Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces


Tom Clancy - 2001
    Tom Clancy traces the transformation of the Special Forces from the small core of outsiders of the 1950s through the cauldron of Vietnam and to the rebirth of the SF in the late 1980s and 1990s as the bearer of the largest, most mixed and most complex set of missions in the US military. From Vietnam to Laos to Panama and El Salvador to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, these are stories of raids, counter-terrorism, hostage rescues, reconnaissance, counter-insurgency and psychological operations - and also of building settlements, teaching civilians, cleaning up water supplies and saving lives.

Clicking: 17 Trends That Drive Your Business--And Your Life


Faith Popcorn - 1996
    She first identified the concepts of Cocooning, Female Think and Icon Toppling; predicted the fall of New Coke; and has helped create and market many of America's most successful new products. Her astonishingly accurate predictions are an invaluable asset to the American business world, and Clicking, which sold over 100,000 copies in hardcover, appeared on bestseller lists ranging from the New York Times and USA Today to the Chicago Tribune and Business Week. Now Popcorn, coauthor Lys Marigold, and Popcorn's company, BrainReserve, share even more of their remarkable insights about how we will conduct our businesses and live our lives in the future. Clicking is about positioning one's business, and one's self, to be poised to take the fullest advantage of upcoming trends. Loaded with telling anecdotes and inspiring examples, packed with ideas, products and people who have successfully mastered trends, or "clicked," this up-to-the minute revised report (including a major trend not identified in the hardcover) reveals the shape of the future.

The Dash: Making A Difference With Your Life


Linda Ellis - 2005
    

Fields of Fire


James Webb - 1978
    They each had their illusions. Goodrich came from Harvard. Snake got the tattoo — Death Before Dishonor — before he got the uniform. And Hodges was haunted by the ghosts of family heroes.They had no way of knowing what awaited them. Nothing could have prepared them for the madness to come. And in the heat and horror of battle they took on new identities, took on each other, and were each reborn in fields of fire....Fields of Fire is James Webb’s classic, searing novel of the Vietnam War, a novel of poetic power, razor-sharp observation, and agonizing human truths seen through the prism of nonstop combat. Weaving together a cast of vivid characters, Fields of Fire captures the journey of unformed men through a man-made hell — until each man finds his fate.'

Risk Forward: Embrace the Unknown and Unlock Your Hidden Genius


Victoria Labalme - 2021
    This is a book for the rest of us. - Victoria LabalmeIf you sense there's something more but you're not yet sure what it is...If you wish you had the courage to try something new...If you're struggling to figure out your next steps on a project, plan or path...Risk Forward will help you find your way.In this brief, easy-to-read, full color book experience, acclaimed keynote speaker and performance coach Victoria Labalme shares a series of strategies that are practical, reassuring, and radically freeing.Through these uniquely designed, whimsical, and thought-provoking pages, you'll learn:- How to navigate through uncertainty- The #1 question to identify what matters- Four insights to help you find your way- Why your disparate talents are essential to your path- How to handle moments of indecision- 3 key questions to ask when you get advice- How to stay on course and know that what you do makes a difference

D-Day


Al Hine - 1962
    Here is the dramatic story of that climatic battle and the men who planned and fought in it. The Normandy invasion altered the course of World War II and led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the Third Reich. It is a story of courage and fear, tragedy and determination.

Roman Warfare


Adrian Goldsworthy - 2000
    Accompany these unparalleled troops from the conquest of Italy thru to world conquest. Watch as defeated armies became allies & future Roman soldiers. Consider the irony of extreme brutality & repression leading to peace & prosperity. All the techniques & the organization of this amazingly advanced fighting force come into focus, from the emphasis on drills to its superior technology & complex bureaucracy.

Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices


Peter F. Drucker - 1985
    "This book," in Peter Drucker'swords, "tries to equip the manager with the understanding, the thinking, the knowledge and the skills for today'sand also tomorrow's jobs." This management classic has been developed and tested during more than thirty years of teaching management in universities, in executive programs and seminars and through the author's close work with managers as a consultant for large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools. Drucker discusses the tools and techniques of successful management practice that have been proven effective, and he makes them meaningful and easily accessible.

Dustoff 7-3: Saving Lives Under Fire in Afghanistan


Erik Sabiston - 2015
    Complete opposites thrown together, cut off, and outnumbered, Chief Warrant Officer Erik Sabiston and his flight crew answered the call in a race against time, not to take lives—but to save them.   The concept of evacuating wounded soldiers by helicopter developed in the Korean War and became a staple during the war in Vietnam where heroic, unarmed chopper crews flew vital missions known to the grateful grunts on the ground as Dustoffs.   The crew of Dustoff 7-3 carried on that heroic tradition, flying over a region that had seen scores of American casualties, known among veterans as the Valley of Death. At the end of Operation Hammer Down, they had rescued 14 soldiers, made three critical supply runs, recovered two soldiers killed in action, and nearly died. It took all of three days.

