Horton's experiences being thrown into heavy combat after just a few months of training. Recommended reading for all. Survival against all odds - in the trenches of Vietnam - I still can't believe they get out of there alive - couldn't put it down. This first person narrative of hand-to-hand combat in the trenches of Vietnam left me scared, glad to be alive and eternally grateful to those who died for my freedom Could not put it down - A friend had mentioned this book to me. Once I received it I could not put it down. Jerry Horton joined the army to simply be able to afford to go to college. 40 years later he has a PHD and multiple degrees but they were earned at a heavy price for this patriot. Jerry shares his experiences in Vietnam in an articulate, honest and direct assessment of his time in Vietnam, the men he served with and the horrors of war. Incredible story of leadership and survival. Shake N Bake Sergeant aka Instant NCO - Jerry Horton absolutely nailed the life of a "Shake 'n Bake" Sergeant when he tells the story of dedicated soldiers trained at Fort Benning, GA and then follows them to Vietnam. This book is not only absolutely dead on accurate but gives the reader every aspect of what it was like to experience the war as a Shake 'n Bake Sergeant. Instant NCO's were trained for only one reason - to lead United States soldiers into combat and they did it with heroic efficiency and effectiveness with limited resources. This book is not just a home run - it is a Grand Slam. Interesting, accurate, full of suspense and you can't put it down. This book should be required reading for everyone so they can understand that Freedom is not Free. There is a cost and sometimes that cost is heavy. Horton brings it all across in a nonstop action format. It is a great read! If you really want to know what it was like...This has to be the most realistic 'must read' book to come out of the VN war. If you ever read any book about this war - this is the one to read. You won't put it down and you won't ever forget it! From the book's review by the late COL(R) David Hackworth (most-decorated Vietnam veteran): "In 1968, the U.S. Army was running out of sergeants in Vietnam. Throughout military history, as least as far back as the Revolutionary War, sergeants were the backbone of the Army. This shortage of sergeants meant disaster in Vietnam. The NCO candidate school was created to solve this serious problem by doing one thing - train soldiers to lead men in combat. It was modeled after the Officer's candidate school but streamlined to meet this critical need for leaders in half the time. Graduates were known by most as "Shake 'n Bake Sergeants" or "Instant NCOs" since they got their rank fast from going to school. This book is the first time this important part of American history has ever been published. It is the first time anyone has given credit to Shake 'n Bake Sergeants - a credit that they so greatly deserved. At the time there were many who said they would fail. It seemed many did not respect them even though all were destined for front line positions. The book documents how they proved their worth over and over again as front line infantry leaders even though for thirty some years their sacrifices have been unknown." An unforgettable mixture of vivid realism, poignant sadness and unexpected humor. Once you begin reading The Shake 'n Bake Sergeant, you will find it hard to put it down. See www.shakenbakesergeant.com.

    In 1931, Spence shocked Arkansas when she avenged her father's murder in a DeWitt courtroom. The state soon discovered that no prison could hold her. For the first time, prison records are unveiled to provide an essential portrait. The legend of Helen Spence refuses to be forgotten--despite her unmarked grave.

    Hughes chronicles the history of Churches of Christ in America from their inception in the early nineteenth century to the 1990s, taking full account of the complexity of their origins, the mainstream of their heritage for almost two hundred years, and their voices of protest and dissent, especially in the twentieth century. From The Critics "Hughes...here provides the definitive history of the Churches of Christ from their beginnings in the Stone-Campbell movement of the early 19th century through the split with the Disciples of Christ at the turn of the century and all the way into the 1990s. Central to this richly detailed and highly readable narrative is Hughes's assertion that this religious movement has evolved from a 19th-century sect into a 20th-century denomination." - Choice "Because of Hughes's elegant writing and his awareness of the social history surrounding the developing denomination, this study transcends mere denominational history and should be read as cultural history. It should remain the standard volume on the subject for years to come." - Publishers Weekly "Hughes provides a clear, balanced account of an American religious movement that has heretofore received insufficient scholarly attention." - Journal of American History "An excellent denominational history of Churches of Christ.... Richard T. Hughes, who admirably balances an empathy born of his lifelong membership in the denomination with the standards of a professional historian, labored on this book for a decade and a half, and the result is a study both thoroughly researched and clearly written." - American Historical Review "Hughes is the foremost interpreter today ofthe Churches of Christ, as this book illustrates.... Well written and meticulously documented, this book could serve as the definitive history of this movement for a generation." - Religious Studies Review

