, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy draws a gripping portrait of men bravely serving their countries in war and the advent of a terrifying new weapon, suicide bombing, that nearly halted the most powerful nation in the world.
About this product: David Smick keeps a low profile, but experts consider him one of the most insightful financial market strategists in the world. For more than two decades, he has conferred with central bankers (such as Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke) and advised top Wall Street executives and investors, from George Soros to Michael Steinhardt to Stan Druckenmiller. Political leaders (from Bill Bradley to Jack Kemp) have regularly sought his policy advice.
The World Is Curved picks up where Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat left off, taking readers on an insider’s tour through the private offices of central bankers, finance ministers, even prime ministers. Smick reveals how today’s risky environment came to be—and why the mortgage mess is a symptom of potentially far more devastating trouble. He wrestles with the two questions on everyone’s mind: How bad could things really get in today’s volatile economy? And what can we do about it?
Drawing on riveting anecdotes in language anyone can understand, Smick explains:
• Why the churning cauldron we call China (the next great bubble to burst) represents a powerful threat to everyone’s pocketbook • How Japanese housewives have taken control of their nation’s savings, and why it matters to us • How greed-driven bankers and investment bankers have put everyone’s pensions and 401(k)s at risk • Why today’s “incredible shrinking central banks” may not be able to save us when the next crisis hits • Why the big-money Russian, Chinese, Saudi, and Dubai sovereign wealth funds represent a tectonic shift in global financial power, away from the United States, Europe, and Japan • Why the world desperately needs a “big think” financial doctrine to guide today’s dangerous ocean of money
The World Is Curved is the rare book that speaks simultaneously to the Wall Street, Washington, and London elite, yet its apt storytelling shows Main Street readers how to survive in these turbulent times.
About this product: Mary Douglas is a central figure within British social anthropology. Studying under Evans-Pritchard at Oxford immediately after the war, she formed part of the group of anthropologists who established social anthropology's standing in the world of scholarship. Her works, spanning the second half of the twentieth century, have been widely read and her theories applied across the social sciences and humanities.
About this product: An explosive new package for a New York Times bestselling Corps novel.
In his new capacity, Brigadier General Fleming Pickering sees many of his trusted men called to duty, plus one he never expected: his son. Together, they will venture into terra incognita.
About this product: At the end of the prologue to Clear and Present Danger, Clancy writes, "And so began something that had not quite begun and would not soon end, with many people in many places moving off in directions and on missions which they all mistakenly thought they understood. That was just as well. The future was too fearful for contemplation, and beyond the expected, illusory finish lines were things fated by the decisions made this morning--and, once decided, best unseen." In Clear and Present Danger nothing is as clear as it may seem.
The president, unsatisfied with the success of his "war on drugs," decides that he wants some immediate success. But after John Clark's covert strike team is deployed to Colombia for Operation Showboat, the drug lords strike back taking several civilian casualties. The chief executive's polls plummet. He orders Ritter to terminate their unofficial plan and leave no traces. Jack Ryan, who has just been named CIA deputy director of intelligence is enraged when he discovers that has been left out of the loop of Colombian operations. Several of America's most highly trained soldiers are stranded in an unfinished mission that, according to all records, never existed. Ryan decides to get the men out.
Ultimately, Clear and Present Danger is about good conscience, law, and politics, with Jack Ryan and CIA agent John Clark as its dual heroes. Ryan relentlessly pursues what he knows is right and legal, even if it means confronting the president of the United States. Clark is the perfect soldier, but a man who finally holds his men higher than the orders of any careless commander.
Along with the usual, stunning array of military hardware and the latest techno-gadgets, Clear and Present Danger further develops the relationships and characters that Clancy fans have grown to love. Admiral James Greer passes the CIA torch to his pupil, Ryan. Mr. Clark and Chavez meet for the first time. Other recurring characters like Robert Ritter and "the President" add continuity to Clancy's believable, alternate reality. This is Clancy at his best. --Patrick O'Kelley
About this product: You’ve been called adrenaline junkie, thrill seeker, permanently out of the box, difficult, and just plain crazy.
And mostly, it’s true. Whether you show your radical streak in extreme sports, supercharged business ventures, or high risk relationships, you have a full-blown danger habit. As far as you can tell, you were born with it. And honestly, you wouldn’t have it any other way…
Except when your danger habit betrays you. Then your craving for adventure turns into a magnet for disaster. You leave a trail of broken commitments and unwise decisions. You get trapped in stupid addictions. You hurt the ones you love. And you end up feeling like a big mistake.
But what if you were created extreme for a purpose?
What if the radical faith God has in mind for you doesn’t have to come with a dark side? What if it actually turned out to be your ultimate rush?
In his fast-paced book, The Danger Habit, surfer and lifelong adventurer Mike Barrett explores the mindset of born radicals and the promise of what he calls “adventure faith.” He combines personal story telling, raw honesty, and biblical wisdom in a reading experience that will capture your imagination and motivate you to reach for your huge life mission in Christ.
Story Behind the Book
“I caused significant pain to my own wife and kids while struggling with an addiction to risk, the pursuit of extreme sports, and an overwhelming feeling of being bored with many Christians and standard church life. My epiphany came a number of years ago when God broke through it all and showed me how ‘propped up’ my life was without His real presence and power. In the end, we sold our suburban home, moved to the Oregon Coast , and started a ministry to surfers. Countless lives were changed; my wife and I even became pastors. Once dead to the life I had pursued, God gave me back an adventure I could never have previously dared hope for.” –Mike Barrett
About this product: An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto. When the eccentric and enigmatic Barker takes the case, he must hire an assistant, and out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved," he chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man with a murky past.
As they inch ever closer to the shocking truth behind the murder, Llewelyn is drawn deeper and deeper into Barker's peculiar world of vigilante detective work, as well as the heart of London's teeming underworld. Brimming with wit and unforgettable characters and steeped in authentic period detail, Some Danger Involved is a captivating page-turner that introduces an equally captivating duo.
About this product: During the years following the nuclear holocaust that decimated the United States, soldier and survivalist Ben Raines has dedicated his life to rebuilding civilization from the ruins. But for America to rise again, the new laws must be as just as they are harsh - they must be Ben Raines' laws.As the bloody war continues against the hordes of subhuman cannibals infesting the urban wasteland, Raines and his rebel forces encounter an even greater threat to their dream of a new America - the Ku Klux Klan, reawakened to sow the poisonous seeds of ignorance and prejudice. This hideous scourge must be wiped out at all costs. For Ben Raines knows that of all the threats to mankind's survival, blind hatred is the deadliest.
About this product: Lady Phoebe Fairchild is well aware that the ton would be appalled to learn of a young lady of quality involved in a trade. Therefore, she resorts to selling her beautiful handmade gowns under a fictitious name: Madame Dupree. So when circumstances force her to visit the estate of William Darby, the Viscount of Summerfield, to design ball gowns for his sisters, she assumes Madame's identity. Phoebe's discomfort in her new position as hired help is nothing compared to her visceral attraction to the viscount himself. Heathenishly handsome and shamelessly seductive, Will invites her to be his mistress -- and Phoebe is shockingly tempted to accept. But as their desire for each other grows and the risk of exposure becomes even greater, Phoebe is in dire danger of losing her reputation, her livelihood -- and her chance of becoming the bride of the man whose passion has claimed her forever.