The Triple Nickles
Author: Bradley Biggs
Publisher:
Published: 1986
Total Pages: 126
ISBN-13:
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Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles
Author: Tanya Lee Stone
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2013-01-22
Total Pages: 162
ISBN-13: 0763668206
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThey became America’s first black paratroopers. Why was their story never told? Sibert Medalist Tanya Lee Stone reveals the history of the Triple Nickles during World War II. World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on the home front, the injustice of discrimination against African Americans plays out as much on Main Street as in the military. Enlisted black men are segregated from white soldiers and regularly relegated to service duties. At Fort Benning, Georgia, First Sergeant Walter Morris’s men serve as guards at The Parachute School, while the white soldiers prepare to be paratroopers. Morris knows that for his men to be treated like soldiers, they have to train and act like them, but would the military elite and politicians recognize the potential of these men as well as their passion for serving their country? Tanya Lee Stone examines the role of African Americans in the military through the history of the Triple Nickles, America’s first black paratroopers, who fought in a little-known attack on the American West by the Japanese. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, in the words of Morris, “proved that the color of a man had nothing to do with his ability.” From Courage Has No Color What did it take to be a paratrooper in World War II? Specialized training, extreme physical fitness, courage, and — until the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the Triple Nickles) was formed — white skin. It is 1943. Americans are overseas fighting World War II to help keep the world safe from Adolf Hitler’s tyranny, safe from injustice, safe from discrimination. Yet right here at home, people with white skin have rights that people with black skin do not. What is courage? What is strength? Perhaps it is being ready to fight for your nation even when your nation isn’t ready to fight for you. Front matter includes a foreword by Ashley Bryan. Back matter includes an author’s note, an appendix, a time line, source notes, and a bibliography.
Operation Firefly
Author: Lian Young
Publisher:
Published: 2014-08-15
Total Pages:
ISBN-13: 9780996094900
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA compelling work of historical fiction written by former director of corporate communications for the Office of Naval Research Liane Young, "Operation Firefly" reveals the amazing true story of the smokejumpers of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the US Army's first all-black test platoon. Toward the end of WWII, the Japanese begin attaching incendiary and antipersonnel bombs to hydrogen-filled paper balloons and sending them across the Pacific Ocean. Over the course of the Fu-Go program, almost ten thousand balloon bombs are launched, setting off hundreds of forest fires along the West Coast of the United States. But in a ploy to trick the Japanese into thinking their bombing campaign is ineffective, the US government keeps it all under wraps. After six innocent civilians are killed, the "Triple Nickles" are quietly dispatched to Pendleton Field, Oregon, on Operation Firefly. Young draws you into this riveting, little-known chapter of American history by masterfully weaving the story of Captain Tucker Freeman and several other fictionalized characters into factual accounts. This remarkable eighteen-man team's missions have them parachuting into dangerous situations to fight forest fires and defuse live Fu-Go bombs. Facing external racism and internal personality clashes, the tension builds, culminating in a dramatic race against the clock at a top-secret Manhattan Project site.
Shifting the Monkey
Author: Todd Whitaker
Publisher: Triple Nickel Press
Published: 2012
Total Pages: 16
ISBN-13: 0982702973
DOWNLOAD EBOOKEveryone has responsibilities, obligations, and problems to deal with in the workplace and in life. Some people, however, have mastered the art of shifting those monkeys onto the backs of others. They claim they don t know how to solve a problem or do the task, they say they don't have time, they complain, they perform poorly, they find any and every way to avoid the work - and yet somehow, they're never held accountable. Instead, hardworking, loyal employees who care about results end up shouldering those burdens for their lazy or unmotivated colleagues. The slackers get just what they want - less work - while the best employees become alienated and overworked. Who is to blame for those misplaced monkeys? Shifting the Monkey shows how to shift an organization's focus from compensating for, excusing, and working around problem people to cultivating and rewarding the best employees. --Publisher.
Mare's War
Author: Tanita S. Davis
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published: 2009-06-09
Total Pages: 354
ISBN-13: 0375853596
DOWNLOAD EBOOKMeet Mare, a grandmother with flair and a fascinating past. Octavia and Tali are dreading the road trip their parents are forcing them to take with their grandmother over the summer. After all, Mare isn’t your typical grandmother. She drives a red sports car, wears stiletto shoes, flippy wigs, and push-up bras, and insists that she’s too young to be called Grandma. But somewhere on the road, Octavia and Tali discover there’s more to Mare than what you see. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less-than-perfect life in the deep South and lied about her age to join the African American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. Told in alternating chapters, half of which follow Mare through her experiences as a WAC member and half of which follow Mare and her granddaughters on the road in the present day, this novel introduces a larger-than-life character who will stay with readers long after they finish reading.