    The book is important both for the study of linguistic change and for the light it throws on twentieth-century Turkishpolitics and society.

    It was perhaps the most cosmopolitan state in the world--and possibly the most volatile. "A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire" now gives scholars and general readers a concise history of the late empire between 1789 and 1918, turbulent years marked by incredible social change. Moving past standard treatments of the subject, M. Sukru Hanioglu emphasizes broad historical trends and processes more than single events. He examines the imperial struggle to centralize amid powerful opposition from local rulers, nationalist and other groups, and foreign powers. He looks closely at the socioeconomic changes this struggle wrought and addresses the Ottoman response to the challenges of modernity. Hanioglu shows how this history is not only essential to comprehending modern Turkey, but is integral to the histories of Europe and the world. He brings Ottoman society marvelously to life in all its facets--cultural, diplomatic, intellectual, literary, military, and political--and he mines imperial archives and other documents from the period to describe it as it actually was, not as it has been portrayed in postimperial nationalist narratives. "A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire" is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the legacy left in this empire's ruins--a legacy the world still grapples with today."

    Frommer paints Shoeless Joe as a baseball natural ("Joe Jackson hit the ball harder than any man ever to play baseball"-Ty Cobb), an illiterate hick (his table untemsils consisted of knife and fingers), and an innocent man snared by the greatest scandal in baseball history.

    Kurdistan is an invisible nation, and the Kurds the largest ethnic group on Earth without a homeland, comprising some 25 million moderate Sunni Muslims living in the area around the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Through a history dating back to biblical times, they have endured persecution and betrayal, surviving only through stubborn compromise with greater powers. They have always desired their own state, and now, accidentally, the United States may have helped them take a huge step toward that goal.As Quil Lawrence relates in his fascinating and timely study of the Iraqi Kurds, while their ambition and determination grow apace, their future will be largely dependent on whether America values a budding democracy in the region, or decides to yet again sacrifice the Kurds in the name of political expediency. Either way, the Kurdish north may well prove to be the defining battleground in Iraq, as the country struggles to hold itself together. At this extraordinary moment in the saga of Kurdistan, informed by his deep knowledge of the people and region, Lawrence's intimate and unflinching portrait of the Kurds and their heretofore quixotic quest offers a vital and original lens through which to contemplate the future of Iraq and the surrounding Middle East.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Following on from Our Story, Ron Kray fills in the gaps and gives his version of the murders of Jack The Hat McVitie and George Cornell, describing his bisexuality and his marriage in Broadmoor and clarifying many of the misconceptions about the years when he and Reg ruled the London underworld, shot enemies at will and simultaneously socialized with some of the most glittering politicians, celebrities and hostesses of the time.

