For more than 200 years, U.S. Army Rangers have earned their unrivaled reputation as the world's premier warriors with bravery, blood, and sacrifice. Being a Ranger is a function of attitude and a state of mind, as well as a matter of skills and training, and it is the mission of the U.S. Army Ranger School to meld and to fortify these attributes. Ranger School is a journey that must be taken one day at a time...and each day of that journey is captured in this book. It is the cumulative effect of each of those days, the arduous work, the deprivation, the misery, that leads to what is ultimately called "the Ranger School experience."
Building on the tradition of Little Bee, Chris Cleave again writes with elegance, humor, and passion about friendship, marriage, parenthood, tragedy, and redemption. What would you sacrifice for the people you love? KATE AND ZOE met at nineteen when they both made the cut for the national training program in track cycling—a sport that demands intense focus, blinding exertion, and unwavering commitment. They are built to exploit the barest physical and psychological edge over equally skilled rivals, all of whom are fighting for the last one tenth of a second that separates triumph from despair. Now at thirty-two, the women are facing their last and biggest race: the 2012 Olympics. Each wants desperately to win gold, and each has more than a medal to lose. Kate is the more naturally gifted, but the demands of her life have a tendency to slow her down. Her eight-year-old daughter Sophie dreams of the Death Star and of battling alongside the Rebels as evil white blood cells ravage her personal galaxy—she is fighting a recurrence of the leukemia that nearly killed her three years ago. Sophie doesn’t want to stand in the way of her mum’s Olympic dreams, but each day the dark forces of the universe seem to be massing against her. Devoted and self-sacrificing Kate knows her daughter is fragile, but at the height of her last frenzied months of training, might she be blind to the most terrible prognosis? Intense, aloof Zoe has always hovered on the periphery of real human companionship, and her compulsive need to win at any cost has more than once threatened her friendship with Kate—and her own sanity. Will she allow her obsession, and the advantage she has over a harried, anguished mother, to sever the bond they have shared for more than a decade? Echoing the adrenaline-fueled rush of a race around the Velodrome track, Gold is a triumph of superbly paced, heart-in-throat storytelling. With great humanity and glorious prose, Chris Cleave examines the values that lie at the heart of our most intimate relationships, and the choices we make when lives are at stake and everything is on the line.
For more than 200 years, U.S. Army Rangers have fought suicidal combat missions against overwhelming odds-earning their unrivaled reputation as the world's premier close- combat warriors. In "Rangers in Combat," Lieutenant Colonel J. D. Lock vividly brings to life the horrific battles and the heroic exploits of a special breed of men for whom "valor, honor, and country" mean more than life itself. Take a stand with Robert Rogers and his outnumbered Rangers during the French and Indian War. Ride with Mosby on the Soughton Raid in the Civil War. In World War II, spearhead Patton's invasion of Sicily beside the legendary William O. Darby, suicidally climb the cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc with James Earl Rudder, or storm "bloody Omaha" with Max Schneider. Stand outnumbered deep in North Korea while defending Hill 205 against overwhelming hordes of Communist Chinese. And high atop a mountain in Afghanistan, fight your way out of a savage al Qaeda terrorist ambush. From the snowy forests of Upstate New York and the swamps of South Carolina, to the humid streets of Mogadishu and the snowy mountain peaks of Afghanistan, read accounts of and lessons learned from some of the most courageous, daring, and vicious ground combat in the annals of U.S. military history. Enter the combat zone with elite warriors who have helped to change the course of history.
This luxurious book is the first comprehensive survey of jewelry as an art form, showcasing the dazzling work of a diverse collection of today's most exclusive jewelers
"ROAD TO GOLD" : WHAT IT TAKES TO EARN THOSE COVETED "WINGS OF GOLD"Celebrating the 100TH Anniversary of Naval AVIATIONBY: Bill "Sweetwater" LaBarge, Navy Carrier Pilot and New York Times Bestselling Author.From basic training to deadly battle in the skies, he followed a path of high risk and proud tradition.Matt "Sweetwater" Sullivan's dream of becoming a Navy pilot could not possibly have prepared him for the body-numbing pace of basic training with a class of bewildered beginners. With grit, verve, and determination, Matt would survive the "Pensacola Pressure-Cooker" and go on to Saufley Field to meet the grueling demands of the Navy's basic flight program.But learning to handle high-altitude crises and hazardous landings was only a prelude to the harrowing night flights, the hair-trigger laser weapons training, dicey test flights from the desk of the Lady Lex, and deadly DEA combat action. Facing down fears and doubts, meeting every challenge, Matt would take every risk, until he could say with a naval aviator's pride that he had gone the distance and earned the right to join the select few who wear the hard-won, coveted Wings of Gold.
At a swanky café in midtown Manhattan, three twentysomething gals convene to discuss how to achieve their ultimate fantasy: becoming lusciously sexy, irresistibly seductive mistresses to supremely wealthy older men. Founders of their very own Mistress Club -- Brooke, a confident brunette; Delia, a feisty blond sexpot; and MJ, an ambitious, red-haired siren -- have sworn off unsatisfying one-night stands, vowing to take control of their sex lives. And thanks to Brooke, they have a set of guidelines for becoming elegant mistresses of sin: Get first, then give Don't waste your time on anything that won't get you something in return Always dress to kill -- stilettos are a must! Be discreet, aloof, mysterious, elusive Don't get invested in him -- let him invest in you And most of all, do NOT fall in love. Despite the rules, each woman falls for a sexy man who gets what he wants -- when he wants it -- without giving anything in return. That is, until Brooke finds her way into the coveted pages of a high-powered businessman's little black book -- opening the door for her and her friends to a hedonistic world of pleasure and passion that may be more than they bargained for ...