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
Author: Kathi Appelt
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2013-07-23
Total Pages: 254
ISBN-13: 1442481218
DOWNLOAD EBOOK“Librarians often say that every book is not for every child, but The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp is” (The New York Times). Meet Bingo and J’miah, raccoon brothers on a mission to save Sugar Man Swamp in this rollicking tale and National Book Award Finalist from Newbery Honoree Kathi Appelt. Raccoon brothers Bingo and J’miah are the newest recruits of the Official Sugar Man Swamp Scouts. The opportunity to serve the Sugar Man—the massive creature who delights in delicious sugar cane and magnanimously rules over the swamp—is an honor, and also a big responsibility, since the rest of the swamp critters rely heavily on the intel of these hardworking Scouts. Twelve-year-old Chap Brayburn is not a member of any such organization. But he loves the swamp something fierce, and he’ll do anything to help protect it. And help is surely needed, because world-class alligator wrestler Jaeger Stitch wants to turn Sugar Man swamp into an Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, and the troubles don’t end there. There is also a gang of wild feral hogs on the march, headed straight toward them all. The Scouts are ready. All they have to do is wake up the Sugar Man. Problem is, no one’s been able to wake that fellow up in a decade or four… Newbery Honoree and Kathi Appelt’s story of care and conservation has received five starred reviews, was selected as a National Book Award finalist, and is funny as all get out and ripe for reading aloud.
Angel's Truck Stop
Author: Angel Pilato
Publisher:
Published: 2011-07
Total Pages: 338
ISBN-13: 9780983210818
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHow do you survive when everything you believed about the world is turned upside down? In 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War, testosterone-fueled fighter pilots take off from Udorn Air Base in Thailand on sorties over dangerous targets in North Vietnam. Some come back, many do not. Into this fog of war enters Captain Pilato, a starry-eyed idealist, assigned to manage the officers' club. The fighter pilots christen the officers' club "Angel's Truck Stop," which becomes the backdrop for the conflicts, challenges, and choices she encounters. It reveals a woman's struggle to fit into a man's world. As the realities of war erode her ideals, she realizes the future doesn't hold the certainties it once did. Angel's Truck Stop is hilarious and at times, heart- wrenching. This memoir keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end.
Agile Retrospectives
Author: Esther Derby
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Published: 2006-07-26
Total Pages: 216
ISBN-13: 1680503103
DOWNLOAD EBOOKProject retrospectives help teams examine what went right and what went wrong on a project. But traditionally, retrospectives (also known as “post-mortems”) are only held at the end of the project—too late to help. You need agile retrospectives that are iterative and incremental. You need to accurately find and fix problems to help the team today. Now Esther and Diana show you the tools, tricks and tips you need to fix the problems you face on a software development project on an on-going basis. You’ll see how to architect retrospectives in general, how to design them specifically for your team and organization, how to run them effectively, how to make the needed changes and how to scale these techniques up. You’ll learn how to deal with problems, and implement solutions effectively throughout the project—not just at the end. This book will help you: Design and run effective retrospectives Learn how to find and fix problems Find and reinforce team strengths Address people issues as well as technological Use tools and recipes proven in the real world With regular tune-ups, your team will hum like a precise, world-class orchestra.
100 Days to Leadership Impact
Author: Casey Reason
Publisher: Triple Nickel Press
Published: 2011-11-30
Total Pages: 28
ISBN-13: 0982702922
DOWNLOAD EBOOKCasey Reason's 100 Days to Leadership Impact prepares leaders to make an impact in their first 100 days while creating momentum and setting expectations for day 101 and beyond. Every leader wants to be a force for positive change, bringing improvements or even a breakthrough to his or her organization. Leaders today are expected to make an impact on results quickly. Effective leaders do this not by making superhuman individual efforts, but by creating an organizational culture that is driven to learn, collaborate, innovate, and improve together. The resulting connected culture has exponentially increased learning power. Resourceful leaders use the science of how human emotions, mental models, and organizational history affect culture and work with, not against, those things to effect change and create a connected culture. The author describes four phases of the 100-day timeline to create a connected culture and make a leadership impact. Using vivid narratives to illustrate common leadership issues, the author provides step-by-step strategies to address each one. End-of-chapter reflection questions inspire readers to consider their own unique leadership styles. The four phases of the 100-day timeline are as follows: Phase 1 (Day 1 6): Creating a Lasting First Impression Phase 2 (Day 7 39): Getting in Motion Phase 3: (Day 40 69): Testing and Trusting Phase 4: (Day 70 100): Celebrating and Looking Forward
Searching for Sarah Rector
Author: Tonya Bolden
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2014-01-07
Total Pages: 84
ISBN-13: 1613125313
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe incredible and little-known story of Sarah Rector, once the wealthiest Black woman in America, from Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner Tonya Bolden Searching for Sarah Rector brings to light the intriguing mystery of Sarah Rector, who was born into an impoverished family in 1902 in Indian Territory and later was famously hailed by the Chicago Defender as “the wealthiest colored girl in the world.” Author Tonya Bolden sets Rector’s rags-to-riches tale against the backdrop of American history, including the creation of Indian Territory; the making of Oklahoma, with its Black towns and boomtowns; and the wild behavior of many greedy and corrupt adults. At the age of eleven, Sarah was a very rich young girl. Even so, she was powerless . . . helpless in the whirlwind of drama—and danger—that swirled around her. Then one day word came that she had disappeared. This is her story, and the story of other children like her, filled with ups and downs, bizarre goings-on, and a heap of crimes. Out of a trove of primary documents, including court and census records, as well as interviews with family members, Bolden painstakingly pieces together the events of Sarah’s life.
