In January, 1967, at the age of twenty, I left my home in Tennessee, and was on my way to Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. I knew I was destined to join the party in Vietnam. I had been married for five days before I jumped on the bus and became US government property. I was about to embark on a walking tour through the jungles and muck of southern Asia. This book is about those jungles, that muck and the realities of what had been pitched as a brave and glamorous life of a soldier in combat. There is nothing glamorous in humping the brush, a backpack containing your whole life on your back, an M-16 to keep you warm at night. Red ants, trip wires, flooded rice paddies, leeches and being soaked for a year in either sweat or monsoons aren’t what they show on the movies, and the John Waynes were to be avoided; those guys were part of the ten-percent factor. Among the casualties of war are the truth and common sense. A glamorous life? No, not at all. It was a grunt's life... and this grunt had only one goal in mind – to do his tour and get home to his bride. There were times where it seemed even that was an unachievable goal.This is the story of November Platoon, Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry, 1st Division – The Big Red One – in Vietnam. This is my story… completely unvarnished.

    The facts range from strange historical events to breakthrough scientific discoveries. The book is also a continuation of my previous works, 1000 Things You Might Not Have Known and 1000 More Things You Might Now Have Known. 1000 Shocking Facts You Might Not Have Known is packed with interesting, entertaining, educational and fun things to read. You'll get everything from the weird to the wonderful and from the horrible to the hilarious. Facts such as: Starbucks spends more money on health insurance for its employees than on coffee beans. Walt Disney lost the ability to speak and used pen and paper to communicate before passing away. The last words he wrote on pen and paper was the famous actor "Kurt Russell".

    Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade posted to northeastern Afghanistan's Kunar Province. Battle Company, the best within the Brigade, was assigned the toughest Area of Operations. It was called the Korengal Valley. During their 15-month tour, Battle Company saw more combat than any unit since Vietnam. Raw and unapologetic, To Quell The Korengal is a first-hand account of life on the front lines. Written by a grunt on the ground, it is rife with gun fights, grueling foot patrols, a villainous Company Commander, the austere routines of the American Soldier, and the kind of humor only a war could love. Though equally appealing to combat-hardened readers, the story is told in a manner any civilian can comprehend. It was the author's wish that the book could serve as a bridge of understanding for a veteran's wife or mom, or anyone curious about the conflict and sacrifices of our nation's troops.

    Visit the Tian Tan Buddha, Tai O, Victoria Peak, Chi Lin Nunnery, Victoria Harbor, Statue Square, the ruins of St. Paul’s, Guia Fortress, and other famous spots.

    Some of the stories are hilarious. Some of the stories are heartbreaking. All of the stories are true.Most people think of the funeral business as being very subdued where words are spoken in hushed tones and those who work in it are best described as “somber.” Like almost everything else in life, you never really know what goes on behind closed doors.How could the station wagon used to pick up bodies just vanish? What did the waitress at the drive-in really think was in the back of the car? Why did the woman driving a Cadillac stop in the middle of the busy street in front of the funeral home and start screaming obscenities? How did a woman’s panties end up inside a casket?The answers to these questions and other interesting tales are found on the pages of Casket Chronicles.

    Sherry Rupke of SwissRidge Kennels was the first breeder to deliberately cross Bernese Mountain Dogs and Poodles. Rupke loved everything about the Bernese, except for the short-lived breed’s genetic propensity for cancer. Plus it sheds. And it can be a little stubborn. Rupke decided to add Poodle to the hybrid equation to create an intelligent, lively, healthy and low- to non-shedding dog. Over the past decade, she’s built her Bernedoodle program with care to ensure that each scrupulously health-checked breeding dog has an impeccable pedigree, a calm temperament, and great conformation. Bernedoodles: A Head to Tail Guide takes readers on a journey from Rupke’s early days of breeding purebred dogs to establishing her highly successful hybrid program. This comprehensive, easy-to-read and entertaining book also covers everything you need to know about finding the right breeder and puppy, to caring for your Bernedoodle. You’ll discover the best training techniques for Bernedoodles (and any dog) from Rupke’s partner, Lucas Mucha. Anecdotes from owners of SwissRidge Bernedoodles, along with stunning photos, are likely to convince you that this fun, fun, affectionate, and allergy-friendly hybrid is the perfect companion dog.

    Can Australia defend itself in the Asian century? How seriously ought we take the risk of war? Do we want to remain a middle power? What kind of strategy, and what Australian Defence Force, do we need? In this groundbreaking book, Hugh White considers these questions and more. With exceptional clarity and frankness, he makes the case for a reconceived defence of Australia. Along the way he offers intriguing insights into history, technology and the Australian way of war. Hugh White is the country’s most provocative, revelatory and yet realistic commentator on Australia’s strategic and defence orientation. In an age of power politics and armed rivalry in Asia, it is time for fresh thinking. In this controversial and persuasive contribution, White sets new terms for one of the most crucial conversations Australia needs to have.