Operation Red Wings: The Rescue Story Behind Lone Survivor


Peter Nealen - 2013
    Navy SEALs were inserted into the mountains of eastern Afghanistan with the task of collecting intelligence and finding—or killing—a top al Qaeda commander. The SEALs were ambushed by over one hundred Taliban fighters and a horrific battle ensued. The rescue helicopter carrying eight SEALs was shot down by a reported Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), killing them instantly and erasing any hope for the SEALs already on the ground. Luttrell was the only survivor. OPERATION RED WINGS is an in-depth examination of the recovery mission to rescue Luttrell, filled with never-before-told details and shocking new revelations. Author Peter Nealen (former USMC Force Recon) and the team at SOFREP have an expansive network within the Special Operations community, providing them with access to exclusive interviews, after action reports, military intel and previously untold accounts of the rescue mission. Nealen and his team have uncovered eyewitness reports that put the "official" story into question as to how the initial rescue helicopter was shot down. If true, this potential coverup will have had severe consequences on subsequent helicopter insertion operations and put lives at risk. Complete with a foreword by former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb, this is a must-have companion to the blockbuster book and upcoming film. (12,000 words)

15 Months in SOG: A Warrior's Tour


Thom Nicholson - 1999
    Because SOG operations suffered extraordinary casualties, they required extraordinary soldiers. So when Capt. Thom Nicholson arrived at Command and Control North (CCN) in Da Nang, SOG's northernmost base camp, he knew he was going to be working with the cream of the crop. As commander of Company B, CCN's Raider Company, Nicholson commanded four platoons, comprising nearly two hundred men, in some of the war's most deadly missions, including ready-reaction missions for patrols in contact with the enemy, patrol extractions under fire, and top-secret expeditions "over the fence" into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. Colonel Nicholson spares no one, including himself, as he provides a rare glimpse into the workings of one of the military's most carefully concealed reconnaissance campaigns.From the Paperback edition.

Grey Eminence: Fox Conner and the Art of Mentorship


Edward Cox - 2010
    He is the “grey eminence” within the Army whose influence helped to shape the careers of George Patton, George Marshall, and, most notably, President Eisenhower. What little is known about Conner comes primarily through stories about his relationship with Eisenhower, but little is known about Fox Conner himself.After a career that spanned four decades, this master strategist ordered all of his papers and journals burned. Because of this, most of what is known about Conner is oblique, as a passing reference in the memoirs of other great men. This book combines existing scholarship with long-forgotten references and unpublished original sources to achieve a more comprehensive picture of this dedicated public servant. The portrait that emerges provides a four-step model for developing strategic leaders that still holds true today. First and foremost, Conner was a master of his craft. Secondly, he recognized and recruited talented subordinates. Then he encouraged and challenged these protégés to develop their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. Finally he wasn’t afraid to break the rules of the organization to do it. Here, for the first time ever, is the story of Major General Fox Conner.

Eye of the Viper: The Making of an F-16 Pilot


Peter Aleshire - 2004
    Luke, the world's largest fighter wing, is the only F-16 fighter training base in the United States, and each year it produces one thousand pilots who will fly the F-16 from Korea to Afghanistan to Iraq.But being among the elite pilots who are selected for the course is by no means a guarantee that they will earn the right to fly the F-16, perhaps the most agile jet fighter ever sent into combat. Only a few select individuals will have what it takes. Award-winning journalist Peter Aleshire, given unprecedented access to the pilots and teachers at Luke, provides a full blast of the rigors and intensity of the course--the personalities, the incredible machines, the irreverence, the bravado, and the toughness, not only of the hand-picked students seeking a place in the warrior subculture, but of the veteran pilots who must teach them how to stay alive. Readers will quickly come to understand the extraordinary mental and physical demands on a modern pilot--and the incredible joy and sense of freedom that makes most F-16 pilots describe their single-engine, weapons-laden, needle-nosed jet in terms that sound more like true love or helpless addiction than a relationship with a mere airplane. Eye of the Viper is a frank, ambitious, eminently entertaining look at the ambitions, fears, frailties, and courage that make or break the young pilots at the exquisitely sensitive controls of a $35-million jet.

The Rescue of Bat 21


Darrel D. Whitcomb - 1998
    forces had nearly perfected the art of Search and Rescue. But in the maelstrom of a battle on Easter Day of that year, an operation unlike any other was set in motion to save Lt. Col. Iceal "Gene" Hambleton -- call sign Bat 21 Bravo. For the next eleven days, an extraordinary group of U.S. airmen, soldiers, sailors, and Navy Seals braved one of the largest North Vietnamese Army offensives of the war to rescue one of their own.The legendary and controversial operation, which demanded heart-stopping heroics from every man involved, is relived in this unforgettable testament.

Hannibal: Enemy Of Rome


Leonard Cottrell - 1960
    As a result of his famous "double pincer" maneuver, 70,000 Roman soldiers died within the space of a few hours on a field the size of New York's Central Park. Yet, as devastating and startling as Cannae was, it was only one of a long list of incredible achievements. Hannibal's fantastic 1,000-mile march across the Alps from Spain to Italy was one of the wonders of ancient times. He began his hazardous journey with 90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 37 elephants. By the time he reached the Valley of the Po, more than 30,000 troops and many of his elephants had perished, but he still managed to stay in Italy for sixteen years.Blending biography and military adventure, Hannibal is a portrait of a military genius who was also a highly civilized man. The son of Hamilcar Barca, a famous general in his own right, Hannibal was a student of the Greek classics. But his father's lifelong grudge against Rome fostered in the son a deep hatred for that Republic and a fierce determination to subdue it forever. This resulted in the bloody battles of Lake Trasimene, Campania, Nole, Capua, and Zama, all of which Leonard Cottrell describes with vigor and authority. In gathering material for Hannibal, Cottrell traveled the entire route that Hannibal took across the Alps, thus bringing to his account a valuable firsthand knowledge of his subject. With the drama and authenticity for which he is famous, Leonard Cottrell describes Hannibal's amazing campaign-a saga of victory after victory which fell just short of its ultimate goal: the annihilation of Rome.