    Henry C. Lee is highly regarded throughout the law-enforcement community as one of the most talented and experienced forensic scientists in the world. He has also received widespread public recognition and media attention through his association with sensational criminal investigations, including the JFK assassination, the suicide of White House counsel Vincent Foster, the Chandra Levy homicide, the O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey cases, and, most recently, the Caylee Anthony case. In this new book, Dr. Lee and critically acclaimed mystery writer Jerry Labriola, MD, team up again to present another true-crime page-turner on five notorious incidents: - The Phil Spector case: Legendary music mogul Phil Spector was charged with murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson, found slain in his mansion. But has Dr. Lee produced forensic evidence suggesting her death was a suicide? - The Brown's Chicken massacre: The savage murder of helpless employees of a restaurant in Palatine, Illinois, was left unsolved for over a decade until the painstaking forensic skills of Task Force and Dr. Lee eventually identified the killers. - Murder in the Sacristy: The brutal murder of a nun in a Toledo, Ohio, church had bizarre ritualistic overtones and remained unsolved until a priest was prosecuted twenty-six years later-the same priest who had conducted the nun's funeral service! Dr. Lee testified at the trial of the priest and here he demonstrates how the perseverance of law enforcement officials and forensic scientists eventually solved the crime. - The shooting of a Connecticut state trooper and the shooting death of a fourteen-year-old young man: Dr. Lee discusses the dual hazards of police work-being killed or injured in the line of duty and the accidental killing of innocent victims or suspects. In Hartford, while racial tensions threatened to spin out of control, Dr. Lee reconstructed the shooting of a young African American by a police officer. His diligent work defused hostilities that nearly led to a riot. - Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Dr. Lee discusses his role in the excavation and, in some cases, the identification of hundreds of bodies in the former Yugoslavia. The evidence he uncovered was later used to build a case against suspects indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal. Combining fascinating details of forensic science with a vivid narrative, Shocking Cases from Dr. Henry Lee's Forensic Files is must reading for true-crime readers and forensic science lovers.

    For the Mob (as they are also known), crime was big business. Feuds between Mafia families and their associates led to Lucky Luciano, the preeminent Mob boss, creating the Commission, which to this day rules over Mob activity and disputes. Throughout the 20th century, the ruthlessness of the Mafia has been in evidence: the list of Mob victims seems endless. Mafia Hits recalls the most important executions - the rival bosses, the stool pigeons and snitches, the good cops and the dirty cops, the vicious feuds and the hit-men who lived by the gun and died by it. All are here in this fascinating tale of the American underworld.

    He underwent intensive training to prepare for insertion into hostile areas, including High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachuting and weapons instruction. In the course of his first mission (to East and West Germany, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Romania, and Austria), he assassinated several international drug dealers. On his return, he was thrown into an Iranian prison, where he was physically and psychologically tortured. Over the next thirty years, he served the agency on an as-needed basis, engaging in such activities as hunting down and eliminating members of the Red Army Faction and extracting Soviet Spetsnaz officers from East Germany. His cover jobs included being a part owner of an Oakland health club, which brought him into close contact with steroid abuse in professional athletics, drug abuse in general, and the Hell’s Angels, whom he believes tried to have him killed. He also served in Germany as site commander for the Conventional Forces in Europe weapons treaty. His most recent cover was as the deputy director of intelligence in the U.S. Army Reserve Command, which involved him with the Guantanamo detention facility.A true story that pulls no punches, Enter the Past Tense also chronicles Haas’s descent into, and recovery from, alcoholism that resulted from the stress of this extraordinary life. It is an eye-opening look at the dark, but many would argue necessary, side of intelligence work—and one that readers won’t soon forget.

    This time, however, was different. Little did he know in 1983 that he would spend the next six years being brutally, mindlessly tortured by those he supported. “Brother Hamid”, Asadi’s torturer, stopped at nothing to extract his “confessions”. Asadi was a spy for Russia, for Britain, for anyone or anything. Hamid became an ambassador; Asadi a fugitive, haunted by nightmares and persisting pain. His feet lashed till lame, he was grilled until he could no longer answer a simple question. In these letters, discover how, through his accidental friendship with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, a fellow cellmate under the regime, Asadi was saved from execution – and confronts his torturer one last time. In 1983, Houshang Asadi was imprisoned in Tehran. Under torture, he said he was a spy. Many of his friends also confessed and were executed. He was released after six years. Today he lives in Paris with his wife, Nooshabeh Amiri. They write for the Iranian news website Rooz Online

    update of first edition

    Going beyond a simple narrative of Ottoman achievements, Colin Imber uses original sources and research, as well as the rapidly expanding body of modern research on the subject, to show how this complex state worked in practice.