    Here, for the first time, is his remarkable story.A far-from-strapping lad from Tasmania, Dave proved everybody wrong by passing the gruelling selection course to join the SAS. Unsatisfied by the Regiment, he left to take up the cause of the oppressed Karen people of Burma, becoming a seasoned jungle-fighter in the process.On his return to Australia, Dave became every government’s nightmare: a highly skilled special-forces soldier on a crime spree. On a mission to raise funds for the Karen, he kidnapped people from their homes, robbed movie theatres and plotted some of the most audacious crimes ever conceived in Australia. At the height of his infamy every police officer in the country was on the lookout for him, while the tabloid press fuelled the public’s fear of a trained killer gone crazy.Dave was blown-up, shot at, starved, bashed, interrogated, tortured and locked in solitary confinement, but nothing diminished his wild streak. While serving his jail sentence, he had time to reflect. In Shadow Warrior, he tells his story with unflinching honesty and larrikin wit.

    He has proudly told "dick jokes for cash" in pretty much every comedy club and festival in Australia, and taken his knob gags international at all the major festivals from Edinburgh to Auckland to Montreal, and graced some of the most famous stages in the world in New York and LA.In 2008 Wil was named GQ's Comedic Talent of the Year, and given an excellent trophy which he immediately misplaced while drunk at the after party.

    Now, for the first time, Serge takes you behind the scenes of the fighter pilot world to reveal what it's really like. Find out how it feels to be shot at by SAS snipers, to be lost in a $50 million jet over Northern Australia with nothing but car lights to guide you home, to rupture your sinuses while flying, to inadvertently bomb a yacht and to face death on an almost daily basis. Relive the adventures of a real-life Top Gun and find out what it takes to become part of this elite force. From the Pentagon to the South China Sea, the deserts of Australia to the wars of the Middle East, this book is as action-packed as it is entertaining. Sit back and strap yourself in for an exhilarating ride to the sound barrier and beyond with Mac Tucker, an Australian fighter pilot and real life Top Gun.

    After her beloved John's death from cancer, Virginia was faced with addressing the chronic rising damp problem in the house they had shared and, over her first year as a young widow, her house had to dry from the inside out – and so did Virginia. The Young Widow's Book of Home Improvement is a wry and touching love story that plays with the parallels between our homes and ourselves.

     Our intrepid adventurers work their way through numerous mishaps, including, but not limited to, an ill-advised river crossing, an inappropriately packed roof rack and some truly horrible singing. During their journey they stumble across a motley assortment of characters such as a confused check-in clerk, a grey nomad with an eye for detail regarding torches, and several Crazy Germans. While reading Campervan Kama Sutra, you’ll not only fall in love with Australia’s vast, ever-changing countryside, but you’ll also delight in the tragicomedy that arrives with unerring regularity. You’ll laugh until something hurts. *P.S. There was no dog.

    But to the women locked up there it was something else. A Living Hell. More than 4,000 internees were held there from January 1942 until February 1945.'Living Hell' is their harrowing story. The book is based on the diaries of Isla Corfield. An Englishwoman whose comfortable life in Shanghai was suddenly disrupted by the outbreak of World War Two, she fled with her daughter Gill on an evacuee ship.But the ship was captured by the Japanese -- and Isla and Gill would have to struggle to survive as prisoners of war in both Santo Tomas and Los Banos internment camps.In the communities of the camps, Isla and her daughter experienced the extremes of both friendship and loss. Cut-off from information about the war and with no end to their internment in sight, the pair experience starvation, disease and desperation.Finally liberated by the Americans after four years, Isla's story is both humbling and life-affirming - the story of one brave Englishwomen's battle to survive against terrible odds.It is one of the great untold stories of World War Two. "An incredible story of bravery and will-power." - Robert Foster, best-selling author of 'The Lunar Code'. Celia Lucas is a writer of children’s fiction and biography. She is a journalist, feature writer and public relations consultant. Winner of Tir na Nog Prize 1988 she has also collaborated on a TV series with husband Ian Skidmore. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher.

    I'm not sure how we'll go now without Annie. She was like Carrie, you know, in Sex and the City. Annie was our Carrie."Without Annie, friends Catherine, Lexie and Rachel are lost. What will things be like now? How will they fill the void? Will their friendship survive? These questions are soon overshadowed by the complexities of their own lives. Catherine is excelling in her high-flying career but struggling in her relationships, especially with her unfathomable teenage daughter. Lexie is juggling the demands of her young family and the ego of her hardworking husband, while taking the first steps to achieving her own dreams. And finally Rachel, the one who can't seem to settle down, is experiencing the heady euphoria of a new relationship. But when the truth comes out about who she has fallen in love with, fragile friendships will be put to the test all over again...

    But there was no 'big house' here - Toni did not grow up in a large homestead. She lived in a shack that had no electricity and no running water. The oppressive climate of the Territory - either wet or dry - tested everyone. Fish were known to rain from the sky and sometimes good men drank too much and drowned trying to cross swollen rivers.Toni grew up with the Aboriginal people who lived and worked on the station, and got into scrapes with her ever-increasing number of siblings. She loved where she grew up - she was happy on the land with her friends and family, observing the many characters who made up the community on Killarney. When she was sent to boarding school all she wanted to do was go back to the land she loved, despite the fact that her parents' marriage was struggling as Bill Tapp succumbed to drink and June Tapp refused to go under with him.Toni's love of the natural world and of people alike has resulted in a tender portrait of a life that many people would consider tough. She brings vividly to the page a story seldom seen: a Territory childhood, with all its colour, characters and contradictions.